May 11, 2014: A stampede occurs during a soccer game at the Stade Tata Raphaël in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Several people are killed, with different accounts citing 15 and 18 deaths.
The setting was a match between AS Vita Club, the home team, and TP Mazembe of Lubumbashi. They are the 2 most successful teams in the country: Mazembe have won 19 league titles, Vita Club 15. It is a rivalry, and, during the game, objects were thrown onto the pitch. The referee chose to delay play, and the police launched tear gas canisters into the stands, causing the stampede.
As with the Heysel disaster in Belgium, during the 1985 European Cup Final, it has been alleged that a rush of people into a wall caused the wall to collapse, raising the death toll.
Built in 1952 under Belgian rule as the Stade Roi Baudouin, for the King of Belgium, the stadium was renamed Stade du 20 Mai (for May 20, the anniversary of the founding of Zaire's ruling party) in 1967, and Stade Tata Raphaël (Father Raphael Stadium) in 1997, after the death of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Raphaël Marie Joseph de la Kethulle de Ryhove was a Belgian priest who got the stadium, and a previous one on the site, built.
The stadium was, and still is, best known as the site of "The Rumble in the Jungle," the fight were Muhammad Ali took the Heavyweight Championship of the World back from George Foreman in 1974.
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May 11, 2014 was a Sunday. In English soccer, this was the final day of the Premier League season. Manchester City beat East London team West Ham United, 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, to clinch the Premier League title. They won by 2 points over Liverpool, who needed a win and an Man City loss. Liverpool got their win, 2-1 over Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, but Man City did not cooperate.
The team I support, North London's Arsenal, beat Norwich City, 2-0 at Carrow Road in Norwich, Norfolk. They finished 4th. Six days later, they beat Hull City at Wembley Stadium in West London, to win the FA Cup.
There were 2 games played in the NBA Playoffs. The Indiana Pacers beat the Washington Wizards, 95-92 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington Paul George scored 39 points for the Pacers. And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 101-99 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Kevin Durant scored 40 in defeat for the Thunder.
There were also 2 games played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1 at Madison Square Garden. And the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild, 2-1 at the United Center in Chicago.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. The Yankees tied the game in the 9th inning on a home run by Mark Teixeira, but reliever Adam Warren blew it in the bottom of the 9th, allowing a double to Rickie Weeks, throwing a wild pitch to get Weeks to 3rd base, and a single to former Yankee Mark Reynolds. Derek Jeter, in his final season, went 1-for-5.
* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Citi Field. Rubén Tejada won it by singling Chris Young home in the bottom of the 11th inning.
* The Houston Astros beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 5-2 at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Miami Marlins, 5-4 at Petco Park in San Diego.
* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Dodger reliever Kenley Jansen began the top of the 10th inning by walking Ángel Pagán. He then allowed a single to Hunter Pence, and threw a wild pitch. Buster Posey was intentionally walked. Jansen allowed an RBI single to Pablo Sandoval. He struck Brandon Hicks out, but allowed an RBI single to Héctor Sánchez. J.P. Howell was brought in to relieve, and he got Gregor Blanco to fly out, but, with Mike Morse at bat, threw a wild pitch that scored Posey.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Washington Nationals, 9-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum).
* And the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-7 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
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