October 30, 2002: Herman Edwards Plays to Win the Game

October 30, 2002: New York Jets coach Herman Edwards holds his usual midweek press conference at the team's headquarters at the time, Weeb Ewbank Hall, on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, across the street from the Nassau Coliseum.

The Jets had gotten off to a 2-5 start. Teams that get off to a 2-5 start usually don't make the Playoffs. Judy Battista of The New York Times asked him, "Do you have to talk to your team about not giving up on the season?"

Herm's answer became legend. He said, "This is what's great about sports. This is what the greatest thing about sports is." And he leaned into the microphone, and said, "You play to win the game!" He pulled himself upright, pauses, waved his hands, and said, "Hello? You play to win the game! You don't play it just to play it! That's the great thing about sports: You play to win! And I don't care if you don't have any wins. You go play to win. When you start telling me it doesn't matter, then retire! Get out! 'Cause it matters!"

At this point, he seemed to be on the verge of tears. And if the season had continued the way it had been going, with a final total that is frequently familiar to Jet fans, then Herm, once a very good cornerback who helped the Philadelphia Eagles reach Super Bowl XV, and whose fumble recovery beat the New York Giants in a 1978 game that became known as "The Miracle of the Meadowlands," would have gone down in history as a coach who melted down and couldn't handle the pressure of New York.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a nervous breakdown: Herm's rant worked. In their next game, the Jets clobbered the San Diego Chargers, starting a 4-game winning streak, and allowing them to finish 9-7, and make the Playoffs with a home game. Then they beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round of the Playoffs, before going to Oakland and losing to the Raiders.

So instead of being a guy who couldn't handle coaching in New York, Herm became known as a coaching genius and a master motivator. It didn't last long, but he'll always be remembered for this success, not for his failures. He later served as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona State, and an NFL studio pundit.

This was also the day that rap legend Jam Master Jay was murdered. I have a separate entry for that event.

*

October 30, 2002 was a Wednesday. Baseball season had ended 3 days earlier, with the team then known as the Anaheim Angels beating the San Francisco Giants, in Game 7 of the World Series. Football was in midweek.

Every NBA team then in operation, except for the Sacramento Kings, played that night:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Detroit Pistons, 86-77 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, New York.

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 105-94 at the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands. Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson scored 34 points for the Hawks, but it wasn't enough.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 98-95 at the First Union Center (now the Wachovia Center) in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics, 99-96 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Miami Heat, 100-86 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 119-108 at The Pyramid in Memphis.

* The New Orleans Hornets make their debut, after 14 seasons as the original Charlotte Hornets. Ironically, it's against the last team to represent New Orleans in the NBA, the Utah Jazz, who left in 1979. The Hornets win, 100-75 at the New Orleans Arena (now named the Smoothie King Center). Karl Malone scores 20 points for the visitors, and John Stockton 14. But Baron Davis of the Hornets leads all scorers with 21 points, while Courtney Alexander scores 19 off the bench.

In 2004, Charlotte got a new NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2013, the NBA made a deal but which the New Orleans franchise gave up the Hornets name, and became the New Orleans Pelicans. In 2014, the Bobcats reclaimed their city's old name, and became the Charlotte Hornets.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards, 74-68 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Rockets, 91-82 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. Steve Francis scored 39 points for the Rockets, but it wasn't enough. It was the NBA debut for Yao Ming. I have a separate entry for that event.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets, 83-77 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-96 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 106-98 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named The Arena in Oakland). Antawn Jamison scored 36 points.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 102-90 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Phoenix Suns, 86-73 at the KeyArena in Seattle.

There were 6 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-0 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-2 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals, 7-2 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. The Bruin goals came from 7 different scorers: P.J. Axelsson, Rob Zamuner, Jozef Stümpel, Brian Rolston, Bryan Berard, Joe Thornton and Glenn Murray.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at the Corel Center (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators, 7-0 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis. Like the Bruins, the Blues got 7 goals from 7 different players on this night: Reed Lowe, Al MacInnis, Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, Petr Čajánek, Shjon Podein and Dallas Drake.

* And the Florida Panthers beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Valeri Bure scored the winning goal with 1:39 left in overtime. Bure was the younger, less successful brother of Hall-of-Famer Pavel Bure, but he's probably better remembered for his wife, actress Candace Cameron Bure. Attendance at this game: 18,532, matching the title of the sitcom starring his wife: Full House.

