The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About the NHL

The NHL (National Hockey League) season begins today. Even if you didn’t grow up in a cold weather state where hockey is king, we’ll help you sound like you know your stuff. 

The puck stops here,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Ps- We’re presenting this morning at 1 Million Cups. If you’re bored at 9 am CST, you can watch it live on Facebook. 

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Five things to know about the NHL (National HOckey League)

1. This season marks the 100 anniversary of the NHL. In addition to the annual Winter Classic game, the League plans to celebrate with the Centennial Classic on New Year’s Day. The game will be played between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings in Toronto. They will play in BMO Stadium which is outdoors. In Toronto. In January. Brr.  
2. The Detroit Red Wings have an odd tradition of throwing octopi on the ice. It started as a tradition back in 1952 but don’t try it the next time you’re in Detroit. Throwing octopi is a sure way to get thrown out of the arena.  
3. The Zamboni is as exciting as the game for fans. A Zamboni is a tractor-like machine used during intermission to resurface the ice (i.e. make it smooth). Have you heard the Zamboni song? If not, listen here. Warning! It will be stuck in your head all day.
4. The first hockey puck (used in the 1800s), was reportedly made of frozen cow dung. Now hockey pucks are made of rubber. They’re frozen before the games to keep them from bouncing.  
5. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Stanley Cup is the name of the trophy given to the team that wins it all.

Overview

• There are 30 teams in the league. (A new Las Vegas team will join the league next season). Teams play an 82-game schedule (same as NBA). 
• A game consists of three periods of 20 minutes with two intermissions.
• Each team has six players on the ice at a time.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

• Stunner. The Chicago Cubs clinched a spot in the next round of playoffs, beating the San Francisco Giants in a ninth inning comeback. The Cubs will play the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers – Washington Nationals series starting Saturday.
• For all the marbles. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals last night to force a win-or-go-home Game Five in Washington tomorrow. The winner will move onto the next round of the playoffs.  

NCAA Sports (College)

• R.I.P. Today is a sad day as mascots and fans everywhere mourn the death of LSU’s mascot Mike the Tiger. The 11-year-old lost his battle with a rare cancer and was euthanized yesterday.  The University of Texas mascot Bevo and fans added flowers to a growing vigil earlier this week when it was revealed that Mike’s cancer had spread.

Overtime

• Despite recently denying he had a girlfriend, U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte announced his engagement to Playboy model Kayla Rae Reid. No word on whether or not the two will be honeymooning in Brazil.  

Sideline stat

• 24 years – that’s how long Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) radio announcer Jerry Howarth has not mentioned the team the Indians by name. Howarth revealed he won’t say Cleveland’s baseball team name because it’s offensive to some Native Americans. He made a promise to a fan a long time ago and has stuck to it ever since.

Coaches’ corner

• San Francisco 49ers (NFL) coach Chip Kelly has made the decision to start quarterback Colin Kaepernick in this weekend’s game. Kaepernick has been the back up quarterback all season and has stirred up controversy by kneeling during the National Anthem. 

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About the MLB Playoffs

Things are getting exciting around here with wild card games in baseball, a new partnership announcement between Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports AND the release of the Forbes 400 list. Whew. Try to control yourself. It’s only Wednesday and you’re going to need that energy to make it to Friday.

Simmer down now,

The Last Night’s Game

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Five things to know about the MLB Playoffs

1. The playoffs are made up of three division winners from the American League and National League, along with two wild card winners that are determined by a playoff game (see below).
2. The first round (Division Series) is a best-of-five game series and the next two rounds (League Championship Series and World Series) are best-of-seven games.
3. The Chicago Cubs had baseball’s best record this season, but haven’t won a World Series Championship since 1908, a 108-year drought. (Click here for more about the Cubs). 
   
4. The Washington Nationals won their division by hitting the ball harder than any other team. According to Statcast™, their batters had an average exit velocity (how fast the ball is going after it leaves the bat) of 90.3 miles per hour. Be glad that’s not coming at you when all you’re wearing is a little leather glove.
5. What are the odds your team will win the World Series? Let’s check in with VegasInsider.com:  
   • Chicago Cubs – 9/4 odds
   • Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers - 6/1 odds
   • Washington Nationals – 7/1 odds

See the full postseason schedule here.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

• Getting wild. In last night’s American League wild card game, Toronto Blue Jays beat Baltimore Orioles in 11 innings (two extra innings). Blue Jays’ Edwin Encarnacion hit a walk-off home run to secure his team’s spot in the postseason. This sets up a rematch of last year’s tense series between Blue Jays and Texas Rangers. Bring it on.
• Control your excitement. Tonight is the National League wild card game between San Francisco Giants and New York Mets (8 pm EST). The game will feature two of the most electric pitchers in baseball in a win or go home game – Giants’ Madison Bumgarner vs Mets’ Noah Syndergaard.

