ESPN host survives the cuts and then crushes a body-shaming troll, Nick Saban gets mouthy & SEC vs Big Ten

'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.

Penultimate Friday of July, and the final weekend of the month on tap.

Who has it better than us right now? Nobody. We are ROLLING to close the month. The momentum is there, and it's growing.

ESPN cleaned house this week. Nancy Armour is getting absolutely dragged across the internet. Sophie Cunningham is fighting back. Football practices are underway.

I mean, goodness gracious. What a blessing. What a country. What a time to be alive.

Let's roll.

Welcome to a Friday Nightcaps — the one where ESPN's SEC host Alyssa Lang puts an internet troll in his place after a dominant week at SEC Media Days.

What else? I've got a couple big anniversaries to celebrate today, Nick Saban is back on my TV and it's been wonderful, and Nick Bosa tweeted for the first time in four years specifically to celebrate Ryan Clark's firing.

Amazing.

Grab you a Busch Light like a true patriot, and settle in for a Friday 'Cap!

It's a Friday. We're gonna keep it light and loose around here. I didn't get to mow the lawn yesterday, so I'm also gonna keep it short because the afternoon thunderstorms are right around the corner and I can't afford to let this jungle go another day.

Before we start, the price of beer at sporting events is truly absurd. Ryan is spot-on with his above analysis saying that Busch Light costs nearly $16 at Wrigley Field.

Frankly, I'm more impressed that Wrigley serves Busch Light. I respect them for that. Didn't think a place like Chicago had that in them. Well done.

That being said, here's your one-month warning that NASCAR returns to Daytona at the end of August and the Busch Light costs $9 in the infield. They also serve it on draft, for those interested (all of you).

God, I love this state. Still pricey, but that's the best you're gonna get at a sporting event in 2026 (non-Augusta).

They also label all of their "domestic drafts" as "American drafts" at Daytona, for those who needed even more of a reason to come on down for the Firecracker 400.

What a track. What a sport.

OK, that's your Ted Talk for the day. Let's get this class started with ESPN's Alyssa Lang not only surviving this week's roster cuts, but then putting a body-shaming internet troll in his place over on Elon's X.

"Just a little off season pudge she’s gonna have to lose if she wants to keep her job."

"Those are actually called abs, in case you haven’t seen your own recently."

Lordy. What a takedown. Alyssa spent the summer traversing Europe, and now she's back in midseason form ready to roll. Been a brutal week at ESPN (all self-inflicted, by the way), but this is the way forward. Alyssa Lang, Tim Tebow, Finebaum, and some SEC football.

All is right with the world. Good to have college football back (sort of). Let's get through these next few weeks and get this season rolling.

Can't wait.

Speaking of college football, Nick Saban returned to our airwaves this week and wasted no time giving Bristol producers a panic attack by letting it rip on live TV with new UF coach Jon Sumrall:

"I’m a Florida resident now, down there amongst the Gators… and I want you to know I’m kind of a semi-Gator. So if you don’t get your s–t together, I’m gonna be in the middle of it."

As one of OutKick's resident Florida fans — along with Austin Perry — Nick is right, by the way. There won't be a ton of patience for Jon Sumrall. Believe me. The Gators have STUNK for years now, and it's been unacceptable.

We don't want to hear about NIL deals and transfers and "trust the process." They need to win — or at least show they can score a freaking touchdown — pretty quickly.

"Two Bits! Four Bits! Six Bits! A Dollar! All for the Gators, stand up and holler!"

OK, let's stick with Saban and rapid-fire this Friday class into a big Friday afternoon of laying down stripes on the yard.

Where do we stand on this comment?

Here's what I know ...

The OutKick audience is overwhelmingly pro-SEC. I know this, because I see the reader emails every day after Ian Miller writes another article dumping on the SEC.

PS: Ian's a good dude, I promise!

I'm also pro-SEC. Duh. I've lived in it my whole life. I agree with Saban when he says the national champion shouldn't automatically define the best conference. Miami very well could have won last year and we all know the ACC ain't good.

But, it's also not the best time for Saban to make this argument given the Big Ten has had the upper hand in recent years. The SEC also went 4-10 in bowl games last season. Not great (at all).

The argument is valid. The timing is ... poor.

Thoughts? Lemme know!

Next? The lefties most-feared NFL player, Nick Bosa, hopped BACK on Twitter with an original tweet for the first time since 2022, and it was a direct shot at Ryan Clark:

Amazing. For those wondering, yes — Nick Bosa hates Ryan Clark. This isn't confirmed, but I'd imagine it stems from when Clark went on his awful podcast and cried because Bosa wore a MAGA hat during an NBC postgame interview:

"When you say Make America Great ... Again ... what was so great about it before? What part of America are you trying to get to?"

Goodness. What a loser. Frankly, it's stunning it took ESPN this long to cut ties. Good riddance, Rhino!

OK, that's it for today — and this week. I leave you all with two very special anniversaries on the way out.

First? This week marks six years since we started the insufferable COVID baseball season with Dr. Fauci throwing, easily, the worst first pitch in the history of baseball.

Second? TODAY is the 26-year anniversary of Varitek and A-Rod throwing hands in arguably the most consequential baseball fight of all time.

I remember watching it live like it was yesterday. We were on vacation at our old cabin in North Carolina. I was mesmerized. It's when I truly became a Red Sox fan.

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Simpler times. Better times.

See y'all Monday.

Thoughts on Saban? Email me at [email protected].