The Top 5 Most Memorable Sports Moments of 2017

This year brought us some big wins, tragic losses and definitely some memorable moments. When you ring in 2018, here’s what to talk about until the clock strikes midnight.  

Cheers,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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The Top Five Most Memorable Sports Moments of 2017

1. Between three major hurricanes, multiple California fires and a mass shooting, sports teams and players stepped up to support their local communities by donating money and their time. Most notably was Houston Texans JJ Watt (NFL – National Football League) who started a fundraising effort for victims of Hurricane Harvey. He promised to match the first $100,000 raised and ended up raising over $37 million in donations for hurricane relief efforts. MORE 

2. After earning the title of the No Fun League, the NFL relaxed their touchdown celebrations rules this year. Players embraced this freedom of expression and have graced us with celebrations to honor the Rockettes, playing leapfrog, a bench press workout and of course a line dance to the electric slide. SEE MORE

3. Like we needed more evidence to prove that Serena Williams is nothing short of Superwoman. In January, she won her record 23rd Grand Slam win at the Australian Open. (A Grand Slam is one of the four major tournaments in tennis). Later she revealed that she was pregnant during her big win. Therefore, this year brought us the birth of her baby girl and her glamorous wedding to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. MORE

4. The hype was worth the hype in the Mayweather vs. McGregor boxing match. MMA fighter (Mixed Martial Arts) Conor McGregor stepped outside his comfort zone to step into the ring and fight one of boxing’s best, the undefeated Floyd Mayweather. The fight lasted 10 rounds and Mayweather was declared a winner but not before McGregor earned the sports world’s r-e-s-p-e-c-t. MORE  

5. This year was a terrible year for the U.S. Men’s Soccer Team. The U.S. team did not qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 31 years. Also having a crappy year? Team Italy. They didn’t qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 58 years. Ciao World Cup dreams.

PS – There are some great things ahead in 2018. Most notably, the College Football National Championship, Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and World Cup all in the first six months of the year.

 

There's more where that came from

Instead of focusing on the past, here are the top three buzzworthy topics in the world of sports right now, including cancelling Sunday Night Football, why the NBA had a very Merry Christmas and why Old Guys rule. READ

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About The Ryder Cup

Don’t put your Team U.S.A. shirt away from the Olympics quite yet. Golf’s Ryder Cup starts tomorrow and Team U.S.A. could use your support. Just make sure you wash your America shirt from August first.

For the birdie,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Five Things To Know About the Ryder Cup

1. The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between 12-man teams from the U.S. and Europe. The location rotates every competition between a European and American course of the home team’s choice.
2. Teams are made up of a captain, vice captains and players. The captains do not play in the competition, but act as coaches. Players collect an individual score each day but the overall team score is what matters.
3. The U.S. players are chosen by points compiled by the PGA. European players are chosen in a similar fashion by the European Tour's World Points List. The team captains also have the honor of selecting four players (U.S.) or three players (European) of their choice to round out the roster. 
4. The competition started in 1927, but the first left-hander to play in the competition wasn’t until 1977 – Englishman Peter Danson. 
5. There have only been six holes-in-one in Ryder Cup history, and only one was by an American – Scott Verplank. 

• Extra credit – The women of golf play in a similarly formatted competition, The Solheim Cup, in the off years of the Ryder Cup.

NFL (National Football League)

• Don’t rush it. Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt had back surgery in the off-season and miraculously came back to play in the season opener. After week three, Watt re-injured his back and will be placed on the IR (injured reserved). You know somewhere his mama is shaking her head and saying "I told you not to play. See what happens?"

MLB (Major League Baseball)

• Bigger than sports. Fallen teammate Jose Fernandez was scheduled to pitch Monday for the Miami Marlins but tragically lost his life Sunday morning in a boating accident. After canceling Sunday’s game to deal with the tragic loss, Marlins played the Mets in a highly emotional game on Monday. The Marlins held a touching tribute to Fernandez and all wore the #16 in honor of him. Leadoff hitter Dee Gordon hit his first home run of the season into the upper deck. In an interview Gordon said “I’ve never hit a ball that far....I don’t have kids, so that’s the best moment of my life to hit a home run for him.” Marlins won the game. 
• Lovable losers no more. The Chicago Cubs continue to show their dominance, winning their 100th game of the season for the first time since 1935. (The season is 162 games). They also clinched home-field advantage for the National League playoffs.

