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.

May 20, 2014: The Charlotte Hornets Are Restored

Kemba Walker, and Steph Curry,

son of former Hornets star Dell Curry

May 20, 2014: A press conference is held to announce the return of the Charlotte Hornets. No team has moved, and the expansion that made it possible had happened 10 years earlier. But on this day, the NBA announces that the Charlotte Bobcats, established in 2004 to replace the original team, which moved in 2002, has officially been awarded the name, colors, trademarks and history of the original team. This was similar to the NFL's deal with the Cleveland Browns from 1995 to 1999.

The original Charlotte Hornets were a minor-league baseball team that played from 1901 to 1973. During the War of the American Revolution, Britain's General Charles Cornwallis described Charlotte as "a hornet's nest of rebellion." The World Football League had a team with the name in 1974 and '75. The NBA version began play in 1988, and lasted until 2002, when they were moved to New Orleans.

In the 2013 off-season, the team's new owners willingly gave up all the Hornets' accoutrements, and adopted the name of Louisiana's State bird: The New Orleans Pelicans. This allowed the new Charlotte team, named the Bobcats after their original owner, broadcast executive Robert L. "Bob" Johnson, to take on the Hornets identity -- but, for legal reasons, they still had to wait another season.

The Hornets were officially "retconned" as having suspended operations from 2002 to 2014, while the Pelicans are considered a 2002 expansion team. Charlotte had already been using past footage of the original Hornets as part of the "Buzz City" campaign.

The new Hornets have honored 2 players from the old Hornets with the retirement of their uniform numbers: 13, for guard Bobby Phills; and 30, for guard Dell Curry, father of Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry and NBA journeyman Seth Curry.

The Pelicans returned Phills' 13 to Charlotte. The only number they've retired is from the previous NBA team in the city, the New Orleans Jazz, mainly because the player in question played for nearby Louisiana State University before coming to them: "Pistol" Pete Maravich, who wore 44 for the Atlanta Hawks and the Jazz, before switching to 7, which both the Pelicans and the now-Utah Jazz have retired. Maravich is also the only player from a pro basketball team from New Orleans to be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

*

May 20, 2014 was a Tuesday. The NBA was into its Playoffs, and 1 game was played: The Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers, 87-83 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

Football was out of season. The NHL was into its Stanley Cup Playoffs, but no games were scheduled. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago Cubs, 6-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Jason Hammel outpitched Masahiro Tanaka. Derek Jeter, in his final season, went 2-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-4 at Citi Field. Josh Beckett outpitched Rafael Montero -- barely, as neither starting pitcher reached the 6th inning. But the Dodgers had the better bullpen performance. Adrián González hit a home run for the Dodgers, while Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda hit them for the Mets.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. David Ortiz went 0-for-4 with a walk.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-4 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Julio Teheran pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. How many pitchers does it take to pitch a 4-hit shutout? This time, 4: Drew Pomeranz, 3 hits over 5 innings; Dan Otero, a hitless 6th and 7th; Luke Gregerson, a hit in the 8th; and Sean Doolittle, a hitless 9th.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins, 6-5 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami. Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base and 2 RBIs.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Adam Wainwright allowed only 1 baserunner, a double to Paul Goldschmidt in the 4th inning.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-6 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the San Diego Padres, 5-3 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* And the Los Angeles Angels beat the Houston Astros, 9-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

February 17, 2001: The Longest Shot In NBA History

February 17, 2001: The Charlotte Hornets play the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Baron Davis of the Hornets grabs a defensive rebound, and hurls the ball toward the other basket.

Such shots almost never go in, and they're not expected to, but you gotta try, just in case. This time, "just in case" happened: The ball went through the hoop. It gave the Hornets a 86-79 lead.

It was measured at 89 feet. It's believed to be the longest shot in NBA history. It surpassed an 87-foot shot that Earvin "Magic" Johnson made in 1987. The Hornets went on to beat the Bucks, 103-93. Davis finished with 21 points, and his teammate Jamal Mashburn led the game with 32.

Baron Walter Louis Davis -- his full real name -- was a Los Angeles native, then 31 years old. A point guard, he made the NBA All-Star Game twice. He was known for his defense, twice leading the league in steals per game. But he was not known as a good shooter from distance: His career shooting average from 3-point range was .320, compared to .409 from closer. However, he is the one who set this record. As of February 17, 2022, he still holds it.

On February 7, 1985, Bruce Morris of Marshall University closed the 1st half of a game with Appalachian State with a shot that was measured at 89 feet, 5 inches. It is recognized as the longest shot in college basketball history. Marshall won the game, 93-82. Morris never played in the NBA.

*

February 7, 2001 was a Wednesday. Baseball and football were out of season. These 5 other NBA games were played that day:

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat, 89-82 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Washington Wizards, 112-105 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 92-80 at The Summit in Houston. (Now the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.") Steve Francis led all scorers on the night, with 35 points.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 85-81 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.

* And the Atlanta Hawks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 101-94 at the KeyArena in Seattle.

And there were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4 at the Ice Palace (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Buffalo Sabres, 5-1 at HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-3 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal. 

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 5-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche played to a tie, 5-5 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Alexei Kovalev scored the winning goal, 1:19 into overtime.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-5 at the Skyreach Centre (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known) in Edmonton. Brendan Morrison scored the winning goal, 58 seconds into overtime.