We haven’t been this excited about Friday since last Friday. May you use your newfound sports knowledge to command the conversation this weekend.
I wanna talk about me,
The Last Night’s Game Team
MLB (Major League Baseball)
- The bears are back. The Chicago Cubs have made the NLCS (National League Championship Series) interesting. They were shut out for two games and then they’ve won their past two games to take the series lead vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. The teams will play Game Six tomorrow in Chicago.
- Going to the chapel. The Cleveland Indians called upon a pitcher with only one start in his career, Ryan Merritt, in Game Five. The Indians ended up beating the Toronto Blue Jays to head to the World Series. A fan found Merritt’s registry for his upcoming wedding, made it public, and the appreciative Cleveland fans have purchased almost everything on the couple’s registry. Glad we don’t have to write all those thank you notes.
F1 (Formula One Racing)
- Everything’s bigger in Texas. The new American owners of F1 have expressed interest in adding race stops in the United States. Currently the only race on the schedule is in Austin, TX this weekend. Austin is pulling out all the stops to impress the powers that be with performances by Taylor Swift, Usher and The Roots. As for the race, Nico Rosberg holds a commanding lead over Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the overall standings. There are four more races (including Austin) left in the season.
NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
- It’s now or never. Sunday is a pivotal race as this is the last chance for drivers to secure a spot in the next round of the playoffs. They’ll advance to the round of eight with a win. Out of the 12 drivers racing on Sunday, only Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are locked in. Expect an exciting race in Talladega because the other five drivers who will round out the group of eight are chosen based on points from the last three races.
WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association)
- Crowning a champ. In the fifth and last game of the finals, the Los Angeles Sparks beat reigning champions the Minnesota Lynx on a last second shot by WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike. The last championship for Los Angeles was in 2002.
Overtime
- New York Knicks’ Derrick Rose was cleared by a jury in a civil case stemming from a rape case in 2013. While no criminal charges were actually filed, the defendant was seeking $21 million. In poor taste, after being cleared, Rose posed for photos with members of the jury and even with the judge. The judge told Rose “Best wishes, except when the Knicks play the Lakers.”
Sideline Stat
- ESPN College GameDay heads to Tuscaloosa, AL this weekend ahead of Texas A&M (#6) vs Alabama (#1). Alabama has been so dominant this year that they are a 19-point favorite over the #6 team in the country. Click here.
Coaches’ Corner
- What does it mean when a team is shut out? A shut out occurs if a team doesn’t score at all during a game – there’s a big fat zero on the scoreboard at the end. Ouch.