The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition - Going Global

Congratulations! You’ve made it to Friday. Your reward? The Rundown - full of laughs and all the sports information you need to know. Go forth and conquer your weekend.

The world is your oyster,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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Soccer

Global goals. Copa America Centenario begins Friday. Copa America is the battle of 16 of the best teams throughout the Americas. The tournament takes place every four years and coincides with the Olympics. The group stage of the tournament will take place from June 3-14 across 10 U.S. cities and it all starts with the U.S. vs. Columbia on Friday at Levi Stadium (Santa Clara, CA) at 9:30 pm EST. Click here for the full schedule.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

Warriors for the win. The whole Warriors team stepped up last night and brought home a win in game one of the finals against LeBron and his Cleveland Cavaliers. Game two is on Sunday at 7 pm EST on ABC.

Move over Kardashians. If you just can’t get enough of NBA MVP and Warriors’ guard Steph Curry, you can now download special emojis to use while texting about the NBA Finals. The emoji app features his show stealing little girl Riley, his wife Ayesha and even that mouthpiece he’s always chewing on. His emoji app, released on June 1st, surpassed Kim Kardashian’s similar app and sits at the top of the charts.

NHL (National Hockey League)

Stanley Cup slaying. Pittsburgh Penguins took a 2-0 series lead over the San Jose Sharks after winning game two in sudden death overtime. Will the Penguins extend their lead? Check out game three on Saturday at 8 pm EST on NBCSN to find out.

Tennis

Oui. The French Open will crown the men’s and women’s champions this weekend. The tournament hasn’t gone exactly as planned as the rain is the only one dominating the court. For the first time in 16 years, play has been stopped by the rain. Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Garbiñe Muguruza are a few notable players in the semifinals. Click here for the complete schedule. 

Overtime

The NFL Pro Bowl said aloha to Orlando and goodbye to Hawaii for the upcoming season. Sine 1980 the game has been played in Hawaii for all but two years. The NFL implied, like in retirement, this move to Florida is permanent.

Sideline stat

Boston Red Sox Slugger Mookie Betts hit three home runs on Tuesday and two home runs on Thursday – five home runs in two days. So many hits that Beyoncé would be proud.

Coaches’ Corner

Three crew chiefs (basically a head coach in NASCAR) have been suspended because of rule infractions during last week’s NASCAR race. 

Greg Biffle’s crew chief was suspended for two races for illegal body measurements. (Good thing match.com doesn’t penalize for that). And remember all that controversy about the lug nuts? (If not, read here). The crew chiefs for Kurt Busch and AJ Allmendinger were suspended for one race for not having the five lug nuts properly secured on the tires. This weekend’s race is on Sunday at the Pocono Motor Speedway. (1:18 pm EST on Fox Sports 1).

The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition

The always perfect date, Last Night’s Game, brings you all you need to know to impress your valentine (or the pizza delivery man) this weekend.

Pepperoni with cheese,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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NBA (National Basketball Association)

• Give me a break. Signifying the end of the first half of the NBA season, the All-Star break started today and the All-Star Game is this weekend. The second half of the season will resume with games on Thursday.
• In the lead. Cleveland Cavaliers are in first place in the East and the Golden State Warriors in the West. 
• Recipe for success. Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry is the reigning MVP and arguably the best player in the league. This was not always the case. When first came into the league had extreme ankle problems and the outlook on his career was dismal. He became the player he is today through hard work and dedication.
• A whole new world. The NBA is taking voting for the MVP of this Sunday’s All-Star Game to the next level. NBA has created emojis for the different players in the game and fans can vote via twitter using the emojis. The TNT broadcasters also have their own emojis, which includes a dig at former player turned TNT broadcaster, Charles Barkley, whose emoji is a donut. Nom nom.
• You can catch All-Star Saturday, which includes the skills competition, three-point contest and slam dunk competition on Saturday at 8:30 pm (EST) on TNT.
• The All-Star Game is on Sunday at 8:30 pm (EST) on TNT.  

NCAA BASKETBALL (COLLEGE)

• Practicing some self-restraint. University of Louisville announced a self-imposed post season ban this year. This ban is in hopes of avoiding further penalties from the NCAA. The possible NCAA smackdown stems from an escort scandal which took place from 2010-2014 involving potential recruits.

NFL (National Football League)

• Bad boys need not apply. In an attempt to clean up their image, the NFL announced that prospects with convictions involving weapons, domestic violence and/or sexual offense/sexual assault will not be allowed to participate in the predraft combine. The NFL combine takes place February 26 - 29th.
• Fast wins cash. Adidas is offering any prospect player at the combine $1 million if they break the 40-yard dash record. The current record is 4.24 seconds. Included in the fine print – the athlete must be wearing Adidas shoes.  
• Insert foot in mouth. Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was on the Jimmy Fallon Show, where he told an amazing and hilarious story of how he first met a kid from Memphis named Justin (Timberlake).
• Three’s Company? Oakland Raiders announced they have signed a one-year lease agreement to stay in Oakland. The whole NFL relocation-stadium saga is about as intertwined as a telenovela so let's recap. Oakland is third in line for a possible relocation to Los Angeles. The Rams have already committed to move to L.A. and the San Diego Chargers have a year to decide if they too want to move to L.A. and share a stadium with the Rams. If not, the Raiders can make a move. Although according to reports, they really just want to stay in Oakland but need some love (i.e. money) from the City of Oakland. 

Soccer

• Victory for the people. Liverpool has announced they will put a price freeze on tickets after an uproar from fans and a staged walkout last week.  
• Fancy a date with a soccer player? You can start your Valentine’s Day with one of two big Premier League games this Sunday.
  • Arsenal vs Leicester City at 7 am (EST) on NBCSN
  • Aston Villa vs Liverpool at 9 am (EST) on NBCSN
• Money isn’t everything. Leicester City is a true Cinderella story. Last year they finished in 14th place and this year they are in first place in the league where they’re beating all the teams with much higher payrolls.

Overtime

• Wrestler Daniel Bryan of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has announced he is stepping away from the ring at the age 34 due to concussions. Bryan, who is married to reality TV star and fellow wrestler Brie Bella (one of the Bella Twins and star of the show “Total Divas”), has had a documented 10 concussions thought his career and suffered post-concussion seizures.

Sideline Stat

• Golden State Warriors hold the best record of any NBA team in history for the first half of the season (48-4). They are on pace to set the record for wins in a season. The record is held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who went 72-10. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was a player on that Bulls team. . 

Coaches’ Corner

• What is the NFL combine? 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 live February 26-29th.