College Gymnast Sydney Smith Joins Dating App, 'Masters Girl' Posts, Phil Ignored By CBS, Jury Duty Is TV's Next Hit
You know what's a low-key terrible day? The Monday after The Masters -- unless you're Sydney Smith or Masters Girl Aaliyah Kikumoto. They're probably doing OK today.
But most of us are ugly simpletons who aren't getting rich off our looks. Everyone wants to bitch and moan about the post-Super Bowl Monday being a holiday, but post-Masters Monday should probably be talked about more.
Hell -- just ask Brooks Koepka. I'm sitting here complaining about working today and I didn't crumble like a cheap tent in front of the world yesterday! I'd love to ask Phil Mickelson how his post-Masters Monday is going, but we're apparently not talking to him anymore.
And then there's college gymnast Sydney Smith -- a Nightcaps OG (and by OG I mean for two months now). She's apparently ready to start dating and I'm here to vouch for her, because I'm sick and tired of Olivia Dunne and Breckie Hill being talked about ad nauseum when the better version of both is right in front of us.
Let's see ... I got The Masters, Brooks Koepka, Phil, Sydney Smith, Olivia Dunne and Aaliyah Kikumoto all in before the fourth paragraph. Take that, Google!
How else should we start our weeks? Oh, that's right! I stumbled upon another WILD show last night that's gonna be a hit if anyone can find it, a ballpark in Japan has set a new standard and someone ate former NFL lineman Russell Okung.
So, you know, there's that.
Let's spin the wheel and start with ... Phil Mickelson!
Phil Mickelson TV interview nowhere to be found. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Where was the Phil Mickelson CBS interview?
I wrote about Phil being beyond blackballed by the media on Saturday, but it took an even wilder turn Sunday afternoon.
Mickelson was electric on the back nine, shot a 31 at 52, was shooting absolute darts onto the green and was your clubhouse leader most of the day.
Along the way, Lefty's 65 was the lowest round ever by a player at The Masters north of 50, and he finished T2.
Not a bad day at the course. And not a word from Phil on TV.
Now, I have no clue who was at fault here. Did Phil decline an interview? Maybe, but that would seem odd. Did LIV tell him to zip it? Maybe. Remember, Phil reportedly sat in silence at the dinner earlier in the week, so maybe he was just in one of those moods?
But the lack of Phil coverage was pretty apparent all weekend, starting Thursday through his final round. You barely saw him the first few days, and he didn't get any real screen time until late Sunday.
Social media called it out almost immediately, and we may never get a real answer. But if this roar after his birdie on 18 was any indication, the people still very much root for Phil Mickelson despite the LIV stuff.
Seems like they'd probably like to hear from him.
Sydney Smith is the college gymnast to focus on, dummies
... and I bet Phil would agree!
I know Olivia Dunne is the big story, and Breckie Hill is the newest villain, but Southern Connecticut State gymnast Sydney Smith is the underdog who's a few follows away from becoming a powerhouse.
We talked about Sydney a few weeks back on St. Patrick's Day, and she's turned the heat up ever since. She's a TikTok star, a monster on the mat, and she's now ready to get back out there.
I've never used a dating app -- unless you could AIM. Anyone remember AIM? What a time to be alive.
There was NOTHING like coming home from a hard day of middle-schooling, firing up the dial-up internet, and hearing the sound of the door creaking open on AOL instant messenger.
You nervously opened the tab and prayed it was your crush who just came online. Throw in a couple hot pockets (ham and cheese is still the GOAT), bust open a Yoohoo and attempt to craft the perfect message.
What a time to be alive. If you missed it, I am so, so sorry.
Boy, what a tangent! Bottom line, Sydney Smith is better than Olivia Dunne and you heard it here first.
Amazon's 'Jury Duty' is a wild concept
What a glorious sound. Don't pick up the phone, whatever you do! Again, if you don't get that reference, I'm sad for you.
All right, back to reality, where you can just turn the TV on immediately and stumble on some of the wildest shows you'll ever see.
A few weeks ago, I introduced everyone to Extreme Love, which still makes my skin crawl. Last night, my wife introduced me to Jury Duty, which is on something called Freevee, on Amazon.
And let me be the first to tell you -- this sucker is electric. I watched one episode last night and I'm hooked. Absolutely brilliant concept.
First off, anything that comes from the creators of The Office is going to be gold. Beyond that, though, the idea of putting 11 actors on jury duty for a fake trial with one non-actor is basically today's version of Truman Show, and it's so brilliant I can't believe nobody's ever thought of it.
And if you think it's not actually real, here's a snippet of EP Cody Heller's sit-down with USA Today:
"Our biggest joke was that the next season of 'Jury Duty' was going to be us on trial for trying to make this show," says Heller. "It was truly the most insane endeavor of my life."
I won't go into more detail, mainly because I stopped reading because I don't want any spoilers. The first four episodes are out and free to watch on ... Freevee, which works out nicely!
There's a lot of garbage out there on TV -- frankly, it's mostly garbage -- but this one's got it. Like Sydney Smith, you heard it here first.
Japanese ballpark has built-in hotel
OK, let's not be like Patrick Cantlay (according to Brooksie), and speed this thing up.
I know this is from last week, but it started to pick up steam over the weekend and it's worth a coveted Nightcaps spot.
How about this sucker?!
Could you imagine waking up to that view? I know the Rogers Centre up in Toronto has a hotel in it, and that's been on my bucket list for a while. I don't know why, but there's just something about waking up in the outfield that gets the juices flowing for me.
But this park takes it to a whole new level. Spa, hot tub, sauna, A BREWERY! Unreal. A quick Google search led me to this, from the Kyodo News:
It also has 12 guest rooms including the Darvish & Ohtani Suite for up to about 150,000 yen ($1,100) a stay, with eight of the 12 rooms commanding a panoramic view of the field.
Honestly, I think I'd shell out $1,100 for one night to get that experience. I most definitely can't, but I would.
Former NFL lineman Russell Okung is gone
You know who most certainly has the money to stay at that park? Russell Okung, the two-time Pro Bowl LT who retired back in 2020.
If anyone sees him around, let him know!
Holy cannoli. Russell Okung is gone. He's just ... gone.
For reference ...
Former NFL lineman Russell Okung is skinny. (Photo by Martin Leitch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Our man Russ was listed around 310 when he played, and while he didn't list his current reborn weight, I'd venture to say it is NOT 310 pounds. I'm going 180? Maybe 200 if he's ripped?
Wild. It's the Joe Thomas diet, I reckon. Remember how jarring that transformation was a few years back?
Masters Girl Aaliyah Kikumoto takes us home
Here's some Inside Baseball for everyone -- I had no idea how I was going to wrap up today's class.
Honestly, I was probably just gonna throw some more Sydney Smith pics at the wall and hope something stuck.
And then Joe Kinsey flexed his muscle and showed the world why Screencaps is the GOAT. For those who missed it, Joe unearthed the mystery behind The Masters Girl who took the internet by storm at Augusta, and revealed her to be Texas Texas cheerleader Aaliyah Kikumoto.
For those of you in the analytics game, A LOT of people were curious according to our data -- including Aaliyah Kikumoto, who appears to be an OutKick fan judging by her latest Instagram post -- so I figured we may as well double-dip while the iron's hot.
Thanks Joe, and thanks Aaliyah Kikumoto!
Still think Sydney Smith's better, though.
OutKick Nightcaps is a daily column set to run Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. (roughly, we’re not robots).
Think Olivia Dunne is still better than Sydney Smith? Think Masters girl is better than both? You’re wrong, but you can still email me at Zach.Dean@OutKick.com.