December 12, 2012: The 12-12-12 Concert for Hurricane Sandy Relief

Billy Joel

December 12, 2012: When terrorists struck New York City on September 11, 2001, people from all over the world chipped in to help, and a tribute concert to the victims and the rescue workers was held at Madison Square Garden. When Hurricane Katrina wrecked New Orleans on August 29, 2005, a fundraising concert was held at The Garden. When Hurricane Sandy pounded New York and New Jersey on October 29, 2012, a fundraising concert at MSG was inevitable.

As with the Concert for New York City in 2001, there were non-singing celebrities on hand. Returning from that show were host Billy Crystal, Susan Sarandon, Adam Sandler, Paul Shaffer and Jimmy Fallon. Among the musical performers who had also been at the CFNYC were Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (who brought the rest of the current Rolling Stones lineup with them), The Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Jon Bon Jovi, and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

"Sprung from cages on Highway 9":

Sayreville's Jon and Freehold's Bruce

Among those new to this show were Bruce Springsteen -- one of the few bills he's ever shared with Joel -- Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin of Coldplay, and Kanye West in a rare moment of sane behavior; and nonmusical personalities Whoopi Goldberg, Kristen Stewart, Jon Stewart (no relation), Chelsea Clinton (but not Bill or Hillary, as in 2001), Stephen Colbert, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Olivia Wilde, James Gandolfini, Chris Rock, Seth Meyers, Blake Lively, Katie Holmes, Jason Sudeikis, and Quentin Tarantino and his Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz.

*

December 12, 2012 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There was only 1 game played in the NHL that night: The New Jersey Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa. The Devils blew a 2-0 lead, and then nearly blew a 5-2 lead, but hung on for the win.

In contrast, there were 13 NBA games, with all but 4 teams in the league playing. Given that Madison Square Garden was occupied, it isn't surprising that the New York Knicks were one of them, along with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Detroit Pistons and the Portland Trail Blazers. The teams that did play:

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Toronto Raptors, 94-88 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks, 117-115 in double overtime at the TD Garden.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 96-89 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 100-94 at the Time Warner Cable Arena (now the Spectrum Center) in Charlotte. The following year, with the New Orleans Hornets, who used to be the Charlotte Hornets, gave up the name to become the New Orleans Pelicans, the Bobcats took on the Charlotte Hornets name.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic, 86-80 at the Amway Center in Orlando. (It's now named the Kia Center.)

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Miami Heat, 97-95 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Washington Wizards, 99-93 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Hornets, 92-88 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant led all scorers on the night with 35 points.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 96-81 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Sacramento Kings, 98-85 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets, 108-105 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs, 99-96 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (then named the EnergySolutions Arena).

* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 82-80 at the US Airways Center (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

June 27, 1986: "Running Scared" Premieres

June 27, 1986: The film Running Scared premieres, directed by Peter Hyams. It's a buddy comedy, a crime drama, and even a Christmas movie. (If Die Hard counts, so does this one.) I love it.

Billy Crystal, diminutive comedian, and Gregory Hines, legendary dancer, play Chicago detectives, No, I'm not making that up. (The casting director made that up.) Each actor pretty much stays in his familiar persona: Crystal's Danny Costanzo is a wisenheimer, and Hines' Ray Hughes is smooth with both the law and the ladies. Jimmy Smits plays Julio Gonzalez, who is looking to become the 1st Hispanic drug kingpin of Chicago. They are on a collision course.

Early in the movie, this car was spraypainted with the words "UNMARKED POLICE CAR." The police mechanic repainted it to look like a cab, and refitted it with windows that are bulletproof glass The result is the best car chase scene in movie history.

Crystal, a baseball fanatic who grew up as a New York Yankees fan on Long Island, works sports, usually baseball, into just about every movie he's in. And so, Ray keeps a Chicago Cubs cap on his desk at the precinct house.

