The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition - Gold Medal Monday

As the Olympics came to a close last night and the strength of Team U.S.A. was apparent. They topped the medal leaderboard, winning 121 medals which is the highest count for the Americans in an Olympics held abroad.

The medal charge was lead by Michael Phelps and of course the ladies of the “Final Five,” Katie Ledecky and so many others. Sticking it to the equal pay critics, American women won an impressive 61 of the 121 medals.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Summer Olympics

• World domination. Team U.S.A. men’s and women’s basketball were undefeated, each securing gold medals. It was the sixth consecutive gold for the women and third straight for the men.
• Coming out on top. Claressa Shields became the first American to win back-to-back gold medals in boxing. Shields overcame incredible odds: extreme poverty as a child and even after winning gold in London she struggled financially, as many Olympic athletes do. She is now the most dominant boxer in U.S.A. Olympic history. 
• Let me take a selfie. Standout gymnast of the “Final Five,” Simone Biles, was voted by fellow American athletes to carry the U.S.A. flag in the closing ceremonies. The 4’8” star was the hit of the party as she had a receiving line of athletes lining up to take selfies with her. Her smile has taken the world by storm.  
• A first time for everything. Helen Maroulis won the first gold ever for U.S.A. women’s wrestling.
• Goals for gold. Known for its soccer culture, host country Brazil won its first ever gold medal in men’s soccer. Brazil beat Germany on penalty kicks in the finals. The final kick was made by team captain and superstar player Neymar (you know you’re a big deal when you only have one name).
• The saga continues. In an NBC interview, swimmer Ryan Lochte said he “over-exaggerated” his robbery story and was “110% sorry.” Read more here. 

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

• After their water bottle throwing press conference it appeared that the Nate Diaz-Conor McGregor fight would be one for the ages and they didn’t disappoint. The lead shifted throughout the fight with the two fighters looking strong but in the end Conor McGregor was declared the winner.

OVERTIME

• When he's not competing in the Olympics, American pole vaulter Sam Kendrick is an officer in the United States Army. During competition, as he started his next attempt, he heard the U.S.A. national anthem being played for another American athlete and he stopped mid-run to pay his respects. He ended up bringing home a bronze medal.

Sideline stat

• Pre-season college football rankings have been released. These rankings get fans all riled up over which team is predicted to be the best during the season. This year’s poll is led by defending national champions, the Crimson Tide of Alabama. (FYI – the Crimson Tide is the school’s nickname. Their mascot is actually Big Al, an elephant.) Here are the top five:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. University of Oklahoma
4. Florida State
5. Louisiana State University (LSU)

Coaches’ corner

• This wasn’t an Olympic version of Magic Mike, but the Mongolian coaches protested a penalty assessed to their wrestler by removing their shirts and pants. The protest: their wrestler began to celebrate his win before the match was over. The referee gave his opponent a penalty point due to the premature celebration, therefore the Mongolian wrestler lost the bronze medal.
  

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition - Monday Already?

Weekends were made for binge watching right? Good because that justifies the indent in our couch from the non-stop Olympic coverage.

In non-Olympic news, preseason football is happening and the start of the season is looming. You know what that means? Fantasy football drafts are starting. Would you be interested in joining a Last Night’s Game fantasy football league complete with coaching and Fantasy Football 101? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook or via email.

Always learning,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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NFL (National Football League) 

• Get is started. It may have only been a preseason game but the vibes around the L.A. Coliseum were electric. Shattering NFL U.S. preseason attendance records, close to 90,000 fans came out to see the Los Angeles Rams play their first professional game in L.A. since 1994. In the end, the Rams beat the Cowboys. The Rams moved to L.A. from St. Louis this season.

Summer Olympics

• Don’t let it go to your head. Men’s and women’s basketball completed the group stages undefeated.  The men’s team has had a few close games while the women have dominated their opponents. The quarterfinals start tomorrow.
• You better sit down for this. In an Olympics full of firsts, we’ve compiled a mind blowing list of Olympic firsts from this weekend.
  • With her win in women's tennis singles, Tennis player Monica Puig won Puerto Rico’s first ever gold medal.
  • Usain Bolt won the 100m sprint, becoming the first man to accomplish that feat in three straight Olympics.
  • American Michelle Carter won gold in the shot put, becoming first American woman to win gold in the sport.  
  • Simone Biles won again. Yesterday she became the first U.S. woman to win gold on the vault and the first (male or female) to win three Olympic golds in a single Games in gymnastics. If you haven’t seen this girl carry out her craft, do yourself a favor and watch her compete again tonight.
  • Justin Rose made Great Britain proud when he won the first gold medal in golf since 1904. American Matt Kuchar won the bronze medal. Golf is slated to be one of the top events in Tokyo 2020. Start practicing your swing. 

