November 23, 2002: The Pig's Head In El Clásico

November 23, 2002: El Clásico, the biggest sports rivalry in Spain, is played. It becomes the most famous game in the rivalry, but not for anything that was part of the actual game.

The country's 2 biggest soccer teams are Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and Futbol Club Barcelona. Real Madrid, the more successful of the two, became identified with the national government of Fascist leader Francisco Franco. Barcelona became identified with the resistance of the people of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, which opposed Franco and the Fascists, and were seriously oppressed. They are so deeply engrained in Catalan culture that they have adopted the slogan "Mes Que Un Club" (More Than a Club). It's even "written" into the seats at their stadium, the 98,000-seat Camp Nou.

As a result, Real Madrid have been seen as a "cheating" club, somehow turning draws into wins and losses into draws, with dives for penalties and "horror tackles" overlooked by the referees. Eventually, Barcelona learned how to do that, too, especially in European tournaments like the UEFA Champions League, to the point where they became known as "UEFAlona."

Luís Figo was a winger from outside Lisbon, Portugal. He had starred for Sporting Clube de Portugal (a.k.a. "Sporting Lisbon") before Barcelona bought him in 1995. He helped "Barça" win La Liga in 1998 and 1999, and became their most popular player.

Former Real Madrid captain Manolo Sanchis said Figo was his stiffest opponent, even more of a handful than Diego Maradona: "All by himself, he drove us crazy, dribbling us. He was a tremendous player, a crack."

Real Madrid, who had won the UEFA Champions League in 1998 and 2000, had a new club president, Florentino Pérez. He didn't just want the team to reassert themselves: He wanted to send Barça a message, and metaphorically stab their fans in the heart. So he promised Real fans that he would sign Figo, who had a buyout clause of €62 million. (If he could get it done, it would be a world record for a transfer fee for a "footballer": About $68 million, or about 21 times what Barça had paid for him 5 years earlier.)

Contrasting this stance with that of outgoing club president Lorenzo Sanz, ousted in a club election in favor of Pérez, Diego Torres, writing for Madrid newspaper El Pais (The Country), in Madrid, said, "This promise fulfilled all the superpower fantasies of Madridistas. Will he destroy Barcelona with a single cheque? They didn't give a shit for Lorenzo Sanz and his European Cups." In other words, Pérez was going to make it personal, and Real's fans ate it up.

Figo had been trying to renegotiate his Barcelona contract, but the club was stalling. This made him receptive to a move. But he was stuck: He couldn't tell anyone the deal was done until it was legal to announce it. But word got out, and he denied it. In other words, he lied. And the Cules believed him. When the deal was announced on July 25, 2000, the reaction in Catalonia was fury and a sense of betrayal: Not only had he gone to their arch-rivals, but he had lied about it.

Luís Figo

(Cules is a nickname for Barcelona supporters. At the stadium they used from 1922 to 1957, fans made an artificial last row of the stands by sitting on the ledge, with their rear ends, or "cules" in Romance languages, over the edge. So the most common name for Barcelona fans is, literally, "asses.")

The next game between the teams was at the Camp Nou in Barcelona on October 21, 2000 -- the same day as Game 1 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, but even Met fans don't hate the Yankees as much as the Cules hate the Madridistas and their team. Every time Figo touched the ball, the booing and whistling (often equivalent to booing in Europe) was intense. One banner in the stands read, "We hate you so much, because we loved you so much." Barcelona won, 2-0. 

But the Figo signing began the "Galácticos" era of Real Madrid, signing the best players in the world, and not caring how much it cost. They already had Raúl (González), Guti (real name: José María Gutiérrez), Fernando Hierro, Roberto Carlos, Fernando Morientes, Míchel Salgado, and goalkeeper Iker Casillas. To these were added Figo, Claude Makélélé, Zinedine Zidane, and finally Ronaldo (the Brazilian one, not the later Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, although Real did eventually sign him, too). It worked, as Los Blancos won the Champions League in 2002.

Raúl wore Number 7. He became known as "El Siete." The Seven. Even Figo, who wore 7 for Barcelona and for the Portugal national team, knew that he couldn't talk Raúl into giving the number up. So he switched to 10.

On November 23, 2002, a few days after Figo's 30th birthday, Real Madrid returned to the Camp Nou. It was a 9:00 PM start, so the fans had more time to have pregame drinks than usual. Every time Figo came within throwing range of Barça fans, objected rained down on him: Beer cans, bottles, golf balls, even cigarette lighters. In the 2nd half, with the score 0-0, Figo, the team's regular taker of corner kicks, went to take one. More objects fell near him. He turned around, smiled, and made a thumbs-up gesture, to let them know that they weren't going to stop him.

But the referee, Luis Medina Cantalejo, had seen enough, and he decided the game had to stop, long enough for the throwing to stop and the debris to be cleared. For 16 minutes, there was no action. At one point, a pig's head was found on the edge of the pitch, preserved the way it would be if the entire pig were to be roasted. The message was clear: "Figo, you're a pig." The TV cameras caught the image, and the whole world saw it.

