LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/2/16 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/2/16

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up

On this Manic Monday, we’re heeding the advice of the Chicago Cubs’ Manager, "If you think you look hot, you wear it.” Although might we advise that you leave the tuxedo t-shirt at home after reading today’s update about the race at Talladega?

It’s not your best look,

The Last Night’s Game Team

MLB (Major League Baseball)

If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Chicago Cubs’ Manager Joe Maddon’s motto for road trip attire is "If you think you look hot, you wear it." That motto was taken to heart as the first place Cubs showed off their fashion sense Sunday on their way to Pittsburgh. Check out the fashion show here.

NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing)

Rubbin, son, is racin'. Brad Keselowski won the race at Talladega yesterday. The race was marred by crashes; 35 of the 40 cars in the race were involved in some type of crash.

NBA (National basketball Association)

Next please. The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors have advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs. The two will face each other in the next round on Tuesday.
Total domination. In the West, San Antonio Spurs smashed the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors creamed the Portland Trailblazers in the opening of their second round series.

NFL (NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE)

Making history. Minnesota Vikings drafted German wide receiver Moritz Boehringer in the sixth round of the draft. Boehringer started playing football after watching YouTube clips of Vikings’ star running back Adrian Peterson; now they’ll be on the same team. Boehringer is the first player drafted from Europe straight into the NFL.
His mama thinks he’s important. On Sunday, Denver Broncos made Southern Mississippi cornerback Kalan Reed “Mr. Irrelevant.” The title is given to the last pick of the NFL draft.
Curious how the draft panned out? You can browse all the draft picks here.

WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)

That makes for a bad day. During the Sunday’s opening match of WWE’s Payback, wrestler Enzo Amore injured his neck and suffered a concussion when we was thrown out of the ring. The pay-per-view broadcast was halted as he was given medical treatment and taken to the hospital.

Overtime

The “Running Man Challenge” swept the nation, with dancers and non-dancers alike posting videos of themselves doing the running man to the song "My Boo” (1995). Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving showed them how it’s done. Hey if basketball doesn’t work out, those dancing skills could come in handy.

Sideline stat

Los Angeles Dodgers snapped their six game losing streak on Sunday with a 1-0 win over the San Diego Padres. It was a D.I.Y. kind of day for starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who threw a complete game shutout (i.e. the other team didn’t score a run) and drove in the game’s only run.

Coaches’ corner

Los Angeles Lakers have hired Luke Walton, 36, as their next head coach. Walton played nine seasons for the Lakers, winning two championships. Walton served as interim head coach for the Golden State Warriors while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery. The team went 39-4 under Walton’s watch. Walton is also the son of NBA Hall of Famer, Bill Walton.

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

Channeling our inner Bryce Harper, we’re making sports fun again. You’re welcome.

Remember when you went to prom and all you got was a slow dance and some lemonade? A few professional athletes are bringing their A-game to add some excitement to prom.

Cummerbunds, corsages and all,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS - Share the fun of sports with others by using the buttons at the bottom.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

Pick me! All-Star voting has begun for the MLB All-Star Game on July 12th in the home of the San Diego Padres - Petco Park.
Think baseball is boring? So does Washington Nationals' all-star outfielder Bryce Harper. He wants to create a personality in baseball and become a single-name icon like LeBron or Beckham. "Endorsements, fashion -- it's something baseball doesn't see," he says. "In soccer, it's Beckham or Ronaldo. In basketball, it's Curry and LeBron. In football, it's Cam. Football and basketball have such good fashion." You can flaunt your style and show your support of Harper’s “Make Baseball Fun Again” campaign by buying your t-shirt here.

NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing)

Flipping out. Carl Edwards is doing a celebratory backflip for the second week in a row after winning the Toyota Owners 400 in Virginia. Edwards is the third driver to win back-to-back races this year.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

For the win! San Antonio Spurs swept Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers swept Detroit Pistons to move onto round two of the playoffs.
Injury prone. Golden State Warriors beat Houston Rockets to go up 3-1 in the series. Guard Steph Curry, who just returned to the court after an ankle injury caused him to miss two games, slipped on the court and injured his knee just before halftime. The team rallied without Curry to win the game by 27 points. Early indications are that Curry has a knee sprain, possibly an MCL sprain.
Franchise history. Charlotte Hornets beat Miami Heat to cut the Heat’s series lead to 2-1. This is the first playoff win in the 14-year franchise history. Basketball legend Michael Jordan is an owner of the Hornets.

