I was on vacation in Chicago this past week, and while I try to stay up to date on current events as much as I can when I'm out, that usually just equates to me watching a ton of college football and forgetting the outside world exists.

Last week was no different, and when I got back home on Monday night and started to shift back into "OutKick mode," I saw the fine dining establishment known as the Cheesecake Factory was trending on social media.

I felt pretty out of the loop, but after seeing people pick a side of the aisle to fall on in the Great Cheesecake Factory Debate as well as rank some of their other favorite sit-down restaurants, I knew it was time to throw my hat in the ring.

BABY BOOMERS CROWN THEIR FAVORITE CASUAL DINING CHAIN AS GEN Z CHOOSES A DIFFERENT WINNER

If there are three things you must know about me, it's that I'm passionate about sports, music and eating at restaurants.

That might come as a shock to anyone who has seen me in person, considering I'm about 160lbs soaking wet and looked like an emaciated child until I was 25 years old, but I am a chain restaurant connoisseur of sorts.

With all the commotion surrounding the Cheesecake Factory, and American eateries as a whole, I thought now would be as good a time as any to share my Mount Rushmore of fast-casual sit-down restaurants.

AMERICA'S FAVORITE FAST-FOOD CHAIN NAMED: MCDONALD'S WINS HEARTS BUT NOT BEST BURGER, SURVEY SAYS

This isn't just some slapped together list either (shout out to "Rolling Stone"), as this topic is something that I'm constantly revisiting and reevaluating.

This Mount Rushmore represents a good mix of four different kinds of food and dining experiences, with different menus, atmospheres, and themes.

With all the preamble out of the way, let's begin.

Olive Garden

We start this list off with a bang, and a somewhat controversial one at that.

I'm not sure why Olive Garden has this reputation as a classless knockoff (my dad calls it the McDonald's of Italian food), but I would never slander a place that offers endless breadsticks and pasta.

The soups are incredible, the variety of pastas is awesome, and the entrées are varied and filling.

BELOVED RESTAURANT CHAIN DWINDLES FROM 850 LOCATIONS TO 87, BUT EXPERT SEES 'A LOT OF LIFE LEFT'

The vibes are immaculate too, giving me a classy place to "sample The Boot."

My go-to choice is the chicken parm (duh), but I've never had a bad meal at Olive Garden and I don't plan on it anytime soon.

Texas Roadhouse

If you're looking for good old American fare at solid prices, look no further than Texas Roadhouse.

Their steaks are some of the best you can get at their price point, and the ability to smother them in sautéed onions and mushrooms is underrated.

Texas Roadhouse isn't just a one-trick pony, though, as their appetizers — the cheese fries in particular — are immaculate, and their chili is some of the best in the biz.

I know what you all are here for, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the bread rolls, which would probably merit placement on this list by themselves.

They really lean into their Texas themes here, too, and if you've ever had a birthday at Roadhouse, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Can I get a "yeehaw?"

Chuy's

Maybe it's just because I lived in Dallas for six years, but TexMex is supremely underrated and should be more of a national delicacy.

Luckily, Chuy's is a national TexMex chain that is worthy of both Lone Star State natives and outsiders alike.

Their signature sauces go with just about any of their entrées, and although I'm not a big drinker, I have to say that their frozen margarita machines are worth the price of admission alone.

Whether you're into spice or just some good old-fashioned, hearty fare from the southwest, Chuy's has you covered.

The biggest selling point, to me though, is the creamy jalapeño ranch dip they give you with your chips and salsa.

Every great sit-down restaurant has a "gimmick," and this one is undeniably delicious.

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!

It's the perfect blend of creamy ranch and spice that will have you filling up on chips before your meal even comes out.

Chili's

For my money, there is no greater fast-casual sit-down establishment in this great country than Chili's.

The menu is insanely diverse. You can get seafood alfredo, steak, southwestern salad and traditional American fare all on a single page.

CHILI'S GOES VIRAL AFTER ROASTING FAST-FOOD PRICES: 'WHY LET THEM PLAY YOU LIKE THIS?'

Their lunch deals are also second to none, with the Three-For-Me and Three-For-$10 being go-to's for yours truly.

There is nothing better than sitting in the Chili's bar on a college football Saturday afternoon, ordering some chips and salsa and an ice-cold Coke and just soaking in the ambience.

