NFL Returns: Nightcaps Covers Season Kickoff, Rams Travel and More

Nightcaps brings you the biggest sports, news and culture stories you might have missed while pretending to work at your desk. The show runs Monday through Friday on OutKick.com. To the WNBA, NBA, NHL, MLB and FIFA fans, rest easy because your watch has now ended. The KING is back as the NFL season arrives. Is it a little weird to kick off the new year on a Wednesday? Sure. No argument there. But will we care at 8:20 tonight when AJ Brown gives us our first anytime touchdown cash of the betting season? Nope. We simply will not. Welcome back, NFL. Goodness, we have missed you so much. And welcome to a Hump Day Nightcaps where Sophie Cunningham enjoys a day on the boat before taking in some opening night football action from Seattle. What else do we have? I have a 49ers wife saying goodbye to summer before her husband kicks things off in Australia. There is also a rundown of the Rams' INSANE travel schedule this week. If the SEC were to expel LSU from the conference, who would YOU pick as a replacement? It will never happen right yet but it remains a thinker. In this class we like to challenge ourselves. Grab some grilled chicken for National Grilled Chicken Day or throw it out and fry some WINGS like a man. Then settle in for a Hump Day 'Cap! Sophie Cunningham enjoys some R&R while Team USA plays in Berlin. Look, I love the NFL. It is No. 1 for me followed by college football and MLB. So I will never complain about a Wednesday night kickoff. That being said it is odd that schedule-makers decided this was the best matchup possible. Did they watch the Super Bowl earlier this year? It stunk. It was never, ever close. Why on earth did they think we would want to follow it up with the exact same matchup? The Vrabel stuff from the offseason was a juicy storyline in March but that has faded away for now. You could argue AJ Brown makes it more interesting but other than that it is pretty much the same teams minus Ken Walker. Oh well. It is just a nitpick I know. I am just happy football is back. I am also happy Sophie Cunningham gets some nice rest while the WNBA takes a month off for the FIBA World Cup over in Germany. She deserves it. Who is excited for some NFL betting? That is how you spend the finals day or days of summer with one last boat trip before leaves start to fall and WNBA playoffs kick into gear. Sophie gets it. I know the girls are overseas right now playing in the world cup but I would rather be here in the U-S-of-A on a boat. Point to Sophie Cunningham! The FIBA championship game is this Sunday at 2 p.m. That is the FIRST NFL Sunday of the year right at peak hours for RedZone. They do not even stand a chance back here in the states. OK let us move along because I have to fire up the Hard Rock app and see if I can get this NFL betting season started with a bang. Or you know I guess I could try using Novig for all my sports betting needs this season. Goodness gracious I saw that ad making rounds over on Elon's Twitter this morning and thought it was AI. Seriously I know Sydney Sweeney does not shy away from anything but even I thought there was no way that was real. It is real and it is a TALKER. The campaign was about embracing a fun idea according to Variety. The concept is simple cut through the noise and put focus entirely on sports. The campaign brings that idea to life with confidence humor and a playful edge. Yep the focus of that ad is certainly all on sports! No argument here Sydney. Let us rapid-fire this Hump Day class into a big NFL night. First up we have Pats-Seahawks tonight but did you know we have another game tomorrow? Rams-49ers in Melbourne.

It is on Netflix, which sounds ridiculous yet defines our reality now. Technically, the action takes place on Friday because Australia sits a billion hours ahead of us.

The Niners departed for this matchup last week. The Rams? They left YESTERDAY: "The Rams will spend more than 30 hours on an airplane, travel over 15,000 miles, cross 7 time zones, and play a football game, yet technically be back in Los Angeles less than 72 hours after leaving."

That is insane. Australia sits 14 hours ahead of us, meaning tomorrow night's contest will actually occur on Friday at 10:35 a.m. in Melbourne. The Rams might settle for a cup of coffee before strapping in and hitting the field. Nobody knows if it will work, but I am excited to see if it does!

Next? What probably will not work is kicking LSU out of the SEC. I just do not see it happening. The SEC has a big meeting this week about it, but come on. Let us be real for a second. That ain't happening. If it DID happen though, who would you want to replace the Tigers?

First off... "hobo on a ham sandwich" and "I've got rocks in my driveway that are smarter than that" are two absolute bangers from John Kennedy. There is nobody better at their craft right now. He is the GOAT. Secondly, I think I would pick Miami, Va. Tech, FSU, or my wild card, Tulane. That is right.

Tulane! Do not forget, Tulane was a founding member of the SEC and competed in the conference until 1966. The Green Wave have three SEC titles to their name. They are already in Louisiana, so you stay in the state. They were also in the playoffs last year! Not ridiculous, right? ... Right?!

OK, that is it for today. Good Hump Day, everyone. Welcome back, NFL. And welcome back to 49ers LB Fred Warner's wife, Sydney! She is celebrating the return of football from a beach in Hawaii as the offseason officially closes. See you tomorrow. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Who would you pick to replace LSU? Let me know! [email protected].