Now What?
Olympic wrap-up, there’s a dance party in Toronto and hall of fame speeches that’ll inspire you this morning.
Now that the Olympics are over guess it’s time to binge-watch “Mare of Eastown” or one of the 20 other shows everyone is talking about.
So many choices, so little time,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Olympics
The last weekend of the Summer Olympics wrapped up with a few huge wins for Team USA, which finished one gold medal ahead of second-place China in the medal count. Adding to that Team USA tally were the women’s basketball team (their seventh straight gold medal), men’s basketball team (fourth consecutive gold) and women’s volleyball (first gold ever). Also, for the first time, 93 Olympic organizing committees won a medal - the most to ever win a medal at a single Olympic Games. SEE YOU IN PARIS
Overtime
The NFL (National Football League) Hall of Fame speeches are always inspirational, and this weekend’s induction lived up to the hype. We had high hopes for Peyton Manning’s speech. After all, he has been the host of “Saturday Night Live.” He had the audience laughing especially as he took a jab or two at his longtime rival Tom Brady, who attended the ceremony as Manning’s guest.
The thought-provoking speech came from former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, 78, who talked about QTL – quality time left. "Think about that," Johnson said. "I'm 78 years old and I think about QTL all the time." BE IN THE MOMENT
Sideline stat
Arguably the world’s best soccer player, Lionel Messi, is moving on. During an emotional press conference, he said farewell to his team, FC Barcelona, that he had played for since he signed with them at age 13. (He’s 34-years-old). Messi is leaving because of team financial constraints and has agreed to a two-year deal with PSG (Paris Saint-Germain). PASS THE TISSUES
Coaches’ corner
The Toronto Blue Jays (MLB – Major League Baseball) finally returned to their home stadium after being banned from traveling across the border all season due to COVID protocols. (They split their time between Buffalo and Florida). It's clear they like being home, judging by the dance party that ensues after each home win. The clubhouse turns into a club, complete with strobe lights. RAVING JAYS
What Olympic Winners Do With Their Medals
To stash or to sell?
Photo: Instagram/Olympics
What would you do with your most prized possession? You’ll never guess.
To stash or to sell?
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Team USA 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. Honorable mentions go to a school locker (Bob Suter), their agent's house (Shaun White), in the nightstand (Lindsey Vonn) and the nail polish drawer (Caitlyn Jenner). Then there's the always popular sock drawer, where a slew of Olympic athletes store their medals, including Apolo Ohno, Natalie Coughlin, Mary Lou Retton and Sue Bird. PRIZED POSSESSION
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. MAN OF HIS WORD
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. Other athletes have had no choice but to sell their medals to pay their bills. "Miracle On Ice" hockey player Mark Wells sold his medal to pay for back surgery. DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
5. USA 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. ONE MAN’S TRASH IS ANOTHER’S TREASURE
Did you know? This year's Olympic medals are made of recycled metals from small electronic devices like mobile phones. But the medal isn't the only prize. American medal winners receive a bonus for their win. The scale is $37,000 for gold, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. Thanks to the "Victory Tax," US Olympians earning less than $1 million/year won't have to pay tax on this prize money.
5 Summer Olympic Storylines To Follow
Kon'nichiwa world.
This week marks one year until the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. They’re already off to a better start than Rio (although that’s probably no surprise to anyone) and there are new athletes and events in the spotlight.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Baseball and softball are on the dance card for the first time in 12 years. A women’s softball game will be the first event of the 2020 Olympics. It’s being held two days before the Opening Ceremony and will be played in Fukushima, the site of the 2011 nuclear plant meltdowns. YOU GLOW GIRL HAS A WHOLE NEW MEANING
2. Karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing will make their Olympic debuts. Hopes are that by adding these sports, more millennials fall in love with the Olympics. That being said, don't count out the “old” guys. There’s talk that 47-year-old surfing icon Kelly Slater might make a run at the inaugural event in Tokyo. NOT YOUR GRANDMA’S GAMES
3. Some of your favorite Americans are expected to return to Tokyo. The U.S. women soccer team is eyeing their first World Cup-Olympic back-to-back championships, Simone Biles will be the veteran on the gymnastics team, the “Flying Tomato” Shaun White could swap a snowboard for a skateboard and the queen of U.S. track, Allyson Felix, is on her journey back after an emergency C-section in November sidelined her. HI OLD FRIEND
4. Sponsors are clearly excited about the games with $3 billion already spent on domestic sponsorships, a record three times more than any other Summer Olympics. Mother Earth is excited too because the medals will all be made out of recycled gadgets, i.e. that old cell phone. SPIRIT FINGERS
5. Two storylines that are sure to be part of the conversation leading up to the games include the rules put into place by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) that limits the ability of certain athletes with high levels of testosterone to compete as women. Enter South African runner Caster Semenya, who claims the IAAF used her as a guinea pig to see how regulating her testosterone levels via medication affected her performance on the track. Then there’s New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard, who could become the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics. Hubbard, who formerly competed as Gavin Hubbard, began transitioning six years ago and has been taking the weightlifting world by storm. THE CENTER OF DISCUSSION
Wednesday Wisdom
Let’s talk shop with the top three biggest stories in sports today including who is getting a little cosmetic work done, why we'll never be able to afford a sports team and proof men drive women to drink? READ