The Rundown: Ugly Sweater Not Included
While you were busy this weekend rocking that ugly sweater and singing holiday karaoke, there was plenty of excitement happening in the world of sports. We have what everyone is talking about, besides that video of your co-worker’s impression of the boss.
Darn you vodka,
The Last Night’s Game Team
MLS (MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER)
- Winner winner. The Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC (Football Club) battled Saturday for the MLS Cup but neither of them scored a goal in regulation time or overtime. Therefore, the quest for the title came down to penalty kicks. Seattle won, securing the club’s first ever MLS Championship. Seattle did not have a shot on goal until the penalty kicks. (That means they didn’t even come close to scoring a goal until the penalty kicks).
NCAA Football (College)
- Pat on the back. The presentation of the award for the best player in college football, the Heisman Trophy, was on Saturday. It was no surprise that University of Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was named the winner. Jackson is the first Heisman winner from Louisville and the youngest recipient ever. He also claimed the award while rocking a red velvet sport coat.
- Good vs Bad. The Heisman Trophy presentation brings together all of the former winners. A photo from the award presentation of Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel together set the internet on fire as they are literally different ends of the moral spectrum. Read the funny tweets here.
- At last. Army ended a 14-year winless drought to the Naval Academy, winning in front of a crowd of 71,000+ that included President-Elect Donald Trump.
NFL (National Football League)
- Brr. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills game in New York was exactly how you'd imagine, freezing cold with heavy snowfall. Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell wasn’t bothered as he set the franchise record for rushing yards and secured a Steelers win.
- You had one job. The Buffalo ground crew didn’t have quite the same luck in the snow. While removing snow from the field they also removed the black rubber pellets from the artificial turf causing a delay in the game to fix the field. The pellets make the turf soft (i.e. safe), otherwise it’s basically concrete.
Overtime
- Wrestler and occasional Today Show co-host John Cena hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend. He spared no expense poking fun at student athletes with this skit about a football player at Alabama. He struck gold with a game show skit entitled “Where’d Your Money Go?” featuring "athletes." Key takeaway - don't buy a cheetah.
Sideline stat
- The Dallas Cowboys (NFL) were on an 11-game winning streak after losing their only game this season to the New York Giants. Last night the Giants once again beat the Cowboys to break their winning streak. No word yet on whether or not the state of Texas has outlawed Green Giant products.
Coaches’ corner
- Jägermeister and the Milwaukee Bucks (NBA) are in the headlines but not for a new collaborative cocktail. Jägermeister has filed an appeal with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over the redesigned Bucks logo featuring a deer. The appeal states that the new Bucks logo is very similar to the German liquor company's logo. See for yourself.
The Rundown: Hear Me Roar...Sports Talk
The playoff teams for college football were announced yesterday and unlike finding last year’s $20 bill in your coat pocket, there were no surprises here. Like spending your $20, the games are still going to be exciting.
Cha-ching!
The Last Night’s Game Team
NCAA Football (College)
- One step closer. Yesterday was “Selection Sunday.” It’s not another commercialized Hallmark holiday but where the College Football Playoff Selection Committee determines the final four teams as well as the teams who will play in the various bowl games.
- Bring it on. The final four teams will play each other and the winners of the two games below will play for the National Championship in January.
- Alabama (#1) will play Washington (#4) on 12/31 in the Peach Bowl (Atlanta)
- Clemson (#2) will play Ohio State (#3) on 12/31 in the Fiesta Bowl (Phoenix)
- FOMO. Penn State handed Ohio State their only loss and won the Big 10 Championship, but they were left out of the Final Four. The Nittany Lions will have to settle for a spot in the Rose Bowl against USC.
- Bowling for dollars. Here are the matchups for all 42 bowl games. Find your team and book your flights for an early holiday gift to yourself.
Soccer
- Bittersweet. Last week we saw the unthinkable, the plane that was carrying the Brazilian soccer team, Chapecoense, to their championship games crashed. Their opposition for the championship started a campaign to give the team the championship title, without playing the game. The South American Football Confederation agreed and will name the Brazilian club as 2016 Copa Sudamericana Champions.
NFL (National Football League)
- Homecoming. Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry calls Atlanta home and he returned home this week to play the Atlanta Falcons – nearly two years to the day he was diagnosed with cancer. Berry kicked cancer’s butt and he did the same thing to the Falcons’ offense during his homecoming.
F1 Racing (Formula One)
- Going out on top. Last week we reported that Nico Rosberg won the World Championship, the first of his career. Well it’s going to be his last because the 31-year-old shocked the racing community by announcing his retirement Friday.
Overtime
- This weekend the NFL allowed the players to pay tribute to their favorite charity on their cleats. The cleats will be auctioned off to benefit the players’ designated charity. Need a unique gift for under the tree? You can bid on your beloved player’s cleats here.
Sideline stat
- NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) announced a multiyear deal with Monster Energy as its Premier Series title sponsor. Monster is replacing Sprint (i.e. the Sprint Cup). The dollars and cents of the deal weren’t released but it was rumored that NASCAR wanted 10-years, $1 billion for this sponsorship level. We want to win the lottery too.
Coaches’ corner
- Penn State’s mascot is a Nittany Lion. We’ve never seen a Nittany Lion in the zoo, what is it? The Nittany Lion refers to the mountain lions that are thought to have once roamed Mount Nittany, a University Park (where Penn State is located) landmark.
The Rundown: Bored With Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday setting your credit card on fire? Give it a rest and catch up on the world of sports in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee. You’ll be back and on your way in no time.
Your credit card will thank us,
The Last Night’s Game Team
PS - Do you use Gmail and are tired of The Rundown landing in your “promotions” tab? Simply drag the email over to the “primary” tab. Simple as that!
NCAA Football (College)
- Feels like the first time. The heated rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan lived up to the hype this weekend. For the first time in 113 meetings between these two teams, the game went into overtime. Ohio State won in double overtime.
- Be like the cool kids. Everyone will be talking about the conference finals which start Friday. Check to see if your team made it.
F1 Racing (Formula One)
- On top of the world. The World Championship came down to the last lap in the last race on Sunday. Teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg duked it out until the end. Hamilton tried everything he could to claim the championship title (including defying team’s orders – a big no-no). Although it was a numbers game. Hamilton may have won the race but Rosberg still claimed the World Championship.
Rosberg joined his father Keke, the 1982 champion, to become only the second father-son duo to win the overall World Championship.
NCAA Basketball (College)
- Battle of the beasts. Tonight kicks off a big week in college basketball as the battle for conference superiority starts. The two historic powerhouse conferences, ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) and Big 10, go head-to-head to determine who’s the best. See the schedule and the games to watch here.
Overtime
- Thanksgiving is known as a time for excessive eating and Buffalo Bills lineman (NFL) Richie Incognito took that to another level. He won his teammates’ Thanksgiving Day weight gain challenge for the second year in a row, gaining 9.4 pounds in one day. (He gained 15 last year). His secret? Eat everything. You think?
Sideline stat
- Tom Brady tied an NFL record with his 200th career win on Sunday against the New York Jets. He is now tied with Peyton Manning and will surely break the record this year.
Coaches’ Corner
- As the regular season of college football comes to a close, heads begin to roll. One of the coaching changes that everyone is buzzing about is University of Texas firing their head coach, Charlie Strong, and hiring the hottest coach on the market, University of Houston’s Tom Herman. Here’s the scoop on other coaching changes.