Better Than Advertised
Remembering 9/11, how much would you pay for a ‘sure’ win and the brilliant and strategic reason the Saints-Packers game is being played in Florida.
The NFL season kicked off last night with an Ed Sheeran concert. Oh, and a football game. Sheeran's NFL merch may not have lived up to expectations but the game exceeded them. Here’s to hoping your weekend does the same.
Thinking out loud,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Remembering 9/11
Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In the weeks following 9/11, it seemed like sports was the sense of normalcy so many craved. This weekend, teams across the country will be honoring those who were lost. The NFL (National Football League), MLB (Major League Baseball) and numerous college football teams have added pregame tributes, with some wearing special uniforms.
Select NFL teams are partnering with Tuesday’s Children, an organization that aids “families who have suffered losses due to the events of 9/11, post-9/11 military service or other acts of mass violence and terrorism,” to host and recognize a family during their home game. WE WILL NEVER FORGET
Overtime
The New Orleans Saints (NFL) were forced to move their home opener against the Green Bay Packers due to Hurricane Ida, but how they finally landed on the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium as their home away from home is interesting. First, Aaron Rodgers’ (Packers QB) numbers show he struggles when playing in Florida. Florida also gave the Saints the humidity advantage as their players are used to it. Then out of the three available stadiums in Florida - Miami, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville - they picked the one that would be the most expensive for Packers fans to travel to, so they might still have home field advantage. BRILLIANT
Sideline stat
LSU (Lousiana State) is looking to bounce back after their first game that ended in a disappointing loss. But they’ll have to do it against a familiar foe - the son of LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. Orgeron’s son is the quarterback for LSU’s Saturday opponent, McNeese State. The mismatched game will likely be a blowout, but it’s common practice for college teams to pay opponents from smaller schools for an easy win. In fact, LSU is paying McNeese $600,000 to play them this weekend. NO SUCH THING AS BAD PR
Coaches’ corner
The final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season, the US Open, comes to a close on Sunday. We know that the youth movement of Leylah Fernandez, 19, and Emma Raducanu, 18, will play on Saturday in the all-teenage women’s singles finals. The men’s final will be determined later today, but we may be witnessing history if Novak Djokovic wins in the semifinals today. If he makes it to the finals and wins on Sunday, he will be the first tennis player since Steffi Graff in 1988 to win all four majors in a calendar year. FINISH STRONG
A Moment Like This
Ushering in a 3-day weekend with big things to start off the college football season, two tennis phenoms taking the court and football fashion.
Can we take a moment to recognize the extravaganza that is this weekend -- week one of college football and a three-day weekend?
We can barely contain ourselves,
The Last Night’s Game Team
PS : Make yourself armed and dangerous in week one of college football. First, we decoded the 2019 college football rankings for your perusal. Then, we’re helping you dress the part with our newest feature on what to wear to a football game.
College Football
Hold on to your hats because it’s week one in college football and it’s going to be a wild one. (5 things you need to know about the college football season) To celebrate playing in the first college football game 150 years ago, Rutgers will be wearing special uniforms to commemorate the anniversary. TAKING YOU WAY WAY BACK
Overtime
Love food and feel like it’s time to take on a new career? Pickswise, a sports betting website, is seeking an official NFL (National Football League) food tester, a person who will travel around the country, visiting football stadiums to find the “best signature dishes throughout the league.” DO THE JOB PERKS INCLUDE ANTACIDS?
Sideline stat
U.S. Women’s Soccer player Carli Lloyd is considering giving an NFL kicking career a shot in 2020. She nailed a 55-yard-field goal in Philadelphia Eagles practice and that piqued the interest of some teams. Hall of Famer Morten Anderson, one of two full-time placekickers ever inducted into the hall of fame, took to Twitter to offer his help. LEARNING FROM THE BEST
Coaches’ corner
He may be bruised and battered from his plane crash, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. will still be behind the wheel of a race car this weekend. Since he retired from NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) in 2017, he’s been racing in one race a year for his own race team that competes in the second-tier XFINITY Series. AIN’T NOBODY GONNA HOLD ME DOWN
What to watch
15-year-old tennis sensation Coco Gauff is taking on another tennis phenom in #1 ranked Naomi Osaka, who beat her idol Serena Williams in last year’s U.S. Open. Gauff and Osaka will meet on the court at the U.S. Open on Saturday. LOVE-LOVE
Let's Do This
Coffee? Check. Leftovers for lunch? Yum. Great chitchat to share at the office? You do now.
Coffee? Check. Leftovers for lunch? Yum. Great chitchat to share at the office? You do now.
Bring it on Monday,
The Last Night's Game Team
Little League Baseball World Series
Aloha champions. Providing their state with a much needed pick me up after Hurricane Lane, the team from Hawaii beat the South Korean team to claim the title of Little League Baseball World Series Champions. The Hawaiians and their opponents then engaged in an unusual series tradition, collecting a handful of infield dirt in baggies to commemorate their playing time. BRINGING SAND TO THE BEACH
Overtime
Week one of college football starts this Thursday but the University of South Carolina Gamecocks are having to do a little extra cosmetic work before their season opener. This weekend’s Jay-Z and Beyoncé concert destroyed the turf, days before the team is scheduled to take the field. ALWAYS TIME FOR A LAST MINUTE FACE-LIFT
Sideline stat
Last season, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton led his team to a big victory over the Baltimore Ravens (NFL – National Football League). That win couldn’t save his Bengals postseason dreams but it allowed the Buffalo Bills to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. In gratitude, Bills fans donated $450,000 to Dalton’s charity. This weekend during his first game back in Buffalo, Dalton turned the tables and made a $450,000 donation to the Roswell Park Cancer Center in downtown Buffalo, earning him a standing ovation from the Bills' fans. RESPECT
Coaches’ corner
Yesterday, The Players’ Tribune published an essay by Golden State Warriors’ (NBA – National Basketball Association) Steph Curry entitled “It’s Personal,” highlighting the need for gender equality. The NBA MVP is surrounded by women including his wife, Ayesha - a successful chef and restaurateur and two young daughters. He spoke about how he wants his girls “to grow up in a world where their gender does not feel like a rulebook for what they should think, or be, or do.” READ THE INSPIRING ESSAY HERE
What to watch
Celebrating its 50th year, the U.S. Open (tennis) begins today and everyone will be there including the Serena Williams (in her long-awaited fashionable outfits), Roger Federer and last year’s champs Rafael Nadal and Sloane Stephens. SCHEDULE