This weekend is packed full of sports shenanigans from race cars to free beer and even a battle in Brazil. Who said sports doesn’t have something for everyone?
Wait, did you say free beer?
The Last Night’s Game Team
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Formula One
- Hola! The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Spain) Formula One race is this Sunday at 7 am (EST) on NBC Sports Network. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg holds a commanding lead in the standings going into the race.
NASCAR (NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for STOCK CAR AUTO RACING)
- Lug not. Kyle Busch’s crew chief has been suspended for one race and fined $20,000 for violating a “lug nut rule” after last week’s race. (We covered the Tony Stewart lug nut controversy here). This weekend’s race will take place in Dover, Delaware.
NBA (National Basketball Association)
- Onward. Oklahoma City Thunder beat San Antonio Spurs last night, winning the series. The Thunder will now face defending champions Golden State Warriors for the western conference championship starting Monday. Warriors beat Thunder all three times they played during regular season, including in an incredible overtime thriller back in February.
NHL (National Hockey League)
- The results are in. The conference finals are set with the St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lighting. Click here for the complete schedule.
PGA (PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS’ ASSOCIATION)
- Of course. The 43rd Players Championship has started in Florida. #1 ranked golfer in the world Jason Day, set a course record at -9 after the first day of play. Let’s see if he can keep it up through Sunday. (For our coaches’ corner on how to keep score in golf, click here).
UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)
- Brazilian brawl. UFC 198 will take place Saturday night from Curitiba, Brazil on pay-per-view. Almost every Brazilian superstar fighter is on the card. The 45,000 seat arena sold out in one day. Arguably the best fighter ever and Brazilian legend Anderson Silva, was scheduled to fight but had to have his gallbladder removed this week, forcing him off the card.
BASEBALL
- Hooray beer. American and former MLB player Brian Laird is playing in Japan on the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Laird hit a home run that earned him free Kirin beer for a year and $10,000. In a sad tale of wasted beer, Laird doesn’t even drink beer.
Overtime
- Arizona elected official, Tempe Councilman David Schapira, received a settlement of $76,000 after he was injured by Arizona State University mascot, Sparky, during halftime of a football game last year. Sparky surprised Schapira by jumping on his back on the field. Little did Sparky know, Schapira had recent back surgery. The Councilman originally sought a settlement of $120,000 as he was hospitalized for a muscle tear after the incident.
Sideline stat
- Washington Nationals’ starting pitcher Max Scherzer struck out 20 batters on Wednesday beating his former team, Detroit Tigers. Only five pitchers have accomplished this and to our knowledge Scherzer is the only one to have two different colored eyes.
Coaches’ corner
- New England Patriots tight end, expert twerker and party cruise host Rob Gronkowski, has been chosen to grace the cover of this year’s edition of the video game, “Madden NFL ‘17”. The video game itself is named after former NFL player, Super Bowl winning coach and longtime broadcaster, John Madden. Madden is also notorious for his Thanksgiving Turducken Tradition and a fear of flying - he says it’s claustrophobia - and hasn’t boarded a plane since 1979.
