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The Rundown: Five Things to Know About MLB

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Break out the peanuts, Cracker Jacks and a cold beer (maybe wait until lunchtime on this one) because the boys of summer are back. You’re going to be a baseball expert after reading today’s Five Things to Know.

We’re looking forward to Friday where we’ll have a preview for this weekend’s NCAA Final Four games.

We can barely stand the excitement,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Five things to know about MLB (Major League Baseball)

MLB’s Opening Day is on Monday so in the spirit of the game we bring you all you need to know to join the conversation.

  • The regular season is a long one, 162 games. (In comparison, NBA regular season is 82 games and NFL 16 games). The regular season stretches from April to September. 
  • MLB consists of 30 teams and is divided into the American League (AL) and National League (NL).
  • The game is divided up into nine innings. The visiting team always bats first. (Easy way to remember - they’re the guests…home team uses their manners and lets them go first). “Top of the inning" is the first half of the inning in which the visiting team hits and “bottom of the inning” is when the home team hits.
  • The All-Star Game will be held on July 12th at Petco Park in San Diego, CA – home of the San Diego Padres. The team (American/National) that wins the All-Star Game gains home field advantage in the World Series. 
  • Despite the long season, baseball is the only sport where the season starts and finishes in the same calendar year.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Stand up for your rights. The City of Atlanta asked the NBA to consider moving the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte to Atlanta after North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation that limits protections for the LGBT community. (Refresher - North Carolina Gov. McCrory signed a bill which critics say is discriminatory against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons). The NBA said "thanks but no thanks and hopefully they can work things out before the 2017 All-Star Game." 

  • A little RnR needed. Los Angeles Clippers star Chris Paul, an important part of Team USA, has announced that he will not participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil because “his body is telling him he needs more time off.”  

Overtime

Sideline Stat

  • In soccer news, USA beat Guatemala (4-0) on Tuesday to keep their 2018 World Cup hopes alive. This win is significant because with a loss Team USA would all but have been eliminated from the 2018 World Cup.

Coaches’ Corner

  • The difference between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) in Major League Baseball is the designated hitter. A designated hitter (DH) is a player who only bats and does not play a position in the field. He bats in place of the pitcher, but not in the NL where the pitchers have to bat for themselves. Baseball is the only professional sport that has such a drastic difference between the leagues.

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The Rundown: Five Things to Know About the NCAA Sweet 16

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Our "Five Things to Know" will give you all the information you need to finesse your way through the Sweet 16. And in protest just like our mamas did at 16, the ladies of women’s tennis are burning their (sports) bras for equality.

Don’t mess with mama,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Five Things to Know about the Sweet 16

  • Oh to be 16 again. The Sweet 16 starts on Thursday. This is where the remaining 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament play for a spot in the Elite Eight. After that comes the Final Four. Alliteration overload.  
  1. If you picked your bracket by the numbers, good for you as all four #1 seeds are still alive. Although according to experts Kansas, University of Virginia, North Carolina and Oklahoma (#2), not Oregon, are expected to head into the Final Four.
  2. Gonzaga is the only Sweet 16 university without a football team. They had one but it was stopped after the U.S. entered into WWII because there were not enough men to play.
  3. While the magic number may be 16, for the coaches it’s $2 million. Sweet 16 coaches have already earned over $2 million in bonuses for making it this far in the tournament. Catch the breakdown of bonuses here. 
  4. Out of the millions of the brackets submitted online only one perfect bracket still remains
  5. Every team in the Sweet 16 has made a previous appearance.

A complete schedule of games can be found here. 

MLB (MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL)

  • Toodle-loo Tobacco. Following Chicago’s ban last week, New York City became the latest city to ban smokeless tobacco at ticketed sporting events for fans and players. The MLB Players’ Association will be providing alternatives to Mets and Yankees players alike who need to quit.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Twitter turmoil. Cleveland Cavaliers’ all-star LeBron James sparked controversy by unfollowing the Cavaliers on Twitter. He justified this shun by saying he was going into “playoff mode,” as he typically shuts down social media during playoffs. In a shady move, he later stated he intends to create a Snapchat account. That’s one we’ll be following.  
  • Long live the plaid sport coat. Known for his zany courtside attire, longtime TNT reporter Craig Sager announced his once defeated leukemia is back. 
  • Escaping tragedy. Hall of Fame basketball player and Geiko commercial star, Dikembe Mutumbo, was at the Brussels Airport during the terrorist attacks. Luckily he came out unscathed.

