The Rundown: A Winning Combination
It’s Friday and National Junk Food day – a stellar duo if we do say so ourselves. Now if only Last Night’s Game delivered coffee alongside your morning read.
Now that’s a winning combination,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Tour de France
- A force to be reckoned with. The Tour's defending champion Chris Froome is hanging onto the overall lead in this grueling race. With three stages left, the race ends Sunday, he appears to have his fourth title in five years all but locked up. Ever wonder how taxing the race is on a rider's body? Check out this photo. Eww.
PGA (Professional Golfers' Association)
- Swinging in the rain. It’s day two of The Open in England. (The Open – also known as The British Open - is the third of four Major tournaments in golf). The tournament is currently being led by three Americans who will have to brave the Irish Sea’s elements to win.
College Football
- Just plain wrong. After six questionable seasons at Ole Miss, head football coach Hugh Freeze has resigned. A U.S.A. Today investigation revealed that the coach’s phone records featured a plethora of calls on a school-issued phone to a number associated with an escort service. The university promptly escorted him out.
Overtime
- Sports Illustrated released its list of the Fashionable 50 in sports. The NBA (National Basketball Association) MVP, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, also claimed the title of fashion MVP for his eccentric dressing. Tom Brady, Misty Copeland and Serena Williams are a few of the other athletes at the top of the list.
Speaking of fashion, check out our Five Things You Never Knew About Baseball Uniforms to impress the best this weekend.
Sideline stat
- The Houston Rockets (NBA) are for sale. Leslie Alexander bought the team in 1993 for $85 million. Forbes estimates the team’s value at $1.65 billion, the eighth most valuable NBA franchise. Shall we all pool our money?
Coaches’ corner
- There was no way to avoid the coverage of yesterday’s parole hearing for OJ Simpson . (Spoiler alert: he was granted parole). What you may not have heard is that he’ll be walking out of prison with some cash in his pocket. His NFL (National Football League) pension, which is protected by state law, has reached close to $600,000 during his stint in prison. Here’s how the math works.
The Rundown: Fashion-Forward
It’s the weekend to wear white in honor of the Wimbledon finals. Just make sure you plan your undergarments accordingly to avoid a situation like a few Wimbledon players.
Sports are always in fashion,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Wimbledon
- Fashion faux pas. As we mentioned in this week’s Five Things To Know, players at Wimbledon are required to wear all white, skivvies included. In an awkward dress code enforcement situation, a men’s double team was forced to change their underwear before a match.
- One for the books. Venus Williams has advanced to the Wimbledon finals on Saturday where she will take on Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza. Williams will be playing for her sixth Wimbledon championship. If Williams wins, the 37-year-old will be the oldest woman to win in the Open era.
- Reaching for the stars. Roger Federer and Sam Querrey are both playing in the semifinals this morning (in different matches). Querrey is the first American to advance this far in the tournament since 2009. On the other hand, if Federer makes it to the finals on Sunday, he will play for his record eighth Wimbledon title.
College Football
A fearless pioneer. Kansas State football player Scott Frantz has come out as gay. Franz decided to speak out because wanted to "reach out to all the other kids who are just like me." He came out to his teammates and coaches last year and said “I’ve never felt so loved and so accepted ever in my life than when I did that.”
While it’s hard to believe this is news in 2017, there has still never been an openly gay player to play in a regular season NFL (National Football League) game.
Overtime
- Things have gotten a little out of hand at the press tour stops for the Floyd Mayweather (boxing) vs. Conor McGregor (UFC – Ultimate Fighting Championship) fight in August. Yesterday, while fans taunted Mayweather about paying his taxes (he owes a reported $22 million), McGregor took it too far using racial slurs and other degrading language.
Sideline stat
- Forbes released its annual list of most valuable sports franchises. The Dallas Cowboys (NFL) tackle first place, worth $4.2 billion. The New York Yankees (MLB - Major League Baseball) are in second at $3.7 billion. They are followed by international soccer powerhouses Manchester United ($3.69 billion) and FC Barcelona ($3.64 billion). How much is your favorite team worth? Find out.
Coaches’ corner
- What is the ‘Open era’ in tennis? The Open era is when the four Grand Slam tournaments opened up to professional players, not only amateurs, in 1968. Players who travel tournaments and claim prize money are considered professionals.
