The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - Monday Magic

The first Sunday of NFL football lived up to expectations. Unless you were ESPN and then your Sunday was a hot mess.

Exit stage left,

The Last Night’s Game

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College football

• Wait what? In one of the most bizarre endings in recent history, Central Michigan Chippewas defeated heavily favored Oklahoma State Cowboys with a Hail Mary on the last play of the game. Although the play should have never happened as the Cowboys committed a penalty on the previous play and the game should have been over. The referees erroneously gave the ball to Central Michigan and they took advantage.  
• Call in the HR team. The referees who worked the Oklahoma State – Central Michigan game have all been suspended for two games for their giant error and will be unable to work any bowl games. 
• Holy people. In front of record breaking college crowd of 156,000, Tennessee Volunteers topped Virginia Tech Hokies. The game was held in the infield of the Bristol Motor Speedway. 

NFL (National Football League)

• Man down. The ESPN Fantasy Football app crashed yesterday only an hour into the first Sunday of NFL. Fans were not happy but their reactions on Twitter provided some levity to the situation. The cause of the crash is unknown but Putin and Tom Brady are still suspects. (Okay not really). 
• Go for two. In a thrilling back and forth game in New Orleans, Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw the longest touchdown pass in Saints history – 98 yards. With seconds to go in the game the Raiders scored a touchdown to pull within one point. Instead of kicking the extra point to tie and go into overtime, Raiders went all in with a two-point conversion attempt for the win. They did just that. Winner winner chicken dinner for the Raiders.

Tennis

• On top of the world. Angelique Kerber won her first U.S. Open, which makes her the new #1 ranked player in the world since Serena Williams lost earlier in the tournament. 
• Oldie but goodie. Stan Wawrinka upset Novak Djokovic (#1) in the men’s final of the U.S. Open, becoming the oldest person (31) to win since 1970.

Overtime

• Put on your dancing shoes. Dancing with the Stars begins tonight on ABC with Laurie Hernandez (Team U.S.A. gymnast), James Hinchcliffe (IndyCar driver), Calvin Johnson (retired NFL player) and Ryan Lochte (Team U.S.A. swimmer) all competing to win.   

In other entertainment news, Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman and Simone Biles teamed up with Olivia Munn (Packers QB Aaron Rodgers' girlfriend) on Lip Sync Battle Live. It was a fierce battle between a group of celebrity competitors but in the end Michael Phelps won with his rendition of "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. 

Sideline stat

• In a game that resembled a basketball score, Arizona State University beat Texas Tech 68-55. ASU running back Kalen Ballage scored eight touchdowns, tying an NCAA record.

Coaches’ Corner

• What is a Hail Mary pass? It’s not the same as your favorite breakfast cocktail, a bloody mary. A Hail Mary is a long forward pass in football, used when there’s really no other option and time is running out to pull off a win. See a video here.

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition - Labor Day Love

This season's opening weekend of college football was touted as the best ever and unlike Crystal Pepsi, it lived up to the hype. Saturday gave us a mind-blowing (or mind-numbing for some) 21 hours straight of football. 

We have the highlights to start your Labor Day. Now you can bring something great to the BBQ besides wine.

Expanding your minds,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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NCAA Football (College)

• A game for the ages. Last night’s game between Notre Dame and Texas is already candidate for game of the year. The back and forth battle gave us all we could ask for, eventually being won in double overtime by Texas in front of 102,000 fans.
• Sportsmanship at its finest. In July, Nebraska punter Sam Foltz and Michigan State punter Mike Sadler were killed in a car accident on their way home from a kicking camp in Wisconsin. On the first punt of Saturday’s game, a very emotional Nebraska team sent out 10 of 11 players for the play. In honor of Foltz, they were missing the punter and they received a delay of game penalty. In a classy show of sportsmanship, their opponent Fresno State declined the penalty and let Nebraska punt without a penalty. 
• We’re not done yet. There’s still one more game tonight where Florida State (#4) will open their season against Ole Miss (#11).
• Did your team win? Find out here.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

• Welcome back. Los Angeles Dodgers’ star pitcher Clayton Kershaw went on the disabled list with back issues in June and the teams’ season outlook was bleak. Since then, the Dodgers have overcome a huge deficit and are now leading the division by two games over the San Francisco Giants. Kershaw is set to start on Friday and Dodgers fans everywhere are doing their happy dance.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

• Waving the flag. Martin Truex Jr. took home his first checked flag in Darlington yesterday. Before the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. discussed his health during a press conference. Earlier his team announced that he would not return to racing this season due to his concussion-like symptoms. During the press conference Earnhardt said, “I definitely don’t belong in a race car today by any stretch of the imagination."

