Gnarly! The 5 Things You Need To Know About The Summer X Games
Grab your helmet because it's about to get dangerous.
These athletes are conquering feats that so many wouldn’t even dare to attempt.
Total domination,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. The first Extreme Games were started by ESPN in 1995 with the idea that they would be every two years. But the fans loved it and the games evolved into to an annual contest. In 1996, the X Games as we know it, became a reality with the first Winter Games taking place in 1997. This year’s Summer Games take place on August 1 - 4 in Minneapolis, MN. LET’S GET CRAZY
2. At the heart of the X Games is the Shred Hate campaign. The campaign talks about how sports can provide a safe harbor from bullying or create it; that many of their athletes didn’t fit into traditional sports. So they created a campaign that takes a stand against bullying through partnerships with innovative bullying prevention programs in the country. TAKE A STAND
3. The popularity of the sport of skateboarding skyrocketed partly because of the X Games. Now skateboarding will make its Summer Olympics debut in Tokyo in 2020. Watch for the “Flying Tomato” himself, Shaun White, who is the first athlete to win in both the summer and winter X Games. It may be a long road as skateboarding Olympians will compete in street and park events and White’s expertise is the vert. Also look out for Brighton Zeuner. At age 13, she became the youngest athlete in the X Games’ 21-year history to take home gold and is hoping to qualify for Tokyo. GET IT GIRL
4. We all remember the man, the myth and the legend, Tony Hawk. Well, these games mark the 20th anniversary of his famed 900 (two-and-a-half rotations = 900 degrees) on a skateboard, something that had never been done before. It took him 10 years of practice, a broken rib, lost teeth and several concussions but in 1999, he landed the iconic trick. (Now the 1080 is the trick to land). PERSISTENCE IS EVERYTHING
5. Skateboarding isn’t the only soon-to-be global sport, BMX freestyle is coming to the 2020 Summer Olympics as well. BMX has grown faster than the CBD craze, with the first World Cup taking place in 2016. What is BMX freestyle? In two one-minute runs each, riders will be judged on the difficulty, originality, style, flow, risk, height and execution of their tricks and jumps. THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
Wednesday Wisdom
Let’s talk about what’s blowing up your phone today including a big change for the two-time World Cup Champion U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, why LeBron is being dad shamed and would you get a head tattoo in exchange for game tickets? READ
The Oscar Goes To...5 Academy Award-Winning Sports Movies
From the locker room to the red carpet. Plus today’s Wednesday Wisdom.
The Oscars are no different than sports, there’s still a uniform (albeit a tux and a ballgown) and you still have to be a good sport even when you lose.
Game faces on, if the botox allows,
The Last NIght’s Game Team
1. Million Dollar Baby (2004) This movie about a middle-class female boxer who forges a life-changing bond with her trainer is tied for the most celebrated movie on our list. The movie took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actress (Hilary Swank), Best Director (Clint Eastwood) and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman). The other flick with four wins? Chariots of Fire. GIRL ON FIRE
2. Rocky (1976) We all remember the iconic line of “Yo Adrian” and Sylvester Stallone’s run up the steps, but while the actors and their lines are what we remember, the movie took home the award for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. A big fat TKO for Rocky and Adrian. WE’LL STILL NEVER EAT A RAW EGG FOR BREAKFAST
3. Jerry Maguire (1996) Tom Cruise may have yelled “show me the money” in a story about a sports agent down on his luck but Cuba Gooding Jr. showed them how it was done as he received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. OSCAR, YOU COMPLETE ME
4. Chariots of Fire (1981) In a class-focused, divided society, two runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. The movie is probably best known for its Oscar winning original music score. THE MUSIC THAT STILL INSPIRES US ALL
5. The Blind Side (2009) Sandra Bullock took home her first Oscar for her role as a pushy mom who takes in a homeless teen and helps to harness his talents to turn him into a football powerhouse. Based on a true story, the real Michael Oher became a college football sensation and an NFL (National Football League) player. DREAMS DO COME TRUE
BONUS - Since it wasn’t a full-length feature film, the honorable mention goes to Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball. The animated short took home an Oscar last year and Bryant proclaimed that his win “felt better than winning a championship.” THE TROPHY ISN’T AS COOL
DON’T SKIP TODAY'S WEDNESDAY WISDOM
The Oscars may be on Sunday, but there’s plenty happening in the sports world today including a new, very odd nickname for a football player, a viral inspirational locker room speech and why someone almost needed a trip to the plastic surgeon’s office. READ
Baby One More Time
It’s Friday. Let’s talk.
It’s Friday. Let’s talk.
Short and sweet,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NFL (National Football League)
When you accomplish your goal, just to start at the bottom. From walk-on player, to Heisman Trophy winner, to number one pick in last night's NFL draft, former University of Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield has taken a non-traditional path to get to this point. That determination will help as he takes the first step in his professional career – playing for the worst team in football, the Cleveland Browns. The team did not win a game last season so any improvement is a bonus. MORE ON MAYFIELD
F1 Racing (Formula One)
If Britney is your spirit animal. F1 (Formula One) races are more than fast cars on a track, it’s a party. The U.S Grand Prix, the only F1 race in the U.S., announced its big headliners for the post-race concerts. Bruno Mars and Britney Spears will take the stage in October when the international phenomenon of F1 racing arrives in Austin, TX. FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT F1 RACING
Overtime
From the “we can’t make this up” file. We’re knee deep in the NHL (National Hockey League) playoffs and the league has asked the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand to stop licking opposing players. Marchand’s response to reporters who questioned him about the licking of his opponent? “He’s cute.” Speechless. THE DIRTY DETAILS
Sideline stat
The 28th pick of the NFL draft belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers and it was extra special. Ryan Shazier, the Steelers player who suffered a severe spinal injury in a game last year, impressed everyone by walking to the podium to deliver the team’s pick, Terrell Edmunds. Edmunds brother, Tremaine, was drafted earlier in the night to the Buffalo Bills, making them the first brothers ever drafted in the same round at the same draft. THE HEART WARMING MOMENT
Coaches’ corner
When you're a professional golfer, if you don’t play, you don’t get paid. That was a concern for LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) player Stacy Lewis when she found out she was pregnant. Showing their unwavering support, her major sponsor KPMG told her “they wanted to treat her like any other female in their organization that has a baby” and fulfill their sponsorship contract with her no matter how many tournaments she played in. DOING THE RIGHT THING
What to watch
The best is yet to come. Round one of the NFL draft may have been exciting but the fun isn’t over. What is there to look forward to? "Celebrity” draft pick announcers including a parrot, the football team from Stoneman Douglas High School and the gold medal winning U.S. Men’s Curling Team as well as free pizza for a year for one player. FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DRAFT