My personal favorite has to be the Chipotle Fresh Mex Bowl, but I've been known to get a classic sirloin, the Margarita Grilled Chicken, or even the boneless wings, which are incredible even though I'm normally a traditionalist when it comes to wings.

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I could write an entire book on my love for Chili's, but this has gone on long enough and my mouth is starting to water, so if you'll excuse me, I think I hear a Triple Dipper calling my name.

Whenever your name is mentioned in the same breath as Babe Ruth's, you know you're in rarefied air.

Milwaukee Brewers star Jackson Chourio and the Sultan of Swat are tied for the most hits through the first four games of a World Series with 10 apiece. Ruth accomplished the feat in the 1928 World Series, when the New York Yankees swept the St. Louis Cardinals.

Unfortunately for Chourio, the Brewers were unable to complete the sweep in Game 4 Tuesday night, as the Rays rallied in the 12th inning to win 4-3 at Tropicana Field and force Game 5.

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The 22-year-old has been red-hot, going 10-for-20 in the Fall Classic. In Game 3, Chourio became the youngest player to record four hits in a World Series game since Joe Garagiola accomplished the feat in 1946.

The Brewers’ left fielder is batting .291 with two home runs and nine RBI in 12 postseason games, building on the best regular season of his career. In 127 games this season, Chourio batted .291 with 25 home runs, 75 RBI and 23 stolen bases.

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!

With his stellar postseason performance, Chourio has emerged as a strong World Series MVP candidate alongside catcher William Contreras and reliever Aaron Ashby.

The Brewers will look to bounce back from their extra-inning loss in Game 4 and secure their first World Series championship in franchise history with a Game 5 victory. The Brewers are starting the presumptive National League Cy Young winner in Jacob Misiorwski, but the Rays’ pitching plans are unclear.

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The scheduled Game 5 starter, Nick Martinez, pitched two innings in relief for Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The Rays could turn to Drew Rasmussen, but they may be cautious with his workload because he has undergone three elbow surgeries.

Game 5 is scheduled for 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday on FOX.

Legendary "Inside the NBA" host Ernie Johnson announced Wednesday on X that he will step away from the show after the 2026-27 NBA season.

Johnson, 70, revealed in the video that he has dealt with heart issues and underwent bypass surgery 14 months ago. He said he wants to slow down and spend more time with his wife and five grandchildren.

"I've been hosting 'Inside the NBA’ for a long time. This is my 37th year, and I've long described it as a get-to job. Still amazed that I get to do this for a living. Now, as the years have gone by and I turned 70 this past summer, folks have asked me, 'So, how long are you going to keep doing Inside?' Well, I want to take a couple of minutes of your time to answer that. This will be my last season. Totally my decision. It's just time," Johnson said in his video.

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Johnson clarified that he is not retiring from broadcasting entirely, only from "Inside the NBA." The broadcaster said he recently launched a production company, 32 Bow Ties, and plans to continue working on March Madness coverage and other projects for TNT and CBS .

"So why now? Total honesty here. I've always prided myself on my preparation, the hours I put in every day getting ready for the next show. I've always loved that part of my job, but I've always vowed that if that ever became more of a challenge than it is a joy, then I'll know it's time to step away. And now after 37 seasons, it's time," Johnson said.

He cited his heart issues and his desire to spend time with family as a contributing factor in his decision.

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!

"This isn't a case where my doctor said, ‘You need to stop working.’ It's nothing like that. But here's the deal. Going through that has made me treasure even more every second with my amazing wife of 44 years, Cheryl, and being Poppy to our five grandchildren. So, I just want to slow down a bit, spend more time I'm enjoying that," Johnson said.

He said it has been an honor to work for decades alongside Shaquille O’Neal (who joined the show in 2011), Charles Barkley (2000) and Kenny Smith (1998). Johnson joined "Inside the NBA" in 1990, one year after its creation.

Johnson is not the only "Inside the NBA" personality planning to retire after the 2026-27 season. Barkley announced last month that the season would be his last.

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"I've just started a new production company called 32 Bow Ties, geared toward telling feel-good stories in sports. So, this is by no means the end. It's just a turning of the page. And I'll forever cherish every chapter we have written with inside the NBA," Johnson said.

"And lastly, I just want to say thanks to you. Thanks for your loyalty, for your love, for your support, and on this day for your understanding. We'll see you on TV tonight."