The game was finally resumed, and Figo's corner came to nothing. At 11:08 PM, the final whistle was blown, and the game remained goalless.

Figo, Zidane, and the rest helped Real Madrid win La Liga in that 2002-03 season, Figo's 2nd league title with them, along with the 2 he won at Barcelona. In 2005, he left for Internazionale Milano, and won 4 Serie A (Italian league) titles with them, then retired.

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, and each team's fans, still hate each other's guts. And Barça fans still have not forgiven Figo. I suppose it hasn't occurred to them that if their own team had renegotiated his contract like he'd asked, he might not have gone.

*

November 23, 2002 was a Saturday. In English soccer, Arsenal traveled to Hampshire, and lost to Southampton, 3-2 at the St. Mary's Stadium.

El Clásico wasn't the only major rivalry being played that day. It was the beginning of Rivalry Week in American college football. Actually, no: The beginning was 3 days earlier, on Wedneasday night, when West Virginia upset Number 13 Virginia Tech, 21-18 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. On Thursday night, Number 1 Miami beat Number 17 Pittsburgh, 28-21 at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami. This clinched the Big East Conference title.

But among the games played on that Saturday:

* Rivalry: Number 2 Ohio State beat Number 12 Michigan, 14-9 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Ohio State thus won the Big Ten Conference title, and beat Miami in a controversial Fiesta Bowl to win the Bowl Championship Series National Championship.

* Rivalry: Number 3 Washington State were upset by Washington, 29-26 in the "Apple Cup" at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. "Wazzu" still won the Pacific-Ten Conference title.

* Number 4 Oklahoma beat Number 24 Texas Tech, 60-15 at Memorial Stadium, a.k.a. Owen Field, in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma then beat Colorado in the Big 12 Conference Championship Game, and, since Ohio State was Number 2 and locked into the BCS title game, were invited to the Rose Bowl as the now-Number 3 team. They beat Washington State.

* Number 5 Iowa had completed its regular season. They tied Ohio State for 1st in the Big 10, but they didn't play each other, and Ohio State had the higher ranking, so they went to the BCS title game.

* Number 6 Georgia had the week off, in preparation for next week's game against arch-rival Georgia Tech. They won that game, then beat Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game.

* Rivalry: Number 7 USC, the University of Southern California, beat Number 25 UCLA, the University of California at Los Angeles, 52-21 at the Rose Bowl outside Los Angeles in Pasadena, California. USC thus finished in a tie with Washington State for the Pac-10 title. But since Wazzu had beaten USC head-to-head, this would be the only game USC would play at the Rose Bowl stadium that season. USC went to the Orange Bowl, where they beat Iowa.

* Number 8 Notre Dame beat Rutgers, 42-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Rivalry: Number 9 Alabama were upset by Auburn, 17-7 in the "Iron Bowl" at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. 'Bama still finished 1st in the SEC Western Division, but were on probation, and not permitted to play in the SEC Championship Game.

* Number 10 Kansas State beat Missouri, 38-0 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.

* Number 14 Florida State were upset by North Carolina State, 17-7 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. FSU still won the Atlantic Coast Conference title, but lost the Sugar Bowl to Georgia.

* Rivalry: Number 18 Maryland were upset by Virginia, 48-13 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.

* Rivalry: North Carolina beat Duke, 23-21 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

* Rivalry: Tennessee beat Vanderbilt, 24-0 at Vanderbilt Stadium (now First Bank Stadium) in Nashville.

* Rivalry: Purdue beat Indiana, 34-10 for the "Old Oaken Bucket" at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

* Rivalry: Illinois beat Northwestern, 31-24 at Ryan Field outside Chicago in Evanston, Illinois.

* Rivalry: Wisconsin beat Minnesota, 49-31 for "Paul Bunyan's Axe" at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Rivalry: Utah beat Brigham Young, 13-6 in the "Holy War" at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* Rivalry: The University of California beat Stanford, 30-7 in "The Big Game" at the original California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

* Rivalry: Oregon State beat Oregon, 45-24 in "The Civil War" at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.

* And among the service academies, Army lost to the University of Memphis, 38-10 at the Liberty Bowl (now Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium) in Memphis; Navy lost to Wake Forest, 30-27 at Groves Stadium (now Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Air Force lost to San Diego State, 38-34 at Falcon Field in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Baseball was out of season. There were 9 games played in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 96-82 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks, 109-99 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Washington Wizards, 85-74 at the Great American Pyramid in Memphis.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 97-84 at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, 106-91 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 115-105 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls, 110-90 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns, 80-79 at the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 95-94 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.

And there were 13 games in the NHL:

* Speaking of rivalries, the New York Islanders beat the New York Rangers, 3-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens, 7-3 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-2 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 6-3 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-0 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-1 at the Mellon Arena (as the Pittsburgh Civic Arena was then known).

