Premier League

,

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition

,

Finally, it’s Friday! We’re not going to send you off into the weekend without a few teachable moments including spell checking your tattoos, avoiding drugs and what happens on Twitter doesn’t stay on Twitter. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

 Point taken,

The Last Night’s Game Team

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Hugs not drugs. Florida Marlins’ second baseman Dee Gordon has been suspended for 80 games. Gordon tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs or PEDs. Coincidence that his hitting coach, Barry Bonds, has a stellar career tarnished for allegedly dabbling in PEDs? 

NBA (NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION)

  • Logoed for a lifetime. The Sacramento Kings unveiled their new logo. To take it a step further, they paid for fans to get the new logo tattooed on their body and encouraged them to share photos using #NewEraOfProud. I bet their mamas were proud.  
  • Spell check please. Tattoos are the name of the game today. America’s favorite couple Iggy Azalea and Nick Young are back in news. Azalea reportedly stopped her fiancée Young from getting a misspelled tattoo on his back. He almost ended up with the ferocious “BORN REBLE” instead of “BORN REBEL.” Young is the Lakers’ player who was secretly filmed by his teammate talking about his deviant behavior.
  • Moving on. The Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics to claim a spot in the next round of the playoffs. They will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the semifinals. Semifinal games start on Monday May 2nd.  

NFL (National Football League)

  • The first pick of the 2016 NFL Draft is...The first pick of the draft was the quarterback from Cal (University of California, Berkeley) Jared Goff to the Los Angeles Rams. For the full analysis of the first round picks, click here. Tonight the draft continues at 7 pm (EST) on ESPN and NFL Network. 
  • Meanwhile in Vegas. While everyone was talking about the draft, Oakland Raiders were eyeing a move to sin city. The Raiders’ owner has pledged $500 million towards a new stadium and stated “Let’s turn the silver state into the silver and black (Raider's colors) state.”

NHL (National Hockey League)

  • Victorious. Washington Capitals beat Pittsburgh Penguins in sudden death overtime 4-3, taking 1-0 series lead in round two of the playoffs.  

Soccer

  • What are the odds? On Sunday, an improbable event could take place in the English Premier League (England’s professional soccer league). Underdog Leicester City could win the Premier League with a victory over the powerhouse Manchester United. To show you how unexpected this feat is, the odds for Leicester City to win the league before the season started were 5000-1. The odds for Elvis being alive are also at 5000-1.  The game will air on Sunday at 9 am (EST) on NBCSN.  

Overtime

  • UFC fighter Ronda Rousey and tennis superstar Serena Williams have signed on with Lifetime Network. Rousey has signed on for three movies with the intention of developing and producing flicks focused on female empowerment. Williams is set to produce a film inspired by the annual dance-off competition she hosts with her tennis star sister Venus.

Sideline stat

  • 10 minutes before the draft, the Twitter account of top prospect Laremy Tunsil showed a video of someone (maybe Tunsil)? smoking an illegal substance while wearing a gas mask. Tunsil’s agent says his account was hacked. Regardless Tunsil has a history of bad behavior that already made some teams wary. The top pick slid all the way down to the 13th pick. According to Sportrac.com, the third pick (Tunsil’s consensus ranking) in the 2016 draft is set to earn $25.8 million. Dropping down to 13th may have cost him more than $10 million.  

Coaches’ corner

  • What is sudden death overtime in hockey? If the game is tied at the end of regulation it goes into sudden death overtime which is three-on-three play for five sudden-death minutes. (During regulation time, there are six players on the ice for each team). The first team to score wins. If a goal isn't scored, the game moves to a three-round shootout.

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition

The always perfect date, Last Night’s Game, brings you all you need to know to impress your valentine (or the pizza delivery man) this weekend.

Pepperoni with cheese,

The Last Night’s Game Team

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Give me a break. Signifying the end of the first half of the NBA season, the All-Star break started today and the All-Star Game is this weekend. The second half of the season will resume with games on Thursday.
  • In the lead. Cleveland Cavaliers are in first place in the East and the Golden State Warriors in the West. 
  • Recipe for success. Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry is the reigning MVP and arguably the best player in the league. This was not always the case. When first came into the league had extreme ankle problems and the outlook on his career was dismal. He became the player he is today through hard work and dedication.
  • A whole new world. The NBA is taking voting for the MVP of this Sunday’s All-Star Game to the next level. NBA has created emojis for the different players in the game and fans can vote via twitter using the emojis. The TNT broadcasters also have their own emojis, which includes a dig at former player turned TNT broadcaster, Charles Barkley, whose emoji is a donut. Nom nom.
  • You can catch All-Star Saturday, which includes the skills competition, three-point contest and slam dunk competition on Saturday at 8:30 pm (EST) on TNT.
  • The All-Star Game is on Sunday at 8:30 pm (EST) on TNT.  

NCAA BASKETBALL (COLLEGE)

  • Practicing some self-restraint. University of Louisville announced a self-imposed post season ban this year. This ban is in hopes of avoiding further penalties from the NCAA. The possible NCAA smackdown stems from an escort scandal which took place from 2010-2014 involving potential recruits.

NFL (National Football League)

  • Bad boys need not apply. In an attempt to clean up their image, the NFL announced that prospects with convictions involving weapons, domestic violence and/or sexual offense/sexual assault will not be allowed to participate in the predraft combine. The NFL combine takes place February 26 - 29th.
  • Fast wins cash. Adidas is offering any prospect player at the combine $1 million if they break the 40-yard dash record. The current record is 4.24 seconds. Included in the fine print – the athlete must be wearing Adidas shoes.  
  • Insert foot in mouth. Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was on the Jimmy Fallon Show, where he told an amazing and hilarious story of how he first met a kid from Memphis named Justin (Timberlake).
  • Three’s Company? Oakland Raiders announced they have signed a one-year lease agreement to stay in Oakland. The whole NFL relocation-stadium saga is about as intertwined as a telenovela so let's recap. Oakland is third in line for a possible relocation to Los Angeles. The Rams have already committed to move to L.A. and the San Diego Chargers have a year to decide if they too want to move to L.A. and share a stadium with the Rams. If not, the Raiders can make a move. Although according to reports, they really just want to stay in Oakland but need some love (i.e. money) from the City of Oakland. 

