June 15, 1995: Pat Riley quits as head coach and general manager of the New York Knicks. He tells the Madison Square Garden Corporation by sending them a fax.
Quitting by fax? You just don't do that. That's like breaking up with your girlfriend by text message.
And you thought he was so suave, and so cool. Actually, he ruined that reputation by changing his M.O.: With the Los Angeles Lakers, he was the director of "Showtime!" Following the title they won in 1980 under head coach Paul Westhead, Riley led them to titles in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988, losing in the Finals in 1983, '84 and '89. The greatest team the NBA has ever seen -- yes, better than the Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan that the Knicks simply couldn't get past (except in 1994, when Jordan was, um, away).
But with the Knicks, Riley brought scoring all across the NBA down, down, down. He was the basketball equivalent of George Graham's "Boring, Boring Arsenal," the difference being that Graham's Arsenal, unlike Riley's Knicks, won a League title. (Two, in fact.) In 4 seasons at The Garden, Riley won 3 Atlantic Division titles, but only got to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, and to the NBA Finals once, losing to the Houston Rockets in Game 7 in 1994. As Knick boss, Riley failed.
But he stuck with the Heat longer than the Lakers or the Knicks, winning a title as head coach in 2006; then, as team President, guiding them to 5 trips to the Finals and 2 more titles: Winning in 2012 and 2013; losing in 2011, 2014 and 2020. (UPDATE: They reached the Finals but lost again in 2023.)
In Los Angeles and Miami, "Riles" is loved. In New York, he is still despised, the basketball equivalent of Bill Belichick stiffing the Jets for the New England Patriots after 1 day -- except Pat did it first, paving the way.
*
June 15, 1995 was a Thursday. The NBA season ended the night before, when the Rockets completed a 4-game sweep of the Orlando Magic. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals, and the New Jersey Devils went on to sweep the Detroit Red Wings in 4 straight. Football was out of season.
And these 9 games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 9-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Sean Bergman was the winning pitcher, while Brian Boehringer only lasted 4 innings as the Yanks' starting pitcher. Danny Tartabull went 3-for-4 with an RBI, but the rest of the team only got 4 hits.
* The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 5-4 at Shea Stadium. The Mets scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to send the game to extra innings, and Joe Orsulak singled Todd Hundley home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th innign. This made Blas Minor a winning pitcher in relief of Pete Harnisch.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Montreal Expos, 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Greg Maddux pitched a 7-hit shutout, outpitching Pedro Martínez. Mike Kelly hit a home run, and Marquis Grissom went 4-for-4.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Tony Longmire hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th to win it.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-7 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Barry Bonds appeared as a pinch-hitter, and struck out.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Ray Lankford hit a home run. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.
* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* And the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Mark Gubicza allowed 1 hit, a single to Mark McGwire in the 4th. He also hit McGwire with a pitch in the 2nd, had Rickey Henderson reach on an error in the 3rd, and walked Rubén Sierra in the 6th. In contrast, A's starter Ron Darling allowed all 7 runs, and didn't get out of the 3rd inning.
No comments:
Post a Comment