Britney Spears Posts More Wild Beach Content, Shaq's Gasoline Hack & The Mocs Win At The Buzzer
You know what, it's just a quiet Tuesday morning with gas prices hitting an all-time (!), let's just try to relax for a minute
I know, I know. Gas prices. The hottest topic in the nation. Your blood pressure is through the roof. I like to believe the success of Screencaps is that this column doesn't just start throwing haymakers at 9:30 A.M. ET. I like to think that you guys want to ease into the day and not be furious before finishing your Cheerios.
Shall we ease into the day? Let's start the day with this question: What's your short-term strategy to combat high gas prices?
The real tragedy with high fuel costs, high inflation, and a horrible used car market is that you can't just go out and find a cheap 4-banger to ride out the storm.
Here's my recommendation for the summer of 2022: Patio beers, music, birds chirping, flowers, and friends stopping by (because your garage door is open) for a chat. I'm no psychologist, but the best thing I ever did for my sanity was to get into gardening, learning about plants, and studying the habits of the squirrel that lives in my neighbor's pine tree.
Trust me, you'll forget gas prices and everything that's wrong in the world if you give yourself a 30-minute break that includes fresh air and putting down the phone.
I don't like to wish away time, but I can't wait for my days on the patio. Soon.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
• Jason D. in Missouri writes:
I have wanted to send an email for months now but I never quite had the nerve until Chris B. decided to blast the Ozarks. I grew up in the Ozarks and have decided to raise my children here and after what the country has dealt with over the last two years, that has proven to be one of the best choices I have made or will ever make.
Most people in the Ozarks are hard-working, full of common sense and kindness. We watch out for our neighbors while still welcoming newcomers (believe it or not, my neighborhood has had four families move in from California in the last year). We even have electricity and running water in our houses. I'm not sure why Chris B.'s comment struck a nerve but I guess I'm just tired of this part of the country being overlooked or dismissed. There are good people here that would still welcome Chris B into our neighborhoods for a garage beer or two.
On a lighter note, I want to officially thank you for the content that you provide each day. I constantly let my wife in on the latest subject matter and while she didn't quite get it at first, she has recently started asking what the "outkick guy" had to say today. I originally became a fan because of the Instagram girls and the humorous posts. I now enjoy the content from you and your readers more than the pictures that follow.
On the subject of coaching, I can tell you that the best thing that you can do is to just be there. I coached high school baseball for 16 years and had a decent amount of success. I was an utter failure on my first attempt to coach my daughter's t-ball team. I tried to "coach" too much. As many have already said, keep it simple, make it fun, and let the kids know that you are genuinely happy to be there.
I have attached a picture of my mower (As you can see I get the "pleasure" of driving a minivan too). My father-in-law gave me this mower when we moved into our house 14 years ago. He was so proud that he talked the guy down from $30 to $27. 3 of the 4 wheels have broken off throughout the years. It has become a source of pride for both my father-in-law and myself to keep the mower going. I dare to say that becoming a member of the TNML has been life-changing.
Thank you for providing an outlet for the average joe to feel like he is not in the minority regardless of what the media tells us. I'm hoping to make it up north for the Put-In-Bay Invitational in the next few years, I would even buy Chris B. a Busch Latte while I'm there.
On where the NFL Combine is held
• Lee D. writes:
Is there a more overblown NFL story right now than where the combine is held? The millions of people who watch the workouts, are they watching because of what city hosts it?
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I saw over the weekend how this topic was brought up and it caused emotions to boil over. Let's keep in mind Screencaps has a fiercely loyal readership out of Indianapolis and I'm sure they love having the Combine in town, but I need them to prepare mentally for the Combine to soon become a traveling circus like the NFL Draft.
Vegas will get the Combine. L.A. will definitely get the Combine. Dallas will get it. It's just another piece of content that the league can put up for bid. Indy will be forced to put up a massive bid as the turf war becomes heated.
Does the Combine location matter to the random person watching NFL Network's coverage of guys running the 40? Absolutely not. Does it matter to an Indy business owner if it moves on? I'd say so. Will the NFL continue to figure out ways to make money 365 days a year? You're damn right the Shield will.
