December 31, 2011: The Last American Combat Troops Leave Iraq

December 31, 2011: The last American combat troops leave Iraq. It had been 8 years, 9 months and 11 days since the first ones got there.

And what did America get out of it? Well, we got rid of Saddam Hussein, and replaced him with... a government that we're still not sure is trustworthy. And we emboldened neighboring Iran, who were glad to see Saddam out. And we emboldened terrorists in the Middle East, ditto.

Over 1 million Iraqis, the vast majority of them civilians, died as a result of this war. American combat deaths were, officially, 4,507; with another 32,292 wounded, another 47,541 listed under "Injured/diseases/other medical." How many have psychiatric issues as a result of being sent there, we may never know.

In his 1988 book 1968 In America, Charles Kaiser reasoned that the only good thing about the Vietnam War was that America had apparently learned its lesson, and had never had another "Vietnam." That was before George W. Bush, who actively sought to avoid serving in Vietnam even as he supported the war effort (as Donald Trump did, but Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Joe Biden did not) wanted Iraq's oil.

Why is it that Democratic Presidents always have to clean up the messes left by their Republican predecessors? Barack Obama got the Democratic nomination for President in 2008 because, unlike Hillary Clinton, he did not vote in the U.S. Senate (which she was then in, but he was not) to authorize the Iraq War in any way. Maybe he would have won the general election even without the economic crash later that year. But it was the war, and the atrocities committed by certain Americans in it, some of them civilians, that ruined Bush's legacy before the crash did.

Obama said he would end the war. His Republican opponent, John McCain said he would end it by winning it. America preferred an ending sooner rather than later, and voted for Obama. And he ended it.

And we will be paying for it, in many ways, for a long time to come. Which we can truthfully say about a lot of Republican policies.

*

December 31, 2011 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. All the NFL games that weekend were played the next day, New Year's Day. There were 5 college football bowl games played:

* The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas was played at what's now NRG Stadium in Houston. This used to be known as the Texas Bowl, and is the successor to the old Bluebonnet Bowl that was played at the Astrodome. Texas A&M beat Northwester, 33-22.

* The Hyundai Sun Bowl was played at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. Utah beat Georgia Tech, 30-27 in overtime.

* The AutoZone Liberty was played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis. (A memorial to a game that's still being played?) The University of Cincinnati beat Vanderbilt, 31-24.

* The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl was played at what's now Oracle Park in San Francisco. Illinois beat UCLA, 20-14.

* And the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the once-and-future Peach Bowl, was played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Auburn beat Virginia, 43-24.

There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Sacramento Kings, 114-92 at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, 96-88 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns, 107-97 at what's now the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 95-84 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 104-89 at what's now the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets, 92-89 at what's now the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Andrew Bynum led all scorers on the night with 29 points.

* And the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Golden State Warriors, 107-79 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena).

There were 12 NHL games played that day:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1 at the Prudential Center. Ilya Kovalchuk, David Clarkson and Zach Parise scored.

* The New York Islanders beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2 at the St. Pete Times Form (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at the BankAtlantic Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 in a shootout at the First Niagara Center (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-0 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

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

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at the MTS Centre (now the Canada Life Centre) in Winnipeg.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Anaheim Ducks, 4-2 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-1 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The New York Rangers, the Calgary Flames, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Nashville Predators, the Philadelphia Flyers and the San Jose Sharks were not scheduled.

December 28, 2008: The NFL's 1st 0-16 Season

December 28, 2008: The Detroit Lions lose to the Green Bay Packers. It completes the NFL's 1st 0-16 season.

Having been moved from Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, in 1934, the Lions were wearing commemorative patches in honor of their 75th Season, even though the next season was their 75th Anniversary. Their 75th season would be their worst.

They had won the NFL Championship in 1935, 1952, 1953 and 1957. Then they got stuck behind the Vince Lombardi dynasty in Green Bay, finishing 2nd in the NFL Western Division in 1960, 1961 and 1962. On Thanksgiving Day 1962, they dealt the Packers their only loss of the season, but it wasn't enough.

They made the NFC Playoffs in 1970, then not again until the strike-shortened season of 1982. They won the NFC Central Division in 1983, 1991 and 1993; and made the Playoffs as a Wild Card in 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1999, and just missed in 2000.

But the team fell apart. They finished 2-14 in 2001, their last season playing home games at the Silverdome in suburban Pontiac, Michigan. They went 3-13 in 2002, their 1st season in the new Ford Field in Detroit in 2002. On December 23, 2007, they beat the Kansas City Chiefs at home, 25-20, then closed out the season by losing to the Packers, 34-13 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

No one knew it yet, but that win over the Chiefs would be their last win for a long time -- and not just because the NFL's off-season runs from early February to early September. The Lions won all 4 of their 2008 exhibition games, but those didn't count. They started the season in Atlanta, losing to the Falcons, 34-21. They lost to the Packers at home, 48-25. And they lost away to the San Francisco 49ers. Then they had a bye week. If they thought that would help, it didn't: Their next game was a 34-7 home loss to the Chicago Bears.

After this game, general manager Matt Millen, once a good linebacker and a good broadcaster, was fired. Head coach Rod Marinelli, however, was kept. Their next few games were more hopeful: They lost 12-10 away to the Minnesota Vikings, 28-21 away to the Houston Texans, 25-17 home to the Washington Redskins, and 27-23 away to the Bears. They were 3 touchdowns (with 1 two-point conversion) and a field goal away from being 4-4.

