November 3, 2014: The New World Trade Center Opens

November 3, 2014: One World Trade Center opens in Lower Manhattan, the replacement for the "Twin Towers," One and Two World Trade Center, that had stood from 1973 until their destruction by terrorists in 2001.

It was inevitable that the Towers would be replaced by something. Plans ranged from exact duplicates to, partly in jest, a series of five towers of varying heights, with the tallest in the middle, so that it looked like both a clenched fist and a raised middle finger. Eventually, a design was chosen with a main tower and three smaller (but still very tall) ones.

The new building's architect was David Childs, born in 1941 in Princeton, New Jersey, although he graduated not from Princeton University but another Ivy League school, Yale University. He had previously designed One Worldwide Plaza, on the site of the old Madison Square Garden; the redesign of the James A. Farley Post Office Building into the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station; the National Geographic Society's headquarters in Washington, D.C.; and the American Embassy it Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Perhaps most interestingly, given this project, he had designed a "twin towers": The Time Warner Center (now the Deutsche Bank Center), on the site of the New York Coliseum on Columbus Circle.

Childs was with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, one of the world's great architectural firms, which has designed 2 buildings that have held the title of tallest building in the world: The Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in Chicago, and the current titleholder, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Due to various delays, construction on its replacement could not begin until on April 27, 2006. On April 30, 2012, it surpassed the height of the Empire State Building, reclaiming for the World Trade Center name the title of tallest structure in New York City. On May 10, 2013, the structure was topped off by the completion of its spire, giving it the height of 1,776 feet, matching the year of the Declaration of Independence.

The building opened for business on November 3, 2014. The Observatory opened on May 29, 2015. Officially, it has 94 stories, compared with its predecessor's 110. But the top floor is labeled the 104th, and it is 1,268 feet above the ground. The roof is 1,368 feet, matching the height of the previous One World Trade Center. (The old 2 World Trade Center was slightly shorter, at 1,362 feet.)

The mailing address is 285 Fulton Street. Fulton is to the south, and it is also bordered by West Street on the west, Vesey Street on the north, and West Broadway on the east. Compare this to the Twin Towers, whose footprints are now part of the 9/11 Memorial: Fulton on the north, West Broadway on the east, Liberty Street on the south, and West Street on the west.

Construction of a new Two World Trade Center has begun, on the site of the former 5 World Trade Center. It will rise to 1,345 feet, but the COVID epidemic stopped construction. It will not resume until tenants start applying. An opening of 2025 currently seems like a good guess.

The new 3 World Trade Center opened on June 11, 2018, and is 1,079 feet high. The new 4 World Trade Center opened on November 13, 2013, and is 978 feet high. Construction of the new 5 World Trade Center is set to begin in 2023, for a 2028 opening, and is currently planned to be 900 feet high. And the new 7 World Trade Center opened on the site of the original on May 23, 2006, the first part of the new complex to open, and is 743 feet high.

There are no current plans to build a new building with the name 6 World Trade Center. The old one was damaged badly enough that it had to be torn down, and the new One World Trade Center was built on the site.

UPDATE: As of November 3, 2024, the new 2 WTC has only the foundation built, and there is no timetable for construction to resume. 5 WTC is now set to be completed in 2029. There is still no plan for a new 6 WTC.

*

November 3, 2014 was a Monday. The baseball season had ended 5 days earlier, when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series, beating the Kansas City Royals in Game 7, 3-2. On ESPN Monday Night Football, the Indianapolis Colts beat the New York Giants, 40-24, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just 11 miles from the World Trade Center complex.

There were 6 NBA games played that night:

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-85 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, only 3 1/2 miles from the World Trade Center complex.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 104-93 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. James Harden scored 35 points for the Rockets.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 93-81 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics, 118-113 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Jeff Green scored 35 points in a losing effort for the Celtics.

* The Sacramento Kings beat the Denver Nuggets, 110-105 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Utah Jazz, 107-101 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There was only 1 NHL game played that night, and it was at Madison Square Garden, just 3 miles from the World Trade Center complex. The New York Rangers lost to the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 in a shootout.

October 29, 2014: The Madison Bumgarner Game

October 29, 2014: For only the 2nd time since Bud Selig -- now, thankfully, overseeing his final game as Commissioner -- declared in 2003 that the League that wins the All-Star Game would have home-field advantage for the World Series, a Series goes to a Game 7. That means that the Kansas City Royals will host it at Kauffman Stadium.

