The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - Win or Go Home
Break out the pool towel and the sunscreen because it’s not only a big weekend poolside but a big weekend in sports. It’s win or go home in the College World Series finals, Copa America soccer tournament finals and Euro 2016 soccer tournament. We’ll just have to wait and see who’s in and who’s out.
No Brexit here,
The Last Night’s Game Team
College World Series
- Batter up. The College World Series tournament is down to the final four teams who will play each other today for a possible trip to the final game. University of Arizona will play Oklahoma State University (3 pm EST on ESPN2) and Coastal Carolina will play TCU (Texas Christian University) (8 pm EST on ESPN). Arizona and Coastal Carolina have one loss in the double elimination tournament, therefore they will have to beat their respective opponent twice to advance to championship.
NBA (National Basketball Association)
- I choose you. The NBA draft took place in Brooklyn last night. The first two picks went as expected, sending LSU freshman Ben Simmons (#1) to Philadelphia 76ers and Duke freshman Brandon Ingram (#2) to Los Angeles Lakers. Check out who your favorite team drafted here.
NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
- I can’t turn right. After a Father’s Day weekend break, NASCAR returns Sunday to Sonoma, California (3 pm EST on Fox Sports 1). Sonoma is unique course in that it is one of two road courses on the schedule. A road course is different then the traditional oval course that only has left turns. The road course has multiple turns (like real life driving) that must be navigated carefully.
NHL (National Hockey League)
- What happens here doesn’t stay here. Add professional sports to the list of entertainment options in Las Vegas. The NHL officially announced that Las Vegas will be the home of a new team for the 2017-2018 season. It will be the 31st team in the league and will be owned by Bill Foley, a financial services tycoon, who will pay a $500 million expansion fee. The Las Vegas team does have new digs (T-Mobile Arena on the strip) but it does not have a name yet. We could think of a few winners. Share with us what you’d name them. (PG names of course. Come on, they do have kid friendly activities in Vegas. Sort of).
Soccer
- Win or go home. The next round of Euro 2016 begins on Saturday. One side of the bracket has teams with a combined zero championships. While the other side is full of soccer powerhouses with a combined 10 championships (Team Germany, Italy, Spain, France and England). The underdog Iceland takes on England this weekend. This is Team Iceland’s first time playing in a major tournament and they’re a little excited about their success. Check out the announcer’s call on this goal. It’ll make your day.
- Win or go home, part two. In Copa America Centenario news, Argentina takes on defending champion Chile on Sunday in the championship game (8 pm EST on Fox Sports 1). Team U.S.A. will take on Columbia on Saturday in the third place game (8 pm EST on FX). These games are a little different because they can’t end in a tie. So if a game is tied after 90 minutes of regular play, there will be two-15 minute extra periods. If it’s still tied, then the teams will resort to the always exciting penalty kicks to determine a winner.
- Oh excuse me. The Swedish professional league is making headlines for an unexpected reason. During a game Adam Lindin Ljungkvist had already received one yellow card. He then received another yellow card for “unsportsmanlike behavior,” passing gas too loudly. Two yellow cards in a game equal automatic ejection from the game. In Ljungkvist’s defense he said he has an “upset tummy.” Hooliganism we say!
Overtime
- Famed sports writer Bill Simmons debuted his new sports talk show on Wednesday on HBO. One of his first guests was mega actor and big New England Patriots (NFL) fan, Ben Affleck. Affleck went on a bit of a profanity laced tirade when he was asked about “Deflategate” involving is team and beloved quarterback Tom Brady.
Sideline stat
- In last night’s NBA draft, 15 of the first 30 draft picks were foreign basketball players. That stat set the record for the most foreign players ever taken in the first round. This list includes the number one pick, Ben Simmons, who is Australian but played at LSU.
Coaches’ Corner
- Today we let you be the coach. Former NBA player, Shaquille O’Neal, doesn’t have a spread in ESPN The Magazine’s annual body issue. So he took it upon himself to photoshop his head onto Dwayne Wade’s body (current NBA player and featured athlete). Hilarity ensues. So we ask you, who wore it best? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter @lastnights_game.
The Rundown: Five Things to Know About Kyrie Irving
Today we bring you an insight into the underdogs that have stolen America’s hearts, Cleveland Cavaliers. Everybody knows LeBron, but what do you know about the guy who hit the game winning three-point shot in game seven? Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Kyrie Irving? You will now.
Happy Hump Day,
The Last Night's Game Team
Five things to know about Kyrie Irving
- Kyrie Irving said G’day mate when he was born in Melbourne, Australia where his dad Drederick Irving was playing professional basketball.
- Irving played the role of “Uncle Drew” for a Pepsi MAX advertising campaign. He pranked unsuspecting players when he dressed up as old man, entered into neighborhood pickup games and dominated. The four-part series has over 70 million views on YouTube.
- Irving sang in his high school choir, but ultimately choose to pursue basketball instead of the performing arts. We bet he’s a great addition to team karaoke.
- Irving is the first point guard to have a signature shoe with Nike since Penny Hardaway in the early 1990’s. His brand is the fastest growing shoe brand in Nike history and has released two versions. The aptly named ‘Kyrie 2’ is out now.
- Irving brought the viral “running man challenge” back to life by breaking it down with his own version, during practice no less.