Overtime

  • Tournament owner and billionaire, Larry Ellison, announced that Indian Wells Tournament Director Raymond Moore has resigned after making disparaging remarks about the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association). Moore said "They (WTA) are very, very lucky. If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport. They really have."

He also referred to women players as "physically attractive and competitively attractive." If that’s the case then beauty brings home the bacon since according to NBC News, Serena Williams trails only Novak Djokovic in on-court earnings.

Sideline Stat

  • New York was the only state in the U.S. in which MMA (mixed martial arts) was illegal. Tuesday the New York State Assembly voted to pass the legislation which would allow organizations like UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) to hold events in the state. One legislator referred to MMA as "nearly naked, hot men rolling around.” That falls under the category “things I never thought I’d hear when voting on a bill.”

Coaches’ Corner

  • NFL owners voted to enact a few rule changes for the upcoming season. One of the most notable changes involves moving the extra point kick to the 15-yard line. The previous placement was on the 10-yard line. The extra point (worth one point) is kicked after a team scores a touchdown (worth six points). Therefore, when a team makes an extra point after their touchdown they’ll have seven additional points on the board.
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Five Things to Know About March Madness

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Need a few pointers to pick your NCAA bracket? Then you’ll love today’s Five Things to Know.

Make sure to pick your bracket for the Inaugural Last Night’s Game Tournament Challenge. We’ve submitted our picks and we’re dancing around with anticipation like a leprechaun waiting in line for the bathroom on St. Patrick’s Day.

Doing an Irish jig,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Five things to know about picking your NCAA tournament bracket

  1. If a team loses once they’re out of the tournament. Teams have to win six games to become champions. 
  2. No #1 team has ever lost to a #16 team.
  3. The #5 team vs #12 team matchup statistically has the most upsets (i.e. the lower ranked team - #12 - beats the #5 team).
  4. Many people pick their brackets by colors or mascots. If you pick by color, blue is a good choice as 12 of the last 15 champs had a variation of blue as their main color. If you pick by mascots, Wildcats are a wise selection (Arizona, Kentucky, Weber State, Villanova).
  5. It’s unusual to have a final four made up of all #1 ranked teams (even though they’re the best teams coming into the tournament).  In 2006, not one of the #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. 

The reason March Madness is just that, madness, is because anything can happen. Someone who knows very little about college basketball has just as great of a chance of winning their bracket as someone who researched the crap out of it.

Moral of the story. Give it a whirl. Pick a bracket and see what all of the fuss and excitement is about. Remember to set your Last Night’s Game March Madness bracket before games start on Thursday morning for a chance to win prizes. (Free to participate).

The schedule for all the tournament games can be found here. 

Overtime

  • Monmouth University was left out of the field of 68 teams for the NCAA tournament but they accepted an invitation to NIT. They’re a team to watch because they have the best choreographed bench in basketball. This highlight reel might give you some new ideas for moves to use at the club. Just saying.

Sideline Stat

  • University of Connecticut (UConn) enters the women's NCAA tournament on a 69 game wining streak, having won three straight women's NCAA championships. (A pointer if you’re picking the NCAA women’s tournament bracket…UConn is really good).  

Coaches’ Corner

  • Should you be completely stumped on how to pick your bracket, here’s another idea. CBS Sports conducted a survey of college basketball head coach’s favorite singer/band.

Notable teams

  • #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks’ coach Bill Self: Luther Vandross
  • #1 ranked North Carolina’s coach Roy Williams: Luke Bryant
  • #1 ranked University of Virginia’s coach Tony Bennett: Boys II Men
  • #1 ranked University of Oregon’s coach Dana Altman: Rolling Stones

 Honorable Mention:

  • Seton Hall’s Kevin Willard: Beastie Boys
  • Green Bay’s Linc Darner: Meat Loaf
  • Xavier’s Chris Mack: Kid Rock

 

 

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