LAST NIGHT'S GAME 10/14/16 LAST NIGHT'S GAME 10/14/16

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - You Gotta See This

Holy moly it’s Friday. It seemed like we’d never get here. That’s the same thought we had when Ronda Rousey announced her return to ring this week. We have that covered along with baseball, football, NASCAR and more. Now go forth and impress your friends with your sports talk.

You can do it,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS - It's Friday and that means time for a tailgate treat. Check out the recipe for Nancy's easy game day wings. You won't regret it.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

California dreamin’. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals last night to win Game Five in the NLDS (National League Division Series) and advance to the next round of the playoffs. Game One and Game Four starting pitcher, Clayton Kershaw took one for the team and attained the last two outs. The Dodgers will take on the Chicago Cubs in a best-of-seven series starting tomorrow.
A rivalry brewing? The Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays battle it out for the ALCS (American League Championship Series) starting tonight. If this match-up between cities seems familiar, it’s because the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers played each other in the NBA playoffs last season. The Cavaliers prevailed and we’ll see if the Indians can do the same.

NHL (National Hockey League)

Leaving a mark. The number one pick of the draft, Auston Matthews, started his hockey career off doing something never before accomplished. Matthews scored four goals in his first game. Los Angeles Kings’ (hockey) Marian Gaborick tweeted “Since the start of this game I didnt (sic) even have a chance to drink 4 beers and hes (sic) got 4 goals #Matthews.”

UFC (ULTIMATE FIGHTER CHAMPIONSHIP)

Don’t call it a comeback. In November 2015 the unbeatable Ronda Rousey was knocked out, losing the fight. Rousey hasn’t fought since. Until now. This week she announced that on December 30th she will step into the octagon to earn back her belt from current champion Amanda Nunes. (PS – You might recognize Rousey from the Entourage movie where she played Turtle’s love interest).

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

Off to see the wizard. NASCAR’s “Chase for the Cup” (elimination-style playoffs) heads to Kansas this weekend. Driver Jimmie Johnson has already secured his spot in the next round of eight drivers. Which driver will follow the yellow brick road to claim their spot in the next round?

Overtime

The San Francisco 49ers (football) starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick takes on the Buffalo Bills this weekend. Kaepernick gained notoriety by kneeling during the national anthem and wearing pig socks to protest “rogue cops.” Coincidentally, the Bills' LeSean McCoy is inviting a group of 20 police and inner-city kids to attend the game through his foundation.

Sideline stat

Hurricane Matthew lead to the cancellation of LSU (Louisiana State) - Florida game last weekend and neither team had an open date to reschedule the game. Call it a miracle but the schools came to an agreement to play the game on November 19th, a date previously scheduled against other teams. LSU will buy out their previously scheduled opponent South Alabama for $1.5 million and Florida will pay $500,000 to Presbyterian.

Coaches’ Corner

The Dodgers called on the starting pitcher from a previous game, Clayton Kershaw, to take the pitching mound and get the last two outs. Why is this a big deal? Starting pitchers’ arms are treated like royalty; they work one game and then typically rest for five days. A starting pitcher will usually throw around 100 pitches and many at 90+ mph so this gives them time to recover. Kershaw went in to pitch last night on one day of rest. It’s a big deal because he risked injury to win the game for his team. Although if he didn't, the Dodgers may have lost and been eliminated from the playoffs.

The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About the NHL

The NHL (National Hockey League) season begins today. Even if you didn’t grow up in a cold weather state where hockey is king, we’ll help you sound like you know your stuff.

The puck stops here,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Ps- We’re presenting this morning at 1 Million Cups. If you’re bored at 9 am CST, you can watch it live on Facebook.

Five things to know about the NHL (National HOckey League)

This season marks the 100 anniversary of the NHL. In addition to the annual Winter Classic game, the League plans to celebrate with the Centennial Classic on New Year’s Day. The game will be played between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings in Toronto. They will play in BMO Stadium which is outdoors. In Toronto. In January. Brr.
The Detroit Red Wings have an odd tradition of throwing octopi on the ice. It started as a tradition back in 1952 but don’t try it the next time you’re in Detroit. Throwing octopi is a sure way to get thrown out of the arena.
The Zamboni is as exciting as the game for fans. A Zamboni is a tractor-like machine used during intermission to resurface the ice (i.e. make it smooth). Have you heard the Zamboni song? If not, listen here. Warning! It will be stuck in your head all day.
The first hockey puck (used in the 1800s), was reportedly made of frozen cow dung. Now hockey pucks are made of rubber. They’re frozen before the games to keep them from bouncing.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Stanley Cup is the name of the trophy given to the team that wins it all.