And the 1st time was in 2011, and the St. Louis Cardinals won Games 6 and 7 to beat the Texas Rangers. And the last time the road team has won a Game 7 in the World Series was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, 35 years earlier. And that means that, despite most of the San Francisco Giants having at least 1 ring (2012) and many of them 2 rings (2010 and 2012), and the Royals are in their 1st World Series in 29 years, the Giants have no chance, right?

Wrong. The teams trade blocks of 2 runs in the 2nd inning, and in the top of the 4th, Pablo Sandoval reaches on an infield single, and advances to 3rd on a single by Hunter Pence. Michael Morse singles him home to give the Giants the lead.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy gambles, sending Madison Bumgarner out to pitch the 5th on 2 days' rest. "MadBum" gave up a hit, but, in a display that wouldn't have seemed so courageous as recently as the 1970s, didn't allow another baserunner until the 9th, retiring 14 batters in a row.

With 1 out to go, Alex Gordon hits a liner that rolls to the wall, and he gets to 3rd. Salvador Perez had already gotten the game-winning hit in the AL Wild Card game. But Bumgarner induces a foul popup that is caught by Sandoval, completing the longest save in World Series history: 5 full innings.

The Giants win, 3-2, and take their 3rd World Championship in the last 5 years -- their 8th World Series win, counting their New York period. Sports Illustrated named Bumgarner their Sportsman of the Year.

The Royals would have to wait 1 more year to win the World Series. Gordon would have to wait 1 more World Series game to become a baseball legend.

*

October 29, 2014 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. There were 12 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lose to the Chicago Bulls, 104-80 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Brooklyn Nets lose to the Boston Celtics, 121-105 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Charlotte Hornets name is officially revived. The original Hornets, who played from 1988 to 2002, moved to New Orleans, but were enticed to give the name up in 2013, and take the name of a former minor-league baseball team, the New Orleans Pelicans. The Charlotte Bobcats, created as an expansion team in 2004, are officially allowed to take the Charlotte Hornets name.

Like the Oklahoma City Thunder did 2 years earlier, the new Hornets play their 1st game at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. Unlike the Thunder, the Hornets win, 108-106 at Time Warner Cable Arena (now the Spectrum Center). Kemba Walker leads all scorers with 26 points.

* The Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards, 107-95 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-101 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Atlanta Hawks, 109-102 at the Air Canada Center (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-91 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Detroit Pistons, 89-79 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz, 104-93 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (then named the EnergySolutions Arena.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 119-99 at the US Airways Center (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, 95-77 at the Sleep Train Arena (formerly the ARCO Arena) in Sacramento.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 106-89 at the Moda Center in Portland. Russell Westbrook scored 38 points in defeat.

There were 2 games in the NHL. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Washington Capitals, 4-2 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. And the Nashville Predators beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-1 at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known) in Edmonton.

October 16, 2014: Hannibal Buress Blows the Whistle On Bill Cosby

October 16, 2014: Comedian Hannibal Burss does a standup routine attacking comedy legend Bill Cosby, comparing Cos' admonitions to young black men to act, speak and dress better to Cosby's history of raping women.

He does this in Cosby's hometown, no less, at the Trocadero Theatre in Center City Philadelphia. Burress, also black, was then 31 years old, so he was in the generation in question at the time Cosby began making those admonitions.

Buress had been doing this for about 6 months. This time, it was posted on Philadelphia magazine's website, and it went viral from there. People began looking things up, and found accusations from women that had previously gone nowhere.

Soon, cable networks that had been airing Cosby's films and reruns of his various TV shows (The Cosby Show, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, I Spy, etc.) began dropping them from their programming. In December 2015, he was indicted on 3 charges. In June 2017, his 1st trial ended in a mistrial. On April 26, 2018, his 2nd trial ended when he was found guilty on all 3 charges. He was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary, and served 3 years, before his conviction was overturned on a technicality.

Somebody said recently that the future didn't turn out like we thought it would in the 1980s: Bill Cosby, O.J. Simpson and Pete Rose went to prison, Rose has been banned from baseball, he's not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, neither is Darryl Strawberry, neither is Dwight Gooden, neither is Keith Hernandez, neither is Don Mattingly, Mel Gibson is a pariah, Bruce Jenner is a woman, and Donald Trump is President.

A 2019 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History was advertised as George Carlin, played by "Nice" Peter Shukoff, against Richard Pryor, played by rapper Valin Zamarron, a.k.a. ZEALE. The episode turned into a "battle royale," with Gary Anthony Williams playing Cosby; comedian Jackie Tohn playing Joan Rivers; and "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist playing Robin Williams.

