Paige VanZant Unleashes New Content, Dolphins Lineman Robbed Of Touchdown & Vols Show Off New Transport Portal
Let's start with Dave handing out honors around here, and I'm gladly accepting!
Dave writes:
You are absolutely the best writer and columnist at OutKick. I know Thursday night mowing league is over for most of the country, but not in South Carolina. Maybe after today it’s over for me, but only time and weather will tell.
All the best to you and your family,
• Dave had me ready to run through a brick wall this morning after that short but powerful email where he declared me the OutKick MVB (most valuable blogger). But, like any great MVB out there, I'm not about to sit in the basement and stare at awards on the walls (actually, there's nothing on the walls. I need to figure out where I'm going to hang stuff.)
I have to get out there and grind away, Dave. I have to get out there and dig deep into my bag of tricks to keep you guys entertained. I have to figure out which story is going to dominate the landscape. Is it going to be a laundry detergent theft ring or is it going to be Dakota Johnson gifting butt plugs in Christmas gift exchanges?
That's my dilemma on a daily basis. So guys wake up and try to figure out how to keep nuclear power plants operating. I have to figure out what the Instagram model pecking order will be on a Friday. BTW, Paige Van Zant has upped her game -- see below. She must have a new photographer.
And there's always some new talent coming along that wants the OutKick MVB belt. There are some young guns on staff who are fresh out of college and are starting their Internet journeys who would love nothing more than to take out an old vet like me. They're hungry for accolades while I'm hungry for lunch. They're hungry to work their way up the ranks. I'm hungry for Crockpot chicken & noodles.
No rest, Dave. Let's be honest, the whole no "There's no 'I' in TEAM" stuff doesn't apply to blogging. You're damn right I'm out here on an Internet island scratching and clawing for clicks. One of these young guns will have to pry this gold-plated MVB keyboard out of my cold, dead hands.
In times like these, Dave, I'm reminded of the great Jordan Belfort & what he said in Wolf of Wall Street.
You know for years I’ve been telling you guys not to take no for an answer, to keep pushing, to not hang up the phone ‘til you get what you want. This deal I’m about to sign, barring me from the securities industry, barring me from Stratton, my home… What the f*** is that? I’ll tell you what it is, it’s me being a hypocrite. It’s me taking no for an answer. It’s them selling me, not the other way around!
You know what? I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving… I’m not f****** leaving!
THE SHOW GOES ON!
• In case you guys want to hear the 10 minutes of radio I did this morning across Michigan and NW Ohio:
• Tark wanted to get in with his military service memories and he delivers an excellent email that I think you guys are going to enjoy:
Greetings from Maxwell AFB, AL. I’m a retired Air Force officer who served for 20+ years, am still an active duty AF spouse, and have 2 amazing kids that have been with us through our journeys. I was a personnelist when I was in so I have some interesting stories that you’d chuckle at but was never in harm’s way. That said, I served with and befriended some amazing people along the way, and thank you for highlighting some stories focusing on military service.
One of my last jobs on active duty was as the Deputy Director of the Department of Defense’s Warrior Games which was held at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs that year. It was a great honor to plan and execute a week-long set of sporting events where the competitors were members of the US, Canadian, Australian and British militaries who had experienced physical, mental, and emotional injuries which their athletic training was helping them to overcome.
The most poignant memory I have from a week of just incredible interactions was standing at the side of the pool in the cadet Natatorium watching a triple amputee struggle to finish a 50-meter race and having the person next to me look over at me and say “Wow, look at that guy’s determination! He inspires me to keep going every time I see him swim!” The person next to me was a fellow competitor double amputee in a wheelchair who had finished his race just prior to that one. I had no words.
As a completely able-bodied and healthy person standing there in awe, I had nothing to add. I was just proud to be in their company and doing my small part to serve them on their journey to recovery.
The Warrior Games are held every summer…COVID allowing and I highly recommend checking them out. They will be in San Antonio in 2022 (https://www.sanantonio.gov/gpa/News/ArtMID/24373/ArticleID/20294/San-Antonio-chosen-to-host-2022-Warrior-Games).
I’m also a huge supporter of the Service Academy baseball programs. If your readers are ever looking for the pure competitive aspect of high-level college baseball, make it a point to seek out an Air Force, Naval or West Point Academy baseball game. They won’t be disappointed. The head coach at Air Force (Mike Kazlausky) is one of the all-time greats in Service Academy baseball history and also a retired C-17 pilot who is a combat vet.
