New week, boys and girls. A blank slate. A fresh start. We’re at the middle week of the month. Time flies when you’re … having fun?
Yeah, sure. Why not? We’re having fun. It’s British Open week. We’ve got the Home Run Derby tonight (on Netflix, good luck!). The All-Star game tomorrow. Did you know that both the Panthers and Cardinals report to training camp a week from Wednesday?
That’s right. Not a typo! It’s true.
Bottom line? We don’t slow down around here. We adapt. We adjust. We grind.
Let’s roll.
Welcome to a Monday Nightcaps — the one where MLB umpire Jen Pawol somehow managed to piss everyone off in a single inning on Sunday. Amazing.
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What else? I’ve got NASCAR wife Gianna Blaney enjoying some R&R in Turks And Caicos, the Dolphins already starting the year with a loss in July, and Aaron Rodgers has taken his (allegedly) final offseason retreat.
When Aaron emerges from the cave, you know football is almost back. It’s like seeing smoke from the Vatican.
OK, grab you some hot dogs and Bush’s to celebrate National Frank ‘N’ Beans Day, and settle in for a Monday ‘Cap!
This wasn’t the best inning from Jen Pawol
They really do have a “day” for anything, don’t they? Oh well. The more you know.
For those wondering (and that’s none of you), the folks over at NationalDayCalendar.com tell me that this special day kinda-sorta originated back in the 1800s:
Baked beans originally surged in popularity during the American Civil War and later became one of the first canned convenience foods to hit the market in the 1890s. As a result, they quickly became a staple of the western chuckwagon. While baked beans have a long history, it remains a mystery exactly when inventive cooks first started tossing franks into the mix.
Our research was unable to find the creator of the holiday.
There you go! And that concludes our history lesson for the day. And what a useless lesson it was!
Now, let’s get this class started with umpire Jen Pawol, who last season became the first female umpire to call a game behind the dish, having just an awful time during yesterday’s Blue Jays-Padres tilt:
Aaron Rodgers as emerged from his “trip”
Lordy. First, she didn’t allow the batter to challenge the call, saying he was too late. That’s not true. He was perfectly within the limits. She just wasn’t looking. Let’s be fair.
Then, she tossed someone … for some reason. Again, not sure what happened there. Wild.
Later in the inning, Pawol appeared to call a balk on the pitcher … only to then crouch down and call the pitch a strike? Don’t know that I’ve ever seen that before.
Listen to the announcers. They are absolutely perplexed. Can’t say that I blame them.
Look, this isn’t about Jen Pawol being a female umpire, so save it. I know that’s what everyone is going to harp on here.
“Oh, Zach, you’re only highlighting this because she’s a girl!”
No, I’m not. Quit it.
I’ve blasted umpires plenty of times before, and they were all men. I called out awful CB Bucknor earlier this year. I wrote about a Royals catcher humiliating another male ump during spring training. Last month, I called out some hot-shot ump who tossed A’s manager Mark Kotsay for no reason at all.
This was one of the worst sequences I’ve ever seen out of an MLB umpire, and I had to sit through a decade of Angel Hernandez.
In fact, according to the popular site “UmpScorecards.com,” Jen Pawol has been the third-worst umpire this season with a 91.8% accuracy. That’s not my opinion. That’s a fact. That’s what the data says.
Male or female. Cat or dog. Robot or human. I don’t care. When you manage to piss off both teams in the same inning, it’s a bad look. This was just atrocious.
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OK, let’s move this thing along and check in with Aaron Rodgers with training camp a little over two weeks away:
Bison, Dolphins & Gianna, oh my!
Yes! Aaron Rodgers has finished his annual … retreat … and he’s ready for one last Super Bowl run. Looks like he brought teammates DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Pat Freiermuth, Roman Wilson, Mason Rudolph and Ben Skowronek along for the clarity trip this time around.
Remember that one time Aaron barricaded himself in a dark cave for four days whilst mulling his NFL future? Or that one time when him and Danica Patrick went on a psychedelic trip to Peru for some ayahuasca?
This one looks a little more tame, if you ask me. Although, it does look like Aaron and DJ were ripping some darts between horseback riding lessons:
Beautiful. That’s how you build chemistry heading into what Aaron says will be his final season.
The Steelers report to training camp on July 28th. Two weeks from tomorrow. It’s almost GO TIME, folks. Hang tight!
OK, let’s rapid-fire this Monday class into a big Monday night. First up? I know this video of the bison absolutely pancaking a grandpa went mega-viral yesterday, but it deserves another look today:
I’ve never seen anything quite like it. What a scene. What a clip.
My biggest takeaway, though? How about the kid in the MIAMI DOLPHINS jersey?
That’s either a Jarvis Landry jersey, or a Ryan Fitzpatrick one. Either one is fine, you ask me. Fitzpatrick is probably more fitting given the situation.
As for the 65-year-old grandfather who got launched into space … he’s OK! According to reports, he’s recovering at a local hospital.
“He was in a lot of pain with his leg, and otherwise he was conscious the whole time, in good spirits, joking,” photographer Mike MacLeod told the New York Times.
What a patriot. Love this dude. He is now part of internet history. Whether he likes it or not, he will forever be an internet meme. I’d expect that clip to be used during a lot of Dolphins games this season, and not in a good way.
Man, do I miss football. Can you tell?
OK, that’s it for today. Good work, everyone. Good class. Good way to start the week.
NASCAR wife and former Hooters All-Star Gianna Blaney takes us home. Let’s get AFTER it this week.
OutKick Nightcaps is a daily column set to run Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. (roughly, we’re not robots).
Did Jen Pawol get any of those calls right? Email me at [email protected].
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