Except that loss to the Vikings, on October 12, included a play where Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky, standing in his own end zone with the ball on the Lions' 1-yard line, took the snap, saw defensive end Jared Allen coming at him, and stepped back, not realizing that he was now out of his end zone. That's a safety, and that's 2 points, and that made the difference in the game. Ever since, mistakenly running the ball out of your own end zone has been known as "pulling a Dan Orlovsky."

Referee Tony Corrente signals, Orlovsky goofs, Allen celebrates

But they couldn't get that first W. They lost 38-14 home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They lost 31-22 away to the Carolina Panthers, 38-20 home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and 47-10 home to the Tennessee Titans. They were 0-12.

They came close on December 7, at home to the Vikings. They led 6-3 at the half, and closed to within 17-16 with 5:44 to go. But Ryan Longwell kicked a 50-yard field goal with 22 seconds left, and the Vikings won, 20-16. That seemed to be it: They lost 31-21 away to the Indianapolis Colts, and 42-7 to the New Orleans Saints in their home finale.

There was little hope going into Lambeau Field for the season finale. The Packers took a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter. In the 3rd quarter, the Lions managed to tie it, 14-14, thanks to 2 touchdown passes from Dan Orlovsky to Calvin Johnson. With 7:32 left in the 4th quarter, Kevin Smith scored a touchdown, and the Lions were within 24-21. But on the Packers' 1st play from scrimmage after the kickoff, Aaron Rodgers threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver. That made it 31-21 Packers, and the score held to the end. The Lions had finished 0-16.

The Columbus Panhandles had gone 0-8 in 1922. The Columbus Tigers went 0-9 in 1925. An NFL team named the Cincinnati Reds were 0-8 in the middle of the 1934 season, before folding. The Lions themselves went 0-11 in 1942. The Chicago Cardinals went 0-10 in 1943, then merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers for 1944, and went 0-10 again. If that '44 season is counted, they had a 29-game losing streak, the longest in NFL history. Also in 1944, the Brooklyn Tigers went 0-10.

In their 1st season, 1960, the Dallas Cowboys went 0-11-1. In their 1st season, 1976, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14, and stretched that streak to 0-26, the longest real losing streak in NFL history, before winning in 1977. The Baltimore Colts went 0-8-1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season.

But the 2008 Lions had the 1st 0-16 season in NFL history, and they didn't even have the excuse of being an expansion team or a wartime manpower drain. The Cleveland Browns would match them in 2017: A 4-0 preseason, and an 0-16 regular season.

New general manager Martin Mayhew fired Marinelli, and hired Jim Schwartz as the new head coach. At first, it didn't seem to work: They lost 45-27 away to the Saints, and 27-13 at home to the Vikings. But on September 27, 2009, they took a 19-game losing streak into Ford Field, and beat the Washignton Redskins, 19-14. They finished 2-14. By 2011, they had made the Playoffs again.

*

December 28, 2008 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day -- and note that there was no Thursday night game, which would have been on Christmas Day, and there was also no Monday night game:

* The New York Giants lost to the Minnesota Vikings, 20-19 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The aforementioned Ryan Longwell kicked a 50-yard field goal on the last play to win it.

* The New York Jets lost to the Miami Dolphins, 24-17 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys, 44-6 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-7 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the St. Louis Rams, 31-27 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-24 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints, 33-31 at the Superdome in New Orleans. John Kasay kicked a 42-yard field goal with 1 second left to win it.

* The Houston Texans beat the Chicago Bears, 31-24 at Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium) in Houston.

* The New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 13-0 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 31-0 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 16-6 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Tennessee Titans, 23-0 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks, 34-21 at the University of Phoenix Stadium (now State Farm Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Denver Broncos, 52-21 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).

* And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Washington Redskins, 27-24 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

There was 1 college football game that day: Louisiana Tech beat Northern Illinois, 17-10, in the Independence Bowl, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.

There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Denver Nuggets, 117-110 at Madison Square Garden. Future Knick Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points for the Nuggets.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat, 93-86 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. LeBron James scored 33 points.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Indiana Pacers, 105-103 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* There was a doubleheader at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. First, the Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 98-76. Then, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors, 130-113. Kobe Bryant scored 31 points.

* And the Boston Celtics beat the Sacramento Kings, 108-63 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento. No, that is not a typo: One hundred and eight to sixty-three. The Celtics were the defending NBA Champions, and raised their record for the 2008-09 season to 28-4. The Kings fell to 7-24.

There were  6 games played in the NHL:

* The Washington Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 2-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild, 4-1 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The Anaheim Ducks beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 at the Scottrade Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Nashville Predators, 5-2 at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known).

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-0 at General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Hampshire team Portsmouth, 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

December 28, 2006: Rutgers Wins a Bowl Game for the 1st Time

Ray Rice, holding the cowboy hat that served

as the game's MVP trophy

December 28, 2006: For the 1st time, the football team at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, wins a postseason "bowl game." And they didn't even have to make it up themselves.

In 1978, frustrated over not having been selected for bowl games despite some fine seasons -- 8-1 in 1958, 8-1 in 1960, 9-0 in 1961, 8-2 in 1968, 7-4 in 1972, 7-3 in 1974, 9-2 in 1975, 11-0 in 1976, 8-3 in 1977 and finally 9-3 -- mainly due to a weak schedule, Rutgers started its own bowl, the Garden State Bowl, at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey.

