marriage proposals

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About The Ryder Cup

Don’t put your Team U.S.A. shirt away from the Olympics quite yet. Golf’s Ryder Cup starts tomorrow and Team U.S.A. could use your support. Just make sure you wash your America shirt from August first.

For the birdie,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Five Things To Know About the Ryder Cup

  1. The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between 12-man teams from the U.S. and Europe. The location rotates every competition between a European and American course of the home team’s choice.
  2. Teams are made up of a captain, vice captains and players. The captains do not play in the competition, but act as coaches. Players collect an individual score each day but the overall team score is what matters.
  3. The U.S. players are chosen by points compiled by the PGA. European players are chosen in a similar fashion by the European Tour's World Points List. The team captains also have the honor of selecting four players (U.S.) or three players (European) of their choice to round out the roster. 
  4. The competition started in 1927, but the first left-hander to play in the competition wasn’t until 1977 – Englishman Peter Danson. 
  5. There have only been six holes-in-one in Ryder Cup history, and only one was by an American – Scott Verplank. 
  • Extra credit – The women of golf play in a similarly formatted competition, The Solheim Cup, in the off years of the Ryder Cup.

NFL (National Football League)

  • Don’t rush it. Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt had back surgery in the off-season and miraculously came back to play in the season opener. After week three, Watt re-injured his back and will be placed on the IR (injured reserved). You know somewhere his mama is shaking her head and saying "I told you not to play. See what happens?"

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Bigger than sports. Fallen teammate Jose Fernandez was scheduled to pitch Monday for the Miami Marlins but tragically lost his life Sunday morning in a boating accident. After canceling Sunday’s game to deal with the tragic loss, Marlins played the Mets in a highly emotional game on Monday. The Marlins held a touching tribute to Fernandez and all wore the #16 in honor of him. Leadoff hitter Dee Gordon hit his first home run of the season into the upper deck. In an interview Gordon said “I’ve never hit a ball that far....I don’t have kids, so that’s the best moment of my life to hit a home run for him.” Marlins won the game. 
  • Lovable losers no more. The Chicago Cubs continue to show their dominance, winning their 100th game of the season for the first time since 1935. (The season is 162 games). They also clinched home-field advantage for the National League playoffs.

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

  • New York state of mind. Now that MMA is legalized in New York State, UFC is looking to make a huge splash with UFC 205 on November 12th at Madison Square Garden. They announced that the fight card will feature three championship fights, including top draw Conor McGregor (he was one the fighters involved in the water bottle throwing press conference) vs Eddie Alvarez.  

Overtime

  • During the Red Sox-Yankees (MLB) game, a Yankees fan was set to propose to his girlfriend but when they appeared on the big screen for the proposal, he realized he lost the ring. Through a panicked group effort the ring was found and the proposal went on as planned. Don’t worry she said “yes!” 

Sideline stat

  • While the U.S. leads the overall win total (25-13) in the Ryder Cup, they haven’t won the competition since 2008.

Coaches’ corner

  • What is the injured reserve list? The term injured reserve list or “IR” is an official designation used by the NFL for players with a major injury who temporarily cannot play. This allows a team to open up a spot on the active roster (guys who are eligible to play) to fill with a replacement player. Being on the “IR” means the player cannot return to the active roster for at least eight weeks.

The Rundown: 5 Wacky Things Olympians Have Done With Their Medals

You’re on the medal stand at the Olympics claiming your hard earned medal. The anthem has been sung and the party’s over, now what do you do with your medal? If you’re Michael Phelps, you wear one every day for the month of February and you’ll never have to wear the same one twice.

What would you do with your Olympic medal if you won?

My precious,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS – Many athletes sell their medals to simply pay the bills. For more about why they’re not rolling in the dough, check out our Stilettos on the Glass Ceiling article on “Why Olympians Can't Quit Their Day Jobs.”

Five wacky things Olympians have done with their medals

  1. Team U.S.A. Women’s Soccer player Christie Rampone keeps her medals in her pots and pans. Her rationale? Who’s going to look there? They will now.
  2. U.S.A. men’s basketball won a disappointing bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic games in Atlanta. Unhappy with the teams’ performance, Carmelo Anthony gave his bronze medal to a family member who auctioned it off for $14,000.
  3. Sprinter Carl Lewis put his 1987 medal in his father’s casket at his funeral. He told his mom that he was going to go back and get another one. And he did.   
  4. Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko sold his medal from the 1996 Olympics for a reported $1 million with the proceeds going to a children’s charity he started with his brother.   
  5. And who wouldn’t think to look there? Other honorable mentions go to a school locker, their agent’s house, in the nightstand and in the nail polish drawer. Then there’s the always popular sock drawer which is where a slew of Olympic athletes store their medals including Apolo Ohno, Natalie Coughlin, Mary Lou Retton and Sue Bird.

Summer Olympics

  • Tough break. Beach volleyball sensation Kerri Walsh Jennings suffered her first ever Olympic loss last night - she was previously 26-0. Walsh Jennings and her partner, April Ross, lost in the semifinals to a gritty but good Brazilian team. The women will now battle the other Brazilian team for bronze tonight.  
  • A dream come true. Simone Biles won her fifth medal of the Rio Olympics, (four gold and one bronze). Biles then received the shock of her life, something better than a medal; she met her crush actor Zac Efron. Biles admitted earlier in the Olympics that she has a life-size cutout of Efron in her room. She may be invincible in the Olympic arena, but she’s still a 19-year-old girl.
  • Let’s get down. Allyson Felix became the winningest track and field athlete in U.S.A. history with seven medals. Felix brought home a silver in the 400m when she lost out on the gold in a photo finish, losing to Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller who dove across the finish line to win.
  • A different kind of medal. U.S.A. triple jumper Will Claye won the silver medal and then jumped into the stands and proposed to his hurdler girlfriend to make it “the best day of his life.” Marriage proposals have been dominating the headlines of the Olympics where everyone is handing out the hardware. 

Overtime

  • Boys will be boys. Kansas City Royals (baseball) found a praying mantis in their dugout which they dubbed the #RallyMantis. The bug became a good luck charm, “guiding” the team on a 5-1 streak. Unfortunately, it was a bug and not a Jedi and it died. (Insert crying emoji here). As luck would have it, on Monday night another praying mantis appeared in the Royals dugout and it guided them to a win that night.

Sideline stat

  • U.S.A. women’s gymnastics captain, affectionately known as "Grandma" by her teammates, 22-year-old Aly Raisman has won three medals in Rio which makes her the second-most-decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast of all time, one behind Shannon Miller.

Coaches’ Corner

  • Today’s coaches’ corner is brought to you by a double dose of sportsmanship:
  1. American Abbey D’Agostino trained her entire life to run the 5,000m race in the Olympics. During her race, New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin tripped and then D’Agostina stumbled over her, injuring her knee. D'Agostino helped Hamblin up and while not in a position to win, they finished the race.
  2. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt is one of the most popular athletes at the Games but during a post-race interview we saw what kind of person he really is. Bolt paused his chat to honor the playing the U.S.A. national anthem. Respect.

 

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