*

October 16, 2014 was a Thursday. Game 5 of the National League Championship Series was played at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Joe Panik and Michael Morse hit home runs for the San Francisco Giants, but the St. Louis Cardinals get homers from Matt Adams and Tony Cruz, and the game goes to the bottom of the 9th tied.

The Giants get 2 men on against Michael Wacha, the Most Valuable Player of the previous year's NLCS, and then Travis Ishikawa -- with considerably less pressure, as the Giants lead the Cards 3 games to 1 -- does what Bobby Thomson did, 63 years earlier and 2,910 miles to the east: He hits a home run that means, "The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant! And they're going crazy! They're going crazy!" I have a separate entry for this event.

Also on this day, Salvador Pérez hits a home run, Edinson Vólquez pitches 6 shutout innings, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0, and take Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Kauffman Stadium.

There were 2 games played in college football. The University of Pittsburgh beat Virginia Tech, 21-16 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh. And Number 20 Utah beat Oregon State, 29-23 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.

The NBA season began 12 days later. There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 in a shootout at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 in a shootout at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Washington Capitals, 6-2 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 6-4 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-3 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues, 1-0 in a shootout at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

October 16, 2014: The Travis Ishikawa Game

October 16, 2014: Game 5 of the National League Championship Series is played at AT&T Park (now named Oracle Park). Joe Panik and Michael Morse hit home runs for the San Francisco Giants, but the St. Louis Cardinals get homers from Matt Adams and Tony Cruz, and the game goes to the bottom of the 9th tied.

The Giants get 2 men on against Michael Wacha, the MVP of the previous year's NLCS, and then Travis Ishikawa -- with considerably less pressure, as the Giants lead the Cards 3 games to 1 -- does what Bobby Thomson did, 63 years earlier and 2,910 miles to the east: He hits a home run that means, "The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant! And they're going crazy! They're going crazy!"

Of course, unlike the Giant Pennant wins of 1951 with Bobby Thomson, and 1962 in far less dramatic fashion, this one was not against the Dodgers, in either New York (Manhattan vs. Brooklyn) or California (San Francisco vs. Los Angeles). But it was still dramatic.

Isikawa's father was a 3rd-generation Japanese-American. His ancestry and this home run made him the 1st player of Asian descent to hit a walkoff home run in an MLB postseason game.

*

October 16, 2014 was a Thursday. The American League Championship Series was decided the night before, when the Kansas City Royals completed a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles.

There was an NFL game that night: The New England Patriots beat the New York Jets, 27-25 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

The NBA season started 12 days later. There were 7 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 in a shootout at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 in a shootout at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Washington Capitals, 6-2 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 6-4 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-3 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues, 1-0 in a shootout at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

September 29, 2014: The Loudest Game In NFL History

September 29, 2014: The Kansas City Chiefs clobber the New England Patriots, 41-14 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The ESPN Monday Night Football broadcast registered the crowd noise at 142.2 decibels, the loudest in NFL history -- without the benefit of a dome to hold in the noise.

To put that in perspective: The "threshold of pain" is usually considered to be 120 decibels.

Usually, the loudest stadiums in the NFL have been the first wave of domes: Houston's Astrodome, Seattle's Kingdome and Minneapolis' Metrodome in particular. Defying this were Arrowhead and Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

The newer domes tend not to hold sound in so well. Hence, Houston's NRG Stadium and Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium are not as loud as their predecessors.

Seattle's new Lumen Field, with a roof over the stands but not over the field, tends to hold sound in well, and it challenges Arrowhead as the loudest in the NFL.

*

September 29, 2014 was, as said, a Monday. That was the only score on this day. Baseball's regular season had ended the day before, and its Playoffs began the next day; while the NBA and NHL regular seasons were yet to come.

September 28, 2014: Derek Jeter's Last Major League Game

Left to right: Jim Rice, Mookie Betts,

David Ortiz, Derek Jeter and Carl Yastrzemski

September 28, 2014: The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-5 at Fenway Park. Michael Pineda outpitches Clay Buchholz. With the game scoreless in the top of the 3rd, Francisco Cervelli leads off with a walk. Chris Young strikes out, but Jose Pirela singles, and Buchholz moves the runners over with a wild pitch. Ichiro Suzuki triples the runners home.