The Scarlet Knights invited Arizona State, which had faced a similar level of disrespect, because they had dominated the weak Western Athletic Conference, and had just joined the Pacific-8, making it the Pac-10. Maybe they should've invited a weaker team than Frank Kush's Sun Devils: They lost, 34-18.

That was a badge of dishonor: The Scarlet Knights couldn't even win a bowl on their secondary home field. So, again, they weren't invited to bowls, despite going 8-3 in 1979, 7-4 in 1980, 7-3 in 1984, 6-4 in 1986, and 7-4 in 1992. In '92, a loss to Boston College really stung, not just because their quarterback, future New York Jet Glenn Foley, had been a Jersey Boy, from Cherry Hill, but because he told the postgame media, "The only bowl Rutgers is going to is the one I just got off of."

The new Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium) opened in 1994, but, having joined the Big East Conference, RU was not putting up bowl-worthy seasons. Greg Schiano was hired in 2001, and it took him until 2005 to put up a winning season, 7-4.

Finally, a bowl came calling. It wasn't a major bowl. It was the Insight Bowl, named for an Internet company. As fate would have it, Rutgers again played Arizona State, so it was like the tables were turned: Their opponent was the home team. Rutgers led 33-31 in the 4th quarter, but lost 45-40.

In 2006, Rutgers went 10-2, finishing 2nd in the Big East Conference. They were invited to the Texas Bowl, at what's now NRG Stadium in Houston. It wasn't the biggest bowl in the State -- that was still the Cotton Bowl in Dallas -- but at least it was the biggest bowl in its own metropolitan area, replacing the former Bluebonnet Bowl at the Astrodome.

The opponent was Kansas State University, who were 7-5, and finished 3rd in the Big 12 Conference North Division. Oddly for a college football game, it was broadcast on the NFL Network. Bad news for me, since my cable system didn't carry it at the time. I had to do what I had done for 90 percent of the Rutgers games of my lifetime to that point: Listen to it on the radio, on "WCTC, AM 1450, New Brunswick, Central Jersey's information leader."

But it was mostly good news thereafter. Mike Teel threw 2 touchdown passes to Tim Brown (not the Notre Dame and Raiders Hall-of-Famer) in the 1st quarter. Kansas State came back with a field goal and a touchdown, but a Jeremy Ito field goal in the last minute of the 1st half sent the Scarlet Knights into the locker room with a 17-10 lead.

Josh Freeman had a decent pro career, and had been an All-American for Kansas State. But on the 1st play from scrimmage in the 2nd quarter, Rutgers linebacker Quintero Frierson intercepted his pass, and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. The Wildcats never threatened again. Ray Rice scored on a 46-yard touchdown run. Ito kicked 2 field goals in the 4th quarter, and the game ended 37-10 to Rutgers.

Rice rushed for 170 yards, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. In 6 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, he rushed for 6,180 yards, before a moment of madness led to the end of his playing career.

This was the 1st of 4 straight seasons in which Rutgers won a bowl game. In the 2007 season, they won the International Bowl in Toronto; in 2008, the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham; in 2009, the St. Petersburg Bowl. After a sub-.500 season in 2010, they got to the 2011 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. They lost the 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando and the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl, before winning the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit. That remains Rutgers' most recent bowl game appearance.

*

December 28, 2006 was a Thursday. There were 2 other bowl games played that day. Oklahoma State beat Alabama, 34-31 at the Independence Bowl, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. And the University of California beat Texas A&M, 45-10 at the Holiday Bowl, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

There were 3 games played in the NBA that night:

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns, 101-99 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 106-83 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. (It's now named the Frost Bank Center.)

* And the Denver Nuggets beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 112-98 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. (It's now named the Ball Arena.) Allen Iverson scored 44 points for the Nugs.

There were 5 games played in the NHL. None of them involved any of the New York Tri-State Area teams:

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. (It's now named the KeyBank Center.)

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-4 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. (It's now named the Benchmark International Arena.)

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 7-4 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. (That was its first, last, and best-known name. In 2006, it was named Rexall Place.)

* And the Phoenix Coyotes beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. (It's now named the SAP Center.)

December 27, 2007: The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

December 27, 2007: Benazir Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan, and for 25 years the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, is assassinated by a suicide bomber in Rawalpindi. She was 54.

Her father, Zulfikar Bhutto, the party’s founder, had also served as Prime Minister, and had also been assassinated in Rawalpindi, in 1979. She became Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party in 1982, and held that post for the rest of her life. She served as Prime Minister from December 2, 1988, becoming the 1st democratically-elected woman to be a mostly-Muslim nation's head of government, until August 6, 1990; and again from October 18, 1993 to November 5, 1996.

As is frequently the case, the other major party, the Pakistan Muslim League, accused Bhutto and her party of corruption, most likely because they opposed her efforts at modernizing the country. Most of the accusations were about not her, but her husband, businessman Asif Ali Zardari.

They had 3 children, and she was pregnant with her son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, when she won her 1st election, making her the 1st elected head of government to give birth while in office. She later had 2 daughters, Bakhtawar and Aseefa. A joke arose that "PPP" stood for "Perpetually Pregnant Prime Minister."

Brooke Allen, in her 2016 biography of her, wrote, "The Benazir Bhutto of 1988 was a uniting figure for her country; that of twenty years later, a divisive one. In retrospect, her best and worst qualities seem so intimately linked that the course of her career might almost have been predicted."

