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2000 ALCS: How The Yankees Beat The Mariners

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The New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners came into the 2000 ALCS with very different histories. The Yankees were the most decorated franchise in all of professional sports, and the two-time defending World Series champions to boots. The Mariners were a team whose very existence was still less than 25 years old. They had never even made the World Series, much less won it. And they had only reached the ALCS once before this. These two teams, coming from such different paths, played a good American League Championship Series in October of 2000, with the Yanks successfully continuing their march for a three-peat.

You can read more about the paths New York and Seattle took to reach the postseason, the key players who led the way, and their victories in the Division Series round, at the links below. This article will focus squarely on the games of the 2000 ALCS.

READ MORE ABOUT THE 2000 NEW YORK YANKEES
READ MORE ABOUT THE 2000 SEATTLE MARINERS
READ MORE ABOUT THE 2000 ALDS

The ALCS opened on a Tuesday night in the Bronx. New York, their rotation off schedule after a grueling five-game Division Series with Oakland, gave the Game 1 start to Denny Neagle. Seattle, fresh off a sweep of Chicago, handed the ball to reliable Freddy Garcia.

Both pitchers performed well. Neagle pitched around a couple of first-inning walks by getting a double play ball. Garcia got his own double-play ball to escape a tight spot in the third inning. We were still scoreless when the game reached the fifth. That’s when the Mariners did some two-out damage.

Mark McLemore got the first hit of the game for Seattle, a double to left. Neagle’s no-hitter was gone, and his shutout went by the boards when Rickey Henderson delivered an RBI single. One inning later, Alex Rodriguez, then a rising star with the Mariners, homered.

Garcia pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just three hits. The game overall had only 11 hits and eight of them were singles. The 2-0 Seattle lead was still holding in the bottom of the ninth. Mariner closer Kazuhiro “Kaz” Sasaki came out of the bullpen. Bernie Williams hit a leadoff single, and Tino Martinez delivered a one-out base hit. The Yankees had a couple shots to win the game with one swing. But Kaz got Jorge Posada and Luis Sojo to fly out. Seattle had grabbed a road win.

Game 2 was a late afternoon start on Wednesday. New York would turn to the ever-reliable Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who faced off with John Halama.

The Yankees quickly loaded up the bases on Halama in the first, thanks to two walks and an error. With nobody out, Williams had the chance to do some real damage. But he bounced into a home-to-first double play and the Mariners escaped the inning.

El Duque did some escape work of his own in the top of the second. With runners on second and third and one out, he snared a line drive hit back at him, and then doubled the runner off second. But in the top of the third inning, Seattle broke through. Just like last night, everything started with two outs. Mike Cameron walked, stole second and scored on a base hit by Stan Javier.

It was early, but there was definitely some pressure on New York. El Duque settled in and didn’t allow any more runs, as he worked eight strong innings. But Halama continued the Seattle pattern of putting up zeroes. We reached the bottom of the eighth with the score still 1-0 and the Yanks in danger of falling into a big series hole.

David Justice responded with a leadoff double in the eighth against Mariner reliever Arthur Rhodes. Williams promptly followed with a single that tied the game. Martinez and Posada both singled. The Yanks now had the lead and they had Mariano Rivera coming out of the bullpen for the ninth. But they kept adding on. Paul O’Neill picked up an RBI with a sac fly.  Sojo singled. Jose Vizcaino doubled. Chuck Knoblauch singled. The lead was up to 5-1. Derek Jeter homered.

By the time the inning was over, it was 7-1. Rivera still came out of the pen, but now it just to get some work and stay sharp going into the travel day. New York had evened up this 2000 ALCS.

Friday night’s prime-time start on the East Coast meant a 5 PM local start in Seattle for Game 3. The pitchers were Andy Pettitte for the Yanks and Aaron Sele for the Mariners. The home crowd behind them, Seattle got after Pettitte right away in the first inning. Consecutive one-out singles from Cameron, A-Rod, and Edgar Martinez gave the home team a 1-0 lead.

But this time, the Yankee bats got cooking early. Williams and Tino Martinez hit back-to-back homers in the second inning, quickly putting New York back up 2-1. After Pettitte pitched around trouble in the second, the Yanks got another run in the third when Scott Brosius singled and then scored a two-out double from Justice.

In the bottom of the fifth, Seattle got one back. Henderson doubled with one out, Cameron picked him up with a single, and at 3-2, we had another good ballgame on our hands.

New York kept chipping away in the sixth. Williams singled. Tino Martinez beat out an infield hit. With two outs, O’Neill delivered an RBI single. 4-2 Yanks.

It was still 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth, when A-Rod singled and stole second. With one out, New York manager Joe Torre summoned Rivera. The great closer got the last two outs of the eighth. He retired the side in the ninth. In between the Yankees tacked on four insurance wins. With the 8-2 final, New York had won another otherwise close game by blowing it open late. And they led this ALCS 2-1.

Game 4 was another late afternoon start in the Pacific Northwest, aiming for the Saturday night audience in the Big Apple. And Roger Clemens was ready for prime-time. The Yankee starter was dominant and was working on a no-hitter by the fifth inning. But Paul Abbott was putting up zeroes of his own for Seattle. Abbott got the first two batters in the top of the fifth. Then New York struck.

In short order, Brosius singled, Knoblauch worked a walk and Jeter homered. It was 3-0. With Clemens pitching like he was, and Rivera waiting in the bullpen, the lead seemed ironclad. It was—and Mariano wasn’t even necessary. Clemens kept dealing. His no-hitter stayed intact until the seventh. Seattle got the tying run to the plate with two outs in that seventh inning, but Clemens struck out Cameron to end the threat.

Clemens went the distance, closing out the one-hitter and finishing with 15 strikeouts. Justice hit a two-run homer for unnecessary insurance in the eighth. New York had a 5-0 win and was one win from a third straight American League pennant.

What a day Sunday, October 15 was to be a sports fan in New York City. The pro football feast started with the Super Bowl-bound Giants beating the Cowboys. In the late afternoon time slot, a decent Jets team knocked off the Patriots. And baseball? Merely the Yankees going to make the World Series in a 4 PM ET start, and the Mets playing in prime-time, two wins from doing the same.

Game 5 was a Neagle-Garcia rematch. Neagle had been wild in the first inning of Game 1, but escaped. He was wild again to start this one, walking three batters. Neagle didn’t give up a hit, but a sac fly from John Olerud to put the Mariners on the board.

New York hadn’t scored off Garcia in the series opener, and it took the Yanks until the fourth inning to do anything here. Tino Martinez hit a leadoff double. Posada followed with a single, setting up runners on the corners with no one out. Then O’Neill worked a walk. Sojo doubled. The Yankees had a 2-1 lead, there were runners on the second and third and still none out. The chance to blow this game—and the 2000 ALCS—wide open was right there.

But it didn’t happen. Brosius popped up, Knoblauch struck out and Jeter grounded out. The Mariners still had life. And in the bottom of the fifth, they made New York pay for not driving the knife in.

McLemore bunted for a hit to start the rally. Henderson walked. Cameron bunted both runners up. Neagle was pulled for Jeff Nelson, but A-Rod got Nelson for a single that scored both runs. Seattle had the lead and they kept coming. Edgar Martinez homered. Olerud homered. The Mariners had a comfortable 6-2 lead.

Seattle fans still had reason to be nervous in the seventh when three walks loaded the bases with one out. But Rhodes struck out Posada, struck out Glenallen Hill and killed the threat. The game ended 6-2. The Mariners still had a steep hill to climb, trailing 3-2 in games and the series going to New York. But the Subway Series, which got the first half completed, when the Mets clinched the NLCS on Monday, wasn’t a done deal yet.

Tuesday night, we were back in the Bronx with a pitching rematch between El Duque and Halama. And the Yankee starter was not sharp. After a one-out walk in the top of the first, A-Rod and Edgar Martinez hit consecutive doubles down the left field line and Seattle had a 2-0 lead. That lead extended to 4-zip in the fourth when Olerud’s double was followed by a two-run blast from Carlos Guillen.

That 3-1 series lead that had looked so ironclad for the Yankees was starting to crack, but this veteran team wasted no time getting back in the game. With one out in the home half of the fourth, Justice and Williams each singled. Tino Martinez worked a walk. Posada ripped a double into the right-center gap to cut the lead to 4-2, with runners still on second and third  and only one out. O’Neill grounded a single and it was 4-3 with runners on the corners.

Seattle skipper Lou Piniella went to his bullpen. Brett Tomko delivered, getting Sojo to pop up and then finishing the inning with the Mariner lead still intact.

Torre’s confidence in El Duque was underscored by leaving the starter in a game of this magnitude, even after the poor start. El Duque rewarded the confidence. He pitched around a leadoff double in the sixth, but otherwise kept the game at 4-3 until the bottom of the seventh.

Jose Paniagua was now on for Seattle. A simple infield hit from Vizcaino got the inning started. Knoblauch put down a sac bunt to get the tying run into scoring position. Jeter singled to left, but Vizcaino was held up at third. It was still 4-3, and Piniella summoned the lefthander Rhodes to face the lefthanded hitting Justice.

It was a by-the-book move, but it blew up. Justice ripped a home run to right. The crowd was in a frenzy. The Yankees led 6-4 and they didn’t stop. Williams singled. Tino Martinez doubled. Posada walked. With the bases loaded, O’Neill knocked in two runs with a base hit. Rhodes was gone and the score was 8-4. It went to 9-4 when Vizcaino, who started all of this, picked up a run with a sac fly.

A-Rod immediately led off the top of the eighth with a home run and Edgar Martinez walked. That was it for El Duque and Rivera came in. But the great closer was greeted by a double from Olerud. There were runners on second and third. Raul Ibanez and Guillen couldn’t pick up the runs. But with two outs, McLemore did. A double to right cut the lead to 9-7 and gave Jay Buhner—a good young power-hitter—a chance to come up as the tying run. Mariano struck him out.

With two outs in the ninth, A-Rod legged out an infield hit. The Mariners had another good shot with the tying run up, this time in the person of Edgar Martinez. But Rivera induced a groundball to short, Jeter made the play and there was another October celebration in Yankee Stadium.

David Justice was named the 2000 ALCS MVP. His 6-for-26 performance doesn’t jump off the page. But if it seems like, in reading this narrative account, that Justice was at the center of an awful lot, well…he was. That’s backed up by his 8 RBIs in the six games, including the big home run of Game 6. He was a worthy choice for the honor.

Other Yankee heroes included Tino Martinez, who went 8-for-25, and Williams, who delivered 10 hits. Jeter went 7-for-22 and drew six walks.

