‘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.
Wow, the Dolphins are really bad.
We’re not talking the usual levels of Miami Dolphins bad. We’re talking about 1–15 bad, à la 2007. Except it’ll be 1-16 now. If they’re lucky to squeak out that one W at all.
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But you know what? I’m at peace with it.
As a lifelong Dolphins fan, I’m accustomed to sadness, disappointment and misery. That’s because every year when Week 1 rolls around — despite knowing better — I delude myself into thinking “this season will be better!”
I’m like Amy Klobuchar wearing the same dumb shirt and the same goofy grin.
This year, I have no such delusions. Every week, I fully understand the team will s—- itself worse than that HYROX chick. Only this time, instead of a quarterback who gets concussed every other week, we have one who runs fast and wears rhinestone cleats.
Ah, the serenity of low expectations. I’m as carefree as Bo Nix.
So with that, let’s get to our Tuesday Nightcaps — featuring Trinity Rodman, Ella Langley and Aryna Sabalenka.
And there will be nothing about Sydney Sweeney, Holly Rowe or Arch Manning. Because I’m tired of hearing about all of them.
Let’s roll.
The mob tries to cancel Ella Langley over hunting photos
Some people really don’t like Ella Langley.
I’ve heard a multitude of reasons for this: She cut a song with Morgan Wallen. She followed Charlie Kirk on TikTok. She got some lip filler. She’s allegedly MAGA.
The real reason is probably because “Choosin’ Texas” has spent a bazillion weeks at No. 1, and a good chunk of our population just likes to hate on people who are successful.
Ella Langley performs onstage at the Billboard Women in Music 2026 held at the Hollywood Palladium on April 29, 2026, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Rich Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
But now, the miserable souls of the interweb have found a new reason to smear the good name of Ella Langley — she’s a hunter!
Some folks with too much time on their hands dug up some old photos of Ella showing off bucks she harvested in her home state of Alabama.
I love how that second post said she’d been “caught” hunting animals. As if Ella didn’t pose for that photo and post it on her own social media account.
Damn, you really busted her!
Let’s see what the comments are saying.
Very sane people over there on the Twitter machine.
As the founding mother of OutKick OutDoors, I’m obviously pro (legal and humane) hunting and fishing. And I won’t bore you with all the reasons why hunting — particularly whitetail deer hunting — is crucial for conservation, preventing the spread of disease, and funding for the protection of wildlife and their habitats. I encourage you to do your own research if you’re interested in learning more.
JORDAN DAVIS FACES FAN BACKLASH OVER HAWAII AXIS DEER HUNT DESPITE STRONG CONSERVATION BACKING
I also have no problem with people who choose not to hunt or choose not to eat meat. That’s absolutely your prerogative.
But I guarantee at least 99% of the people screeching at Ella right now have no problem stopping by the Taco Bell drive-thru or picking up a pack of chicken at the grocery store. But harvesting your own fresh venison apparently makes you evil.
Spare me the outrage, losers.
Trinity Rodman is a world-class soccer player for the USWNT. But she’s also a tennis WAG.
So while her boyfriend, Ben Shelton, competed in the US Open the past couple of weeks, Trinity was in the stands supporting him.
Trinity Rodman celebrates the victory of boyfriend Ben Shelton of USA during day four of the 2026 US Open, a Grand Slam tennis tournament held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sept. 2, 2026, in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, N.Y. (Jean Catuffe/GC Images)
Unfortunately for Trinity (and America), Shelton lost to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the men’s final. That’s after she played a soccer game in Washington, D.C. on the same day and then rushed 200 miles to NYC to catch the end of the match.
When he won, Zverev gave Trinity a shoutout.
“Trinity, I thought you have a game today,” Zverev joked. “Well done to you as well. You’re the lucky charm … not today, but usually.”
The crowd laughed. Trinity laughed. Ben laughed.
And then Iman Shumpert wanted to see Ben defend his lady’s honor.
“I ain’t gonna lie, Ben, get up in there, you gotta say something. I ain’t gonna lie, he just shot…” Shumpert said. “You need a rematch. Yeah, you gotta treat it like boxing. Hey, Ben, go get your get back, buddy.”
Zverev might have stolen the Grand Slam title. But I don’t think she’s stealing Shelton’s girl. She seems pretty into him.
Let’s open the mailbag.
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No one cares about women’s basketball
…at least according to Keith H.