Derek Jeter, the designated hitter on this day -- Stephen Drew is the shortstop -- hits a ground ball to 3rd base. Garin Cecchini fields it, but Jeter beats the throw, and Ichiro scores, to make it 3-0 Yankees.
It is Jeter's 3,465th career hit (which included 544 doubles, 66 triples and 260 home runs), and his 1,311th run batted in. Only Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Tris Speaker have more career hits -- meaning Jeter had more hits than all but 2 living people (Rose and the since-deceased Aaron), and more hits than anyone born after April 14, 1941 (when Rose was born).

Girardi sends Brian McCann -- perhaps the slowest runner on the team, but whose bat will fill the DH slot -- in to pinch-run, and the Fenway crowd, which despises the Yankees and has long maintained that Jeter and his teammates "suck," gives him a standing ovation as he leaves a major league field for the last time. It is 46 years to the day after Mickey Mantle played his last game for the Yankees, also at Fenway.

Three days earlier, on September 25, Jeter had made his last plate appearance at Yankee Stadium, singling in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning, to win, 6-5, after the Yankees had blown a 5-2 top-of-the-9th lead over the Baltimore Orioles. That game, unlike the finale on the 28th, is in regular rotation on the YES Network series Yankees Classics.

Mantle had played in more games, 2,401, and in more seasons, 18, than anyone in Yankee history. Jeter broke both of those records: 2,747 games and 20 seasons. (Mariano Rivera played a 19th season, but not a 20th; and, as a pitcher, appeared in far fewer games.) I didn't get to see Mantle play, but I saw Jeter play many times. I even got to see him hit a home run at Fenway Park, in a 13-3 Yankee demolition of the Red Sox on July 30, 1999. Great memory.

My in-person memories of Mantle are limited to Old-Timers Days, and an appearance (in a suit rather than a uniform) on Phil Rizzuto Day. And while I saw Joe DiMaggio a few times at Yankee Stadium, it was only in a suit, never a uniform, although his 1995 Opening Day first ball ceremony meant that, at the least, I got to see Joe DiMaggio throw a baseball. Which is more than I can say for Mantle. And I never got to see Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig, who died long before I was born.

But I've seen plenty of legends in person, at various ballparks and at the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. So I've had some luck -- if not, as Gehrig would say, become the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.

With this game, Jeter became the last active member of the 1996 World Champion New York Yankees.

*

September 28, 2014 was a Sunday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 8-3 at Citi Field.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins, 1-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. Jordan Zimmerman pitched a no-hitter, coming within a 5th-inning walk of Justin Bour, and a 7th-inning dropped 3rd strike on a strikeout of Garrett Jones, of pitching a perfect game. He struck out 10.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 1-0 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. How many Oriole pitchers does it take to pitch a 5-hit shutout? Apparently, 6, with starter Miguel González going just 5 innings.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-0 at Comerica Park in Detroit. David Price (7 1/3rd innings) and 2 relievers combined for a 4-hit shutout.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-4 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Guaranteed Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 4-0 at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Sonny Gray pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 1-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Josh Collmenter pitched 8 innings, and Evan Marshall finished the 3-hit shutout.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 10-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Francisco Giants, 9-3 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

And it was an NFL Sunday. These games were played:

* The New York Jets lost to the Detroit Lions, 24-17 at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat the Carolina Panthers, 38-10 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-24 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Tennessee Titans, 41-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

* The Green Bay Packers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, 38-17 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Atlanta Falcons 41-28 at TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium) in Minneapolis.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the New Orleans Saints, 38-17 at AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. This was hours after the A's-Rangers game in the same sports complex, but parking was almost certainly still a mess.

* The Houston Texans beat the Buffalo Bills, 23-17 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 33-14 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-21 at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Santa Clara, California.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Oakland Raiders, 38-14 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* The preceding Thursday, the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins, 45-14 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The night after these games, on Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the New England Patriots, 41-14 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* And the Arizona Cardinals, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns, the Denver Broncos, the St. Louis Rams and the Seattle Seahawks had a bye week.

September 8, 2014: Ray Rice's Career Is Ended

September 8, 2014: Ray Rice is indefinitely suspended by the NFL, and cut by his team, the Baltimore Ravens, over a domestic violence incident.

It may have been an unfair case of double jeopardy.

Raymell Mourice Rice was born January 22, 1987 in New Rochelle, in Westchester County, New York. He grew up there. He was the biggest star of Rutgers University's rise from football jokehood to a school that could be taken seriously. He was one of the best running backs in the country in the 2005, '06 and '07 seasons.

