Surprise! It's Monday

Unlike Sean Spicer’s appearance on the Emmys, it’s no surprise that Monday is here. Start your week and the conversation with Last Night’s Game.

#winning,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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MLB (Major League Baseball)

• #HoustonStrong. Finally, some great news for Houston. For the first time in 16 years, the Houston Astros have won their division. The team will take the top spot for their division (American League West) in the playoffs, which starts in October.

NFL (National Football League)

• This town ain’t big enough. It’s been a rough start for Los Angeles and their two new NFL teams – the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. Lackluster game attendance has been the butt of many jokes and this weekend's games didn't help. The combined attendance for both the Rams and Chargers games was less than the total attendance for the USC (University of Southern California) game.

Overtime

• Supporting the “Drive for Teal & Gold” campaign, 29 NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) drivers will utilize teal and gold steering wheels during the month of September. Drivers will raise awareness and funds for ovarian and childhood cancers. The effort is spearheaded by driver Martin Truex Jr. (who won yesterday's race) and his partner Sherry, an ovarian cancer survivor.

Sideline stat

• For the third time ever, four quarterbacks from the same college started in the NFL on Sunday and they’re not from the big powerhouse school you might think. They all bleed red and blue as former players from North Carolina State.

Coaches’ corner

• The much-anticipated boxing match between Gennady Gennadyevich Glolovkin (aka GGG) and Canelo Alvarez lived up the hype with nonstop action for 12 rounds. It all came down to the judges to declare the winner. They took the easy way out and declared it a draw (i.e. a tie). The sports world lost its mind calling the fight fixed. Only time will tell.

Coffee, Tea Or LNG?

Start your Monday off right with conversation starters to carry you through the day. 

Talk amongst yourselves,

The Last Night's Game Team 

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NFL (National Football League)

• Welcome home. In the team's first game at home, JJ Watt received a hero's welcome. The Houston Texans player has raised over $31 million and counting for the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Alongside donations from other athletes, superstars like Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy Fallon made significant contributions to the fund.  
• Build it and they will come.  The Los Angeles Rams opened their season yesterday and they dominated the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately, there were few people in the crowd to witness the win. Twitter had a field day with the awful attendance. 
• Coming up. In case you didn't get enough football this weekend, tonight there are two Monday Night Football games. One will feature the first female broadcaster to ever call a nationally televised football game.

Tennis

• On top of the world. Sloane Stephens went from unseeded (ranked 934 in the world) to Women’s U.S. Open champion on Saturday. The tournament believes in equal pay when it comes to the winner's earnings and Stephens reaction to receiving her $3.7M check is priceless.

College Football

• Victorious. In the big game of the weekend, the underdog Oklahoma Sooners (5) leveled the Ohio State Buckeyes (2) at home. Although the real excitement came from the Louisiana Tech game where the football had the last laugh during this play.

Overtime

• Remember when your mom would call you by the name of your sibling when she was mad? The Indianapolis Colts coach was so distraught by the blowout loss (see above) he kept referring to the Rams as the San Francisco 49ers when talking to reporters. Someone get this man a beer. Stat!

Sideline stat

• Rafael Nadal was crowned the Men’s U.S. Open champion for his 16th career Grand Slam win, three behind the record 19 wins held by Roger Federer. If we’re throwing out numbers, Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slams.

(A Grand Slam, also known as a major, is one of the four major tournaments in tennis).   

Coaches’ corner

• MLB (Major League Baseball) season is winding down, with the playoffs beginning in October. This weekend the Washington Nationals became the first team to secure a playoff spot.

No Rest For The Wicked

While some of you might actually be working today, many of you are likely working on floating in the pool without spilling your drink.

#nodaysoff,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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College Football

• See the future. The sports world is buzzing about the long snapper from USC (University of Southern California). On Saturday, Jake Olson made his collegiate debut, snapping the ball successfully and his team earned the extra point. Why is this different than any other game? Olson is blind and has been since he was 12.

• Win some, lose some. In the game of the week, Alabama (1) dominated FSU (Florida State University- 3). The good news? Fans were able to enjoy Chick-fil-A at the game in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The painful news? FSU’s quarterback is out for the season with a knee injury.

• Did you hear about the great comeback by UCLA (University of California - Los Angeles) to beat Texas A&M last night? Click here for more and here to see how your college team did this week.

World Cup Soccer

• It’s in your hands. The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team is THIS close to being shut out of the 2018 World Cup. They lost this weekend to Costa Rica and will play Honduras tomorrow. They have to win or achieve a win and a tie in two of the remaining three games to qualify. Nothing like controlling your own destiny.

Overtime

• The Houston native Stacy Lewis hadn’t won an LPGA’s (Ladies Professional Golfers Association) tournament in three years. Regardless, she pledged that if she won yesterday, she would donate her $195,000 in prize money to the flood relief efforts. Not only did she win and donate her earnings, but her sponsor KPMG matched her donation.

Sideline stat

• Houston Texans’ (NFL - National Football League) JJ Watt’s flood relief fund, that started with a goal of $200,000, is on its way toward $20 million. Watt and his teammates delivered supplies this weekend to some of Houston’s most devastated residents.

Speaking of the NFL, the season starts this Thursday.

Coaches’ corner

• What is a long snapper in football? A long snapper snaps the ball to the kicker for field goals/punts. A snap (a.k.a hike) means they crouch over the ball and then pass the ball backwards to another player through their legs, like this.