LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/20/16 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 5/20/16

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - It's a Gentleman's Sport

On Wednesday we covered the WNBA as they begin their 20th season as a league. In a complete 180, today we cover a backslide in women’s rights as one PGA golf course seeks to keep golf a gentleman’s game and are willing to risk their wallets to do so.

Don’t try this at home,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association)

Stepping up. The PGA has removed Muirfield in Scotland as a potential host site for The Open. The club has been removed because its members have voted to not to allow women as members of the golf course. Apparently some members of The Honourable Company (seems ironic doesn’t it) of Edinburgh Golfers, which owns Muirfield, ran a 'no' campaign encouraging members to keep with tradition. Kudos PGA.
A course for charity. Finding the positive in golf, this weekend the PGA tour stops at the Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas, Texas. The Byron Nelson Classic is the largest single tournament charity contributor on the PGA tour, raising nearly $117 million since 1968. For more information on the beneficiary charity and the tournament, click here.

Horse Racing

Rainy race. On Saturday Kentucky Derby Champion Nyqvist looks to win the second leg of the Triple Crown at The Preakness in Maryland. Although it’s predicted to be a soggy and rainy race, Nyquist is slated to start from the favorable third slot out the 11 spots. If you’re betting then you should know that Nyquist’s odds are 3-5, the favorite to win.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

Available for dinner? Texas Rangers Rougned Odor has been suspended eight games for his perfect punch to the face of Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista that caused a bench clearing brawl. Don’t worry Odor will be eating well as Heim BBQ in Dallas has offered him free food for life for hitting the Blue Jays outfielder.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

Still undefeated. The Cleveland Cavaliers steam rolled Toronto Raptors again last night winning by almost 30 points. The Cavs are undefeated in the playoffs and have the 2-0 lead in the series going into game three on Saturday in Toronto.
No thunder from down under. Golden State Warriors won big against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, bringing their series to 1-1. Battered, bruised but not broken, league MVP Steph Curry was on fire and scored 15 points in two minutes. The two teams will play game three on Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Hacked. A Milwaukee Bucks employee fell victim to a scam and released W-2 forms for all players to what they thought was Bucks’ president Peter Feigin. Psych! The scammer got away with the the players’ addresses, Social Security numbers and compensation. Don't worry, the team has offered free credit monitoring to the players. Crisis averted.

Overtime

The NFL will repay over $700,000 in revenue it received for “paid patriotism,” as revealed by an audit. Paid patriotism is money that came out of the armed forces’ budget for a variety of public recognitions during games such on-field flag ceremonies and tributes to welcome home veterans. The NFL has been criticized for making money on these ceremonies. That being said, the Department of Defense does spend legitimate funds to sponsor numerous professional teams in hopes to increase recruit numbers.

Sideline stat

The SEC has ordered pro golfer Phil Mickelson to pay back nearly $1 million in profits earned with insider trading tips. (FYI - Mickelson earned $48 million in 2015 from golf). By paying back profits Mickelson will not face further charges. These charges stem from conversations Mickelson had with renowned sports gambler Billy Walter, who is currently facing federal charges.

Coaches’ corner

What is PGA’s "The Open"? The Open Championship, aka The Open, is one of golf’s four major tournaments (i.e. very important hence why they're called "the Majors") and it takes place in the United Kingdom and rotates between 10 golf courses. The Open is often referred to as the “British Open.” This tournament is the third major of the calendar year, following The Masters and the U.S. Open but prior to the PGA Championship.

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About the WNBA

Our mission at Last Night’s Game is to not only bring you the latest and greatest in sports news but also to expand your horizons. We learned a lot researching today’s five things to know about the WNBA and we hope you do to.

Always learning,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS - Are we talking about what you want to hear? Let us know. We're all ears!

Five things to know about the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association)

This year is the 20th season for the WNBA, whose season is May - August. The original eight teams were NBA owned and only located in cities where there was an NBA team. After 2002 the NBA allowed the sale to groups in cities that did not have an NBA team – for a total of 12 teams.
Players, who make an average salary of $76,500 for the five-month season, must be 22 years old to be drafted, as opposed to 19 in the NBA.
Many players also play overseas in the off-season to supplement their income. WNBA stars Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner earn over $1 million in salary to play in Russia.
The WNBA is in financial turmoil. Ticket sales in 2015 were at an all-time low; although sellouts are at an all time high at 33 games – up 25 from the season before. Their six-year television deal with ESPN that runs through 2022 is worth $12 million. While that might seem like a lot, for comparison sake the NBA television deal with Disney (ABC, ESPN) and Turner (TNT) is $25 billion for nine years.
There is no all-star game this year due to the Olympics. Former Olympian and all-star, Lisa Leslie, was the first WNBA player to dunk the ball during a game.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

Going where no team has gone before. The NBA approved a trial period (starting in 2017-18 season) for advertisements on team jerseys. No professional sport (NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL) in the U.S. allows for advertising on jerseys until now. The Philadelphia 76ers are the first team to unveil their new look, partnering with StubHub for a reported three years, $15 million deal. Teams can sell to just about anyone except for companies dealing with gambling, alcohol or politics.
Champs challenged. The defending NBA champions Golden State Warriors lost game one against Oklahoma City Thunder. The two teams will play again tonight at 9 pm (EST) on TNT.
Total domination. Kyrie Irving and his Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Toronto Raptors last night, winning by 31 points and taking the first game of the series. Cavs are undefeated in this post season.

