The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About College Football

Whether you like it or not this weekend is the first full-blown weekend of college football. Hence today’s five things to know about college football.

 

There goes the neighborhood,

The Last Night’s Game Team

 Five Things To Know About College Football

  1. The college football regular season consists of 12 games. There are 10 conferences that encompass most of the 128 of the top programs in college football. These 10 conferences and the four independent teams (don't belong to any league) are eligible for the national championship. The conference names are referred to in a bunch of acronyms - ACC, AAC, Big 10, Big 12, Conference USA, MWC, MAC, Pac 12, Sun Belt and SEC.
  2. The sport of college football is big business with some head coaches making as much if not more than NFL coaches. Sponsorships are a source of revenue and the University of Michigan recently inked a deal with Jordan, a Nike brand. The deal runs through 2027 with an option to go to 2031. If it runs its full course, the school will pocket a minimum of $173 million including $85 million in Nike apparel/products.
  3. The perfect cheer isn’t only reserved for Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri on Saturday Night Live. Plenty of icons once ran the sidelines. Samuel L. Jackson, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Meryl Streep and three former U.S.A. Presidents all had spirit. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the marching band. In college you would’ve found Halle Barry, Steven Spielberg, Alan Greenspan and Lionel Richie entertaining you in formation at halftime.  
  4. You can watch a game with 100,000 of your closest friends at the biggest stadiums in college football. That’s a whole lot of foam fingers. 
    1. University of Michigan (the Big House) 107,601
    2. Penn State (Beaver Stadium) 106,572
    3. Ohio State (The Horseshoe) 105,944
  5. The deep-seated passion for college football goes back generations, giving us some incredible rivalries. Rivalries are typically built on proximity and recruiting battles. Three of the biggest and longest lasting rivalries include:
  • Michigan/Ohio State- The neighboring states have a fierce rivalry and two of the biggest stadiums in the country.
  • Army/Navy- This game is the only game played in week 15 of the season and it is built more on tradition and respect than the other rivalries.
  • Oklahoma/Texas- “Red River Rivalry” takes place in the historic Cotton Bowl during the Texas state fair. The Red River separates the two bordering states where apparently the rivalry was born.  

NCAA Football (College)

  • Didn’t bring their A game. ESPN made a huge deal about kicking off the college football season last week with Cal-Hawaii playing in Australia. Like Kevin in Home Alone, it appears they forgot someone. Oh yeah, the guys broadcasting the game. Turns out this isn’t the first time that ESPN didn’t fork out the dough to send the crew. They instead called the game from the ESPN HQ in Connecticut. Queue the controversy. Fans were disappointed with the broadcast’s lack of knowledge about the teams as well as the disconnect in the play-by-play.  

NFL (National Football League)

  • That's no good. Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a knee injury and initial reports say he’s out for the season. Hope he wasn’t on your fantasy football team.

Overtime

  • The lineup for the next season of Dancing with the Stars has been announced and there is no shortage of high profile athletes who will be competing for the mirror ball trophy. They include:
    • Laurie Hernandez aka the Human Emoji – U.S.A. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist and member of the “Final Five”
    • Calvin Johnson - recently retired Detroit Lions receiver
    • Ryan Lochte – U.S.A. Olympic swimming gold medalist (who allegedly agreed to do the show before the bathroom fiasco in Rio)
    • James Hinchliffe – An IndyCar driver who was in a crash in May 2015 that almost killed him

The show starts on September 12 on ABC and in case those athletes didn’t entice you to watch, Vanilla Ice and Babyface are also in the lineup.

Sideline stat

  • He may have held an impressive exhibition workout for 28 of 30 MLB teams but former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow has zero MLB (Major League Baseball) contract offers. He does however have offers to play in an independent league and in Venezuela.

Coaches’ corner

  • Former NBA superstar and hall of famer, Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal found a new coach - adventure and outdoor guru Bear Grylls. The two went into the wild and it was hilarious. The 7’ 1” star rappelled walls with his size 22 feet, slept under the cover of leaves and ate a very interesting dinner. If you didn’t see it, check out this clip for a Wednesday laugh.

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About Fantasy Football

We interrupt your regularly scheduled work day with the ultimate distraction - fantasy football. You’ve heard of it and some of you my have played it but did you know that companies lose more than $16 billion in employee productivity due to fantasy football? With that, let’s learn all about the force that is fantasy football.  

Going long,

The Last Night’s Game Team


PS - Have you shared us with your Facebook friends yet? We love a good shout-out!

Five things to know about fantasy football

  1. The “sport” was originally developed in 1962 but modern fantasy football started in 1999 when Yahoo offered an online league.
  2. The concept is that a league (i.e. your group of friends all playing together) holds a draft where each general manager (i.e. – you) has a chance to pick the top player available to fill your roster. Leagues are ideally made up of 8-14 teams.  
  3. During the aforementioned draft, general managers will fill their virtual rosters with actual NFL players. During the season, they will gain and lose points based on how the players on their rosters perform. Like a real team’s general manager, the roster is set each week and your team goes up against another team in your league. Trading, researching game day opponents and benching underperforming players are all part of the game (see loss in work productivity above).  
  4. Betting websites Draft King and Fan Duel took in $3 billion in entry fees leading to $280 million in profit in 2015. Online betting such as Draft King and Fan Duel is still illegal in 10 states. Online betting was recently legalized in New York State. Critics say it’s so the government can tax the heck out of their residents’ winnings.  
  5. Naming a team is half the battle. Yes, you can pretty much name it what you want and no, no one is intimidated by the Football Fairy Princesses. Like naming a baby, there are massive lists of names out there to inspire you. This year Pokemon and Game of Thrones themed team names are predicted to be big. Our favorites? Teddy Throwsevelt and Game of Throws.
  • Interested in starting your own team? If so, make sure to check out our fantasy football 101 before drafting your team.  

Summer Olympics

  • Although we may never know exactly what happened that fateful night in Rio with Ryan Lochte, it is clear he handled the situation wrong and sponsors are bailing like he bailed on his teammates in Rio. Four major sponsors (Speedo, Ralph Lauren, Airweave and Gentle Hair Removal) have dropped Lochte due to events surrounding that night.
  • The “Final Five” are making their media rounds after returning from Rio. Last night they joined Jimmy Fallon for an entertaining game of “Hungry Humans.”

Overtime

  • It was revealed on the HBO show “Hard Knocks,” which follows the L.A. Rams through preseason prep, that defensive lineman William Hayes does not believe in dinosaurs, but he does believe mermaids are real. Tuesday his dreams became a reality when a real-life mermaid showed up to practice. Ariel, is that you? Where's Sebastian? 

Sideline stat

  • Kobe Bryant was arguably one of the most competitive players in NBA history, so if you thought he was going to sit on his couch all day in retirement, guess again. Bryant rang the opening bell Monday morning at the New York Stock Exchange, then announced he is starting a $100 million investment fund with partner and entrepreneur, Jeff Stibel. They will focus on financing technology, media and data companies. Bryant was quoted saying he’d “rather be known for venture investing than basketball.” Bryant made more than $300 million in his career in salary. 

Coaches’ corner

  • What is a grand slam in baseball? A grand slam is when a team has bases loaded and the player at bat hits a home run - all players score. It’s usually followed by elation and excitement. For Brandon Thomas of the Gateway Grizzlies (minor league), the post-grand slam excitement waned when he walked to his car after the game. The ball from an awesome grand slam he hit shattered the window of his own car. He said it was “totally worth it.” 

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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