The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About Championship Celebrations at The White House

Earlier this week the World Champion Chicago Cubs brought their victory parade to the White House. President Obama took a break from his packing duties to show the team around. It’s tradition for the nation’s champions to be celebrated at the White House but why?

Curious like a cat,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Five Things to Know About Championship Celebrations at The White House

1. The tradition of sports teams visiting the White House began in 1865 but it wasn’t until 1924 that the World Series Champion Washington Senators (baseball) were celebrated by President Calvin Coolidge. Although the NBA (National Basketball Association) champs didn’t make their first visit until 1963, NFL (National Football League) in 1980 and NHL (National Hockey League) 1991. 
2. Since you never show up to a party empty handed, teams typically bring along their winning trophy and a gift for the president, usually a team jersey. Not sure he has enough wall space for all of those.   
3. It’s not all pomp and circumstance. When the Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) visited the White House, the team and the president packed over 3,000 care packages for troops serving overseas. During their time in the capital, the San Antonio Spurs (NBA) visited wounded veterans and the U.S.A. Women’s Soccer Team put on a youth soccer clinic. 
4. It’s not always warm and fuzzy as some players boycott the visit and use it as an opportunity to speak out against the president’s policies or the government. Others simply can’t make it. President George W. Bush said "I guess his grandmother died again" about the absence of Boston Red Sox (MLB) player Manny Ramirez.
5. When the New York Giants (NFL) visited in 1987, the team dumped a cooler full of popcorn on President Reagan to honor the traditional merriment of pouring Gatorade on the head coach to celebrate a victory.  

• Extra credit: It’s not only the professional athletes who visit, college champions and Olympic athletes have graced the Rose Garden with their presence.

Overtime

• Pittsburgh Steelers’ (NFL) Antonio Brown violated the sacred space of the locker room after the team’s big playoff win this weekend. Brown streamed postgame locker room talk of head coach Mike Tomlin making not so nice comments about the Patriots, their next opponent.

Sideline stat

• When Brown took to Facebook, he violated the NFL’s social media policy. The policy prohibits social media activity 90 minutes before kickoff as well as after game through the postgame press conferences. Brown is certainly going to be fined by the league for that one. 

Coaches’ corner

• College football is a year-round grind and that became apparent when three players on the University of Oregon Ducks football team were hospitalized after an off-season workout. The Ducks’ strength and conditioning coach has been suspended. Phew and we thought working out with Jane Fonda was tough.

The Rundown: 5 Intriguing Things to Know About Aaron Rodgers

Happy Hump Day! You’ve made it this far – just keep going. That’s what we’re saying about those new year’s resolutions too.

Eh who needs dry January anyway?

The Last Night’s Game team

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Five INtriguing things to know about Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers

1. On-field performance – The former backup quarterback to the great Brett Farve is one of the hottest players in the NFL with his team on a seven game winning streak. During that time, he’s thrown 19 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. Rodgers was named the league MVP in 2011 and 2014. We’ll see how he holds up this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys.
2. Rodgers' go to touchdown dance involves imitating a WWE wrestler putting on a championship belt. When he won the Super Bowl the WWE sent him an actual World Heavyweight Championship belt. Everyone wins.
3. His girlfriend, actress Olivia Munn, had no idea who he was when they first met, even though he had previously won a Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP title. Now that’s a blow to the ego. She should've at least known him from his Allstate “Discount Double Check” commercials.  
4. His younger brother and former NFL quarterback, Jordan Rodgers, won the Bachelorette but not before airing the Rodgers family dirty laundry to the nation. Aaron wasn’t thrilled with the reporter questions that followed and refused to disclose any details. Glad we didn’t have to attend that holiday gathering. 
5. He’s more than football smart. In 2015, he appeared on Jeopardy and beat astronaut Scott Kelly. What like it’s hard? 

NCAA Football (College)

• That was epic. The last game of the college football season did not disappoint. Clemson and Alabama played a game for the ages. Alabama led most of the game but Clemson took the lead when it mattered, with one second left in the game. This is Clemson’s first championship in 35 years. Their quarterback Deshaun Watson was named the game's MVP for his great performance in the last game of his college career.

Shout out to our Last Night’s Game Bowl Game Challenge winner, Russ. Nice picking. Congrats to you!

Overtime

• Sports Illustrated announced that gold medal gymnasts Aly Raisman and Simone Biles will be gracing the pages of this year’s swimsuit edition.

Sideline stat

• FIFA announced in 2026 that the World Cup will expand from 32 teams to 48 teams. Perhaps it'll give Team U.S.A. a chance to make the tournament? (They are very close to not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup).

Coaches’ corner

• Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo won the distinction of the World’s Best Player from FIFA (in English - International Federation of Association Football). Upon receiving the award his son yelled at his dad “You’re the best in the world!” Queue hearts everywhere melting.

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About the National Championship Game

Break out the foam finger and pom poms because it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for all season. The College Football National Championship game is here.  

Go forth and impress with your sports knowledge,

The Last Night’s Game Team
 

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Five Things to Know About the College National Championship Game

1. Alabama (#1) and Clemson (#2) will battle it out for the title of National Champion on Monday at 8 pm EST. This game is a rematch of last year’s championship where Alabama defeated Clemson 45-40.
2. The game will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL which resembles a pirate ship. It’s the first outdoor site for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Tampa is close to both schools (roughly 580 miles) therefore the demand for tickets is high. The average ticket price is $1,125. 
3. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is looking for his sixth championship title and if he wins he will tie the all-time win record. (He has won four championships with Alabama). Saban is the highest paid public employee in the country with a salary of $7 million. 
4. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was a walk on at Alabama and part of their 1993 championship team. During his college days at ‘Bama, Swinney lived with his mom and a roommate in a two-bedroom apartment due to financial constraints. 
5. The teams receive $2.16 million for their travel expenses but there’s no additional bonus for playing in the championship game. (The conferences received a $6 million bonus for their teams that made it to the final four).

Overtime

• This week members of the New York Giants (NFL – National Football League) partied in the Miami clubs with Justin Bieber and shirtless on a yacht.

When asked about his teammates antics in advance of their playoff game this weekend, Giants quarterback Eli Manning voiced his displeasure by stating that he "was a little disappointed…Obviously they didn’t pack accordingly. They didn’t have any shirts. Kind of long pants. No shorts. No flip flops or anything.”  

Sideline stat

• The Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB – Major League Baseball) sued Maricopa County who maintains Chase Field, their home ballpark. The 19-year old stadium is in need of $187 million in upgrades and there’s an impasse on who should pick up the tab. The team expressed interest in playing elsewhere.

Coaches’ corner

• The NFL’s Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced their finalists for this year’s class. They include:
  • Jerry Jones, Owner, Dallas Cowboys
  • LaDainian Tomlinson, Former running back, San Diego Chargers
  • Terrell Davis, Former running back, Denver Broncos
  • Kurt Warner, Former quarterback, Arizona Cardinals
  • See the full list here. 

The 2017 Hall of Fame class will be elected on February 4th.