The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - And So It Begins
Tonight’s the night we’ve all been waiting for - the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Rio (7:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC). Not to be outdone, the NFL will induct the newest members of its Hall of Fame this weekend.
As always, a big weekend in sports and we have it covered so you can be the sports savvy guest at the party.
You little know it all,
The Last Night’s Game Team
PS – Make sure to brush up on your Olympics facts by reading Wednesday’s “Five Things You Might Not Know About the Olympics.”
NFL (National Football League)
Enshrined. Former NFL superstars Brett Favre, Kevin Green, Marvin Harrison, Orlando Pace, Dick Stanfel, Ken Stabler, Eddie DeBartolo Jr. (owner) and Tony Dungy (coach) will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. In celebration, the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts will play the Hall of Fame game on Sunday.
Summer Olympics
Women’s win. U.S.A. Women’s soccer opened the Olympics with a win. They beat New Zealand, 2-0. Fans chanted “Zika” and booed U.S.A. goal tender Hope Solo whenever she had the ball. Solo was vocal on social media about her Zika concerns coming into the Olympics.
NCAA football (NCAA)
The Tide is high. The first preseason Amway Coaches Top 25 college football poll was released and it has Alabama (#1) and Clemson (2) at the top. The two teams played each other for the National Championship last season. (Alabama won). College football season starts August 27th.
NBA (National Basketball Association)
Oklahoma is OK. Unlike his former teammate Kevin Durant, star Russell Westbrook chose to stay with Oklahoma City Thunder. (Durant went to the Golden State Warriors). Westbrook showed his commitment to the team by signing a three-year deal and they showed him the money - $85 million over three years.
Overtime
Quarterback Brett Favre (who you may also recognize from the Wrangler Jeans commercials) made a decision that is really going to make some cheese-heads angry. He has chosen to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame as both a Packer (where he played 16 seasons) and a Viking (he played there one season after being forced out of Green Bay and after the NY Jets). The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers are the biggest rivals and it looks like they’ll go down in history together.
Sideline stat
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon will be substituting for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the next two weeks. (Earnhardt is still suffering from concussion-like symptoms). Sunday's race at Watkins Glen (a road course in upstate New York) marks Gordon's 800th career start. That's the most starts for any active driver and only eight other drivers in history have more starts.
Coaches’ Corner
A controversial IndyStar.com report was released detailing the improper reporting of sexual abuse and harassment in U.S.A. women’s sports. According to the story, many complaints of abuse against the former coaches of women’s gymnastics, volleyball and basketball have been swept under the rug and not reported to authorities.
The Rundown: 5 Things You Might Not Know About The Olympics
We’re pretty sure you’ve heard that the Olympics begin this week. With all of the media coverage and talk about Zika, Team Russia and less than ideal living conditions for athletes we decided to take the road less traveled and bring you five things you might not know about the Olympics in Rio.
Going for gold,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Five things you might not know about the Olympics
- Rio is the first city in South America to host the Olympics, which began in 776 B.C.
- The five Olympic rings on the flag symbolize each of the five continents (they represent America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania. Yes, now there are seven continents). The ring colors also represent every country in the world as every country’s flag has at least one of those colors: yellow, green, red, black, and blue.
- You may know that the Opening Ceremony’s parade of nations is in alphabetical order but did you know that this year’s will take place in the home country’s language? That means you don’t have to wait until the end to see Team U.S.A as they will be introduced in Portuguese as Estados Unidos. As in tradition, Team Greece will be announced first and the delegation from the home country, Brazil, will go last.
- For the first time since 1998, you can also bet on the Olympics in the Vegas sports books. The U.S. is projected to bring home the most medals, followed by China.
- Some sports start before the Olympics officially kickoff on Friday. Women’s soccer begins today with Team U.S.A taking on New Zealand at 6 pm EST. Other notable sport start dates are: gymnastics and swimming (August 6th), track and field (August 12th), synchronized swimming (August 14th) and basketball (August 20th).
SUMMER OLYMPICS
- Do us the honor. Swimmer Michael Phelps has been selected as the flag bearer for the U.S. team in the parade of nations during Friday night’s Opening Ceremony. Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals, was selected by a vote of U.S. athletes. Rio is Phelps’ fifth and final Olympics.