On the morning of December 27, 2007, Bhutto met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In the afternoon, she gave a speech at a PPP rally held in Rawalpindi's Liaquat National Bagh. On leaving in a bulletproof vehicle, she opened the car's escape hatch and stood up to wave to the surrounding crowds. A man standing within 6 to 10 feet of the car fired 3 gunshots at her, and detonated a suicide vest packed with ball bearings.

Bhutto was fatally injured, but reports differ as to whether she was hit by bullets or by shrapnel from the explosion. There were 22 others who died in the attack. The following day, she was buried next to her father in the family mausoleum near Larkana. PPP supporters rioted in various parts of Pakistan, leading to at least 50 deaths.

It wasn't clear who was responsible. Pakistani authorities claimed to have proof that the attack was masterminded by Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Pakistani branch of the Taliban. The CIA officially agreed with them. Mehsud, however, denied it. He was killed in a U.S. missile strike in 2009. Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a.k.a. Saeed al-Masri, leader of al-Qaeda in Pakistan, did claim responsibility, saying, 

"We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat the mujahideen." He was killed in a U.S. missile strike in 2010.

Likewise, it's unclear with either Mehsud or al-Masri that their responsibility, if any, for Bhutto's assassination had anything to do with the U.S. targeting them, as they had committed other terrorist acts against Americans.

Benazir's son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, was immediately elected the PPP's leader, though he was only 19 years old and a student at the University of Oxford at the time. Upon his appointment, he said, "My mother always said that democracy is the best revenge." He was mainly a ceremonial figure until becoming the Party's spokesman in the 2018 elections, winning a seat in the National Assembly at age 30. On April 27, 2022, he was named the country's Foreign Minister.

UPDATE: He lost that office and his seat on August 10, 2023, when his party lost the next election. He remains Party Chairman, and won a by-election for a new Assembly seat on February 8, 2024.

*

December 27, 2007 was a Thursday. Baseball was out of season. The NFL was between its regular season and its Playoffs. There was a college bowl game: Number 17 Texas pulled off a mild upset, beating Number 12 Arizona State, 52-34, in the Holiday Bowl, at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).

There were 3 games in the NBA:

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 88-81 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angele Clippers, 108-88 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* And the Boston Celtics beat the Seattle Seahawks, 104-96 at the KeyArena in Seattle. Paul Pierce scored 37 points for the Celtics. This would be the Sonics' last season in Seattle, as they were being moved to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.

There were 10 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Ottawa Senators, 5-2 at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 5-3 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3 at the Sommet Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals, 4-3 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then known) in Pittsburgh. Former Capital Sergei Gonchar scored the winning goal with 3:27 left in overtime.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Anaheim Ducks beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known) in Edmonton.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-2 at the Jobing.com Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, California.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Calgary Flames, 5-3 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

December 27, 2005: Rutgers Plays Its 1st Real Bowl Game

December 27, 2005: For the 1st time, the football team at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, plays in a real postseason "bowl game."

It wasn't actually the first one. In 1978, frustrated over not having been selected for bowl games despite some fine seasons -- 8-1 in 1958, 8-1 in 1960, 9-0 in 1961, 8-2 in 1968, 7-4 in 1972, 7-3 in 1974, 9-2 in 1975, 11-0 in 1976, 8-3 in 1977 and finally 9-3 -- mainly due to a weak schedule, Rutgers started its own bowl, the Garden State Bowl.

It would be held at their secondary home field, the 77,000-seat Giants Stadium, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, 36 miles from their 23,000-seat Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, and 35 miles from their Student Center in New Brunswick, both in Middlesex County.

The Scarlet Knights invited Arizona State, which had faced a similar level of disrespect, because they had dominated the weak Western Athletic Conference, and had just joined the Pacific-8, making it the Pac-10. Maybe they should've invited a weaker team than Frank Kush's Sun Devils, who beat them, 34-18.

That was a badge of dishonor: The Scarlet Knights couldn't even win a bowl on their secondary home field. So, again, they weren't invited to bowls, despite going 8-3 in 1979, 7-4 in 1980, 7-3 in 1984, 6-4 in 1986, and 7-4 in 1992. In '92, a loss to Boston College really stung, not just because BC's quarterback, future New York Jet Glenn Foley, had been a Jersey Boy, from Cherry Hill, but because he told the postgame media, "The only bowl Rutgers is going to is the one I just got off of." Meaning the toilet.

The new Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium) opened in 1994, but, having joined the Big East Conference, RU was not putting up bowl-worthy seasons. Greg Schiano was hired in 2001, and it took him until 2005 to put up a winning season, 7-4.

Finally, a bowl came calling. It wasn't a major bowl. It was the Insight Bowl, named for an Internet company. It had gone through several names: The Copper Bowl from its 1989 establishment until 1996, the Insight.com Bowl starting in 1997, just the Insight Bowl starting in 2002, the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in 2012, the Cactus Bowl starting in 2015, the Cheez-It Bowl in 2018 and 2019, and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl starting in 2020. (UPDATE: In 2024, it was rebranded as the Rate Bowl.)

It was held at the University of Arizona's Arizona Stadium in Tucson from 1989 to 1999; then the Arizona Diamondbacks' Bank One Ballpark/Chase Field in Phoenix from 2000 to 2005; Arizona State University's Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium), in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, from 2006 to 2015; and Chase Field again ever since.