May 21, 1927: Charles Lindbergh Lands In Paris

Photograph taken a few minutes before takeoff

at Roosevelt Field

May 21, 1927: Charles Lindbergh lands his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, at Le Bourget Airport outside Paris, France, becoming the 1st person to fly from the North American continent to the European continent. And he did it alone.

Previous attempts had been two-man teams, and the 1st true transatlantic flight had been 8 years earlier, between much-closer islands, Newfoundland (then a British colony, in 1949 made a Province of Canada) and the west coast of Ireland.

Lindbergh, a 25-year-old airmail pilot from Minnesota, son of a Republican Congressman, had taken off from Roosevelt Field in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. He took off at 7:52 AM U.S. Eastern Time, and landed at 10:22 PM Western Europe Time (4:22 PM U.S. Eastern), flying for 33 hours and 30 minutes.

Lindbergh became the biggest hero in the world. He was a bigger hero in the "Roaring Twenties" than Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Al Jolson or the late Rudolph Valentino. He received a massive ticker-tape parade on his return to New York. At the end of the year, Time magazine named him their 1st Man of the Year. He married Anne Morrow, the daughter of his financial adviser. They had 6 children, and settled in a farmhouse in East Amwell, New Jersey.

In 1932, their 1st child, Charles Jr., was kidnapped from the farmhouse, and a national panic ensued. The boy was found dead 2 months later. Bruno Hauptmann was arrested for "The Crime of the Century." While the Lindberghs' mailing address was Hopewell, which is in Mercer County, the house was in East Amwell, which is in Hunterdon County, and so "The Trial of the Century" was at the Hunterdon County Courthouse in Flemington. In 1935, Hauptmann was convicted, and executed a year later. His guilt is still debated.

Lindbergh decided America wasn't safe for his family, and moved to Europe, where he fell enamored of Nazi Germany. Upon returning to America, he told people the country should stay out of World War II, and blamed Jews for agitating for war. His anti-Semitism and association with the Nazis ruined his public reputation, and it never recovered. When he died on August 26, 1974, it was barely even news. (Of course, it was still the aftermath of Watergate, which may have had something to do with the coverage.)

A shopping mall named Westbury Plaza is now on the site of Roosevelt Field. To the west, across the Meadowbrook Parkway, is the indoor mall named Roosevelt Field. To the south, also across the curving Meadowbrook, are the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Hofstra University, and the Nassau Coliseum.

*

May 21, 1927 was a Saturday. It was in football's off-season. There was no NBA yet. And the NHL had completed its season. But there was a full slate of Major League Baseball games:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at League Park in Cleveland. The Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning, and Emil "Dutch" Levsen was almost immediately replaced by Willis Hudlin. But they blew it, as Yankee starter Walter "Dutch" Ruether didn't have good stuff, and Hudlin pitched 11 1/3rd innings in relief. Wilcy Moore blew the lead in the 8th inning, partly due to an error by Babe Ruth, and walked Charlie Jamieson with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th.

This would be an unusual occurrence: With Ruth hitting 60 home runs, the Yankees won 110 games, setting a new American League record, and lost just 44.

"Dutch" was then a common nickname for men of German descent. Note the difference in spelling: The Yankees' Walter Ruether was no relation to the famed union executive Walter Reuther.

* The Brooklyn Robins -- the once and future Dodgers so named because their manager was Wilbert Robinson -- dropped both ends of a doubleheader to the Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field. The Cubs won the 1st game 6-4, and the 2nd game 11-6.

* The New York Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at the Polo Grounds. So the New York teams went 0-4 on the day.

* The St. Louis Cardinals swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves at Braves Field. The Cards won the 1st game 5-3, and the 2nd game 6-2.

* The Cincinnati Reds swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The Reds won the 1st game 6-5, and the 2nd game 5-2.

* The Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. 

May 13, 1976: The Last ABA Game

David Thompson (left) and Julius Erving

May 13, 1976: The New York Nets beat the Denver Nuggets, 121-106 at the Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Hempstead, New York, and win the American Basketball Association Championship in 6 games.

(The Nassau Coliseum is in the Town of Hempstead, in Nassau County, on Long Island, but its mailing address is Uniondale, NY.)