The film takes place during the Christmas season. And, being set and filmed in Chicago, it's cold,and there's plenty of snow. Therefore, if Die Hard, which came along 2 years later and also ended in a downtown skyscraper, is a Christmas movie, then Running Scared is a better Christmas movie -- and maybe a better movie, period.

In spite of the film's title, "Running Scared," a Number 1 hit for Roy Orbison in 1961, does not appear in the film. Instead, the film opens with a different song of the same title, sung by John "Fee" Waybill, lead singer of rock band The Tubes. Two songs from the film became hits: "Sweet Freedom," by former Doobie Brothers lead singer Michael McDonald, hit Number 7; and "Man Size Love," by Klymaxx, hit Number 15.

*

June 27, 1986 was a Friday. Actor-singer Drake Bell was born. The World Cup was between its Semifinal and its Final, in which Argentina bet West Germany. And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 14-7 at Yankee Stadium. Ron Guidry got knocked out of the box in the 3rd inning. The Yankees got home runs from Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson and Ken Griffey Sr.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Roger Clemens advanced to 14-0 on the season. Tony Armas hit a home run for the Red Sox. For the Orioles, Eddie Murray hit 2 home runs, and Cal Ripken went 2-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 7-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Player-manager Pete Rose went 1-for-3 for the Reds. Mike Aldrete won the game with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th inning.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Kirk Gibson hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Robin Yount went 0-for-5, and Paul Molitor did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. George Brett went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Milt Thompson singled John Russell home with the winning run in the top of the 17th inning. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-6 with a walk.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Mike Scott pitched a 2-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking none. Bill Doran and Kevin Bass hit home runs.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 6-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Reggie Jackson went 1-for-1 with 3 walks and an RBI.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-6 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* And the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs were rained out at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 6. Even then, it wasn't finished "on time."

The Mets won the opener, 7-6. Keith Hernandez hit a home run. Dwight Gooden went 9 innings, but allowed 5 runs, including 2 on a home run by Jody Davis in the bottom of the 9th to send it to extra innings. Mookie Wilson singled home 2 runs in the top of the 12th, and the Cubs could only get 1 run back in the bottom half, making a winning pitcher of Roger McDowell.

As Wrigley, since 1948, had been the last MLB stadium without lights, it doesn't make sense to call the 2nd game "the nightcap." Rick Anderson outpitched Steve Trout, and Gary Carter hit a home run. But even at the start of Summer, there wasn't enough daylight to get 21 innings in, and the game was suspended in the top of the 8th, with the Mets leading, 6-4. It was finished the next day, August 7. Howard Johnson hit a home run, and the Cubs mounted a bottom-of-the-9th comeback that fell just short. So the Mets also won this one, 7-6. And then they won that day's regularly-scheduled game, 12-3.

June 7, 1991: “City Slickers” Premieres

Left to right: Daniel Stern, Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby

June 7, 1991: City Slickers premieres, directed by Ron Underwood. Three New Yorkers, each facing a midlife crisis, go on vacation, to drive cattle from a ranch on New Mexico to another in Colorado.

Billy Crystal is Mitch Robbins. He hates his job, and it's beginning to show in his work. He tells his wife, "My father sold furniture, something you could touch, something you could sit on. I sell advertising time for a radio station. So, basically, I sell air!" Patricia Wetting, then starring on the ABC drama thirtysomething, plays his wife, Barbara. Jake Gyllenhaal makes his film debut as their 12-year-old son, and Billy's real-life daughter Lindsay Crystal plays their daughter.

Daniel Stern is Phil Berquist, who manages a supermarket for his father-in-law, a rotten guy. His wife is also rotten. Somehow, they had 2 kids, but she hates him to the point where she hasn't let him have sex in 12 years. He cracks, and has a one-night-stand with a 20-year-old cashier, played by Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa on The Simpsons. She thinks she's pregnant (she turns out not to be), tracks Phil down at Mitch's birthday party, and spills the beans, so that Phil's marriage is over and he won't get any custody of his kids.