It is the Phoenix area's secondary bowl game, behind the Fiesta Bowl, which was played at Sun Devil Stadium from 1971 to 2006, and has been played at the Arizona Cardinals' home, now named State Farm Stadium, in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, since 2007.

So being invited to the Insight Bowl was not much respect. But it was more than Rutgers were used to, and it was a chance to spend Christmas week someplace considerably warmer than New Jersey, so they accepted the bid. As fate would have it, the opponent was the same as in the 1978 Garden State Bowl: Arizona State. The Sun Devils would be traveling 11 miles, so this would be more or less a home game for them. The Scarlet Knights would be traveling 2,386 miles.

At first, the long roadtrip didn't seem to faze Rutgers: Ryan Hart threw a touchdown pass to Clark Harris to give them a 7-0 lead. Arizona State answered with their own touchdown pass, but Hart threw another to Brian Leonard. Just before the 1st quarter ran out, Jeremy Ito kicked a 25-yard field goal. RU were up 17-7. Things were looking good.

The Sun Devils kicked a field goal to make it 17-10. Leonard ran for a touchdown to make it 24-10 Rutgers. But the Sun Devils scored to close to within 24-17 at the half.

In the 3rd quarter, Arizona State scored a tying touchdown, but Ito kicked another field goal to put RU back up, 27-24. Arizona State scored a touchdown to take their 1st lead, 31-27. Just before the end of the quarter, Ito kicked another field goal to make it 31-30 Sun Devils. Early in the 4th quarter, he kicked another to make it 33-31 Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers had a 4th quarter lead in a bowl game, in what was essentially a home game for the other team. This wasn't quite living the dream, but it sure looked like a building block toward reaching the dream.

But you can almost set your watch by the Rutgers defense collapsing. The Sun Devils scored a touchdown and a 2-point conversion, then another touchdown and a failed 2-point conversion. It was 45-33 Arizona State.

With 2 minutes left, Hart threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Tres Moses, closing RU to within 45-40. But they failed to recover the onside kick, and Arizona State ran out the clock to seal the win.

It was yet another failure for Rutgers, one of the most underachieving programs in college football. On the other hand, they had been invited to a bowl, and scored 40 points against a hometown team. That was something to take with them into the next year.

In 2006, Rutgers went 10-2, finishing 2nd in the Big East. They were invited to the Texas Bowl. It wasn't the biggest bowl in Texas -- that remains the Cotton Bowl in Dallas -- but at least, unlike the Insight Bowl, it was the biggest bowl in its own metropolitan area, Houston. Rutgers won this game rather easily, 37-10, for their 1st-ever bowl win.

It began a streak of 4 straight seasons with bowl wins, and 5 in 6 years. Rutgers has since won (these dates are for the season, not necessarily the calendar year) the International Bowl in Toronto in 2007, The PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham in 2008, the St. Petersburg Bowl in 2009, the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in 2011, and the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit in 2014. But the biggest bowl game they've ever been to, and it's still only a secondary bowl, is the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, in the 2021 season, losing to Wake Forest, 38-10.

UPDATE: Rutgers won the Pinstripe Bowl again in 2023.

*

December 27, 2005 was a Tuesday. One other bowl game was played that day, the Champs Sports Bowl. This was also a secondary bowl, the 2nd-biggest at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, behind the eponymous Citrus Bowl. Clemson beat Colorado, 19-10.

There were 8 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 96-91 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands. LeBron James scored 31 points, but it wasn't enough for the Cavs.

* The Charlotte Bobcats (now the new Charlotte Hornets) beat the Atlanta Hawks, 93-90 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-98 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami. Dwyane Wade scored 35.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets, 82-74 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Indiana Pacers, 99-86 at the SBC Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Toronto Raptors, 113-106 at the Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Chris Bosh scored 37 in defeat.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Denver Nuggets, 108-106 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. Carmelo Anthony scored 45 to lead all scorers on the night, but the Nugs still lost.

* The Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 110-93 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Mike Bibby scored 38 for the Kings.

There were 4 games played in the NHL that night. None involved any of the New York Tri-State Area teams:

* The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals, 4-3 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Brad Stuart scored the winning goal, 2:04 into overtime.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the Mellon Arena (usually named the Civic Arena) in Pittsburgh. Tomas Kaberle scored the winning goal, 2:26 into overtime.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars, 4-1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* And the Nashville Predators beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

December 27, 2001: The Mets Trade Kevin Appier for Mo Vaughn

December 27, 2001: The New York Mets trade pitcher Kevin Appier to the Anaheim Angels (as the team was then known) for 1st baseman Mo Vaughn.

With the Boston Red Sox, Vaughn had been a good slugger and, despite his weight, a good fielder. But with the Angels, he was plagued with injuries, including missing the entire 2001 season. He had just turned 34: He should have had at least a couple of good years left. But, between his age, his weight, and his injury, he was already a big question mark.

When the trade was made, the Angels' closer, Troy Percival, took an unnecessary shot at him: "We may miss Mo's bat, but we won't miss his leadership. Darin Erstad is our leader." Mo lost his cool, and launched a foul-mouthed fusillade against the Angels: "They ain't done shit in this game... They ain't got no flags hanging at friggin' Edison Field, so the hell with them."

Mo always hit well against the Yankees, and you'd think his game-winning home run against them in an Interleague game on June 16, 2002 would have endeared him to the Flushing Faithful. But his rising weight and his injuries kept him from being productive, and Met fans booed him. 2002 turned out to be the Mets' 1st losing season since 1996, and their never-finished Mike Piazza Era renaissance was over.