And, at the time, he seemed like a good person. As far as I know, he was not a disciplinary problem at RU, nor was there ever a report of him being arrested. No fights, no public drunkenness, no traffic accidents, no parking tickets. And never, not once, did we hear about him mistreating a woman. Or a child. Or an animal, unlike Michael Vick, whom I saw lead Virginia Tech into Rutgers Stadium and torch the Scarlet Knights 59-19 in 1997.

When he entered the professional ranks, he helped the Baltimore Ravens rise from mediocrity to a World Championship: And the end of the 2012 season, he helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII. Through the end of the 2013 season, there was never a mention of him being a problem, on the field or off. To that point, in regular-season NFL play, he had rushed for 6,180 yards for 37 touchdowns; and caught 359 passes for 3,034 yards and 6 touchdowns. Going into the 2014 season, he was 27 years old, and he looked like he was headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Then came the night of February 15, 2014. Ray and his girlfriend, Janay Palmer, were at the Revel Casino & Hotel, at the northern end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. They got into an elevator, and started arguing, and he punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious. When the elevator doors opened, he dragged her out.

This was caught on a security camera, and the world found out about it. At first, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for 2 games.

On March 27, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office indicted Rice for third-degree aggravated assault. If convicted, he could be fined $15,000 -- not a small amount of money for a modern pro athlete, but still more of an insult than a hardship -- and could be sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison. The criminal charges were later dropped after Rice agreed to undergo court-supervised counseling.

The day after the indictment, Ray and Janay were married. She forgave him. He called his actions "inexcusable," and said, "I let so many people down, because of 30 seconds of my life that I know I can't take back." 

But in September, the video was seen by Goodell and Ravens officials. They already knew that it had happened. Actually seeing the video didn't change the facts: If he was wrong to have done it, it doesn't make it more wrong now that you've actually seen it.

The Ravens organization cut Rice. They did the right thing by doing this. Regardless of what his wife, or anyone else who cares about him, thinks, neither he nor any other person has the unalienable right to play professional football.

However, after Goodell saw the video, of an incident he already knew had happened, he suspended Rice indefinitely -- admitting that he "didn't get it right" the first time. No one doubted that. But he's been suspended indefinitely for something for which Goodell had already suspended him for 2 games. Yes, the initial punishment was not enough. Yes, the indefinite suspension should have happened first.

But suspending him twice for the same crime? That's not right. In legal terms, that's "double jeopardy." If a man commits a crime, and he's convicted based on forensic evidence, and he's sent to prison, you can't add prison time just because video of the crime has surfaced.

Kobe Bryant was still allowed to play basketball. We've never actually seen what he did to get indicted in Colorado in the Summer of 2003 -- though he did plead out, and avoided jail time.

Rice wasn't released by the Ravens because he committed a crime. We already knew that he committed a crime. He was released because he embarrassed his team. He wasn't suspended indefinitely by the NFL because he committed a crime. He wasn't even suspended indefinitely because the video made him look worse. He was suspended indefinitely because the video made the NFL look stupid for not getting it right the first time.

You can do whatever you want in the National Football League, as long as you aren't seen embarrassing your team, or causing the League to look bad.

On November 28, 2014, Rice won an appeal to be reinstated to the NFL. On January 15, 2015, he and the Ravens reached a settlement for about $3.5 million in back pay that he would have received had the NFL handled his suspension properly and he had been allowed to play for most of the 2014 season, as he would have been allowed to do under the original penalty.

In 2016, he announced that if he were signed by an NFL team, he would donate his entire salary to charities dealing with domestic violence. On December 18, 2018, he sat for an interview for CBS This Morning, he said, "I don't have to retire to tell you I'm done with football." Janay, still married to him (they have 2 children), was by his side, and says that he has never hurt her again.

Ray says he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders by not being in the NFL spotlight. He's become a -- well, "motivational speaker" isn't really the right term. But he's kept his word about working with domestic violence charities, and has spoken before the NFL Players Association rookie program, and several college football teams, including such big names as Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame. He wants to prevent young men from becoming what he became that night in Atlantic City.

*

September 8, 2014 was a Monday. It Labor Day, and it was the opening week of the NFL seasons, and 2 games were played on Monday Night Football: The New York Giants lost to the Detroit Lions, 35-14 at Ford Field in Detroit; and the Arizona Cardinals beat the San Diego Chargers, 18-17 at what University of Phoenix Stadium (now named State Farm Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Citi Field.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. It took 5 Oriole pitchers to pitch a 7-hit shutout.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-1 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-0 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Marcus Stroman pitched a 3-hit shutout, all by himself.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 12-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-0 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-5 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-4 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 9-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros, 4-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

* The New York Yankees, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Minnesota Twins, the San Francisco Giants, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers were not scheduled.