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Nashville Predators, 4-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers played to a 1-1 tie at the Skyreach Centre (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known) in Edmonton.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Dallas Stars, 2-0 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

September 24, 1957: The Camp Nou Opens In Barcelona

September 24, 1957: Futbol Club Barcelona open a new stadium, the Camp Nou. The opening event is a Catholic Mass, attended by 90,000 people, not a soccer game (football match).

From 1926 to 1957, FC Barcelona had played at Camp de Les Corts, having expanded it to 60,000 seats. But their post-World War II success meant that they needed more seats, and it was impossible to expand the stadium any further. Camp Nou would eventually hold over 120,000 fans, before its conversion to all-seater brought capacity down to 98,000, meaning it was still the biggest club soccer stadium in Europe.

Barcelona became identified with the resistance of the people of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, which opposed Francisco Franco and the Fascists, and were seriously oppressed. They are so deeply engrained in Catalan culture that they have adopted the slogan "Mes Que Un Club" (More Than a Club). It's even "written" into the seats at their stadium, the 98,000-seat Camp Nou.

As a result, Real Madrid have been seen as a "cheating" club, somehow turning draws into wins and losses into draws, with dives for penalties and "horror tackles" overlooked by the referees. Eventually, Barcelona learned how to do that, too, especially in European tournaments like the UEFA Champions League, to the point where they became known as "UEFAlona."

Since moving into the Camp Nou, Barça have won Spain's La Liga 20 times, for a total of 26 (UPDATE: They won a 21st in 2023, making 27); the Copa del Rey, the King's Cup, Spain's version of the FA Cup, 19 times, for a total of 31; and won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League 5 times: In 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015. (They've also lost the Final in 1961, 1986 and 1994.)

In addition, the Camp Nou has hosted 2 Champions League Finals: 1989, with A.C. Milan beating Steaua București; and 1999, with Manchester United coming from behind in stoppage time to beat Bayern Munich. It also hosted 5 games in the 1982 World Cup, and the soccer games for the 1992 Olympics.

A renovation plan was approved in 2022. Barça will play the 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, the main stadium for the 1992 Olympics. 

*

September 24, 1957 was a Tuesday. It was the day that President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to enforce the law desegregating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. I have a separate entry for that.

American football was in midweek. And the starts of the NBA and NHL seasons were a month away. But a full slate of Major League Baseball games was played:

* The most significant was, as already widely believed but not yet officially confirmed, the last game  at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. I also have a separate entry for that.

The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 on a 5-hit shutout by rookie lefthander Danny McDevitt. The Dodgers would have the next 2 days off, and close their history as a Brooklyn-based team away to the Philadelphia Phillies, losing the finale.

Two nights earlier, Duke Snider had hit the last 2 home runs at the ballpark. The last play was Dee Fondy grounding to short, where, appropriately, Pee Wee Reese, a Dodger since 1940, threw to Gil Hodges for the last out.

* The New York Giants, who had already announced their move to San Francisco for the 1958 season, lost to the Phillies, 5-0 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Curt Simmons pitched a 4-hit shutout. Willie Mays went 0-for-3. Five days later, on Sunday, September 29, the Giants would play their last game at the Polo Grounds, and lost to the Pirates, 9-1.

For the next 4 seasons, New York's National League baseball fans, unwilling to give up baseball, but unwilling to switch to the American League's New York Yankees, took the Pennsylvania Railroad from Penn Station in New York to the North Philadelphia station, and walked the 7 blocks from Broad Street down Lehigh Avenue to 21st Street, and walked into Connie Mack Stadium to watch the Phillies play the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Francisco Giants.

If they were feeling particularly adventurous, they would drive down, and risk their cars, parking in the North Philly ghetto. Some would cheer their old heroes. Some would boo them.

In 1962, the New York Mets arrived, and the former fans of the Dodgers and the Giants would join in a "marriage of convenience" -- one which produced "The New Breed," the Met fans too young to really remember the former teams.

* The Yankees? They didn't play that night. Nor did the Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Indians, or the Detroit Tigers.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Senators, 2-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Ted Williams hit a home run.

* The Cincinnati Redlegs -- from 1954 to 1958, the Reds used that name due to the stupidity of the Red Scare -- swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Reds won the opener 4-3, and the nightcap 11-9. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 2-for-9 with a home run and 2 RBIs for the Cubs; while, for the Reds, Frank Robinson went 1-for-6 with an RBI, and Wally Post homered in both games.

* The Milwaukee Braves, having clinched their 1st NL Pennant the night before on an 11th-inning home run by Hank Aaron, beat the St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee County Stadium again, this time 6-1 in the regulation 9 innings. In this game, Aaron went 1-for-5, but the hit was a grand slam. Stan Musial went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* And the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics, 7-6 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. 

July 25, 2000: Luís Figo's Defection Begins the "Galácticos" Era

July 25, 2000: Real Madrid Club de Fútbol sign Luís Figo to a contract. This begins the team's "Galácticos" Era.

