The Most Athletic Celebrities (Some Who You'd Never Expect)

Photo: Instagram/Justin Timberlake

You don't think celebs are simply good looks and character acting? Some of them have skills that far exceed our expectations (and abilities) when it comes to athleticism.

We shouldn't quit our day jobs,
The Last Night's Game Team

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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Justin Timberlake is known for his dance moves, but he’s also an avid golfer. He started playing when he was 12, and rumor has it, he has a 6 handicap. (The lower, the better). Timberlake is also a partial owner of the Memphis Grizzlies (NBA – National Basketball Association) and has a stake in the Music City Grand Prix ownership group. LIKE I LOVE YOU


GEENA DAVIS
She may have played the sensitive catcher in “A League Of Their Own,” but maybe Geena Davis should’ve tried out for the role of Katniss? The six-foot-tall Academy Award-winning actress nearly qualified for the Olympics in archery. After being inspired by the 1996 Summer Olympics, she began practicing five hours a day, six days a week. After two years, she came in 24 out of 300 competitors in an Olympic qualifier. DANG GEENA


ADAM SANDLER
Adam Sandler is a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court. While he’s best known for playing a golfer in “Happy Gilmore,” it’s his basketball skills that have some NBA players talking. The 55-year-old actor has been known to delight in a pickup basketball game or two when filming. IT’S ALL IN THE HIPS


MARIA MENOUNOS
A-list celebrities and athletes alike line up to play in the Super Bowl’s “Madden Bowl,” a knock-out tournament that pits celebs against each other in a game of Madden NFL. Well, the former Access Hollywood host Maria Menounos showed them all who was boss. In 2011, she became the first woman ever to win the championship title for the Madden Bowl. TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE


JUSTIN BIEBER
We all know Justin Bieber is Canadian, and just because he’s Canadian doesn’t mean he’s great at hockey, except when he is. In 2012, he was offered an ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) contract with Bakersfield for his great puck handling skills. You might remember back in early 2020 when All-Star NHL (National Hockey League) goalie Jordan Binnington challenged Bieber to a shootout after seeing a video on the pop star’s Instagram. Bieber has also been known to pick up a game or two with a few of his NHL friends. NEVER SAY NEVER


Honorable mentions go out to Steve Carrell (hockey), Terry Crews (football) and Nelly (softball and football).

Brains vs. Brawn

Today our nation honors Martin Luther King Jr. what would’ve been his 92nd birthday. Not to mention today kicks off a significant week in our country’s history, so we leave you with a quote from MLK himself, "The time is always right to do what is right."

Be kind to one another,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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NFL (National Football League)

This weekend's storyline should be the big playoff wins, but those wins were overshadowed by not one but two starting quarterbacks leaving their respective games with concussions. Both Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) and Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs) were ruled out of the game with concussions, but in Mahomes’ case, his team prevailed and took home the win. Jackson’s team lost to the Buffalo Bills. TOUGH WAY TO LOSE

Overtime

Late last year, a delegation of NBA (National Basketball Association) players met with Pope Francis at his request to discuss their individual and collective efforts addressing social and economic injustice and inequality occurring in their communities. Pope Francis honored them for their work demanding social justice. The Atlanta Hawks made sure to send Pope Francis a custom version of their MLK Nike City Edition Jerseys. With the help of UPS, His Holiness received the jersey, blessed it and signed it. The Hawks will wear those blessed special edition jerseys that honor Martin Luther King Jr. when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves. BETTER TOGETHER

Sideline stat

The Buffalo Bills may have hardcore fans, but they have big hearts. After their team beat Lamar Jackson, who left the game with a concussion, and his Ravens, donations poured in from Bills fans to Jackson’s favorite charity, Blessings in a Backpack. As of this morning, more than $290,000 has been donated to the organization that provides food to kids over the weekend.

This isn’t the first time Bills fans made donations in honor of an opponent. In 2017, Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Andy Dalton made a huge play that sent the Bills to the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons. The fans donated more than $415,000 for the Andy and Jordan Dalton Foundation as a thank you. The Daltons then paid it forward and made a significant donation to a Buffalo hospital. COLD WEATHER, WARM HEARTS

Coaches’ corner

We’re a few weeks away from the start of the NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) season and the racing league gave us a little extra surprise to get us excited. Pitbull joins Michael Jordan on the list of big-named celebrities to buy into NASCAR. Armando Perez, aka Pitbull, celebrated his 40th birthday on Friday with the announcement that he joined Trackhouse as a co-owner. Their driver Daniel Suarez will drive the No. 99 car in the NASCAR Cup Series. The season starts with the Daytona 500 on February 14. TIME OF OUR LIVES

What to watch

In the battle between the oldest quarterbacks in the NFL, Tom Brady and his Buccaneers prevailed over Drew Brees and his Saints. Before the game, Brees announced that he was retiring and that the playoff game would be his last in the Saints home stadium. The sweet moment came after the game where there’s a video of Brady and Brees hanging out on the field with Brees family and Brady throws a touchdown pass to one of Brees’ kids. A MUST SEE MOMENT

Can We Just Talk?

Here’s to hoping that the most drama you encounter this weekend is in this newsletter.

Let’s do this,

The Last Night’s Game Team 

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NFL (National Football League)

The conversation around the NFL season seems to be marred with constant COVID chatter, so let’s talk about something positive. This week brings us the player-led campaign My Cause My Cleats. A record number of players worked with artists and cleat manufacturers to create custom-designed cleats that will be worn this week and then auctioned off to benefit the charity of their choice. More than 20% of the 1,000 players participating chose social justice causes with others selecting youth, education or health and wellness-related initiatives. TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD

Overtime

It’s the sports-related drama everyone is talking about – the Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA - National Basketball Association) Malik Beasley, 24, and Larsa Pippen, 46. Allow us to fill you in. Beasley asked Pippen out via a public Instagram post. Here’s the awkward part - Beasley is married and has a child with Montana Yao. Then photos surfaced of Beasley and Pippen out together, only a month after Beasley was charged with felony threats of violence and fifth-degree drug possession. Oh, and Pippen’s estranged husband is NBA legend Scottie Pippen. (She also a past history – allegedly – with rapper Future but we’ll let you go down that rabbit hole yourself). Yesterday Yao, who was said to be caught off guard by all of this, filed for divorce from Beasley. SO MUCH DRAMA

Sideline stat

It’s the football game we seriously never thought we’d be talking about –  BYU and Coastal Carolina. The two teams are making lemonade out of the lemons 2020 gave them. Both BYU and Coastal Carolina have 9-0 records but are still looking for the respect of the CFP committee (College Football Playoff committee – they decide which teams go into the playoffs). So when Coastal Carolina’s opponent cancelled their game on Thursday, BYU lived by their 2020 motto of “Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime” and stepped in to play Coastal Carolina on two days’ notice. Now they’re the game of the week and College GameDay will even be broadcasting live from the campus. SEIZE THE DAY

Coaches’ corner

Normally we’d say that George Russell has big shoes to fill this weekend in replacing seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton (who has COVID) in this weekend’s F1 (Formula One) race, but not in this case. Russell has a big problem and it’s not nerves. His size 11 feet are too big for Lewis Hamilton’s car so he’s having to wear smaller shoes to make it work. NO PAIN NO GAIN