Heidi Klum Puts On An Instagram Clinic From Her Shower, Veronika Rajek Starts Threads, LeBron James Is Unbearable & Iowa's Mechanic Linebacker

Hello, and welcome to Nightcaps -- the daily column that celebrates actual women, like Heidi Klum, instead of mocking them, like Maybelline.

We're also something that people actually watch (read), unlike the ESPYs. Seriously, did anyone watch that? Don't be shy, this is a safe space.

I literally can't think of something I'd want to watch less. Democratic primary? Soccer? A Million Ways To Die In The West?

That, by the way, is the worst movie I've ever seen. I've only walked out of two movies in my life -- that one, and Green Lantern. True story.

Where were we? Oh yeah, Heidi Klum! Heidi has been ON ONE lately during her Euro trip, and recently invited all of Instagram to tag along during her outdoor shower. You'll see.

What else should we dive into? Veronika Rajek -- Tom Brady's wannabe lover -- offering up her services for the Zuckerberg/Musk fight? Sure. Why not?

A linebacker out of Iowa who is also the world's luckiest mechanic? Of course!

LeBron James being the absolute worst? Dan Patrick calling him out, while also taking a shot at petty ESPN?

Check, check and check!

OK, that's enough of a tease. I've got a house to show in a bit and a turkey sandwich to make. Let's roll.

Heidi Klum washes off in Europe

We're gonna dive in quickly, because the algorithms are churning right now and I'm trying to strike while the iron's hot.

So, here's Heidi Klum taking a shower with all of her Instagram followers because she's 51 but still looks 30.

Unreal.

Between Heidi Klum, Danica Patrick and Sofia Vergara, I feel like we're turning back the clock this summer.

And you know why? Because the up-and-coming influencers needed a much needed reality check, and they're getting one from the vets. The age of social media has really turned the world on its head, making people famous waaaaaaay quicker than it used to take.

Seriously, it took Heidi Klum years to get to where she is, and you're gonna throw on a bikini and gain a million Instagram and TikTok followers and just catch her? I don't think so.

Like Peyton Manning with the Broncos, girls like Heidi and Danica still know how to get the job done. And, by the way, Heidi's fastball is miles better than Peyton's was towards the end.

No ducks here. Just darts.

Veronika Rajek is all in on the Musk-Zuckerberg bout

Heidi's a little quirky, but she's got it, and that's all we can ask for.

Speaking of quirky influencers, let's now check in on model Veronika Rajek. Remember her? The one who professed her love for Tom Brady last year after his divorce?

Well, our girl cranked up the Threads app and fired off one of her first ... thread? ... earlier this week. Looks like she's playing the game to perfection, too:

And hey, that's our first Thread in Nightcaps! I'm very much #TeamElon mainly because Zuckerberg is the worst and bends the knee to the left as much as anyone.

That being said, fair is fair -- I've decided to pledge my allegiance to whoever wins this fight, should it ever take place. If it's good enough for Veronika, it's good enough for me.

How about this Iowa linebacker's unreal luck?

Elon and Mark would be lucky to have Veronika in the ring.

While we're on the topic of luck, how about Iowa linebacker Zach Twedt -- who I've recently (right now) dubbed College Football's Top Mechanic.

Hawkeye linebacker Zach Twedt was leaving a Walmart in Iowa City when he spotted two stranded girls.

Riley Uthe’s car had just run out of gas on her way to the gym with her best friend Emma Kuepker.

It was a familiar sight for Twedt, who stopped to help single mom Tina Gunn, who had a flat tire near Story City, so she could get home to Omaha last year in July. Gunn detailed Twedt's good deed on social media and the story went viral.

A night before the anniversary of meeting Gunn, he did it again. Twedt pulled over in his truck to help the pair of 17-year-old girls, who were traumatized from an event they experienced the night before.

"It really was just a reminder when a lot of people are kicking you down, there's a lot of good people in our community," Uthe's mom Salina McCarty said.