The Spanish soccer team define themselves by the UEFA Champions League, the tournament known from its 1955 establishment until 1992 as the European Cup, which is still the name of the trophy given to the winner. They won the 1st 5 in a row, from 1956 to 1960. They won it again in 1966. Then they didn't win it again until 1998. From 1966 onward, managers have been fired for not winning it, even after seasons when they won Spain's La Liga.

They won it in 2000, in large part because they had signed one of the best players from England, Liverpool FC's Steve McManaman. Inspired by this, and newly installed as the team's president, Florentino Pérez was determined to keep it. So, hearing that Figo, the most popular player for their arch-rivals, FC Barcelona, was disgruntled and wanted to leave, they paid €62 million for him.

The reaction in Catalonia was fury and a sense of betrayal: One banner at an El Clásico match between the teams read, "We hate you so much, because we loved you so much."

(Note: This post is about Real's Galácticos. Figo's move from Barcelona to Real Madrid, and how it affected the relationship between the teams, is a separate story, deserving of a separate post, which I have written.)

Pérez also signed Claude Makélélé from Spanish team Celta Vigo. He and Figo were added to a team that already included Fernando Hierro, Raúl (González), Guti (real name: José María Gutiérrez), Roberto Carlos, Fernando Morientes, Míchel Salgado, and goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

But Real were eliminated from the 2001 Champions League in the Semifinal, by Germany's Bayern Munich. So Pérez poached perhaps the best player in the world at the time, spending €73.5 million to get French midfielder Zinedine Zidane from Italian team Juventus. It worked, as Zidane led Los Blancos to win the Champions League in 2002.

But enough was never enough. Pérez shelled out €45 million to get the world's best forward, 2002 World Cup winner Ronaldo of Brazil, from Italian team Internazionale Milano. A generation later, it can now truthfully be said that Cristiano Ronaldo is not even the greatest Ronaldo to play for Real Madrid in the 21st Century.

But in 2003, Juventus knocked Real out in the Semifinals. So Pérez splashed the cash again, giving English champions Manchester United €37.5 million for the most famous (though hardly the best) player in England, David Beckham. It wasn't enough: In 2004, AS Monaco eliminated Real on penalties in the Quarterfinal.

So Pérez made another entreaty to England, getting Michael Owen from Liverpool. But the injuries that curtailed Owen's career were already taking effect. The era was fizzling out, and Real did not win the Champions League again until 2014 -- although that started a run of 5 in 9 years, giving them 14, twice as many as any other team.

The Galácticos concept inspired other teams. In 2003, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought West London team Chelsea FC, and spent them to glory, including buying Makélélé. The royal family of the United Arab Emirates bought Manchester City, and did the same thing. The prices of players went up, up, up. A player whose talents might have cost €5 million in 2005 would, by 2015, have cost €50 million, leading to the joke, "Did somebody forget a decimal point?"

*

July 25, 2000 was a Tuesday. In America, the only sport in progress at the time was baseball. These games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 19-1 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Bronx Bombers got home runs from Paul O'Neill, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Ryan Thompson and Clay Bellinger. Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher.

The Yankees knew a thing or two about building a team of superstars, although, being from an Anglophone country, they didn't use the term "Galácticos." The Orioles' "Galáctico," Cal Ripken Jr., having ended his streak in 1998, did not play in this game.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 5-0 at Shea Stadium. Glendon Rusch was the winning pitcher. The Mets' "Galáctico," Mike Piazza, went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. The Expos' "Galáctico," Vladimir Guerrero Sr., went 1-for-4.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. The New Englanders' "Galáctico," Nomar Garciaparra, went 2-for-4. David Ortiz went 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs -- for the Twins. He wouldn't join the Red Sox until 2003. It's not clear when his steroid use began, but that was the year he tested positive for them.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Cubs' "Galáctico," Sammy Sosa, went 0-for-1... with 3 walks.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 6-5 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. The Braves' "Galáctico," Chipper Jones, went 1-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Tom Glavine was the winning pitcher.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-3 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. The Tribe's "Galáctico," Jim Thome, went 0-for-1 with 2 walks, then left the game due to injury.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. José Hernández singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. The Astros had 2 "Galácticos": Craig Biggio went 2-for-4 with a walk, and Jeff Bagwell went 1-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. The Reds also had 2 "Galácticos," both graduates of Cincinnati's Archbishop Moeller High School: Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs; while Barry Larkin (5 years older and never a teammate, even in an All-Star Game, until this season) went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 6-4 at Comerica Park (now Fifth Third Park) in Detroit. The Rays' "Galácticos," Jose Canseco and Fred McGriff, both went 2-for-3 with a walk. Canseco also had an RBI.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-1 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. The South Siders' "Galáctico," Frank Thomas, went 1-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The Cards' "Galáctico," Mark McGwire, did not play. The Diamondbacks', Randy Johnson, did, but was the losing pitcher.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Anaheim Angels, 9-6 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). The Padres' "Galáctico," Tony Gwynn, did not play, although you could count reliever Trevor Hoffman, who got the save in relief of Woody Williams. The Giants' "Galáctico," Barry Bonds, went 0-for-4.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-7 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

May 20, 1992: Barcelona Fulfill the Dream

May 20, 1992: The last European Cup Final under the old format is played at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Starting next season, it will become the UEFA Champions League, although the trophy, nicknamed Ol' Big Ears, will still be known as the European Cup.

