Denny Hamlin

Make It Happen  

Presidents & sports, no dancing in hockey, NBA Slam Dunk and the Daytona 500 was crashtastic.

The Rundown - Let's Do This

Need a little Monday motivation to get your day started? As Michael Jackson said, “you are not alone.” Grab that cup of coffee and let’s get the day started off with a little sports savviness.

 

You’ve got this,

The Last Night’s Game Team


Wimbledon

  • Greatest of all time? Roger Federer broke the record, winning his eighth Wimbledon Championship without losing a set. If that wasn’t enough, he also took home the title of the oldest man, 35, to win Wimbledon in the Open era. Even after all that, the ‘old man's’ two sets of twins (yes two) stole the show on Sunday.
  • Youth prevails. Venus Williams was hoping to secure the similar title of oldest woman to win Wimbledon, a title every 37-year-old seeks, but Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, 23, had other plans. She became the first person to beat both of the Williams sisters in a Grand Slam final. (She beat Serena in the 2016 French Open). Now that’s an accomplishment.

Golf 

  • The American Century Championship is known for its celebrity antics. Held in Lake Tahoe, those antics featured quarterback Aaron Rodgers (NFL – National Football League), Steph Curry (NBA – National Basketball Association), Justin Timberlake and former NFL player Jerry Rice, to name a few. Former MLB (Major League Baseball) pitcher Mark Mulder won for the third consecutive year.

Overtime

  • Driver Denny Hamlin won his first NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) race of the year at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Unfortunately for Hamlin, the winner’s bounty included a 44-pound live lobster. No, he doesn’t have a shellfish allergy but a previously undisclosed lobster phobia. His next sponsor? Not Red Lobster. 

Sideline stat

  • In case you needed some additional Monday motivation, here’s Julia Hawkins. On Saturday, the 101-year-old Hawkins missed her naptime to run the 100-meter dash in 40.12 seconds at the U.S.A. Track and Field Outdoors Masters Championships, setting the record for a woman 100 or older. To think, we were just happy to get out of bed.

Coaches’ corner

  • It was all about slime, including golden slime for Michael Phelps, on last night’s Nickelodeon Kids Sports Choice Awards. The next generation of sports fans showed some love for Team U.S.A. gymnastics’ ‘Final Five’ with the women taking home a boat load of awards. New dad and Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson was once again the host of the show. See the full list of winners

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend tight end Rob Gronkowski showed us just that on a party cruise and the Daytona 500 was one for the record books.  

Something for everyone,

The Last Night’s Game Team  


NASCAR

  • Too close for comfort. Denny Hamlin won the 58th Daytona 500 by the closest margin in the race history (.01 seconds). Hamlin showed them who’s the boss with an impressive maneuver to overtake Martin Truex, Jr. on the last lap to bring home the checkered flag. 

Notable finishes include:

  • Pole-sitter, 20-year-old Chase Elliott, crashed in the 20th lap and did not finish.
  • Dale Earnhardt, Jr. crashed in 169th lap and finished 36th place. (There are 200 laps in the race). 
  • Danica Patrick finished in 35th place.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Reporting for duty. All MLB players will report to their respective team’s spring training facilities today. Spring training allows teams to evaluate young prospects and give veterans a chance to get ready for the start of the season which begins in April. 
  • Sunshine here we come. Team's spring training facilities are located in two states, with teams either report to Florida (Grapefruit League) or to Arizona (Cactus League). 
  • Swinging for the fences. Texas Rangers fan Byron Anderson hit a home run and won his family free season tickets (value estimated at $8,500). The ”Swing for Your Seats” promotion gave fans three chances to hit a home run to win season tickets.

NFL (National Football League) 

  • Looking for the next big thing. The NFL Scouting Combine starts tomorrow. If you recall, the NFL Combine is a platform for prospective NFL prospects to participate in various drills and interviews with NFL scouts to improve their visibility and draftability. Prospects can only participate if they’re invited.  The NFL Network will be covering the combine workouts live February 26-29th.   

Overtime

  • New England Patriots’ tight end, Rob Gronkowski, hosted a three-day “Gronkowski Party Cruise" through the Caribbean this weekend. Fans bought tickets to join the zany and unpredictable "Gronk" to sail the seas and party on what some are describing as an NC-17 weekend. On board entertainment included Flo Rida and Rob Gronkowski, who channeled his inner Magic Mike. Oh dear. 

Sideline Stat

  • Sunday’s Daytona 500 win was team owner Joe Gibbs’ first win at Daytona since 1993. Gibbs is a former coach of the Washington Redskins (NFL) and owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, which owns four different NASCAR cars including winner Hamlin.

Coaches’ Corner