Paulina Gretzky Pops Up On Instagram Wearing Her Pajamas For NHL Playoffs, Best Of Pope Memes & Steak Char

Newsletter UPDATE: This week's open rate was 63% as of Thursday morning, but Newsletter Manager Olivia G. (she's also T-shirt Manager Olivia G.) says that number will only go UP as more and more of you open it

Yes, I asked if it could go down. I'm thinking about this stuff in terms of like a batting average. She quickly corrected me via Slack by noting that the number can only go UP from the 63%. Who am I to argue? 

SIGN UP FOR THE SCREENCAPS NEWSLETTER SO YOU KNOW WHY MY INSTAGRAM AI ASSISTANT DAPPER JOHN CALLS ME ‘BIG DOG’ — SIGN UP HERE!

Now, I know there are many of you who say you never received the newsletter. Here are the directions Newsletter Manager Olivia G. shared with me IF YOU SIGNED UP WITH GMAIL: 

1. Step 1: Log in to your Gmail account. ...
2. Step 2: Go to Settings. ...
3. Step 3: Click "See all settings"
4. Step 4: Click "Filters and blocked addresses"
5. Step 5: Click "Create a new filter"
6. Step 6: Type the email and click the "Create filter" button.
7. Step 7: Click "Never send it to Spam"

I also hear those of you who are taking shots at the newsletter team for newsletters that are never arriving. Trust me when I say Newsletter Manager Olivia G. takes all concerns seriously. Screencaps is an absolute beast and keeping this property humming along is a high priority. 

I send complaints to her and she addresses them. She could ghost me and ignore the complaints. Not Olivia G. She's a pro's pro. Always digging. Always looking to get better. She's a first one into the newsletter office, last one to leave type. 

That said, she's going on vacation for the next 12 days or so, which means no complaining while she's out. Her emails will be turned off. Let's all remain calm for the next two weeks until Screencaps Newsletter No. 4 comes out. 

BTW: Olivia G. is VERY impressed by how many of you are signing up. When Olivia G. is impressed, I'm impressed. Keep it up. 

— Bill C. reacts to newsletter No. 3: 

Thanks for this weeks newsletter Joe. Those stories by the "Fishman" were awesome. I’ve never been a big NASCAR fan but I’m a fan of #3. That 8x10 spot on the C post costing $800k per annum just blows my mind. Now I want to know what the other parts of the car are called and what they cost, either back then or in today’s dollars. Great work!

— Paul Q. in Cincinnati writes: 

Keep up the good work and why are the baseball gods mad at our Reds???

Kinsey: 

I talked to my dad this week about OUR Reds. They just need to stay a game or two around .500 and get hot in late July, build momentum and then battle for a playoff spot in September. That would be a win for this season. Just get to September with a chip and a seat.  

Tennessee Screencaps readers tell Mike in CT all about the taxes, or lack of taxes, he'll face if he escapes from the Northeast

— Chris in FL, but who also dabbles in North Carolina, says: 

FYI, Tennessee has zero state income tax (as do TX, NV, WA, and of course the Free State of Florida). I lived in Connecticut a couple of times, and the last time I left for good (a long time ago now), it felt like the sky opened up when I crossed the Virginia/North Carolina line. 

The Tri-Cities corner of NE Tennessee is a good spot. It’s where we go for Sam’s and that kind of thing when we’re in the NC mountains. Unlike New England, it’s very "new"-feeling.

— Bob in Friendsville, TN tells Mike: 

No income tax in TN. We do have slightly higher sales tax - 7% to the state and each county adds some more - usually 2-2.5%. On large purchases (car, boat etc.) the county portion is capped through some formula so you don't end up paying 9+% on the entire purchase.

The Knoxville area is also growing rapidly. Smith & Wesson just moved their entire operation and 700 jobs here from Taxachusetts. Denso Manufacturing (air bags for the automotive industry) has more than doubled in size in the ten years we have been here, from 5,000 to 10,000 jobs, and they continue to grow. That's just a couple examples. The down side is increased traffic and skyrocketing housing costs. So glad we moved here before things went crazy.

I can't speak to the girls varsity athletics, but I can say that high school athletics as a whole is a big thing.

You guys seem to love the idea of AI sports broadcaster voices being brought back from the dead

— Matthew F. 

If we're bringing back sports announcers I want Skip Carey and Pete Van Wieren calling every Braves game from now until Jesus comes back.

On another note, have you ever noticed Annie Agar always covers up her cleavage?  Like literally every picture and video.  It's kinda off.  What's she hiding? 

Kinsey: 

A birthmark? You tell me what you think Agar's hiding. 

— Kyle in Huntington Beach, CA has been reading the newsletter: 

Hey Big Dog,

I received my newsletter on Wednesday and it was great. Keep those open rates up!

