5 Reasons You Should Get Excited About The NBA and NHL Finals

It’s a pretty exciting time with two major sports championships happening at the same time. Here’s what you need to know.  

Let’s get right to it,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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5 Reasons You Should Get Excited About The NBA and NHL Finals

1. If you’re having déjà vu over the NBA (National Basketball Association) finals, you're not the only one. This is the fourth straight meeting of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors in the finals, with the Warriors taking home two championships to the Cavs one. HISTORY

2. Here’s something you don’t hear often, LeBron James and his Cavs are the clear underdogs (especially at the sportsbooks). James is the only Cavs player to play in all four matchups against the Warriors and is playing in his eighth consecutive finals. Think about what you were doing in 2010 (it wasn’t playing on Instagram because it hasn’t been invented yet). That was the last time James was not in the NBA finals.

3. While the NBA finals are a matchup of familiar foes, the battle for the Stanley Cup (NHL – National Hockey League) is the most unlikely scenario featuring the Vegas Golden Knights, in their first year as an expansion team, and the Washington Capitals, who have never won the cup and haven’t been in the finals in 20 years. A GUIDE TO THE FINALS

4. The pregame ceremony before a Golden Knights game is pure Vegas-style and is a must see. Not only is it a who’s who of celebrities but anything can happen and it does during the pregame on the ice. (A live tiger, fire or Lil Jon? No problem). Fans are not only tuning in for the entertainment but for great hockey with game one already setting record TV ratings. A DIFFERENT KIND OF PREGAME

5. The Golden Knights are the first expansion team to reach the finals in 40 years. The team’s roster is made up of “misfits,” as they call themselves, who were selected from the other 30 NHL teams in a draft. (Want to know more about how the team came together? Here’s a quick video explanation). At the beginning of the season, the odds were 500-1 that the Golden Knights would win the Stanley Cup. If you would have bet $10 on the team then, you could be the proud owner of $5,000, if they win. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. PLACE YOUR BETS

- The NBA finals start Thursday night and game two of the quest for the Stanley Cup is tonight in Vegas. (The Golden Knights are up 1-0). Both series are best-of-seven games.

It just keeps coming

Want to keep the conversation going today? Here’s some fodder for your friends, including Serena’s superhero look, why you should never make a bet with the Twittersphere and when you get busted on social media. READ

No More FOMO

Whether you like it or not, sports are going to come up this weekend so why not be a part of the conversation?

If you can’t beat them, join them,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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NFL (National Football League)

When the HR department exists for a reason. The NFL Combine took place last week. That’s where prospective NFL players show off their athletic and mental skills. Teams are known for asking intrusive questions during the interview sessions but it's come to light that some may have crossed the line this year asking players about their sexuality. As Salt-N-Pepa said, “none of your business.”

Tennis

When it's back to the grind again. Serena Williams made her return to tennis yesterday, winning in straight sets in the first round in Indian Wells, CA. You may recall this is the tournament site where her husband put up the billboards proclaiming her as the Greatest Momma Of All Time.

Overtime

One NASCAR (National Association For Stock Car Auto Racing) driver has found a brilliant way to connect with fans – digital autograph sessions. Fans tweet him photos of items they want autographed (and yes some of them are weird), he digitally signs them and tweets the photo back at them. It’s brilliant – he can connect with fans and he doesn’t even have to put on pants.

Sideline stat

Tom Brady’s illustrious locks are no longer. He and thousands of others shaved their heads for charity. Their combined efforts raised over $7 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Brady didn't go all in, he ended up with a buzz cut but not the Mr. Clean look.

Coaches’ corner

March Madness begins on Sunday with Selection Sunday. This is where they announce which men's teams that are playing in the big college basketball tournament. The women's teams will be announced on Monday. A few terms to have you in your pocket for the weekend are:

• Automatic bid – these are the 32 teams that won their conference tournament and are automatically in the tournament.

• At large – these are the teams that did not win their tournament and will have to get in based on their season record. Those 36 teams will be sweating it out on Sunday until they hear their team name called.

The Top 5 Oscar Winning Sports Movies

Hollywood takes the red carpet this weekend for the Academy Awards. What does this have to do with sports you ask? Well for one, Kobe Bryant is nominated for an Oscar. That and unlike most of the Oscar nominated movies, these are ones you’ve actually seen.

Pass the popcorn,

The Last Night’s Game

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The Top 5 Oscar Winning Sports Movies(in no particular order)

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 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.

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 Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing awards. A big fat TKO for Rocky and Adrian.

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.

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), Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman). The other flick with four wins? Chariots of Fire.

Honorable mentions of sports films that were nominated but didn’t win: Moneyball, Field of Dreams and Hoosiers.

Intermission break

While you map out your movie marathon, here are the top three things everyone is buzzing about in sports today including which mom is the greatest of all time (besides yours of course), why the claws are coming out in the NFL and what epic thing Ellen is doing to support a group of gold medal winners. READ