Elizabeth Hurley Officially Launches Swimsuit Season, Urban Meyer Tackles Pinehurst & The Indy 500 Looked Like A Good Time
Memorial Day
I hope all of you have had a safe and fun weekend. It'll be a light day around OutKick as the staff heads out to spend time with family as this country reflects on those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to this country.
Today, my wife and I will take the boys to the local Perrysburg, Ohio Memorial Day parade that ends near the site where American soldiers gave their lives during major battles against the British during the War of 1812.
I don't have some grand speech to make this morning. I just want to reiterate that there are those who will try to trap you on social media, even on a solemn holiday, and get you into a fight over this country and its past. Again, don't fall for the trap set by these absolutely miserable human beings.
Remember in your own way. Have a great day. I have a parade to get to.
• Mike T. in Eagle, ID writes:
Eagle Idaho is home to the Idaho veterans cemetery and memorial. Enclosed are several pictures of the cemetery/memorial. Also one of the parks in Eagle honors current and past veterans with “Field of honor “ 600 flags on display for 6 days, and light during the night.God bless the veterans who serve our country, current and past.
• Ryan S. in NW Ohio writes:
Just chillin and enjoying the Holiday Weekend. Much thanks to those who have served and are serving!
• Michael L. writes:
Hey Joe,
Happy Memorial Day to you and your family. Hope you enjoy some patio beers, grilling, baseball, playoff hockey, and finish with a couple of races. It's another great holiday weekend in the USA and we have our bad ass military to thank that. Thanks to all of them and a special thank you to the families mourning those that paid the ultimate price. I've been wanting to send this song in for a while and think this is a good time. The song is, Am I The Only One by Aaron Lewis.
• Tom W. writes:
I thought I would send you a picture of our house after we decorated it in honor of Memorial Day weekend. I hope you can tap on the picture and enlarge it so you can see all the flags. My wife and I have done this for quite awhile.
Thankfully, we haven't lost anyone in the family during their service to our country, so we honor all the others who gave the ultimate sacrifice. One of my wife's late uncles came close to dying when the tank he was in while in Germany in WWII ran out of gas, and he was a war prisoner for quite awhile. When he was rescued, he weighed only 138 pounds and looked like a skeleton.
As so many survivors of the war, he came home, got his health back, and went on to live life without complaints.We need people like that today!
• Andy R., who says he'll soon be from Knoxville, writes:
Long time reader of Screen Caps, it's the first thing I look forward to reading when I sit down at my computer before making it a great day here in America.
You asked for some Memorial Day content and I am happy to oblige. I love Memorial Day weekend. As a kid, it meant hamburgers and hot dogs, getting slung around the lake on an inner tube behind a ski boat, and watching the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600.
As an adult now, it is still those things, I just get to do them with my grown-up brothers and our own kids. Memorial Day has another meaning to me, and many others as well. I served 21 years as a United States Marine (1999-2020, joined the Marines because like Indy Daryl, I too was taught to do hard things).
Memorial Day is also a day to stop and remember my fallen friends and comrades, and all those from previous generations that made the ultimate sacrifice while wearing our nation's uniform. It usually isn't a big thing; if I am with other vets, we will raise a glass and tell a story or two about good times with those that aren't with us. They usually start out "No sh#t, there we were..." Last year I started a new tradition with my own family: we take an hour out of our grilling and playing on the lake and we go to our local veterans cemetery.
My wife and I take our three young kids and we walk quietly and respectfully amongst the headstones, and reflect on their service and talk about what it means for us today. We say thanks for allowing us to live in the greatest country that has ever existed, for letting us grill in peace and play on the lake and live our lives happy. I plan on visiting the small cemetery in Knoxville where Alexander "Sandy" Bonnyman is buried (look him up, absolute American Bad Ass). I hope that I can instill in my children the kind of respect for America and our values and ideals that my dad did in me. My dad is an Air Force vet and a great American.
On January 1st of 1990 he taught me a lesson I will never forget. I remember the date because it was at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans; I was 14 at the time. My oldest brother was a student at Alabama and my dad got us all tickets to watch the game and spend New Year's in the Big Easy. When the Star Spangled Banner was played, we all stood up and prepared to sing along. Except I had just watched The Naked Gun and thought it would be funny if I imitated Leslie Nielson's butchering of the lyrics to the national anthem (amazing movie, by the way).
My dad didn't say anything during the anthem, just stood there ramrod straight with his hand on his heart. But when it was over, he knelt down and got face to face to me and said this in a soft voice: "Son, I don't ever want to hear you purposefully make fun of our national anthem again. Too many people have fought and died for what it stands for and we need to respect that. Stand tall, know the words, know what they mean, and sing loud and proud." I have taken that advice to heart and hope to pass it along to my kids.
Lot's of other things to discuss like how you've actually got me looking forward to mowing on Thursdays, how the housing market is crazy (just bought a house and escaping from the D.C. area to go back home to Knoxville TN), and how I try to be nice to cyclists but they don't seem to return the favor, but I'll end it here for now.
Let's get out there and crush this Memorial Day weekend with patio beers, burgers, bad lake tans, and maybe even a Mountain Dew or two. Enjoy the taste of freedom, and on Monday, raise a glass to those that aren't with us anymore that allow us to do all of that awesomeness.