August 28, 2014: Yusmeiro Petit Retires 46 Straight Batters

August 28, 2014: The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Yusmeiro Petit, normally a relief pitcher, started this game for the Giants. Having retired the 1st 8 batters, he ran his streak of consecutive batters retired to 46, a new major league record. I have a separate entry for this event.

A native of Venezuela, in 1994 he was a 10-year-old member of the Coquivacoa team that won the Little League World Series. He debuted in the majors with the 2006 Florida Marlins, and had also pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He been a member of the Giants' 2012 World Series winners, making him the 1st player ever to win both the Little League and the major league World Series.

Making a spot start in place of the injured Matt Cain on July 22, and giving up 5 runs, Petit recorded the last out of the 5th inning, and subsequently proceeded to post 6 consecutive perfect relief appearances -- and yet, the Giants lost all 6 games:

* July 26, 2 innings at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0.

* July 28, 2 innings at home to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-0.

* August 7, 1 inning away to the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1.

* August 10, 1 inning away to the Kansas City Royals, 7-4.

* August 19, 2 innings away to the Chicago Cubs, 2-1. And:

* August 23, 4 1/3rd innings away to the Washington Nationals, 6-2.

On August 28, having had 4 days' rest, and having retired the last 38 batters he'd faced, Petit was started against the Colorado Rockies at home, by Giant manager Bruce Bochy, in place of the injured Tim Lincecum. He retired the 1st 8 batters, for a total of 46 in a row.

This broke the record of 45, set by Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox, in 2009, including a perfect game and his starts right before and right after that. Buehrle had broken the record set by a previous Giant, Jim Barr, who retired 41 straight over 2 starts in 1972. Another White Sox pitcher, Bobby Jenks, had matched that in 2007, all in relief.

Buehrle had also set the record for consecutive perfect innings pitched, with 15. Petit raised that to 15 1/3rd, before Jordan Lyles, the opposing pitcher, doubled off him in the 3rd inning, to end both streaks. But Petit did not allow another run, and pitched 6 innings to get the win. During the streak, he lowered his ERA from 4.11 to 3.44. 

That season, Petit would help the Giants win the World Series again. His career ended in 2021, across San Francisco Bay, with the Oakland Athletics, with a record of 50-44 and 8 saves.

As of August 28, 2022, Petit's records of 46 straight batters retired, and 15 1/3rd straight perfect innings, still stand. So do Buehrle's records of 45 and 15 for a starting pitcher.

*

August 28, 2014 was a Thursday. This was the day that President Barack Obama showed up for a White House press conference wearing a tan suit, causing conservatives to lose what was left of their minds. I have a separate entry for this event.

These other Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Batting against Shawn Kelley, Alex Avila singled Bryan Holaday home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning. That, and the lineup getting only 5 hits -- 2 by Carlos Beltrán, and none by the soon-to-retire Derek Jeter -- ruined a good start by Hiroki Kuroda.

* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 6-1 at Citi Field. The Mets were only down 1-0 after 7 innings, but Jon Niese ran out of gas.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Guaranteed Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Royals reliever Bruce Chen absolutely collapsed in the top of the 10th inning, allowing 2 singles, 2 doubles, a triple, and 2 walks, 1 of them intentional, for 6 runs.

* The Houston Astros beat their in-State rivals, the Texas Rangers, 4-2 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Howie Kendrick won it with a sacrifice fly, bringing Albert Pujols home in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* And the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals, the San Diego Padres, the Seattle Mariners, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Washington Nationals were not scheduled.

August 28, 2014: The Scandal of The Tan Suit

August 28, 2014: President Barack Obama wears a tan suit to a White House press conference. No big deal, right?

Apparently, it was a big deal to conservatives. They absolutely lost their minds.

The press conference was about the situation regarding ISIS in Syria, and how the U.S. military was planning to respond to it. At the conference, Obama said that the U.S. had yet to develop a plan regarding the removal of ISIS, and talked extensively about his concerns in the region.

But conservatives focused not on the message, or even on the messenger, but on his choice of clothing:

* Representative Peter King, Republican from Long Island, New York: "There's no way, I don't think, any of us can excuse what the president did yesterday. I mean, you have the world watching... ISIS is watching. If you were the head of ISIS, if you were Baghdadi, if you were anyone in the ISIS, would you come away from yesterday afraid of the United States? Would you be afraid that the United States was going to use all its power to crush ISIS?" King also said, referencing the beach resort in his home District, “He looked like he was on his way to a party at the Hamptons.”