A-Rod would one day become renowned for October failures when he became a Yankee, but there were no signs of that in this series. He went 9-for-22 with two home runs. Olerud’s 7-for-20 performance was the other notable showing by a Mariner hitter. Seattle’s best individual performance came from Garcia, who got both of Seattle’s wins with a 1.54 ERA.

The Yankees went on to finish the three-peat, defeating the Mets in five games in the World Series. One year later, both the Yanks and Mariners would be right back in this very same place. Both teams had even better regular seasons—especially Seattle, who won 116 games. But that 2001 ALCS ended basically the same—with a New York triumph.

1970 NLCS: A Postseason Rivalry Begins

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The League Championship Series round had just been instituted in 1969. The decade of the 1970s would see this round’s great rivalry develop between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. They played for the pennant four different times in this decade. The 1970 National League Championship Series marked the beginning of both the decade and the rivalry. In a round that was a best-of-five affair through 1984, all three games were compelling, but it was the Reds who consistently got the big hit or the key out,  sweeping their way to the pennant.

You can read more about the season-long journeys that Cincinnati and Pittsburgh took to their division titles, and about their key players, at the links below. This article will focus squarely on the games of the 1970 NLCS.

READ MORE ABOUT THE 1970 CINCINNATI REDS
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1970 PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Homefield advantage worked on a rotation basis and used a 2-3 scheduling format. This NLCS would open with two games in Pittsburgh, with the balance of the series to be played in Cincinnati. It was the postseason debut for a couple of new ballparks. Three Rivers Stadium and Riverfront Stadium were seeing the first of what would be plenty of playoff and World Series baseball in the years ahead.

The Reds mounted early threats in Saturday afternoon’s Game 1. Cincy put two on with two out and both the first and second inning. Each time, Pirate starter Dock Ellis got the key out that kept the Reds off the board.

Pittsburgh had their own missed chance in the third. Gene Alley was on first base with two outs, and was unable to score on a double. With runners on second and third, Cincinnati starter Gary Nolan killed the threat. The Pirates missed another two-on/two-out chance in the bottom of the fourth

The scoreless tie went to the sixth inning when Cincy’s Tony Perez ripped a double into the leftfield gap to start the frame. Johnny Bench’s fly ball moved Perez to third. Lee May had the chance to break the scoring drought…but he grounded out to third. Ellis escaped and yet another rally ended with nothing.

It was the Pirates’ chance in the bottom of the eighth when Willie Stargell slashed a one-out double. Nolan responded with consecutive strikeouts. In the bottom of the ninth, Pittsburgh’s Matty Alou beat out an infield hit with two outs. He made an understandable attempt to steal second. Bench threw him out. There had been plenty of action in this first game, but no runs as we went to extra innings .

Ty Cline batted in Nolan’s spot and opened the top of the 10th with a triple. Pete Rose singled and we finally had someone on the board. With two outs, Bench was intentionally walked. The move didn’t work. May doubled in both runs for some insurance. Clay Carroll came on in relief of Nolan and closed the bottom of the 10th without incident. Cincinnati had a road win, 3-0.

The Pirates sent Luke Walker to the mound the following afternoon for Game 2. The Reds went to lefty Jim Merritt. And the top of the first in Game 2 went much the same as the opener. After Walker hurt his own cause with an error and then gave up a single, Cincy had two on with no one out. Bench’s line drive went directly to Alley at shortstop, who promptly doubled off Rose. End of threat.

In the top of the third, speedy Reds’ centerfielder Bobby Tolan began to put his imprint on the series. He singled to left, stole second and then took third on a throwing error. Moments later, Tolan scored on a wild pitch. Having shown his speed, Tolan demonstrated his power in the top of the fifth. A solo blast put the Reds up 2-zip.

The fans of Pittsburgh had yet to see their team score a run through a game and a half when the Pirates came to bat in the top of the sixth. Second baseman Dave Cash doubled with one out, prompting Cincinnati manager to summon Carroll. It didn’t stop the great Roberto Clemente, whose base hit finally put Pittsburgh the board. Manny Sanguillen followed another single. There were runners on first and second with one out in a 2-1 game. Carroll buckled down, got the two outs he needed and preserved the lead.

And that was the last time the Pirates made a real threat. Tolan got his team an insurance run in the eight, singling and then scoring on a double by Perez. Both games had been tight and nerve-wracking. But 3-1 final meant the road team had taken both. Cincinnati was going home in complete command of this NLCS.

Night baseball had been in place since 1935, but it still was not used in postseason play. So Monday’s Game 3 took place in the afternoon, right alongside the ALCS Game 3, where the Baltimore Orioles were also looking to close out a home sweep.

Their back to the wall, Pittsburgh got right after Cincinnati starter Tony Cloninger. Freddie Patek worked a leadoff walk and moved up on a groundball out. Patek tried to force the action and was thrown out stealing third. Which was unfortunate, because behind him, Clemente singled, Stargell walked and Al Oliver singled.

The Pirates led 1-0, but it could have been more. Stealing third with those bats coming up smells of desperation. Which Pittsburgh’s offense could hardly be blamed for after the first two games, but was costly nonetheless. It got even more costly when Perez and Bench hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the inning to put the Reds up 2-1.

Cloninger walked two men to start the top of the second. Moose dropped a sacrifice bunt, which only partially worked. He got the runner to third, but the Reds picked up the force at second. The double play was still in order and that proved decisive. Patek’s rough start to Game 3 continued when he grounded into a 5-4-3 twin killing.

Moose was settled, but his lineup missed a chance in the fourth when Richie Hebner doubled with one out in the fourth, but was stranded. In the fifth, Alou hit a one-out single and was on second with two outs. Stargell’s single to right finally tied the game 2-2. In the top of the sixth, Hebner hit another double, this time to start the inning. Bill Mazeroski’s bunt attempt failed and the Reds got the out at third and then killed the threat.

It was another tense pitcher’s duel as we reached the bottom of the eighth. Moose got the first two outs, but then walked Cline and allowed a single to Rose. Joe Gibbons came on in relief. Tolan was at the plate. He singled to left, the Reds were up 3-2 and were on the threshold of a pennant.

Wayne Granger was on in relief. After getting the first two outs, he couldn’t get Clemente, who singled to right and kept the series alive. Reds’ manager Sparky Anderson, with a hook that would be normal today, but was quite unusual in 1970, called on young Don Gullett. Stargell singled to right. There were runners on the corners. But it wouldn’t be the 1970 NLCS if the pitcher didn’t get the key out in a tight spot. Gullett induced Oliver to ground out to second. And, as a beloved Cincinnati Reds radio announcer might say, this National League pennant belonged to the Reds.

There was no MVP for NLCS play given until 1978. If we can double back and hand one out retroactively, it would have to be Tolan. He had gone 5-for-12 with a home run in a series where few hitters did anything. He had driven in the winning run of the series opener. Kudos also have to go to Perez, who collected four hits in the three games. On the Pittsburgh side, only Stargell’s 6-for-12 performance stood out among players who played the entire series. Hebner acquitted himself in his two starts, going 4-for-6.

Cincinnati’s good fortune in close games ran out when they lost a couple tough ones to Baltimore to open the 1970 World Series, and the Reds ultimately lost the series in five games. But they—and the Pirates—were just getting started. Each team would win two World Series titles in the decade that was just beginning. Their rivalry started at the 1970 NLCS.

1993 Minnesota Vikings: Solidifying A Playoff Foundation

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Dennis Green arrived in Minnesota in 1992, and promptly won a division title. The 1993 Minnesota Vikings didn’t quite match that feat. But they made it back to the playoffs and solidified what would be a perennially contending team throughout the 1990s.

The defensive front was the foundation on which this team was built. John Randle, the great Hall of Fame defensive tackle, had a 12 ½ sack season in 1993. Henry Thomas had nine more sacks at the other tackle spot and made the Pro Bowl. No combo anywhere in the league could disrupt the interior like Randle and Thomas. And that allowed another great talent, Hall of Fame defensive end Chris Doleman to pick up 12 ½ sacks of his own.

All that pressure on the quarterback enabled free safety Vencie Glenn to intercept five passes. Even with weaknesses at other spots in the back seven, the Vikings still ranked 12th in the NFL in points allowed.

The offense was the problem. Green was looking for a solution at quarterback. There were certainly good targets to throw to. Cris Carter, a future Hall of Famer, would catch 86 passes this season and make the Pro Bowl. Anthony Carter (no relation) was a veteran and caught 60 more balls. Steve Jordan’s 56 catches showed he was still as reliable a tight end as there was.

But there weren’t a lot of good options at QB. Green signed Jim McMahon. A veteran of the Super Bowl champion 1985 Chicago Bears, McMahon was colorful, a leader…and also injury-prone with a weak arm. His 5.9 yards-per-attempt in 1993 was one of the league’s worst. But his 60 percent completion rate was solid and he steered clear of mistakes. It made him a good fit for a team that wanted to win with defense.

A running game would have helped a lot, but even with another Hall of Famer, Randall McDaniel, keying the offensive line, the Vikings could not generate a consistent attack. Everyone from Scottie Graham to Barry Word to Robert Smith to Roger Craig got a chance. None maintained any consistency. So the Minnesota offense ranked just 20th in a 28-team league for points scored.

The Vikings opened the season in Los Angeles against the Raiders, another team that had the postseason in their future. The McMahon experiment didn’t begin well—he was intercepted twice, there was no running game, Minnesota was in a 21-0 hole by half and lost 24-7.

A home game with Chicago saw the Vikes play more to their identity. It was a tough defensive game and McMahon made the big throw—a 16-yard touchdown pass Carter was the difference in the 10-7 win. After a bye week, Minnesota won another physical  home game against a key division rival. They beat Green Bay 15-13 on the strength of five field goals from Fuad Reveiz and McMahon avoiding mistakes, while young Brett Favre made them on the other side.

Minnesota went back on the road to play San Francisco, one of the league’s best teams in this era, with Steve Young at quarterback. McMahon threw an early touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead, and then a fourth-quarter TD toss that had the Vikings within 24-19. But with an upset in sight, the defense collapsed and the 49ers pulled away, 38-19.

Back at home against a division rival, Minnesota got back in their comfort zone. They beat Tampa Bay (prior to the realignment of 2002, the Bucs shared the NFC Central with the four current teams of the NFC North) 15-0 thanks to five turnovers, including two picks by Glenn.

A second bye week—a concept the NFL experimented with this season and then thankfully dropped—preceded a Monday Night visit to Chicago. It was a homecoming of sorts for McMahon, even though he’d had a couple of stops since his glory days in the Windy City. The Minnesota defense stole the stage. They got nine sacks, three from Randle and two by Doleman. Audrey McMillan produced a Pick-6. The Vikes won it 19-12.