Semper Fidelis
• Robert S. writes:
Joe as always enjoy SC TNML. I think I got lost in your emails of a first cut and sticker request which I may take credit for OG sticker request.
Not only my has son graduated today with future being accepted into CAT program for heavy diesel and beyond proud, but (believe everyone it goes quick) it has been 1 year since we got bombarded by tornado/straightline winds whatever...thru good people and friends and do hard things we are recovered.
Here are 2 pics the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend 21' and this evening from the same spot on roof. Thanks Joe and SCnation
#SSR construction#JDBuschLattes#Toro/stihl#Nasties#2022westrowangrads..God Bless America and those who sacrificed..
Indy 500 report
• James L in Indy writes:
I thought I’d send you a report on this year’s Indy 500, one of our country’s most iconic and patriotic events of the sports year. My wife, the lovely Laura L from Indy, and I have been attending the race together since 1980 with a very few exceptions. You have to experience the silence of 300,000 people as “Taps” is played to honor our fallen heroes, to truly understand the event and what it means to normal Americans. The joy of singing ”Back Home Again in Indiana” along with the same 300k is, for us, one of the highlights of our year.
The first picture was taken from our seats in the Northeast Vista grandstand, Section 17, Row KK, one hour before the green flag. The second pic is of the field on the pace lap in T3.
This year’s race was memorable on many levels, most of them personal. But first off, the race itself was a good one. It didn’t get real until the last 40 laps or so, but that’s pretty normal. There was lots of fuel saving and exploratory thrusts and parries. The Ganassi team cars: Dixon, Palou, Ericsson, Kanaan, and Jimmy Johnson looked formidable going in. They were, but one by one, Palou, Dixon, and Johnson shot themselves in the foot. The McClaren cars of O’Ward and Rosenquist were stout, but fell short. Former F1 driver Marcus Ericsson emerged as the best at the end and built a 3.5 second lead with 5 laps to go when Jimmy Johnson made a mistake entering Turn 2 and pounded the wall.
The IndyCar powers that be chose to throw a red flag at that point in order to preserve a green flag finish, a decision with which I strongly disagree. There is no valid reason to put the drivers at additional risk in order to orchestrate a green flag finish! Fortunately, Ericsson deservedly prevailed, and ironically the race ended under yellow as Sage Karem crashed in turn 2 on the final lap. Thank God IndyCar doesn’t have a green/white/checkers rule. It’s the Indy 500, not the Indy 502.5, dammit!
On a personal level, this was a truly an exceptional 500 Mile Race. I would say the best I’ve ever experienced. The weather was perfect! But, I was very concerned about getting to our preferred parking spot on time. However we arrived in record time, in spite of the largest crowd since the 100th Running in 2016. It was a matter of timing and for some reason, we just nailed it!
Before the race, we were able to meet up with one of my brothers and his son, and with several cousins from out of state who also have a tradition of attending the race. We had never made it a priority to meet up before, but this year we made a point of getting together and it was very special! In fact, we plan to do it again next year and pull in some other relatives who also attend the race.
But here’s where it gets weird, and wonderful. During a caution towards the end of the race, I was pulling an ice cold Yeungling out of my cooler when I heard some guy two rows up and four seats over shouting my name. It turned out it was a guy who was in my MBA cohort at Anderson University, Class of 2001. We had stayed in touch, played golf together, until about 7 years ago. But he had stopped responding to emails. Honestly, I thought the guy had died! But no, Mick was alive and well, and sitting 15 feet from me in the Northeast Vista grandstand at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And then, another guy who heard Mick say my name, in my row but six seats down from us, said to me “I’m Gary and we worked together twenty-five years ago, do you remember me?” Of course I did, and it turned out the Gary and family had been sitting six seats north of us for the past twenty years!
Mick and Gary didn’t know each other, but they both knew me, and somehow we all connected this afternoon among 300k of our other best friends. This was a day that I will never forget! God bless our Soldiers and Sailors who serve. And God bless those who gave the last full measure so that we can enjoy the fruits of liberty and freedom!
PS. We went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum’s Speaker Series on Wednesday, which featured the great Rick Mears. The final photo is of Laura L and I with Rick Mears autographing a picture that I had taken of him on track at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 1987. That photo has been hanging on a wall in our house ever since. I had always wanted to get Rick Mears to autograph it and now he has. This has been an epic month of May!
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Top Gun Maverick
• Rann R. kept this review short and sweet:
Joe, I enjoyed every second of Top Gun Maverick. I highly recommend it to SC Nation.
George Kittle sighting
• Jeff M. writes:
I’m a religious screencaps reader but never contributed. Don’t show my email - plus I’m a diehard Raiders fan so could never root for the the ‘Niners - At BottleRock in Napa Valley this weekend and had a George Kittle spotting in the wild. He’s awesome! What a great tight end. I almost feel bad sending this to you - but not really. Because outfit.
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George clearly wants you taking photos of that attire and sending to Screencaps and your buddies. Just think of the confidence a guy needs to throw this on for a night out at a wine bar. I throw on a Costco button-up and call it a night. This guy is watching red carpet YouTube videos looking for the hottest new trends.
Sea Isle (Galveston, TX)
• Chris B. in Houston writes:
Check out these rednecks. They put caution tape around the perimeter to keep others from setting up close to them. And no FJB for these folks. They went full on FUCK BIDEN and they have the good ol’ Come & Take It tent too.
