Tony Romo

The Rundown: Natural Selection

The big weekend is here. It’s time for Selection Sunday, which is when we find out the teams that make up the 68 teams in the March Madness bracket.

 

Try to contain yourselves,

The Last Night’s Game Team

 

PS – There’s still time to submit your questions as part of our March Madness 101 as well as join the Last Night’s Game Bracket Challenge. We promise you a good time. (You can also submit your questions in the comment section below). 

World Baseball Classic

  • Quest for glory. Team U.S.A. begins their quest for baseball world domination in Miami today against Columbia. Would you like to know more about World Baseball Classic? Round the bases of knowledge with our five things to know. (Click here for the full schedule).

NCAA Basketball (College)

  • Plug the leak. Last year the March Madness bracket was leaked online before the exclusive selection show could reveal all of the matchups. Extra precautions are being taken this year for members of the selection committee. They’ll follow strict guidelines like a trial jury such as having all meals delivered by room service and security stationed on the committee members’ floor to ward off uninvited guests.
  • Aborted takeoff. On Wednesday, the Michigan Wolverines’ plane slid off the runway on their way to the Big 10 basketball tournament. The team made it to the game but their uniforms did not. The team was forced to play in their practice jerseys because their game uniforms were stuck on the plane and are now considered evidence in the crash.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

  • Going all in. Heading into the big weekend in Las Vegas, NASCAR announced they will be adding one additional race to the Vegas track in 2018. The Vegas events will take place in March and September.

Overtime

  • The Iditarod is one of the most grueling races in the world. The dog sled race is nearly 1,000 miles in the Alaskan wilderness. Yesterday one team of dogs showed up to the stage’s finish line without their musher, who fell asleep and fell off the sled. Good dogs.

Sideline stat

  • National League MVP Kris Bryant, who plays for the Chicago Cubs, set a record with his new contract but it’s not nearly as much as you think. He signed a 1-year/$1.05 million deal, which makes him the highest-paid player in a second year of service time in MLB (Major League Baseball) history.

Coaches’ corner

The Rundown: 5 Things To Know About NFL Cheerleaders

You’re halfway through the week – you can do it!  

We’re channeling our inner cheerleader to put extra pep in your step and bring you today’s Rundown.

We’ve got spirit yes we do,

The Last Night’s Game Team  

Five Things to Know About NFL Cheerleaders

  1. In the NFL, cheerleaders make on average $9/hour or $100-150 per game. In case you were wondering what other key players in a game make, the NFL rookie minimum salary is $435,000 and the average pay for concession workers is $10-14/hour. Many cheerleaders have a flexible job that allows them to maintain the vigorous schedule during the season. Some of them are teachers, nurses or full-time students.
  2. The women are required to maintain a certain look (think hair color, makeup, no weight gain) with fear that they can be benched without pay if any facet of the contract is violated. Some team’s cheer coaches conduct “jiggle tests” to assess the firmness of the cheerleader's bodies.
  3. The NFL’s most famous pom-pom wielding gals, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, have a vigorous application process that includes a written test with questions like “Who is the leader of North Korea? How many yards are assessed for a personal foul penalty?”
  4. A former Oakland Raiders cheerleader sued the team because she and her fellow cheerleaders were making an equivalent of $5/hour. She won her suit and the conversation around unfair wages for cheerleaders began. Many team are now paying their cheerleaders more in line with their state’s minimum wage, including the Raiders who upped the hourly rate to $9/hour (Jan 2015).
  5. There are six NFL teams without cheerleaders - Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers.
  • Extra credit: This video is guaranteed to make you smile. Lots of team’s cheerleaders dressed up for Halloween (think sexy pilot or sassy cowgirl). Romi Bean of the Denver Broncos cheer team took it to a whole new, awesome level dressing up like a T-Rex. Yep. Then she absolutely nailed her dance routine – with little T-rex arms and pom-poms. Like a boss. 

