The Rundown: Ninja Style

Is your weekend full of happy hours, charity events and birthday parties? Break the ice with anyone by perusing today’s Rundown over your morning cup of coffee.  

Small talk ninja,

The Last Night’s Game Team  

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PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association)

• Slippery when wet. The competition at The Masters took a hit as the favorite Dustin Johnson (#1) withdrew from the tournament just before teeing off, citing a back injury from falling down the stairs in his Augusta rental house. Word is he was wearing socks on wood floors. Everyone who’s seen Risky Business knows that’s a slippery slope.
• A tea and lemonade toast to you. This was the first time since 1954 that Arnold Palmer was not present at Augusta. (He passed away in September). Golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial first shot in front of a huge crowd with tears in their eyes and Palmer’s green jacket draped over an empty chair.
• What they’re saying. The terrible weather is the talk of the town with high winds and rain taking a toll. What else is everyone talking about? Find out in our five things to know about The Masters.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

• The need for speed. Who doesn’t love American Ninja Warrior? Nothing like parading the physical specimens of the nation across our TV while we eat ice cream. Three NASCAR drivers are going to take their chances on the Warrior’s obstacle course this summer. To see which drivers and when, click here.

Overtime

• The college hockey “Frozen Four” was yesterday in Chicago. In the two semifinal games, Harvard and Notre Dame lost as did Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Tickets were in such high demand that the Mayor of Chicago struggled to get extra tickets. Minnesota-Duluth takes on Denver tomorrow for the national championship.

Sideline stat

• Amazon won the rights to stream NFL (National Football League) Thursday night football games on their platform. (The games will also be simulcast on NBC or CBS). Reports suggest the deal is worth up to $50 million. Last season’s games were streamed on Twitter, which was reportedly a $10 million deal.

Coaches’ corner

• On Thursday, former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow made his minor league debut for the New York Mets (MLB – Major League Baseball) Single-A affiliate, the Columbus Fireflies. Tebow hit a home run in his first at bat.

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

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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.”

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - That's All Folks

So not much has happened since we last chatted. Some basketball and football. Oh and a little game that everyone and their mother watched…game seven of the World Series. If you’ve been living under a rock without social media, then we have the spoiler alert on what happened.

 They’re still partying in the streets,

The Last Night’s Game Team  

PS – We don’t know about you but our favorite party food involves anything where a tortilla chip substitutes for a spoon. For today’s Tailgate Treat, check out this great recipe for seven-layer dip.

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MLB (Major League Baseball)

• Finally! The Chicago Cubs did what only six teams had done before and overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series. The Cubs finally broke the curse of the goat by defeating the Cleveland Indians in game seven and they even had to do it in extra innings. The game was a tense one. It was tied at the end of the regular nine innings and mother nature took over with 17-minute weather delay around midnight EST.  The Cubs came out and scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning to win.  
• First timer. Chicago’s Ben Zobrist became the first ever member of the Chicago Cubs to win the title of World Series MVP. (* - the award wasn’t created until 1955). Zobrist knocked in the game winning run in the top of the 10th inning.
• Retail therapy. With a short 108-year gap between championships, Cubs fans are streaming in to buy World Series Champions gear.  Sales on MLB’s website are expected to top $70 million in sales in the first 24 hours (the most ever). More gear was sold in 15 hours after the Cubs’ victory than the league's best month of sales for all teams combined. 

NCAA Football (College)

• They’re greeeat! College GameDay heads to Baton Rouge, LA for match-up between SEC (Southeastern Conference) powerhouses. Alabama Crimson Tide (#1) takes on LSU Tigers (Louisiana State University - #13). Alabama is undefeated and LSU is 3-0 since firing their head coach and promoting an interim coach. Will LSU channel their inner Tony the Tiger to topple the leader? 

NCAA Soccer (College)

• Not cool. Harvard University abruptly ended their men’s soccer season after they discovered the men’s team had crafted a “sexually explicit” report on the women’s soccer team. That’ll land you on Santa’s naughty list and in some serious hot water.  

Overtime

• A Cleveland sports fan thought he’d be a trendsetter with his body art, so before game seven of the World Series he added a “Cleveland Indians 2016 Champs” tattoo. He tweeted a photo of it with the caption “Some call it bold, but I call it faith in Kluber @Indians #rolltribe.” (Kluber was the Indians starting pitcher). You see the only problem is that the Indians lost game seven. We hope he has faith in the guy doing laser tattoo removal.  

Sideline stat

• Wednesday night’s World Series game was the highest rated baseball game in the last 25 years - over 40 million people watched the game on FOX.

Coaches’ corner

• Now that the Cubs’ have finally won a World Series, who will be next? Well here are the major American pro sports teams with the longest overall title drought. None of them hold a candle to a 108-year drought though:

1. Arizona Cardinals (NFL) – 1947 (69 years)
2. Cleveland Indians (MLB) – 1948 (68 years)
3. Sacramento Kings (NBA) – 1951 (65 years)
4. Detroit Lions (NFL) – 1957 (59 years)