All Aboard
Brady’s big night, the cheerleader who splashed across the headlines and breaking down the NWSL scandal.
October is one of the sportiest months of the year, with action in every major professional sports league, college football, and the list goes on. You won’t be able to avoid it, so you might as well embrace it.
In it to win it,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NFL (National Football League)
In a recent WSJ article, Tom Brady said, “You think people care what you think, and then you care less what people think, and then you realize no one cared, anyway.” He took that mantra of not caring to heart and went out secured a win against his former team, the New England Patriots, but he claimed a prominent spot in NFL history. Brady surpassed Drew Brees’ record to claim the title of the NFL’s all-time leading passer. JUST YOUR AVERAGE SUNDAY
Overtime
Hands down, the most impressive performance of the weekend was this Purdue cheerleader doing a belly flop into a giant puddle of mud on the sideline. Her Boilermakers lost to Minnesota along with four top 25 teams, including powerhouse Clemson. Clemson, which is out of the top 25 for the first time in seven years. ALL IN
Sideline stat
If you thought baseball was boring, here’s your chance to rethink that. The MLB (Major League Baseball) wild card games are Tuesday and Wednesday, and it’s a winner take all battle. The best rivalry in baseball will be renewed when the New York Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox for the American League Wild Card playoff spot. The St. Louis Cardinals, which have won 17 games straight to make it here, will play the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers to claim the wild card spot in the National League. IT’S GOING TO BE GOOD
Coaches’ corner
The NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) continues its triage after news broke last week of its sexual coercion scandal. The scandal resulted in the firing of a longtime coach and the resignation of its commissioner on Friday. The board of governors formed an executive committee to manage the oversight of the league’s front office operations and begin a global search for a permanent commissioner. Since there are many moving pieces to this one, we broke down the scandal in a quick read here. TURNING A BLIND EYE NO MORE
Never A Dull Moment
The Super Bowl halftime performers announced, Tom Brady’s dad has dad jokes and the NBA is 90% vaccinated so why the controversy?
Giving you something else to talk about besides how it’s still too hot to drink pumpkin spice lattes.
Spice up your life,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NFL (National Football League)
This season's Super Bowl halftime show is a millennial's dream come true. Yesterday, the NFL announced that Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar would headline the halftime show during Super Bowl LVI on February 13 at SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. MF'ERS DID NOT FORGET ABOUT DRE
Overtime
The Phoenix Mercury (WNBA - Women's National Basketball Association) are getting kicked out of their house ahead of Sunday's game three in their playoff series against the Las Vegas Aces. Last week the team was forced to seek another place to play because of a concert. The team has is forced out because the arena is hosting Disney On Ice instead. Surely, Minnie disapproves of sending six all-stars to play a professional league playoff game at a university basketball arena. HOW ABOUT A LITTLE RESPECT?
Sideline stat
You’ve read the headlines about the drama surrounding the NBA’s (National Basketball Association) goal to get the entire league vaccinated. Players like LeBron James got it, and others like Kyrie Irving don’t want it. Irving is in an interesting conundrum as players who play on teams based in San Francisco (Golden State Warriors), and New York (Nets and Knicks) must be vaccinated to play in their home arenas. Visiting teams are exempt. The NBA said they will not pay players for missed games if they “elect not to comply with local vaccination mandates.” The NBA said that more than 90% of its players had received the COVID vaccine. ARMED FOR BATTLE
*For reference, the WNBA is 99% vaccinated and the NFL is 93%.
Coaches’ corner
Tom Brady heads back to his old stomping grounds on Sunday when his defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) take on former head coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Brady has played down his return, especially after his dad's comments that he thought Tom felt "vindicated," leaving the Patriots and winning a Super Bowl with the Bucs. Brady's comedic response to his dad's comments included how his dad should know better at this point in his life, and Tom Jr. reserves the right to put him in a home against his will. DAD JOKES FOR DAY
What to watch
Things are getting exciting as we head into the last weekend of the MLB (Major League Baseball) regular season. There are four teams within one game of the American League Wild Card playoff spot - the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. BATTER UP
Better Than Advertised
Remembering 9/11, how much would you pay for a ‘sure’ win and the brilliant and strategic reason the Saints-Packers game is being played in Florida.
The NFL season kicked off last night with an Ed Sheeran concert. Oh, and a football game. Sheeran's NFL merch may not have lived up to expectations but the game exceeded them. Here’s to hoping your weekend does the same.
Thinking out loud,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Remembering 9/11
Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In the weeks following 9/11, it seemed like sports was the sense of normalcy so many craved. This weekend, teams across the country will be honoring those who were lost. The NFL (National Football League), MLB (Major League Baseball) and numerous college football teams have added pregame tributes, with some wearing special uniforms.
Select NFL teams are partnering with Tuesday’s Children, an organization that aids “families who have suffered losses due to the events of 9/11, post-9/11 military service or other acts of mass violence and terrorism,” to host and recognize a family during their home game. WE WILL NEVER FORGET
Overtime
The New Orleans Saints (NFL) were forced to move their home opener against the Green Bay Packers due to Hurricane Ida, but how they finally landed on the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium as their home away from home is interesting. First, Aaron Rodgers’ (Packers QB) numbers show he struggles when playing in Florida. Florida also gave the Saints the humidity advantage as their players are used to it. Then out of the three available stadiums in Florida - Miami, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville - they picked the one that would be the most expensive for Packers fans to travel to, so they might still have home field advantage. BRILLIANT
Sideline stat
LSU (Lousiana State) is looking to bounce back after their first game that ended in a disappointing loss. But they’ll have to do it against a familiar foe - the son of LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. Orgeron’s son is the quarterback for LSU’s Saturday opponent, McNeese State. The mismatched game will likely be a blowout, but it’s common practice for college teams to pay opponents from smaller schools for an easy win. In fact, LSU is paying McNeese $600,000 to play them this weekend. NO SUCH THING AS BAD PR
Coaches’ corner
The final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season, the US Open, comes to a close on Sunday. We know that the youth movement of Leylah Fernandez, 19, and Emma Raducanu, 18, will play on Saturday in the all-teenage women’s singles finals. The men’s final will be determined later today, but we may be witnessing history if Novak Djokovic wins in the semifinals today. If he makes it to the finals and wins on Sunday, he will be the first tennis player since Steffi Graff in 1988 to win all four majors in a calendar year. FINISH STRONG