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
5 Things To Know About Game 7 Of The World Series
When the Pointer Sisters sang “I’m So Excited” we don’t think they were referencing game 7 of the World Series, but who cares because tonight’s game will be one of the most exciting sporting events you’ll ever see.
When the Pointer Sisters sang “I’m So Excited” we don’t think they were referencing game 7 of the World Series, but who cares because tonight’s game will be one of the most exciting sporting events you’ll ever see.
Waiting for tonight,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Five Things To Know About Game 7 Of The World Series
How’d we get here? This record-breaking MLB (Major League Baseball) World Series has been back and forth the entire time. The Houston Astros had a chance to win it all last night but the Los Angeles Dodgers prevailed, winning in front of their home crowd. Tonight’s game is at Dodger Stadium. SCHEDULE
1. We haven’t always seen November baseball. When the 9/11 terror attacks delayed the baseball season by a week in 2001, that delay pushed the series into November for the first time ever.
2. TMobile is stepping up to the plate for hurricane relief. They have pledged $20,000 per World Series home run and $2 per #HR4HR tweet. The tweets along with the record breaking amount of home runs have racked up over $1 million for the relief efforts. It's not often you can make a difference while sitting on the couch watching TV.
3. We don’t love to throw stats at you but yet another reason that tonight’s game isn’t the norm. There have only been 38 World Series game 7’s in the last 105 years of baseball.
4. Dodger Stadium is vintage according to stadium standards. The stadium, built in 1962, has never hosted a World Series game 7. No doubt the stars will be out tonight to cheer on their team. See who was there last night. PICS
5. Tonight’s starter for the Dodgers, Yu Darvish, will become the first Japanese-born pitcher to start game 7 of the World Series. Earlier this week, Darvish was the target of racist comments from an Astros player. READ MORE.
Keep it coming
Dive into the conversation with three more things to talk about including free tacos and hot dogs (yes, free), who has the best chance to win in tonight’s game and is the NYC Marathon still on for this weekend? READ MORE
Scary Good
No need to waste your time scouring the internet to determine what happened this weekend in sports, we have it all right here. Put that time toward something good, like finding a last-minute Halloween costume for tomorrow night.
No need to waste your time scouring the internet to determine what happened this weekend because we have it all right here. Put that time toward something useful, like finding a last-minute Halloween costume for tomorrow night.
Trick or treat,
The Last Night’s Game Team
MLB (Major League Baseball)
Super Series. Last night’s World Series game saw a record setting number of home runs, more than a dozen different pitchers and a handful of lead changes, all in a five-plus hour game. The second longest game in World Series history ended with the Houston Astros on top. The teams will now head to Dodger Stadium for game six tomorrow. If the Astros win that game, they’ll be World Champions.
College Football
Celebrations ensue. There were two huge upsets in college football this weekend that you should know about. The first, Ohio State (#6) came from behind to beat an undefeated Penn State (#2). The second, Cinderella story Iowa State beat a previously undefeated TCU (Texas Christian University - #4) team. RESULTS
NFL (National Football League)
Remain defeated. The two winless NFL teams, the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns, lost again. Better luck next week. WEEKEND SCORES
Overtime
At only 32 years old, driver Lewis Hamilton has won his fourth F1 (Formula One) championship. Hamilton now claims the title of most accomplished British driver ever. Pretty impressive even if he does drive on the other side of the road.
Sideline stat
Five games. That's how many games Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel will be suspended next season for making a racist gesture toward a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher. After hitting a home run off of him, Gurriel made a slanted eye gesture toward Japanese-Iranian pitcher Yu Darvish. Darvish accepted Gurriel's apology and said that everyone "should learn from this instead of focusing on anger."
Coaches’ corner
Just in time for a good Halloween statistical scare, the first official college football playoff rankings will be released tomorrow. These rankings will give teams a good idea where they stand as it relates to the playoffs, although there is plenty of football left to be played.