5 Things You Need to Know About the Ryder Cup

One of the most competitive and contentious golf tournaments of the year is upon us: The Ryder Cup.

Grab your golf cart buddy,
The Last Night’s Game Team

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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RYDER CUP

1. The tournament, played every other year, puts the 12 best U.S. golfers head-to-head with the 12 best golfers in Europe. The tournament alternates between both sides of the pond. This year, the U.S. team is favored to win- even though they haven’t won a Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993. BUT WE HAVE TIGER

2. For the first time, the matchup will take place in Paris in front of an audience of 50,000 spectators. In an effort to keep everyone safe, the tournament will be protected by an elite “ring of steel,” which includes elite counter-terrorism special forces and infrared missiles. NOT MESSING AROUND

3. Ryder Cup participants are not paid any prize money. It’s all about the bragging rights. This leads to fierce patriotism amongst both players and fans, who have been known to push their heckling a little too far. (It probably doesn’t help that they start selling beer at 7:00 am). TOO MUCH TRASH TALK

4. American and European celebrities also play in their own Ryder Cup. This year’s U.S. team, featuring actor Samuel L. Jackson, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, creamed the Europeans. A GOOD OMEN FOR THE REAL DEAL?

5. You may notice the players wearing yellow ribbons this weekend. That’s to honor Iowa State player Celia Barquin-Arozamena, the golfer from Spain who was tragically murdered while practicing alone earlier this month. CELEBRATING A CHAMPION

MORE. MORE. MORE.

Two female sportscasters are making history. Plus a new hockey mascot is stirring up the internet. READ MORE

Scary Good

No need to waste your time scouring the internet to determine what happened this weekend because we have it all right here. Put that time toward something useful, like finding a last-minute Halloween costume for tomorrow night.

Trick or treat,

The Last Night’s Game Team  

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MLB (Major League Baseball)

Super Series. Last night’s World Series game saw a record setting number of home runs, more than a dozen different pitchers and a handful of lead changes, all in a five-plus hour game. The second longest game in World Series history ended with the Houston Astros on top. The teams will now head to Dodger Stadium for game six tomorrow. If the Astros win that game, they’ll be World Champions.

College Football

Celebrations ensue. There were two huge upsets in college football this weekend that you should know about. The first, Ohio State (#6) came from behind to beat an undefeated Penn State (#2). The second, Cinderella story Iowa State beat a previously undefeated TCU (Texas Christian University - #4) team. RESULTS

NFL (National Football League)

Remain defeated. The two winless NFL teams, the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns, lost again. Better luck next week. WEEKEND SCORES

Overtime

At only 32 years old, driver Lewis Hamilton has won his fourth F1 (Formula One) championship. Hamilton now claims the title of most accomplished British driver ever. Pretty impressive even if he does drive on the other side of the road.

Sideline stat

Five games. That's how many games Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel will be suspended next season for making a racist gesture toward a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher. After hitting a home run off of him, Gurriel made a slanted eye gesture toward Japanese-Iranian pitcher Yu Darvish. Darvish accepted Gurriel's apology and said that everyone "should learn from this instead of focusing on anger."

Coaches’ corner

Just in time for a good Halloween statistical scare, the first official college football playoff rankings will be released tomorrow. These rankings will give teams a good idea where they stand as it relates to the playoffs, although there is plenty of football left to be played.

We've All Gone Plaid

What do Paul Bunyan, the Yankees and the national anthem all have in common? They’re the hot topics in today’s Weekend Wrap Up Edition.

Plaid is so in this fall,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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MLB (Major League Baseball)

Boo York. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi was booed by the hometown fans after his questionable decision attributed to the team losing game two to the Cleveland Indians in the playoffs. Thankfully the Yankees won the following game, otherwise he might have been swimming with the fishes.

Try to contain your excitement. There are four, yes four, playoff games today. Here’s how you can catch them all.

 

College Football

Rewarding. College football rivalries have interesting trophies ranging from bells to axes but the Michigan – Michigan State rivalry takes it to a whole new level. When unranked Michigan State beat Michigan (#7) this weekend, they took home the Paul Bunyan trophy, which is a statue of famed lumberjack Paul Bunyan. Babe the blue ox sold separately.

 

World Cup Soccer

It ain’t over 'til the fat lady sings. In a must-win situation, Team U.S.A. beat Panama to take another step toward their goal of playing in the 2018 World Cup. The team is walking the thin line of not qualifying for next year’s global competition.

 

Overtime

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the NFL (National Football League) is expanding its outreach to raise awareness for all types of cancers with the "Crucial Catch" campaign. In concert with the American Cancer Society, they have released The Defender, a free digital assessment tool that provides fans with personalized tips on how to reduce their cancer risk.

 

Sideline stat

The big loss from the weekend that every sports fan will be talking about is the big win by unranked Iowa State over Oklahoma (#3). The loss to an unranked team delivers a huge blow to Oklahoma’s season.

 

Coaches’ corner

Just as we learned that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones threatened to bench any player that disrespected the flag, Vice President Mike Pence left an NFL game after the anthem saying he "did not want to dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem." Pence, the former governor of Indiana, was on hand for the retirement of Peyton Manning's jersey number by the Indianapolis Colts.