Vaughn last played for them, or for anybody else, on May 2, 2003. He was also later outed as a steroid user. However, he has done good work since retiring, rehabilitating urban housing in New York and Boston.

Appier? In his 1st season with the Angels, he helped them win the World Series. Now, there was "a friggin' flag at Edison Field," or Angel Stadium of Anaheim as it's now known.

Just 16 days before this trade, the Mets made one with the Cleveland Indians to get Roberto Alomar. He got old in a hurry, and was terribly booed at Shea in 2002 and 2003. But the Mets weren't going anywhere anyway, and they didn't give much up to get him, so I can't make a separate entry for that bad trade.

*

December 27, 2001 was a Thursday. Baseball was out of season. The NFL was in midweek. There were 8 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 98-88 at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 105-89 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Detroit Pistons, 87-78 at the TD Waterhouse Center in Orlando.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Miami Heat, 91-86 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 93-90 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. Allen Iverson scored 38 points for the Sixers, Nick Van Exel 33 for the Nugs.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 89-86 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors, 100-93 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named The Arena in Oakland).

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 125-111 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

There were 6 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Ottawa Senators, 5-2 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2 at the Ice Palace (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and their metro-area rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, played to a 2-2 tie at the Staples Center. Yes, it hosted an NBA game and an NHL game on the same day. On a Thursday.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Calgary Flames, 4-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

December 26, 2004: The Boxing Day Earthquake and Tsunami

December 26, 2004: An earthquake, measured at 9.2 on the Richter scale, occurs under the Indian Ocean, near the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

The result is one of the largest tsunamis ever observed, which flowed east to west, with waves up to 30 feet high crashing into the coastal regions of the surrounding nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

It remains the deadliest natural disaster of the 21st Century, and the worst on Earth since the 1976 Tangsun Earthquake in China. Its death toll is estimated at 227,898. More than half, 167,540, occurred in Indonesia. There were 35,000 deaths in Sri Lanka, 1,000 of them in a single train wreck caused by the tsunami. It is believed that 1.75 million people, roughly the population of Philadelphia, were left  homeless.

Among the notable people killed in the disaster were Jane Attenborough, British arts activist and a member of the show-business Attenborough family; Troy Broadbridge, an Australian Rules Football star who was on his honeymoon, though his wife survived; Poom Jensen, a grandson of the then-reigning King of Thailand; and Sujeewa Kamalasuriya, a Sri Lankan cricket star. 

The earthquake became known as the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake. Another name, given that some of these nations were once part of the British Empire, and still retain some British traditions, including celebrating the day after Christmas as "Boxing Day," is the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Aid came in from all over the world: $820 million from nearby Australia, $660 million from Germany, $500 million from Japan, $350 million from the United States, $343 million from Canada, $250 million from the World Bank, $183 million each from Norway and the Netherlands, and $113 million from Italy.

*

December 26, 2004 was a Sunday. Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Reggie White and longtime New York Yankees organist Eddie Layton died that day.

Baseball was out of season. And the NHL team owners had locked the players out. These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-22 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The New York Jets lost to their arch-rivals, the New England Patriots, 23-7 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 21-0 at Alltel Stadium (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville. The Texans and the Jags are in the same Division, the AFC South, as the Tennessee Titans. The irony of this is that the Titans used to be the previous Houston team, the Houston Oilers; and, before moving to Nashville, threatened to move to Jacksonville if they didn't get the lease concessions they wanted in Houston. They got them, but later decided it wasn't enough, and moved, anyway.

* The Carolina Panthers bear the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-20 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Cleveland Browns, 10-7 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The New Orleans Saints beat their arch-rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, 26-13 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat their arch-rivals, the Washington Redskins, 13-10 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 20-7 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears, 19-13 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the San Diego Chargers, 34-31 at the RCA Dome (formerly the Hoosier Dome) in Indianapolis.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the San Francisco 49ers, 41-7 at Candlestick  Park (then named Monster Park) in San Francisco.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals, 24-21 at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* The day before, Saturday, Christmas Day, The Kansas City Chiefs beat their arch-rivals, the Oakland Raiders, 31-30 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* Also on Christmas Day, the Denver Broncos beat the Tennessee Titans, 37-16 at The Coliseum (later renamed Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.

* The day before that, Friday, Christmas Eve, the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 34-31 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* And the night after, on ABC Monday Night Football, the St. Louis Rams beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-7 at the Edward Jones Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

There were no college football bowl games. There were no games in the NHL: The team owners locked the players out for the entire season. There were 9 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the expansion Charlotte Bobcats (later to reclaim the Hornets name), 91-82 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 96-79 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Hornets (later to be renamed the Pelicans), 100-91 at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls, 99-92 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Michael Redd scored 39 points.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Washington Wizards, 109-74 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets, 102-88 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics, 107-90 at the SBC Center (now the Frost Bank Arena) in San Antonio.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Toronto Raptors, 106-94 at the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, 98-94 at the ARCO Arena in Sacrmamento.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal beat West London team Fulham, 2-0 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury.

December 16, 2003: The Yankees Acquire Javier Vázquez -- the 1st Time

December 16, 2003: The New York Yankees traded Nick Johnson, Randy Choate and Juan Rivera to the Montreal Expos for Javier Vázquez. At first, this didn't look like a bad deal. Rivera was a nothing player. Choate was so bad out of the bullpen, I called him "Randy Choke." And Johnson was constantly injured and unable to live up to his promise. Vázquez went 14-10 for the Yankees in 2004, and made the All-Star Team.

