Listen, I'm well aware that the last three Nightcaps columns have featured Livvy Dunne as the cover photo. But it was either her or a bagel slathered in cream cheese, so we're all just going to have to deal with it.
You'll understand that here in a minute.
Meanwhile, I have other things to worry about. Like the fact that my dog, Rocky, is getting a root canal on Thursday. Yes, dog root canals are a thing.
See, before we rescued him in March, he did something to damage a couple of his teeth. If I had to guess — knowing what a ball of angst he is when left alone — he probably tried to chew his way out of his kennel at the shelter. So now he has a broken front canine and another back tooth that needs extraction.
We could just extract the broken front canine, too, but I'd rather save it if we can. So that's what the doggy dentist will attempt to do with this root canal on Thursday. My dad told me to ask if they can give him a gold-tooth grill while we're at it. I will not as that, though.
But, of course, all of this will cost a zillion dollars. Thankfully, Nationwide is on my side. So if you don't already have pet insurance, this is your sign to get it.
Anyway, enough blabbering about my own problems. Let's get to some Nightcaps.
Fresh off her 50-yard-line bathtub photo shoot, Livvy Dunne is spilling her guts on the very real challenges of being a hot blonde, very rich celebrity dating a multi-millionaire professional athlete.
Yes, Livvy, we're all praying for you.
In a recent interview with Page Six, the former LSU gymnast explained that — when it comes to the struggles of dating a pro athlete while also being in the public eye — she draws inspiration from Taylor Swift. (In case you just emerged from a two-year slumber under a very large rock, Taylor is dating Travis Kelce.)
"[Taylor] has her boyfriend that’s a professional athlete and my boyfriend is a professional athlete as well," Livvy said. "And she has her own success and I have my own success, so I try to look at her perspective on things and how she handles criticism, how she navigates."
Livvy continued gushing over Taylor: "I admire her in so many different ways. Her work ethic, how much she cares about what she puts out there and how the meaning behind everything is very admirable." She also called Swift a "trailblazer" and "savvy business woman."
But here's where she loses me…
Last week, Livvy posted part of Taylor's mega viral appearance on the New Heights podcast where the popstar joked, "I think we all know that if there’s one thing that male sports fans want to see in their spaces and on their screens — it’s more of me."
I found this to be very funny. And so did Livvy. Except Livvy took it upon herself to discuss her own plight as the poor, unfairly criticized girlfriend of a professional athlete. (Although she did admit Taylor is more famous than she is.)
"I think that she takes the heat a lot worse than I do, because, I mean, the bigger you are, the more people you have trying to tear you down," Livvy said. "It just really resonated with me. It’s a unique position to be in. And I think for some people, women in sports is uncomfortable for some reason."
OK. Hold the phone.
Livvy, be so for real: not one single man has ever complained about there being too much of YOU on their screens.
Livvy is beloved by male sports fans. She’s one of the most-followed and most NIL-funded college athletes ever because she leaned into marketing herself as a sex symbol for men.
Taylor Swift, on the other hand, markets almost entirely to women and girls. Her appeal is about storytelling, emotional vulnerability and female empowerment. Sure, Taylor is beautiful, but she’s not selling herself as a fantasy to men.
And that’s why when NFL broadcasts cut to her in the luxury box, a lot of male fans groan — not because she’s on their screen, but because her presence is viewed as a "girly" intrusion into "their" sport. Their reaction to Livvy's naked bathtub sportsbook promo (which will undoubtedly be featured prominently during commercial breaks this fall) is not even remotely the same.
And just to be clear (before some of y'all find your way to my email inbox to tell me what an insufferable feminist I am), I'm not hating on Livvy. If I were 22, looked like her and had her platform, I'd wear a bikini for a million dollars, too.
So I'm not saying either Taylor or Livvy are doing anything wrong. I'm just saying they've both found different ways to make money. Good for them.
But Livvy trying to equate her experience to Taylor’s is a stretch — I'd even go so far as to call it self-serving. She’s never gotten real backlash from men in the same way Taylor has, because she’s carefully cultivated a brand that pleases men. Taylor hasn’t.
If Sydney Sweeney started dating an NFL player and the TV broadcast panned to her with her bazongas out sitting in the suite, do you think men on Twitter would be up in arms about it?
…I rest my case.
My husband loves food YouTube channels.
Not in the same way that Randy Marsh loves food TV shows on South Park, just so we're clear.
But he loves watching Brennen Taylor review crazy restaurants, and he gets lots of dinner ideas from Sam the Cooking Guy. (My husband is the chef in our family. I do the dishes and clean up after him. This system works for us.)
Anyway, I try not to watch these cooking shows too much because they make me hungry. I'll be dead set on eating my chicken and vegetables and hitting the gym… until some YouTuber whips up a double-decker waffle breakfast sandwiche, and then my health and willpower are out the window.
But I would watch more content from food influencers if exciting stuff like this happened:
That's NinaUnrated and Patrick Blackwood, who create food content for social media. And, no, that video is not AI. While they were beginning to taste a spread of food at a local restaurant in Houston, Texas, an SUV crashed through the window and nearly ran them over.
Both Patrick and Nina escaped with just a few cuts and bruises, and, honestly, they should be thanking their lucky stars.
