June 19, 1999: Dallas' Controversial Cup

Puck: In net. Foot: In crease. Rule: In place.

June 19, 1999: The Dallas Stars win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1, in triple overtime, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

At 14:51 over the 3rd overtime, Brett Hull, frustrated through years of not reaching the Finals with the St. Louis Blues, scored off a rebound over a sprawling Dominik Hašek. It ended the longest Cup-clinching game ever. Another 25 seconds, and it would have surpassed Game 1 of 1990 (Edmonton over Boston) as the longest Finals game ever.

The Sabres protested, citing the NHL rule of the time that a player could not be credited with a goal if any part of his body was within the goal crease. The replay showed that Hull's right foot was in the crease. But the referees ruled that he had possession of the puck prior to entering the crease, making the goal legal, and the Stars the World Champions.

Before the next season, the NHL changed the rule, allowing players to score from within the crease freely, as long as they did not interfere with the goaltender.

Sabres fans from Plattsburgh in the north to Binghamton in the south, from Albany in the east to Cleveland in the west, still say they got screwed. And, given that no major league team from Western New York has won a World Championship since the Syracuse Nationals were NBA Champions in 1955, they need all the correct calls they can get.

But did they get screwed? Not really. The rule was in place. Was it a bad rule? Yes. Was the change made for the next season worse? Yes. But does anybody who wants the Sabres to win have a case? No, not as the rule was written at the time.

Think about it this way. You know what kind of person the typical North Texan is when he talks about politics or the Dallas Cowboys. Now, imagine that the goal had been waved off. And that the Sabres had gone on to win Games 6 and 7 and take the Cup. We'd have spent the last 23 years hearing people from Texas calling the '99 Sabres the greatest cheats in the history of sports, and that the Stars deserved to win the Cup.

Despite being one of the best goaltenders of his era -- he had won 5 out of the last 6 Vezina Trophies, and the Hart Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the 2 previous seasons -- Hašek wasn't nearly so good in those Finals. He had already allowed 12 goals in 22 periods, nearly 1 every 2. Had he stopped this shot, we wouldn't be talking about it now.

But even if the goal had been waved off, the game would have gone on, and would still have been tied, and the Stars could still have won it. If the Sabres had won Game 6, then the series would have gone to a Game 7, it would have been played in Dallas, and the odds would still have been against the Sabres.

The Stars got back to the Finals the next year, against the New Jersey Devils, winning Game 5 in triple overtime at the Meadowlands, before the Devils won Game 6 in double overtime in Dallas. Moral of the story: If you want to beat the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals, do it before the game gets to triple overtime. (The Sabres did win Game 1 in the 1st overtime.)

Brett Hull, Ed Belfour, Guy Carbonneau, Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Jere Lehtinen, Darryl Sydor and Derian Hatcher could be. Only one '99 Sabre has made it: Hašek. Granted, the more talented team doesn't always win, and may not even deserve to win. But the Stars were, easily, the more talented team. And they did clinch on the road. There is something to be said for that.

Brett Hull

There is an unusual postscript to this story. In 2002, Hull and Hasek would be teammates on the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup together.

Dominik Hašek

Hasek would win another Cup with the Wings in 2008, giving him 2, as many as Hull -- and twice as many as Hull's father Bobby, who only won it with the 1961 Chicago Blackhawks.

For all the good any of that did the Sabres.

UPDATE: The Stars have a team Hall of Fame. From the 1999 Cup win, they have inducted CEO Jim Lites, head coach Ken Hitchcock, general manager Bob Gainey, goalkeeper Ed Belfour, defenseman Derian Hatcher, center Joe Nieuwendyk, and broadcaster Ralph Strangis. From after the 1999 Cup, they have inducted left wing Brenden Morrow.

They have also retired Number 9, for center Mike Modano; 26, for right wing Jere Lehtinen; and 56, for defenseman Sergei Zubov, all from the 1999 Cup winners. They also continue to honor the number retirements by their previous incarnation, the Minnesota North Stars: 7, for 1980s center Neal Broten, who did last into the Dallas years, but not until the Cup win; 8, for 1970s right wing Bill Goldsworthy; and 19, for center Bill Masterton, whose 1968 head injury made him the only NHL player ever to die as a result of an in-game injury.

No Dallas Stars figure has yet been inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

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June 19, 1999 was a Saturday. Football was out of season. Due to a lockout that delayed the NBA season, that season was still going on, and playing its Playoffs, although no games were played on this day.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Anaheim Angels, 6-2 at Yankee Stadium. Hideki Irabu was the winning pitcher. Bernie Williams went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk and 2 RBIs. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mark McGwire hit his 477th career home run. The Mets got home runs from Mike Piazza (no surprise) and Rickey Henderson (a minor surprise).

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 7-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Roy Halladay pitched 6 2/3rds innings of 2-hit shutout ball. Graeme Lloyd and Paul Quantrill completed the 3-hit shutout.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-6 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. The Tribe got home runs from Jacob Cruz, Roberto Alomar, David Justice and Manny Ramirez. The M's got them from Ken Griffy Jr. and Butch Huskey. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-1 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 13-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Tim Hudson was the winning pitcher. John Jaha hit 2 home runs for the A's, and Matt Stairs and Jason Giambi each hit 1. Luis Polonia went 4-for-5 for the Tigers.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-9 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Will Clark hit a home run for the Birds in the top of the 10th inning, but the South Siders scored to extend the game. Mike Bordick hit a home run for the O's in the top of the 11th, and this time, the Pale Hose couldn't come back. Cal Ripken and Harold Baines also homered for the O's. Career home runs: Ripken 431, Baines 384, Clark 284, Bordick 91.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Montreal Expos, 5-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 10-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-2 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Tony Gwynn went 1-for-3.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 11-5 at 3Com Park, as Candlestick Park in San Francisco was then known. Marvin Benard went 2-for-5 with a home run and 5 RBIs. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4 with an RBI.