Emily Elizabeth & Bright Emily Engage In An Emily-Off, Jimbo Gets A Pump In & Dale's Hunting License Surfaces
More and more Americans are agreeing with me that Caitlin Clark's constant complaining is old or is getting old
I figured my email would be littered with Caitlin Clark fans attacking me over my Tuesday post. It didn't happen. Instead, I heard from readers who are seeing the same thing as I am. To repeat: I love to see Clark shooting, figuring out how to get a shot off, passing and being creative.
The minute the ref's whistle goes off, it's a different story. I'm standing by the fact that what we're seeing out of Clark is the AAU-ification and LeBron-ification – by the way, why does LeBron get to go half-way out on the court during timeouts to argue with the refs over calls when he's in street clothes and not playing as happened last night in Milwaukee? – of the women's game.
• Will B. writes:
Read your article on Fox and agree with everything. Question is why won’t the officials call a dang technical on her? They do on other players for things less of an issue!
• Mark D. emails:
You absolutely nailed it today with your Clark piece. I too never watch women’s hoops but I’ve watched a bit this year myself. She literally whines after every whistle. Even when the foul isn’t called on her !!! Shut up and play.
Foul? On me? Couldn't be! (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
• Gerard W. says:
We watched part of that Iowa game last night and I was thinking the exact same thing. Her whining and complaining is way too much. WVU played good hard defense on her. It looked like the officials called a fair game to me. It’s time for her to move on to the WNBA where nobody will watch her anymore.
She has been a great story for the women’s game and seems like a genuinely good person but last night is when she jumped the shark for me. Good luck to her but I don’t care to watch anymore.
• Paul B. says he's also seen the AAU-ification first-hand:
My eldest son just finished his first middle school basketball season. First off, I couldn't believe how big some of these kids are. One dude had a full on Grizzly Adams beard. I guarantee that he could walk into a liquor store and buy something without being carded. Second observation was some of these kids were very good but most of them complained incessantly. I couldn't figure out why until I read this article. It's LeBron and the AAU-ification of basketball.
Tatum, Clark, everybody complains I can't stand it. Now, my son wasn't on the court much but the last game of the regular season the starters were terrible in the first half. So, the coach pulled them and started the second stringers and they played the entire second half. Guess what my son did? The best impression of LeBron holding his hands out, making ridiculous faces, complaining to his teammates that they were missing assignments.
Needless to say that didn't fly with me. When the first time out came, as soon as they were done with the coach, I called him over to me on the opposite side of the court and let him have it. Then I said "get out there and let er rip!" Haven't had the problem since and I have a feeling he will get on his next teammates if they whine and complain instead of playing basketball.
Twitter under Musk
• Nate T. asks:
I was just curious how you think Twitter/X is doing since Elon took over; Better, worse, or about the same as Twitter 1.0? I'd say better with people not getting kicked off the platform just for having the "wrong" opinions, although that's not to say the platform is now nirvana, what with bots now posting in accounts mentions more than ever. However, I will take that any day as opposed to the cesspool that was run by Jack Dorsey.
Kinsey:
1. The bots are ridiculous. Elon claimed he was going to take care of that; it's gotten worse.
2. The bots running wild, in my mind, is to make Twitter appear to be more powerful than it is. More engagement makes advertisers think it's still the Internet's townhall. On viral posts, there's a ton of AI-generated comments. It's not hard to see.
3. Twitter is still incredibly useful during major events. There have been changes made that make things less useful like the ‘Media’ tab which used to be a trove of content, but, whatever, I just have to keep adjusting to the changes.
4. I wish the algorithm would pump more sports into my ‘For You’ tab. My suggestion to make your Twitter life easier is to use ‘Lists.’ I have probably 20+ lists and I'm checking them a few times a day.
5. I prefer my current setup of using the Screencaps hotline and building a real audience. Digital content people who are wholly trusting social media apps for brand building are making a huge mistake. Yes, you must have a social media presence, but it's like a grocer walking his store and engaging with customers. You MUST connect with the audience to build the audience.
That's my strategy. It's gotten me this far after knowing exactly ZERO people in this industry back in 2007 when I started. I'm sticking to what works.
Readers are already buying the Chinook sunflower seeds
Hey brands, I hope you're paying attention. Tuesday, I wrote a review of the Chinook Seedery seeds that were sent to me. I gave an honest opinion (#notsponsored, but the brand did send the seed #sampler) and it didn't take long to hear from the readers.
• Matt, Jelly Roll from PA's husband, checks in:
As always, you have the pulse of this great community! I was just talking to the Mrs. about restocking my seed stash. I just bought a few sampler packs for myself (good source of fuel for TNML) and for some of our nephews as Easter gifts.