FC Barcelona play UC Sampdoria, of Genoa, Italy. It's hard to imagine now, but, then, Barça were a team that couldn't win the big one. With their defeat in the 1986 Final still smarting, and with arch-rivals Real Madrid CF having won it 6 times already, they were desperate to finally win it.

The match ends scoreless, and it goes to extra time (or, as we would say, overtime). In the 112th minute (8 minutes left), Ronald Koeman -- a Dutchman who came to star for Barcelona, as had his manager, Johan Cruijff -- scores the goal that makes the Catalan club Champions of Europe at last. It launches Catalonia in a year that also sees their city host the Olympics.

Cruijff, who had won the European Cup 3 straight times with Ajax Amsterdam in the early 1970s, becomes the 1st man to win it as both a player and a manager. He has since been followed by Carlo Ancelotti of Milan, Cruijff's protege Pep Guardiola (who played in this game), and Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid.

*

May 20, 1992 was a Wednesday. Actor Jack Gleeson, best known for playing Joffrey Baratheon on Game of Thrones, and definitely no to be confused with Jackie Gleason, was born on this day.

American-style football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were underway, but no games were played. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 3 of the Clarence Campbell Conference Finals was played at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3. Jeremy Roenick scored the winning goal, 2:45 into overtime.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Charlie Hayes doubled Jesse Barfield home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning, making John Habyna a winning pitcher in relief of Scott Kamieniecki. Jim Abbott started for the Angels. Don Mattingly went 1-for-5.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 12-6 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-7 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Pat Borders singled Kelly Gruber home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 1-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. José Guzmán pitched 8 1/3rd innings of 5-hit shutout ball, before Jeff Russell got the last 2 outs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Robin Yount went 2-for-4.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. George Brett went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds, still with the Pirates, went 1-for-4.

May 17, 2006: Arsenal's Champions League Robbery

Top row, left to right: Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann, Gilberto Silva,

Emmanuel Eboué, Kolo Touré, Robert Pires.

Bottom row, left to right: Aliaksandr Hleb, Cesc Fàbregas,

Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole.

May 17, 2006: North London soccer team Arsenal FC reach the UEFA Champions League Final for the first time, at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

The fact that Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger got a team with Emmanuel Eboué at right back, Aliaksandr Hleb at left midfield, and the weak-minded (and not yet 19-year-old) Cesc Fàbregas in central midfield into the Final shows that he was a better manager than Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp could ever be.

FC Barcelona were managed by Frank Rijkaard, who had won the Champions League, then known as the European Cup, as a player with AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, and with Ajax Amsterdam after the tournament's name change in 1995.

This team was absolutely loaded, with the great Brazilian forward Ronaldinho; Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o, rising Spanish stars Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, Swedish star Henrik Larsson; and national Captains Carles Puyol of Spain, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Mark van Bommel of the Netherlands, and Rafael Márquez of Mexico.

(Lionel Messi had already made his debut for Barcelona, but was not listed as a starter or a substitute for this game. Former star and future manager Josep "Pep" Guardiola was wrapping up his playing career elsewhere.)

When Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off with a straight red card in the 18th minute by referee Terje Hauge -- dubiously, if not incorrectly -- and Wenger had to send in backup goalie Manuel Almunia, later so bad he was nicknamed "The Clown" by his own team's fans -- he had to take off an attacking player to meet the down-to-10-men requirement, and he chose Robert Pires. A massive mistake.

But not as big a mistake as sending Lehmann off in the first place. He brought down a charging Eto'o, and then Ludovic Giuly tapped the ball into the net. It could have been 1-0 Barça. Except the linesman had his flag raised, meaning Eto'o was offside. Therefore, Lehmann bringing him down should have been canceled out, and Hauge awarded Barça a free kick. This was the correct ruling.

But then, Puyol and van Bommel got in Hauge's face, and Edmilson started waving an imaginary red card. Thus intimidated, instead of giving each of the three of them yellow cards for dissent, Hauge gave Lehmann the straight red, reducing Arsenal to 10 men.

Arsenal actually went 1-0 up in the 37th minute, thanks to a header by Sol Campbell. And they held that 1-0 lead into the 76th minute. There were 14 minutes, plus stoppage time, left. And then...

