ARod's Latest Girlfriend Kelly Bensimon, Annoying NFL Wives Form Alliance & Is Trevor Siemian The 4th Manning?

I'm very honored to be the reason someone signed up for OutKick VIP (see Fred's email)

That said, I need to do my duty and jump on a Zoom call for the VIPs who've been jonesing for a Saturday morning virtual meetup. OutKick T-shirt Manager Maxx (with two Xs) contacted me back in October to see if I was available, but that was the weekend I went on the father-son golf trip, so I was out on Maxx's VIP plans.

I will contact Maxx and say it's time to give the readers what they're after and that's a Saturday morning (not OSU-Michigan Saturday, I'll be in Ann Arbor) with me to pick my brain on a variety of topics.

Now, let's get to the emails the readers have been firing off this week like crazy. Seriously, the response has been wild.

• Fred H. in Dallas writes:

Like so many, love Screencaps to start my day.  Just signed up for VIP because of you.

I’m interested to know how your readers watch games they’re interested in when their kids have activities at the same time.  Live on their phone?  I suspect this may skew based on how old the parents are, though maybe I’m just an outlying weirdo.  Being an older dad at 53, I have no problem ignoring scores, recording multiple games, then catching up when I get home by skipping commercials and sometimes fast-forwarding between plays.  Because my friends know this, they don’t text me live updates, and I generally ignore my phone during games anyway.  Do any of the younger dads do that?  I assume the answer is no.  They all seem to know exactly what’s happening in real-time.  But I want to see it unfold “live”, even after the fact.

When I’ve recorded multiple games I want to catch up on, obviously the score ribbon at the bottom of the screen becomes an issue.  It’s a problem I have solved with a Ticker Blocker (and no I have no ties to the company other than having bought several of these over the years).

https://www.facebook.com/TickerBlocker/

Obviously this does not protect me against godforsaken game breaks, but it helps a ton. 

I know this is a narrow topic, but thought it might be of some interest.  Keep up the great work.

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• Great topic, but I feel like the logical answer here is to watch it live on the phone. I'll even time things out so I catch Ohio State games on the radio just for that old-school feel of Paul Keels' voice. I'll give Fred H. credit for being so committed to the live/recorded TV experience that he's willing to buy ticker blockers. That's a stronger commitment than many marriages I know of.

• Phil H. would like you guys to rank the best beaches out there:

It’s getting dark and cold out there, even at beaches all across the nation. Might be time to have a winter contest of top beaches and worst beaches in the US to get everyone ready for beach season next year.

We know Hawaii, Florida and Lower California will say they have the best beach because of the weather. Putting weather aside, what makes for a great beach? Should be easy to get to by car, rental properties, things to do, locals, etc. Also be good to know what beaches to avoid, Wrightsville is top of the list for overrated in NC.

PS: Definitely do not buy a GoldenTee. Stay away from electronics with aging parts that will be obsolete in five years. Stick with trusty games such as pool, darts, shuffleboard.

• Dan McM. in Indiana writes:

I’m a Hoosier by birth, Boilermaker by the grace of God. Daylight savings time is a major drag on top of already gloomy Midwest winters. I complain as much as anybody about the 5 PM darkness. It throws my whole life off.

No evening golf, no mowing, no pool, no piddling around outside. I feel trapped indoors roaming around the house like a lost puppy. I like to stay active outdoors as much as I can. I hit the gym a lot, I am a runner and I have a dog that I walk/run most evenings. I usually run and walk the dog at a local park.

It’s a 2.5-mile loop around a small lake. The park does have a reputation for being a location where shady things are known to happen after the sun goes down. I’m not talking about gang banger central here, but no way would I want my wife or adult daughters to be out there after dark. I continue to insist on my evening time with my dog at the park. I’m a decent-sized guy 6’3”/190. My dog is a pit mix.

He’s a big baby but he does weigh about 70 pounds. I usually carry a Maglite and a .380. My wife tells me every night that I’m going to get murdered and to make sure my phone locator is on just in case. I don’t know how long I can keep this up, she is seriously starting to freak me out. Am I nuts? Should I just screw around in the garage instead? Should I just cave into her fear and walk around the neighborhood like a normal person?

I need something at least somewhat active to keep me going through the winter. What are people doing with their time in the darkness after work?