Much appreciation for you and Travel Ball Hardo Chris B. - thank you for sharing!
• Jon H. writes:
I’m a big seed guy. Looking forward to ordering and trying Chinook.
Several years ago, I coached my son’s team (we were trying to find the happy medium between rec ball and travel craziness. Not sure we succeeded, as too many parents are insane. Anyway…..). One day I’m behind the fence with our catcher, watching BP. He was a great kid, and I start imparting wisdom to him like I’m Mr. Myagi. I’m telling him how we want to play to win but not at the cost of taking the fun out of it and how he did a great job of that, and was such a good teammate, and how we as his coaches enjoyed having him on our team. We're spitting seeds the whole time, and I think I’m making a lifetime impression on the kid. I finish, look down at him and he looks up at me. He’s got a big, happy smile and I’m waiting for a "Thanks Coach!" Instead, he just says "You got something stuck in your teeth."
Do we think this is a good idea for the future of college athletics?
This is becoming amusing. Remember when the booster club guys had to give $100 handshakes to keep the athletes happy? Those were the days.
Will you pay $50 to entice an athlete to come play for your school?
I'm thinking about putting up $100 for a 5-star QB to come play at Toledo. They claim I'll get my money back if the 5-star doesn't pick Toledo. It's a risk-free bet, right?
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
If there was a test to read Screencaps, or to be a Screencaps superfan, would you pass?
Listen to what Painter is saying here and then figure out if you'd pass the Screencaps test.
What questions should be on the Screencaps test?
Here's one for the readers who were with me way BEFORE OutKick:
1. Which ESPN employee is credited with creating the original Screencaps column idea and serving as the column's original editor?
Yes, the column has evolved, but there is an ESPN employee who came up with the original concept. Name him. Don't use Google.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
Happy Gilmore as the Screencaps closer
• Ryan O. writes:
The Happy Gilmore scene at the end of [Tuesday] screencaps was like it was selected just for me. Last night I’m at the liquor store, picking up a case of Yuengling light and the older lady behind the counter mentions that her finger hurts. I proceeded to tell her that her backs gonna hurt because she’s gonna be pulling landscaping duty for the next week. She looked at me very confused, so I explained it to her but she must not be a Happy Gilmore fan! A few months ago I was picking up pizza and some younger kids were talking about the movie Stepbrothers and most had not seen the movie. So I yell out "don’t touch my drum set" once again blank stares from the kids. Lastly, I chose Tropic Thunder for family movie night last week. My teenager loved it and could not believe it was allowed in theaters. Enjoy Augusta I hear it’s beautiful this time of year.
TNML rookies checking in
• Mike in St. Charles, MO writes:
I’m sending this email to let you know that I’m ready for the big show and am set to begin my rookie season of the TNML. I followed on Twitter all last year and was INSPIRED by the performances of Timmy 2 Cuts, Fink and all of the other members. I’m still a week or two away from my first cut in Eastern Missouri, but the time is now to make the commitment.
Kinsey:
I'm proud of you, Mike. I don't know Mike, but I love how he's been inspired by two of the top residential mowers in the world. That shows that my character building of those two is working and they're becoming true influencers in this industry.
Also, I can understand the intimidation factor some rookies are feeling. They've now seen the faces of the world's best mowers. They've seen the turf. They've seen what it takes to climb the mountaintop and it's daunting to play in the same sandbox, but the true sign of a competitor is when someone is willing to step up to a challenge in the face of adversity.
Will Mike climb that mountaintop? We'll have to see. That's what makes this league a must-watch.
Rolling stripes
• Joseph in Elmira, NY writes:
It's too soon for mowing here in Western NY. It's Tuesday (sorry not Thursday) and I just finished rolling the ball fields at our local Catholic High School. It leaves a nice stripe.
I will be mowing the fields in a few weeks. We have 2 older Land Pride 72" zero turns.
I'm retired and enjoy mowing. I volunteer at the school and like Forrest Gump, " I cut that grass for free".
Kinsey:
Give me more stories just like this. Fuel me. Retiree Joseph in Elmira could be on Facebook or Twitter bitching at the world, but here he is putting in the work so the high school kids have nice fields to play on.
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It's a big morning around here. I got my baseball roster earlier. I recognize a few of the names and I'd be lying if I didn't start thinking about how we're looking at pitcher. I have a catcher. Now I need to develop arms. More on this later.
Go have an incredible day of life. Enjoy those rounds of golf or rolling those stripes. Go make it count.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com