NFL (National Football League)

Sticker shock. Atlanta Falcons announced that they will have the cheapest concession prices of any sports team for next season. We’re talking $2 for a bottomless soda and the same price for bottled water and popcorn. More importantly, beer and cheeseburgers will be $5. The team’s attendance numbers were down last year but they say the cheap concessions have nothing to do with an attempt to increase ticket sales. Either way we love a cheap beer. #winning

Overtime

The fan votes are in and UFC women’s fighter Paige Van Zant will stick around for another spray tan. The Dancing with the Stars finale featuring Van Zant, Ginger Zee - Good Morning America's Meteorologist and Nyle DiMarco - a deaf and devastatingly handsome actor/model, will take place on Monday. Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown advanced to the semi-finals but was eliminated before making it to the final round.

Sideline stat

$1 billion (said in a Dr. Evil voice) - That’s the alleged value of LeBron James’ lifetime deal with Nike, signed earlier this year. James is the first person to sign a lifetime deal with the company. That's a lot of $5 beers.

Coaches’ Corner

The NBA draft lottery took place yesterday. This lottery is to determine which team will receive the first pick in the NBA draft (June 23). The worse your team in the previous season, the more chances you have to ‘win’ the first pick. The 76ers took home the right to the first pick followed by Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. Chomping at the bit to see where your team landed? Click here.

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - Brawls and Overalls Edition

In the movie industry this weekend featured the fashion and high class of the Cannes Film Festival. In the sports world, not so much. We cover the grit, the brawls and the sweet taste of victory in today’s Rundown.

Although we do look pretty good in a tuxedo,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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F1 Racing (Formula One)

Record setting. Max Verstappen, 18, won the Spanish Grand Prix becoming youngest driver to ever win. The real drama of the race came courtesy of the Mercedes team. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, who had won the previous four races, crashed on the first lap into his teammate Lewis Hamilton to knock them both out of the race. This didn’t help as the two drivers already had a contemptuous relationship. Oh to be a fly on the wall in their team meeting where they were lectured like misbehaving school boys.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

Put ‘em up. There was a bench clearing brawl between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. There has been tension between the teams since the playoffs last year when Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista hit a go ahead home run (means his home run gave his team the lead) and taunted his opponents with an egregious bat flip afterward. Fast forward to yesterday’s game when Bautista slid into second base and into Rangers’ second baseman Rougned Odor. Odor didn’t take to kindly to the slide and punched Bautista in the face. Chaos ensued.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

Finally! Matt Kenseth snapped his 17 race winless streak at Dover International Speedway. On a restart race leader Jimmie Johnson’s transmission failed leading to a huge 18 car crash which caused an unprecedented 11-minute stop in the race while crews cleaned up the carnage.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

Slam dunk. Toronto Raptors beat Miami Heat in seven games to advance to the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland Cavaliers. Game one of their best-of seven-series will be on Tuesday.
Here we go. Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder compete for the title of Western Conference Champions. Game one in a best-of-seven series is tonight at 9 pm (EST) on TNT.

PGA (Professional Golfers' Association)

Day-oh. Jason Day (ranked #1) went “wire-to-wire” (i.e. he held the lead all four days of the tournament) to win the Players Championship.

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

Sweet taste of victory. Cleveland's last sports championship was in 1964 but that streak is over. Cleveland native Stipe Miocic went into enemy territory in Brazil and won the heavyweight championship with a knockout of a Brazilian fighter, Fabricio Werdum, in front of 45,000 stunned fans. Miocic received support from the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA), Browns (NFL) and Indians (MLB) for giving the city of Cleveland a taste of victory.

Overtime

Blue Jays' starting pitcher Marcus Stroman was out last season with a torn ACL. He used his time off from the game to finish up his sociology degree from Duke University. He walked in the graduation ceremony on Sunday, missing the bench clearing brawl at the game.

Sideline stat

$1.6 million - that’s how much was raised by Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt during his annual charity softball game. His teammate Vince Wilfork, who weighs 325 pounds, stole the show by wearing nothing but overalls. You can’t erase this image from your mind.

Coaches’ Corner

The NBA draft lottery for the first draft pick is Tuesday night. The 14 teams that do not make it into the NBA playoffs go into a lottery to determine picks for draft. The worse your record, the more balls you have in the Powerball-style lottery; therefore, the odds are in your favorite to get the top pick. The Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have the highest likelihood (i.e. they had a terrible season) to receive the first draft pick. The NBA Draft is June 23rd. Want to read more? Click here.