Well, you didn't expect FC Barcelona, one of the dirtiest sports teams on the planet, to let that pass without cheating, did you? Eto'o's equalizer was clearly offside, but Hauge gave the goal. And then, in the 80th minute, Juliano Belletti put Barça up, 2-1. That was the final score.

Juliano Belletti

Thierry Henry, who captained Arsenal in the game, and picked the worst possible time to have a bad game, said afterward, "I don't know if the referee was wearing a Barcelona shirt. If he didn't want us to win, he should have said so from the off.

This turned out to be the last game for Arsenal for Pires, Campbell, the tapped-up Ashley Cole, and the retiring Dennis Bergkamp. And it was the beginning of the end at Arsenal for Henry. He did win a Champions League title... with Barcelona in 2009. By that point, Guardiola was managing them to tainted glory, and Messi was, along with Cristiano Ronaldo of arch-rival Real Madrid, being called the best player in the world.

I hadn't yet become an Arsenal fan. Which is a good thing. This game, known to Arsenal fans as "Heartbreak In Paris," the closest they have ever come to winning the Champions League, came just 6 days after my grandmother's death. I did not need this added to the list of things on my mind.

Arsenal would also be knocked out of the CL by Barcelona, albeit in earlier rounds, in 2010 and 2011, the latter being one of the most dubious games in team history, worthy of its own post, which I have written. Arsenal reached the Semifinals in 2009, but were knocked out by Manchester United.

UPDATE: In 2025, knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain, who went on to win the Final.

*

May 17, 2006 was a Wednesday. American football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs that day. The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 86-84 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. LeBron James scored 32 points. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks, 98-97 at the SBC Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio. Tim Duncan scored 36 points.

There was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-0 at Rexall Place, as the Northlands Coliseum was then known.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at Yankee Stadium. Chien-Ming Wang was the winning pitcher. Derek Jeter went 2-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0 at the new 3rd edition of Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Mark Mulder came within 2 outs of a 4-hit shutout, and former Met starter Jason Isringhausen, now the Cards' closer, had to finish it for him. Steve Trachsel took the loss, as the Cards only got 4 hits themselves, and Mulder, who spent most of his career in the American League with the designated hitter, got 2 of them. The only run came in the 6th inning, when Scott Rolen hit a sacrifice fly to score Albert Pujols.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Camden Yards. David Ortiz hit a steroid-aided home run.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 6-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. The Marlins scored a run in the top of the 11th inning, but Chipper Jones hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 11th to win it.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-0 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Jake Westbrook pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-0 at Comerica Park (now Fifth Third Park) in Detroit. Justin Verlander pitched 8 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and Todd Jones completed the 7-hit shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals, 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sean Marshall pitched 6 innings, and the bullpen finished the shutout. The Nats only got 1 hit, a single by Alfonso Soriano in the 6th.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-7 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 10-1 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. Barry Bonds did not play.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 14-10  at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-0 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Casey Jansen pitched 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and B.J. Ryan completed the 2-hit shutout.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the McAfee Coliseum).

May 13, 1902: Real Madrid's 1st Game

May 13, 1902: A soccer game (football match) is played at the Hipódromo de la Castellana, a horse-racing track in Madrid, Spain. Futbol Club Barcelona defeated Madrid Football Club, 3-1.

The goals for Barça are scored by 2 of the club's founders, 2 by Udo Steinberg, who had also been present at the founding of German Football Association (DFB) in 1900; and 1 by Hans Max Gamper-Haessig, a Swiss man who adopted the Catalan name Joan Gamper when he moved to Barcelona. Madrid's goal was scored by Arthur Johnson, an Irishman who was one of his club's founding members.

This game was a Semifinal in the Copa de la Coronación, a tournament held to honor the Coronation of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, set for May 17, his 16th birthday. On May 15, the Final was held, and Barcelona were defeated by Club Bizcaya, a team made up of the best players of Athletic Club Bilbao and Bilbao Football Club. The Copa now rests Athletic Bilbao's club museum.

The May 13 match was the 1st match ever played by Madrid FC, whose co-founder and later club president, Carlos Padrós, came up with the idea for the tournament. The founders included some Englishmen, and their all-white uniforms were adopted from the famed English amateur side Corinthians.

In 1920, Alfonso XIII granted Madrid FC the honorific "Real," meaning "Royal." Ever since, they have been known as Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. In 1929, along with Barcelona, they were founding members of Spain's La Liga.

It is retroactively appropriate that Real's 1st match ever was against Barça: Their rivalry is known as El Clásico, the Classic, and it has become the biggest sports rivalry on planet Earth. Real have won La Liga 35 times, the Copa del Rey (King's Cup, Spain's version of the FA Cup) 20 times; and the UEFA Champions League a record 13 times, in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In comparison, Barça have won La Liga 26 times, the Copa del Rey 31 times; and the Champions League 5 times, in 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015. Not only do Real still have bragging rights over the Blaugrana, but these totals have led many to consider Los Blancos, a.k.a. Los Meringues, the greatest sports team in the world.