Keith writes: No one watches Women’s basketball and no one cares about whatever “tournament” is going on. The only things more boring are Women’s hockey, Women’s soccer, and watching paint dry.
Amber:
Folks, Keith cares so little about women’s basketball that he clicked on a story about the USA women’s basketball team’s semifinal game against Spain. Then, he found the writer (me) and typed out an email about how much he doesn’t care. On a Saturday night. While college football was on.
Going to such lengths suggests to me that Keith actually cares a lot about women’s basketball.
Listen, folks, the reason we cover so much WNBA is because our women’s basketball coverage consistently performs spectacularly well in metrics like page views, search and engagement. If it didn’t, we wouldn’t spend so much time and energy writing about it. All of our show hosts wouldn’t be talking about it. And we certainly wouldn’t send a reporter all the way to Europe to cover it.
We give the people what they want. And even the “hate reads” count as page views, baby.
More love for Upstate New York
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about making my first trip to the St. Lawrence River in Upstate New York. But it certainly won’t be my last.
Brian S. writes: It’s not a very manly phrase, I realize, but I was tickled pink reading your reaction to the St. Lawrence River. I was born – 1969 – and raised in Upstate New York. The River and 1,000 Islands have been a destination for my family since the 40’s. We grew up trailer camping in the state parks there, before renting cottages once we outgrew the camper, and eventually my folks purchased a summer home in Cape Vincent, a short drive from Clayton, where you were.
My now adult children looked forward to every summer stay, even though the drive from New Jersey is about 5-1/2 hours. Whenever I bring friends to the area for the first time, they all have the same reaction as you had. We may have even crossed paths last weekend, as my wife and I were there visiting for a few days, and we even checked out the Bassmasters tourney.
I’m glad you were able to experience the beauty of the region, and hope you’re able to visit again in the future.
Amber:
Every summer, my husband and I like to retreat to Lake Superior, and the St. Lawrence area area reminded me a lot of the Northwoods.
There’s just something so serene about the small towns around the Great Lakes. Everything’s just slower there — in the best way possible.
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Who cares what Aryna Sabalenka is wearing?
Lucia writes: May I ask why the uproar over Sabalenka’s choice of tennis attire, but I hear nothing about Osaka’s abysmal fashion choices. First, let’s ask why she needs an entrance ‘outfit’? They definitely say ‘look at me’, but I don’t see them as making much of a statement about her tennis skills. Secondly, Osaka’s court wear yesterday could have very easily been made out of the Hefty Bags you referenced in your article. With that said, I’m not a fan of Sabalenka’s attire either. Nike should be embarrassed they put their ‘swoosh’ on the fishnet. While she may have a contractual obligation, she and her management should have put their respective foot down.
Lastly, I don’t understand why the urge to make a ‘fashion’ statement has become a thing. Used to be the serve, the smash, the volley said it all.
Aryna Sabalenka greets Jessica Pegula at the net after winning their women’s singles semifinal at the 2026 U.S. Open on Sept. 10 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, New York. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Amber:
To be fair, I have seen plenty of people poke fun at Osaka’s wild get-ups.
I think the entrance outfit and the non-traditional kits are just part of tennis culture right now. It’s like NFL and NBA players playing dress-up just to walk from their cars into the stadium on game day.
Sabalenka’s mesh kit wasn’t my favorite, either. But it got us talking. And that was probably Nike’s goal.
One more thing: ‘South Park’ is back tomorrow
My fellow “South Park” super fans will likely agree that last season was the worst one yet.
No, not because they made fun of Trump. They made fun of Trump for five whole seasons when they had an orange-faced Mr. Garrison acting as President of the United States.
The difference is that those seasons were original, funny and clever. This past season was none of those things.
It was just Trump having a “butt baby” with Satan and the same “small d—” joke over and over and over. We get it. Even my liberal friends were like, “Can we please go back to the actual characters of ‘South Park?'”
But, naturally, Hollywood loved it. So Trey Parker and Matt Stone were awarded their first Emmy.
Well, “South Park” is back tomorrow. Except they’re calling it “South America” to make fun of Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario.
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And you know what? Cool. That’s the kind of satire they should be doing. And judging by the trailer, it’s actually going to be about the boys this time.
So, fingers crossed, this season won’t just be another giant turd sandwich.
You sold out and got your Emmy, Matt and Trey. Now please go back to being funny.