On the greatest sporting event Gerard W. ever attended
• Gerard writes:
This story will mention Bruce Pearl, Illinois Basketball, Iowa Basketball, Juwan Howard, The Fab Five, and Dickie V. Keep scrolling if none of those interest you. Illinois’ win over Iowa last night to clinch a share of the Big Ten Title and the 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament brought all these memories flooding back.
The date was February 4, 1993. Illinois was playing Iowa at home. I was a member of the Orange Crush student section sitting in the second row ready to boo Iowa every chance I got. You see in 1989 when The Flying Illini (Dicki V coined this term) were running roughshod through the Big Ten on the way to the Final Four, Iowa assistant coach Bruce Pearl was secretly recording Illinois High School superstar Deon Thomas. Deon was not going to Iowa. He was going to come to Illinois to carry on the Flying Illini tradition and bring his buddy Juwan Howard with him. They were going to the Final Four every year and I was going to witness it all during my time as student at Illinois.
This was not to be. Bruce turned those tapes over to the NCAA. Illinois was put on probation and Juwan Howard went to Michigan and helped create the Fab Five.
This was all top of mind on 2/4/93. My hatred for Iowa was intense. My vanity license plate on my college car was PONIWA. You know, P ON IOWA. (Ya pretty cheesy but hey I was only 19 at the time.) The hated Bruce Pearl had already moved on from Iowa. (I’ve forgiven Bruce Pearl long ago. This story isn’t about canceling him. We all do stupid shit as young men. Hell, I am almost 50 and still do stupid shit I regret sometimes. Besides, he even apologized.
https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/23-years-later-Pearl-apologizes-to-Illini-12676925.php)
That didn’t mean I still didn’t hate Iowa at the time.
Now back to the game. 15 seconds left, tie ball game. Iowa gets the ball. They pass it around and their point guard dribbles baseline and clearly steps out of bound right in front of us!! The refs don’t see it!! We were sitting in the corner by the band and clearly saw him step out of bounds!!! He passes it in to a big and they get a second chance point-blank look for what looks like the winning shot!!! We are furious. Hell, an Iowa fan even came on the floor to celebrate. The pain was unbearable. After all of that Iowa beat us on our home floor.
But no, they put 1.5 seconds left on the clock!! Here is what happened next. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOrzj0hlt4s Andy Kaufman nails a 3 pointer to win the game! I don’t even remember running onto the floor but I am in this scrum as they celebrated right in front of where my seat was. I went from that feeling where those Death Eaters are sucking out your soul to Euphoria in 1.5 seconds. It was the greatest sporting event I ever attended.
On home run celebrations from a game official's point of view
• Our resident college football ref and umpire, Michael F. has a different perspective on what bat flips mean at the high school level:
As always, loving the Screencaps content. It’s one of the highlights of my morning.
The tweet you posted about home run antics (https://twitter.com/JoeKinseyexp/status/1499488707530747916) got my attention because I know those teams and have umpired on that field before. Harvard-Westlake and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame are only about a 5-minute drive from each other and in the same conference for baseball. To say they don’t like each other would be a monumental understatement, so while I hate seeing these clips, I was not surprised by this one.
From an umpiring perspective, we hate stuff like this with a passion - not because we’re killjoys or hate any type of fun, but because when it goes over the top we’re inevitably going to have to step in and tell both teams to knock it off, and sometimes that includes ejections.
High school and college baseball is not like the pros - any ejection of a player or a coach usually comes with a subsequent suspension of at least one game and in a season that’s only 30-40 games (or 50 at higher levels) that’s a more significant penalty. Intentional hit batsmen and bench-clearing brawls are also dealt with far more harshly than the pros because the powers that be absolutely don’t want to see that at those levels.
Game management of that nature is obviously in the job description, but it’s certainly not a fun part of the job.