Unreal. Our man helped change a tire last summer and now he's bringing cars back to life. And it all happened 364 days apart? Makes me want to root for Iowa this year, but I've had to sit through plenty noon Iowa football games and I can't do that to myself.

Anyway, these two girls were apparently in the same area as a shooting the day before, and then ran out of gas, which is fair. I'd 100% do the same thing.

Thank goodness for Zach Twedt.

PS: tell me you play for Iowa without telling me you play for Iowa:

LeBron James is just the worst

Let's now dampen the mood by going from someone who clearly is a great American to someone who constantly bends the knee to China and refuses to leave the news cycle alone.

LeBron James!

The wokest athlete not named Megan Rapinoe was in his bag for the ESPYs, bravely telling the audience he was NOT retiring from basketball.

Did anyone ask? No. Did anyone think he was? No. Was it news? Nope.

Did ESPN devote hours to it today?

Yup!

Let's now check in with Dan Patrick to get his thoughts from this morning's radio show.

Dan?

"I wasn’t waiting for an announcement. I got one. And then ESPN is treating it like it’s breaking news. And I went; you know what’s breaking news? If he retired! Not that he’s coming back. Who thought that he might retire?

"It just...it just is needy, and you don’t need it. I want publicity, don’t forget about me, I don’t want to cheat the game.’ Play! Just play. You’re one of the greatest of all time.”

PS: does anyone realize how many Adam Sandler movies Dan Patrick's been in at this point? I tried to look them all up, and I believe it's in the double-digits.

PPS: underrated Adam Sandler movie? Hubie Halloween. You're welcome.

Psycho helicopter girl and police sex at Texas antler joint

Fine. Mount Rushmore of B-list Adam Sandler movies -- you know, the ones that ain't Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, etc ...

Now, let's hop in a chopper and nearly die on our way out the door.

How about the balls on this one? Apparently, she just willy-nilly grabbed the lever, which the Aviation community tells me would've sent the chopper spiraling to the turf.

That little lever evidently controls the rotor brake, which stops the propeller from spinning. Had this brave, albeit very annoyed, pilot not acted swiftly, they would've plunged straight into the Grand Canyon.

Not great!

“When the pilot scolded her, I looked at her in between the seats and I saw that she smiled at the pilot,” the tourist who took the video told SWNS. “It was an awkward smile. I’m not sure if she said anything back to the pilot. I did hear their voices on the audio, but I didn’t hear them at that moment."

We are truly so dumb. I say that a depressing amount of times each and every week.

Exhibit B:

From the NY Post:

A female Texas police sergeant has been fired following allegations she had sex with another officer in a patrol car — while on duty.

The alleged hookup happened while former Sgt. Kellie Metz and Deputy Patrick Byrne, then employed by the Comal County Sheriff’s Office, were parked at the Antler Cafe, a chicken fried steak joint north of San Antonio.

A witness told investigators “he heard moaning sounds like sexual gratification coming from the area of the patrol units,” San Antonio TV station KSAT reported.

The man who claims he overheard the romp while passing, David Brakhage, said he threw a rock at the patrol car, which later earned him a charge of criminal mischief, the local outlet said.

Take us home, FAU Amanda

Just a wild story. I dare you to find a group of people who love banging each other more than cops. Feel like we hear these stories every single week recently.

OK, that's all I got. Here's FAU Amanda checking in ahead of the second half of the baseball season.

Let's go have a night.

PS: Antler Cafe? Sounds amazing. Let's quickly check the menu before getting to FAU Amanda. Quick takeaways?

$3 frog legs

$3.25 beer

$5.49 BLT

$8.79 calf liver (grilled or fried)

I'm sold.

OutKick Nightcaps is a daily column set to run Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. (roughly, we’re not robots).

Think Heidi Klum is still the gold standard of influencers? Email me at Zach.Dean@OutKick.com.

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Zach grew up in Florida, lives in Florida, and will never leave Florida ... for obvious reasons. He's a reigning fantasy football league champion, knows everything there is to know about NASCAR, and once passed out (briefly!) during a lap around Daytona. He swears they were going 200 mph even though they clearly were not.