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The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About the Winter X Games and Other News

Today, alongside the trending topics in sports, we’re talking about some incredible women who you’ll undoubtedly be talking about at the water cooler this morning.

Strong is sexy, 

The Last Night's Game Team

Five Things to Know About the Winter X Games

  1. The X Games were created in 1995 by ESPN (the sports network). They recognized that there was a huge segment of the population that were bored with traditional sports. There are two X Games a year – winter and summer. This year’s Winter Games will take place for the 15th year in a row at Snowmass Mountain in Aspen, CO. (January 26 – 29th). 
  2. There are 18 different disciplines that take place on skis, snowboards or snowmobiles/bikes. There are new disciplines this year including the snow bike (a dirt bike with a ski for front tire and snowmobile track on the back) and women’s ski big air (skiers go down a hill and perform tricks after launching off very large jumps. It is an extreme version of what you see in the Olympics).
  3. Unlike the Olympics, the X Games are more of an individual competition, not a team sport.
  4. Ones to watch: Chloe Kim – a 16-year-old snowboarding prodigy who has won two consecutive half pipe gold medals. Shaun White – the “Flying Tomato” will return to compete in this year’s X Games in snowboarding. Colten Moore – who will attempt a double backflip on a snowmobile. Wait what? Hombre loco. 
  5. What does the ‘X’ in X Games stand for? Well it stands for a few different things – X for extreme, for the unknown factor or for generation X, who were some of the first competitors. 

Overtime

  • Yesterday we heard stories of two extraordinary women – sports reporter Erin Andrews and Katie Levitre, wife of Atlanta Falcons left guard Andy Levitre.

Andrews revealed that last year she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She had surgery which eliminated the disease and she was back on the field two days later. Andrews embodied the toughness of her NHL (National Hockey League) player fiancée Jarret Stoll telling him, “You’d play through any injury, do whatever it takes to get back out there. That’s going to be me.”

Levitre received the game ball from the Atlanta Falcons (NFL) for portraying “ultimate toughness.” She went into labor during Sunday’s playoff game but waited it out until the end of the game. Luckily the Falcons won.

Sideline stat

  • The all-star game for the NFL (National Football League), The Pro Bowl, is this Sunday. Only 57% of the players originally selected will be playing in the game. Most players don’t want to risk injury by playing and players on teams that are in the Super Bowl are not eligible. Don’t forget to tune in Thursday night to see your favorite NFL players participate in a skills competition that includes dodgeball. We wonder if Patches O’Houlihan will be coaching?

Coaches’ corner

  • Recruiting is everything in college football and what better way to appeal to recruits than with a trip to Italy? University of Michigan football announced it will be holding three spring football practices in Rome. The NCAA (governing body for college sports) banned off-campus workouts but international travel is not covered in the ban. Kudos to Michigan for finding a loophole that involves pasta and red wine.

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The Rundown: Upsets Abound

This weekend brought us big upsets on the field, the court and the baseball diamond. Here’s to Monday starting off on the right foot with plenty of coffee.

Let’s conquer the week,

The Last Night’s Game Team

NFL (National Football League)

  • They’re going to the Super Bowl. The Atlanta Falcons gave the Georgia Dome a memorable sendoff. In the last game in their home stadium the Falcons beat the red hot Green Bay Packers. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones teamed up to crush the Packers' Super Bowl dreams.

  • Headed to the big show. The New England Patriots took care of business last night, dominating the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is a record breaking seventh Super Bowl appearance for quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • At the top of his game. Baseball lost a young talent over the weekend. Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano “Ace” Ventura was killed in a car crash while at home in the Dominican Republic. Ventura was a key piece in the Royals' 2014 World Series win. He won game six of the World Series days after his childhood friend and fellow MLB player Oscar Tavares was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic.  

Overtime

  • A Patriots fan set off the fire alarm in the Steelers team hotel at 3 am Sunday morning. The hotel was evacuated and the man was arrested. No bunny slippers were harmed during the incident but it looks like the team could've used that extra beauty sleep. 

Sideline stat

  • There were plenty of upsets down under this weekend at the Australian Open with both the world’s #1 ranked players Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber losing. This is the first time since 2004 that both the #1 and #2 seeds on the men’s side have failed to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament. (Novak Djokovic, #2, lost earlier in the tournament). 

Coaches’ corner

  • The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is one of the most prestigious awards given in the NFL and it has nothing to do with athletic achievements. Every year on the night before the Super Bowl, the award is given to the player who has made the biggest impact on his community through charity work. The three finalist were revealed yesterday and they are: 
    • Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver
    • Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers tight end
    • Eli Manning, New York Giants quarterback

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The Rundown: Let's Fly Away

Take us with you on your weekend getaway – we make great road trip buddies.

 

We’ll bring the snacks and play DJ,

The Last Night’s Game Team

 

PS – With the Super Bowl just around the corner, here’s a tailgate treat that’s bound to be a fan favorite. It involves bacon and bacon makes everything better. 

NFL (National Football League) 

Tennis

  • Think before you speak. An ESPN broadcaster covering the Australian Open was fired after he compared Venus Williams (sister of Serena) to a gorilla. He insists he meant guerilla when he talked about her “guerilla effect” in a match. A poor choice in words because last time we checked they both sound the same when you mention them on TV.
  • In other news. There was a huge upset in the second round of the Australian Open when unranked Denis Istomin beat Novak Djokovic (#2). Thanks for playing – see you next time.

Overtime

  • The NFL Network released a promo video for this weekend’s games with all of the team’s starting quarterbacks, except New England Patriots’ Tom Brady. Brady and the league embarked on a bitter battle early this year when he was suspended for four games for deflategate. Apparently there’s still bad blood.

Sideline stat

  • The Oakland Raiders (NFL) have officially filed relocation papers to move the team to Las Vegas. Their relocation must be approved by 3/4 of the NFL owners in March, but with the support of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (the big dogs on campus) it seems likely that the relocation will go through.

Coaches’ corner

  • The starting lineups for the NBA (National Basketball Association) All-Star Game have been announced. The two conference teams are led by Golden State Warriors teammates Steph Curry and Kevin Durant (West) and the Cleveland Cavaliers duo of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving (East).

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