Overtime

• Thieves in Rio have taken picking on the blue hairs to a new level. American Gold Media swimmer, Ryan Lochte (whose dyed blonde hair turned blue from the Olympic pool's chlorine) and three other swimmers were robbed at gunpoint. Their taxi was pulled over by armed men posing as police officers. No one was injured but their wallets and phones were taken. Notorious for his partying and his enjoyment of Tinder, we're curious what the thieves will find on Lochte’s phone? Jackpot!

Sideline Stat

• Singapore offers $1 million (SGD) as a reward for winning an Olympic gold medal. Until this weekend no Singaporean athlete has brought home a gold medal or any medal for that matter. On Saturday, Singaporean Joseph Schooling defied the odds and beat Michael Phelps in the 100m butterfly, earning Singapore’s first ever Olympic medal.  Gold medalist Schooling, who swims for the University of Texas, was met with a hero's welcome when he returned to Singapore, which included a standing ovation in Parliament (first ever for an athlete) and a selfie with the prime minister.

Coaches’ corner

• Phelps won his final race of his career, bringing his career medal total to an unprecedented 28 Olympic medals, 23 of those are gold. He already has his retirement planned - Phelps is set to coach the swim and dive team at Arizona State University.

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - Medal Monday

We had Olympic fever all weekend and there’s no signs of it stopping.  While you might not believe it, there are other sports happening now as well. Don’t worry – we’ve got you. You’re going to be the hit of the water cooler this morning.

Chatty Cathy,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Summer Olympics

• Record shattered. Swimmer Katie Ledecky beat her own world record and won gold in the 400-meter freestyle swim. Previously, Ledecky dominated in the London Olympics winning her first gold medal at just 15-years-old.
• Badass bruising. With a win in yesterday’s relay race, Michael Phelps won his 19th career gold medal (23rd medal overall). If you were curious about the round bruises on his body, they're not crop circles. Phelps was simply channeling his inner Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow. Those bruises were from cupping, an ancient Chinese technique using suction to increase blood flow to relieve muscle tension.
• There’s a first time for everything. Serena and Venus Williams encountered an Olympic first. They we’re knocked out of medal contention with their first Olympic loss as a doubles team. The number one ranked duo lost to an unranked Czech Republic team.
• Cracking job. French gymnast Samir Ait Said left the crowd speechless but for all the wrong reasons. He literally snapped his lower leg in half on his vault landing. To add insult to injury, paramedics dropped his stretcher on the way out of the arena. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down.
• The deets. U.S.A leads medal count with 12. Click for the complete medal count and for a schedule of events.

MLB (Major League Baseball) 

• This used to be my playground. New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez announced he will play the last game of his career this Friday. Rodriguez has had a record career that was tainted by steroid use and was a tabloid regular for dating Hollywood starlets (think Madonna and Cameron Diaz). He will remain with the team through next year as a “special adviser” while bringing home the remainder of his $275 million paycheck. For the record, the Yankees are having one of their worst seasons in a long time.

NFL (National Football League) 

• The Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony went off without a hitch this weekend. The Hall of Fame Game scheduled to follow? Not so much. The game between Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts was cancelled due to field conditions. The paint used on the field for the midfield logo and end zones was too hard which threatened player safety. In a silver lining moment, the teams held a makeshift fan fest for those in attendance and their money will be refunded.  

Overtime

• Team Russia was banned from the 2016 Paralympic Games for allegedly violating international doping rules.  International Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven said Russia has "catastrophically failed its para athletes. Their medals-over-morals mentality disgusts me."

Sideline stat

• Miami Marlins’ Ichiro Suzuki reached a career milestone this weekend hitting his 3,000th career hit. He is only the 30th player in baseball history to reach that milestone.

Coaches’ corner

• We were stumped while watching Team U.S.A. play in volleyball yesterday. Why? We weren’t sure why there was one team member in a different colored jersey (in this case a red shirt vs the team’s white ones).  Answer? That player is called the libero; a player that chosen specially for defense – they cannot serve or spike, but can play anywhere on the court.