Another prime-time game against a division rival was up when Detroit came in for Sunday Night Football. McMahon was knocked out early. Sean Salisbury, last season’s primary starter, came in and showed he wanted his job back. Salisbury went 25/37 for 234 yards. Smith rushed for 115 yards. The Vikings led 27-13 in the fourth quarter. Then the defense completely fell apart and lost 30-27.

The job was still Salisbury’s for a home game with mediocre San Diego. The backup QB produced his numbers—29/47 for 347 yards, with Cris Carter catching ten balls for 164 yards. Minnesota led 17-16 after three quarters. Then the defense again came apart in the fourth quarter, the result being a 30-17 loss.

Salisbury started again at playoff-bound Denver and again had a big day. He went 19/37 for 366 yards, with both the Carters going for 100-plus yards receiving. Minnesota got a big road win over John Elway, 26-23.

At 5-4, the Vikings needed to keep it going when they went to Tampa Bay for another Sunday Night appearance. Salisbury was hot. Maybe this new revved-up attack was going to work. Actually, no.

Salisbury played poorly, the running game continued to be non-existent and Minnesota lost 23-10 in a game where they were an eight-point favorite. A 17-14 home loss to mediocre New Orleans, marked by giving up a special teams TD, pushed the Vikes under .500.

It wasn’t too much to say that the season was on the line when Minnesota went to Detroit. McMahon returned to the lineup. The Lions had taken a big blow themselves, losing their great running back, Barry Sanders, to a knee injury on Thanksgiving. Not having to key on Sanders, freed up on the Viking defensive front. And did they ever unleash. Randle had a three-sack game. Doleman added two more. Seven sacks on the day led a 13-0 shutout.

The NFC Central was jam-packed. Minnesota was 6-6, and chasing Detroit, Green Bay and Chicago, who were all 7-5. The alignment and playoff format of the time had three divisions per conference and three wild-card spots. One of the wild-cards would go to the NFC East, where the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants were having big years. But the other two were open, with only 7-5 New Orleans being in the mix outside of the NFC Central.

Unfortunately for the Vikes, the eventual Super Bowl champion Cowboys were next on the schedule. In the late afternoon window at home, both McMahon and Salisbury played. Neither particularly well. Minnesota trailed 27-6 by the third quarter and lost 37-20. Detroit and Green Bay both won and created some space in the race for the division title. The good news was that Chicago and New Orleans both lost. The Vikes were still within a game of the playoffs.

But they had to win against Green Bay. Playing in old Milwaukee County Stadium, where the Packers used to play three home games a year, the Vikings trailed 10-7 at the half. McMahon then did what proud veterans do. He played beyond what his body could still realistically do. The quarterback finished 22/31 for 207 yards. He threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Cris Carter in the second half. The 21-17 win kept Minnesota alive. Chicago and New Orleans both lost.

The Vikings were in a three-way tie for one spot, themselves, the Bears and Saints all 7-7. Minnesota would have the tiebreaker on Chicago within the division, but would lose a tiebreaker with New Orleans. And on top of all this, the Vikings were still only a game back in the NFC Central…and their 6-2 divisional record ensured they would win any tiebreaker.

The next game was a Sunday Night home date with a good Kansas City Chiefs team that had Joe Montana at quarterback. The events of that afternoon sorted a lot out. Detroit and Green Bay both won, ensuring their head-to-head game the following week would settle the division. But Chicago and New Orleans both lost. The Vikings controlled their own destiny for the playoffs. And if you wanted more good news for Minnesota, it’s that the day’s results clinched the AFC West for Kansas City and reduced the Chiefs’ urgency.

McMahon threw a 31-yard TD pass to Cris Carter for a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. At 10-3 in the third quarter, McMahon and Carter hooked up again from 29 yards out. Graham had his best night of the season, with 166 yards. The Vikings cruised to a 30-10 win.

They weren’t in yet, but they had control and the schedule would finally work in their favor. The Washington Redskins, one of the league’s best teams for the previous 12 years, were in a massive downward spiral following the retirement of head coach Joe Gibbs. That was all that was standing in the way of Minnesota and the postseason.

New Year’s Eve fell on Friday and the league decided to schedule this game for 3 PM that afternoon, so the Vikings went to D.C. on a short week. They didn’t play well up front, being outrushed 112-46. But McMahon and Cris Carter had something going together down the stretch and it continued here. The receiver caught seven balls for 113 yards and keyed a 14-9 win.

For the playoffs, Minnesota might have preferred not to be so strong in the tiebreakers. Because it meant that they would be in the 5-seed position, ahead of whomever lost the Detroit-Green Bay game. Which meant that instead of playing the winner of that game (it would be the Lions), the Vikings had to go and play the 11-5 New York Giants, who had chased Dallas to the final game of the season.

But the Giants had lost an overtime showdown with the Cowboys in that regular season finale and perhaps were a little drained. Playing in the swirling winds of the Meadowlands early the following Sunday afternoon, McMahon threw a 40-yard TD pass to Carter and put Minnesota up 10-3 at the half.

An upset was brewing, but the physical New York ground attack finally took over. The Vikings were outrushed 176-79. Not being able to run the football was fatal in a game like this, on a day when passing was difficult. Minnesota lost 17-10.

It was a second straight playoff trip, but Green and the Vikings clearly wanted more. In the ensuing offseason, they swung a trade for Warren Moon, the future Hall of Fame quarterback with the Houston Oilers. The results didn’t change dramatically, but Minnesota got back on top of the balanced NFC Central in 1994. And they continued to churn out playoff appearances all the way through 2000.

1993 Green Bay Packers: Brett Favre’s Breakthrough Playoff Trip

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The 1993 Green Bay Packers were looking to end a drought. The franchise had not made the playoffs since 1982. They only gone to the postseason twice since the departure of the great Vince Lombardi following the 1967 season. Most of those seasons were simply hopeless. 1992 had seen some hope—the emergence of a young quarterback in Brett Favre, a winning season and contention until the final week of the regular season. It was time to take the next step.

In what was then a new era of NFL free agency, the Packer front office didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on a big move. The biggest prize on the market was defensive tackle Reggie White. The devout Christian minister was persuaded that Green Bay was a good place for him to continue with his off-the-field religious activities. As for on the field, White was already convinced that Favre was the kind of quarterback that could get him where he had never been—to a Super Bowl.

Favre and White were future Hall of Famers. A third member of the ’93 Packers seemed on his way there as well—Sterling Sharpe was the team’s best player and had not yet suffered the neck injury that would prematurely end his career and his Canton hopes. In 1993, Sharpe was still on top of his game—a then-record 112 catches for the season and 1st-team All-NFL honors.

Edgar Bennett and Darrell Thompson shared duties in what was a pedestrian running attack. Bennett was also a pretty good pass-catcher and tight end Jackie Harris rounded out the targets. The offensive line failed to produce any Pro Bowl talent. On the surface, this offense should have been above-average at best. But with Favre, Sharpe and head coach Mike Holmgren working the Xs and Os, they ended up sixth in the NFL in points scored.

The defense was similarly top-heavy in talent, with White producing another Pro Bowl campaign and getting 13 sacks. Bryce Paup was a rising star outside linebacker, adding eleven sacks and giving offensive coordinators someone other than White to worry about blocking. LeRoy Butler was the best strong safety in football, a tough hitter and intercepting six balls. There was a big dropoff after these three, but they were enough to rank the Pack ninth in the league in points allowed.

Green Bay opened at home at old Milwaukee County Stadium, where they played three home games a year prior to 1995, and blew out a bad Los Angeles Rams team. Favre went 19/29 for 264 yards, with Sharpe catching seven balls for 120 yards. The Packers outrushed the Rams 138-53 and cruised 36-6. All was finally well with the world.

Not so fast. The Philadelphia Eagles were a perennial contender and came to town next. Green Bay took a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter, but couldn’t run the ball and lost 20-17. After a bye week, the Packers went to Minnesota. Green Bay played some really good red-zone defense, not allowing a touchdown. But the Vikes did get five field goals and handed the Pack a 15-13 loss. After these two disappointments, no one could be surprised when they went to defending Super Bowl champion Dallas and got their clock cleaned 36-14.

After all the hype of summer, was this just the same old Packers? They were 1-3 and now a Sunday night visit from John Elway and the Denver Broncos was looming as an early must-win.

Green Bay came out with the appropriate urgency. Harris had a big game catching the football and the Packers were ahead 30-7 after three quarters. But this was a sloppily played game. Both teams ended up with 10-plus penalties. Favre threw three interceptions. And this was Elway, the master of the comeback and a team that would eventually get to the playoffs. Denver closed the gap to 30-27 and got the ball back.

Enter Reggie White. The Minister of Defense hadn’t made this move to let things get away before they even started. He sacked Elway three times on the final drive and preserved the win. All of Green Bay could exhale as they entered another bye week (1993 was a year the NFL experimented with a double-bye).

The schedule loosened up a bit on the far end of the bye. Green Bay went to lowly Tampa and blasted the Buccaneers 37-14. Favre threw four touchdowns while Thompson ran for 105 yards. The following week, the rival Chicago Bears came north. In a physical game, the Packers played it close to the vest and led 10-3 in the fourth quarter when Thompson’s 17-yard touchdown run sealed the win.

Monday Night Football wasn’t something Green Bay had seen a lot of in their two-decades long fling with irrelevance. They went to Kansas City, where Joe Montana was in the first of his two seasons with the Chiefs. The Packers did not play well. They turned the ball over six times. Two drives that got inside the KC five-yard line had to end with field goals. It’s somewhat surprising they only lost by a respectable 23-16. But they were back to .500 at the regular season’s halfway point.

Another road trip awaited, this one to New Orleans. The Saints were another team lurking on the playoff fringe and this game would be extremely significant before all was said and done. The Packer offensive line struggled on the road, allowing six sacks and only clearing room for 69 rushing yards. But the Packer defense countered with five sacks of their own, two by White. They got five turnovers. Favre, for all his youth and already developing reputation as a gunslinger, made fewer mistakes and that was the difference in a 19-17 win.  

A stretch of three straight divisional games awaited. Detroit visited Milwaukee. Green Bay first led 10-0, then trailed 17-16 in the fourth quarter. Favre was the difference, going 24/33 for 259 yards and leading another ten-point burst to close the game and the 26-17 win.

Tampa Bay was up next (the Bucs were in the old NFC Central prior to 2002 along with the NFC North’s four current teams). In a bad weather game right after Thanksgiving, the Packers trailed 10-6 in the fourth quarter until Favre flipped a two-yard TD pass to Sharpe for the win.

A road trip to Chicago saw the Packers dig an early 17-7 hole and Favre went to the air often. He threw 54 passes, completing 36 and producing over 400 yards. They were still in the game at 23-17, but in the fourth quarter Favre’s third interception of the afternoon went back to the house and sealed a 30-17 defeat.

