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The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

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Channeling our inner Bryce Harper, we’re making sports fun again. You’re welcome.

Remember when you went to prom and all you got was a slow dance and some lemonade? A few professional athletes are bringing their A-game to add some excitement to prom.

Cummerbunds, corsages and all,

The Last Night’s Game Team

PS - Share the fun of sports with others by using the buttons at the bottom.

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Pick me! All-Star voting has begun for the MLB All-Star Game on July 12th in the home of the San Diego Padres - Petco Park.

  • Think baseball is boring? So does Washington Nationals' all-star outfielder Bryce Harper. He wants to create a personality in baseball and become a single-name icon like LeBron or Beckham. "Endorsements, fashion -- it's something baseball doesn't see," he says. "In soccer, it's Beckham or Ronaldo. In basketball, it's Curry and LeBron. In football, it's Cam. Football and basketball have such good fashion." You can flaunt your style and show your support of Harper’s “Make Baseball Fun Again” campaign by buying your t-shirt here.

NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing)

  • Flipping out. Carl Edwards is doing a celebratory backflip for the second week in a row after winning the Toyota Owners 400 in Virginia. Edwards is the third driver to win back-to-back races this year.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • For the win! San Antonio Spurs swept Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers swept Detroit Pistons to move onto round two of the playoffs.

  • Injury prone. Golden State Warriors beat Houston Rockets to go up 3-1 in the series. Guard Steph Curry, who just returned to the court after an ankle injury caused him to miss two games, slipped on the court and injured his knee just before halftime. The team rallied without Curry to win the game by 27 points.  Early indications are that Curry has a knee sprain, possibly an MCL sprain. 
  • Franchise history. Charlotte Hornets beat Miami Heat to cut the Heat’s series lead to 2-1. This is the first playoff win in the 14-year franchise history. Basketball legend Michael Jordan is an owner of the Hornets.

NFL (National Football League)

  • Can I play? Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton gave some seventh graders a thrill of a lifetime when he decided to hop a fence and play football with them.  

  • That’s not good. A Dallas County grand jury will indict troubled quarterback Johnny Manziel on misdemeanor assault charges for a confrontation where he hit his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, so hard she temporarily lost hearing in her ear. The formal announcement of the indictment is expected today. A misdemeanor assault case carries a maximum punishment of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. 

NHL (National Hockey League)

  • In playoff news. San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders have all advanced to the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The last two teams to move onto round two will be decided by Wednesday.

PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association)

  • What happens in the Bahamas doesn’t stay there. Top golfers Jordan Speith and Rickie Fowler took a spring break trip to the Bahamas. According to Rickie Fowler’s Snapchat they had a great time playing golf and diving off of buildings into the water. Rickie won the title of ‘shirt of the day’ with this gem. (He’s the one in the middle).

Overtime

  • We’re reminiscing about prom and apparently some athletes were feeling the magic of the dance as well. Houston Texans’ (NFL) JJ Watt proved he can do it all when he helped a high school senior ask a girl to prom via Snapchat. Not to be outdone, Los Angeles Dodgers' (MLB) outfielder Yasiel Puig crashed the Chatwood High School prom instead of going back to his hotel Saturday night after a game in Colorado.

Sideline stat

  • Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Byron Scott after two record breaking seasons. Although Scott’s Lakers career wasn’t record breaking for a good reason; he coached two of the worst seasons in Lakers history. Scott’s Lakers went 21-65 (wins-losses, a .256 winning percentage) and 17-65 (.207 winning percentage). The numbers don’t lie.

Coaches’ corner

  • What is a sweep? Most of us are used to hearing the word sweep when it comes to cleaning up. That’s exactly what it means in sports. A sweep is when the series’ winning team does so without giving up a win. For instance, Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons because they won their (best-of-seven) series with four wins (4-0). The Pistons didn’t win any games. The idea of a sweep applies to all sports where there are series – such as hockey playoffs and regular season baseball (teams play three game series against each other).

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The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition

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There is never a dull moment in sports. Whether it's getting fired for inappropriate tweets or being named one of Time Magazine's Most Influential People; we cover it all here in five mins or less.