Bruno Kirby is Ed Furillo, a sporting goods salesman, who recently married Kim, a much younger model, played by Walker Brandt. He's always talking Mitch and Phil into wild adventures, and the film begins with them running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, with painful results for Mitch. Kim wants a baby, and, in Ed's mind, that's the final commitment. He's scared, because of his own past as a womanizer, which he inherited from your father.

He thinks the cattle drive will be a great getaway from their problems. Phil is scared, but goes, thinking it can't be scarier than the divorce he's about to go through. Mitch doesn't want to go, but Barbara talks him into it, saying he's miserable, and he's making the rest of the family miserable, and he needs to "find his smile again."

Their respective issues are reflected in a game Phil talks them into on the drive: What was your best day ever, and your worst day:

Mitch: Billy wrote his real-life best day into the script. He was 7, and his father took him to Yankee Stadium. Since they only had a black-and-white TV, this was the first game he'd ever seen in color. Mickey Mantle hit a home run, and he was hooked on baseball for life. Worst day: Barbara had a cancer scare, which, fortunately, turned out to be nothing.

Phil: Best day, his wedding. He was the first of them to get married, and he finally felt like he was a man, no longer a screw-up. Worst day: "Every day since is a tie."

Ed: Best day, he was 14, saw his mother catch his father cheating again, figured out that he was cheating on his kids, too, and stood up to him, telling him to get out. The father reached back to hit Ed, but Ed didn't budge. The father knew it was over, and got out, and Ed took care of his mother and his sister from then on. Worst day: "The same day."

Jack Palance won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, as Curly the trail boss, even though he's only onscreen for a few minutes.

Though Crystal is well-known to be a diehard Yankees fan, his character was a Mets fan in the movie because the Mets had been more accommodating over the years. First, the Yankees declined Crystal's request to hold a promotional day at Yankee Stadium for Comic Relief, a charity that Crystal, Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg set up to help the homeless. The Mets, on the other hand, were happy to host it. On the first day of shooting in Spain (for the Running of the Bulls segment), the Mets agreed to waive the $40,000 licensing fee for using their logo; the Yankees did not. And so, as Mitch, Billy wears a Mets cap throughout the film.

This was when George Steinbrenner was at his depths of pettiness. After his return from "exile," he and the Yankees became more accommodating, and treated Billy like the good guy celebrity he is.

Even if they make it to a petting zoo, cows don’t live all that long. However, at least one of the calves who played Norman -- they had to keep "recasting," since the calves literally outgrew the part faster than the film could shoot -- is known to have lived to the age of 18. And Billy Crystal took his horse home, and that horse lived to be 27.

*

June 7, 1991 was a Friday. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup had been decided 2 weeks earlier, when the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Minnesota North Stars. Game 3 of the NBA Finals was played on this day, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 104-96 in overtime at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers, 5-4 at Yankee Stadium. Don Mattingly singled Steve Sax home in the bottom of the 9th inning to win it, making John Habyan a winning pitcher in relief of Mike Witt.

* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 6-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. The Mets scored 6 runs in the top of the 9th inning, clobbering a young Curt Schilling, and making Doug Simons a winning pitcher in relief of Ron Darling.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 1-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Over 7 innings, Doug Drabek allowed 10 hits, but no runs. Three relievers completed a 13-hit shutout, just 1 hit short of the major league record. The only run came in the bottom of the 2nd inning, when Don Slaught singled Barry Bonds home. Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Allan Anderson pitched 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and Rick Aguilera pitched a perfect 9th.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-0 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Charlie Hough pitched 7 2/3rds innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and Scott Radinsky was perfect the rest of the way.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the California Angels, 5-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Frank Tanana pitched a 4-hit shutout against his former team.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-4.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4. Robin Yount went 0-for-4. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4.

April 28, 2001: Billy Crystal's 1961 Yankees Tribute "61*" Premieres

April 28, 2001: 61* premieres on HBO. Directed by Billy Crystal, one of the biggest New York Yankees fans alive, it tells the story of the 1961 Yankees, as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris pursued Babe Ruth’s 1927 record of 60 home runs in a season. (Crystal was then 13 years old.)

