Start Me Up
Fauci’s foul ball, Tyson is back and women’s soccer owns the weekend.
Have no fear, the weekend is here.
Round of applause,
The Last Night’s Game Team
MLB (Major League Baseball)
The baseball season started last night with an errant first pitch from Dr. Anthony Fauci. During this weekend’s games keep an eye out for the cardboard cutouts in the stands at the Chicago White Sox home opener. They will feature players’ families. And even though fans aren’t allowed at games, the parents of Colorado Rockies player Sam Hilliard will be in attendance. His father has ALS and both the teams agreed to let his mother and father (who tested negative for COVID) attend opening day to watch their son. FEEL GOOD STORY
Overtime
The NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) was in the news earlier in the week because they’re expanding the league to Los Angeles and the who’s who of Hollywood is buying into the team. On Sunday, the league will finish up its current season with the championship game between the Chicago Red Stars and the Houston Dash. Two notable names on the Red Stars are Julie Ertz, who played in the Women’s World Cup and is married to Philadelphia Eagles (NFL - National Football League) player Zach Ertz. Her teammate Kealia Ohai graced the pages of PEOPLE Magazine earlier this year when she married Houston Texans player J.J. Watt (NFL). Houston Rockets’ player James Harden (NBA - National Basketball Association) is an investor in the Dash. GAME ON
Sideline stat
Boxing legend Mike Tyson is back. At 54-years-old, he’ll step into the ring on September 12 to fight fellow veteran boxer Roy Jones Jr., 51. The two will meet up in an eight-round exhibition fight. OLD GUYS RULE
Coaches’ corner
The WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) season tips off this weekend with No. 1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu and her New York Liberty taking on Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm. Ionesco was undoubtedly the best player in men’s or women’s college basketball last season, earning the Wooden Award for three years in a row to prove it. (It’s the award is for the best basketball player, men or women). She was mentored by none other than the Black Mamba himself, Kobe Bryant, and spoke at his memorial service. The WNBA, like the NBA (National Basketball Association), is playing inside a bubble in an attempt to keep COVID at bay but unlike the NBA, they’re allowing children and a caretaker to live in the bubble. SUPERWOMEN
What to watch
The Premier Lacrosse League is set to begin their season with a tournament on Saturday. The league was started by a player who is known as lacrosse’s LeBron James. They’ve disrupted the traditional sports business model with a tour-based league (i.e. - no home cities) and no team owners (more money to pay players). THE CREAM OF THE CRO
You’re A Vision
Danica and Aaron split, Tiger is back and why bidets and football go together.
Picture this – you being the hit of the conversation with a little something from the world of sports.
We can see it now,
The Last Night’s Game Team
PGA (Professional Golfers Association)
The OG tiger king is back. Tiger Woods is playing in his first PGA tournament in five months. In the Memorial tournament he’ll be playing for his record breaking 83rd PGA win. Expect massive TV ratings because this tournament, like all PGA tournaments this season, will not have any fans in attendance. THE TIGER EFFECT
Despite COVID concerns, 80-year old-golf legend Jack Nicklaus will continue the tradition of shaking the winner’s hand at the end of the tournament. SANITIZE ME
Overtime
They were the sports couple we loved to love and now it’s over. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (NFL – National Football League) and former race car driver Danica Patrick have called it quits after two years together. The two seemed to be having fun while quarantining together – learning new languages, taking online classes and cooking but alas, it didn’t work out. DAMN YOU COVID
Sideline stat
The WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) has been in the news this week for denying star player Elena Delle Donne a medical exemption this season. Delle Donne has Lyme disease and her doctor has recommended she sit out the season but the WNBA disagreed. Regardless of what happens, her team, the Washington Mystics, will still pay her salary. Also, in WNBA news, supermom and superstar player Candace Parker negotiated that she and her 11-year-old daughter were a package deal to enter the WNBA “bubble.” The league has allowed players to bring their children and a caretaker into the bubble with them. JOINED AT THE HIP
Coaches’ corner
The Buffalo Bills (NFL – National Football League) are looking for a new title sponsor for their stadium. Enter a bidet company named Tushy. They of course want to host the first ever Toilet Bowl and put portable toilets with bidets in the parking lot for tailgates. But the icing on the cake is that they were bold enough to use the term “booty wonderland” in their pitch. BUTTS IN SEATS
Bold Moves
Proof the way to an athlete’s heart is through their stomach, Vogue’s golden cover girl and why celebrities are flocking to Tahoe this weekend
Everything you want, nothing you don’t.
Hope your weekend follows the same motto,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NBA (National Basketball Association)
NBA teams reported this week to the “bubble” in Disney World to wrap up their season. Of course, the league is doing everything they can to keep the players safe and now they’ve found a solution to the less than desirable food the resort has been providing the players. They have brought in culinary teams for each team and are partnering with fine dining restaurants like Morton’s and Del Frisco's for delivery. The restaurants are part of Landry’s, Inc. which is owned by Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A WAY
Overtime
Gracing the cover of next month’s Vogue is four-time gold medalist Simone Biles. Biles opened up about her struggles with the postponement of the Summer Olympics, how she’s carrying on after the Larry Nassar scandal and how her team is stronger than even heading into the rescheduled 2021 Summer Olympics. YOU GLOW GIRL
Sideline stat
Another one bites the dust. First, FC Dallas dropped out of the MLS is Back Tournament (Major League Soccer) after 10 players and personnel tested positive for COVID and now Nashville SC is following suit. The Tennessee team had nine positive tests on their team, forcing them to withdrawal from the tournament that started on Wednesday. MLS along with college football (Ivy League schools cancelled all fall sports) and pretty much any other sport that is back are trying to balance player health and safety and how they’re actually going to play this season. INTO THE UNKNOWN
Coaches’ corner
It’s a roster of who’s who in Lake Tahoe this weekend for the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament. Players include the $500M man himself Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes (NFL – National Football League) to Ray Romano to Steph Curry (NBA) to Oscar De La Hoya (boxing). But the man to beat is two-time champion, former Dallas Cowboys player and NFL broadcaster Tony Romo. THE GANG’S ALL HERE
What to watch
What’s the first rule of Fight Island? We talk about Fight Island and broadcast it all over the world. UFC’s (Ultimate Fighting Championship) dream turned reality will be revealed to the world Saturday night with the first fight on Fight Island. Watch for featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski who is releasing a children’s book in hopes of improving fighters’ images. Then there’s Paige Van Zant, who you might recognize from Dancing With The Stars and the title fighters Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal who just left the U.S. a few days ago for Abu Dhabi to fight. TIKI TORCHES AND TKOs