Confidence Boost
Why Team Europe is wearing cheeseheads, the US Olympic Committee is taking a stand on vaccinations, WNBA playoffs are on, and everyone is watching.
No one exudes confidence like you after reading today's weekend preview.
Look out world,
The Last Night's Game Team
WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association)
The WNBA playoffs have begun with the Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky winning round one of the single-elimination games. The action on the court is must-see, and the viewership numbers prove it. The regular season viewership numbers are up 49% this season over last. The Las Vegas Aces and defending champion Seattle Storm are the favorites to win it all. WATCH THEM SOAR
Overtime
The Summer Olympics just wrapped up, but that doesn't mean we can't start talking about the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Team USA announced that they will only consider vaccinated athletes for the 2022 Games. LINE IN THE SAND
Sideline stat
Typically when the City of Chicago celebrates the Irish, they dye the river green but not this weekend. The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will take on Wisconsin at Soldier Field in Chicago. It's the first time these two teams have played in 57 years, and tickets are sold out, with the average StubHub resale ticket price running at $400. ESPN College GameDay will also be broadcasting live from the stadium on Saturday morning. BE THERE OR BE SQUARE
Coaches' corner
The Ryder Cup (golf) is underway, and Team Europe is deep in enemy territory. Their players are trying to win over the fans in Wisconsin (home of the 2021 Ryder Cup) while defending their title. The fans are expected to be a game-changer for Team USA at this year's tournament. In an attempt to make new friends, the players from the European team showed up wearing cheesehead hats – the unofficial headgear of Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin fans. WORTH A SHOT
The Ryder Cup is a biennial competition between the US and Europe and could be one of the most contentious sporting events around. Check out our five things you need to know to learn a little more about why there's no prize money and who could come to blows over a golf game.
Better Than Advertised
Remembering 9/11, how much would you pay for a ‘sure’ win and the brilliant and strategic reason the Saints-Packers game is being played in Florida.
The NFL season kicked off last night with an Ed Sheeran concert. Oh, and a football game. Sheeran's NFL merch may not have lived up to expectations but the game exceeded them. Here’s to hoping your weekend does the same.
Thinking out loud,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Remembering 9/11
Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In the weeks following 9/11, it seemed like sports was the sense of normalcy so many craved. This weekend, teams across the country will be honoring those who were lost. The NFL (National Football League), MLB (Major League Baseball) and numerous college football teams have added pregame tributes, with some wearing special uniforms.
Select NFL teams are partnering with Tuesday’s Children, an organization that aids “families who have suffered losses due to the events of 9/11, post-9/11 military service or other acts of mass violence and terrorism,” to host and recognize a family during their home game. WE WILL NEVER FORGET
Overtime
The New Orleans Saints (NFL) were forced to move their home opener against the Green Bay Packers due to Hurricane Ida, but how they finally landed on the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium as their home away from home is interesting. First, Aaron Rodgers’ (Packers QB) numbers show he struggles when playing in Florida. Florida also gave the Saints the humidity advantage as their players are used to it. Then out of the three available stadiums in Florida - Miami, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville - they picked the one that would be the most expensive for Packers fans to travel to, so they might still have home field advantage. BRILLIANT
Sideline stat
LSU (Lousiana State) is looking to bounce back after their first game that ended in a disappointing loss. But they’ll have to do it against a familiar foe - the son of LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. Orgeron’s son is the quarterback for LSU’s Saturday opponent, McNeese State. The mismatched game will likely be a blowout, but it’s common practice for college teams to pay opponents from smaller schools for an easy win. In fact, LSU is paying McNeese $600,000 to play them this weekend. NO SUCH THING AS BAD PR
Coaches’ corner
The final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season, the US Open, comes to a close on Sunday. We know that the youth movement of Leylah Fernandez, 19, and Emma Raducanu, 18, will play on Saturday in the all-teenage women’s singles finals. The men’s final will be determined later today, but we may be witnessing history if Novak Djokovic wins in the semifinals today. If he makes it to the finals and wins on Sunday, he will be the first tennis player since Steffi Graff in 1988 to win all four majors in a calendar year. FINISH STRONG
Keep It Simple
The OOTD that you need to see, teeing up tomorrow’s “Match” and the Japanese player who is making all kinds of MLB history.
As you slowly assimilate back to society after what was surely an epic fourth, we’ve covered it all so you don’t even have to think.
Served up on a platter,
The Last Night’s Game Team
The Match
The fourth edition of “The Match,” a golf game that pits golfers and other athletes against each other all in the name of charity, takes place tomorrow in Big Sky, Montana. Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson will compete against Aaron Rodgers and golfer Bryson DeChambeau. Let’s hope Brady wears better pants as he ripped his in the last “Match” and that they have better weather (the last one was played in a downpour). Regardless, the crap talking has already started, it’s for a good cause (The Match II raised $20 million for COVID-19 relief), and it’ll be fun to see. GET YOUR GAME FACE ON
Overtime
The best story you might have missed over the weekend is the story behind Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB - Major League Baseball) pitcher Joe Kelly’s outfit that he wore to the White House. The Dodgers were the first team of the Biden era to visit the White House, and Kelly, whose mother is Mexican-American, wore a mariachi jacket. He acquired the jacket earlier in the week after asking a musician from a mariachi band that played at Dodgers Stadium if he’d trade for a jersey. THE REST IS HISTORY
For more on the tradition of championship teams visiting the White House, click here.
Sideline stat
Is it a holiday if you don’t overindulge? Ask Joey Chestnut, who broke his own record yesterday, eating 76 hot dogs (and buns) in 10 minutes at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. A new champion, Tucson native Michelle Lesco, was crowned after downing 30 and 3/4 hot dogs in 10 minutes on the women's side. FEELING A LITTLE QUEASY
Coaches’ corner
History has been made in the week before the MLB All-Star game. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels became the first player in baseball’s long history to be selected to the all-star game as both a pitcher and a position player. Ohtani, the first Japanese player selected to start the all-star game, will serve as a pitcher and designated hitter. (More on a designated hitter here). BATTER UP
What to watch
The NBA (National Basketball Association) Finals start tomorrow between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Suns have never won a championship, and the Bucks haven’t won since 1971. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lighting are looking for a sweep in the Stanley Cup Finals (NHL - National Hockey League) against the Montreal Canadiens tonight. GAME ON