Thomas Jane played Mantle. Barry Pepper played Maris. Billy knew that Pepper was right for the part when he saw Saving Private Ryan, and saw Pepper's face, and said, "My God, that's Roger Maris!" Pepper proved to be just right for the role. As for Jane, he looked a bit like Mantle, and copied the Oklahoma drawl and limp right. But as for swinging the bat...

On the YES Network interview show CenterStage, host Michael Kay, a Yankee broadcaster, born just before the 1961 Yankees headed to Spring Training, and thus with no memory of this team, interviewed Crystal, who had played in the Broadway Show League, an amateur baseball league that plays in Central Park. Billy said he wanted to recruit actors who had played baseball, so they looked like ballplayers. He wanted to avoid them looking like Anthony Perkins had when playing Jimmy Piersall in Fear Strikes Out.

But when Billy asked Jane what kind of ballplayer he was, Jane said, "Let's just say I don't got any bad habits."

Crystal: "And I said, 'Oh, no.' And then, he actually got out there."

Kay: "Was he Tony Perkins bad?"

Crystal: "He was Tommy Tune bad!"

Kay, a devotee of Broadway, had to explain the inside joke to his studio audience: Tune was tall and thin, a great singer and dancer, certainly athletic. But Kay had seen him play ball, and he was no good.

Fortunately, Crystal held a training camp for the actors, and he brought in Reggie Smith. The former Boston and Los Angeles star was 3rd on the all-time home run list among switch-hitters, behind Mantle and Eddie Murray. He showed Jane how to properly swing the bat and, as a former right fielder, taught Jane how to properly play the outfield. Soon, having studied Mantle's swing from each side of the plate, Jane looked like Mickey Mantle at bat.

Anthony Michael Hall, the geekiest of the 1980s movie teen idols, played Yankee pitching ace Whitey Ford. But, try as he might, he couldn't throw lefthanded. So Crystal did for him what was done for Gary Cooper in The Pride of the Yankees: A Yankee uniform was made with the NY crest and the uniform number (in Ford's case, 16) reversed, Hall was filmed throwing righthanded, and the film was reversed, so it looked right.

Crystal's daughter, Jennifer Crystal Foley, played Maris' wife Pat. Bruce McGill -- D-Day in Animal House and Vince Korsak on Rizzoli & Isles -- played manager Ralph Houk. And, with help from CGI, Tiger Stadium in Detroit "played" the pre-renovation original Yankee Stadium.

Michael Nouri played Joe DiMaggio, Paul Borghese played Yogi Berra, Christopher McDonald played Mel Allen, and Joe Grifasi played Phil Rizzuto. When ESPN made The Bronx Is Burning, about the 1977 Yankees, McDonald played DiMaggio, Grifasi played Berra, Rizzuto was not shown but his real broadcasts were used, and Allen was not a character.

Crystal said he wanted to show the players as they really were, "warts and all." He did not shy away from Mickey's drinking, and the effect it had on them. At one point, he crashes his car, and Ford pays somebody off to say, "This never happened." Then he turns to Mantle, using each man's nickname for the other, and says, "Hey, Slick: How come every time you get drunk, it ends up costing me money?"

So to cut back on shenanigans, Maris invites Mantle to move in with him and his roommate, fellow outfielder Bob Cerv, in a rented house in Forest Hills, Queens, far from the temptations of Manhattan. Things settle down, and "The M&M Boys" start hitting home runs at a pace faster than Babe Ruth did in his 1927 season, when he set the record of 60.

The sportswriters and the fans both support Mantle breaking the record, because he's a "real Yankee" and a "great player"; while Maris -- the previous season's American League Most Valuable Player -- isn't a "real Yankee" (people forgot that Ruth didn't start out with the Yankees, either) and just a .270 hitter. Even Ruth's widow, Claire (Renée Taylor), doesn't want Roger to break the record -- but then, she doesn't want Mickey to break it, either.

