LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/13/16 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/13/16

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - Free Beer & Brazilian Battle

This weekend is packed full of sports shenanigans from race cars to free beer and even a battle in Brazil. Who said sports doesn’t have something for everyone?

Wait, did you say free beer?

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Formula One

Hola! The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Spain) Formula One race is this Sunday at 7 am (EST) on NBC Sports Network. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg holds a commanding lead in the standings going into the race.

NASCAR (NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for STOCK CAR AUTO RACING)

Lug not. Kyle Busch’s crew chief has been suspended for one race and fined $20,000 for violating a “lug nut rule” after last week’s race. (We covered the Tony Stewart lug nut controversy here). This weekend’s race will take place in Dover, Delaware.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

Onward. Oklahoma City Thunder beat San Antonio Spurs last night, winning the series. The Thunder will now face defending champions Golden State Warriors for the western conference championship starting Monday. Warriors beat Thunder all three times they played during regular season, including in an incredible overtime thriller back in February.

NHL (National Hockey League)

The results are in. The conference finals are set with the St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lighting. Click here for the complete schedule.

PGA (PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS’ ASSOCIATION)

Of course. The 43rd Players Championship has started in Florida. #1 ranked golfer in the world Jason Day, set a course record at -9 after the first day of play. Let’s see if he can keep it up through Sunday. (For our coaches’ corner on how to keep score in golf, click here).

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

Brazilian brawl. UFC 198 will take place Saturday night from Curitiba, Brazil on pay-per-view. Almost every Brazilian superstar fighter is on the card. The 45,000 seat arena sold out in one day. Arguably the best fighter ever and Brazilian legend Anderson Silva, was scheduled to fight but had to have his gallbladder removed this week, forcing him off the card.

BASEBALL

Hooray beer. American and former MLB player Brian Laird is playing in Japan on the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Laird hit a home run that earned him free Kirin beer for a year and $10,000. In a sad tale of wasted beer, Laird doesn’t even drink beer.

Overtime

Arizona elected official, Tempe Councilman David Schapira, received a settlement of $76,000 after he was injured by Arizona State University mascot, Sparky, during halftime of a football game last year. Sparky surprised Schapira by jumping on his back on the field. Little did Sparky know, Schapira had recent back surgery. The Councilman originally sought a settlement of $120,000 as he was hospitalized for a muscle tear after the incident.

Sideline stat

Washington Nationals’ starting pitcher Max Scherzer struck out 20 batters on Wednesday beating his former team, Detroit Tigers. Only five pitchers have accomplished this and to our knowledge Scherzer is the only one to have two different colored eyes.

Coaches’ corner

New England Patriots tight end, expert twerker and party cruise host Rob Gronkowski, has been chosen to grace the cover of this year’s edition of the video game, “Madden NFL ‘17”. The video game itself is named after former NFL player, Super Bowl winning coach and longtime broadcaster, John Madden. Madden is also notorious for his Thanksgiving Turducken Tradition and a fear of flying - he says it’s claustrophobia - and hasn’t boarded a plane since 1979.

LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/11/16 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/11/16

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About Lacrosse

You’ve asked and we’ve listened. Today’s five things to know is about lacrosse. Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing youth sports in the U.S. You’ve heard about it, your neighborhood kids are playing it and you’ve told us you want to know more about it.

You’re welcome,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Five things to know about lacrosse

The on-the-field basics: there are 10 players per team – nine players and a goalie. The games are 60 minutes made up of four – 15 minute quarters. The field is the size of a soccer field. It’s played with a ball (that’s solid rubber and really hard) and crosse (aka a lacrosse stick). Players cannot touch the ball with their hands (with exception of the goalie).
It’s a contact sport with slashes and intense hits to the stick and body. Lacrosse trails only football in concussion risks.
Lacrosse is the fastest growing college sport, with participation in women’s lacrosse up 109% and 95% for the men. Last year over two million people played lacrosse in the U.S. which is an 11% increase.
There is a professional league, Major League Lacrosse, which is made up of nine teams. While its popularity is growing the salaries for players are not. Rookies make about $7,000. The average salary for players is somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000. No quitting your day job.
Lacrosse is the national summer sport of Canada but you won’t see it in this year’s Summer Olympics. (Although golf and Rugby Sevens are new additions to this year’s games).

The NCAA College Lacrosse Championship for both men and women begins this weekend. (There are two men’s play-in games today). Maryland is the favorite in both the men’s and women’s championships.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

Curry is the choice. Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry became the first unanimous MVP in NBA History. He is the 11th player to win back-to-back awards. Curry’s daughter Riley, the real star of the show, was at the press conference and she let the media know she has her eye on them.
On the brink. Last night Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder had a big game to lead his team to a win over San Antonio Spurs, taking a 3-2 series lead. The two teams face each other again tomorrow night and a Thunder win will eliminate the Spurs.