NFL (National Football League)

• Just plain stupid. Over the summer, Denver Broncos’ Aqib Talib was shot in the leg, but could not recall who shot him. Dallas police determined that Aqib actually shot himself in the leg. Hmm I thought he looked familiar.

Overtime

• Two of the biggest names in sports, Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated, have announced they’re partnering up to share content across digital platforms, combine talent for big sporting events like MLB playoffs and there’s a little revenue sharing involved. Swimsuit models not included. 

What does that mean for you? More sports coverage. Oh hooray. For them? It means they might beat out ESPN.com in online visitors. ESPN.com has 79 million unique monthly visitors, while SI and Fox Sports combined have around 68 million. 

Sideline stat

• The Forbes 400 list has been released and the list of people with a nifty net worth include some notable sports figures: 
  • #15 Steve Balmer- Los Angeles Clippers owner - $27.5 billion
  • #18 Phil Knight - co-founder of Nike - $25.5 billion
  • #21 Paul Allen - Seattle Seahawks owner - $18.9 billion
  • #94 Jerry Jones - Dallas Cowboys owner - $5.2 billion

In case you’re curious, Bill Gates tops the list at a cool $81 billion. See the whole list here.

Coaches’ corner

• What does it meant to go into extra innings in baseball? When two teams are tied at the end of the nine innings in baseball, the game goes into extra innings. The two teams will continue to play inning by inning until a winner is determined. Remember – an inning consists of both teams getting a chance to bat. So it can be a long night and in some cases teams run out of pitchers and have to pull in other players on their team with any pitching experience to take the mound. The longest baseball game on record for time was an agonizing 8 hours and 6 minutes over 25 innings.

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About The Ryder Cup

Don’t put your Team U.S.A. shirt away from the Olympics quite yet. Golf’s Ryder Cup starts tomorrow and Team U.S.A. could use your support. Just make sure you wash your America shirt from August first.

For the birdie,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Five Things To Know About the Ryder Cup

1. The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between 12-man teams from the U.S. and Europe. The location rotates every competition between a European and American course of the home team’s choice.
2. Teams are made up of a captain, vice captains and players. The captains do not play in the competition, but act as coaches. Players collect an individual score each day but the overall team score is what matters.
3. The U.S. players are chosen by points compiled by the PGA. European players are chosen in a similar fashion by the European Tour's World Points List. The team captains also have the honor of selecting four players (U.S.) or three players (European) of their choice to round out the roster. 
4. The competition started in 1927, but the first left-hander to play in the competition wasn’t until 1977 – Englishman Peter Danson. 
5. There have only been six holes-in-one in Ryder Cup history, and only one was by an American – Scott Verplank. 

• Extra credit – The women of golf play in a similarly formatted competition, The Solheim Cup, in the off years of the Ryder Cup.

NFL (National Football League)

• Don’t rush it. Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt had back surgery in the off-season and miraculously came back to play in the season opener. After week three, Watt re-injured his back and will be placed on the IR (injured reserved). You know somewhere his mama is shaking her head and saying "I told you not to play. See what happens?"

MLB (Major League Baseball)

• Bigger than sports. Fallen teammate Jose Fernandez was scheduled to pitch Monday for the Miami Marlins but tragically lost his life Sunday morning in a boating accident. After canceling Sunday’s game to deal with the tragic loss, Marlins played the Mets in a highly emotional game on Monday. The Marlins held a touching tribute to Fernandez and all wore the #16 in honor of him. Leadoff hitter Dee Gordon hit his first home run of the season into the upper deck. In an interview Gordon said “I’ve never hit a ball that far....I don’t have kids, so that’s the best moment of my life to hit a home run for him.” Marlins won the game. 
• Lovable losers no more. The Chicago Cubs continue to show their dominance, winning their 100th game of the season for the first time since 1935. (The season is 162 games). They also clinched home-field advantage for the National League playoffs.

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

• New York state of mind. Now that MMA is legalized in New York State, UFC is looking to make a huge splash with UFC 205 on November 12th at Madison Square Garden. They announced that the fight card will feature three championship fights, including top draw Conor McGregor (he was one the fighters involved in the water bottle throwing press conference) vs Eddie Alvarez.  

Overtime

• During the Red Sox-Yankees (MLB) game, a Yankees fan was set to propose to his girlfriend but when they appeared on the big screen for the proposal, he realized he lost the ring. Through a panicked group effort the ring was found and the proposal went on as planned. Don’t worry she said “yes!” 

Sideline stat

• While the U.S. leads the overall win total (25-13) in the Ryder Cup, they haven’t won the competition since 2008.

Coaches’ corner

• What is the injured reserve list? The term injured reserve list or “IR” is an official designation used by the NFL for players with a major injury who temporarily cannot play. This allows a team to open up a spot on the active roster (guys who are eligible to play) to fill with a replacement player. Being on the “IR” means the player cannot return to the active roster for at least eight weeks.