• Daniel in Wilmington, OH fired off this email and instantly brought back childhood memories in my memory bank from when my Cincinnati Bengals used to hold training camp in Wilmington. Somewhere in a box in the attic are photos of training camp 1989 where I'm standing with Ickey Woods and Sam Wyche. Great memories and I'm happy the death of the franchise didn't come when I was 12.

Anyway, let's get to Daniel's email -- snow removal!

The next hot topic has to be snow removal - tools, methods, techniques, etc. After living in the suburbs my whole life, at 30 I moved the family out to 10 acres in a rural paradise with a 300ft. gravel driveway.

The 24" snowblower didn't cut it anymore so I upgraded to a tractor. I tried using the front bucket but was afraid I would damage the hydraulics so I now use a 3pt hitch mounted box blade, the only downside is plowing in reverse and no ability to angle the blade.

• Brent P. in Indy has a great question for the community: What's a must-do or must-see between now and March 1:

Checking in again from Indy and responding to your call for more topics of discussion. Inspired this summer by your topic to do more things, my wife and I stepped up to the plate. With four kids it is rare to have open weekends, but when we did, we took advantage. In fact, we almost drove to Ohio to watch the Wiffle ball tournament you reported on. I couldn’t get my wife on board with that (although I showed her the footage you provided after the tournament and she is on board next year), instead we chose to drive to St. Louis for the IndyCar race.

I’m a big fan, she is a big fan of doing things differently. It was a great weekend. In October we had the Bears/Packers game on our calendar that was scheduled several weeks in advance. Prior to your inspiration to do more things we would have driven up Saturday, spent the evening with family, then gone to the game and driven back Sunday. Instead, I looked up Illinois State parks. We found a hidden gem an hour and a half west of Chicago called Starved Rock State Park. This park was amazing! We arrived Friday afternoon and enjoyed a great two days of hiking and sightseeing. Never would have done this in years prior.

So the topic I would like to hear about, from the readers, is where or what is a must-do or see event between now and March 1st.  Meaning it only occurs during this time frame or this is the best or only time of year to do it.

I know you are going to have a lot of topics flow into the in-box. Can’t wait to see what the next screen caps community hot topic is.

• Rory M. has some help for those of you who want to know about rubs:

I used to be avid about making my own, but once you get outside the way too commercialized/available everywhere type stuff you can find some really good ones that are better than you can make yourself. 

Ribs - every time I try anything other than R' Butts R' Smokin' Ozark Heat, I immediately regret it.  And I've probably tried 20-30 different rubs. Dry rub, no sauce, usually finish wrapped with some butter, brown sugar, honey for tackiness.  No matter the reputation, I never eat restaurant ribs because they always leave me disappointed compared to my own. 

Honorable Ohio mention - I'm S&P all the way on steak, but if you need a change up, Bearded Butcher's Black rub.  It's molasses/coffee based and they don't use near as much salt & sugar as most rubs.  You can still pre-salt your steak prior to cooking, then add a little of this for different flavor profile without worrying about it.

• Let's close it down this morning with an email from Tara P. You guys know I love to hear from the ladies, even though this column is pretty much a massive male safe space.

Tara writes:

Love Screencaps.  I anxiously await the morning post and enjoy the content every time.  My husband appreciates the content too since I share pictures of the gals from time to time.   (Can you throw in a pic every now and then of the male physique for us gals?) 

As a female reader, I need to know what do the guys want for Christmas aside from a nude calendar or a day of sex.  You can't really give those in front of your kids or your mother-in-law.  

What is something you would never buy yourself that would surprise the heck out of you on Christmas day?   

I know the fellas will come through...

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EXCELLENT QUESTION & EMAIL, TARA!

First, let me say that Tara must not be seeing those Troy Aikman workout photos I post at least once a week. I thought for sure Troy would get the job done for the ladies who need some testosterone out of Screencaps.

Next, great idea with the nude calendar for the garage. Joking! Of course we wouldn't have one of those, Tara!

We're so simple-minded -- meat, beer, sports, golf clubs, tools, mowers. I hope that Tara didn't just stump Screencaps readers with her question. I'm stumped right now, but it's because I'm trying to get this posted for the community.

Help out Tara and the rest of the emailers who provided excellent questions.

Email: joekinsey@gmail.com or if you're an OutKick VIP, fire off responses in the comment section below.

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Written by
Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America. Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league. Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.