Tennis

• In U.S. Open news, Rafael Nadal lost in the fourth round to Lucas Pouille. For the first time since 2004, Nadal did not reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam Tournament in a calendar year. 

Overtime

• Lauren Holiday, two-time gold medalist and member of the winning U.S.A. Women’s World Cup team (soccer), has been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. She and her husband New Orleans Pelicans (basketball) guard Jrue Holiday are expecting a baby next month. He announced yesterday that he will take indefinite leave from his team to be with his family. Doctors will have to wait until six weeks after the birth of Baby Holiday to perform Lauren's surgery, which means Jrue will miss the start of the NBA season.

Sideline stat

• The two-man battle for the overall points lead between F1 (Formula One) drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg became a little more interesting on Sunday. Hamilton’s car failed to move as the race started and Rosberg took advantage and brought home the win. Hamilton battled back to finish second. Rosberg cut the points lead to two points as the teams head east for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Coaches’ Corner

• What’s a delay of game penalty? Delay of game means the offense failed to snap the ball before the play clock expired. Teams are given 40 seconds between plays to set up their guys and if they can’t get their acts together in the allotted time, they receive a five-yard penalty.  

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition - Start Your Week

Thanks for starting your Monday and your last week of August with us.

Go forth and conquer,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS –We’re not only on Facebook and Twitter but LinkedIn and Instagram too! #sportscurious

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Little League World Series

• Undefeated. If you thought global domination was only for the Olympics and Dr. Evil, think again. The United States won the Little League World Series yesterday defeating South Korea. The little league team from New York breezed through the United States bracket undefeated. Sunday, they defeated the winners of the international bracket, South Korea. They are the first American team to win the title since 2011.

NFL (National Football League)

• Bad break. Hopefully you saw this news before you drafted Dallas Cowboys’  quarterback Tony Romo to your fantasy football team. The injury prone quarterback broke a bone in his back during a preseason game. It will not require surgery but he is expected to miss significant time (8-10 weeks). Rookie (i.e. zero NFL experience) quarterback Dak Prescott  will be forced to carry the weight of the All-American team while Romo is out. No pressure.  
• Stirring up controversy. This weekend San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick (pronounced cap-er-nick) did not stand up for the pregame national anthem. He said “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." Social media exploded with people expressing their views, but the NFL and the 49ers both said they have to “respect the player’s decision. They are not required to stand.”

F1 Racing (Formula One)

• Waffles anyone? In the beautiful backdrop of Belgium, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg took the lead on the first lap of the race and never looked back. His teammate and overall points leader, Lewis Hamilton, battled back from 21st place to finishing in third. The next race will be this weekend in Italy. It’s a shame they don’t let them race in better places.

Overtime

• Part of the “Final Five” U.S.A. women’s Olympic gymnastics team stole the show last night at the MTV VMA’s (MTV Video Music Awards). They were without one teammate, Gabby Douglas who was in hospital for a mouth infection. The four presented an award to Beyoncé, for which Laurie “Human Emoji” Hernandez was over the moon with excitement.   

Sideline stat

• NASCAR's Kyle Larson, 24, made his first trip to victory lane in Michigan on Sunday. This win is long overdue for the talented racer with 99 career starts under his hood.

Coaches’ corner

• The U.S. Open starts today in New York. The Open is the fourth major of the tennis season. The usual suspects will be there but here’s who everyone is talking about:
  • Fresh off her Olympic gold medal win in Rio, Monica Puig looks to carry that momentum into the Open.  
  • Serena Williams looks to win her record 23rd grand slam title, but an injury to her shoulder that led to her third round loss at the Olympics could make that a challenge.
  • Men’s favorite, Novak Djokovic, is also nursing a wrist injury that he suffered playing in the Olympics.
  • Roger Federer is sitting out this year’s U.S Open to nurse his bum knee.