In an unusual Earth Day scenario, the Weekend Preview Edition wasn't written to the normal background noise of a game but to the jams of Prince. That means today's inspired write up is totally bad*ss.

Driving the little red (clean fuel powered) corvette into the sunset,

The Last Night's Game Team

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Shutout. ESPN fired analyst and former MLB pitcher, Curt Schilling for a controversial post on social media. Schilling clearly didn’t agree with North Carolina's "bathroom law." This wasn't Schilling's first social media outburst that landed him in hot water. ESPN said "enough already. We're an inclusive company." We're pulling the pitcher. 

  • No no. Cy Young award winner Jake Arrieta threw his second no-hitter of his career last night. The Cubs' pitcher led his team to a 16-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs also celebrated their veteran catcher David Ross, affectionately known as "Grandpa Rossy," who caught his first no-hitter. (The catcher is the key player to call all of the pitches and command the game from behind home plate).

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

  • Keep it to yourself. Driver Tony Stewart is expected to return to the track this weekend after missing eight weeks for a broken back sustained in an ATV accident. The buzz of his return has been marred by the fact that NASCAR fined him for comments he made surrounding race safety. NASCAR officials have stopped enforcing a rule that requires a tire on the race car to have all five lug nuts (bolts that anchor the tire to the body of the car) secured, just three or four are sufficient. While that creates faster pit times for drivers, it also makes for a potential hazard as Stewart stated. Apparently NASCAR didn't like him pointing that out. Fine. 

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry did not play in game three (still that ankle injury) and Houston Rockets took advantage. James Harden led his team to a victory over the Warriors in game three. The series is now 2-1 in favor of the Warriors with game four on Sunday. 

  • Lucky you. There are playoff games all weekend. Here's the full scheudle.

NHL (National Hockey League)

  • It's about time. Chicago Blackhawks beat St. Louis Blues in double overtime on Thursday night. The Blackhawks avoided elimination with a goal by star player Patrick Kane. This was Kane's first goal of the playoffs. Better late than never.  

  • The couch is calling. There are more playoff this weekend. For the entire playoff scheudle, click here.  

WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)

  • Ninth wonder of the world. 90s wrestling star and arguably one of the most famous female wrestlers, Chyna, was found dead yesterday in her California apartment. She was found by a friend who came to check on her after not hearing from her for days. Chyna (real name Joan Marie Laurer) was 46.   

Overtime

  • Yesterday the music and sports world lost a legend in Prince. How is Prince tied to sports you ask? You mean besides his love for his hometown Minnesota Vikings or the fact that all Minnesota Twins' rookies have to sing "Little Red Corvette" for the entire clubhouse? In 2015, Billboard Magazine ranked his 2007 Super Bowl halftime performance as the greatest in the history of the Super Bowl. In a torrential downpour he played iconic songs such as "Proud Mary" and "Along the Watchtower" in tandem with his hits including "Let's go Crazy" and "Purple Rain." This is a great clip from a Super Bowl producer's perspective of an epic and legendary artist as he conquered the world's biggest stage. Rock on and rest in peace.

Sideline stat

Coaches’ corner

  • King of the long ball, steroid user, whatever you call him he's now known as coach. Former San Francisco Giants' slugger Barry Bonds returns to San Francisco this weekend, although this time he's wearing his number 25 on a Miami Marlins jersey. Bonds will be making his first appearance at AT&T Park as the hitting coach for the Marlins. This is Bonds' first season back in the major leagues since retiring as a player in 2007.

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The Rundown: Five Things to Know About NHL

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In the midst of the NHL (National Hockey League) playoffs, we've decided to share Five Things to Know about hockey. On a day like today, 4-20, sit back, relax and read on.

Pass the Cheetos,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Five Things to Know about NHL

  1. The Stanley Cup is the trophy presented to the National Champions. The Cup, which has a Twittter account, has seen it all.  It has been used as a cereal bowl and a baptismal font, left by the side of the road and thrown into a swimming pool. The names of all members of the winning team (including coaches and management) are etched into the trophy.

