The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

We have good news and bad news, WrestleMania 32 and the Final Four both set records this past weekend. One record for the right reason, the other not so much.

The Final Four victors, Villanova and North Carolina, play for the title of National Champions tonight. Lastly, the day is finally here and we know the boss will appreciate it when you walk into the office with your #CapsOn supporting baseball’s Opening Day and your favorite MLB team.

Hats off to you,

The Last Night’s Game Team


NCAA Basketball (College)

  • See ya Sooners. Villanova Wildcats (#2) beat Oklahoma Sooners (#2), 95-51 in game one of the Final Four. The Sooners never stood a chance. This was the biggest blow out in final four history. Wildcats shot 71% to Oklahoma’s 31%. Wildcats only missed five shots the entire second half.
  • Shattered dreams Saturday. In game two of the Final Four, University of North Carolina Tar Heels (#1) beat Syracuse Orange (#10), 83-66. Tar Heels used their size to dominate the Orange in the paint. Naismith Player of the Year, Buddy Hield of Oklahoma was held to only nine points, well below his 25 point average for the tournament.
  • National champions. Tonight is the last game of the NCAA tournament, the National Championship game. Villanova Wildcats (#2) will take on North Carolina Tar Heels (#1).

 Here’s the skinny…

  • Game time - Monday, 9:19 pm (EST) on TBS (first time ever for the game to be shown on cable)
  • North Carolina is the slight favorite at -2 (must win by two to win your bet). 
  • TV coverage will include taped performances from NCAA March Madness Music Festival featuring Maroon 5 and Pitbill.
  • Villanova Head coach Jay Wright was named 2016 coach of the year.
  • Both teams have won a national championship previously - Villanova (1985) and North Carolina (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009). 
  • Ladies Night. University of Connecticut Huskies (#1) will play Syracuse Orange (#4) for the women’s national championship on Tuesday at 8:30 pm (EST) on ESPN. If UConn wins, they will bring home their fourth consecutive title.

F1 RACING (FORMULA ONE)

  • Racing for the checkered flag. Nico Rosberg of the Mercedes team won the second race of the season in Bahrain, making it his fifth race win in a row. 
  • Overnight sensation. In his F1 debut (driving for an injured Fernando Alonso), Stoffel Vandoorne, 24, traveled overnight from Japan and raced in a car he had just met to finish the race in 10th place.
  • Incredible start. The newly established Haas Racing, an American owned F1 race team is embracing their rookie year and having an incredible one at that. Haas Racing (drivers are Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez) have collected points in each race this year. Only the top 10 in each race earn points and it’s quite the feat for a new team to compile points so early into their career. Grosjean has finished sixth and fifth in the first two races. Keep your eyes on this team.

La Liga Soccer

  • Spanish showdown. Real Madrid beat Barcelona, 2-1 in “El Classico,” the battle of the rivals in the La Liga League. This was the first loss for Barcelona in 39 games. The winning goal was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo. (Ronaldo, who is usually connected to smoking hot babes and Hollywood ladies like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton, celebrated the game in his underwear). 

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • World Series rematch. While today is opening day for most teams, yesterday Kansas City Royals took on the New York Mets in an opening day rematch between the two World Series teams. Kansas City won last year’s World Series and yesterday’s game

WWE (Word Wrestling Entertainment)

  • Super Bowl of wrestling. WrestleMania 32 took place in Dallas yesterday and it boasted more cameos than the Entourage movie. From the national anthem sung by Fifth Harmony to appearances by Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Shaq and Snopp Dogg, the WWE brought out their A-game.  The winners of night were the fans who saw a 20 foot dive off the top of a cage by Shane McMahon (who has been out of the WWE ring for 15 years) and a record breaking attendance of 101,763. In case you’re wondering, the new WWE Champion is Roman Reigns.

Overtime

  • The Masters starts this week in Augusta, GA. The Drive, Chip and Putt is for kids ages 7-15, who qualify for a chance to play the Sunday before the Masters. As if this wasn’t already an incredible experience for the kids, they received a surprise visit from three special people - Justin Rose (PGA golfer), Niall Horan (One Direction) and Justin Timberlake (needs no introduction).

Sideline stat

  • Golden State Warriors lost to the Boston Celtics, ending their 54 home game winning streak. San Antonio Spurs now have the longest active home winning streak at 39 straight games.

Coaches’ Corner

  • What is ‘the paint’ in basketball? The paint is the painted area in front of the basket and is also referred to as the key. It is literally painted on the basketball court in front of and around the basket and is a primary location for the offence to score and defense to defend the basket. There are specific rules that pertain to a player’s time in the paint. Dying to know more? Click here

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up

Grace was not the key word of the weekend in sports as bizarre injuries ran amok.

Caffeine in hand this morning and we’re buzzing like bees at a Cubs spring training game

Sweeter than honey,

The Last Night’s Game Team


MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Freak accident. Milwaukee Brewers Reliever Will Smith (no not THAT Will Smith) tore a ligament in his knee while attempting to take off his cleats after a game. He expected to miss "significant time.” 

