ESPN is about to make a tragic mistake, college football team hangs with cheerleaders & MLB's Abby Labar!

'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.

Over the hump and safely into a big Thursday — which, during the fall, is basically the start of the weekend.

Congrats, you made it! Football tonight. Playoff baseball this afternoon AND tonight. More football tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that!

Who has it better than us right now? We're halfway through October, which is a bummer. That just means we need to appreciate this time even more.

And we will.

Let's roll.

Welcome to a Thursday Nightcaps — the one where ESPN is about to make one of the dumbest decisions it has made in years, which is saying something given its recent history.

BREAKING UP TROY AIKMAN AND JOE BUCK WOULD BE A BIG MISTAKE FOR ESPN | BOBBY BURACK

What else? I've got Western Kentucky players partying with Sam Houston State cheerleaders after destroying the Bearkats last night, Dodgers fans are getting DRAGGED through the mud today, and MLB Network's Abby Labar checks in on this third Thursday of October.

OK, grab you a headset and head on up to the ESPN booth because you could be next in line on Monday nights, and settle in for a Thursday 'Cap!

I hate to start with a competitor today, but ESPN has left me no choice.

Obviously, the big story in the sports media world today is the ongoing riff between Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. It started to percolate a few days ago when a report said the two had an argument before Monday night's game in LA, and it all stems from the fact the Buck recently signed a contract extension with ESPN.

Troy — Joe's longtime partner in the booth — has not.

Some threw cold water on the report, which came from Front Office Sports.

Some. Not Troy.

Take a listen:

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"Theres probably a time and a place for all that. I dont know if now is the time," Aikman said when asked about it this morning. "I dont know if its hard to figure out kind of what happened. Ill broadcast through this season and Ill be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens.

"Im looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold and the Super Bowl and all that and where my next landing spot may be."

Lordy. Couple things ...

There's also this little video that's making the rounds in the wake of the reported argument. It was taken by a fan before Monday's game in LA, and shows Buck and his wife appearing to have some sort of ... disagreement? ... on the field during warm-ups:

Could be nothing, but ... it could also be something.

My take? I'd be stunned if ESPN let Aikman go. Stunned. These two were a package deal when they joined ESPN a few years ago, and, by all accounts (ratings!), it's been one of the very few successes at the company in the last decade.

As for potent