At Yankee Stadium, the home fans boo Maris, the way they had once booed Mantle, for not having lived up to the legends of Ruth, Lou Gehrig and DiMaggio. But now, Mantle gets cheered harder than ever before. Richard Masur, playing a composite of some of the sportswriters, says, "That's because he's never been the underdog before."

Commissioner Ford Frick (Donald Moffat) orders that, in this 1st season of the expanded AL and the increased 162-game schedule, if Maris doesn't get to 61 within the 1st 154 games, there would be 2 separate records in the record book. The myth of "the asterisk" in the record book was born, but there never really was one. Nevertheless, the title of the movie is 61* -- Sixty-one, asterisk.

The myth of the "feud" between Mantle and Maris is also addressed. There never was one. But they do have one argument. Maris gets on Mickey for his drinking. Mickey responds by chiding Roger for his smoking.

In the end, Mickey has to bow out of the home run record chase due to a bizarre illness, finishing the season with a career-high 54 home runs; while Roger gets his 59th in the 154th game, and hits his 61st on the last day of the regular season. He gets a standing ovation from the 23,000 people who actually showed up.

He visits Mickey in the hospital, and Mickey tells him not only that it's the greatest thing he's ever seen in baseball, but that, if he had to choose, he'd want his kids to grow up like Roger, not like himself.

In the end? Roger Maris died in 1985, at the age of 51, due to lung cancer, from smoking. Mickey Mantle died in 1995, at the age of 63, also due to lung cancer, the cancer having spread from his liver, due to over 40 years of hard drinking. Neither lived to see the movie -- or to see the single-season MLB home run record rise to 70 under Mark McGwire in 1998 (the Maris children were in attendance in St. Louis that night), or to 73 under Barry Bonds in 2001.

*

April 28, 2001 was a Saturday. This was also the day that Dennis Tito became Earth's 1st "space tourist." I have a separate entry for that event.

And this turned out to be an interesting day in Yankee history for a 2nd reason: Future shortstop Anthony Volpe was born.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-6 at Yankee Stadium. Ted Lilly outpitched Tim Hudson. Chuck Knoblauch went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Paul O'Neill went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Derek Jeter went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Benny Agbayani singled Desi Relaford home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning, making Armando Benítez a winning pitcher, in relief of Rick Reed.

The Mets got home runs from Mike Piazza and Joe McEwing; and 3 hits each from Relaford, McEwing and Jay Payton. The Cardinals got home runs from Jim Edmonds, J.D. Drew, Édgar Rentería, and rookie sensation Albert Pujols -- but not from Mark McGwire, entering what turned out to be his final season. He was injured from April 15 to May 28.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. 

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 7-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-5 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Rookie sensation Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-6.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Montreal Expos, 8-4 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Cal Ripken, in his final season, went 1-for-4.

* The Houston Astros beat the Florida Marlins, 6-4 at Enron Field (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies, 9-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-1 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix. Despite 12 strikeouts, Randy Johnson was outpitched by Tom Glavine.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-1 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Tony Gwynn, in his final season, did not play, but Rickey Henderson went 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 stolen bases for the Padres.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-6 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-0 at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Shawn Estes pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Félix Rodríguez and Robb Nenn each pitched a perfect inning. Barry Bonds did not play.

Football was out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA Playoffs:

* The Orlando Magic beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 121-116 in overtime at the TD Waterhouse Centre (formerly the Orlando Arena). Tracy McGrady led all scorers on the day with 42 points for the Magic.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers, 92-87 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. Allen Iverson scored 32 points for the Sixers. Reggie Miller scored 35 in defeat for the Pacers.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz, 94-91 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 for the Mavs.

* And the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the San Antonio Spurs, 93-84 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

And there were 3 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-5 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands. Randy McKay scored the winning goal, 5:31 into overtime.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* And the Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.