Making It Happen Monday

It’s Monday and there’s no time like the present to use your newfound sports knowledge to make a connection in conversation.

#GSD,

The Last Night’s Game Team  

---

NBA (National Basketball Association)

Don’t let them count you out. It all came down to game seven for the Indiana Pacers and LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers. King James lived up to his name and led his Cavs to a victory over the Pacers. The Cavs are heading into round two of the playoffs - one step closer to making it back to the finals.  ROUND TWO SCHEDULE

NFL (National Football League)

When you’re making money and dreams come true. The NFL draft fulfilled the lifelong dreams of many football players and dashed the dreams of others. Either way, the draft was a dream come true for the networks because this year’s draft was the highest rated and most viewed draft in history. Forget hopes and dreams, the TV networks are happy and isn’t that really all that matters? BY THE NUMBERS

Overtime

Performance anxiety is real, even for animals. Some of the biggest hype around the NFL draft was Zsa Zsa the parrot, scheduled to deliver the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pick. Well, when the time came the feathered friend succumbed to the pressure and couldn’t make the call. Weird, that’s never happened before. VIDEO

Sideline stat

The most talked about pick from the weekend’s NFL draft is pick #141, Shaquem Griffin. Griffin had his hand amputated as a child but can now say he’s the first player with only one hand to be drafted in the NFL's modern era. Even better? He joins his twin brother Shaquill as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. WATCH THE HEARTWARMING MOMENT

Coaches’ corner

When life gives you a dead catfish, drink beer out of it. That’s what Tennessee Titans’ (NFL) Taylor Lewan did to support his fellow Nashville team in the playoffs. The Nashville Predators (NHL – National Hockey League) ended up beating the Winnipeg Jets in double overtime last night. The team was undoubtedly inspired by this stinky stunt or maybe it was Carrie Underwood’s rendition of the anthem? (Underwood’s husband Mike Fisher came back from retirement this season to regain his spot with the Predators). PROOF OF FISH BEER BONG

Baby One More Time

It’s Friday. Let’s talk.

Short and sweet,

The Last Night’s Game Team

---

NFL (National Football League)

When you accomplish your goal, just to start at the bottom. From walk-on player, to Heisman Trophy winner, to number one pick in last night's NFL draft, former University of Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield has taken a non-traditional path to get to this point. That determination will help as he takes the first step in his professional career – playing for the worst team in football, the Cleveland Browns. The team did not win a game last season so any improvement is a bonus. MORE ON MAYFIELD

F1 Racing (Formula One)

If Britney is your spirit animal. F1 (Formula One) races are more than fast cars on a track, it’s a party. The U.S Grand Prix, the only F1 race in the U.S., announced its big headliners for the post-race concerts. Bruno Mars and Britney Spears will take the stage in October when the international phenomenon of F1 racing arrives in Austin, TX. FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT F1 RACING

Overtime

From the “we can’t make this up” file. We’re knee deep in the NHL (National Hockey League) playoffs and the league has asked the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand to stop licking opposing players. Marchand’s response to reporters who questioned him about the licking of his opponent? “He’s cute.” Speechless. THE DIRTY DETAILS

Sideline stat

The 28th pick of the NFL draft belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers and it was extra special. Ryan Shazier, the Steelers player who suffered a severe spinal injury in a game last year, impressed everyone by walking to the podium to deliver the team’s pick, Terrell Edmunds. Edmunds brother, Tremaine, was drafted earlier in the night to the Buffalo Bills, making them the first brothers ever drafted in the same round at the same draft. THE HEART WARMING MOMENT

Coaches’ corner

When you're a professional golfer, if you don’t play, you don’t get paid. That was a concern for LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) player Stacy Lewis when she found out she was pregnant. Showing their unwavering support, her major sponsor KPMG told her “they wanted to treat her like any other female in their organization that has a baby” and fulfill their sponsorship contract with her no matter how many tournaments she played in. DOING THE RIGHT THING 

What to watch

The best is yet to come. Round one of the NFL draft may have been exciting but the fun isn’t over. What is there to look forward to? "Celebrity” draft pick announcers including a parrot, the football team from Stoneman Douglas High School and the gold medal winning U.S. Men’s Curling Team as well as free pizza for a year for one player. FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DRAFT

5 Things You Need To Know About The NFL Draft

The future of football starts tomorrow and here’s the knowledge you need to talk shop with the best of them.

You're our first round draft pick,

The Last Night’s Game Team

---

Five Things To Know About The NFL (National Football League) Draft

1. How it works – The candidates for the draft primarily consist of college football players hoping to play in the NFL. The first round picks are determined by the teams’ win/loss record from the previous season. The worst team picks first (because it’s presumed they need the most help) and the Super Bowl champions pick last. Any ties in season records are settled by a coin toss. RULES

2. This year’s draft is at the home of the Dallas Cowboys and it is the first time the draft has ever been held in an NFL stadium. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the first round of picks on Thursday and don’t be surprised if he’s booed by Cowboys fans. Last year was a contentious year between the Cowboys organization and Goodell. (For the record, the fans boo Goodell every year – it’s like a fun, family tradition). MORE ABOUT THE COWBOYS CONTROVERSY

3. To keep fans engaged throughout the three days and seven rounds, teams have come up with intriguing ways to announce their draft picks. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are using a live parrot, the Minnesota Vikings will call on the gold medal winning U.S. Men's Curling Team to read their name, the Oakland Raiders will announce their pick from Nellis Air Force Base in their soon to be new home, Las Vegas and members of the Stoneman Douglas football team will make the announcement for the Miami Dolphins. MORE ON THE FANFARE

4. Pizza Hut is the new official pizza sponsor of the NFL and to celebrate the company is giving the 78th pick of the draft free pizza for a year. Why? The 78th pick equals pi therefore why not give them free pizza pies? (Pi is 3.14 and the 78th pick is in the third round, pick 14). Worth noting – the later the pick, the less likely it is that the player will make an NFL team. A superstar exception? Quarterback Tom Brady who was the 199th pick. PICK ME

5. Speaking of picks, the Cleveland Browns have the first pick in the draft. The team has been silent on their choice for the number one spot. So quiet that the general manager of the Browns won’t even tell his coach who he’s picking because he doesn’t want it to leak to the media. FIND OUT WHO MIGHT GO FIRST

Pick me!

There’s more to life than being drafted and today that includes why the NFL could be like the Price Is Right with a $1 offer, another woman breaks through in sports and the player who held a press conference to discuss his dirt bike skills (because why not)? READ

 

 

What to watch

The NFL draft starts Thursday night and runs through Saturday. One player to watch is Shaquem Griffin from Central Florida who only has one hand after having it amputated at an early age. He impressed teams in his tryouts but will he make a team and history? SCHEDULE