5 Summer Olympic Storylines To Follow
Kon'nichiwa world.
This week marks one year until the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. They’re already off to a better start than Rio (although that’s probably no surprise to anyone) and there are new athletes and events in the spotlight.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Baseball and softball are on the dance card for the first time in 12 years. A women’s softball game will be the first event of the 2020 Olympics. It’s being held two days before the Opening Ceremony and will be played in Fukushima, the site of the 2011 nuclear plant meltdowns. YOU GLOW GIRL HAS A WHOLE NEW MEANING
2. Karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing will make their Olympic debuts. Hopes are that by adding these sports, more millennials fall in love with the Olympics. That being said, don't count out the “old” guys. There’s talk that 47-year-old surfing icon Kelly Slater might make a run at the inaugural event in Tokyo. NOT YOUR GRANDMA’S GAMES
3. Some of your favorite Americans are expected to return to Tokyo. The U.S. women soccer team is eyeing their first World Cup-Olympic back-to-back championships, Simone Biles will be the veteran on the gymnastics team, the “Flying Tomato” Shaun White could swap a snowboard for a skateboard and the queen of U.S. track, Allyson Felix, is on her journey back after an emergency C-section in November sidelined her. HI OLD FRIEND
4. Sponsors are clearly excited about the games with $3 billion already spent on domestic sponsorships, a record three times more than any other Summer Olympics. Mother Earth is excited too because the medals will all be made out of recycled gadgets, i.e. that old cell phone. SPIRIT FINGERS
5. Two storylines that are sure to be part of the conversation leading up to the games include the rules put into place by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) that limits the ability of certain athletes with high levels of testosterone to compete as women. Enter South African runner Caster Semenya, who claims the IAAF used her as a guinea pig to see how regulating her testosterone levels via medication affected her performance on the track. Then there’s New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard, who could become the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics. Hubbard, who formerly competed as Gavin Hubbard, began transitioning six years ago and has been taking the weightlifting world by storm. THE CENTER OF DISCUSSION
Wednesday Wisdom
Let’s talk shop with the top three biggest stories in sports today including who is getting a little cosmetic work done, why we'll never be able to afford a sports team and proof men drive women to drink? READ
If I Can’t Have You
Who found their lobster, is there a new career on the horizon for a few senators and a Hall of Famer’s commercial that’s so bad you have to watch?
If we can’t get a Sunday reboot, might as well make this Monday worth it.
Let’s do this,
The Last Night’s Game Team
MLB (Major League Baseball)
The newest class of the MLB Hall of Fame was inducted this weekend. The New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera was the first player to receive an unanimous decision to be enshrined, but on his big weekend his awkward Toyota commercial is getting all the buzz. The wife of the late Roy Halladay, who died in a plane crash 2017 at age 40, delivered an emotional induction speech on behalf of the two-time Cy Young winner.
Elsewhere in baseball, Luke Voit of the New York Yankees took a 91-mph fastball to the face but stayed in the game. Later, he scored a run in his team’s rout of the Colorado Rockies. TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM
Overtime
Kevin Harvick won the NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) race in New Hampshire and lucky him, as the winner he received a 22-lb. lobster. His young son promised to kiss the crustacean and was a man of his word. THAT’S A FIRST KISS HE WON’T FORGET
Sideline stat
Age ain’t nothing but a number to boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. On Saturday night, he beat Keith Thurman, who is 10 years his junior in a 12-round fight. A senator in his home country of the Philippines, Pacquiao not only took home a $10 million paycheck for his win but became the fifth oldest champion ever, regardless of weight class. FOR THAT PRICE, MAYBE SOME AMERICAN SENATORS WILL HOP INTO THE RING?
Coaches’ corner
The wind was howling and the weather was terrible at The Open in Ireland but the crowd was behind their countryman, Shane Lowry, as he claimed what some are calling the greatest Irish victory since the tournament began in 1860. NOTHING A LITTLE JAMESON CAN’T WARM UP
What to watch
The NFL (National Football League) season is around the corner with training camp starting this week. It’s essentially the spring training of football. Keep an eye on #1 draft pick, quarterback Kyler Murray in Arizona and wide receiver Antonio Brown at the Oakland Raiders camp. Brown is known for his outlandish arrivals at training camp. Last year it was a helicopter and previous years featured custom painted Rolls Royces.
Worth Celebrating
Who’s part of the Fashionable 50, why one team is over the moon and why is a Tour rider drinking wine in a French vineyard right now?
Congratulations! You’ve made it to Friday.
Go forth and celebrate like it’s 1969,
The Last Night’s Game Team
MLB (Major League Baseball)
The Houston Astros are going all out to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. The Astros will replace their logo on their caps the with the official emblem of Apollo 11, fans will be able to take photos with Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit and the Astros faithful can also pick up an Orbit Moon-Landing bobblehead. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PARTY
Overtime
Move over Swimsuit Edition, there’s a new boss in town. Serena Williams is looking fierce as she graces the cover of Sports Illustrated’s “Fashionable 50.” Other athletes who made the cut include the NBA’s (National Basketball Association) Russell Westbrook and Dwyane Wade, tennis’ Maria Sharapova, driver Lewis Hamilton (F1 - Formula One Racing) and soccer’s Cristiano Ronaldo. THE WORLD IS THEIR RED CARPET
Sideline stat
Manny Pacquiao, 40, went from being one of the best in boxing, to a politician in his home country of the Philippines and will return to the ring to fight Keith Thurman on Saturday. Thurman, who is 10 years younger than Pacquiao, is undefeated but most experts are picking the “old guy” for his experience, speed and technique. LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE
Coaches’ corner
In a strange move, Australian rider Rohan Dennis quit the Tour de France mid-race and then went missing for a few hours. The World time-trial champion finally showed up at the team bus, said his peace and left. Rumor has it he’s tired of playing second fiddle on his team, but no one is saying anything about his abrupt exit. FIND ME AT THE VINEYARDS
Need more Tour? Check out our five things you need to know.
What to watch
The blustery weather of Northern Ireland certainly got the best of former British Open (aka The Open - golf) champ David Duvall. His play yesterday was a comedy of errors that led to "a very unique, awful situation" (his words not ours) as he recorded a score so high that mortals could actually achieve it. (Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and others struggled yesterday too, but not quite as badly).
Channel the chilly conditions while sitting under a fan as you attempt to cool off from this weekend’s heat wave. The Open runs until Sunday. HERE’S HOW TO WATCH