Game 5 of the World Series could very well be the last baseball game for the foreseeable future.

The league's current collective bargaining agreement with the players expires on Dec. 1, and the players and owners appear as far apart as they ever have been.

Assuming there is no deal, the owners are expected to lock out the players, as was the case five years ago which led to the season being delayed by one week.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE

Despite the apparently harsh circumstances at the moment, New York Yankees president Randy Levine is actually "confident" things will all work out.

"It's very, very early... They want to reach an agreement. It's always this way in every labor negotiation I've done. It's always posturing at this point in time, getting your position out," Levine said on "The Craig Carton Show."

"We have until December. I think they're really going to work hard, and I'm very hopeful they'll reach an agreement. I've seen circumstances where it looked harder than even this, and this one looks hard, but at the end of the day, I'm confident everyone wants to get a deal."

"The whole playoffs have been great, the whole season has been great. Baseball is regaining popularity, it's the national pastime, so we gotta work hard to just preserve it," Levine added.

Levine's boss, Hal Steinbrenner, said last week he "support[s]" the owners' proposals — all of which include a cap.

"I've said before — let me put it this way, as a member of the labor policy committee — I helped craft, one of many, the proposals that we have given at the bargaining table. And I support those proposals in their entirety. That's absolutely the case, so that should answer your question," Steinbrenner told reporters.

The Yankees' $336 million payroll was the third-largest in baseball during the 2026 season, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers ($422 million) and New York Mets ($338 million).

FANS DEBATE BREWERS DECISION TO KEEP JACOB MISIOROWSKI IN DUGOUT WITH CHANCE TO WIN FIRST EVER WORLD SERIES

Arguments skew both ways, but a constant has remained in that the highest payrolls continue to go up, while the lowest payrolls remain at a stall. The Marlins' payroll is actually roughly half of what it used to be in 2017, despite a sale of the team and everyone in the league making more money than ever. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have already committed more money in 2030 than 12 teams have this season.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said that owners are simply "listening to our fans" regarding a salary cap and said it "defies human experience... to think that the bottom end of that [payroll] gap has the same opportunity to win the top end." It should be noted, though, that the National League-winning Milwaukee Brewers swept the Dodgers with the 11th-smallest payroll, and they are facing the Tampa Bay Rays, who have the league's third-smallest payroll. They defeated the Cleveland Guardians, who rank 29th in payroll, in the American League Division Series.

Major League Baseball has never had a salary cap.

"Salary cap is the ultimate excuse not to compete. It's the ultimate excuse for an owner to say, 'Gee, I would like to make the team better, but you know I can’t,'" interim MLBPA executive director Bruce Meyer said during the All-Star break. "Salary caps are bad for fans. Salary caps prevent teams from doing the things that they believe are in their interest to make the team better."

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"Every team in baseball can afford to compete, many are choosing not to," Meyer added. "To me, that's the biggest problem right now."

Hello and welcome to another edition of Free Agent! Be careful when you're behind the wheel this week.

College football is great! Surely you want even more of it, right? We'll get into the problems with a 24-team College Football Playoff (CFP), then talk about the NBA's new betting restrictions, and close with thoughts about President Donald Trump's new government golf course plans. And just in case you don't make it to the end, here's a shortcut to our survey on who you're rooting for in the World Series.

But first, many congratulations to "Gary's 1st Entry" on outlasting everyone else in our NFL Survivor group. There's no prize other than this shoutout, so be sure to print out today's newsletter, highlight this paragraph, and frame it in gold. Perhaps Gary can keep going and challenge Primetime Paulie Rothrock's 13-game winning streak from last season.

Locker Room Links

• Both teams in the WNBA Finals left the court for the National Anthem—unclear if this was a protest or just part of the pregame routine. WNBA policy doesn't require teams to be on the court for the anthem, but does require a "dignified posture" if they are.
• "Inside ESPN's tangled ties to the Protect College Sports Act"
  
• Bars around Dodger Stadium used a big bet against the Dodgers on Kalshi to hedge the revenue lost because of the Dodgers' playoff exit.
• American cities that want to host matches for the 2031 Women's World Cup have learned from this summer's hosting experience and are negotiating with FIFA to limit taxpayer obligations.
• In the thick of a playoff race, three Zambian women's soccer players are separated from their National Women's Soccer League teams because they played in Uganda, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a three-week restriction on reentry due to Ebola. (There are zero active Ebola cases in Uganda and Zambia.)
• Elsewhere in Reason: "Be Prepared for Elizabeth Warren's Reign of Economic Error"
• This is the kind of excessively nerdy fantasy football content I live for. (Yahoo remains the best fantasy sports system. ESPN's is trash, relying on name recognition to get by.)
  