Soccer

  • Victory for the people. Liverpool has announced they will put a price freeze on tickets after an uproar from fans and a staged walkout last week.  
  • Fancy a date with a soccer player? You can start your Valentine’s Day with one of two big Premier League games this Sunday.
    • Arsenal vs Leicester City at 7 am (EST) on NBCSN
    • Aston Villa vs Liverpool at 9 am (EST) on NBCSN
  • Money isn’t everything. Leicester City is a true Cinderella story. Last year they finished in 14th place and this year they are in first place in the league where they’re beating all the teams with much higher payrolls.

Overtime

  • Wrestler Daniel Bryan of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has announced he is stepping away from the ring at the age 34 due to concussions. Bryan, who is married to reality TV star and fellow wrestler Brie Bella (one of the Bella Twins and star of the show “Total Divas”), has had a documented 10 concussions thought his career and suffered post-concussion seizures.

Sideline Stat

  • Golden State Warriors hold the best record of any NBA team in history for the first half of the season (48-4). They are on pace to set the record for wins in a season. The record is held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who went 72-10. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was a player on that Bulls team. . 

Coaches’ Corner

  • What is the NFL combine? The NFL combine is a platform for prospective NFL prospects to participate in various drills and interviews with NFL scouts to improve their visibility and draftability. Prospects can only participate if they’re invited.  The NFL Network will be covering the combine live February 26-29th. 

The Rundown: Five Things You Should Know About The NBA All-Star Game

Have you recovered from your Super Bowl nacho cheese hangover? Not Cam Newton. He’s still bitter about Sunday and doesn’t care who knows it. 

The NBA All-Star Game is this weekend in Toronto and we’re sharing the five things you need to know to be in the know.

Buzzer beater,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Five things you should know about the NBA All-Star Game

  1. The game will take place in Toronto on Sunday, February 14th at 8:30 pm (EST) on TNT.
  2. Saturday night’s excitement features the much anticipated skills competition, three-point contest and slam dunk competition.
  3. Historically, the coaches of the two teams are from the two teams that played in the NBA Finals the previous year, Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.   
    • The Cavaliers fired their head coach who coached in the Finals last year, so new head coach, Tyronn Lue, will coach team.
    • The Warriors head coach Steve Kerr coached in last year’s All-Star Game (no coach can coach two years in a row), therefore San Antonio Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich will lead the West this year. (It’s a little complicated. Here's a full explanation on why). 
  4. Sting will perform during halftime of the game.
  5. This is Kobe Bryant’s last All-Star Game. Despite his declining stats this season he was the fans' leading vote-getter for the game.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

NBA (National Basketball association)

  • Do the time for the crime. Clippers announce forward Blake Griffin will be suspended for four games without pay and then they will hold his pay for one additional game on top of that. Griffin’s suspension stems from his altercation with an equipment manager on a team road trip in January. His suspension will start once he returns in a month from the broken hand sustained in that incident. His five game paycheck is estimated to be $859,442. The fine is considered a charitable donation and will benefit disadvantaged youth in L.A. 
  • No love lost. New York Knicks announce their head coach, Derek Fisher, has been relieved of his duties. Fisher’s record in less than two seasons was not stellar, 40-97 (wins-losses). We’re sure Matt Barnes was ecstatic to hear the news. 
  • Super Shaq. Not to be outdone by the Lakers (who announced last week they were immortalizing him in a statue), Miami Heat announced they will retire Shaquille ‘Shaq’ O’Neal’s #32 jersey at the start of the 2016/2017 season. Shaq played on the Heat from 2004-2008 and won an NBA Championship in 2005-2006 season.

NCAA basketball (College) 

  • Standing on top. Villanova University is ranked #1 for the first time in school history. This is unlikely to last as they are the sixth team to assume the #1 ranking this season, the most ever to this point in the season.

NFL (National football league)

  • Show me the money. A record $132.54 million was wagered on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas sports books. The sports books profited record $13.31 million.
  • #HotRef. A star was born on Sunday at the Super Bowl but he didn’t play in the game. The Pippa Middleton of the game was the head referee, Clete Blakeman. The hashtag #HotRef became a trending topic during Sunday’s game. He even stopped by to visit Hoda and Kathie Lee on Tuesday.

Soccer

  • These boots are made for walking. Fans of the Premier League’s Liverpool staged a walk out of their game against Sunderland at the 77th minute (to signify the 77 euros it cost per ticket) to protest the rise in the price of tickets to the games. The ticket price increase was announced earlier this week to help offset costs of Liverpool stadium renovations. Tickets are expected to increase as much as 30%, although Liverpool announced that 64% of ticket prices will stay the same or be reduced.

Overtime

  • In news that will want to make you put down your morning donut and start doing crunches, the Sports Illustrated (SI) swimsuit cover will be revealed Saturday night. Last year’s honor went to Hannah Davis. SI’s swimsuit issue is making waves this year as it features plus-size model Ashley Graham. 

Sideline Stat

Coaches’ Corner

  • What exactly is involved in the NBA All-Star Game’s skills competition? According to the NBA, the three round competition includes dribbling, passing and shooting. Here’s a highlight reel from last year’s excitement.
 

CONNECT WITH Us

 
Cart (0)