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

• New York state of mind. Now that MMA is legalized in New York State, UFC is looking to make a huge splash with UFC 205 on November 12th at Madison Square Garden. They announced that the fight card will feature three championship fights, including top draw Conor McGregor (he was one the fighters involved in the water bottle throwing press conference) vs Eddie Alvarez.  

Overtime

• During the Red Sox-Yankees (MLB) game, a Yankees fan was set to propose to his girlfriend but when they appeared on the big screen for the proposal, he realized he lost the ring. Through a panicked group effort the ring was found and the proposal went on as planned. Don’t worry she said “yes!” 

Sideline stat

• While the U.S. leads the overall win total (25-13) in the Ryder Cup, they haven’t won the competition since 2008.

Coaches’ corner

• What is the injured reserve list? The term injured reserve list or “IR” is an official designation used by the NFL for players with a major injury who temporarily cannot play. This allows a team to open up a spot on the active roster (guys who are eligible to play) to fill with a replacement player. Being on the “IR” means the player cannot return to the active roster for at least eight weeks.

The Rundown: Five Things to Know About the NCAA Sweet 16

Our "Five Things to Know" will give you all the information you need to finesse your way through the Sweet 16. And in protest just like our mamas did at 16, the ladies of women’s tennis are burning their (sports) bras for equality.

Don’t mess with mama,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Five Things to Know about the Sweet 16

• Oh to be 16 again. The Sweet 16 starts on Thursday. This is where the remaining 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament play for a spot in the Elite Eight. After that comes the Final Four. Alliteration overload.  

1. If you picked your bracket by the numbers, good for you as all four #1 seeds are still alive. Although according to experts Kansas, University of Virginia, North Carolina and Oklahoma (#2), not Oregon, are expected to head into the Final Four.
2. Gonzaga is the only Sweet 16 university without a football team. They had one but it was stopped after the U.S. entered into WWII because there were not enough men to play.
3. While the magic number may be 16, for the coaches it’s $2 million. Sweet 16 coaches have already earned over $2 million in bonuses for making it this far in the tournament. Catch the breakdown of bonuses here. 
4. Out of the millions of the brackets submitted online only one perfect bracket still remains
5. Every team in the Sweet 16 has made a previous appearance.

A complete schedule of games can be found here. 

MLB (MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL)

• Toodle-loo Tobacco. Following Chicago’s ban last week, New York City became the latest city to ban smokeless tobacco at ticketed sporting events for fans and players. The MLB Players’ Association will be providing alternatives to Mets and Yankees players alike who need to quit.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

• Twitter turmoil. Cleveland Cavaliers’ all-star LeBron James sparked controversy by unfollowing the Cavaliers on Twitter. He justified this shun by saying he was going into “playoff mode,” as he typically shuts down social media during playoffs. In a shady move, he later stated he intends to create a Snapchat account. That’s one we’ll be following.  
• Long live the plaid sport coat. Known for his zany courtside attire, longtime TNT reporter Craig Sager announced his once defeated leukemia is back. 
• Escaping tragedy. Hall of Fame basketball player and Geiko commercial star, Dikembe Mutumbo, was at the Brussels Airport during the terrorist attacks. Luckily he came out unscathed.

Overtime

• Tournament owner and billionaire, Larry Ellison, announced that Indian Wells Tournament Director Raymond Moore has resigned after making disparaging remarks about the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association). Moore said "They (WTA) are very, very lucky. If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport. They really have."

He also referred to women players as "physically attractive and competitively attractive." If that’s the case then beauty brings home the bacon since according to NBC News, Serena Williams trails only Novak Djokovic in on-court earnings.

Sideline Stat

• New York was the only state in the U.S. in which MMA (mixed martial arts) was illegal. Tuesday the New York State Assembly voted to pass the legislation which would allow organizations like UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) to hold events in the state. One legislator referred to MMA as "nearly naked, hot men rolling around.” That falls under the category “things I never thought I’d hear when voting on a bill.”

Coaches’ Corner

• NFL owners voted to enact a few rule changes for the upcoming season. One of the most notable changes involves moving the extra point kick to the 15-yard line. The previous placement was on the 10-yard line. The extra point (worth one point) is kicked after a team scores a touchdown (worth six points). Therefore, when a team makes an extra point after their touchdown they’ll have seven additional points on the board.