* Lou Dobbs, host on Fox Business Network: He said the tan suit was "shocking to a lot of people."

* Pete Hegseth, panelist on Fox News Channel: "Only the Democrats, and only the liberals, could elect a guy in a tan suit." (As if he had worn it during either of his election campaigns.)

* Vanessa Friedman, fashion critic with The New York Times: "Khaki is a sort of wishy-washy color... a particularly odd choice for a discussion of wishy-washy military policy."

Someone, I forget who, but a supporter of Obama's, remembering his book titled The Audacity of Hope, called the suit "The Audacity of Taupe." Someone else turned his slogan of "Yes we can!" into "Yes we tan!"

The month before Obama's news conference, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was arrested in Iran on espionage charges and eventually convicted in an Iranian trial. In 2019, he tweeted, "I was in prison when this happened. Today is literally the first time I’m hearing of it... if this was actually a thing to be covered at the time – and now – we are indeed the most privileged – and perhaps pettiest – nation ever."

In June 1984, Ronald Reagan not only wore a tan suit, but was photographed wearing it in the Oval Office. Nobody objected then, either liberal or conservative.

I've also found pictures of tan suits being worn as Presidents by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford and both George Bushes. As Reagan would have said, "Well... "

UPDATE: On August 19, 2024, the 1st day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Vice President and Presidential nominee Kamala Harris made an appearance, wearing a tan suit. On August 28, 2024, the 10th anniversary of the incident, Obama tweeted side-by-side pictures of himself and Harris in tan suits tweeting, "How it started. How it's going. Ten years later, and it's still a good look! #IWillVote.com."

*

August 28, 2014 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Batting against Shawn Kelley, Alex Avila singled Bryan Holaday home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning. That, and the lineup getting only 5 hits -- 2 by Carlos Beltrán, and none by the soon-to-retire Derek Jeter -- ruined a good start by Hiroki Kuroda.

* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 6-1 at Citi Field. The Mets were only down 1-0 after 7 innings, but Jon Niese ran out of gas.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Guaranteed Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Royals reliever Bruce Chen absolutely collapsed in the top of the 10th inning, allowing 2 singles, 2 doubles, a triple, and 2 walks, 1 of them intentional, for 6 runs.

* The Houston Astros beat their in-State rivals, the Texas Rangers, 4-2 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Howie Kendrick won it with a sacrifice fly, bringing Albert Pujols home in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Yusmeiro Petit, normally a relief pitcher, started this game for the Giants. Having retired the 1st 8 batters, he ran his streak of consecutive batters retired to 46, a new major league record. I have a separate entry for this event.

* And the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals, the San Diego Padres, the Seattle Mariners, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Washington Nationals were not scheduled.

August 11, 2014: The Suicide of Robin Williams

August 11, 2014: Robin Williams, one of the greatest comedians and comic actors of all time, commits suicide at his home in the San Francisco suburb of Paradise Cay, California.

He had been born in Chicago on July 21, 1951, and had made his name as a standup comic in San Francisco, and also in Los Angeles, before making it big in 1978 with an appearance on Happy Days as an alien, and following it up with a spinoff sitcom, Mork & Mindy. He made some classic comedy films, and proved himself as a dramatic actor as well. Sometimes, he was able to do both in the same film: The World According to Garp, Moscow On the Hudson, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, The Birdcage, Good Will Hunting. He even played 2 Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt in the Night at the Museum films, and Dwight D. Eisenhower in The Butler.

But he suffered from depression his whole life. It's been said that all great comedy is a response to suffering. Other comedians have committed suicide, including Freddie Prinze, Richard Jeni, and, possibly, Lenny Bruce. No matter how many people they make laugh, they can't cure the sadness within themselves. It's what leads so many of them to take drugs. Unlike Prinze and Bruce, Robin was able to get clean. But it didn't stop the inner pain.

An autopsy showed that he was afflicted with both Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, the latter described by his widow, Susan Schneider, in the title of an article she wrote as "The Terrorist In My Husband's Brain." I suppose it was too much for him -- or maybe he wanted to spare his family the pain of his decline, thinking it would be less painful for them if he died all at once. We'll never know if that was the right choice.

*

Here's what I wrote at the time, in my original blog, the usually sports-themed Uncle Mike's Musings, and I'll let it stand as the rest of this post:

In the immortal words of Mork from Ork, "Shazbot!"