- Career highlights for extra credit – Irving was the #1 pick in 2011 NBA draft; drafted by Cleveland Cavaliers out of Duke University after his freshman year. He has an NBA Championship, All-Star Game MVP, three-time all star, three-point competition champion, NBA Rookie of the Year and will play for Team U.S.A. in the Olympics. Last year during the playoffs he was in the hospital after having knee surgery and this year he was leading the Cavaliers to a championship. Talk about determination.
NBA (National Basketball Association)
- The party continues. Fresh off the plane from celebrating their win as a team in Vegas, the Cleveland Cavaliers will celebrate with their city with a victory parade is this morning. Want to see the support a team gets after breaking 52-year championship drought? Tune in to the parade at 11 am EST.
- Pick me! The NBA draft is on Thursday. Unlike baseball and football, there are only two rounds for a total of 60 picks. Philadelphia 76ers have the first pick and Ben Simmons is considered to be the top pick after one year at LSU. You can catch the draft Thursday at 8 pm EST on ESPN or stream it live here.
Soccer
- That hurt. Argentina dominated Team U.S.A. 4-0 in last night’s semifinal game in Copa America Centenario. In the game, superstar Lionel Messi broke a record for goals scored by an Argentinean player in international play. Argentina will move on to face the winner of Chile/Columbia game (tonight), while the U.S. will play the loser in the third place game on Saturday. The championship game will be on Sunday.
Overtime
- The line up for ESPN The Magazine's annual Body Issue has been announced. This issue of the magazine features tasteful photos of 10 men and nine women athletes au naturel. Notable athletes featured include Dwayne Wade (NBA), Vince Wilfork (a 325-pound NFL player), Conor McGregor (UFC) and retired diver Greg Louganis will be the oldest athlete at age 56. The issue will feature Team USA duathlete Chris Mosier, who will be the first transgender athlete to pose. The issue hits the newsstands July 8th.
Sideline stat
- The salary cap has gone up from $71.5 million to $73 million for the upcoming NHL (hockey) season. The NFL’s salary cap is $143.28 million (2015) and NBA's is $70 million (2015).
Coaches’ Corner
- What is a salary cap? In professional sports a salary cap is an agreement that puts a limit on how much teams can spend on player salaries. This is a method put into place to keep costs down but is mostly to minimize the disparity between teams that have a lot of money to spend on players and those that don’t, with a goal of keeping the sport competitive. To get really technical, MLB (Major League Baseball) does not have a salary cap but a luxury tax system, which is punishment for larger teams that spend too much money. Click here to read more.
The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - Historic Win
History was made this weekend and no we're not talking about Finding Dory. The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the NBA's reigning champions, Golden State Warriors. Didn’t catch the game? Don’t worry we have the recap so you can join the conversation at the water cooler this Monday morning.
Just keep swimming,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NBA (National Basketball Association)
- Streak broken. Last week the Cleveland Cavaliers were down 3-1 and they were on a nearly impossible path to an NBA Championship. In fact, no team in the NBA Finals had ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship. Queue LeBron James who made a promise to Cleveland two years ago that he would win them a championship; something the city of Cleveland hadn’t had in any sport since 1964.
Last night in one of the most exciting game sevens in NBA history, the Cavs won it all. The game was tied with under one minute to go when Cavs' Kyrie Irving hit an eventual game winning three-point shot. James sunk a free throw (after injuring his wrist) to close out the game and bring home a 93-89 win.
- MVP. An emotional James won his third NBA Finals MVP title and became the first player to lead all players in a series in points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks.
College Baseball World Series
- Upsets abound. In Omaha, unranked teams from University of Arizona and Coastal Carolina provided big upsets over University of Florida (#1) and University of Miami (#3) to move on to the next round. Follow the bracket here.
PGA Golf (Professional Golfer's Association of America)
- Achievement. Dustin Johnson came from behind to win the U.S. Open and his first major. Johnson was able to avoid big mistakes as everyone else around him seemed to fade. (Johnson's fiancée is NHL great Wayne Gretzky’s daughter, Paulina. He is also a bit of a bad boy known for his failed drug tests and alleged extramarital affairs with a fellow golfer’s wife).
Soccer
- Big game. It's a big game on Tuesday night for U.S. Men’s Soccer. The team will face Argentina and one of the best players in the world, Lionel Messi, in the Copa America Centenario semifinals. Argentina has scored 14 goals while only giving up two in four games. The U.S. will be without two key players because of penalties. Both Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood received red cards during the last match and therefore must sit out Tuesday night. You can watch the match at 9 pm (EST) on Fox Sports One.
- Mission accomplished. On Saturday Chile handed Mexico an embarrassing loss defeating them 7-0 and eliminating them from the tournament. Chile will face Columbia on Wednesday for a spot in the finals.
Overtime
- UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) bantamweight champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate will join Team Coco tonight when she makes an appearance on the Conan O’Brien Show (TBS). Tate is best known for taking down UFC champion Holly Holm.
Sideline stat
- Last night’s NBA Finals featured 20 lead changes and 11 ties - now that's exciting!
Coaches’ corner
- Nico Rosberg added to his overall lead in the F1 standings by winning the European Grand Prix. Rosberg may have won but F1 racing’s radio communication ban was the star of the show. The ban limits radio communication between the driver and crew with the goal of making sure the driver is driving the car on their own, that they're not being told how to drive the car. The ban really came to light when frustrated driver Lewis Hamilton was in need of assistance. He somehow managed to change an engine setting on his car and his crew was unable to tell him how to fix it because of the ban. Luckily for Hamilton, he eventually figured it out but it cost him points in the race.