Their day sucked almost as much as this guy's did:
That is truly one of the great philosophical questions of our time.
A woman has gone viral on TikTok after she held up two halves of her bagel from Bella’s Bagels in Seaside Park, New Jersey. In the middle of the bagel is a thick slab of cream cheese, very much unschmeared. It looks like an employee just cut a block of Philadelphia in half and called it a day.
Now, listen, I think the real problem here is that that bagel looks like trash. It's not even toasted. Just cold bread with a slab of cream cheese. And I thought our friends in New York and New Jersey were supposed to be, like, the best at bagel-ing?
But you know what? I'm not sure why that woman is complaining about this café giving her about $12 worth of cream cheese. In fact, I will tolerate no cream cheese slander of any kind because cream cheese is delicious. It is on my Mount Rushmore of tasty soft white cheeses, along with goat, feta and ricotta.
I mean, sure, you probably shouldn't eat all of that in one sitting. But in the Year of Our Lord 2025, when shrinkflation runs rampant, I see no reason why we should be getting outraged over a restaurant giving you too much of anything.
Just scrape off what you don't want and save it in your fridge for tomorrow's bagel.
Let's open the mailbag.
Last week, I explained how my German Shepherd ate (not just killed — ATE) a rabbit in our backyard and how horrified I was to find him with a furry leg sticking out of his mouth while he stood over a pile of bunny intestines. He was fine, by the way, and very proud of himself.
Ella Writes: I heard dog toys have squeakers because they mimic the high-pitched cries of prey. It triggers their natural hunting instincts. RIP rabbit.
Amber:
I'm selfishly very grateful I didn't have to watch the rabbit die. But I will never look at Rocky's squeaky football the same way again.
My former home had a big backyard that had several mature oak trees and thus tons of acorns every year. This made it squirrel central. My German Shepherd would go outside with me when I gardened and would intently watch the squirrels. Occasionally chase but never come close to catching.
One afternoon, he was eyeballing a couple of squirrels chasing each other way up in the canopy. Jumping limb to limb and tree to tree until a limb broke. The 30-foot fall didn’t kill the squirrel, just stunned him enough so my shepherd could. Like you, I was a little worried about what my dog could contract. Turns out, no issues. However, the Thanksgiving turkey carcass he got hold of later that year is another story.
After hearing about the rabbit kill (congratulations), I wanted to share an old story.
I grew up with an awesome dog. I got her when we were both 3. We had 6 acres with woods, creeks and cornfields to explore. It was paradise for a nearly 100-pound black lab and young kids to play.
My dad was always active in the community, and when we got a new pastor at church, he invited him out for a cookout. This family moved to our rural area from an apartment in Chicago. As soon as the family exited the car, the 3 kids were terrified of this large dog that smelled like she climbed out of the creek and rolled on a cow pie. They kept an eye on that hairy beast during the entire meal on the deck.
After dinner the adults sat on the deck talking while all the kids played in the yard. At some point, Charlie had decided to go for a walk in the woods. As the sun was going down and the visit was coming to an end, Charlie emerged from the woods with a large rabbit in her mouth. She laid down and began eating her kill, as she had done many times.
Once the other kids realized what she was doing, they freaked out and thought they were next. I think the parents were a little unsettled as well. The kids made their way to the car and locked the doors. As the adults exchanged pleasantries and thank yous, Charlie decided to join everyone on the driveway. Apparently, she had eaten too fast and puked up what was a pregnant female, as some of the babies were still intact.
I don’t think that family ever came back and probably never got a dog. I was in 7th grade when she died. It was one of two times I saw my dad shed a tear.
Amber:
I would have SCREAMED when the dog vomited the live baby bunnies. (And then made my husband clean it up.) What a plot twist.
I wanted to share a tip after reading the Jimmy T. story about being attacked by off-leash dogs. After my own experience of being attacked while walking my dogs, I started carrying a stun baton. It has quickly stopped a couple of dog attacks and would also work on wildlife, including bears (according to reviews).
I've also noticed that people take more care controlling their dogs when they see what I'm carrying. Stun batons are available to order from Lowe's and my local Ace Hardware also carries them.
Always enjoy your writing and especially stories about Rocky. Dogs are absolutely the best. My bernadoodle, Ollie, goes nuts over squirrels and them invading his back yard. Then I remembered that from a dog’s perspective…
This is Ollie before he decided to give up on his hockey career and just chase tennis balls…uh…squirrels.
And please "bear" with me as I repeat and oldie but a goodie…
A park ranger is explaining to a group of tourists that when you’re hiking in the backcountry, wearing bells on your clothing alerts bears to your presence and helps avoid confrontations. Likewise, carrying a can of pepper spray can help ward off a bear, if one were to still attack.
The ranger also explains that learning to tell the difference between the poop of a black bear and the poop of brown bear (aka- grizzly bear) can also be beneficial to hikers. Black bear poop tends to have lots of berries in it, for instance.
"But what about the grizzly poop?" the tourists ask.
"You will know grizzly poop," says the ranger, "because it smells like pepper and lots of little bells in it."
OutKick Nightcaps is a daily column set to run Monday through Friday at 4 p.m.
Follow me on X / Twitter at @TheAmberHarding or email me at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.
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