The Ridiculous Day That Is ESPN8: The Ocho - The 5 Things You Need To Know
Why today is arguably the best day in sports.
Life is too short for normal so today the fan favorite, ESPN8: The Ocho is back. The one day takeover features obscure global sports that you won’t want to miss.
What more could one ask for?
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Inspired by the Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn flick “Dodgeball” The Movie,” ESPN8: The Ocho is in its third year. While the past two years have been on August 8 (8/8), this year’s takeover is on August 7 because of preseason NFL (National Football League) football. It’s still the eighth month so guess we’ll let that slide. BOLD STRATEGY, COTTON
2. You knew your life was missing something and it was clearly lawn mower racing. Yes, racing around the track on riding lawn mowers. The mower must have originally been designed and sold commercially to mow lawns but the blades are removed for racing. Another interesting specification is that the mower must remain suitable for lawn cutting, with the exception of certain approved modifications. BURNING RUBBER
3. Since pizza isn’t fun enough, let’s talk pizza acrobatics, another event featured on The Ocho. This cheesy event, which has been around since the 80s, will feature the “LeBron James of pizza acrobatics,” five-time world champ Tony Gemignani. A pizza acrobatics routine features tricks like simultaneously rolling two pizza doughs across your shoulders, is typically 2-3 minutes long and is choreographed to music. NOT KETO FRIENDLY
4. Ever wondered what to do with those pits in the cherry? How about spit them for a world record? The Ocho will air the 46th Annual Cherry Pit Spitting Championship because why not? (Don’t Google it because it’s not airing live and it’ll spoil the surprise). There’s a men’s, women’s, dignitary and youth division. THAT’S A TALENT MADE FOR TAILGATING
5. Other events today include spikeball, axe throwing, chess boxing, arm wrestling, Stupid Robot Fighting League and of course, dodgeball. The day will start and finish with a showing of “Dodgeball: The Movie” because what else are Wednesdays made for? BLOCKING OUT CALENDAR NOW
Wednesday Wisdom
Besides the Ocho, let’s talk about the hottest topics in sports including the grossest photo so far from football season, the athlete’s home that could be yours and a basketball record that’ll have you thinking twice. READ
Hello Old Friend
How a male athlete found out he was pregnant, why the Biebs was enshrined on a baseball card and Tom Brady is going to be around for awhile?
Monday, we meet again.
Fresh start,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NFL (National Football League)
He may be the oldest quarterback and third oldest player in the NFL, but Tom Brady is showing no sign of slowing down. The QB, who turned 42 last week, signed a two-year, $70 million contract extension with the New England Patriots. He may be “old” but the six-time Super Bowl champion has been relatively healthy besides an ACL tear in 2008. FITNESS GOALS
Overtime
Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians (MLB - Major League Baseball) has spent much of his life in the shadow of pop star Justin Bieber. The pitcher made a name for himself, becoming the American League MVP in last month’s all-star game and one of the best in the game. That didn’t stop Topps baseball cards from a misprint on his baseball card, calling him Justin. The baseball playing Bieber thought it was hilarious and according to their Twitter conversation, the other Bieber did too. TOO LATE TO SAY SORRY?
Sideline stat
The NFL regular season kicks off in 31 days but that’s not stopping Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield from continuing the tradition of NFL players chugging beer on the big screen. Hyping up fans at a Cleveland Indians game (MLB), he joined his fellow football players and shotgunned a beer once he was put on the big screen. SURELY IT’S PART OF HIS TRAINING REGIMEN
Coaches’ corner
Well this is awkward. A European basketball player, D.J. Cooper, was suspended by FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball) after his drug test revealed he was pregnant. Cooper is not some freak of nature but used his girlfriend’s urine to pass a drug test. It was likely she had no idea that she was pregnant when he tried to pass her sample for his own. ALL IN THE FAMILY
What to watch
On Wednesday, ESPN2 will yet again transform into ESPN8: The Ocho. The channel, inspired by “Dodgeball: The Movie,” will feature obscure sporting events (think Stupid Robot League and lawn mower racing). We’ll cover the big day in Wednesday’s Five Things To Know but if you want a head start on all the action, check out the special edition of the Sports Curious Podcast. LISTEN UP
5 Of The Best Movie Cameos By Athletes
New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard made a cameo in Sunday’s Game of Thrones and that sparked a debate over athletes whose side hustle is acting. We use the term actor lightly, but nonetheless they were in a movie, which is more than we can say.
Don’t quit your day job,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Five of the best movie cameos by athletes
- Mike Tyson. The song In The Air Tonight will never be the same after the scene with renowned boxer Mike Tyson in The Hangover. Luckily for the wolf pack he didn’t bite anyone’s ear.
- Brett Farve. There was Something about Mary and Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Farve (NFL – National Football League) managed to figure that out and get the girl at the end. Kind of.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Not many on this list had as pivotal of a role as NBA (National Basketball Association) legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980 classic comedy, Airplane. As co-captain Murdock, he spent the movie denying that he was actually a basketball player. And don’t call me Shirley.
- Ronda Rousey. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) champion was the love interest of Turtle in the Entourage movie. Even though she quite literally kicked his butt in the gym, he was still smitten.
- Lance Armstrong. The cyclist gives a game changing motivational speech to Vince Vaughn’s character after quitting the team. Lance Armstrong’s speech in Dodgeball now seems a bit awkward after the doping scandal including, “Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life.” We could think of a few other things he might regret.
Overtime
- Parents and school administrators are cringing this morning after UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, who is one of the best in college football, made a bold statement in an interview. He said, "Look, football and school don't go together. They just don't. Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time jobs." Before you cry, he also said he wants to get his MBA so he can own the world when he's done with football. Life goals.
Sideline stat
- The New England Patriots have outdone themselves. The Super Bowl champions are the first NFL team to purchase a plane for team travel. But wait there’s more. They bought a second plane as well because two planes are always better than one.
Coaches’ corner
- Yesterday, ESPNU transformed to ESPN8: “The Ocho” and it was incredible. “The Ocho” was originally featured in the movie Dodgeball (see above) and this real-life version lived up to expectations. The one-day channel featured seldom seen sports like the World Darts Championship (think boxing match fanfare and tension but with darts) and sports we’ve never heard of like kabaddi, which is a full contact team game of tag that originated in India.
