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The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

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We have good news and bad news, WrestleMania 32 and the Final Four both set records this past weekend. One record for the right reason, the other not so much.

The Final Four victors, Villanova and North Carolina, play for the title of National Champions tonight. Lastly, the day is finally here and we know the boss will appreciate it when you walk into the office with your #CapsOn supporting baseball’s Opening Day and your favorite MLB team.

Hats off to you,

The Last Night’s Game Team

NCAA Basketball (College)

  • See ya Sooners. Villanova Wildcats (#2) beat Oklahoma Sooners (#2), 95-51 in game one of the Final Four. The Sooners never stood a chance. This was the biggest blow out in final four history. Wildcats shot 71% to Oklahoma’s 31%. Wildcats only missed five shots the entire second half.
  • Shattered dreams Saturday. In game two of the Final Four, University of North Carolina Tar Heels (#1) beat Syracuse Orange (#10), 83-66. Tar Heels used their size to dominate the Orange in the paint. Naismith Player of the Year, Buddy Hield of Oklahoma was held to only nine points, well below his 25 point average for the tournament.
  • National champions. Tonight is the last game of the NCAA tournament, the National Championship game. Villanova Wildcats (#2) will take on North Carolina Tar Heels (#1).

 Here’s the skinny…

  • Game time - Monday, 9:19 pm (EST) on TBS (first time ever for the game to be shown on cable)
  • North Carolina is the slight favorite at -2 (must win by two to win your bet). 
  • TV coverage will include taped performances from NCAA March Madness Music Festival featuring Maroon 5 and Pitbill.
  • Villanova Head coach Jay Wright was named 2016 coach of the year.
  • Both teams have won a national championship previously - Villanova (1985) and North Carolina (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009). 
  • Ladies Night. University of Connecticut Huskies (#1) will play Syracuse Orange (#4) for the women’s national championship on Tuesday at 8:30 pm (EST) on ESPN. If UConn wins, they will bring home their fourth consecutive title.

F1 RACING (FORMULA ONE)

  • Racing for the checkered flag. Nico Rosberg of the Mercedes team won the second race of the season in Bahrain, making it his fifth race win in a row. 
  • Overnight sensation. In his F1 debut (driving for an injured Fernando Alonso), Stoffel Vandoorne, 24, traveled overnight from Japan and raced in a car he had just met to finish the race in 10th place.
  • Incredible start. The newly established Haas Racing, an American owned F1 race team is embracing their rookie year and having an incredible one at that. Haas Racing (drivers are Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez) have collected points in each race this year. Only the top 10 in each race earn points and it’s quite the feat for a new team to compile points so early into their career. Grosjean has finished sixth and fifth in the first two races. Keep your eyes on this team.

La Liga Soccer

  • Spanish showdown. Real Madrid beat Barcelona, 2-1 in “El Classico,” the battle of the rivals in the La Liga League. This was the first loss for Barcelona in 39 games. The winning goal was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo. (Ronaldo, who is usually connected to smoking hot babes and Hollywood ladies like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton, celebrated the game in his underwear). 

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • World Series rematch. While today is opening day for most teams, yesterday Kansas City Royals took on the New York Mets in an opening day rematch between the two World Series teams. Kansas City won last year’s World Series and yesterday’s game. 

WWE (Word Wrestling Entertainment)

  • Super Bowl of wrestling. WrestleMania 32 took place in Dallas yesterday and it boasted more cameos than the Entourage movie. From the national anthem sung by Fifth Harmony to appearances by Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Shaq and Snopp Dogg, the WWE brought out their A-game.  The winners of night were the fans who saw a 20 foot dive off the top of a cage by Shane McMahon (who has been out of the WWE ring for 15 years) and a record breaking attendance of 101,763. In case you’re wondering, the new WWE Champion is Roman Reigns.

Overtime

  • The Masters starts this week in Augusta, GA. The Drive, Chip and Putt is for kids ages 7-15, who qualify for a chance to play the Sunday before the Masters. As if this wasn’t already an incredible experience for the kids, they received a surprise visit from three special people - Justin Rose (PGA golfer), Niall Horan (One Direction) and Justin Timberlake (needs no introduction).

Sideline stat

  • Golden State Warriors lost to the Boston Celtics, ending their 54 home game winning streak. San Antonio Spurs now have the longest active home winning streak at 39 straight games.

Coaches’ Corner

  • What is ‘the paint’ in basketball? The paint is the painted area in front of the basket and is also referred to as the key. It is literally painted on the basketball court in front of and around the basket and is a primary location for the offence to score and defense to defend the basket. There are specific rules that pertain to a player’s time in the paint. Dying to know more? Click here. 

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The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition

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Unlike the infamous Taco Liberty Bell joke or secretly recording your teammate, there are no April Fool’s Day pranks here; just good old fashioned sports.

The NCAA Final Four is this weekend and we still have three people in the running for the top spot in the Last Night’s Game Bracket Challenge. 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner,

The Last Night’s Game Team

 

MLB (Major League Baseball) 

  • Batter up. The MLB regular season starts on Sunday with opening day games across the country. Check out Wednesday’s Five Things to Know About MLB to prepare you for the excitement of the big leagues. You can find the opening day schedule here.
  • #CapsOn. MLB is encouraging fans to wear their favorite team’s hat in honor of opening day. Finally, a cause where we don’t have to worry about a bad hair day or even have hair for that matter.  

