5 Things You Need To Know About Sports, America And The Anthem

Whitney’s is the most popular, Billy Joel’s is the shortest and Fergie’s is the weirdest. Here are five things to share with your fellow patriots today over burgers and beer.

We can toast to that,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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5 Things You Need To Know About Sports, America And The Anthem

1. Singing the anthem before a sporting event wasn’t always a thing. The tradition started in baseball where the song would be sung on opening day of a season or for special occasions/holidays. It wasn’t sung every game because the powers that be didn’t want to “cheapen it.” That eventually changed to the tradition we know now. HISTORY

2. College bands were originally called upon to play the Star-Spangled Banner before the Super Bowl. Diana Ross was the first pop star to sing the anthem before the big game in 1982. The longest rendition of the anthem at the Super Bowl? Alicia Keys at 156.4 seconds. Shortest? Billy Joel at 90 seconds. THAT WAS QUICK

3. Whitney Houston’s rendition of the anthem is undoubtedly the fan favorite. The not so fan favorites? Before Fergie’s “outside the box" rendition at last year’s NBA (National Basketball Association) All-Star Game, there was Roseanne Barr’s performance at a San Diego Padres (MLB – Major League Baseball) game. Her shrieking of the anthem (and classy crotch grab afterward) reminded us how not to represent our country. LISTEN AT YOUR OWN RISK

4. Singing the Star-Spangled Banner is a lot of pressure especially when it’s before a game you could play in. Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB) pitcher Steven Brault sang the national anthem before a game this season, fulfilling a promise to his grandma that he would sing before an MLB game as an MLB player. NOW THAT'S TALENT

5. As if the singing part wasn’t hard enough, try doing it on ice skates. Mark Donnelly found this out the hard way while singing the Canadian anthem, O Canada, before a hockey game. Nothing like hitting the high note with a belly flop. VIDEO

BUT WAIT There's more

You didn’t think we’d leave you without a little something extra to bring up poolside? Today the sports world is talking about the famed hot dog eating contest, the stars and stripes take the field and Japanese fashion takes over Wimbledon. READ

Adventure Of A Lifetime

Hooray Friday! Hooray for being a part of the sports conversation! Hooray beer!

Life’s too short not to celebrate,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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World Cup

When you instantly become best friends. South Korea stunned the world by beating defending champion Germany and eliminating them from the tournament. The German loss meant Mexico qualified for the next stage of games. The Mexico fans were so grateful to South Korea that one business sent a pallet of Mexican beer (no really) to the South Korean embassy in Washington, D.C. They also celebrated the victory in the streets by drinking tequila with the Korean consul general to Mexico. ¡SALUD!

 

Overtime

Could it be the best basketball movie since “Space Jam?” If you’re tired of the heat and want a laugh, the basketball movie “Uncle Drew” comes out this weekend. Uncle Drew started with a character in a Pepsi commercial starring Boston Celtics (NBA – National Basketball Association) superstar Kyrie Irving. Now it hits the big screen with Irving as the star, along with some help from basketball hall of famers Lisa Leslie and Shaq, to name a few. (Don’t worry this is nothing like Shaq’s starring role in the 90s film Kazaam). RAVE REVIEWS

Sideline stat

The World Cup started with 32 teams and now it's down to 16 teams as we enter the “knockout stage” tomorrow. Not to be confused with a Mike Tyson punch, the knockout stage means games cannot end in a tie and the losing team goes home. And yes, there may be dramatic shootouts to determine the winner. If you’re going to watch a soccer game, now’s the time to start (well actually tomorrow at 10 am EST). SCHEDULE

Coaches’ corner

Yesterday Senegal was the first team in World Cup history to be eliminated from the tournament by fair points play. They had the exact same record and goal differential as Japan, so the tie breaker was the fact that they had more penalties (red and yellow cards), therefore they had to pack their bags. Finally it pays to be good. CONFUSED? HERE’S A QUICK VIDEO EXPLANATION ON FAIR POINTS

What to watch

FRIDAY - Will he stay or will he go? All eyes are on LeBron James who is scheduled to inform his current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA), tonight by 11:59 pm if he’ll be staying to play another season with them, or moving on to join another team.

SUNDAY – Retired NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will make his debut in his new gig as a TV commentator during the race in Chicago.

The Rundown: Look What You Made Me Do

This weekend’s fight was hotter than the new Taylor Swift song combined with J.Lo and A-Rod sitting ringside.

Muy caliente,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Mayweather vs. McGregor Fight

• You gotta fight for your right. The spectacle of the matchup between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor took place on Saturday. In a fight that lasted longer than most people expected, McGregor came out strong and stayed tough but Mayweather’s experience took over and he won with a knockout in the 10th round.

• It’s going down. There was such a demand for the fight on Pay-Per-View that the servers couldn’t keep up. The fight was slightly delayed because of this. The official numbers will be in later this week, but it’s expected that the Pay-Per-View earnings will be around $1 billion.

• I believe in you. Floyd Mayweather was so confident in his abilities that he tried (and was denied) placing a $400,000 bet on himself to win the fight.

• All the pretty people. A plethora of celebrities flocked to the fight and strutted their stuff down the red carpet. See who was there.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

• It was the first time the league celebrated Players Weekend and it was an overwhelming success. The designated weekend gave players a chance to express themselves (such as having their nicknames on the back of their jerseys) and it gave us some interesting matchups like “Sheriff” vs. “Outlaw” and “Cookie” vs. “Mr. Smile.”

Overtime

• Hurricane Harvey has devastated the lives of millions. Players from Houston area professional sports teams, many whose families live in Houston, are no exception. Both the Houston Astros (MLB) and the Houston Texans (NFL – National Football League) have been diverted to Dallas after playing in away games and are waiting there to see when they can return to Houston.

Sideline stat

• Houston Texans star player, JJ Watt, started a flood relief fund with a goal of raising $500,000 to help Houstonians affected by the storm. He pledged a match of $100,000 and as of this morning the fund has already raised $312,000.

Coaches’ corner

• Japan won the Little League World Series yesterday, beating Texas by the 10-run rule. What is the 10-run rule aka the mercy rule? The rule is in place in little league so a lopsided game doesn’t get out of hand. If a team is ahead by 10 runs, the game is called.

Stay tuned: The U.S. Open (Tennis) starts this week as does the big kickoff to the college football season.