If you’ve got 3 minutes check out the “Stand in the Door” video at the top of the AF Baseball Twitter feed and you’ll be feeling pretty darn good about the future of military leadership that he’s producing.
Keep up the incredible work and know that you are reaching a vast audience of mostly quietly appreciative supporters spread around the world.
Tark
AF Baseball, Class of ‘98
• Jon U. has some advice for those of us thinking about becoming Golden Tee owners:
Jon from Dahlonega again. When I built my house in 2002, my wife purchased me a full arcade-sized Golden Tee 1998. Compared to today’s machines, the graphics were pretty rough. It also weighed something like 700 pounds. Anyhow, after about 2 years of use (maybe more), something happened in the screen and it ended up being all yellowish on the screen. Before the screen went yellow, we had a lot of fun having folks over to the house and playing GT.
A friend of mine offered to take it off our hands after that and we had four rather large former athletes barely get the machine up the stairs from my basement to load into the guy’s pickup truck. He searched around and found a new motherboard and managed to get 3-4 years of additional use before he climbed into the machine and accidentally short-circuited the whole thing by backing into a wire and luckily avoiding being electrocuted. I think he ultimately had to take it to a dump and pay them to take it.
Anyhow – with the new GT options (the small tabletop unit, for instance) that plugs into a large screen television, I actually think one would get a lot of use out of it and especially for you people up north with 9 months of hellish winter, it might be a good way to stay in shape (well, basically keep your arm in shape) until you emerge in May from your basement, pale and 40 pounds heavier.
• Jordan F. says go for it...buy Golden Tee!
I've been reading your back and forth in the Screencaps about pulling the trigger on a Golden Tee system. Absolutely do it! I made the purchase about a year ago. The nice thing about them, if anything breaks, there are lots of different places to get the replacement parts/companies that are dedicated to arcade games. As you can imagine, some of those units in restaurants take a real beating. The trash talk escalates as the night goes on.
• Dave M. would like to encourage everyone to join his Thursday Night Blowing League. Interesting league name, Dave!
I want to add an addendum to the Do Hard Things theme. I like to call it Do Hard Things, Easier. Although keeping the gutters clean may not be that "hard", when you're on the backside of 50, fat, and have 2 knee replacements, my days of walking on the roof with a gas blower are behind me.
This used to be the preferred method. I have a small lot, 1/3 of an acre. I have two small lots on either side of the house and most of the trees are old, tall, leafy, and somehow funnel down to my roof and yard I consider this the special teams of yard work.
Full disclosure, my wife does 95% of all the mowing and trimming, (she has a league shirt) as she considers this good exercise. The guilt I feel seeing her mow the first Saturday of college football takes at least a quarter and a half to subside. Now that she mostly mows on Thursday so there is zero guilt on the weekends.
Below is the rig I have for cleaning leaves from gutters I found on Amazon. Four 24" threaded extensions with a hook on the end of my gas blower @STIHLUSA. I can easily blow leaves from the gutters with my feet planted on terra firma. I need two extensions for the first-floor gutters and four if I need to do the second story.
Just have good eye protection and a hat as I have learned. I have also started leaf blowing with 2 blowers. A 20V @craftsman blower with my gas unit helps corral some of the flyaways and you can double up blow power if you have a stubborn pile, sticks, and even dog bombs.
It has been easy blowing this year being dry. I am lucky to just have to blow my leaves onto the lots adjacent to the house but I have to use this technique with a blue tarp when the leaves need to be removed from a property. With rain and 35 MPH gusts on tap tonight in central OH, we should be done with most of the leaves.
One last tip is I started using 95 octane, 40:1 premix for all my 2 cycle devices. I do not winterize any of these items now and they start right up. It is more expensive but well worth it.
Keep up the great work with TNML and screencaps. If you could perform a miracle and let Michigan beat OSU this year I think you may be able to apply for sainthood.
• And with that, I'm ready to get this Friday fired up. I have furniture on the way -- my very own recliner, just what I need after brutal days of blogging -- and a bunch of stuff to accomplish before it gets dark at 5 p.m.
Let's go out there and have a strong Friday, get the leaves picked up Saturday and the Christmas lights hung. Fellas, we're running out of college football Saturdays. Make sure you take time to treat yourself. Indy Daryl is in your head to Do Hard Things, but that doesn't mean you need to sacrifice every college football Saturday on the schedule.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com