- Carpool karaoke. Team U.S.A. men’s basketball players showed off their singing skills (or lack there of) on their flight to Rio, appropriately singing Vanessa Carlton’s song, A Thousand Miles. According to the video, veteran Carmelo Anthony was not impressed. He later said, it’s not you - it’s me, and apologized for not looking amused during video, blaming the early morning and not Vanessa Carlton’s music.
NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
- Put me in coach. Jeff Gordon will continue to fill in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (concussion-like symptoms) for two additional races. Gordon has filled in for Earnhardt during the last two races and maintained in the middle of the pack.
Overtime
- Monday’s Bachelorette finale came down to two men, Jordan Rodgers (former NFL quarterback and estranged brother of Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers) and some guy who wasn’t a professional athlete. Surprisingly the Bachelorette JoJo chose the former professional athlete. Who would have guessed? Rodgers then proposed and she said yes. Wonder what the Vegas odds are on this marriage?
Sideline stat
- NBCUniversal will present 6,755 hours of Olympic programming in 19 days. That’s over 356 hours of footage per day.
Coaches’ Corner
- The Associated Press has been ranking the best college sports teams for 80 years. In honor of its 80th birthday, they released a list of the all-time Top 100 College Football programs. Where does your school rank?
The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - Blame It On The Rain
Rain is the name of the blame game this weekend. Unless you’re Draymond Green and you were “hacked.”
A little rain won’t get in the way of our excitement for the Summer Olympics’ opening ceremony on Friday night. Tune in on Wednesday for an Olympic edition of our “Five Things to Know” that you won’t want to miss.
Carrying the torch,
The Last Night’s Game Team
PS - In honor of National Girlfriend Day, share us with yours!
Summer Olympics
- Oops. Team U.S.A. men’s basketball and Golden State Warriors' player, Draymond Green, accidentally posted a very personal photo on Snapchat yesterday for all of his followers to see. The pic was up there for 10 minutes before he realized it and took it down. He first said he was hacked and then confessed he hit the wrong button. Green has also been in the news recently for an altercation in a Michigan bar.
NFL (National Football League)
- It’s almost here. This weekend was the last weekend of the year with no football games. Pre-season games start Sunday and the regular season begins on September 8th.
LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association)
- Girl power! 20-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn won the LPGA British Open. A big victory for the four-year LPGA veteran who was born in 1995. We have t-shirts that old.
MLB (Major League Baseball)
- Not moving on up. Jonathon Lucroy had been traded from the struggling Milwaukee Brewers to the first place Cleveland Indians, but he decided to evoke his “no-trade clause” to stay with the team citing lack of financial incentives as the factor. Lucroy said “short term gains are great but long term is more important for me and my family.”
PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association)
- Putting in the extra hours. Jimmy Walker won the PGA Championship. Due to a rainout on Saturday, Walker was forced to play two days’ worth of golf on Sunday (36 holes) making it the longest final day of the tournament in 64 years. Walker held off the world’s #1 ranked men’s golfer, Jason Day, to win. All major tournaments this season were won by first-time winners.
F1 (Formula One Racing)
- Everyone wins. Lewis Hamilton took home his fourth win in a row this weekend in Germany and there’s great news to report out of Brazil. Last week we reported that Bernie Ecclestone’s mother-in-law (he's the head of F1) was kidnapped from her San Paulo home. The kidnappers we're demanding a reported ransom of $36 million. After a massive police effort, she was freed with apparently no ransom paid. Big wins all around.
Overtime
- NBA legend Michael Jordan continues to dominate. At his Flight School camp (a children’s basketball camp) he made a bet that if he missed more than three of six shots, the entire camp would receive free shoes. He then led by example and showed them how it’s done. Let’s just say the entire camp did not get free shoes.
Sideline stat
- Due to rain the Pocono 400 NASCAR race will be held this morning, weather permitting. Always finding a silver lining, history was made with Sunday’s rainout. For the first time in NASCAR history, a race track had both races rained out. (There is always a Sprint Cup race the day before each NASCAR race. Intrigued? Click here for more on Sprint Cup).
Coaches’ Corner
- What is a no-trade clause? In American sports a no-trade clause allows a player to veto a trade by his current team to any other team. Not all players have this in their contract. Every sport is a little different but often this clause is negotiated into the player’s contract when they sign with the team.