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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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The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

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Monday already? Time flies when its NHL and NBA playoff season.

Good luck to the Boston Marathon runners today, we’ll be there right beside you for support. And by beside you, we mean cheering you on while watching it on TV. In our running shoes of course.

Same same but different,

The Last Night’s Game Team

Boston Marathon

  • Boston strong. The Boston Marathon turns 120-years-young today.  It all started in 1897 when a group of guys, fueled by steak and whiskey, went on a 24.5 mile run. (Clearly they didn’t have Uber). This year organizers are expecting 30,000 runners and 1 million spectators.                    

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • I got bad ankles. NBA superstar Steph Curry left the playoff game vs. Houston Rockets with a sprained ankle (if you remember his ankles are the only glitch in his armor). He didn’t practice with the team on Sunday and is questionable for game tonight.  
  • To tweet or not to tweet. There was speculation that LeBron James would break his trend of a social media blackout dubbed “Zero Dark - 23” during this year’s playoffs. LeBron kept up the tradition that has been alive since 2012 by tweeting out “Zero Dark Thirty -23 activated. #striveforgreatness” hours before the Cavs first playoff game. Expect LeBron to be off the grid until they win the championship (or are knocked out). 
  • Blowout games in the playoffs. These teams beat their opponents in game one by more than 20 points – San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder. For all the round one playoff scores and standings, click here.

NHL (National Hockey League)  

  • It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. New York Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist was injured in their playoff game vs. Pittsburgh Penguins when a hockey stick went through his mask and hit him in the eye. Despite the multitude of sticks-to-the-face injuries in the league this year, goalies still agree that better eye protection is not the way to go, getting a better look at the puck is. Even though one goalie said his injury “felt like his eyeball was falling out.” Seems logical. 
  • On the road to the Stanley Cup. We’re still in the best-of-seven games in the first round of the NHL playoffs for the next week and a half (if necessary). For all the scores, schedules and the standings, click here. 

Overtime

  • For USC long snapper Jake Olson playing in the spring football game this weekend was a big deal. Not simply because he received a standing ovation from the crowd but because he is legally blind.  Olson was born with a rare form of cancer that rendered him legally blind by age 12. He is currently a redshirt freshman at USC and happy to be part of the Trojans team.

Sideline stat

  • Soccer powerhouse and Barcelona star Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal on Sunday. The Argentinian has scored 406 of those goals with his left foot, 71 right foot, 21 with his head and two with “other.” Not bad for a less than 11-year career that began with a contract sketched out on a paper napkin.  

Coaches’ Corner

  • Detroit Pistons lost to Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. Frustrated Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said the referees were showing favoritism to Cavs’ star LeBron James stating, “He (LeBron) gets to do whatever he wants. (Pistons) got to understand that.” Later he backtracked saying that’s not the reason they lost. Mama told us it’s not nice to point. 
 

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