With the playoff race still tightly packed, Green Bay went to play San Diego, a team on the AFC playoff fringe. The Packers played clean football, picked off three passes, stopped the run and won 20-13. They were sitting on an 8-5 record going into the season’s final three games, squarely in position to make the playoffs and in the midst of a three-time fight with the Vikings and Lions for the division crown.

Minnesota was coming to County Stadium. Favre played well, going 20/33 for 256 yards. Sharpe caught six balls for 106 yards. But the Packer weaknesses caught up with them. There was no running game. The more balanced Vikes ran for over 150 yards. Even though Green Bay only turned it over twice, Minnesota never did. A 21-17 loss put the Packers back on the brink.

The win over New Orleans earlier in the year loomed enormous. The Packers were 8-6 and the Saints were 7-7. That November 14 trip to the Bayou explained the flip in the standings and also gave Green Bay the tiebreaker edge. If the Packers could get another win, they would be home free.

But the schedule wasn’t easy. The playoff-bound Los Angeles Raiders were up next. A road trip to Detroit was the finale. And a different generation of Packer fans didn’t have the same confidence they might have today when facing challenging times.

One thing Green Bay and their fans did know was cold weather and the day after Christmas in Wisconsin was absolutely frigid. The Packers and Raiders were both playing cautiously. It was working for Green Bay. They led 7-0 at half. That lead nudged to 14-0 after three quarters. Then came the play that changed the Packers forever.

It was a big play on its face. Buter scooped up a fumble on the Raider 25 and raced into the end zone. The play all but sealed the win and a playoff berth. But in his excitement, Butler went racing through the end zone and leapt into the stands. It was the first instance of what today is known as “The Lambeau Leap” and is done after every Packer touchdown at home.

Going into the final week, Green Bay, Detroit and Minnesota were all going to the playoffs. The Vikings were going to finish second and be the 5-seed. The Packers and Lions were going to play each other in the 3-6 game in the NFC bracket. But where would be determined by what happened in the finale at the Silverdome.

Knowing the bigger picture took some of the steam out of this game and Detroit’s great running back Barry Sanders sat out. Although that made what happened all the more disappointing. Backup Lion running back Eric Lynch went for 115 yards. Favre threw four interceptions. A 20-16 lead after three quarters turned into a 30-20 loss. It didn’t mean elimination, but it did deny the Packers their first NFC Central title in over twenty years and denied the city of Green Bay its first home playoff game since ’82.

Six days later, everyone was back at the Silverdome for a noon kickoff that would begin wild-card weekend. Sanders was back in uniform. And oh, did Barry and Brett ever put on a show. Sanders went off for 169 yards rushing. Favre went 15/26 for 204 yards. With the future Hall of Famers meeting the moment, the game was a classic.

Detroit seemed to have the upper hand, with a 17-14 lead, having rattled Favre with a Pick-6 and on the verge of going in again. Packer safety George Teague made the second-most remembered play of this game, intercepting a pass in the end zone and going 101 yards the other way. Detroit still bounced right back and took a 24-21 lead, which set us up for the most remembered play of the game.

Green Bay had moved to the 40-yard line, getting close to field goal range and tying the game. Favre rolled to his left. Making a play that few quarterbacks could make, he stopped pivoted, and threw a beautiful pass all the way across the field. Sharpe was wide open, with the Lion secondary likely assuming that no one would try such a move when they were only ten yards from field goal range. Sharpe waltzed into the end zone untouched. Ballgame, Pack wins 28-24.

A divisional round date in Dallas awaited the following Sunday. The early afternoon kickoff got away from Green Bay in the second quarter. They led 3-0, but Dallas ripped off 17 points before half, then took a 24-3 lead in the third quarter. The game followed the same dynamic as the regular season meeting here in early October—Favre and Sharpe were doing their thing, but there was no running game and Dallas just had too many weapons. The final was deceptively respectable at 27-17.

It was still a breakthrough year for Green Bay. They were finally in the playoffs. This was the second of three straight 9-7 years, two of which ended in the postseason. This run from 1992-94 was what laid the groundwork for the greater victories this franchise would achieve by the second half of the 1990s.

Houston Astros Playoff History: A Legacy Of LCS Thrillers

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The Houston Astros are set to make their first appearance in the American League Championship Series on Friday night against the New York Yankees. If the franchise’s history in the National League is any indication, there are some thrills in store. Over the course of their 50-year run as an NL team (1962-2012), the Astros reached the NLCS four times and every one stands the test of time…

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1980: In the days when this round was best-of-five, the Astros and Philadelphia Phillies went the full five games. Four of them went extra innings. The last two saw multiple lead changes in the late innings.

I watched this series when I was ten years old and the drama still sits in my mind like it was yesterday (yes, I realize that’s an indication I need to get out more often—but also an indication of how good the baseball was). This link has the game-by-game narrative of the greatest LCS ever played.

1986: Everyone remembers how the 108-win New York Mets barely escaped the Boston Red Sox in the World Series this year, thanks to an ill-fated groundball through the legs of Bill Buckner. Not enough people remember the Mets were pushed to the brink by the Astros. Houston’s Mike Scott was coming off a Cy Young season and had dominated to win Games 1 & 4. He was on deck for Game 7, the Astros had a 3-0 lead late in Game 6…and the bullpen coughed up the lead, the game went 16 innings and the Mets survived.

By the admission of the Mets’ players at the time—a group that included Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry—they knew they couldn’t hit Scott and it’s what drove New York’s desperation in Game 6. This link has the game-by-game narrative to one of the more underrated LCS battles in league history.

2004: A seven-game battle between the Astros and St. Louis Cardinals is overshadowed in the history books by the Red Sox-Yankees ALCS that same year and Boston’s historic comeback. The Houston-St. Louis series was tense all the way through. There were walkoff home runs in Games 5 & 6., one each way. Carlos Beltran was unstoppable. The Astros had Roger Clemens on the mound for Game 7, but came up short.

2005: It was rematch time for Houston and St. Louis. The Astros were a decided underdog, but won three of the first four. In the ninth inning of Game 5, they led 4-2 with closer Brad Lidge on the mound and a home crowd to celebrate. With two men on, Albert Pujols hit one of the longest home runs you’ll ever see. It left the crowd so stunned and quiet that players could recall hearing Pujols’ feet hit the ground as he trotted around the bases.

Fortunately for Houston fans, the Pujols home run ended up in the same historical category as Rajai Davis’ dramatic blast for Cleveland in Game 7 of last year’s World Series—it was thrilling, but it didn’t ultimately change the outcome. Roy Oswalt took the ball for Game 6 back in St. Louis and with the crowd smelling blood, Oswalt silenced everyone and put Houston into the World Series for the first and only time.

The Astros remain on the march for what would be their first championship. If they do it by beating the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers (the three teams with payrolls north of $200 million), all in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, it’s fair to say Houston will be America’s Team. But win or lose, if their LCS history teaches us anything, it’s that the excitement is just getting started.

1992 Sports: An Epic Shot & A Repeat Barrage

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This article offers a snapshot of 1992 sports, a year defined by an epic shot in the NCAA Tournament, and a parade of teams either closing repeat titles, getting close to doing such, or starting repeat runs.

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The Shot Heard ‘Round The World: To a previous generation this phrase means Bobby Thomson’s walkoff home run to win the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants. To another generation it’s the dramatic end to the Duke-Kentucky regional final in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke was the #1 seed in the East and the favorite to win repeat national titles, a feat not done since the UCLA dynasty. Kentucky was back in the limelight, after a brief stretch in the NCAA doghouse, and rebuilt by Rick Pitino. The Wildcats were the #2 seed, and the two teams squared off in Philadelphia.

For forty minutes of regulation and then 4:58 of overtime, the game already earned a special place in college basketball lore. Bobby Hurley scored 22 and dished 10 assists for Duke. Jamal Mashburn scored 28 and grabbed 10 rebounds for Kentucky. It was the Wildcats that took a 103-102 lead with two seconds left. Then came the play that’s now shown on highlight reels every March.

Duke’s Grant Hill, already with six assists to go with ten rebounds,  took the ball under his own basketball and rifled a three-quarters court bullet pass that national Player of the Year Christian Laettner caught, as the Kentucky defenders did not contest the pass. Laettner was 9-for-9 from the floor when he caught the pass and had scored 29 points. By the time he finished coming down, spinning and putting up a turnaround jumper from the foul line, you could make that 10-for-10 with 31 points and one of college basketball’s great finishes.

The Final Four was still ahead and it was a good one, as Duke turned back a stiff challenge from Indiana, and had to pull away from Michigan in the second half to win their second straight national title. But the play, and the game everyone remembers took place in Philadelphia. Click here to read a complete account of the 1992 Final Four.

The Fab Five: Michigan reached the NCAA final, and doing it as a 6-seed made it surprising, but not necessarily historic on its face. Kansas, after all, had won a national title in 1988 out of the 6-hole and N.C. State did the same in 1983. But those teams had senior leadership. Michigan was different—they started five freshman, the first team ever to do so and reach the national championship game.

Chris Webber and Jalen Rose would go on to have solid NBA careers, and Juwan Howard a pretty good one. Jimmy King and Ray Jackson didn’t have an impact at the pro level, but were solid college players. Together, they made history in Ann Arbor.

Michigan had to beat the top two seeds in the Southeast Regional at Lexington, ironically the same site the Wolverines had to go through en route to the 1989 NCAA title. Rose scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while holdover Eric Riley put up a 15/10 in the win over 2-seed Oklahoma State.

Then it was overtime against top seed Ohio State, the biggest non-football game these two archrivals have ever played. Rose was again strong, with 20 points and he was the regional’s Most Outstanding Player. Webber posted a 23/11 and Michigan survived, 75-71.

At the Final Four, the Wolverines survived Cincinnati, and led Duke by a point at the half before the dream finally ended. But what a historic ride it was.

Jordan Goes Back-To-Back: Repeat championships were the order of the day in basketball, not just in college, but at the NBA. Michael Jordan’s Bulls had joined Duke in making 1991 their breakthrough year, and now the Bulls joined the Blue Devils in ratifying their place in history in 1992.

Chicago dominated the regular season with 67 wins, thanks to Jordan’s 30 ppg and he won his third MVP award. The Bulls got one stiff challenge in the playoffs, when Pat Riley’s New York Knicks took them to seven games in the second round, but otherwise, Chicago was mostly in control and sealed their second straight title by beating Portland four games to two. Click here to read a complete account of the 1992 NBA Finals.

Seven-Game Battles In The East: We mentioned Chicago and New York going at it for the full seven games in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semi-finals. They weren’t the only ones. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics also went the distance, as the Eastern semis provided the 1992 NBA postseason its strongest element of drama.