Robin Williams is dead. He was found at his home in the San Francisco Bay Area. It appears to have been a suicide, following decades of struggles with alcohol, drugs and depression. He was 63.

He was one of the funniest men alive, until he wasn't.

He didn't really have a connection to sports. Although the opening montage to Mork & Mindy did show him and Pam Dawber on the goalposts at the University of Colorado's Folsom Field.

And there was the scene from Good Will Hunting, when the characters played by Robin and Matt Damon discussed love and Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.

Then there was this riff, imagining if golf had never been invented, and then, instead of 500 years ago, an insane Scotsman were to invent it now.

In his 1st appearance as Mork, on Happy Days, he told Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) that Ork wanted an Earthman. This being late 1950s Milwaukee, Richie was afraid Mork was going to kidnap Hank Aaron of the Braves. And Mork said, "No, we'd have to trade the whole planet for him," before saying it was going to be Richie.

That show was already a generation in the past. And Hank Aaron, thankfully, is still alive. Robin Williams is dead.

Mel Brooks and Tony Bennett were on Johnny Carson's 1st Tonight Show, 52 years ago; they're still alive. Robin Williams was on Carson's last; he's dead.

Too many good people have died this year. As much as anyone, including my father, who died a few weeks ago, Robin Williams made me laugh.

Thank you, you nut.

*

UPDATE: Since then, Hank Aaron and Tony Bennett have died. Robin's family had him cremated, and scattered his ashes over San Francisco Bay.

A 2019 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History was advertised as George Carlin, played by "Nice" Peter Shukoff, against Richard Pryor, played by rapper Valin Zamarron, a.k.a. ZEALE. The episode turned into a "battle royale," with Gary Anthony Williams playing Bill Cosby; comedian Jackie Tohn playing Joan Rivers; and "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist playing Robin Williams.

*

August 11, 2014 was a Monday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 11-3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Derek Jeter, in his last season, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-6 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Texas Rangers, 7-0 at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. How many Rays pitchers does it take to pitch a 3-hit shutout? Apparently, 4: Drew Smyly (7 2/3rds innings), Kirby Yates, Joel Peralta and Grant Balfour.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-3 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

* And the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians, the Los Angeles Angels, the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals were not scheduled.

August 2, 2014: American Soccer's Biggest Crowd

August 2, 2014: The largest crowd ever to watch a soccer game in the United States of America files into Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Every Summer, the U.S. Soccer Federation works with FIFA to set up the International Champions Cup, a series of exhibition games, or "friendlies," on American soil. This time, they got one of the biggest stadiums in the world, the University of Michigan's "Big House"; the biggest sports team in the English-speaking world, Manchester United; and the biggest sports team in the Spanish-speaking world, Real Madrid.

Prior to this, the biggest crowd ever to watch a soccer game played in America was 101,799, at the Rose Bowl in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California, to watch the Gold Medal game at the Olympics in Los Angeles on August 11, 1984. On that occasion, France beat Brazil, 2-0.

This time, the crowd was 109,318. Manchester United won, 3-1. United's Ashley Young scored 2 goals in the 1st half, bracketing a penalty taken by Real's Welsh star Gareth Bale. Javier Hernández, a.k.a. Chicharito, also scored for United. Cristiano Ronaldo, formerly of United, took the pitch as a substitute for Real, but had no effect on the game.

As of the Summer of 2022, Michigan Stadium has hosted 3 of the 4 biggest crowds in American soccer history. There were 105,826 in 2016 for a 3-2 Real Madrid win over West London team Chelsea, and 101,254 in 2018 for a 4-1 Liverpool win over Manchester United.

The stadium also holds the record for the largest hockey crowd in American, and world, history. But, surprisingly, not the record for the largest college football crowd ever.

*

August 2, 2014 was a Saturday. At the Emirates Stadium in North London, Arsenal beat Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal, 5-1 in the Emirates Cup tournament.

These games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Mark Teixeira hit a home run, the soon-to-retire Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs, and Shawn Kelley won in relief of Shane Greene.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. Jordan Simmons (7 innings) and 2 relievers pitched a 7-hit shutout.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels, 10-3 Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami. Christian Yelich singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 2-0 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. It shouldn't have taken 5 Cleveland pitchers to throw a 5-hit shutout, but it did.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Colorado Rockies, 11-5 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-6 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Breweres, 9-7 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-2 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Will Venable singled home the winning run in the 

* The San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Petco Park in San Diego. Will Venable singled home the winning run in Will Venable singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hanley Ramirez won the game with a home run in the bottom of the 12th.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 8-3 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum).