The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - It's Finals Time

Congratulations – you’ve made it to Friday. For that achievement we give you permission to spend your Sunday in the air conditioning, on the couch (or in the nearest sports bar) watching Formula One, the Wimbledon finals and Euro 2016 finals.

A mimosa please,

The Last Night’s Game Team  

Tennis

  • One match away. Serena Williams has advanced to the Wimbledon Final on Saturday but she won't get a chance to face her sister, Venus, who lost in the semifinals. Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber have met in a final match before. Williams lost to Kerber in the Australian Open. If she wins on Saturday, Williams will tie the record for 22 major wins. (Match begins on Saturday at 9 am on ESPN).
  • Playing with the boys. The men’s semifinals take place this morning and Roger Federer and Andy Murray are still vying for a place in the finals, which takes place on Sunday (9 am EST on ESPN). For a complete men’s schedule click here.

Soccer

  • The finals for Euro 2016 are set. Host nation France will take on Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal on Sunday in the finals to see who is the top team in European soccer. (Game time is Sunday at 3 pm EST on ESPN).

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

  • Party pooper. UFC 200 was scheduled to be the biggest event in UFC history (Saturday on pay-per-view). On Wednesday, UFC announced that one of the fighters in the main event, former champion Jon Jones, had failed a drug test. Jones was immediately removed from the fight card, leaving champion Daniel Cormier without an opponent.
  • Today’s your lucky day. UFC scrambled to find a replacement fighter on two days’ notice. Former middleweight champion and arguably the best second option ever, Anderson Silva has agreed to step up and fight Cormier. That’s like receiving a call to play in the Super Bowl on two days’ notice. Something tells us he wasn’t just sitting around eating donuts ala Homer Simpson.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Bulls bound. Fresh off his co-hosting duties on "Live with Kelly," the face of the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, has decided to leave the team for his hometown Chicago Bulls. Wade spent 13 years with the Heat where he won three NBA championships. Many felt the Heat didn’t treat him as a priority (Wade notably took pay cuts to help the team) and they didn’t offer him the most money when it came down to it. Let’s hope Wade’s wife, actress Gabrielle Union, is ready to trade in swimsuits for winter coats.

F1 (Formula One Racing)

  • Race on. As if there isn’t already enough excitement happening in Europe, the next stop on the F1 schedule is the British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton looks to close the gap in the overall standings on Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. After last week's controversial finish, both drivers have received a 'final warning' from the Mercedes team ahead of this Sunday's race. You can catch all the racing excitement on Sunday at 8 am on CNBC.

Overtime

  • In case his Super Bowl ring needed company, Seattle Seahawks’ Quarterback Russell Wilson added another ring to his jewelry collection. Wilson married bombshell pop star and Grammy Winner, Ciara, on Wednesday in a small wedding in England. The couple were engaged in March in the Seychelles. See their wedding photo here.

Sideline stat

  • Football powerhouses, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and Michigan Wolverines have agreed to renew their 100-year college football rivalry that ended in 2014. In 2018, the teams will meet in the season opener and then again in 2019. This schedule change comes with a price as the Wolverines were already scheduled to play the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2018. The Wolverines will pay the Razorbacks $2 million for cancelling their originally scheduled games.

Coaches’ Corner

  • We're all about planning ahead but Notre Dame and Michigan announcing their plans to meet up in 2019 seems a little far away. How many years out do college football teams plan their schedules? Athletic directors have been known to get a little ahead of themselves; there are some teams that have games on the schedule for 2028. The players who will play on those teams are still playing tetherball in elementary school. There’s big money in a strong schedule (aka great football schools) therefore many schools plan years out to secure one.

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - Money Talks

If money is the root of all evil, then this edition of the Rundown is downright wicked. Between free agency, retirement and Wimbledon players threatening to sue the crowd it seems money is on everyone’s mind today.  

This weekend as you celebrate the birthday of our country with all things American – apple pie, BBQ and Michael Phelps - we hope The Rundown provides you with the conversation starters you need.  

It’s a win-win,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS: Share us – so all your friends can sound as smart as you this weekend.

Formula One Racing (F1)

  • Vroom. The F1 race takes place in Austria on Sunday (8 am EST on CNBC). Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has taken a significant point lead in the race for the championship. His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who is in second place, will need to win this race to close the gap. 

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Big price tags. Free agency started this morning at 12:01 am. This is the period when teams can sign free agents (basketball players whose contracts have expired). Chaos (while carrying very large checkbooks) ensues. The biggest player on the market, Kevin Durant, is holding meetings with potential teams in the Hamptons, where he’s spending the weekend. NBD. Follow us on twitter for up-to-date information on the deals and steals. 

NCAA Baseball (College) 

  • College World Series champions. In a best-of-three series Coastal Carolina Chanticleers fought back after losing game one and won the final two games beating The University of Arizona Wildcats to win the NCAA Baseball National Championship.

Soccer

  • Portugal progresses. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal advanced to the Euro 2016 semifinals with a win over Poland in penalty kicks last night. 
  • Things we never thought we’d hear. Grab some freedom fries and a spot on the couch because everyone’s favorite underdog Iceland takes on host country France on Sunday in the quarterfinals (3 pm EST on ESPN).

Summer Olympics

  • Phelps fever. Michael Phelps, the United States’ most decorated Olympian, has qualified for his fifth Olympics. The 22-time medalist qualified for the 200-meter butterfly event and will most likely qualify for more. 