The Knicks had been taken over Pat Riley, the head coach of the Showtime-era Los Angeles Lakers. They were built around Patrick Ewing in the middle, who’d averaged 24 points/11 rebounds a game, and a good point in now-Golden State head coach Mark Jackson, who distributed eight assists a night. Xavier McDaniel, Gerald Wilkins and John Starks filled in the gaps, and the Knicks relied heavily on a physical brand of defense.

Jordan did not have a deep supporting cast around him. Scottie Pippen averaged 21 ppg and was an excellent defender, but beyond Horace Grant’s rebounding, the Bulls were dependent on their star. New York got 34 points/11 rebounds from Ewing in the opener, as the Knicks swiped Game 1 and took homecourt advantage.

Chicago won Game 2 and then reclaimed homecourt edge with a 94-86 win in Game 3, as Jordan and Pippen were too much for Ewing, who didn’t get any help. The Knicks turned around and dominated the fourth quarter of Game 4 though, tying up the series.

The Bulls’ defense contained Ewing in Game 5 and Jordan lit up Chicago Stadium for 37 points in a eight-point win, but New York again owned the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden, pulling away to win Game 6.

Game 7 was tight for the first half and Chicago only led by five. But it was Jordan’s day, and he racked up 42 points, with the Bulls pulling away to a 110-81 win.

Cleveland had the misfortune of being in Jordan’s conference at the time of his rise, but this was a good 57-win basketball team that had Brad Daugherty in the post, Larry Nance at forward and sharpshooter Mark Price on the perimeter.

Boston was at an in-between point in their history. They still got contributions from Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, and when Larry Bird’s back allowed him on the floor, the Legend averaged 20 ppg. The Celtics were led though, by up-and-comer Reggie Lewis and his 21 ppg, and other new faces like Kevin Gamble, Dee Brown and current Denver Nuggets coach Brian Shaw.

Bird’s back was ailing badly by this point in the season and he was coming off the bench for limited minutes. Daugherty slapped up a 26/17 game in the opener, keyed a big Cleveland rebounding edge and a 101-76 rout. But behind the mix of the old and new—27 from Parish and 26 from Lewis—the Celts took Game 2, 104-98.

Boston nearly took complete control of the series back at the Garden. Parish and Ed Pinckney led a decisive rebounding effort that resulted in a 110-107 win. Game 4 went to overtime, but the Cavs got a combined 78 points from Nance, Price and Daugherty and escaped, 114-112.

Daugherty’s 28/9 performance led Cleveland to an easy rout in Game 5. Then Bird came into the starting lineup and gave his team 37 minutes in Game 6, as the Celts came back with a rout of their own.

It was time for another Game 7 and Bird did start and give 30-plus minutes. But Daugherty again had a 28/9 game on his home floor and Cleveland’s fast start held, en route to a 122-104 win.

Cleveland gave Chicago a fight, but the Bulls were able to close out in six games, with the security of a home Game 7 still in their back pocket. It was the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs where the drama was in 1992.

How Bout ‘Dem Cowboys: The Dallas Cowboys considered themselves the NFL’s proudest franchise, but they hadn’t won the Super Bowl since 1977, nor been there since 1978. They hadn’t even played for the NFC Championship since 1982, when they lost a great battle in San Francisco. Perhaps it was appropriate then, that the signature moment on the way back to glory came in Frisco.

Dallas had reached the second round of the playoffs in 1991 and they opened ’92 by sending a loud and clear message to the rest of the league, with a 23-10 thumping of defending Super Bowl champion Washington on Monday night football, a game not nearly as competitive as the score makes it sound.

The Cowboys were 6-1 and playing a key regular season game against Philadelphia the only team to beat them in the early going. An Eagle win would pull them into a tie for first and give them the tiebreaker. Dallas trailed 7-3 in the third quarter and it was tied 10-10 in the final period, but behind 163 rushing yards from Emmitt Smith, Dallas churned out a 23-10 win and they never looked back in the division. They finished the season 13-3 and got the #2 seed in the NFC.

Philadelphia awaited again in the second round of the playoffs, after Dallas rested up with a first-round bye. Troy Aikman threw two first-half touchdown passes , the Cowboys built up a 17-3 lead and coasted 34-10.

That set up the battle with top-seeded San Francisco in a battle between the two teams considered the best in football. The two offenses alone combined for 13 Pro Bowlers and each was in the top five of the NFL defensively.  In the first half, the battle looked even as the teams went to the locker room tied 10-10.

It was the Cowboys who delivered the blows coming out in the second half, driving for a touchdown immediately after kickoff and taking a 24-13 lead into the early part of the fourth quarter. But San Francisco came back with a short touchdown pass from Young to Jerry Rice, and when the Cowboys were pinned back inside their own 20, the Bay Area crowd still had hope.

Aikman threw a simple slant over the middle to Alvin Harper. The receiver broke through and turned it into a huge play, taking it all the way down inside the 49er 10-yard line. A short touchdown pass by Aikman sealed the 30-20 victory. Ultimately, turnovers were the difference, with Dallas playing mistake-free while San Francisco gave it away four times.

The Cowboys were favored to win the Super Bowl over the Buffalo Bills and they did just that. After a somewhat rocky start, the turnover edge from the NFC Championship Game turned into the turnover landslide of the Super Bowl. Dallas forced a Super Bowl record nine, and rolled to a 52-17 win. They were back atop the NFL world, and it wouldn’t be for the last time with this cast of characters. Click here to read a complete account of the 1992 Super Bowl.

Toronto Breaks Through: The World Series trophy had yet to live the confines of the United States. The Montreal Expos spent the first half of the 1980s knocking on the door, but never breaking through. The Toronto Blue Jays took up the mantle of Canada starting in 1985, but hadn’t made it over the top.

The Blue Jays got unexpectedly tough battles in the AL East, with both the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles overachieving and hanging in the race to the final week. Toronto went out and acquired starting pitcher David Cone at the trade deadline to shore up the weakest area of their team, and they hung on.

Toronto faced Oakland in the American League Championship Series, but the A’s weren’t quite as awe-inspiring as the team that beat the Blue Jays in the 1989 ALCS. The big moment came in Game 4. The Blue Jays lead the series 2-1, but were trailing this game by a 6-1 count after six innings and the A’s had MVP closer Dennis Eckersley awaiting.

Instead, it was second baseman Roberto Alomar who took over. He doubled to start a three-run rally in the eighth. Then he beat Eckersley with a two-run homer in the ninth to tie it. Toronto won 7-6 in eleven innings and eventually closed it out in six games. Alomar hit .423 for the series and was named ALCS MVP.

The World Series was now in Canada for the first time, and this close to the prize, the Blue Jays didn’t let it slip from their grasp. They beat the Atlanta Braves in six games to bring home the championship. Click here to read a game-by-game account of the 1992 World Series.

NLCS Epic: It was the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7, and the Atlanta Braves trailed the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0. How it gotten to this point, the Braves must have surely wondered.

It was a rematch of the previous year’s NLCS, where Atlanta had upset Pittsburgh with consecutive road wins in Games 6 & 7. Now the Pirates were trying to return the favor.

Atlanta had gotten off to a great start in this NLCS, winning the opener 5-1 behind John Smoltz and then routing Pittsburgh 13-5 in Game 2. It was a then-unknown knuckleballer named Tim Wakefield who settled things down for the Pirates, winning Game 3 by a 3-2 count. Atlanta took Game 4 thanks to four hits from Otis Nixon, but Pittsburgh stayed alive with a 7-1 in Game 5. Ironically, that was the same score by which the Pirates won Game 5 of the 1979 World Series, another elimination setting that still sent them on the road needing two more.

The Pirates looked ready to wake up the echoes of ’79, when they blasted Tom Glavine for eight second-inning runs in Game 6, making Wakefield’s second series win an easy one. Then Pittsburgh ace Doug Drabek took that 2-0 lead into the ninth inning the next night and the comeback was just about complete.

But Terry Pendleton opened with a double down the line. An error and a walk loaded the bases and got Drabek out of the game. A sac fly and another walk had the bases reloaded and the score now 2-1. Pittsburgh closer Stan Belinda got Brian Hunter to pop out, and now all that was left was unknown pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera.

Cabrera lashed a single to left, and Barry Bonds, playing his final year in the Steel City came up throwing. But his arm wasn’t good enough to throw out slow-footed Sid Bream who came around from second base with the game’s winning run. Atlanta was going back to the World Series. Pittsburgh hasn’t back to the postseason—nor even had a winning season—since.

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Alabama Returns To The Top: The Alabama football program hadn’t won a national title in the post-Bear Bryant era and only occasionally had they even challenged for one. That finally changed under Gene Stallings. Though the Tide didn’t have a demanding schedule, they kept winning, and when that included a victory over a good Florida team in the first-ever SEC Championship Game—the first conference championship game in college football history, Alabama got a crack at top-ranked Miami in the Sugar Bowl.

‘Bama  shocked the nation by not simply beating Miami, but routing the ‘Canes, 34-13. Under the leadership of Gene Stallings, and a stalwart defense, they were back atop the college football world. Click here to read a complete account of the 1992 Sugar Bowl.

The Penguins Join The Repeat Barrage: We’ve seen that Duke and the Chicago Bulls both repeated. The Toronto Blue Jays and Dallas Cowboys set the stage for doing the same in 1993. Miami football came within one game of doing so. With this seemingly as the theme for 1992, should we be surprised that it extended to the NHL?

Pittsburgh was led by the goal-scoring trio of Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens and Joe Mullen, and though they started the playoffs slow, the Pens eventually got postseason fire. They won their final 11 games, including a sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks to hoist the Cup.  Click here to read a more complete account of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals and the playoff ride of the ’92 Penguins. 

The Road To The 1992 Final Four

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The city of Minneapolis had been the epicenter of the sports world from late 1991 to the end of March in 1992. The Twins had made—and won—the World Series the previous October. The Super Bowl, won by the Washington Redskins, was held there in January. Finally, the Metrodome would host the 1992 Final Four. Duke, Indiana, Michigan and Cincinnati came to the Twin Cities. Here’s a look at the road they all took to get there…

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DUKE

Mike Krzyzewski was old hat at the Final Four by 1992. This was the sixth time in seven years he had brought Duke to this stage and for the first time he was a defending NCAA champion. Duke was looking to become the first team since the UCLA Dynasty in 1973 to win a repeat championship.

The Blue Devils were loaded, with the key players of the 1991 title team back in tow. Christian Laettner averaged 22 points/8 rebounds per game and won National Player of the Year honors. Bobby Hurley ran the offense, averaging seven assists per game and he could also shoot the rock—42% from three-point range and 13ppg.

