Now What?
Olympic wrap-up, there’s a dance party in Toronto and hall of fame speeches that’ll inspire you this morning.
Now that the Olympics are over guess it’s time to binge-watch “Mare of Eastown” or one of the 20 other shows everyone is talking about.
So many choices, so little time,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Olympics
The last weekend of the Summer Olympics wrapped up with a few huge wins for Team USA, which finished one gold medal ahead of second-place China in the medal count. Adding to that Team USA tally were the women’s basketball team (their seventh straight gold medal), men’s basketball team (fourth consecutive gold) and women’s volleyball (first gold ever). Also, for the first time, 93 Olympic organizing committees won a medal - the most to ever win a medal at a single Olympic Games. SEE YOU IN PARIS
Overtime
The NFL (National Football League) Hall of Fame speeches are always inspirational, and this weekend’s induction lived up to the hype. We had high hopes for Peyton Manning’s speech. After all, he has been the host of “Saturday Night Live.” He had the audience laughing especially as he took a jab or two at his longtime rival Tom Brady, who attended the ceremony as Manning’s guest.
The thought-provoking speech came from former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, 78, who talked about QTL – quality time left. "Think about that," Johnson said. "I'm 78 years old and I think about QTL all the time." BE IN THE MOMENT
Sideline stat
Arguably the world’s best soccer player, Lionel Messi, is moving on. During an emotional press conference, he said farewell to his team, FC Barcelona, that he had played for since he signed with them at age 13. (He’s 34-years-old). Messi is leaving because of team financial constraints and has agreed to a two-year deal with PSG (Paris Saint-Germain). PASS THE TISSUES
Coaches’ corner
The Toronto Blue Jays (MLB – Major League Baseball) finally returned to their home stadium after being banned from traveling across the border all season due to COVID protocols. (They split their time between Buffalo and Florida). It's clear they like being home, judging by the dance party that ensues after each home win. The clubhouse turns into a club, complete with strobe lights. RAVING JAYS
Need Last-Minute Gift Ideas? The 5 Best Gifts Athletes Have Given Each Other
Filled with gifts that not many could afford to put under the tree and some that are from the heart, and that’s what makes it so great.
The holidays may look a little different this year but that shouldn’t stop you from window shopping.
Way better than coal in your stocking,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Truly a gift from the heart. For years Peyton Manning wrote handwritten notes to athletes and sports figures who he admired. He spent his off-season writing to the people on this list, usually after they reached a milestone or retired. He would make note of the person’s respect for the game along with his notes of best wishes. AN INVALUABLE GIFT
2. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (aka Mr. Ciara) gifted his linemen (the big guys on the line of scrimmage that protect him from the other team) each $12,000 in Amazon stock when he signed his new four-year/$140 million contract. Previously he gave his offensive linemen TVs and the entire team two-first class airline tickets. Let’s just hope they cashed them in before COVID. THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
3. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line is a giving group who put a new spin on gift-giving. Instead of exchanging with each other, they pooled their money in order to give special bonuses for staff members who might get overlooked. These are the people that take care of them every day like the kitchen staff, trainers and the equipment team. THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
4. Gifts with wheels are very popular. Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott gave his linemen John Deere UTVs and Tom Brady gifted his linemen new Audi A7s. Hall of Fame running back (and Dancing with the Stars winner) Emmitt Smith left a key to a new Hummer in each of his linemen's lockers. Smith had his teammates jumping up and down like little kids. Too bad they were actually for the remote-controlled version. NOW WE'RE TALKING
5. New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley feels the way so many of us do about gift-giving. Barkley admitted to NJ Advance Media, “I’m not really good with gifts. I gave them an option. I gave those guys a limit, I’m not going to tell you what the limit is, but I told them ‘just let me know what you guys want, and I’ll get it,’ and I told some of them that if they wanted me to donate towards a foundation or a charity of their choice, I’d do that, too.” CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
A bonus round the sweets lovers in your life. Quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Trevor Siemian have a sweet spot when it comes to their linemen. Flacco, who was a backup QB at the time, bought his linemen $2,000 slushie machines for the holidays one year, because why not? And now retired Siemian loved Skittles so he bought his linemen custom parkas that dispense Skittles. Yes, the fur-rim hooded parkas have a button on the chest that when pushed, Skittles arrive in a coat pocket. A DREAM COME TRUE
We're Torn
Brady’s awkward wardrobe malfunction, just when you thought SNL couldn't get any better and there's a new queen topping the list.
We hope your Memorial Day fares better than Tom Brady’s pants on the golf course yesterday.
Splitting the difference,
The Last Night’s Game Team
PS - We’d be remiss if we didn’t pause to honor to all of those members of the armed forces who have lost their lives defending our country and their families that they left behind. We are here today because of you. Thank you.
The Match: Champions for Charity
Yesterday’s “The Match: Champions for Charity” gave the world exactly what they were missing - competition, charity (raising $20M for COVID relief efforts), trash tweeting, dad jokes and the answer to the question of whether or not Tom Brady goes commando. (Spoiler: he doesn’t). The torrential downpours couldn’t stop Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning as they held off Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady to claim the title of champions. To add insult to injury, Brady ripped his pants when he bent over to pick up his golf ball on the first half of the course. WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
Overtime
Tonight starts a week long marathon of athlete-hosted episodes of "Saturday Night Live." Be prepared to laugh at the who’s who in sports including Michael Jordan, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Derek Jeter and our favorite skit with Peyton Manning. LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE
Sideline stat
The drivers at the Coca-Cola 600 (NASCAR - National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) had stiff competition in yesterday's race - their umbrellas. Like something out of a comedy, the drivers battled their umbrellas during a rainy pre-race ceremony honoring fallen members of the armed forces and their families. In the end, Brad Keselowski won in the longest race in NASCAR history. The next race is this Wednesday. COMING IN HOT
Coaches’ corner
There’s a changing of the guard on the Forbes list of top earning female athletes. Ousting Serena Williams is Naomi Osaka, the young tennis star, who earned $37.4M over the past 12 months from endorsements and prize money. Osaka set a new record for earnings for a female athlete in a year. You might remember Osaka jumped into the spotlight after defeating Serena Williams as Williams went for her record-tying Grand Slam win at the U.S. Open Finals in 2018. KICKING BUTT AND TAKING NAMES