NFL (National Football League)

Can I play? Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton gave some seventh graders a thrill of a lifetime when he decided to hop a fence and play football with them.
That’s not good. A Dallas County grand jury will indict troubled quarterback Johnny Manziel on misdemeanor assault charges for a confrontation where he hit his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, so hard she temporarily lost hearing in her ear. The formal announcement of the indictment is expected today. A misdemeanor assault case carries a maximum punishment of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

NHL (National Hockey League)

In playoff news. San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders have all advanced to the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The last two teams to move onto round two will be decided by Wednesday.

PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association)

What happens in the Bahamas doesn’t stay there. Top golfers Jordan Speith and Rickie Fowler took a spring break trip to the Bahamas. According to Rickie Fowler’s Snapchat they had a great time playing golf and diving off of buildings into the water. Rickie won the title of ‘shirt of the day’ with this gem. (He’s the one in the middle).

Overtime

We’re reminiscing about prom and apparently some athletes were feeling the magic of the dance as well. Houston Texans’ (NFL) JJ Watt proved he can do it all when he helped a high school senior ask a girl to prom via Snapchat. Not to be outdone, Los Angeles Dodgers' (MLB) outfielder Yasiel Puig crashed the Chatwood High School prom instead of going back to his hotel Saturday night after a game in Colorado.

Sideline stat

Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Byron Scott after two record breaking seasons. Although Scott’s Lakers career wasn’t record breaking for a good reason; he coached two of the worst seasons in Lakers history. Scott’s Lakers went 21-65 (wins-losses, a .256 winning percentage) and 17-65 (.207 winning percentage). The numbers don’t lie.

Coaches’ corner

What is a sweep? Most of us are used to hearing the word sweep when it comes to cleaning up. That’s exactly what it means in sports. A sweep is when the series’ winning team does so without giving up a win. For instance, Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons because they won their (best-of-seven) series with four wins (4-0). The Pistons didn’t win any games. The idea of a sweep applies to all sports where there are series – such as hockey playoffs and regular season baseball (teams play three game series against each other).

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

Monday already? Time flies when its NHL and NBA playoff season.

Good luck to the Boston Marathon runners today, we’ll be there right beside you for support. And by beside you, we mean cheering you on while watching it on TV. In our running shoes of course.

Same same but different,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Boston Marathon

Boston strong. The Boston Marathon turns 120-years-young today. It all started in 1897 when a group of guys, fueled by steak and whiskey, went on a 24.5 mile run. (Clearly they didn’t have Uber). This year organizers are expecting 30,000 runners and 1 million spectators.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

Flipping out. In the Food City 500 at Bristol, a track where the fastest lap is a little over 15 seconds, Carl Edwards took home the checkered flag. Edwards is known for his gymnastics skills – he does a backflip off of his car after he wins a race.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

I got bad ankles. NBA superstar Steph Curry left the playoff game vs. Houston Rockets with a sprained ankle (if you remember his ankles are the only glitch in his armor). He didn’t practice with the team on Sunday and is questionable for game tonight.
To tweet or not to tweet. There was speculation that LeBron James would break his trend of a social media blackout dubbed “Zero Dark - 23” during this year’s playoffs. LeBron kept up the tradition that has been alive since 2012 by tweeting out “Zero Dark Thirty -23 activated. #striveforgreatness” hours before the Cavs first playoff game. Expect LeBron to be off the grid until they win the championship (or are knocked out).
Blowout games in the playoffs. These teams beat their opponents in game one by more than 20 points – San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder. For all the round one playoff scores and standings, click here.

NHL (National Hockey League)

It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. New York Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist was injured in their playoff game vs. Pittsburgh Penguins when a hockey stick went through his mask and hit him in the eye. Despite the multitude of sticks-to-the-face injuries in the league this year, goalies still agree that better eye protection is not the way to go, getting a better look at the puck is. Even though one goalie said his injury “felt like his eyeball was falling out.” Seems logical.
On the road to the Stanley Cup. We’re still in the best-of-seven games in the first round of the NHL playoffs for the next week and a half (if necessary). For all the scores, schedules and the standings, click here.

Overtime

For USC long snapper Jake Olson playing in the spring football game this weekend was a big deal. Not simply because he received a standing ovation from the crowd but because he is legally blind. Olson was born with a rare form of cancer that rendered him legally blind by age 12. He is currently a redshirt freshman at USC and happy to be part of the Trojans team.

Sideline stat

Soccer powerhouse and Barcelona star Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal on Sunday. The Argentinian has scored 406 of those goals with his left foot, 71 right foot, 21 with his head and two with “other.” Not bad for a less than 11-year career that began with a contract sketched out on a paper napkin.

Coaches’ Corner

Detroit Pistons lost to Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. Frustrated Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said the referees were showing favoritism to Cavs’ star LeBron James stating, “He (LeBron) gets to do whatever he wants. (Pistons) got to understand that.” Later he backtracked saying that’s not the reason they lost. Mama told us it’s not nice to point.