  I figured out how ESPN calculates fantasy football win percentage, it's bad!

  ESPN made a stats 101 error when calculating their win percentage which leads to horribly miscalibrated numbers. ( thread) pic.twitter.com/bDypgjelKj

  — Will (@will_j_5) October 18, 2026

Watering Down College Football Is a Mistake

Saturday was one of the best days of college football ever—or perhaps it could have been, if we thought any of the five top-10 teams who took a loss were now certainly out of playoff contention. Instead, Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, Alabama, and Texas are all still very much alive in the championship hunt.

Today was one of the craziest days in college football history:

- First time ever five teams ranked in the top 7 lose in a single week
- First time the No. 1-ranked team loses to an unranked team in consecutive weeks since 1990
- First time Texas, Alabama, and Georgia all lose… pic.twitter.com/psVRoM5s5b

— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) October 18, 2026

With two losses, Alabama and Texas are at least on the edge of the playoff bubble with perhaps no more room for error. But that's only true under this year's CFP format. Next year, the playoff is almost officially set to balloon to 24 teams, making the chaos of a day like Saturday matter even less.

Fans will always celebrate a huge upset or major rivalry win, of course—Tennessee fans don't need playoff stakes as an excuse to get drunk when they beat Alabama. But the joy of a rivalry win in the past was always bigger because of the off-field stakes, too—the first loss for your rival meant they probably wouldn't be national champions, the second meant they'd be out of the Rose Bowl, a third meant you could be proud your team sent them packing for the Alamo Bowl. Winning is great; ruining your rival's season is even better.

With 24 teams in the playoff, the joy is a bit diminished because it will take four or possibly five losses to knock a powerhouse program out of the CFP (Iowa, at 8–4, was ranked 23rd by the committee before last year's playoffs). It'll be a bit like a rivalry win in college basketball—we win, you suck, congrats on getting a slightly worse NCAA Tournament seed.

In the business of sports, more inventory for TV is king, and the powers that be think more teams playing more playoff games will make more money. At Free Agent, we don't begrudge institutions for trying to make more money—we all do the same every day. But it's not clear abandoning conference championship games will be the answer, especially when the Big Ten and SEC championships apparently outdraw many playoff games.

ESPN and the power conferences know fans aren't happy about it—just look at all the chatter online, and how the crowd at BYU reacted when College GameDay discussed expansion on Saturday (especially when BYU would probably benefit from expansion!). They're betting enough people will watch to make the expansion profitable anyway. The last hope is that fans get loud enough to bully them into abandoning expansion—which only occasionally works, sometimes on things small (putting the trophy logo on the court for the NBA Finals) and large (soccer's European Super League). If any powerhouse considers going independent, that might shock leaders into a rethink too.

Almost every sport I know is adding more: more teams, bigger playoffs, more for TV. As fans, we still eat it up, of course—much to the excitement of the TV executives who are selling commercial time to the people trying to reach us, the viewing public. (The only counterexample is the MLB proposal to cut eight games from the regular season—I'd love to see each sport I follow cut its season by about 25 percent to make regular season games matter more, so I'm interested to see how this goes.)

Perhaps I'm biased because my favorite team, Michigan State, is a dumpster fire—they could expand the playoff to 64 teams and the Spartans still wouldn't deserve a bid. I personally don't have a whole lot at stake in the playoff format now or anytime soon. But as a neutral, the chaos of Saturday might have been viewed with my full attention in the past—instead, this year I just had it on in the background while I played video games.

Sports Are Regulating Bets Without Politicians, Part 3

After last year's major betting scandal, the NBA asked sportsbooks late last week to stop offering certain types of potentially problematic bets. The sportsbooks, which the NBA says handle roughly 99 percent of the U.S. betting market, agreed. No politician or regulation was necessary to solve the problem.