Personally, I would say they're not. In 2012, I saw Real Madrid play at the new Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, beating AC Milan of Italy, 5-1. Milan have won the Champions League 7 times, and, combined with Real's 13, makes a total of 20, still well short of the 27 World Series wins by the game's hosts, the New York Yankees. And if Real's 3 Intercontinental Cup wins over South America's champions and their 4 "Club World Cup" titles are treated as anything more than glorified friendlies, well, that's your issue, not mine.

(UPDATE: Real won a 20th Copa del Rey in 2023; a 36th La Liga title in 2024; and the Champions League for the 14th time in 2022 and the 15th time in 2024. Barça have won La Liga titles in 2023, 2025 and 2026, for a total of 29; and the Copa del Rey in 2025, for a total of 32.)

The Hipódromo de la Castellana opened in 1878, to celebrate the wedding of King Alfonso XII to his Queen, Maria Christina, a former Princess of Austria. It was demolished in 1933, due to the widening of the Paseo de la Castellana, and replaced as Madrid's main horse track by the Hipódromo de la Zarzuela. Buildings of the Nuevos Ministerios, housing several cabinet departments, now stand on the site of the Hipódromo de la Castellana.

Alfonso XII died on November 25, 1885, while Maria Christina was pregnant. She was proclaimed Queen Regent by Spain's parliament, the Cortes Generales (General Courts), until the baby was born on May 17, 1886, and was then Regent for King Alfonso XIII thereafter until 1902. In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic abolished the monarchy, and Alfonso lived in exile in Rome until his death on February 28, 1941.

By that point, the Spanish Civil War had been fought, and won by the Fascist Generalissimo Francisco Franco. He refused to restore the monarchy, and forced Alfonso's son and heir, Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, to renounce his claim to the throne.

But as Franco fell ill in the 1970s, with only daughters, and no sons, he recognized Juan's son as his successor, thinking him sufficiently conservative. With Franco's death in 1975, the Cortes recognized Juan's son as King Juan Carlos I. He turned out not to be as conservative as Franco would have liked, and he served as head of state over mostly liberal governments until abdicating in 2014, in favor of his son, King Felipe VI.

*

May 13, 1902 was a Monday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1 at Robison Field in St. Louis. The Giants scored 2 runs in the top of the 10th inning to win the game. George Van Haltren and Frank Bowerman each had 3 hits.

* The Chicago Orphans beat the Brooklyn Superbas, 2-0 at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. Walter "Pop" Williams left the game after only 2 innings, and John Menefee pitched the rest of the way, completing a 5-hit shutout.

The Chicago team, formerly known as the White Stockings and, for their youth, as the Colts, had long been led by 1st baseman and manager Adrian Constantine Anson. He was known as "Cap," for "Captain," until he got older, and became known as "Pop." He retired after the 1897 season, and the team became known as the "Orphans," because "they missed their Pop." They were renamed the Chicago Cubs in 1903. The Brooklyn team became the Dodgers in 1911.

* The Washington Senators were leading the Baltimore Orioles, 10-6 at Oriole Park in Baltimore, when the game was stopped due to rain after 6 innings. The Orioles folded at the end of the season, and were replaced by the New York team that would become the Yankees in 1913. The Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.

* The Cleveland Blues beat the St. Louis Browns, 4-3 at League Park in Cleveland. The next season, the Blues renamed themselves for their best hitter and 2nd baseman, and even named him their manager: Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, who did not play in this game. They became the Cleveland Naps in 1903, the Cleveland Indians in 1915, and the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 24-2 at The Palace of the Fans, the Reds' new ballpark in Cincinnati. The Reds scored 8 runs in the 1st inning, and 7 in the 8th. Every Reds player got at least 2 hits, including pitcher Bill Phillips, who went 4-for-5 with a walk and 4 RBIs.

Jake Beckley went 4-for-6 with a walk and 3 RBIs. Tommy Corcoran went 4-for-6 with 2 RBIs. Harry Steinfeldt, later to be the 3rd baseman in the Cubs' "Tinker to Evers to Chance" infield, went 3-for-6 with 3 RBIs, including the game's only home run. Sam Crawford went 3-for-7 with 3 RBIs. And deaf center fielder Billy "Dummy" Hoy went 2-for-5 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Stockings, 7-3 at Bennett Park in Detroit. The White Stockings became the Chicago White Sox in 1904.

* The Boston Beaneaters and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 26. The Pirates swept, 8-1 and 3-0. Ed Doheny pitched a 2-hit shutout in the nightcap. Over the 2 games, Honus Wagner went 4-for-8 with 2 RBIs. The Beaneaters went through some name changes before becoming the Braves in 1912.

* And the Boston Americans and the Philadelphia Athletics were rained out at Columbia Park in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 22. The Americans, who became the Boston Red Sox in 1908, won the opener, 5-1. Bill Dineen outpitched Andy Coakley. The A's won the nightcap, 5-3. Rube Waddell outpitched Nick Altrock.