Growing up an LA sports fan at the end of the 20th century, we were blessed with three of the best announcers who ever did it — Vin Scully for the Dodgers, Chick Hearn for the Lakers, and Bob Miller for the Kings. 

Bob Miller retired in 2017 and he's still with us, but I'd absolutely pay to hear any of those three on the mic again. (Although it's hard to say what Chick would make of LeBron...)

— Jim T. is worried for the young broadcasters: 

If networks start using AI voices, that’s only going to reduce the opportunities for young broadcasters to get experience – which means the next Vin Scully or Keith Jackson might never even get the chance to develop into a good announcer. 

Also, those all-time greats people are suggesting for AI were products of their time. I don’t know how a Pat Summeral or Keith Jackson would fare with today’s NFL or college games; rules and culture have changed so much.

Want to hear Keith Jackson, spool up some YouTube videos and listen away.

Screencaps reader is going to the Indy 500 for the first time

— Chris A. tells me: 

I see you slipped in an Indy 500 reference at the end of the Monday Screencaps (which I totally whiffed on because I was distracted by work). Last Christmas, my 24-year-old twin sons bought Indy 500 tickets for them and me to attend this year's race because I mentioned that it was a bucket list item for me. This is the first time going for all of us, so I am reaching out to the SC community for some do's and don't's.

Trip details are that we are driving from MD to Indianapolis Saturday (8 hours on I-70) to stay at one of the suburban hotels (oh, the ROOM RATES!!, but we're saving on airfare and a rental car, so it's a wash), then driving to the airport Sunday morning and taking a shuttle from the airport to the track (my boys got tickets for the airport shuttle to the race too). I think our seats are in the Pit Row Terrace section. We'll stay over Sunday night then leave for home Monday morning.

Some immediate questions:

What's a good time to get to the airport, and where do we park?

Is there anything we should visit on the Saturday before the race while we're in town?

Are we allowed to bring in food? I heard the concessions are not good.

How about post-race? We have a couple of hours to kill before we head back to the hotel.

Any other tips and tricks?

Finally, how was I lucky enough to have boys who would give their dad such an awesome gift?

Still gotta get to Fenway and the Masters to cross off another couple of bucket list items.

Kinsey: 

I'm the wrong guy to ask about Indy as the only time I was there was for the 100th and I was on a run-of-the-house sponsor media pass. Yes, that's a humblebrag because it came with air conditioning and access to the MISERABLE media level in the pagoda. Dan Dakich is right. Indy might have the most miserable, most pompous sports media people in the industry. 

Here's a couple of things that popped into my head: 

1. It's hotter than hell at that track. Bring sun protection. Do yourself that favor. It's a different kind of heat at Indy on Memorial Day weekend.
2. Find a gas-powered go-kart track around Indy and go racing at some point during the trip. I remember racing legit go-karts in some dumpy part of Indy on my trip and it was awesome. The karts hauled ass. It'll get the blood pumping and be an immersive experience your boys will love.
3. Try to find a way to kiss the bricks, if possible. That's a photo you'll forever cherish.
4. The Indy Motor Speedway museum is worth your time.
5. Find Mario Andretti walking or driving his car around the infield roads. He's typically around the museum. Keep your eyes out.
6. Mike's Speedway Lounge is certainly an experience if you're into experiences. Great people watching. Old dive near the track.
7. Good luck. Indy is one of the most underrated party events I've ever been to. It's absolutely wild.

If you're trying to get into the 500, do yourself a favor and go follow Steve Shunck on Twitter. The guy is an absolute animal on and off the track. Indy 500 public relations legend. Trust me, I wouldn't lead you guys astray. I spent multiple days with Steve at the track & it was one for the memory bank.  

I ran a test to see if Indy Daryl was reading 

On Wednesday, I threw in a screenshot of a book Abby Wambach is pushing using ‘Do Hard Things’ in the title. For the Screencaps lifers, you know that Indy Daryl brought us the ‘Do Hard Things’ mindset back in like 2021.

As someone who drove up the hills in Kentucky that Indy Daryl ran as part of the 2024 Screencaps Ragnar Relay team, this guy does hard things. Trust me, those hills he chose to run were meat grinders.

— Indy Daryl responds to this new book stealing his theme: 

In the vein of doing hard things, I hopped on over to Amazon to read the preview for the "We Can Do Hard Things" book by Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach. And while I am sure there is some, even perhaps a lot of common wisdom in many of the sections (20 sections based on 20 questions like: "Why am I like this?" and "How do I love my person?" and "Who am I really?") I can't describe it as anything more than a jumbled mess. There are bits and pieces of conversations, emails, what seem like snippets of psych 101 text books, and even one liners all geared towards trying to answer each question. And it isn't one or three or even ten authors. There is a plethora of women (maybe 100?), and as far as I can tell mostly women, contributing to the content. At well over 400 pages, I would be hard pressed to read the book in its entirety. 

