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.
