The Rundown: Rise And Shine
This weekend in sports brought us face-plants and firsts. Here’s to hoping your weekend was the latter.
Happy Monday,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Tennis
- Très bon. Two winners were crowned this weekend in the French Open but they couldn’t be more different. Unseeded Jelena Ostapenko won her first grand slam. With her win she became the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933 and the first Latvian player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
On the men’s side Rafael Nadal secured his 10th French Open title. It’s the first time any player has reached 10 titles at one Grand Slam event. (A Grand Slam is one of the four major tournaments in a tennis season).
NHL (National Hockey League)
- We are the champions. The Nashville Predators brought their A game with Faith Hill singing the national anthem before game six of the NHL Finals, but even the country music legend couldn’t save the Predators. The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Predators last night to win the Stanley Cup. This is the second straight Stanley Cup win for the Penguins.
NBA (National Basketball Association)
- Golden ticket. On Friday night the home crowd and Cleveland Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving led the team to a win to keep their hopes alive in the NBA Finals. This was the first loss for the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs but we’re sure the Warriors ownership doesn’t mind the series shifting back to their home court tonight because courtside seats are going for $41,000.
Overtime
- This weekend “The Freeze” became a viral sensation. The Freeze is a member of the Atlanta Braves’ (MLB - Major League Baseball) ground crew who races fans in between innings in a getup complete with swim goggles. The former college track star had a fan eating his dust quite literally. See the video.
Sideline stat
- Forbes released its annual list of “The World’s Highest Paid Athletes” and yes it’s as depressing as you thought. Rounding out the top four spots with combined salary/winnings and endorsements are:
- Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer) - $93 million
- LeBron James (basketball) – $86.2 million
- Lionel Messi (soccer) - $80 million
- Roger Federer (tennis) - $64 million
Guess we should’ve tried harder in our youth soccer league. Here's the entire list.
Coaches’ corner
- Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) race at Pocono yesterday. It’s the first win for Blaney, a third-generation racer. He won in an unprecedented fashion, without a radio to communicate with his team thanks to a malfunction.