Overview

There are 30 teams in the league. (A new Las Vegas team will join the league next season). Teams play an 82-game schedule (same as NBA).
A game consists of three periods of 20 minutes with two intermissions.
Each team has six players on the ice at a time.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

Stunner. The Chicago Cubs clinched a spot in the next round of playoffs, beating the San Francisco Giants in a ninth inning comeback. The Cubs will play the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers – Washington Nationals series starting Saturday.
For all the marbles. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals last night to force a win-or-go-home Game Five in Washington tomorrow. The winner will move onto the next round of the playoffs.

NCAA Sports (College)

R.I.P. Today is a sad day as mascots and fans everywhere mourn the death of LSU’s mascot Mike the Tiger. The 11-year-old lost his battle with a rare cancer and was euthanized yesterday. The University of Texas mascot Bevo and fans added flowers to a growing vigil earlier this week when it was revealed that Mike’s cancer had spread.

Overtime

Despite recently denying he had a girlfriend, U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte announced his engagement to Playboy model Kayla Rae Reid. No word on whether or not the two will be honeymooning in Brazil.

Sideline stat

24 years – that’s how long Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) radio announcer Jerry Howarth has not mentioned the team the Indians by name. Howarth revealed he won’t say Cleveland’s baseball team name because it’s offensive to some Native Americans. He made a promise to a fan a long time ago and has stuck to it ever since.

Coaches’ corner

San Francisco 49ers (NFL) coach Chip Kelly has made the decision to start quarterback Colin Kaepernick in this weekend’s game. Kaepernick has been the back up quarterback all season and has stirred up controversy by kneeling during the National Anthem.

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - Monday with Matthew

Hurricane Matthew dominated the weekend, bringing soggy game day conditions to many. Making the weekend brighter in New England, Tom Brady returned to the field and to his usual greatness sans tan lines from his Italian holiday.

Everyone wins,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS - Like us? Share us! It's that simple.

NFL (National Football League)

Then there was one. With a win over Houston Texans, the Minnesota Vikings are the only remaining undefeated team left in the league.
Like new. This weekend the winless Cleveland Browns were the sacrificial lambs for Tom Brady’s return from his four game “deflategate” suspension. Brady didn’t miss a beat and picked up right where he left off – dominating.
For the complete NFL Scoreboard, click here.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

Moving on. In front of their home crowd, Toronto Blue Jays swept the Texas Rangers to win the ALDS (American League Division Series). The Rangers held the best record in the American League. In case you were wondering, no cans of beer were harmed during this series because the Blue Jays started serving beer out of cups. The outfielders thank you. (What are we talking about? Click here).
Need a miracle. Both the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants are at risk of being swept in their respective series if they don’t pull off a win in their games tonight. The Giants play the Chicago Cubs and Red Sox will take on the Cleveland Indians. Here's the schedule,

NCAA Football (College)

Downpour defeat. An unranked Naval Academy pulled off their biggest upset in 32 years, beating an undefeated University of Houston (#6) at home in the pouring rain. Your Last Night's Game team was there, ponchos and all and it was brilliant.
Check the rest of the scores here.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

A force to be reckoned with. Hurricane Matthew delayed the race in Charlotte to Sunday afternoon. Although not even a hurricane could keep Jimmie Johnson from clinching a spot in the next round of the playoffs, breaking his 24 race winless streak.

WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association)

High achievers. The Los Angeles Sparks upset the Minnesota Lynx in a close game at home in the first game of the finals. Game two is on Tuesday.

Overtime

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan (home of University of Michigan) ran a promotion this weekend that included a percentage off your bill equal to Michigan’s margin of victory, with 50% off as the cap. Michigan won 78-0 on Saturday vs. Rutgers University. They probably won’t be running that deal again anytime soon.

Sideline stat

Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott is off to a record-breaking start in his first season on the field. He’s winning and setting records including number of pass attempts straight without an interception (155) - a rookie record. He’s aiming upset to Tom Brady’s record of 162.

Coaches’ corner

What does it meant to sweep? When a team sweeps a series, it means the other team did not win one game. Fans love to bring brooms to the game to taunt the other team when a sweep is on the horizon. Now if we could only get them to sweep up our houses…