May 6, 2009: Cheatfest at Stamford Bridge

Ancelotti (left) unable to stop Drogba

May 6, 2009: A UEFA Champions League Semifinal is played at Stamford Bridge in West London. Michael Essien scored for host Chelsea FC in the 9th minute. Chelsea, managed by former AC Milan star player and manager Carlo Ancelotti, still led FC Barcelona, managed by their former star player Pep Guardiola, 1-0 going into stoppage time.

Had that score held, Chelsea would have advanced to the Final, which would have been a rematch of the previous season's Final, where they lost to Manchester United in Moscow.

Chelsea were already known as a team of cheats, especially "diving" for free kicks and penalties. None was worse than Didier Drogba, the forward from the African nation of the Ivory Coast. I was at work (due to the 5-hour time difference between London and the U.S. East Coast), and was following the game on a message board, where someone wrote, "How many times has Drogba been shot in this game? I count four."

But their opponents, FC Barcelona, cheated more than any sports team in the world at the time. And the referee, a Norwegian named Tom Henning Øvrebø, fell for all of it. The Chelsea players believed they should have been awarded 4 penalties during the game. During postgame analysis, the clearly pro-English commentators on Sky Sports 2 (Britain's version of ESPN2) said they were unfairly denied 3.

Barça left back Eric Abidal somehow avoided a red card before he was sent off in the 66th minute, for a soft foul on Nicolas Anelka. In the 82nd minute, there was a handball in the penalty area by Gerard Piqué (the longtime boyfriend of singer Shakira) that Øvrebø did not call. 

And in the 93rd minute, which had been intended as the last minute of stoppage time, Andrés Iniesta scored to make it 1-1. It was Barça's only shot on target in the entire game. Some "best team in the world" they were.

Because of the goal, Barça's celebration of it, and Chelsea's objections to Øvrebø, play continued into a 96th minute. In that minute, there was another Barcelona handball in the box, committed by Samuel Eto'o. Øvrebø awarded Eto'o a yellow card, but he did not award Chelsea a penalty. Granted, there was no guarantee that the penalty would have been converted, but Øvrebø had directedly contradicted the written rule of the sport.

Øvrebø blew his whistle, and it was 1-1 on the night, and 1-1 in the tie overall. Due to the away goals rule in place at the time, Barcelona advanced.

Chelsea were furious. German midfielder Michael Ballack, himself a notorious diver, chased Øvrebø off the pitch in anger. And Drogba, a native French speaker, showed his proficiency in English, as well as a massive hypocrisy: He looked into a camera, and yelled, "It's a disgrace! It's a disgrace! It's a fucking disgrace!" He later received a 6-game suspension within European play for his actions. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech said, "We all remember Didier Drogba's reaction, and he got slammed for it, but what did people expect?"

People expected the rules to be properly followed by the players, and to be properly applied by the officials. In this case, they got neither. But then, fans of both Chelsea and Barcelona had cheered their own players when the rules were violated. So, if this game was a disgrace, then, what should they have expected?

Barcelona went on to defeat Manchester United in the Final, in Rome. They would beat Man United in the 2011 Final as well, at London's Wembley Stadium. Chelsea finally won the Champions League in 2012, becoming the 1st London-based team to do so.

Drogba was such a cheat, he once dove for a penalty, and received it, against Arsenal in a preseason friendly.

Øvrebø refereed his last game in 2012, turning to his other profession full-time: He's a psychologist.

UEFA officially removed the away goal rule from all of its club competitions -- including the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Europa Conference League -- starting with the 2021-22 season. The rule was abolished not because so many people considered it to be unfair, but because it was deemed to discourage home teams from attacking in the first leg.

*

May 6, 2009 was a Wednesday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3 at the new Yankee Stadium. Joe Girardi brought Phil Coke in to pitch the 10th inning, instead of leaving Mariano Rivera in. In this case, Coke was not it: He gave up a leadoff home run to Carlos Peña. All 3 Yankee runs were driven in by Mark Teixeira, who went 2-for-5. Derek Jeter went 0-for-5.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at the new Citi Field. Johan Santana was the winning pitcher. The only run came in the bottom of the 7th, when Fernando Tatís Sr. singled home Carlos Delgado.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Baltimore Orioles were leading the Minnesota Twins, 4-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, when the game was called due to rain after 6 innings.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 8-6 at Land Shark Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 15-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 6-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants, 11-1 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres, 3-1 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels, 13-1 at Angel Stadium (formerly Anaheim Stadium).

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals, 10-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 8. The Tigers won the opener, 5-4. The White Sox won the nightcap, 6-1.

American-style football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic, 112-94 at the TD Banknorth Garden (now named simply the TD Garden) in Boston. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets, 111-98 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant scored 40 points.

There were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jussi Jokinen scored the winning goal, 2:48 into overtime. And the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then known) in Pittsburgh. Kris Letang scored the winning goal, 11:23 into overtime.