The Toughest Job Interview Around - 5 Things To Know About The NFL Combine

The ultimate job interview could lead to a big paycheck. One of the ways to become an NFL player is to participate in the combine where players are judged on their speed, strength, brain and size of their body parts.

We’re guessing that doesn’t include beer bellies?

The Last Night’s Game Team

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1. The combine (pronounced kɒmbaɪn– like a harvesting tractor).  is known as the “Underwear Olympics” because prospects compete in different challenges in small, tight-fitting workout gear all while being scrutinized. It wasn’t long ago that prospects stripped down to their underwear for the “eyeball test” where coaches would make notes about their stature, muscle build, etc. IT’S LIKE PRIZED CATTLE GOING TO MARKET

2. As if being in your undies isn’t bad enough, teams are known for asking really weird and intrusive questions. The 338 players who have been invited to the tryout will be asked interrogation-style questions in an attempt to evoke the player’s vices (drinking, drugs), ethics, failures, sexual orientation (even though technically this is illegal) or anything to get a rise out of the player. WHERE’S THE HR DEPARTMENT? 

3. Unlike in the last election, hand size matters in the combine. Expect that to be a challenge for last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Kyler Murray, who is notably small for the NFL. (You may remember that Murray originally signed a professional baseball contract and then chose to try out professional football). What are teams looking for? According to an NFL (National Football League) executive, there’s not a quarterback in the NFL that has a smaller hand than a 9-inch hand, the span from the thumb to the pinkie. THE FUTURE IS IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND

4. The “sexiest” event in the combine is the 40-yard dash. In the past, the fastest runner has won prizes such as a private island or $1 million. For the 15th year in a row, sports reporter Rich Eisen will participate in the dash, while wearing a suit with cleats, to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. RUN RICH RUN  

5. If you think any dumb jock can make it to the NFL, you’ve never taken the Wonderlic Test. This challenge tests players’ problem solving and critical thinking skills. Only one player has ever had a perfect score. Think you can beat it? GIVE IT A SHOT

THAT’S NOT ALL FOLKS

No test here, just knowledge for networking. Here’s are the top three stories from today including a new Will Ferrell sports movie, an elevator nightmare and one athlete’s Marie Kondo moment. READ

Ho, Ho, Holy College Football Bowl Games – The 5 Things You Need To Know

If football games are on your holiday wish list, then you must have been well behaved this year because there is an abundance of college football coming your way. Been naughty? Don’t worry, here are the five things you should know about bowl game season to put you back on the nice list.

Getting coal again this year,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Five Things To Know About College Football Bowl Games

1. If the Oscars have the most coveted swag bags, bowl games are a close second. Players cannot be paid to play in the games but they can take home some great loot. Gifts this year include nice watches, rocking headphones and a PlayStation PS4.

2. There have been quite a few head coaching positions vacated and with the new coach not starting until next season, you’ll see a handful of teams playing with an interim coach. (Think Tennessee, Florida, Nebraska and Arizona State).

3. What’s in a name? Well for bowl games, it’s big money. The committees will do just about anything to please their title sponsors including naming the game itself something odd. The most memorable bowl game names this season roll off the tongue like the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, Taxslayer Bowl and the Potato Bowl. And yes, there used to be a game called the Salad Bowl.

4. If you want to put your name on it, it’s going to cost you. Collectively, companies spend around $100 million on the naming rights for bowl games. The money, it goes to the conference and they divvy it out amongst the teams in their conference but not before taking a little for themselves.

5. Not all teams are invited to a bowl game. A team has to have a .500-plus record to be considered bowl eligible. The top four teams in the country will play in either the Sugar Bowl or the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. The winner of those two games will play each other in the National Championship Game on January 8th.

- Why does this matter? Once again football is going to dominate the conversation this month. There are 40 games between Sunday, December 16 and Monday, January 8 so there's no escaping the discussion. SCHEDULE

Keep the conversation going

Find out what Lindsey Vonn is doing with cheese that is upping her game, how basketball is overtaking football as the most popular sport in America and why a blizzard may have cost one player $500,000. READ

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Want to learn a little about college football with minimal effort? Join our college football bowl game pool where you can do just that. Simply pick the teams you think will win (or use the autofill function – we’re not judging). There are prizes for the winners (and even a few of the losers).  

Ps – Your picks need to be submitted by this Saturday.

5 Of The Best Movie Cameos By Athletes

New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard made a cameo in Sunday’s Game of Thrones and that sparked a debate over athletes whose side hustle is acting. We use the term actor lightly, but nonetheless they were in a movie, which is more than we can say.

Don’t quit your day job,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Five of the best movie cameos by athletes

1. Mike Tyson. The song In The Air Tonight will never be the same after the scene with renowned boxer Mike Tyson in The Hangover. Luckily for the wolf pack he didn’t bite anyone’s ear.
2. Brett Farve. There was Something about Mary and Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Farve (NFL – National Football League) managed to figure that out and get the girl at the end. Kind of.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Not many on this list had as pivotal of a role as NBA (National Basketball Association) legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980 classic comedy, Airplane. As co-captain Murdock, he spent the movie denying that he was actually a basketball player. And don’t call me Shirley.  
4. Ronda Rousey. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) champion was the love interest of Turtle in the Entourage movie. Even though she quite literally kicked his butt in the gym, he was still smitten.
5. Lance Armstrong. The cyclist gives a game changing motivational speech to Vince Vaughn’s character after quitting the team. Lance Armstrong’s speech in Dodgeball now seems a bit awkward after the doping scandal including, “Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life.” We could think of a few other things he might regret.

Overtime

• Parents and school administrators are cringing this morning after UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, who is one of the best in college football, made a bold statement in an interview. He said, "Look, football and school don't go together. They just don't. Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time jobs." Before you cry, he also said he wants to get his MBA so he can own the world when he's done with football. Life goals. 

Sideline stat

• The New England Patriots have outdone themselves. The Super Bowl champions are the first NFL team to purchase a plane for team travel. But wait there’s more. They bought a second plane as well because two planes are always better than one.  

Coaches’ corner

• Yesterday, ESPNU transformed to ESPN8: “The Ocho” and it was incredible. “The Ocho” was originally featured in the movie Dodgeball (see above) and this real-life version lived up to expectations. The one-day channel featured seldom seen sports like the World Darts Championship (think boxing match fanfare and tension but with darts) and sports we’ve never heard of like kabaddi, which is a full contact team game of tag that originated in India.