In 1973, Dale Brown inherited an LSU program that had not reached a Final Four in 19 years, and not even been a serious contender a few years earlier when “Pistol Pete” Maravich was starring in Baton Rouge. Brown gradually built a winner. By 1979, he made a Sweet 16, only losing to eventual national […]
After winning the national championship in 1978, Kentucky had an uncharacteristic setback in 1979, missing the NCAA Tournament field entirely. While the bracket was considerably smaller than is the case today (40 teams in ’79, expanded to 48 for this season), an early NIT exit wasn’t going to cut it in Lexington. The 1980 Kentucky […]
Ray Meyer’s DePaul program was riding high, coming off the old coach’s first Final Four appearance in 1979 and the key players back in the fold. There were great expectations for the 1980 DePaul basketball team, and the Blue Demons lived up to those expectations almost every step of the way—until a sad end proved […]
Eldon Miller inherited a collapsed program in 1976. The legendary Fred Taylor had been an all-time great coach, but the bottom fell out in his final four seasons, and Miller took over a Buckeye team that went 6-20 in 1975. Miller gradually rebuilt and four years later, the fruits were starting to show. The 1980 […]
The Digger Phelps era in South Bend was rolling. Phelps took Notre Dame to a Final Four in 1978. The Irish were a #1 seed in 1979 and their regional final loss was to Magic Johnson and eventual national champion Michigan State. The 1980 Notre Dame basketball team continued to have success and made Digger’s […]
Read a concise breakdown of the reasons for Boston’s 105-98 win over Dallas.
We’re halfway through all four of the second-round matchups in the NBA playoffs. Boston is in control with a 3-1 lead over Cleveland, but the other series are knotted at two games apiece. Here are some basic thoughts regarding each one: Boston – ClevelandThe injury to Donovan Mitchell was a killer, in a series where […]
Bill Belichick became a staple of the NFL playoffs during his legendary 21st century tenure in New England. But his first trip to the postseason came with the 1994 Cleveland Browns. Following a 3-13 disaster in 1990, the Browns tapped Belichick, fresh off coordinating the defense of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. At […]
The city of Detroit hasn’t seen too many sustained stretches of good pro football. But the 1990s were an exception. The Lions had the great Barry Sanders in the backfield and were a consistent contender for the playoffs throughout the decade. The 1994 Detroit Lion team that got into the postseason was one part of […]
The Chicago Bears were only two years removed from the end of the Mike Ditka era, and just three years removed from that era’s last playoff appearance. In the mid-1990s, this was still a fan base that was accustomed to success. Dave Wannstedt had been hired to replace Ditka. And in Wannstedt’s second year, he […]
Dennis Green had come to Minnesota in 1992 and immediately returned the Vikings to the playoffs after a two-year absence. In 1993, Green did it again. Both of those teams lost in the first round, but Minnesota was back on everyone’s radar. The 1994 Minnesota Vikings continued the pattern—they got their third straight playoff appearance […]
The Big Red Machine was at the peak of their power. Starting in 1970, they were on a run of six division titles, four National League pennants and were fresh off winning the World Series in both 1975 and 1976. The 1977 Cincinnati Reds were still a good team, but they were well off the […]