NHL (National Hockey League)

It all comes down to this. There are two game sevens on the horizon which will determine who moves on and who goes home to their mamas - St. Louis Blues vs Dallas Stars (Wednesday) and Nashville Predators vs San Jose Sharks (Thursday).
Moving on up. Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitols in overtime, winning the series and advancing to conference finals to play Tampa Bay Lightning.

Overtime

New England Patriots’ Quarterback Tom Brady has been busy in the off-season. No he’s not practicing deflating footballs, but he has written a $200 cookbook. By cookbook we mean a nutritional guide on how to follow the quarterback’s eating plan. It will tell you how to rid your diet of everything (say goodbye to that morning coffee and eggplant. Wait what?) Apparently everyone wants to be like Brady as the book is sold out. Oh and he has also filmed a fancy and slightly awkward mattress commercial.

Sideline stat

1990s. Remember when? So do the Minnesota Vikings rookies who took their team pictures with a little 90s flare.

Coaches’ corner

If you really want to sound like you know what you’re talking about when discussing lacrosse, the ‘X’ is the spot behind the goal where most offensive plays begin. The offense is trying to score by shooting the ball into an opponent's goal - using the lacrosse stick to catch, cradle, and pass the ball. If you want to know even more about lacrosse, click here.

LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/9/16 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/9/16

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition - Monumental Moms

Happy belated Mother’s Day to all of our readers who are the unsung heroes we call mom. While your mom might not pick favorites, the Derby does. See how the favorite faired this weekend (we’re not talking about you).

We love our mamas,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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The Kentucky Derby

Running for the roses. The 146th Kentucky Derby was won by the favorite Nyquist, the fourth consecutive favorite to win. Over 167,000 people attended the race at Churchill Downs, the second highest attendance ever. That’s a lot of mint juleps.
Peaked too early. Danzing Candy, who was picked by our horse racing expert Case, led through the majority of the race but couldn’t hang on for the win.
The next race on the road to the Triple Crown is the Preakness Stakes on May 21st.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

Happy Mother’s Day. In an annual tradition, players and umpires honored their moms and raised awareness for the fight against breast cancer by wearing pink uniforms and using pink gear during Sunday’s games.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

Pay your respects. Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade violated NBA rules and caused an uproar when he continued to take pregame warm-up shots during the Canadian national anthem.
Rolling on through the playoffs. Cleveland Cavaliers sweep Atlanta Hawks to advance to the conference semifinals, staying undefeated in the postseason. They will now await the winner of Heat/Raptors series.
Making his mama proud. Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant tied his career record of 41 points as he led his team to a big victory over the San Antonio Spurs to tie the series 2-2. In case you were wondering, his mom there in the stands blowing her baby boy kisses during the game.

NHL (National Hockey League)

Lightning strike. Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the New York Islanders this weekend and will play the winner of Penguins/Capitals for Eastern Conference semifinals.

Boxing

Put ‘em up. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez knocked out Amir Khan in the sixth round of the title fight on Saturday in Las Vegas. The Alvarez win sets up a fight with superstar Gennady Golovkin or “GGG” in the fall. This fight could be the best match up in the last decade.

Overtime

NASCAR’s Kyle Busch won the Sprint Cup race in Kansas City making it his third win of season. In other news, his brother and fellow NASCAR driver, Kurt Busch’s ex-girlfriend is under investigation for mishandling funds from a non-profit she runs. Patricia Driscoll, who previously accused Busch of assault, used funds to pay off her personal credit card and for vacations to Paris. During a previous court testimony Busch accused Driscoll of being a “trained assassin dispatched on covert missions around the world who once returned to him in a blood-splattered gown.” We can’t make this stuff up.

Sideline stat

New York Mets’ 42-year-old pitcher Bartolo Colon proved that the impossible is possible when he hit his first career home run. Social media blew up with kudos to Colon and Topps has already put this monumental occasion on a baseball card.

Coaches’ corner

The 2016 Invictus Games started yesterday in Orlando, FL. This is the first time the games have taken place in the U.S. The Invictus Games are a worldwide sporting competition involving wounded, ill or injured military athletes. Prince Harry of England, who served in the British Army, is considered the founder of the event that features almost 500 athletes from 14 countries competing in 10 different sports. The competitions can be viewed on ESPN3 and for an Invictus Game rundown, click here.