But he gave up home runs. Some people thought he should have started Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS instead of Kevin Brown -- whom the Yankees had acquired 3 days before Vázquez. Torre brought him in to relieve Brown when down 3-0. Instead, Vázquez gave up a grand slam to Johnny Damon that essentially ended the chance at a comeback, the game, the season, and the Curse of the Bambino. After that, he was nicknamed "Home Run Javy."

Before he could appear for the Yankees again, on January 11, 2005, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks with Dioner Navarro, Brad Halsey and cash for Randy Johnson. Johnson gave the Yankees the 2 most useless 17-win seasons any pitcher has ever had, choking in Game 3 of the AL Division Series in both 2005 and 2006, and then leaving. Navarro and Halsey never amounted to much, but Vázquez settled down a bit, bouncing around, at one point being traded for former Yankee Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez.

On December 22, 2009, the Yankees traded Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, Arodys Vizcaíno and cash to the Atlanta Braves for Vázquez and Boone Logan. You don't need to consider Dunn or Vizcaíno. Just note that Melky, for all his difficulties (including getting caught using PEDs), would have been a big help to the Yankees from 2010 through 2017, while Logan might have been the worst reliever in Yankee history, and Vázquez went 10-10 with a 5.32 ERA in 2010.

His contract having run out at the end of the season, the Yankees didn't lift a finger to re-sign him, and he pitched 1 more season with the Marlins, and retired. He was 165-160 for his career. He had 4 good seasons, and only 1 really bad one, his rookie year with the Expos, 1998. His other 9 seasons, including his 2 with the Yankees, 2004 and 2010, were mediocre.

But that last trade, giving up the Melkman for Home Run Javy and Logan's Litany of Losing, oy vey.

*

December 16, 2003 was a Tuesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 9 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Golden State Warriors, 104-86 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Washington Wizards beat the Utah Jazz, 91-87 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Larry Hughes led all scorers on the night with 38 points.

* The Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks, 97-79 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami. Dwyane Wade scored 32 points.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Sacramento Kings, 105-100 at the Great American Pyramid in Memphis.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic, 102-88 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Houston Rockets, 92-75 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets, 116-94 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 92-91 in overtime at the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 106-99 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.

And there were 4 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-1 at Madison Square Garden. Petr Nedvěd scored the winning goal with 2:35 left in overtime.

* The Atlanta Thrashers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 1-0 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* And the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche played to a 2-2 tie at the Pepsi Center. Yes, it played host to an NBA game and an NHL game on the same day.

December 13, 2007: The Mitchell Report Is Released

December 13, 2007: The Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball is released the public. Since the leader of the investigation was George J. Mitchell, the document becomes popularly known as The Mitchell Report.

Mitchell had a distinguished career in politics. He was a U.S. Attorney in his native Maine, and a Judge of the U.S. District Court. When his mentor, Senator Ed Muskie, resigned in 1980 to become U.S. Secretary of State, Mitchell ran for his seat, and won it, being elected to a full term in 1982 and re-elected in 1988. At that point, his Democratic colleagues elected him to be the Senate Majority Leader, a post he held for the rest of his term. He did not run again in 1994.

Instead, being of Irish descent, he accepted a post as U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, and was among the negotiators of the Good Friday Accord that ended "The Troubles" in 1998. His ancestral homeland was grateful, and he was appointed the Chancellor of the Queen's University in the Northern Irish capital of Belfast. Officially, he held this post for nearly 10 years, from 1999 to 2009, even as he served as Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission in November and December of 2002.

In 2006, in the wake of Congressional hearings the year before that tainted the reputations of several current and former players, Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig asked Mitchell to lead an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by players.

After 20 months of investigations, Mitchell released a report running 409 pages, and including the names of 89 former and (then) current players, claiming evidence of use of steroids or other substances prohibited by MLB. Among them were former Yankees Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and David Justice; and some stars from other teams, including Barry Bonds, who already held the records for most home runs in a season and most home runs in a career.

This was just a few weeks after the Boston Red Sox had won their 2nd World Series in 4 seasons. And it did not escape the notice of some people in the media that Mitchell was a member of the board of directors of the Fenway Sports Group, owners of the Red Sox. But the report mostly let the Red Sox off the hook. It was as if Mitchell was trying to say, "The Red Sox are clean, and their recent victories were won fairly. But the Yankees, the team that Red Sox fans hate the most, won their recent Pennants and World Series unfairly."

It was a dark moment for Yankee Fans. Just 3 years and change earlier, they could legitimately say that their last title was in 2000, and Boston's last was in 1918. Now, it was generally accepted by baseball people, official and unofficial alike that the Red Sox had won 2 of the last 4 World Championships, while the Yankees hadn't "really" won one since 1978.

On July 30, 2009, The New York Times reported that 104 players had failed steroid tests in 2003, and that 2 of them were David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, the 2 biggest hitters on those Boston title teams. Just like that, the Sox' 2004 and 2007 titles were exposed as frauds.

What's more, The Mitchell Report was also exposed as a fraud, because it said nothing about Ortiz and Ramirez. Mitchell, already a behind-the-scenes political operative when Richard Nixon was digging himself a deeper hole in the Watergate scandal, should have known: It's not the crime that really gets you, it's the cover-up. He had accused, with evidence that held up better with some players than with others, but had covered up the "crimes" of players for his own team.