Sophomore Grant Hill was coming into his own as an all-around player and averaged 16 points/6 rebounds/4 assists. Brian Davis and Thomas Hill rounded out a lineup where everyone hit a double-figure average in points. Duke opened the season ranked #1 in the country. They held that ranking wire-to-wire, went 28-2 and won the ACC’s regular season and tournament titles. Duke was an easy choice to be the #1 seed in the East Regional.

The Blue Devils opened March Madness with an 82-56 tuneup win over Campbell, where the Devil defense only gave up 16 points in the first half. They did a similar number on Iowa in the Round of 32, jumping out to a 48-24 lead at intermission. Brian Davis finished with 21 points/10 rebounds in a 75-62 win. Duke was on its way to Philadelphia for the regionals.

It was a chalk bracket, with the top four seeds all advancing. Duke beat Seton Hall 81-69 in the Sweet 16 on the strength of free-throw shooting—the Blue Devils went 24/31 from the line compared to only 8/14 for the Hall. On the other half of the bracket, 2-seed Kentucky got 30 points from Jamal Mashburn in an 87-77 win over a Massachusetts team coached by John Calipari.

The stage was set for a regional final that would take its place on the short list on the greatest college basketball games of all time. Duke shot a sizzling 65 percent and got 28 points at the foul line. Kentucky answered by shooting 57 percent and drilling twelve treys. Hurley dished ten assists and scored 2. Thomas Hill knocked down 19. Mashburn went off for 28/10 and Wildcat guard Sean Woods scored 21—including a jumper that put Kentucky ahead 103-102 with two seconds left in overtime.

Duke looked finished, but Grant Hill rifled a perfect three-quarters court pass to Laettner who caught it at the foul line. He then capped his 31/7 night with a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to win 104-103. Laettner was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player and the Blue Devils were back in the Final Four.

MICHIGAN

Michigan basketball had started to slip after their improbable run to the 1989 NCAA title. They went out in the Round of 32 in 1990 and then had a losing season in 1991. Head coach Steve Fisher had to prove he could get the job done and he brought in the most heralded recruiting class in college basketball history. Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson were called the “Fab Five” and it wasn’t long before they formed an all-freshman starting lineup.

Webber was the best player, averaging 16/10, with Rose not far behind posting an 18/4/4 line. Howard joined Webber as a strong post presence with an 11/6. Michigan had the ups and downs of youth, but they still finished the season 20-8, took third in a competitive Big Ten and were a 6-seed in the Southeast Regional.

Rose led the way past Temple with 19 points/8 assists as the Wolverines won 73-66. Then they caught a big break when 3-seed Arizona was upset by East Tennessee State. Michigan took advantage, getting 30 from Webber, another 19-point game from Rose, who added 10 assists, and 14 from King. The win was easier than the 102-90 final made it appear.

There were no bracket breaks in Lexington. The Wolverines would have to go the region’s top two seeds to get to Minneapolis. Rose had another big game against Oklahoma State, with 25 points/11 assists. Webber was quiet, but Eric Riley came off the bench to grab ten rebounds and Michigan’s edge on the glass was key to their 75-72 win.

A familiar foe awaited in the regional final. Ohio State had won the Big Ten and in the Sweet 16 ousted North Carolina behind 21/9 from Lawrence Funderburke. The 80-73 win set up the biggest basketball game in the storied history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

Webber bounced back with a 23/11 game. Ohio State’s star Jim Jackson scored 20 points, but only shot 9-for-21. Michigan’s 54%-43% edge in shooting from the floor was the difference in a thrilling 75-71 overtime win. Rose delivered another solid performance, with a 20/6/4 line and secured Most Outstanding Player honors. The freshmen were going to the Final Four.

INDIANA

Indiana was seeking its first Final Four since their national championship season of 1987. Bob Knight’s program won Big Ten titles in 1989 and 1991 and came into 1992 with big expectations. They were ranked #2 in the preseason polls and were led by Calbert Cheaney, who averaged 18 points/5 rebounds per game from his small forward spot.

Cheaney was supported by four other starters who all scored in double-figures. Eric Anderson, a senior, and freshman Alan Henderson rounded out a three-forward frontline. Damon Bailey and Greg Graham led the way in the backcourt. The regular season didn’t quite meet expectations—a late hiccup cost the Hoosiers the Big Ten title—but they still finished 23-6 and were seeded #2 in the West for the NCAA Tournament.

Henderson controlled an overmatched Eastern Illinois team with 19 points/11 rebounds in the 94-55 win that opened the Dance. That set up a big battle with 7-seed LSU, who was led by Shaquille O’Neal in the low post. Shaq was unstoppable in the Round of 32 game, with 36 points/12 rebounds. But he was also alone. Cheaney knocked down 30 to answer. Hendeson added another 19. Indiana outscored LSU from the free throw line, 23-12. That was the difference in the 89-79 win that sent to the Hoosiers to Albuquerque.

One year earlier, Indiana had knocked out Florida State in the Round of 32. This time, the Hoosiers and Seminoles met in the Sweet 16. Third-seeded FSU had a future pro in the backcourt with Sam Cassell, and he got 19 points in this game. Once again, Indiana’s balance trumped the lonely battle of an opposing star. Anderson poured in 24 points and Graham added 19. Cheaney, steady as she goes was good for 17/11. Another big free-throw scoring advantage, this time 25-10, was again key to the 85-74 win.

Indiana opened the regular season by losing to UCLA. They took full advantage of the chance for revenge against the region’s top seed. Cheaney and Bailey combined for 45 points, while Henderson grabbed twelve rebounds. Anderson capped off his Most Outstanding Player weekend with 17 more. It was no contest, as the Hoosiers led 44-29 by halftime and coasted into the Final Four with a 106-79 win.

CINCINNATI

Cincinnati was the outlier among the 1992 Final Four teams. While the other three programs all had recent Final Four appearances, the Bearcats had not been on this stage since a 1959-63 run that included the great Oscar Robertson. Cincy hadn’t even made the NCAA Tournament since 1977.

A tough head coach, Bob Huggins, got the program turned around and his fourth year saw the results. Herb Jones was the best player, with an 18/7 average. Nick Van Exel, a guard with the NBA in his future, averaged 12. Anthony Buford added 15 more and 6’9” Corie Blount was the top rebounder, with six per game. The Bearcats went 25-4, although they only got a 4-seed in the Midwest Regional as reward.

The road started close to home in Dayton, and the swarming defense that Huggins-coached teams have become known for in the ensuing years, was on display. They forced an astounding 33 turnovers in an 85-47 rout of Delaware. Cincinnati showed its rebounding muscle in a Round of 32 win over Michigan State. The Bearcats overcame 27 points from Spartan star Shawn Respert with a 36-25 edge on the glass. The 77-65 win sent Cincy to Kansas City for the regionals.

Cincinnati arrived to a gutted bracket. The Midwest’s top three seeds—Kansas, USC and Arkansas—had all failed to survive the opening weekend. The Bearcats were suddenly the region’s top remaining seed. Jones went for 24/6 in leading Cincy past feisty 9-seed UTEP, 69-67. The other Sweet 16 game in KC saw Memphis and Georgia Tech go to overtime. Afernee Hardaway poured in 32 for the Tigers. Jon Barry, a future ESPN analyst, hit 29 for the Yellow Jackets. It was Memphis who survived, 83-79.

After the excitement of the regional semis, the final was no contest. Cincinnati held Memphis to 36 percent shooting, while hitting 60% of their own shots. Jones was dominant, with a 23/13 line. Hardaway could only get off twelve shots for the Tigers. Behind Jones’ MOP performance, Cincy rolled to an 88-57 win and the Final Four.

THE 1992 FINAL FOUR

Michigan and Cincinnati were the undercard game that opened play on Saturday. Van Exel knocked down 21 and Buford added 18 more for the Bearcats, who led by three at the half. But the Wolverines were too strong underneath. Webber’s 16/11 line keyed a 45-27 rebounding edge. King added 17 more and Michgan pulled out a 76-72 win.

Another good game followed in the marquee Indiana-Duke game. The Hoosiers were ahead, 42-37 at halftime. But Duke got 26 from Hurley and they were getting to the free throw line while Indiana was not. The Blue Devils went 28/42 on the line compared to 12/16 for the Hoosiers. Duke appeared to have the game in hand until a flurry of three-point shots by Indiana’s Todd Leary cut the lead to 81-78 and IU got the ball back. Duke finally kept the ball out of Leary’s hands, made the stop and won the game.

History was going to be made on Monday night—either a repeat champion or an all-freshman startling lineup would prevail. Webber had another good game, with 14/11 and the freshmen led by a point at the half. But for the third time in this Final Four, the team trailing at halftime ultimately won the game. In this case, quite easily. Laettner finished with 19/7. Hill added 18 and Hurley’s seven assists helped seal his MOP weekend. Duke rolled to a 71-51 win and college basketball had its first repeat champ of the post-John Wooden era.

The 1992 NBA Finals: Jordan Shrugs His Way To Another Title

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The Chicago Bulls were looking for a repeat championship in the 1992 NBA Finals. The Portland Trail Blazers were no strangers to the big stage themselves, having reached the Finals in 1990 before losing to the Detroit Pistons. The question for the postseason was, could anyone slow down Chicago?

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Michael Jordan averaged 30 ppg in 1992 and won the MVP award. The Bulls won 67 games, ten more than anyone else in the league. But the Eastern Conference playoffs didn’t go quite as smoothly.

Chicago was pushed to seven games by the up-and-coming New York Knicks of Pat Riley, and then split the first four games against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals before taking the series in six games.

Portland had the talent to match up with Chicago. They were built around a great backcourt of Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler. Porter averaged 18 ppg, and Drexler was a terrific all-around talent who went 6’7” and averaged 25 points/6 rebounds/6 assists. The Blazers had a good interior rebounding trio of Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams and Kevin Duckworth.

With the Bulls having shown some vulnerability, the question now shifted to whether Drexler could at least come close to cancelling out Jordan, and then allow Portland’s superior supporting cast—beyond the all-around talent of Scottie Pippen and the rebounding prowess of Horace Grant, Jordan didn’t have a lot of help—to prevail.

If Jordan’s game had a weakness it was three-point shooting. He hit 51 percent behind the arc, but only 27 percent on the three-ball. In Game 1, the theory of giving him the trey, and the theory that he and Drexler could cancel each other out, went into the trash. Jordan was electric, hitting six straight three-pointers in the first quarter. At one point he turned and simply shrugged, a brief move that’s now a part of NBA lore.  Jordan finished with 39 points and the Bulls took a 122-89 rout.

