LAST NIGHT'S GAME 7/9/21 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 7/9/21

Wanna Get Away?

It’s going to be a party weekend in London, your favorite athletes hit the red carpet and what murraya and solidungulate have to do with $50k.

Thanks to COVID and masks, you're not likely to spend your flight stuck next to a chatty seatmate on a plane, but if you do, you're now prepared to make small talk about more than your vaccination records.

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The Last Night's Game Team

Soccer + Tennis = One Heck Of A Weekend

The place to be this weekend is in London. On Sunday, England's National Football Team (aka soccer) will be playing for their first major tournament championship in 55 years. They will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final in Wembley Stadium with 60,000 fans present. HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS

Over at Wimbledon, the stadium will be at 100% capacity for the crowning of the new women's (Saturday) and men's (Sunday) champion. And Wimbledon does it right when it comes to equal pay. Both of the winners take home $2.35 million in prize money. AND THE CROWD GOES WILD

Overtime

The biggest night in sports is Saturday night. Everyone's favorite athletes and celebrities will hit the red carpet to celebrate the best in sports over the past year at the ESPYs. The recipients of the night's three significant awards aren't necessarily the biggest names in sports but the athletes with the most drive and biggest hearts. The red carpet fashion is always worth checking out. Want more on why to tune into a night where the athletes ditch their jerseys for couture? Check out this week's podcast. AND THE WINNER IS…

Sideline stat

"Querimonious," "solidungulate," and "Nepeta," those were some of the words 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde had to overcome to win last night's Scripps National Spelling Bee. With the correct spelling of murraya, a type of tree, Avant-garde became the first winner from Louisiana, the first African-American winner of the Spelling Bee and the recipient of $50,000 in prize money. Oh, did we mention she's also an elite middle school basketball player? SHE'S GOING PLACES

Coaches' corner

The Phoenix Suns are up 2-0 in the NBA (National Basketball Association) Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. Last night before the game, Devin Booker of the Suns received the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his dedication to the community. Amongst many things, Booker donated $100,000 to five non-profits in the community to help Arizona youth and also serves as a Special Olympics global ambassador. Booker and his Suns will play in game three on Sunday in Milwaukee. NEXT LEVEL

What to watch

The Japanese Government declared a state of emergency due to COVID and will no longer allow fans at any of the Summer Olympic competitions in Tokyo. TBD if they'll do the same for events taking place throughout the country. COUNTING ON TEAM SPIRIT

LAST NIGHT'S GAME 1/27/21 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 1/27/21

Five Unwritten Rules of Sports

Rules were made to be broken, except on the field.

If you didn’t know, then now you know.

1. Don’t walk across the green. Have you ever seen golfers squat behind the ball before they putt? They’re lining up their shot - imagine an actual line from the ball to the hole. That’s why you NEVER EVER walk across the green. If you walk across the green and end up walking through another golfer’s line, their ball could rollover your footprint and possibly change direction. While walking through someone’s line is disrespectful and annoying, it’s best to stay off the green as much as possible. Better to be safe than sorry!

2. Kick the ball out of bounds if an opposing player is hurt. This is one of the more sincere and compassionate unwritten rules of sports. In soccer, when a player gets hurt, the referee usually blows the whistle to stop play. However, the ref doesn’t always see it, therefore it is customary to kick the ball out of bounds. (This is assuming the player who hurt is actually down and not faking one of those Academy Award-winning performances we sometimes associate with soccer). Most of the time, the team that kicked the ball out will get it back, but even if your team doesn’t, it’s the right thing to do and you can pat yourself on the back for being a respectful opponent.

3. Don’t bunt during a no-hitter. It’s no secret that being on the opposite side of a no-hitter in baseball sucks. It’s pretty dang embarrassing for the other team. But for the pitcher, it’s a feat unlike any other. The first thought for the team up against the pitcher would be to bunt -just an easy little tap and then an all-out sprint to first base. Simple, right? Just one hit, and the frustration ends? No. Nope. Can’t do it. Why? Well, even though there’s no written rule for it, it’s a respect thing, so don’t do it.

4. Don’t shoot a last-second basket when your team is up. This one might seem like a no-brainer when your basketball team is up by a lot, and the other team is dragging a bit because they know they’re not going to win. It would be super easy to run the length of the court and hit the most impressive slam dunk of all time. Don’t do it. There’s no reason to do it except to embarrass yourself and the losing team. It’s disrespectful and adds nothing to the game itself. Although nobody can technically stop you, an earful from your coach and some snide remarks from opposing players will be sure to follow.

5. Don’t even think about an onside kick if you’re demolishing the other team. This unwritten rule in football is similar to not shooting a last-second basket when you’re up by a lot. An onside kick is a kickoff strategy that involves the kicking team kicking the ball more laterally and a shorter distance so their team can more easily retrieve the ball. When you’re up by a lot in football, an onside kick is flashy, obnoxious, and there’s really no reason for your team to need the ball back when they’re not receiving. Not onside kicking when you’re up by a lot is just a respect thing. Just like running up the score a bunch just because you can is disrespectful, so is this. Be a good sport.

LAST NIGHT'S GAME 7/4/19 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 7/4/19

Weekend Warrior

The bottle cap challenge is all the rage, how the U.S. Women broke a monumental record and why you might want to become a vegetarian.

Make your own fireworks this weekend.

Heating up the small talk,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Women’s World Cup

If you think everyone is excited about Sunday’s finals game between the U.S. and the Netherlands, you’d be right. Proud U.S. Soccer fans have made the U.S. Women's home jersey the number one soccer jersey, men's or women's, ever sold on Nike.com in one season. (The game is Sunday at 11 am EST). HEY LOOK MA I MADE IT

With the soar in popularity of women’s soccer, ESPN picked up the television rights to the second half of the National Women's Soccer League season, which starts back after the World Cup. BIG FAN