Now don't hear me bashing it completely, I do think spending time thinking on these types of questions is legitimate and worth our time. My biggest problem with the book though, is that excessively looking inward and trying to figure ourselves out hasn't seemed to be the positive force folks like Wambach and Doyle think it is. Are we happier as a society? No, depression and anxiety are way up. Are we able to cope with life better? No, SSRI's prescriptions are at all time highs and stable relationships are way down. Is trauma real? Absolutely. Do parents mess their kids up? You betcha. Yet, this book promotes looking inward as the best way to find answers; when, at least to me, the answers we seek are never going to come from constantly changing, broken people. Rather, it is looking outside of myself, looking to something bigger and more transcendent than myself, that I am able to cope with life and ultimately Do Hard Things. For me, it is my faith in Jesus and what he accomplished for me. It might be something else for others, but what I do know is that looking inside me usually doesn't work. 

And if that isn't enough, by page 35 (yes I made it that far) it devolved into a full on progressive trope about gender ideology, fluid sexuality, and hating the world because it imposes a gender binary on people. And all of that was only in the first question/section!! Count me out on their advice for parents, teens, relationships or anything else. 

Hope you're having a great start to the day!

Pizza in Siena, Italy

— Mike T. in Idaho reports: 

One of my Bros is in Italy, he knew I’d like this picture

Britt's wife is on the move

— Britt T. checks in: 

I love following Mike and Cindy T in their travels and enjoy seeing the pics they send along.  A big trip for me is my annual trip to Lebanon, TN to look after my brother’s dawg for a week and spend another week with my Mom (Lebanon, TN – shout out to Zach, is home of the Cracker Barrel!).  

My wife is a world traveler; she is the only person….arguably….in history, who got home from Hawaii and left for France 6 hours later.  

She and her buddies are in France this week, and sent some pics that I’ll share. For anyone wondering, I did ask her if she knew why she was taking that pic on the crosswalk, and she, in fact, did.  While they can’t sing like John, Paul, Ringo, and George, they’re pretty cute.

Kinsey: 

It's always nice to hear appreciation for the Ts. I know there's an anti-T dark web of Screencaps readers who are out there scheming to take out the Ts. I will not let it happen. Thank you to Britt and the others who have also risen up in support of Mike T. and Cindy T. 

We MUST keep the original spirit of this column alive. Share what's going on in your life and in the world around you. Be the eyes and ears for this column. 

It's the people like the Ts and Britt's wife that make this column a must-read. We will win this war against the anti-Ts.

Take your beers to the next level this summer & Freddies vs. Culvers

— Gerard in IL shares: 

Saw Chocolate Yuengling in Caps the other day and figured I better let Caps Nation know to mix it with peanut butter whiskey for a delicious after dinner drink! 

Have you tried Cincy Light?  I say it’s better than Spotted Cow.  What do you think? 

We also tried Freddies for the first time awhile back.   They surprisingly have better cheese curds than Culvers.  Freddies cheese curds are nice and greasy like you would expect to eat in a Wisconsin dive bar.  

Their burgers also seemed better than a "Butter Burger."   They also have the skinny "Steak and Shake Fries" where Culvers has the thick diner type fries.  Culvers is by far the cleanest and friendliest fast-food chain on the planet.  I just think Freddies wins the food battle.    Am I wrong in thinking this? 

Kinsey: 

I HAVE NOT tried Cincy Light or Spotted Cow, but I might be trying Cincy Light next week. More on that to come. 

Music suggestions for your weekend

— Camden J. throws it out there: 

Have to admit, life has been busy, so haven’t been able to keep up like I’d like. Wasn’t sure if people were still suggesting music not widely known. If so, I’ve got one. 

Josh Weathers

Not sure I’ve ever heard many dudes with the range he has. He’s currently coming out with brand new country music, 90s style. Have a listen below to his song "Me and Fort Worth". It’s the second link. The first is him singing "I Will Always Love You". We all know the song. Skip ahead to 1:27 for the start. 
 

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And that is it for this Friday with a wind off Lake Erie keeping it rather cool here, but the sun is out, the yard is mowed, the trash is out, the garden bags that were pile up on the patio are at the street to be picked up and we're about 24 hours away from the first pitch of the 2025 season. 

Let's go out there and finish the week strong. I know you're starting to daydream about Memorial Day weekend and vacations. We have to remember to finish weeks like this STRONG. If we let off the gas, it's only going to cost us later. 

Go attack the day. 

Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com or use my personal Gmail, I won't be mad

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