Jordan had 39 more in Game 2, but unlike Game 1, Pippen struggled, shooting 6-for-19, and Portland got a big road win, 115-104. Just as the Blazers had in 1990, they would go home for the middle three games with homecourt advantage.

Drexler did what he could to help the cause, scoring 32 points in Game 3, but this time it was balance from Chicago that made the difference. Jordan knocked down 26 and the Bulls got 18 apiece from Pippen and Grant in a 94-84 win. Portland came out in Game 4 and played like a desperate team. The trailed in the fourth quarter, but hit the boards hard and rallied. The Blazers outrebounded the Bulls 45-33 and eventually won 93-88. It’s perhaps indicative of where this series was headed though, that this was the only game where Portland’s superior inside personnel produced a significant edge on the glass.

Game 5 provided the other big difference in the series and it was that between Jordan and Drexler. The latter was an extremely good player and he scored 30 points in the biggest game of his career. But he shot 9-for-21, and while that’s not bad, it’s not great. Meanwhile, Jordan knocked down 46 and did it on ruthlessly efficient 14-of-23 shooting. It was, for all practical purposes, the game that settled the series and the game that finished the theory of the two off-guards being on the same level.

There was still time for some more magic. Portland looked like they would force a Game 7 when they took a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 6. Drexler got his points, with 24, but again failed to do it efficiently, shooting 8-of-24.  Jordan, taking the same 24 shots, produced 33 points and the Bulls put on a big rally and won 97-93.

Chicago had its second straight title, and they were just getting started.

The Road To The 1986 Fiesta Bowl: Michigan & Nebraska

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The 1986 Fiesta Bowl brought together two traditional powers, Michigan and Nebraska, who had narrowly missed being in position to play for a national title, but still had a top-five national finish on the line when they met. Here’s a look back on the road the Wolverines and Cornhuskers took through the 1985 college football season and to their ultimate meeting on New Year’s Day in Tempe.

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Michigan was coming off the most disappointing season of Bo Schembecler’s tenure in Ann Arbor. They had gone 6-5 in 1984 and then missed a chance at redemption when they lost the Holiday Bowl to undefeated BYU, the eventual national champion. After having gone to a major bowl in eight of the ten seasons prior to ’84, including five Rose Bowls, Bo wasn’t going to take this lying down.

He had few believers though, and the Wolverines opened the season unranked. The key to their revival would be defense. They had two All-Americans, defensive tackle Mike Hammerstein and Brad Cochran in the secondary, and collectively, the unit was one of the best in the country.

Schemebecler produced his traditional strong running game, as Jamie Morris ran for over 1,000 yards, and Gerald White provided a good change of pace with over 500 more. There were quality receivers, starting with Paul Jokish, who caught 37 balls and 18.4 yards-per-catch was third-best in the Big Ten. Tight end Eric Kattus was effective underneath, catching 38 passes for 582 yards.

Overseeing it all, was a quarterback that would go on to achieve some notoriety, both here, in the NFL and as a head coach in both college and the pros—that would be Jim Harbaugh. The current Michigan head coach was an underrated quarterback in his day. He wasn’t highly regarded, like conference rival Chuck Long at Iowa. But Harbaugh completed 64 percent of his passes, got 8.7 yards-per-attempt and posted an 18/6 TD-INT ratio.

The Wolverines opened the season at home with Notre Dame. It was the final year for Irish head coach Gerry Faust and ND would struggle to a 5-6 finish. They were ranked #13 when they came to Ann Arbor and Michigan won 20-12. The Wolverines then played another ranked team that would disappoint and finish 5-6, that being #15 South Carolina. The result here was a 34-3 win and Michigan was now up to #12 in the polls.

No one could ever accuse Schembecler of ducking non-conference competition. He lined up his third straight preseason Top 20 team in the Maryland Terrapins and this was a team that would stay good throughout the season, winning the ACC title and their only losses—outside of this game—were to Miami and Penn State, both of whom had title shots on New Year’s Night.

Harbaugh was efficient, going 16/20 for 196 yards, regularly finding Kattus. The tight end caught six passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. The defense picked off Terps quarterback Stan Gelbaugh four times and Michigan posted a 20-0 shutout.

The Big Ten schedule was set to begin and the Wolverines were back in familiar territory as a Top 10 team. They blew out mediocre Wisconsin 33-6 and vaulted all the way to #3. A 31-0 rout at Michigan State, a good bowl-bound team with a 2,000-yard rusher in Lorenzo White, pushed Michigan to #2. It was time to go to Iowa.

The Hawkeyes were ranked #1 in the country and all of Big Ten Country was jacked up for this game. Long was a Heisman contender (he would finish an extremely close second to Auburn’s Bo Jackson). Michigan never got anything going offensively, but a couple big special teams play combined with great red-zone defense had them ahead 10-9. Then Long was able to mount a last-second drive and win with a field goal on the game’s final play. Michigan paid a very small price in the polls, only dropping to #4. But a Rose Bowl return was now a tough row to hoe.

Michigan bounced back and blew out a bad Indiana team, 47-15, but then played their worst offensive game of the season in a 3-3 tie to Illinois. The positive was that Ohio State had beaten Iowa, opening up the conference race. The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes were tied atop the league at 4-1, with the Wolverines and Illini in hot pursuit at 3-1-1.

The Michigan offense got unleashed the next two games, blowing out mediocre teams in Purdue and Minnesota by a combined 95-7. In the meantime, Iowa had blasted Illinois, narrowing the race to three teams. On the season’s final week the stakes were simple—if the Hawkeyes lost to Minnesota, then the Michigan-Ohio State winner would go to Pasadena. And even if Iowa won, the stakes for a major bowl invite were high.

Michigan and Ohio State were tied 10-10 at the half in Ann Arbor, but Harbaugh was playing brilliantly. He finished 16/19 for 230 yards and three touchdowns. The Wolverines clung to a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter and were on their own 23-yard line. Harbaugh found John Kolesar down the sidelines for a 77-yard touchdown pass that put the game out of reach. The 27-17 win moved Michigan to #5 in the polls and ticketed them for Tempe.

Nebraska had gone to nine major bowls since Tom Osborne became head coach in 1973. The last two years were marked by heartbreak at the goal-line—a legendary failed two-point conversion in the Orange Bowl that cost them a national title in 1983 and a failed fourth down at the goal line against Oklahoma that cost them a #1 ranking going into the bowls.

The 1985 edition of the Cornhuskers didn’t have the same kind of overwhelming talent, but they still had an honorable mention All-American on each side of the line of scrimmage—center Bill Lewis and defensive end Jim Skow. The lead running back was Doug DuBose, whose 1,161 yards were second in the old Big Eight.

Nebraska also had Tom Rathman at fullback, who rushed for nearly 900 yards and would end playing with Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers in his NFL career. Paul Miles ran for nearly 700 more, rounding out an exceptionally deep stable of backs.

The depth at running back was needed, because the QB tandem of McCathorn Clayton and Travis Turner was problematic at best. Neither quarterback completed even 40 percent of his passes and they combined to throw only 133 passes all season long.

Nebraska was ranked #9 to start the season and a 17-13 home loss to an eight-win team in Florida State quickly sent the Cornhuskers down to #18. They had a week to lick their wounds and welcome Illinois into Memorial Stadium.

The Huskers jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but the Illini came back and cut it to 17-10 in the second quarter. Clayton then hit a 64-yard pass—a single play that amounted to more than 10 percent of his passing yards on the season—that set up a DuBose touchdown. Nebraska would outrush Illinois 456-98, with DuBose going for 191. They took over the second half and rolled to a 52-24 win.

Expected routs of mediocre Oregon and woeful New Mexico were by a combined 101-7 and moved Nebraska back into the Top 10. The next game up was at Oklahoma State, where the Cowboys were ranked #5 and hungry to break into the Nebraska-Oklahoma duo that ruled the Big Eight.

Okie State also had Thurman Thomas, the future NFL MVP, whose 1,650 yards rushing easily led this conference. The Nebraska defense met the challenge and held Thomas to 71 yards, while DuBose ran for 139. After a scoreless first quarter, the Cornhuskers spotted the Cowboys a field goal, then ripped off 20 straight points by early in the third quarter.

Just as they had against Illinois though, the defense led Oklahoma State off the mat and the lead was cut to 20-17. It took touchdown runs by Rathman and Clayton to re-extend the lead and finally put the finishing touches on the 34-24 win. Wide receiver Rob Schintzler was an unexpected hero, catching four balls for 119 yards.

Nebraska had a bit of a letdown at woeful Missouri the next week, escaping 28-20, but they still nudged up to #5 in the polls. The Cornhuskers beat a pretty good Colorado team 17-7, and then rolled through the first three games of November. Nebraska beat Kansas State, Iowa State and Kansas by a combined 146-9, and were sitting pretty at #2 in the nation.

It was already known that top-ranked Penn State was going to the Orange Bowl to play the Nebraska-Oklahoma winner, so the Cornhuskers controlled their own destiny. What they couldn’t control, or do anything with, was the Sooner defense. The Cornhuskers were completely shut down in a 27-7 loss, where their only touchdown came on a long fumble return in the game’s final minute. They would settle for a Fiesta Bowl bid as a consolation prize, going to Tempe ranked #7.

Nebraska looked in control in the first half. DuBose ran for two touchdowns and the lead was 14-3 at halftime. The Cornhuskers would ultimately win the rushing battle 304-171, and the passing edge Michigan had with Harbaugh never materialized all game long.

But the Wolverines were the ones who made all the plays in the third quarter. They blocked a punt to set up one score. The Cornhuskers turned it over twice, setting up more gift points. Jamie Morris took off on an 88-yard touchdown run. A shocking 24-point third-quarter explosion gave Michigan a 27-14 lead.

Nebraska wasn’t done. They turned to Steve Taylor at quarterback, the man of the future turned into the man of the present. He ran for 76 yards, including a touchdown that cut the lead to six points. Michigan voluntarily took a safety that made it 27-23. Nebraska got one final chance at a desperation pass to the end zone, but Wolverine corner Garland Rivers picked it off with 28 seconds left.

Both programs would continue to be on the national stage and their more important links in history would come when they shared the national title in 1997, and later as conference rivals after Nebraska moved to the Big Ten for the 2011 season. But the 1986 Fiesta Bowl is one of those hidden little gems in college football history, when Michigan completed a redemption tour of a season that ended with them ranked #2 in the nation.

Sports History Articles Update: New Additions To The Museum

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There’s a lot going on at TheSportsNotebook in the way of sports history articles, activity that’s not always—or even usually—visible on the home page. Here’s a breakdown of some of the highlights in our Sports Museum, and some of the additions currently taking place.