NFL (National Football League)

  • What controversy? Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is set to return from an injury but his replacement Dak Prescott has killing it on the field. (Something Romo hasn’t done in a long time). Romo said he is in full support of the rookie keeping the starting job. Prescott has lead the Cowboys to a stellar record with only one loss. (The name Tony Romo might sound familiar because he used to date Jessica Simpson).

Soccer

  • Rough road ahead. Team U.S.A. suffered its second loss in a row in World Cup 2018 qualifying, this time losing to Costa Rica. Qualifying games resume in March 2017 and the U.S. has a big hole to dig themselves out of to make it to the World Cup in Russia. Who wants to go to Russia anyway? 

Overtime

  • This weekend while fans rushed the field, Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard threw his helmet into the air to celebrate his team’s win over the Michigan Wolverines, only to lose his helmet in the chaos. Local authorities finally located his helmet on an Iowa fan who was wearing it around town to the all the bars. One man’s trash is another one’s treasure.

Sideline stat

  • After a weekend full of upsets, the College Football Playoff rankings did a little shuffle Tuesday night. Clemson dropped from #2 to #4 after their loss. Ohio State jumped to #2 and Washington fell out of top four. How does your team rank? Check here.
  1. Alabama Crimson Tide
  2. Ohio State Buckeye
  3. Michigan Wolverines
  4. Clemson Tigers

Coaches’ Corner

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition - Start Your Week

Thanks for starting your Monday and your last week of August with us.

Go forth and conquer,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS –We’re not only on Facebook and Twitter but LinkedIn and Instagram too! #sportscurious

Little League World Series

  • Undefeated. If you thought global domination was only for the Olympics and Dr. Evil, think again. The United States won the Little League World Series yesterday defeating South Korea. The little league team from New York breezed through the United States bracket undefeated. Sunday, they defeated the winners of the international bracket, South Korea. They are the first American team to win the title since 2011.

NFL (National Football League)

  • Bad break. Hopefully you saw this news before you drafted Dallas Cowboys’  quarterback Tony Romo to your fantasy football team. The injury prone quarterback broke a bone in his back during a preseason game. It will not require surgery but he is expected to miss significant time (8-10 weeks). Rookie (i.e. zero NFL experience) quarterback Dak Prescott  will be forced to carry the weight of the All-American team while Romo is out. No pressure.  
  • Stirring up controversy. This weekend San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick (pronounced cap-er-nick) did not stand up for the pregame national anthem. He said “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." Social media exploded with people expressing their views, but the NFL and the 49ers both said they have to “respect the player’s decision. They are not required to stand.”

F1 Racing (Formula One)

  • Waffles anyone? In the beautiful backdrop of Belgium, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg took the lead on the first lap of the race and never looked back. His teammate and overall points leader, Lewis Hamilton, battled back from 21st place to finishing in third. The next race will be this weekend in Italy. It’s a shame they don’t let them race in better places.

Overtime

  • Part of the “Final Five” U.S.A. women’s Olympic gymnastics team stole the show last night at the MTV VMA’s (MTV Video Music Awards). They were without one teammate, Gabby Douglas who was in hospital for a mouth infection. The four presented an award to Beyoncé, for which Laurie “Human Emoji” Hernandez was over the moon with excitement.   

Sideline stat

  • NASCAR's Kyle Larson, 24, made his first trip to victory lane in Michigan on Sunday. This win is long overdue for the talented racer with 99 career starts under his hood.

Coaches’ corner

  • The U.S. Open starts today in New York. The Open is the fourth major of the tennis season. The usual suspects will be there but here’s who everyone is talking about:
    • Fresh off her Olympic gold medal win in Rio, Monica Puig looks to carry that momentum into the Open.  
    • Serena Williams looks to win her record 23rd grand slam title, but an injury to her shoulder that led to her third round loss at the Olympics could make that a challenge.
    • Men’s favorite, Novak Djokovic, is also nursing a wrist injury that he suffered playing in the Olympics.
    • Roger Federer is sitting out this year’s U.S Open to nurse his bum knee. 

 

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