Golden Hour

While diving deep into sports may not be your thing (ours either), it’s a perfect foray into a conversation and making a connection.

Something for everyone,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Olympics

All eyes are again on Simone Biles, with the individual events (uneven bars, vault, floor, etc.) beginning on Sunday. In her Instagram stories, she said she is struggling with the 'twisties' – her "mind and body are simply not in sync." She has been very open about her struggle and even answered questions in her stories from fans about the twisties. There has been no word if she will compete in any of those events. HANG IN THERE

Overtime

Hearts broke all over Chicago last night when news that the Chicago Cubs (MLB – Major League Baseball) traded away fan-favorite Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo and his BFF, Kris Bryant, played together on the Cubs since 2015 and were part of the team that broke the Cubs' championship curse. The two, dubbed Bryzzo, are known for picking up fan's dinner tabs and being all-around good guys. They will now be rivals as Rizzo was traded to the Yankees ahead of the MLB trade deadline. WELCOME TO NEW YORK??

Sideline stat

History continues to be made in Tokyo. This time, San Marino claims the title as the least populated country to win an Olympic medal at the Summer or Winter Games, a record previously held by Lichtenstein. Alessandra Perilli won the bronze medal in women's trap shooting for San Marino, which is in Northern Italy. The microstate has a population of around 34,000. Their entire population wouldn't even fill Wrigley Field. SMALL COUNTRY, BIG DREAMS

Coaches’ corner

Yesterday, with her teammates, including Simone Biles, in the stands, American gymnast Suni Lee, 18, became the fifth straight gold medal winner for the US in the Women's Gymnastics All-Around. Lee has a great story herself. She is the first Hmong American to compete in the Olympics. Her dad, who has since been paralyzed from a freak accident, built her a balance beam in their backyard so she could practice. 

FYI, track and field coverage continues to ramp up as swimming and gymnastics start to wrap up.

What to watch

The NBA (National Basketball Association) Draft was last night, and the new name, image, likeness (NIL) rules may have already made an impact as 88 early entry candidates (players who still have eligibility) withdrew from the 2021 draft. Cade Cunningham from Oklahoma State University was drafted in the No. 1 spot to Detroit Pistons. However, the headlines were the blockbuster trade of veteran Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook, like new teammate LeBron James, is involved in the Hollywood movie scene. The NBA pre-season begins in early October. HOOP DREAMS

Our 5 Favorite Storylines To Follow During The Summer Olympics

Photo: Unsplash

The Olympics are filled with thousands of stories, with over 11,000 athletes competing. It was hard to narrow it down, but here are five storylines worth following during the Tokyo Olympics. 

Gold medal-worthy small talk, 

The Last Night’s Game Team 

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1. Wondering why it seems like the Olympic coverage appears to be overly female-friendly? The abundance of media coverage is seemingly because they’re the names we’re most likely to hear announced on the podium. Women have won more than 50% of Team U.S.A.’s medals at the last two Summer Olympics. GET IT GIRLS

2. Keep an eye on Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim, golfers from South Korea. The two PGA (Professional Golfers Association) golfers dropped out of the British Open earlier this month to focus on their preparation for the Olympics. An Olympic medal for these two athletes (or any other South Korean athlete) would not only make their country proud but would provide the Olympian with an exemption from mandatory two-year service in the South Korean military. This exemption is something that not even the members of international sensation K-pop group BTS are able to achieve. EYES ON THE PRIZE 

3. With the topic of transgender children in sports being hotly debated in the U.S., Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, will represent her country and proudly carry the title of the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics. After failed efforts from neighboring countries to ban her from the Commonwealth Games, Hubbard pushed on, with support from her fellow New Zealanders, and landed a spot on the Olympic team. SHINE ON

4. They were, and then they weren’t. The Japanese government was prepared to allow fans, Japan residents only, at Olympic competitions. Then earlier this month, they changed their mind, declaring a state of emergency due to COVID and will no longer allow fans at any of the Summer Olympic competitions in Tokyo. This ban on fans includes family and friends of the athletes competing as foreign fans were banned back in March. CHEERING FROM AFAR

5. There are five sports taking place in the Olympics for the first time. Look for your favorite men’s and women’s athletes to compete in surfing, sport climbing, skateboarding (park & street), karate (kumite & kata) and softball/baseball. While softball/baseball was voted out of the Olympics in 2006, they’re back and will bring the most new athletes to the Games, with 144 men and 90 women participating in the sport. GOING FOR GOLD

Onward And Upward

Dive headfirst into the weekend with the confidence to talk a little sports.

Darn right you can,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Summer Olympics

Former Japanese Olympian Seiko Hashimoto is the new leader of Japan’s Olympic Committee. This appointment comes after the former chief stepped down after inappropriate remarks where he said, "When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying.” Needless to say, Hashimoto steps in to lead the Summer Olympics amidst COVID and a year delay. YOU’VE GOT THIS

Overtime

Thanks to Houston Rockets (NBA - National Basketball Association) player John Wall, we have some good news to share this morning. Wall worked with his Instagram followers to find a restaurant that could feed more than 500 people who were sheltered after the Arctic storm that hit Texas. All 500 people received a meal, thanks to Wall and his friends. A HAND UP

Sideline stat

One of her athletes may have finished 25 seconds behind the leader, but Iran skiing coach Samira Zargari is proud of her team, even if she’s cheering them on from afar. Zargari’s husband blocked the Iranian ski coach from traveling to Italy for the world championships. He used a local law to ban her from travel after she refused to grant him a divorce after he started dating her best friend. While she’s sad not to be there with her team, Zargari said she wanted to launch a “campaign” to change the law. CAN’T KEEP A GOOD WOMAN DOWN

Coaches’ corner

We’ve received a handful of questions around the new Fan Controlled Football League, so ask, and you shall receive. The league is the only sports league where the fans control every facet of the game. Every decision from the lineup to the play calling is fan-decided. As of now, the league only has four teams. Still, it is backed by some reasonably notable investors in former NFL (National Football League) stars Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch, rapper Quavo, baseball’s Trevor May and more. DIVE IN FURTHER

What to watch

The NHL (National Hockey League) is taking the scenic route for a few of this weekend’s games. There will be two games taking place outdoor, along with a Green Day concert on Lake Tahoe's shores. COULD BE WORSE