No longer can bettors bet on unders for a bit player who likely won't get more than 12 minutes of playtime. Bettors also can't wager on the opening tip or on players to miss specific shots. Parlays that string together under bets on the same player's statistics are also out (this one seems a bit harsh—if you just want to bet on a certain major player to have an off night, you can bet on stats separately, but not in a big multiplier parlay). Bets on players who have two-way contracts between the NBA and G League were already banned.

This all comes on the heels of similar developments last year in the NFL and MLB. While some people want to ban prop bets altogether, the NFL asked sportsbooks to eliminate bets in four different categories. Sportsbooks largely agreed or weren't offering those bets anyway. MLB, in light of some pitching-related scandals, asked for a $200 limit on pitch-specific bets and to keep them out of parlays—sportsbooks agreed to that too.

As I wrote last year, "Ideally, this is how the regulation of the sports betting industry should go….These approaches are catching the nuances of what works for both the leagues and for sportsbooks without the heavy-handed approaches of politicians who would use an axe to ban all prop bets instead of a scalpel to limit problematic bets."

It's important to note leagues are able to do this because they have commercial partnerships with the sportsbooks. Otherwise, the leagues would have no direct leverage over a sportsbook offering a bet the league doesn't like. Keep that in mind the next time you see people bemoaning a league partnership with a sportsbook or a prediction market.

Trump's Golf Course Plans Have People Teed Off

President Donald Trump has new plans for the National Park Service golf course at East Potomac—again. Last time new plans were announced, the site plan still had its historic miniature golf course, a par-3 course, and the existing road still ringing the property for bicycling, running, etc. Much of the public didn't like that plan anyway—now, none of that remains in the latest plans, just 18 holes of golf and a driving range.

Trump announces plans for the redeveloped East Potomac Park golf course. pic.twitter.com/ZiGYgc99Uo

— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) October 18, 2026

What's really going on here seems quite clear to me: Like so many other things going on in the second Trump administration, this is a scheme to enrich the Trump family. The plan?

Step 1: Cancel a lease that was signed during the first Trump administration with a nonprofit group operating the golf course and working, in the long term, on major capital improvements and renovations.

Step 2: Use taxpayer dollars to pay for renovation of the course into, allegedly, a championship-level course capable of hosting major golf tournaments (no matter that the area has next to zero parking, is a mile from the nearest Metro station, and only accessible by narrow roads not meant to handle tens of thousands of spectators). 

Step 3: Have the federal government sign a sweetheart deal with, who else, the golf division of the Trump Organization to operate the course on extremely favorable and profitable terms.

If you're wondering why the Trump administration is doing something, corruption is usually a good guess.

The arguments for the course don't make much sense. There are plenty of adequate, competitively priced golf courses in the broader Washington, D.C., area. Several of them are already capable of hosting professional golf tournaments. Between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, there were three tournaments at three different courses in the last couple years. The 2030 PGA Championship and 2037 Ryder Cup will happen just over the D.C. line in Bethesda, Maryland.

East Potomac is not the nicest course around, no thanks to the legal limbo it's been in for the past year. But if the National Park Service is going to, for some reason, be in the business of running a golf course, it should be a course that emphasizes and teaches its history instead of the pipe dream of a corrupt madman.

Who Ya Got? 2026 World Series Edition

For the first time in 46 years, we've got a World Series contested by two teams that have never won it before. Brewers against Rays is also a rare instance of the top seeds from each league outlasting the randomness of the MLB playoffs to make the World Series. And before you trot out the tired line that "TV executives must be seething about the small market teams" remember that they care much more about getting a playoff series that goes seven games with close results in each game (What did I say above? Inventory rules all!).

In any case, I want to know who you're rooting for. At first glance, neither team seems super objectionable to me. Come back next week for my thoughts. But make sure you sound off and take 10 seconds to respond to our World Series poll here.

Replay of the Week

Kick-six alert! (Honorable mention to the blocked extra point returned for two the other way.)

"A kick-six type opportunity."

Chris Lewis was all over this one on the CBS Sports Network call of Nevada-North Dakota State. pic.twitter.com/eRt42xcYIt

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 18, 2026

That's all for this week. Enjoy watching the real game of the weekend: MSU men's hockey (No. 2 in the nation!) against New Hampshire.

The post Fans Don't Want a 24-Team College Football Playoff. The NCAA Thinks You'll Watch Anyway. appeared first on Reason Magazine.