Is my Rec Ball team a modern version of the Bad News Bears? — Chucks emails: Just read your rec ball update this morning (congrats on the win) – it made me think you’ve got the perfect storyline for a Bad News Bears-type movie for today’s generation. Scrappy bunch of grounded, blue-collar kids play against a bunch of entitled, phony walk-up music playing travel ball teams, and shows them what’s what. Can’t miss. Kinsey: I like the way you're thinking, Chuck. Where are the modern movies uplifting little boys, especially in sports? Instead, we get things like this. The New York Times announced this week that it will be leading a months-long series on why boys are falling behind girls. "Boys and young men are struggling. Across their lives — in their educational achievement, mental health and transitions to adulthood," the Times reports. Well, I know one reason based on what I'm seeing: Rec ball kids are told that being competitive — "But…but…did you at least have fun? Rec ball is about having FUN" — and desiring victory is toxic. The hell it is. The toxic bullshit is the ridiculous femininity that the suburbanite moms have brought into things like the walk-up music and turning kids into Facebook stars before they step into the batter's box only to find out that their kids can't hit the broad side of a barn. And then the wimpy suburbanite dads just go along with the nonsense so they don't piss off their Girl Power® oversized Stanley-succin wives. My teams are warned very early in their interaction with me that we WILL NOT act like jerkoffs, we will shake hands like men at end of games, we won't be pigs in the dugout, we will laugh, we will celebrate, we will be kids, we will leave it all on the field, and we're there to win a ballgame by giving whatever talent we have in the tank to get the job done. If that's toxic, then I'm guilty as charged. "Boys’ educational achievement, mental health and transitions to adulthood indicate that many are not thriving," the Times wrote in a headline. Shocker. Boys have been told for the last decade that they're toxic scum, including by the NY Times. Now the same boys are being asked why they aren't thriving. That's a bold investigation. Perhaps the Times will look inward, but don't expect such a report. EMAIL: JOE.KINSEY@OUTKICK.COM OR USE MY PERSONAL GMAIL Speaking of my Rec Ball kids I saw Sequoia from last year's team at the ballpark last night and learned that he's not playing baseball this summer due to travel soccer and running track. That one hurt me. As I've written, I haven't been around too many kids as competitive and with the baseball acumen of Sequoia, especially at 12 years old. Would it be crazy to have me bring him in as a special hitting assistant coach at 13 years old? My dugout only has two adults compared to the wannabe travel squad with four coaches. Something for Mrs. Screencaps to look at this Saturday morning — Mike T. shares: Shockingly Hostas grow fantastic here in the high desert! I’m very happy with these two in our entryway Kinsey: That part of Idaho must be well-shaded. Beer and flowers to get your weekend started — Homebrew Bill writes: The beer pictured is my Hoppy Kiwi IPA. No, there is not kiwi fruit in it. But all the hops come from New Zealand, and IYKYK, New Zealand residents are often called Kiwis. Excellent hop combination I'll use again. A dad reports his daughter surprised him with stripes — Greg in Nebraska tells this story: We have been busy with end of the school year events for the last couple of weeks in southeast Nebraska and I didn’t have time to mow last Thursday or Friday. On Saturday, my daughter said she wanted to mow. She has taken care of the backyard for the past couple of years, but she said she wanted to do the front yard too. So I gave her the "keys" to the self-propelled and sat back and watched. I edged for her, and then she let it rip. She did great. On Tuesday, we were coming home and as we pulled into the driveway she says, "Look at those stripes." I just smiled and let her know how happy I was that she was proud of what she had done. Tomorrow is the last day of school here. I don’t know how many times she is going to mow this summer because the summer calendar is as full as the one for school. I am going to be happy knowing she wants to do work well and is proud of what she does. I did some loin pork chops tonight on the Traeger. Good luck again to your team. Are Cincinnati beers overrated? — Jim T., formerly of Dayton, OH, writes: When I was back home in Dayton last summer, me and my childhood buddy Mark swung by Dorothy Lane Market - the one in Centerville on Far Hills with the incredible beer and wine section. Mark's been in Orlando the last 45 years, me in San Diego - so we were on the hunt for Little Kings. While Little Kings were ubiquitous in the 1970s, and I'm glad they have been brought back from the dead, they were oddly difficult to find - most stores didn't carry them, but we figured DLM would. Before we could even get to the coolers, though, we were greeted by a young guy sporting a University of Cincinnati polo working a display table. He asked if we wanted to support college athletics while enjoying a good beer. I said something along the lines of, "You're in Flyers country, pal - a bit far north aren't you?" He persisted, and we ended up buying a 12-pack of Cincy Light for our reunion barbeque. ("Cookout" for all you Southern language police ...) Proceeds help fund the UC Bearcats NIL collective, which I wasn't keen on, but, hey, it was beer. And it was ... okay. While the two 8-packs of Little Kings were gone almost immediately, I'm pretty sure the Cincy Light wasn't even half-finished and we left it with our hosts. The LIttle Kings were as good as I remembered. A cream ale is a mostly forgotten style of brew - it's like a lager, only even smoother. I think people confuse it with with a malt liquor - which is high alcohol content and usually tastes kind of harsh. So far as I know, only Little Kings and Genessee even make a cream ale anymore.But most of the great Cincy beers of yore are gone: Weidemann's, Hudepohl, Schoenling (except the Little Kings), Burger. Christian Moerlein helped kick off the craft brewing craze in the 1980s, and I remember them running the Bavarian beer hall at Kings Island when I was back visiting. Rent a car or drive? — Myron in the UP asks: Picture of some ribs on the smoker. Question for the group: I am attending a graduation in Carson City Nevada in a couple weeks and am debating whether to rent a car to put the miles on or use my own. Wonduring what the concensus amoung your readers is. Also, any recommendations for sites to visit between the UP of Michigan and Nevada? Finally, it has been a few year coming but how about them Tigers. Best year soccer 84!! Thanks as always for great reading material. Kinsey: Myron, I'm a big fan of renting a vehicle when the price point makes sense. ChatGPT backs me up in this one right now. As of April, the "U.S. Consumer Price Index for car and truck rentals decreased by 2.1% compared to the previous year, indicating a modest year-over-year decline." If you're already having thoughts of renting, then lock in the sense of security and rent the vehicle. It's a long drive. The last thing you need is your vehicle breaking down in Wyoming. Drive something from Hertz and make this as easy on yourself as possible. Are you Rock 'n Roll, Vince Neil, or are you washed up? MEAT — Kjell in Houston checks in: Hi Joe - can’t wait to hear about your Cincy adventure! Last night I cooked up a filet mignon with a homemade cognac peppercorn sauce - turned out great! Keep up the great work. ######################### That is it this morning with a garage sale to conduct in the next 30 minutes. Day One was decent. I moved some bigger objects that were never going back into the attic. Now it's the moment of truth. How many bins of clothes will be shipped out over the next eight hours? Hopefully all of them. Let's dig into the weekend. By the way, I will be here tomorrow morning. SeanJo will be on vacation hunting for Big Foot. Seriously. Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com or use my personal Gmail Numbers from : Stuff You Guys Sent In & Stuff I Like