  2. It is widely known that Canada is the birthplace of hockey. Rumor has it that the earliest hockey games were played on frozen ponds with frozen cow poop as a puck. Now that’s resourceful.
  3. There have been four work stoppages in NHL history. The 2004-2005 lock out caused the entire season to be cancelled along with the 2005 draft.
  4. Goalie Manon Rhéaume was the first woman to play in the NHL, playing in 1992 for the Tampa Bay Lightning during an exhibition game.
  5. The machine that inspired a song and fans everywhere to go for a cruise, a Zamboni, was invented in 1949 by a man named Frank Zamboni. The famed Zamboni resurfaces the ice between periods for a smooth skating surface. 
  • Extra credit - Like any other sport, hockey players have their superstitions and pregame rituals like meals, taping up their gear and routes to the arena. In a ritual that makes moms everywhere gasp, hockey phenom Sidney Crosby has a rule about not chatting with his mom on game days. He’s broken this rule three times in his career and was injured during the game all three times.

NBA (NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION)

  • Curry out. The Golden State Warriors sailed to victory on Monday night without their star player, Steph Curry. Curry missed game two against the Rockets for an ankle injury. His MRI provided no further insight and is still questionable for game three tonight in Houston. 

  • Confetti controversy. Oklahoma City Thunder lost at home on Tuesday night to the Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder put up a buzzer beater shot for the win that was eventually called off for being too late. Someone in operations for the Thunder got a little excited and deployed the confetti for the perceived Thunder win. Mavs’ player Chandler Parson gave a shout out to that employee, tweeting – “Shoutout [sic] to whoever dropped the confetti. #fired.”

NFL (National Football League)

  • Crying in our breakfast Cheerios. Former New York Giants star Michael Strahan announced he is leaving “Live with Kelly and Michael” for a full-time gig with Good Morning America (GMA). Prior to his full-time offer, he worked with GMA a few days a week. Strahan has been with Live! Since 2012 when he was picked to replace Regis Philbin. The change will take place in September. You will still be able to catch Michael on “NFL on FOX” on Sundays. 
  • The ultimatum. Troubled quarterback Johnny Manziel has been fired by his second agent this year. Drew Rosenhaus said last week that he would terminate his representation of Manziel but that he would reverse the decision if Manziel entered a treatment facility within five days. Yesterday he officially exited stage left. In his 27 years as an NFL agent, this is the first time Rosenhaus has ever fired a player. Nike also dropped Manziel yesterday. Manziel was most recently under investigation for his involvement in a hit-and-run and is the subject of a grand jury investigation on whether or not he assaulted his girlfriend.

 UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

  • Pouty pants? Top UFC fighter Connor McGregor was pulled from UFC 200. He then tweeted that he has decided to retire young. UFC President Dana White said he pulled McGregor because he was unwilling to fly to Las Vegas and participate in mandatory promotional activities.

Overtime

  • A ball boy at the Barcelona Open (tennis) recovered beautifully from a face plant into the wall. Luckily for us this international incident was caught on camera. Shake it off.  

Sideline stat

  • In a 6-1 blowout game that was not favoring their team, the Philadelphia Flyers fans took it upon themselves to express their displeasure with a call on the ice by throwing wristbands used in a pregame light show onto the ice. After multiple requests to stop by players and the in-game announcer the referees penalized the Flyers for their fans’ actions. The Washington Capitals lead the series against the Flyers 3-0. Game four is tonight in Philadelphia.

Coaches’ Corner

  • In January, Officer Bobby White took a call for a noise complaint that kids outside were playing basketball outside too loudly. Instead of handing out citations, Officer White decided to join in on the game. When Officer White returned for a rematch this week he brought along former NBA superstar, Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal. Shaq reiterated the "Basketball Cop" philosophy of #HoopsNotCrimes by telling the kids "I grew up just like this. Only you can change this, and you can change it through basketball and showing respect to your peers like you did." For more information on the Basketball Cop Foundation, click here.

 

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