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On law enforcement and military putting their lives on the line
• J Shep writes:
I was reminded again this weekend how much all of us owe those who have served/are serving in our military and law enforcement. The Skyway 10K is run over the iconic Skyway bridge in St. Petersburg, Florida, and raises money for the Armed Forces Families Foundation (https://www.armedforcesfamilies.org/), where every dollar donated is used for charitable projects, not overhead or fundraising.
The stories you hear from the runners about why they participate in the event simply are amazing. Some of those stories are on the Skyway 10k Facebook page and others were reported on local tv. https://www.facebook.com/Skyway10K Plus what other race uses a howitzer as its starting gun?!
https://www.facebook.com/Skyway10K/videos/678355436751828
While law enforcement always is a critical component of events like this, yesterday brought home really how critical it is. An apparent drunk driver ignored two different FHP checkpoints to get on the highway leading to the racecourse. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper had to use her patrol SUV to block the driver, ending up in a head-on collision. Amazingly, the brave trooper appears to have escaped without serious injury.
On coaching
• Resident LSU fan Joe M. writes:
There was a moment of schism which will keep me out of kids lacrosse (LAX), soccer, baseball, etc. until the end of time. I came back from four months in the EU to see my kid play first base as an eight year old. None of the coaches told him that the ball ALWAYS COMES TO FIRST BASE. This is after a five plus month season of little league, (after two previous years of dubious experience in Houston). If you’re on first base, you should know the ball should always eventually come to you. I barely know squat about baseball, except for the six championships LSU has won (suck it Aggies), but 1B needs to stay on 1B for a reason. I don’t get paid to coach. I don’t volunteer as a coach. I don’t know enough about baseball. Therefore, I don’t act like I know, and I don’t coach.
I decided then and there, that I’m not the coach. Play LAX catch? Sure? But I’m sure as hell not coaching you from the sideline during a game to charge a base, move to the other side of the crease, etc. Not my job. Release the angst. My kid doesn’t like contact a lot, and gets rid of the ball too early. Is it my job to fix that? No, I’m not the coach. I can tell him to use his hips and push people, but *I’m not his coach.*
I will not contradict his coaches right or wrong (I learned what the crease was three weeks after he started LAX). During practice, that’s time on the e-book reader I get. During games, I’m stalking behind a goal looking for misfired balls that go 30 yards past the goal while listening to Jocko Podcast. But I’m not coaching. I think there is a larger problem overall with parents not understanding the “don’t let down the team” is probably the most important aspect kids are supposed to get. Winning is awesome, but nobody is getting a scholarship based on what happened in Plano, TX as a ten-year-old, but the parents don’t act like it.
During LAX practices, we have high school kids coaching drills a lot of the time. Could I pay a different league to have adults do it? Sure. Do I think it’s going to get my kid into the Naval Academy? Nope. Run around, have fun, get better hand-eye coordination, and be a great teammate.
That’s pretty much what we really need out of team sports, is it not? Teaching the lesson of why he needs to bring his practice jersey, even if others don’t wear them. Why can’t we be late? Your teammates are waiting on you (I know everyone else is late, generally, but five minutes early is on time). Are you ready to practice when the whistle blows, or are you still messing around putting on your gloves because you were cracking jokes? Take care of what you can take care of first, any worry about anyone else later. First step to success.
Stop riding the kids so hard, and be happy they’re not playing Roblox. And, LAX games keep me out of dance “competitions” which may be the single greatest benefit ever.
Thanks for being a great teammate Kinsey!
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And with that, let's get Tuesday rolling. Remember, if possible, head to that patio when you feel that gas price Facebook rant coming on.
Have a great day across this great country.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
So for all those "defund the police" idiots out there, here's a big "screw you"! Our servicemen and women and our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to protect us in more ways than we will ever know, all while we sit in our comfortable homes and offices.
This brave trooper put her life on the line to protect every single person who was going over that bridge, and most of them had no idea until long after the race was over what had happened. Truly amazing in every way. I do not believe the name of the trooper has been released yet, so I cannot give her a specific shout-out to this law enforcement hero (as well as the other trooper on the scene who was blocking the second traffic lane).
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