It is a tremendous stain on the career of a great public servant. And it destroyed The Mitchell Report's credibility completely.

*

December 13, 2007 was a Thursday. And, wouldn't you know it, New England beat New York that night. The New England Patriots beat the New York Jets, 20-10 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. Speaking of cheating: This was the year that the Patriots had been exposed in the "Spygate" scandal.

I have to give Bill Belichick credit for one thing: He didn't lie about it. Whereas the Red Sox and their fans still insist that everything they've won since 2004 is legit, Belichick basically said, "Yeah, I cheated. What the hell ya gonna do about it, huh?"

There were 2 games played in the NBA that night. The Washington Wizards beat the Miami Heat, 104-91 at the American Airlines Arena (now named the Kaseya Center) in Miami. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 102-97 at the Staples Center (now named the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There were 10 games played in the NHL that night:

* Here's one where the New York Tri-State Area beat New England: The New Jersey Devils beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at what's now named the TD Garden in Boston. The Scarlet & Black got a goal from Brian Gionta, and 2 from Jamie Langenbrunner.

* The New York Islanders beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-2 at the Nassau Coliseum. (The New York Rangers were not scheduled.)

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at the Wachovia Center (now named the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh (then known as the Mellon Arena, before reverting to its original name).

* The Calgary Flames beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 9-6 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Nashville Predators, 2-1 at the Sommet Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Edmonton Oilers bear the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 in a shootout at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Florida Panthers beat the St. Louis Blues, 1-0 at the ScotTrade Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 at the HP Pavilion (now the SAP Center) in San Jose, California. 

December 13, 2003: The Yankees Trade Jeff Weaver for Kevin Brown

December 13, 2003: The Yankees trade Jeff Weaver – 2 months 2 late -- and 2 other pitchers, Yhency Brazobán and Brandon Weeden, for a better pitcher. Or so we thought. It was Kevin Brown.

Neither Brazobán nor Weeden had yet reached the major leagues. Weeden never did. Brazobán soon did so, but was not especially distinguished. And Weaver... somehow won a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. That still ticks me off. (Not that the Cardinals won that Series, but that Weaver was a part of it.)

Kevin Brown was a very good pitcher. In 1992, he went 21-12 for the Texas Rangers. In 1996, with the Florida Marlins, he went 17-11, and led the National League with an ERA of 1.89 and a WHIP of 0.944. In 1997, he went 16-8, and helped the Marlins win the World Series. In 1998, he went 18-7, and helped the San Diego Padres win the Pennant.

On December 12, 1998, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him to a 7-year contract worth $105 million, the 1st contract in North American major league sports worth more than $100 million. At first, it seemed like it would pay off: He went 18-9 in 1999, and in 2000, went 13-6 and led the NL with a 2.58 ERA. He battled injury after that, but still went 10-4 in 2001. In 2003, he went 14-9 with a 2.39 ERA, and made an All-Star Game for the 6th time. He had a career record of 197-131. He was approaching Hall of Fame worthiness.

Sounds like the Yankees made a good acquisition. Except he would be turning 39 during Spring Training 2004. And he was not a big-game pitcher. Although the Marlins won the 1997 World Series, Brown had lost Games 2 and 6. In the 1998 World Series, he started Game 1 against the Yankees, and while he wasn't the losing pitcher, the Yankees did win; and he was the losing pitcher in Game 4.

In 2004, he posted a 10–6 record with a 4.09 ERA. On September 3, after being removed from a game he lost to the Baltimore Orioles, he punched a concrete column in frustration, breaking his hand. He returned to the rotation on September 26, and lost his last 2 regular-season starts: He didn't get out of the 1st inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, and lost to away to the Toronto Blue Jays.

During that season's Playoffs, Brown pitched well in the American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins. But, with little choice, manager Joe Torre started Brown in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series against the Red Sox. He gave up a 2-run home run to David Ortiz in the 1st inning, left with the bases loaded in the 2nd, and was charged with all 3 runs that Johnny Damon drove in ahead of him when he subsequently hit a grand slam off Javier Vázquez -- whom the Yankees had acquired 3 days after Brown, as if that trade hadn't been bad enough. Brown had authored the worst start in Yankee postseason history -- emotionally, if not statistically.

Brown struggled with injury through 2005, and finished it 4-7 with a 6.50 ERA. The Yankees did not lift a finger to sign him to a new contract -- though many Yankee Fans lifted some fingers for him -- and he retired, with a career record of 211-144, a 3.28 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.222.

He became eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. He has never come close to election.

*

December 13, 2003 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. There were no college football games that day, and the NFL played the next day. There were 8 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Denver Nuggets, 95-88 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, 110-63 at the Memphis Pyramid.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Atlanta Hawks, 105-102 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 105-98 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. Paul Pierce led all scorers on the night with 41 points.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers, 86-75 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat their arch-rivals, the Houston Rockets, 86-73 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns, 106-91 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-108 at the Moda Center in Portland. Kobe Bryant scored 35 points in defeat.

And there were 12 games in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The New York Islanders beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-0 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Washington Capitals, 5-1 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Florida Panthers and the Nashville Predators played to a tie, 2-2 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then named) in Pittsburgh.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames played to a tie, 1-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 2-0 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose (now the SAP Center).

* And the Chicago Blackhawks, the Dallas Stars, the Vancouver Canucks, the Edmonton Oilers, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Arizona Coyotes were not scheduled.