Forever Friday
What mannequins have to do with soccer, fantasy island is on hold and your childhood game is coming to network TV.
Sports leagues are pulling out all the stops to catch your attention.
“A” for effort,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Soccer
Sports are still going on in the country of Belarus. One of their soccer teams, FC Dynamo Brest is trying to spice up the atmosphere at their games in the absence of fans. They’re filling the stadium with mannequins and then for every fan who buys a virtual ticket to Sunday’s game, the team will put the fan’s photo on a mannequin. WISH YOU WERE HERE
Overtime
The NBA (National Basketball Association) has gone back to its roots, all the way back to your childhood basketball court. The league is putting on a televised H-O-R-S-E competition between NBA players, WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) players and former WNBA and NBA players. Confirmed participants include Chris Paul, Trae Young and Paul Pierce. The league is hoping this helps fans fill the basketball void in their lives since the season is on hold due to COVID-19. The competition will start Sunday on ESPN. (If you don’t remember what the game of H-O-R-S-E is, here’s the rundown). STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH
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UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) President Dana White got the whole world excited when he said he secured a private island “somewhere” to host UFC fights at until COVID-19 dies down. Sad to say that even with an island, there will be no UFC 249 on April 18 and all UFC events have been put on hold until further notice. Apparently White tried but at the end of the day, “things were taken out of his control” when Disney and ESPN execs told him to back down. SOMEONE IS IN TROUBLE…
Coaches’ corner
The NHL (National Hockey League) is also pulling out all the stops to keep you entertained on this break from sports. Fans can sign up to compete against NHL players and celebrities for prizes in a new trivia show hosted by none other than P.K. Subban. If his name sounds familiar, he’s probably one of the most well-known hockey players because his fiancée is retired Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. The show will air on multiple platforms and run for the foreseeable future. CREATIVITY FOR THE WIN
Be So Good They Can't Ignore You
Who is playing golf, who is greased up and who is doing good.
Your friendly reminder that today is Friday, although it feels like a Tuesday. Because who knows what day it really is?
Although it’s July right?
The Last Night’s Game Team
Golf & NFL (National Football League)
It’s a rumor we hope is true – a rematch between golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The two played in a Pay-Per-View event in November 2018, where Mickelson edged out Woods to claim the $9 million prize.
Unlike most movies, the sequel could be better than the original as multiple sources are reporting that NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will join the duo on the course. If it takes place, the event would be a telethon for COVID-19 relief and all ad sales would go to relief efforts. The face-off would likely be in May and of course, the players would practice social distancing. GAME ON
Overtime
Brace yourself because it’s about to go down. The Post Malone’s virtual celebrity beer pong competition begins this weekend. The “Ballina Cup” will benefit COVID-19 relief efforts and features party boys Rob Gronkowski and Johnny Manziel (both former NFL players) and Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce (NFL) along with a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and a few other notable music industry favorites. You can catch the tourney on Instagram Live. RACK ‘EM
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The New England Patriots (NFL) plane has carried some precious cargo in its day but this one tops the list. The team’s plane transported 1 million N95 masks to the U.S. from China with 300,000 of them allotted to the hardest hit state right now, New York. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Kraft Family (the team’s owners) paid $2 million for the acquisition. THE GREATEST NEED
Coaches’ corner
If the beer pong competition isn’t enough to get you fired up, the NBA 2k tournament starts today. The NBA (National Basketball Association) video game tournament features 16 NBA players in a 10-day competition that will air on ESPN. Kevin Durant is the favorite to win the tourney amongst his peers. “LIVE” BASKETBALL AT ITS BEST
What to watch
Break out your spandex because this weekend is the Super Bowl of wrestling - Wrestlemania 36. Normally the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) packs in 70,000 fans for the occasion but this year’s event was filmed in the WWE training facility in Florida. The two-day extravaganza, which was hosted by former Patriots player Rob Gonkowski (see above re: beer pong), was pre-taped last week due to COVID-19 concerns. OILED UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO
Welcoming The Weekend
Your new Friday night date, a huge boost for Louisiana and the new stunt from NASCAR that is dominating the ratings.
The weekend is upon us.
Make it yours (while social distancing of course),
The Last Night’s Game Team
NFL (National Football League)
The sports world has stepped up in the wake of the coronoavirus pandemic. We’ve seen so many athletes, leagues and owners donate money for relief efforts, meals for families at food banks, for childcare for healthcare workers or paying employee and stadium workers’ salaries since there are no games. Yesterday, New Orleans Saints longtime quarterback, Drew Brees, and his wife announced how they’re helping Louisiana in a big way. They’re donating $5 million to prepare and deliver over 10,000 meals per day to Louisiana children, seniors, and families in need until the relief is no longer needed. DOING THE MOST GOOD
Overtime
Companies across the world are be hurting right now and the NCAA is right there with them. The governing body of college sports makes money from events like the March Madness College Basketball tournament, which was cancelled this year, and the College Football National Championship Game. Some of that money gets passed down to the schools. The NCAA announced yesterday that they’re reducing payouts to schools by $375 million in wake of coronarivus cancellations. These payouts fund athletic programming and athlete scholarships. PUNCH IN THE GUT
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Last weekend NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) launched eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series – real drivers racing on real racetracks…virtually. It's essentially an expensive video game that drivers use to train for a race. The competition between your favorite drivers was such a big hit that Fox Sports is bringing it back for an entire season. Fans ate it up last week with over 900,000 people tuning in to see last week’s driver Denny Hamlin win while wearing no shoes. (For perspective, a regular season NASCAR race has an average of 2.9 million viewers). FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT
Coaches’ corner
For UFC Fighter (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Jon Jones, sheltering in place would’ve probably been a good idea. Jones has been in trouble A LOT in his career and yesterday was the icing on the cake. He was arrested in Albuquerque after police responded to gunshots in the area. They picked him up for a DWI, negligent use of a firearm and no proof of vehicle insurance along with possession of an open container. COULD BE THE END OF THE ROAD
What to watch
Need a hot date tonight? Enter Serena Williams. ESPN is running a 12-hour marathon of Williams’ biggest wins on the tennis court including her last Grand Slam win at the Australian Open when she was pregnant. STILL ENOUGH TIME FOR TIGER KING