There's A First Time For Everything
The Final Four is set, Ron Burgundy takes the field and a dino disaster.
The first Monday of the month is an ideal time to drum up a conversation.
Starting off on the right foot,
The Last Night’s Game Team
College Basketball
The Final Four teams in the NCAA College Basketball March Madness tournament are set. Both Auburn and Texas Tech are heading to their first Final Four in school history. The head coach of Virginia is making his first trip to the Final Four and Michigan State, well…welcome back. The games will take place on Saturday. YOU’LL NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST
Overtime
San Diego is the home of the Padres (MLB – Major League Baseball) and of course, Ron Burgundy. The Padres paid tribute to the Channel 4 news team from the movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy in their new mascot race. Yes, the large headed versions of Ron Burgundy, Champ Kind, Brian Fantana and Brick Tamland raced around the track with Mr, Burgundy taking home the win in the inaugural race. SIXTY PERCENT OF THE TIME, IT WORKS EVERY TIME
Sideline stat
Olympian Michael Phelps and his wife, Nicole, announced they're expecting their third child. Baby No. 3 will join siblings Boomer, 2 and Beckett, 1. MAKE YOUR OWN SWIM TEAM
Coaches’ corner
A dinosaur throwing out the first pitch at a Texas Rangers (MLB) game went exactly as you’d imagine. Short arms aren’t exactly ideal for throwing a strike across the plate either, although a dino can dream. THAT’S EMBARRASSING
Making It Happen
This is no early April Fool’s prank; here’s what’s happening in sports so you can create conversation all weekend long.
This is no early April Fool’s prank; here’s what’s happening in sports so you can create conversation all weekend long.
Like a boss,
The Last Night’s Game Team
MLB (Major League Baseball)
If your Thursday was a home run. By all accounts, Opening Day in baseball was a success. It started with a home run on the first pitch of the season and ended with a visit from Jennifer Lopez in the broadcast booth, where her former baseball player boyfriend, Alex Rodriguez, was broadcasting the Los Angeles Dodgers – San Francisco Giants game.
College Basketball
If your mama taught you to respect your elders. The final four is Saturday night and it features Villanova (#1) vs. Kansas (#1) and Loyola Chicago (#11) vs. Michigan (#3). The teams may have met their match but so has Sister Jean. The 98-year-old nun and chaplain for Loyola has been challenged by Michigan’s “Fab Five” legend and former NBA (National Basketball Association) player Jalen Rose’s grandma. The 100-year-old Grandma Rose loves her some Michigan basketball and told Sister that “it’s been fun but Loyola’s time is up.” A little shade thrown from her elders.
Overtime
The Los Angeles Rams (NFL – National Football League) have made a lot of noise in the offseason with on-field acquisitions but this one made history. The Rams hosted cheerleading tryouts this week and their new squad will feature the first two male cheerleaders ever in the NFL. You’ll see Quinton and Napoleon, both professional dancers, on the sideline this the fall. (Other teams have stuntmen, but not actual male cheerleaders/dancers).
Sideline stat
The NCAA (governing body of college sports) allocates $3,000 - $4,000 for players’ families to attend the final four and the national championship game. The money is for travel costs, hotel rooms and meals. The funds allow Kansas player Udoka Azubuike’s mom to see her son play for the first time. Her visa was approved for travel from Nigeria. Also on Kansas, Svi Mykhailiuk, whose parents travelled from the Ukraine to see him play on Saturday. MORE
Coaches’ corner
Zeke Upshaw of the Detroit Pistons G League developmental league collapsed on the court on Saturday and later died. Last night, the Detroit Pistons honored Upshaw posthumously with an honorary call-up. Being called up means he’ll officially be memorialized in the record books as a player for the Detroit Pistons.
What to watch
March Madness continues tonight with the final four in the women’s bracket. Unlike the men’s bracket, all final four teams started off the tournament ranked #1 in their division – UConn, Notre Dame, Louisville and Mississippi State.
The Rundown: Caffeine-Fueled
We know it was hard to get out of bed this Monday morning but the world of sports is your oyster. Now go wow that cute stranger in line for coffee by telling them you know what happened in Last Night’s Game.
Caffeine-fueled and ready to take on the world,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament
- Carried away. Last night we learned which teams are the final four teams in the tournament. The nation saw North Carolina beat Kentucky on a last second shot. Although in Cleveland, OH the local CBS affiliate cut away from the game right before the game winning shot for a tornado warning. This means life or death, of someone’s bracket. Tornados can wait.
- The odd squad. It’s an unlikely Final Four to say the least. Why?
- Gonzaga Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks - the two teams have never played in the Final Four.
- Oregon Ducks - they haven’t played in the Final Four since 1939.
- North Carolina Tarheels - they're making their 20th Final Four appearance.
- How you doin’? Kudos to “bjarv” who is in the lead in the Last Night’s Game Bracket Challenge. Although “Clueless Newbie” and “Not a Jock” are hot on their tail. It all comes down to next weekend and the championship game a week from today.
F1 Racing (Formula One)
- Crikey. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel emerged victorious down under in Melbourne to start the F1 season. This is the first time Team Ferrari has won the opening race since 2012.
Overtime
- Good guys alert in the NBA (National Basketball Association). Earlier this month, Golden State Warriors fan, Isaiah and his mom had tickets to the Warriors game but were victims of ticket fraud and weren’t able to attend. The Warriors heard about the disappointment and flew the 6-year-old and his mom to Memphis, TN to sit courtside at the Warriors-Grizzlies game. They also arranged a meet and greet with players including Isiah's hero Stephen Curry.
Sideline stat
- While the college players had the spotlight, a second-year player for the Phoenix Suns had a night for the record books. Devin Booker, 20, scored 70 points on Friday night, becoming just the sixth player in NBA history to do so. Sadly, his team still lost despite his valiant effort.
Coaches’ Corner
- Basketball isn’t the only sport to produce a Final Four. College hockey also has a March Madness-style tournament and they’re down to the “Frozen Four,” the four teams remaining in the quest for the national championship. Notre Dame, Denver, Harvard and Minnesota Duluth will compete next week in Chicago for the freezing-cold title. The other teams will have to “let it go.”