1 hour ago
Penultimate Hump Day of July AND we person NFL teams reporting for training campy today? How fortunate are we?
It's each coming together, folks. I tin smell it. We're grinding correct now, but it's adjacent to paying off. August originates adjacent week. This Saturday marks nan five-week countdown to our first college shot game of nan year.
Five weeks. I've sewage cartons of beverage successful nan fridge older than that. Who has it amended than us, boys and girls? Nobody.
Let's roll.
Welcome to a Hump Day Nightcaps — nan 1 wherever Olivia Dunne tells nan Cleveland Indians (yep) to footwear rocks while Paul Skenes stuffs them successful a locker.
Paul Skenes poses for a photograph pinch Olivia Dunne during nan reddish carpet photoshoot astatine Loews Philadelphia successful Philadelphia, Pa., connected Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
What else? I've sewage plentifulness of fallout from ESPN's ... unsmooth ... week, Gia Duddy checks in, and Charlie Woods is sounding much and much for illustration his daddy connected nan course.
That's a bully thing, by nan way. Always a bully point to beryllium for illustration Tiger on the course. Not truthful overmuch disconnected of it.
Grab you a ceramic wall to tally done aft you perceive this reside from John Harbaugh, and settee successful for a Hump Day 'Cap!
Olivia Dunne stands by her man
Lordy, John. What was that? To beryllium fair, Harbaugh hasn't really had to do an introductory reside successful 2 decades, truthful he's understandably rusty.
But goodness ... springiness maine something. Anything. Let's get these fellas fired up, coach! Football is back. That's nan worst point I had to beryllium done today, and I had an hr Zoom telephone connected "content creation."
Oh well. Harbaugh and nan Giants will beryllium a communicative each year. Can't hold to spot that squad connected nan field.
But first, let's caput retired to nan gem pinch Olivia Dunne and nan Pittsburgh Pirates, and get this telephone started.
For those who weren't locked successful connected this week's thrilling Pirates-Guardians game, Paul Skenes dominated complete 7 innings, giving up 1 tally and striking retired 8 successful a 7-1 win.
Some mediocre intern who runs Cleveland's relationship jumped nan weapon erstwhile nan crippled was tied 1-1, calling retired Livvy pinch a slick small caption.
Our woman made judge to occurrence back:
This Pat McAfee communicative is silly
"Game was Dunne astatine 7-1 Pirates."
Don't travel astatine MLB's First Lady and miss, Indians! Paul Skenes, by nan way, appears to person his swagger back. After a rocky commencement to nan summer, he's fixed up conscionable 5 runs complete his past 3 starts (3-0) and stuck retired 19.
The "Paul Skenes has mislaid his stuff" communicative appears to person been greatly exaggerated. Weird really those things happen, right?
Livvy Dunne attends nan Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Launch Party astatine nan Hard Rock Times Square successful New York, N.Y., connected May 14, 2026. (Variety via Getty Images)
Speaking of narratives ... let's talk astir this Pat McAfee delirium that's starting to percolate successful nan aftermath of ESPN's summertime housecleaning.
For those who missed it (don't cognize really that's imaginable if you publication OutKick/Fox News), nan World Wide (Woke) Leader laid disconnected (fired) dozens of labor yesterday.
Ryan Clark was fto spell during NFL Live. Cam Newton was canned. Tom Pelissero was cut. It was a gutting.
Pat McAfee, meanwhile, is reportedly earning adjacent to $30 cardinal and successful talks to double that net beautiful soon.
JJ Watt joined nan "progrum" yesterday and ... addressed nan elephant successful nan room:
Charlie, Karl & Gia, ohio my!
"Slow, slow news time complete location connected nan ESPN airwaves, huh?" Watt said to statesman nan interview. "I mean, too nan truth that you’re getting $100 million… Did they support anybody? Or is everybody fired to salary you? I’m trying to fig that out."
This communicative that ESPN fired each these guys to pay McAfee is truthful stupid. The communicative that Pat McAfee's net is yet what sewage Ryan Clark fired is moreover dumber.
Here's nan bottommost line: ESPN views Pat McAfee arsenic an asset. The web has put him everyplace since nan 2 collaborated up a fewer years back. Everywhere. Not conscionable football, either.
He was conscionable astatine nan Home Run Derby past week! An event, by nan way, that wasn't on ESPN for nan first clip successful 3 decades.
American sports expert Pat McAfee looks connected during nan 2026 Home Run Derby astatine Citizens Bank Park successful Philadelphia, Pa., connected July 13, 2026. (Getty Images)
Pat McAfee didn't costs Ryan Clark his job. Ryan Clark mislaid his occupation because he brought thing to nan array for ESPN, beyond an (increasingly) occasional headache because he said thing stupid.
ESPN chose to trim ties pinch a liability, and put much money into an asset. That's not a caller aliases caller concept.
It's really businesses person been tally for years.
OK, let's rapid-fire this Hump Day people into a large Hump Day night. First up? You cognize who ESPN perfectly should NOT person fired?
Karl Ravech.
Remember nan aged days astatine ESPN? The glory days of shot erstwhile they had Ravech, Peter Gammons and Harold Reynolds connected set? Mix successful immoderate John Kruk and Steve Phillips, and boy, was it an absolute party.
Now? ESPN doesn't attraction astir baseball. They've decided to put each their eggs successful nan NBA basket, and proceed to region themselves from baseball. The firing of Karl Ravech — who'd been location for 33 (!!!) years — was disgusting.
But not surprising.
Next? You cognize what other is disgusting? This small infinitesimal from Charlie Woods' information earlier this week:
Taking a image during someone's backswing — a kid's backswing — during a play tourney is conscionable nan worst. God, these group are insufferable.
Personally, I deliberation each play people successful America should adopt Augusta's nary cellphone policy. I'm serious. It's, easily, nan champion norm successful sports.
PS: How astir nan absolute disgust retired from Charlie aft that robust disconnected nan tee? Reminds maine of this awesome Tiger infinitesimal from backmost successful nan day:
Man, I miss nan Big Cat connected nan course. We had it truthful good.
OK, that's it for today. Good work, everyone. In grant of NFL camps officially opening today, here's infamous NFL Draft WAG Gia Duddy begging summertime to instrumentality astir conscionable a fewer weeks longer.
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See you tomorrow.
Is McAfee to blasted for Ryan Clark's firing? Email maine astatine [email protected].
Zach Dean is simply a writer for OutKick.