  • Buzz off. A swarm of bees were the cause of a delay in the Mariners vs. Cubs spring training game on Sunday. Cubs’ outfielder Jason Heyward was surrounded by a swarm and stung several times. 

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Was the crime worth the time? Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin has been medically cleared to resume basketball activities after a quad injury and broken hand have kept him out since Christmas Day. Since he has been cleared from his injuries he must now serve his suspension for punching a team equipment manager outside a restaurant in January. Griffin will be back on the court on April 3rd. Clippers clinched a playoff spot with a win last night.  

NCAA Basketball (College)

  • Not so fast. Going into to Saturday all four #1 seeds were still in the NCAA tournament. The picture looked a little different by Sunday night. Oregon (#1) lost to Oklahoma (#2) and Kansas (#1) lost to Villanova (#2).

But wait there’s more! Syracuse (#10) beat Virginia (#1) to secure their place in the Final Four. North Carolina, who beat Notre Dame (#6) on Sunday, is the only #1 ranked team to make it to the Final Four. The Final Four is this weekend.

  • Orange fever. Both Syracuse’s men and women’s basketball teams secured a spot in their respective Final Four tournaments for 2016. The men won the National Championship in 2003 and this is the first ever trip for the ladies.  

PGA (Professional Golfer’s Association)

  • At the top. Jason Day surpassed Jordan Spieth to claim the spot as #1 ranked golfer in the world after winning the Dell Match Play Tournament in Austin, Texas. Day is not a newcomer to the spotlight as he was ranked #1 last year but he had a humble beginning. Growing up Day was so poor that his first golf club was one his father pulled from the town dump.

Overtime

  • In the spirit of Easter, the Houston Cougars changed up a drill during spring practice by dressing up in bunny costumes. No bunnies (or football players) were harmed in the making of this video.

Sideline stat

  • University of Connecticut women's basketball team won their Elite Eight game, handing Mississippi State a 98-38 loss. The UConn ladies will play Texas (#2) tonight. So far they have outscored their tournament opponents 296-138. 

Coaches’ Corner

  • Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey injured himself in the game vs. Wisconsin last week. No it wasn’t from his rebound skills but from stepping awkwardly on the grip pad (which the players’ use so their shoes have a better grip on the court). He reportedly pulled a calf muscle. Apparently the luck of the Irish wasn’t shining on Brey or his team. They lost to North Carolina last night.

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

Recovery is the word of the day after a wild weekend of college basketball. Luckily we have until Thursday to lower our blood pressure and mourn our destroyed brackets.

No use crying over spilled milk,

The Last Night’s Game Team


NCAA Basketball (College)

  • Underdogs reign supreme. In the first two rounds of tournament there were 10 wins by double-digit seeded teams, the most in NCAA tournament history.

  • Back to normal. The second round saw fewer upsets with the big win going to Gonzaga (#11) beating Utah (#3).  
  • The games everyone will be talking about.
    • Texas A&M (#3) came back from 12 points down with 30 seconds left to tie game against Northern Iowa (#11), eventually winning in double overtime
    • Wisconsin (#7) and Xavier (#2) were tied 63-63 with two seconds left. Coming out of a time out Wisconsin hit a three-pointer to win 66-63. 
    • Notre Dame (#6) won 76-75 on last second tip in to beat Stephen F. Austin (#14) 

F1 Racing (Formula One)

  • From the land down under. Nico Rosberg edged out teammate Lewis Hamilton to win the first race of year in Melbourne, Australia. There was a major accident in the race (luckily no one was injured) and the red flag came out. This was the first time since 2007 that a red flag made an appearance. (A red flag means the race has to stop).

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Buena Vista Social Club. The Tampa Bay Rays will play the Cuban National Team in Cuba on Tuesday (1:30 pm EST on ESPN). They are the first team to do so since the Baltimore Orioles in 1999. Also in attendance will be President Barak Obama, Rachel and Sharon Robinson (wife and daughter of the late great Jackie Robinson) and retired New York Yankees star Derek Jeter. 

  • Returning home. The Rays have added Dayron Varona (who has never played on a Major League team) to their roster for the trip. Varona defected from Cuba three years ago to pursue his baseball dreams. 
  • Thanks but no thanks. ESPN radio/TV host Dan Le Betard offered a heartbreaking but passionate perspective on the upcoming game in Cuba and why he and his parents will not be attending. Le Betard’s parents left Cuba for Miami.

Overtime

  • The Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) signed Tautvydas Kieras, a track and field standout from Mississippi State. Normally this wouldn’t be that notable but Kieras has never played football. Kieras trained for Mississippi State’s pro day where he wowed the team with his abilities.

Sideline Stat

  • Jimmie Johnson (#48) won the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California. This is 77th career win and he surpassed legendary driver Dale Earnhardt in wins.

Coaches’ Corner

  • For the first time since 2012, all #1 seed teams in the NCAA tournament have advanced to the Sweet 16 (i.e. the next round where there are only 16 teams left in the tournament).