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Breaking bro code. Lakers’ rookie D’Angelo Russell found himself in a bad situation after a private video that he recorded of teammate Nick 'Swaggy P’ Young found its way to a gossip blog. The video highlights Young’s alleged exploits with women who are not his fiancée, rapper/singer Iggy Azalea. Queue locker room tension, fans booing Russell at games and being shunned by his teammates. Amidst the scandal, Azalea just released a new single entitled ‘Team.’

NCAA Basketball (College)

  • Saturday Night Live. Spend your Saturday night wrapped up in March (cough, April) Madness. The Final Four is on Saturday night, live from Houston, TX.

Villanova (#2) vs Oklahoma (#3),  Saturday at 6:09 pm (EST) on TBS

  • Spread: Villanova -2 (favored by two points)
  • Key Players: Oklahoma senior Buddy Hield (runner-up for national player of the year) and Villanova senior Ryan Arcidiacono.

 Syracuse (#10) vs North Carolina (#1), Saturday at 8:49 pm (EST) on TBS

  • Spread: North Carolina -10 (favored by 10 points)
  • Key Players: North Carolina senior Brice Johnson and Syracuse senior Michael Gbinije.
  • Orange you glad you made a bet? A bet on Syracuse at the beginning of the tournament could score you $100,000 if they win the tournament. The Westgate SuperBook had the odds of Syracuse winning at 1,000-1 and four people took that bet. Come on Orangemen!  
  • The greatest. Michigan State's Denzel Valentine won the title of AP Player of the Year. The AP (Associated Press) hands out the award every year to the best on the court and Valentine is the first ever honoree from Michigan State. 

Overtime

  • In case you needed an excuse to break out your lace-up boots and an awkwardly small speedo, here’s your chance. The Super Bowl of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), Wrestlemania 32, is this Sunday at 8 pm (EST) on the WWE network.  

AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, will be bursting at the seams with fans who are there to check out all the action including the main event of Roman Reigns vs. Triple H. Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey appeared at Wrestlemania 31 with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and rumors are swirling that she is going to make a surprise appearance this year as well.

Sideline Stat

  • Five of the most prominent players on the Women’s U.S. National Soccer Team have filed a suit against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for alleged wage discrimination. The suit points out that as part of their collective bargaining agreement the female players make 40% less than the men, despite their dominate success including a 2015 World Cup win. (Something the men haven’t done). USSF said the men’s team brings in twice the attendance and revenue of the women’s team. Stay tuned for the ongoing debate and to read more about the story, click here.

Coaches’ Corner

  • Former snowboard instructor, yogi and Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is giving world leaders a run for their money when it comes to the title of fittest world leader. Following in this father’s footsteps, the yogi’s social media accounts are full of sporting and outdoor activity photos, including this one of him mastering the mayurasana (or peacock pose). 
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The Rundown: Five Things to Know About MLB

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Break out the peanuts, Cracker Jacks and a cold beer (maybe wait until lunchtime on this one) because the boys of summer are back. You’re going to be a baseball expert after reading today’s Five Things to Know.

We’re looking forward to Friday where we’ll have a preview for this weekend’s NCAA Final Four games.

We can barely stand the excitement,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Five things to know about MLB (Major League Baseball)

MLB’s Opening Day is on Monday so in the spirit of the game we bring you all you need to know to join the conversation.

  • The regular season is a long one, 162 games. (In comparison, NBA regular season is 82 games and NFL 16 games). The regular season stretches from April to September. 
  • MLB consists of 30 teams and is divided into the American League (AL) and National League (NL).
  • The game is divided up into nine innings. The visiting team always bats first. (Easy way to remember - they’re the guests…home team uses their manners and lets them go first). “Top of the inning" is the first half of the inning in which the visiting team hits and “bottom of the inning” is when the home team hits.
  • The All-Star Game will be held on July 12th at Petco Park in San Diego, CA – home of the San Diego Padres. The team (American/National) that wins the All-Star Game gains home field advantage in the World Series. 
  • Despite the long season, baseball is the only sport where the season starts and finishes in the same calendar year.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Stand up for your rights. The City of Atlanta asked the NBA to consider moving the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte to Atlanta after North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation that limits protections for the LGBT community. (Refresher - North Carolina Gov. McCrory signed a bill which critics say is discriminatory against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons). The NBA said "thanks but no thanks and hopefully they can work things out before the 2017 All-Star Game." 

  • A little RnR needed. Los Angeles Clippers star Chris Paul, an important part of Team USA, has announced that he will not participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil because “his body is telling him he needs more time off.”  

Overtime

Sideline Stat

  • In soccer news, USA beat Guatemala (4-0) on Tuesday to keep their 2018 World Cup hopes alive. This win is significant because with a loss Team USA would all but have been eliminated from the 2018 World Cup.

Coaches’ Corner

  • The difference between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) in Major League Baseball is the designated hitter. A designated hitter (DH) is a player who only bats and does not play a position in the field. He bats in place of the pitcher, but not in the NL where the pitchers have to bat for themselves. Baseball is the only professional sport that has such a drastic difference between the leagues.

 

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