Tennis

  • I’m calling my attorney. Rain has been the name of the game in Wimbledon with no major upsets to report other then mother nature delaying matches. One player, Gilles Simon, was not happy with the drizzle he had to play through. He was afraid of injuring himself and threatened to sue the judge if he was to get injured. He also said (we can’t make this up) "I feel the day I'm going to get injured on slippery grass, I'm going to sue everyone in the stadium.” Let’s hope your attorney likes to attend tennis matches.

Overtime

  • The "NikeCourt Premier Slam" white Wimbledon dress made for Nike’s sponsored athletes has been causing quite a stir for being a little too see through and a bit short. Nike’s players have gone as far as pairing it with white leggings because we all know that tennis skirts are known for their modesty. Others athletes don’t mind. 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard calls them “cool and modern,” while Serena Williams doesn’t care because she wears a Nike dress specifically designed for her. 

Sideline Stat

  • Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has signed the biggest contract in NFL history - six years for $140 million. With his new fortune, the founder of the Andrew Luck Book Club (Andrew Luck), revealed that he has his eyes not on leather bound books but on a robotic ping pong machine. Chick magnet.

Coaches’ Corner

  • The changing of the guards doesn’t only happen in London but in Oregon too. Nike announced that co-founder Phil Knight has official retired as Chairman. The company has made Knight a wealthy man with a net worth of $24.4 billion. Current Nike President, Mike Parker, will step in. In a move where no one seems to understand the job description, Nike has appointed current board member Apple CEO Tim Cook as "lead independent director."

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - Win or Go Home

Break out the pool towel and the sunscreen because it’s not only a big weekend poolside but a big weekend in sports. It’s win or go home in the College World Series finals, Copa America soccer tournament finals and Euro 2016 soccer tournament. We’ll just have to wait and see who’s in and who’s out.

No Brexit here,

The Last Night’s Game Team

College World Series

  • Batter up. The College World Series tournament is down to the final four teams who will play each other today for a possible trip to the final game.  University of Arizona will play Oklahoma State University (3 pm EST on ESPN2) and Coastal Carolina will play TCU (Texas Christian University) (8 pm EST on ESPN).  Arizona and Coastal Carolina have one loss in the double elimination tournament, therefore they will have to beat their respective opponent twice to advance to championship.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • I choose you. The NBA draft took place in Brooklyn last night. The first two picks went as expected, sending LSU freshman Ben Simmons (#1) to Philadelphia 76ers and Duke freshman Brandon Ingram (#2) to Los Angeles Lakers. Check out who your favorite team drafted here.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

  • I can’t turn right. After a Father’s Day weekend break, NASCAR returns Sunday to Sonoma, California (3 pm EST on Fox Sports 1). Sonoma is unique course in that it is one of two road courses on the schedule. A road course is different then the traditional oval course that only has left turns. The road course has multiple turns (like real life driving) that must be navigated carefully.

NHL (National Hockey League)

  • What happens here doesn’t stay here. Add professional sports to the list of entertainment options in Las Vegas. The NHL officially announced that Las Vegas will be the home of a new team for the 2017-2018 season. It will be the 31st team in the league and will be owned by Bill Foley, a financial services tycoon, who will pay a $500 million expansion fee. The Las Vegas team does have new digs (T-Mobile Arena on the strip) but it does not have a name yet. We could think of a few winners. Share with us what you’d name them. (PG names of course. Come on, they do have kid friendly activities in Vegas. Sort of).

Soccer

  • Win or go home. The next round of Euro 2016 begins on Saturday. One side of the bracket has teams with a combined zero championships. While the other side is full of soccer powerhouses with a combined 10 championships (Team Germany, Italy, Spain, France and England). The underdog Iceland takes on England this weekend. This is Team Iceland’s first time playing in a major tournament and they’re a little excited about their success. Check out the announcer’s call on this goal. It’ll make your day. 
  • Win or go home, part two. In Copa America Centenario news, Argentina takes on defending champion Chile on Sunday in the championship game (8 pm EST on Fox Sports 1). Team U.S.A. will take on Columbia on Saturday in the third place game (8 pm EST on FX). These games are a little different because they can’t end in a tie. So if a game is tied after 90 minutes of regular play, there will be two-15 minute extra periods. If it’s still tied, then the teams will resort to the always exciting penalty kicks to determine a winner.
  • Oh excuse me. The Swedish professional league is making headlines for an unexpected reason. During a game Adam Lindin Ljungkvist had already received one yellow card. He then received another yellow card for “unsportsmanlike behavior,” passing gas too loudly. Two yellow cards in a game equal automatic ejection from the game. In Ljungkvist’s defense he said he has an “upset tummy.” Hooliganism we say!

Overtime

  • Famed sports writer Bill Simmons debuted his new sports talk show on Wednesday on HBO. One of his first guests was mega actor and big New England Patriots (NFL) fan, Ben Affleck. Affleck went on a bit of a profanity laced tirade when he was asked about “Deflategate” involving is team and beloved quarterback Tom Brady.

Sideline stat

  • In last night’s NBA draft, 15 of the first 30 draft picks were foreign basketball players. That stat set the record for the most foreign players ever taken in the first round. This list includes the number one pick, Ben Simmons, who is Australian but played at LSU. 

Coaches’ Corner

  • Today we let you be the coach. Former NBA player, Shaquille O’Neal, doesn’t have a spread in ESPN The Magazine’s annual body issue. So he took it upon himself to photoshop his head onto Dwayne Wade’s body (current NBA player and featured athlete). Hilarity ensues. So we ask you, who wore it best? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter @lastnights_game.

 

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