April 1, 1996: The University of Kentucky defeats Syracuse University, 76-67 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and wins the National Championship.
It is the Wildcats' 1st NCAA Tournament title in 18 years, their 6th overall. They would win again in 1998 and 2012 -- the latter breaking a pattern that had held since 1949: Whenever Kentucky won the NCAA title, the Yankees won the World Series: 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996 and 1998. And years with noted Kentucky flops also had noted Yankee flops: 1954, 1966, 1975, 1997 and 2015.
The title was also the last Final Four held at a venue with a seating capacity under 40,000. It was also the 1st for Kentucky coach Rick Pitino, who had previously taken Rhode Island’s Providence College to the Final Four. Today, he coaches Kentucky’s arch-rivals, the University of Louisville.
Kentucky had been put on probation in 1989, for the kind of scandal that some people suggested would have led to a suspension of the program, "the death penalty," if the team involved wasn't one of college basketball's "blue bloods." Eddie Sutton was fired, and Pitino, who had been coaching the New York Knicks, was brought in to stabilize things.
UK had fallen to 13-19 in 1989, and, in his 1st 2 seasons, Pitino got them to 14-14 and 22-6 -- in 1991, having the best record in the Southeastern Conference, but, as a result of the probation, ineligible for the SEC Championship and the NCAA Tournament. He got them to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1992 and the Final Four with a 30-4 record in 1993. They lost in the 1st round in 1994, but made the Elite Eight in 1995, and won the National Championship in 1996, going 34-2.
Pitino coached 1 more season, and in 1997, got the Wildcats back into the NCAA Tournament Final, losing to Arizona. He then got an offer he couldn't refuse, returning to the NBA to coach the Boston Celtics. His assistant, Tubby Smith, led Kentucky to the 1998 National Championship.
With the Celtics, missed the Playoffs 3 straight seasons and quit early in his 4th. Late in the 3rd season, he explained that great players of the past, like Larry Bird, were "not walking through that door." After that, he never had a chance with Celtic fans.
Later, he coached at Kentucky's arch-rivals, the University of Louisville, and led them to the 2013 National Championship. It came a year after a man often compared to Pitino, John Calipari, led Kentucky to a National Championship. But UL were stripped of the 2013 title and put on probation, for a scandal even more sordid than the one that brought him to Lexington.
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April 1, 1996 was a Sunday. It was also Opening Day for Major League Baseball, but it was touched by tragedy: Umpire John McSherry died of a heart attack while officiating at the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Montreal Expos, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The game was called, restarted the next day, and the Reds won, 4-1.
These other MLB games were played that day:
* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6 at Shea Stadium. Todd Hundley and Bernard Gilkey hit home runs for the Mets; John Mabry and Willie McGee for the Cards.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 10-8 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Florida Marlins, 4-0 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. It took the Pirates 3 pitchers, starting with 6 2/3rds innings from Paul Wagner, to pitch a 3-hit shutout against a weak Marlin team.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Mark Grace singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. For the Padres, Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4 with a walk, and Rickey Henderson went 0-for-4 with a walk.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-6 at... Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The extra stands that the Raiders demanded at the Oakland Coliseum, known as "Mount Davis" for their owner, Al Davis, weren't quite finished, so the A's had to play their 1st 6 "home games" of the season on the road, at the 9,000-seat Cashman Field, home to a Class AAA team.
* The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians were snowed out at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. The game was made up the next day, and the Yankees won, 7-1. Making his debut as the Yankees' regular shortstop, Derek Jeter hit his 1st major league home run, and made a fancy defensive play. Bernie Williams also hit a home run, and David Cone was the winning pitcher.
* The Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals were rained out at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The game was made up the next day, and the Orioles won, 4-2. Cal Ripken went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.
* The Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies opened the season against each other at Coors Field in Denver the next day, as scheduled, and the Rockies won, 5-3.
* The California Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers opened the season against each other at Milwaukee County Stadium the next day, as scheduled, and the Brewers won, 15-9.
* One game was played the night before, as ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball season-opener. The Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4, but did draw 2 walks. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-6, his single driving in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning. Randy Johnson struck out 14 batters in 7 innings, but was not involved in the decision.
Football was out of season. No games were scheduled in the NBA, but there were 4 games played in the NHL:
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.
* The Florida Panthers beat the Hartford Whalers, 3-2 at the Miami Arena.
* The Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators played to a tie, 1-1 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario. (The town was absorbed into Ottawa proper in 2001.)
* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.
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