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The crown jewel of the Museum is found on the Sports History Articles page. There’s a “best of” piece for each year since 1976, covering all four major professional sports, along with college basketball and college football. The page itself contains the explanation for the 1976 cutoff point, and we also honor the five-year waiting period of Hall of Fames, and end in 2009. Each July, a new year will be added.
1976 serves as a general cutoff point, but as the process of creating histories for individual sports and teams has begun, it makes sense to tweak that based on the historical flow. The big project that is now underway is developing a comprehensive historical package on each major league baseball season.
The Big Red Machine of Cincinnati won back-to-back World Series in 1975-76, and to get both of those teams included, we adjusted the timeframe to go to 1975. I also did the 1984 season, the year the Detroit Tigers dominated and the Chicago Cubs got their hearts ripped out in San Diego.
I’ve got visions of eventually going back to 1969, to pick up with the year that baseball expanded to 24 teams and introduced divisional play for the first time. But for now, 1975 is the starting point.
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1975 MLB SEASON
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1976 MLB SEASON
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1984 MLB SEASON
More seasons will be added with each passing week, and as they get built up, they’ll be added to the MLB History page.
A project to develop individual team histories is also underway. This is a substantial undertaking, and naturally requires some focus to begin. The teams currently being worked on are the Boston Red Sox, San Antonio Spurs and Notre Dame football.
Why these three? They bring a unique balance, starting with the obvious one of being different sports, and also being in different parts of the country. They also each fill a different niche for me personally.
The Red Sox are a labor of love, my favorite baseball team in my favorite city. Notre Dame is what I’ll call a heritage team—if you’re an Irish Catholic sports fan, ND football lurks in the background in the same way a cathedral, a chapel or a confessional would.
I won’t say I’m always a faithful Notre Dame fan—there are times they annoy me with the excessive preening, but I always think they’re interesting. And for different reasons, I’ve become interested in the Spurs—their extraordinary ability to implement team concepts in a league that thrives on promotion of the individual—is a terrific story.
I’ve started the Spurs project in 1990, the year David Robinson came to town.  The tracking of Notre Dame football goes back to 1975, which was Dan Devine’s first year in South Bend. And the Red Sox also start in ’75, when they were the foil for the Reds in an epic World Series.
The Notre Dame project is advanced enough to justify its own landing page, all the way into the late 1990s. The Spurs and Red Sox aren’t quite that far along, but steady progress is always being made. Below is a link to the ND page, and the most recent Spurs & Red Sox history pieces.
READ MORE ABOUT NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL HISTORY
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1998 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1977 BOSTON RED SOX
There’s also some other articles that appear in a more random fashion. For example, last week in reviewing the 1978 NFL season (the first year of the 16-game format and a fourth round of the playoffs), interesting stories surfaced about the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins. And no, I haven’t forgotten the Pittsburgh Steelers, who won the Super Bowl that year. We’ll likely have an e-book soon  available for download that will cover all six Steeler Super Bowl wins.
So that’s the gist of what’s going on in the Museum here at TheSportsNotebook.com. We approach each week looking to add a comprehensive major league baseball seasonal package, and to dig deeper into the modern histories of Notre Dame football, the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Red Sox.

2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals: Superman Trumps King James

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Over the last several years, LeBron James has become the NBA’s signature star, the consensus “greatest player in the world.” In that same timeframe, Dwight Howard has become synonymous with the word “diva”. But it wasn’t always so—in the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, “Superman”, as Howard modestly dubbed himself, trumped “King James” when Dwight’s Orlando Magic ousted LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Howard arrived in 2005 to an Orlando franchise that was on hard times. In 2007, the Magic made the playoffs and in 2008 they won a postseason series. They were ready for the next step in 2009. Howard averaged 21 points/14 rebounds per game and was first-team All-NBA.

He had Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis at the forward spots, combining for 35 points/11 rebounds a night. There was a talented young point guard in Jameer Nelson and a solid veteran backcourt presence in Rafe Alston, each double-digit scorers.

Orlando went 59-23 and won the Southeast Division. They eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round then ousted the defending champion Boston Celtics in the conference semi-finals. Even allowing that Boston’s Kevin Garnett was out with an injury, the Magic were coming on strong in the playoffs.

Cleveland had drafted LeBron prior to the 2003-04 season and got back into the playoffs in 2006. LeBron’s big coming-out party was in 2007 when he led an undermanned team to the NBA Finals before losing to the San Antonio Spurs.

The previous year, the Cavs had lost a Game 7 to the Boston team that would win the NBA title, in spite of LeBron dropping 48 in Game 7. This Cavs team, like the Magic, was ready to take another step in 2009.

LeBron had support from Mo Williams, the guard who knocked down 18 a game and Delonte West who chipped in 12. Rebounding support came from Anderson Varaejo and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who combined for 15 boards apiece. Cleveland also had Ben Wallace, the center who had been instrumental to the 2004 Detroit Pistons championship run. Wallace was 34-years-old and not the same player, but he still added seven rebounds a night.

Cleveland dominated the regular season, going 66-16 with James winning the first of what is currently four MVP awards. The Cavs then dominated the first two rounds of the playoffs, going 8-0 I sweeping out Detroit and the Atlanta Hawks.

There seemed to be little that could stand in the way of LeBron going head-to-head with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, a scenario that a league that often seems to get its way when it comes to matchups would love.

But even though Cleveland had more experience at this level of the postseason than did Orlando, it was the Cavs who seemed to have trouble executing at the big moments. They came out blazing in Game 1 and took a 14-point lead after the first quarter. LeBron was electric, shooting 20-for-30 and scoring 49 points. But Howard answered with 30 points/13 boards, Turkoglu dished 14 assists and Orlando turned the tide in the third quarter. The Magic would eventually prevail 107-106.

Game 2 went almost according to the same script. Cleveland was up 14 after a quarter. James was big-time, scoring 35. Orlando came back. This time though, Howard was limited to eight shots and Ilgauskas grabbed 15 rebounds, keying a Cleveland advantage on the glass. It was enough for the Cavs to survive 96-95.

Even with the win, Cleveland still had to reclaim homecourt advantage and the tendency of fast starts and slow fades was alarming.

Orlando held Cleveland to 37 percent shooting in Game 3—while James got his points, 41 in all, it came on 11-for-28 from the floor—and the Magic churned out a 99-89 win.

The fourth game was the one that, for all practical purposes, probably decided this series. LeBron came up big, with 44 points/12 rebounds. Howard was clutch, with 27/14. It was the role players and the bench that made the difference for Orlando. Alston scored 26 and Mickael Pietrus came off the bench to score 17. To put that in perspective, the entire Cleveland bench only scored 14. The game went to overtime and Orlando won 116-114.

There was still hope for Cleveland. Even down 3-1 in games, they only needed one road win and to defend their home floor. They did the latter in Game 5, but again couldn’t manage big leads. They jumped out to an early 17-point lead and gave it almost all back by halftime before finally re-asserting control in the fourth quarter and winning 112-102.

Howard played his best game of the series for his home fans in Game 6. Superman poured in 40 points and hauled down 14 rebounds. LeBron did not play well, shooting just 8-for-20. Orlando’s dominance of the inside, reflected by both Howard’s numbers and a 47-34 rebounding advantage were too much to overcome. Orlando won 103-90 and claimed the Eastern Conference title.

It looked like the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals might be the beginning a special rivalry. Things didn’t turn out that way. After Orlando lost the NBA Finals to Los Angeles, the Magic reached the conference finals in 2010 before losing to the Celtics and then fell off the edge of the earth. Howard left town for the Lakers, which was a disaster, and then signed with the Houston Rockets.

LeBron’s Cavs also lost to the Celtics in 2010, a bitter second-round loss. The following summer he made the famous (or infamous) “Decision” to go to the Miami Heat, where he won two titles and made the NBA Finals four times. Now he’s coming back to Cleveland.

Ultimately though, LeBron and Dwight’s public personas have moved in diametrically opposite directions in the ensuing five years, King James for the better, Superman for the worse. It seems hard to believe that it wasn’t that long ago that Dwight won the battle when they went head-to-head.

1983 N.C. State Basketball Brings March Madness To A New Era

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The development of the NCAA Tournament as a time of Madness had taken place in phases since 1975, a year that marked both the end of the UCLA dynasty and the inclusion of multiple teams from each conference in the event. The 1983 N.C. State basketball team represented the culmination of that development.

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1979 marked the first year one regional (the East, won by Penn) was gutted by upsets. 1980 marked the first year a Final Four was filled with dark horses. 1981 saw the first instance of a wild opening weekend throughout the bracket. All that was left was for a shocker of a national champion and Jim Valvano’s 1983 N.C. State team filled the bill. The Wolfpack’s ride was shocking both in terms of how unlikely a champion they were, and by the nature of their wins.

N.C. State needed to at least reach the final of the ACC tournament to even make what was then a 52-team field. In fact, most conventional telling of this team’s history say the Pack needed to win the league tournament and automatic bid. We’ll never know for sure, because win it is exactly what they did. N.C. State first upset North Carolina and Michael Jordan in the semis, then beat Virginia and National Player of the Year Ralph Sampson in the final.

Valvano’s team was seeded #6 in the West and in the first round against Pepperdine it looked over, when the Pack trailed by six with 24 seconds left. Though the shot clock and three-point line were being used in several conferences—including the ACC—neither was in effect for the NCAA Tournament.

N.C. State still forced overtime and then won. Two days later they trailed UNLV 70-69. The Rebels were at the line for a one-and-one to clinch it. The front end was missed, and N.C. State got a tip-in from Thurl Bailey with five seconds left to win. The unlikely ride went on to Ogden, UT and the Sweet 16.

After an easy win over Utah, the Pack was rematched with Virginia, the region’s top seed. Sampson’s last run at a title in a celebrated college career was still the biggest storyline. Sampson had 23 points/8 rebounds, but his supporting cast was non-existent and his team went 10/19 from the foul line. With guard Derek Whittenburg scoring 24 points, the Pack led 63-62 in the closing seconds and then stopped Virginia on a final possession where Sampson never saw the ball.

The Final Four saw State roll past another upstart in Georgia to win on Saturday and get their place in the final. Houston would be a heavy favorite. The Cougars were a #1 seed in the Final Four for the second straight year. Akeem Olajuwon was dominating the interior and Houston had put on a dazzling display in Saturday’s 94-81 win over Louisville, a game called “The Jamfest for the Ages” for how above-the-rim it all was.

Valvano forced a slowdown game, but Houston still led 52-45. Once again, a State opponent couldn’t hit their free throws and the Pack tied it 52-all and had the ball in the closing seconds. After a near-turnover, Whittenburg led a desperation 30-footer fly. It came up short, but Lorenzo Charles slipped in and dunked it home. The dunk, and Valvano running around the court remain perhaps the NCAA Tournament’s most lasting image.

 

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