'Nightcaps' is a daily column that catches you up on the biggest sports, news and culture stories you may have missed while pretending to do work at your desk. It runs Monday-Friday on OutKick.com.
Blame it all on my roots — I'm headed to Indianapolis.
Well not permanently. Just for the weekend. To see my family, visit the old stomping grounds and, most importantly, to see Garth Brooks in concert.
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Look, say what you want about Garth Brooks. He's a super LIB, blah blah — "Where are the bodies, Garth?" blah blah.
Just kidding about the bodies. That’s a Tom Segura joke. Keep the suits out of it, Garth.
Look, if you've never seen a Garth live show, trust me when I tell you you are missing out. That man is an ENTERTAINER. The energy is unmatched.
I'm not ashamed to say I've seen Garth in concert about a dozen times now. But the last time really took the cake — second row at Nissan Stadium. I brought along my husband (definitely not a country music guy), and even he admitted it was a hell of a show.
The view won't be so epic on Friday. I'm in the nosebleeds at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. But that's OK. I'll still be screaming "Shameless" at the top of my lungs, and I'll still get a break from this brutal Nashville heat.
Now, grab yourself a longneck bottle, two piña coladas, or another sponsor-approved beverage (that'll make sense later) and let's do some 'Caps.
Tennis Twitter is ablaze today after some eagle-eyed fans — and the broadcast cameras — caught world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova taking a sip of a little somethin' somethin' during her Round of 32 match against Alexandra Eala at the Cincinnati Open.
What's Amanda drinking? We report. You decide.
Look at her hiding it under a towel and sneaking it like a high school kid. Or me at my friend's dry wedding.
Now, I don't think this is beer. I believed they confirmed it was a Red Bull, which we rarely see out of its can.
Unless you're pouring it straight into the trash — where that stuff actually belongs. Red Bull looks and smells like the urine of someone who's dangerously dehydrated. With the countless options for caffeine sources out there, I cannot fathom why anyone would choose that.
But if Amanda were drinking beer during her match, I'd support it. A little performance-enhancing frosty brew never hurt anybody, right?
Baseball players used to drink in the clubhouse all the time. Wade Boggs famously drank 73 beers on a single cross-country flight from Boston to Los Angeles during his playing career, and he's a Hall of Famer! NBA players in the '80s? Drunk. John Daly? Also drunk.
I tried Daly's Good Boy Vodka drinks for the first time a few weeks ago, by the way. I was out on my brother-in-law's boat in Wisconsin, and that's all he had stocked. Not a big tea fan, so I didn't think I'd like it. I was wrong — delicious. Way better than Red Bull, that's for sure.
I digress.
Whatever Amanda was drinking, it worked. She took down Eala and is now onto the Round of 16.
But speaking of someone drinking something they aren't supposed to...
Comedian — and Bud Light spokesman — Shane Gillis got busted at an MLS game over the weekend... drinking a Dos Equis.
GASP.
OK, he wasn't actually drinking it when the camera caught him. But the beer was sitting in the cupholder next to him. I'm no lawyer, but that's some pretty strong circumstantial evidence suggesting he may have been enjoying himself a crisp refreshing Mexican lager.
Is that a guilty look or what? I love the friend/staffer sliding him the Bud Light and hoping no one noticed.
Oh, we noticed.
Shane needs to take some lessons from a real sponsor-savvy pro like Caitlin Clark. Watch how she smoothly drops that OLIPOP to the floor before speaking to media.
Want your product featured next to the face of the WNBA? Better pony up some dollars, suckers.
The whole concept of probiotic sodas is so weird. Or prebiotic? I don't really know the difference, but they're both supposed to help you poop. I think.
There is a happy ending there, though. Following this interaction, OLIPOP reached out to Caitlin's teammate, Tyasha Harris, for a collab.
Caitlin Clark is forever making WNBA players money.
The Red Sox absolutely clobbered the Diamondbacks last night, 11-1, at Fenway Park. But before all that, they invited Maria Menounos to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Not the best first pitch I've ever seen. But certainly not the worst. Not even close. The competition for that honor is mighty stuff.
Maria's pitch was a particularly heartwarming one. Not just because she's a Massachusetts gal and New England Sports fan through and through, but also because she's a pancreatic cancer survivor.
Her appearance at Fenway was part of a telethon supporting The Jimmy Fund for cancer research.
Good to see Maria living her best life. Especially after she just came back from a "trip she'll never forget" to Greece.
Not quite the scenic Mediterranean, but close.
An Atlanta Waffle House employee named Edric Riley — but affectionately known as Rockstar Riley — went viral last month after posting a performance of a rap he wrote about his employer.
And, my friends, it's a bop.
Easily the best song about a subpar restaurant since Walker Hayes came out with the Applebee's song back in 2022.
As you can see, Riley was highly complimentary of Waffle House's food and even called it "America's Greatest Diner." On his Instagram, you can even watch the fully produced version where big-butted ladies twerk to the lyrics "I'm tryin' to smother, cover everything."
Which made me chuckle.
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Unfortunately, though, corporate bosses don't have a sense of humor and they really don't like employees in uniform profiting off rap videos filmed without permission in their stores and parking lots.
So after 20 years at the restaurant, he was fired.
Farewell, Rockstar Riley. We hardly knew ye.
As a side note, however, I will be referring to this establishment as "The Waffy" moving forward.
📩 Email: amber.harding@outkick.com (Send your thoughts, stories, tips, rants and photos of your dog.)
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