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
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Out of the millions of the brackets submitted online only one perfect bracket still remains
- 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.