For the Nets, coached by Kevin Loughery; Julius Erving, known as Dr. J, scored 31 points, John Williamson 28, Brian Taylor 24, Jim Eakins 15, Bill Melchionni and Tim Bassett each scored 4, Al Skinner 3, Rich Jones 2, and Ted McClain 1.

For the Nuggets, coached by Larry Brown (with some irony, a Nassau County native): David Thompson, known as "Skywalker" before there was a Star Wars, led all scorers with 42 points, Dan Issel 30, Chuck Williams 14, Monte Towe 6, Ralph Simpson and Bobby Jones 4 each; and Byron Beck, Marvin Webster and Gus Gerard 2 each.

This turns out to be the last game in ABA history. It is also the last game that Erving plays for the Nets.

Before the 1975-76 season began, the Memphis Sounds, who had been the Memphis Tams (1972-74), the Memphis Pros (1970-72), and the New Orleans Buccaneers (1967-70), moved again, becoming the Baltimore Claws, but only played 3 exhibition games before being folded by the league for nonpayment of fees. The San Diego Conquistadors became the San Diego Sails, but folded 11 games into the season; the Utah Stars, only 2 seasons removed from a Finals berth and the 1971 ABA Champions, folded 16 games in.

So only 7 teams completed the season: The Nets, the Nuggets, the San Antonio Spurs, the Indiana Pacers, the Kentucky Colonels, the Spirits of St. Louis and the Virginia Squires. The ABA required the remaining teams to each put up $75,000 before merger talks with the NBA, and the Squires didn't, folding, and ending what remains Virginia's last sports team with major league pretensions. (The Washington Commanders have their offices and training camp in Virginia, but, as of the 2022 season, their stadium is in Maryland.)

Despite being 1 of only 2 teams, the Pacers being the other, to play every ABA season under the same name and in the same metro area, and being only 1 season removed from an ABA Championship, the Colonels folded. Team owner John Y. Brown Jr., who bought Kentucky Fried Chicken from "Colonel" Harland Sanders and made it a nationwide brand, took a $3.3 million payoff from the NBA.

Brown took the money he received for the Colonels and used part of it to purchase the NBA's Buffalo Braves, which he later parlayed into ownership of the Boston Celtics. In 1979, he was elected Governor of Kentucky. To this day, no major league team in any sport has called Kentucky home, unless you count Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League.

The Spirits' demise was a bit more interesting. The team known from 1967 to 1969 as the Houston Mavericks, and from then until 1974 as the Carolina Cougars, were owned by brothers Ozzie and Daniel Silva, textile magnates, who had previously tried to buy the NBA's Detroit Pistons. They had planned to move the Spirits to Salt Lake City if the NBA would accept them. It didn't, thinking both St. Louis and Salt Lake City too small as markets. However, in 1979, the NBA did not stop the New Orleans Jazz from moving to Salt Lake City.

In June 1976, the ABA owners agreed, in return for the Spirits of St. Louis ceasing operations, to pay the Silnas $2.2 million in cash up front, in addition to a 1/7th share of the 4 remaining teams' television revenues in perpetuity. As the NBA's popularity exploded in 1980s and 1990s, the league's television rights were sold to CBS, and then NBC, and additional deals were struck with the cable networks TBS and TNT, league television revenue soared into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

From 1976 to 2012, the Silnas collected approximately $255 million from the NBA, despite the fact that the Spirits never played an NBA game. (Nor has the NBA placed a new team in St. Louis since the Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968.) In 2014, the Silnas reached agreement with the NBA to greatly reduce the perpetual payments, and take a lump sum of $500 million. Ozzie died in 2016, at the age of 83. As of May 13, 2022, Dan is still alive, 77 years old, and still receiving money from the NBA, even though he hasn't owned a pro basketball team in 46 years.

When the 1976-77 season begins, the Nets, the Nuggets, the Pacers and the Spurs were in the NBA. But, as a result of having to pay an entry fee and a territorial indemnification fee to the Knicks, the Nets sold Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets went from the best team in their old league to the worst in their new one, while Dr. J helped the Sixers reach 4 NBA Finals, including in that 1st season, winning the title in 1983.

The Nets changed their name to the New Jersey Nets in 1977, moved to the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, then to the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford in 1981, then to the Prudential Center in Newark in 2010, and finally to the Barclays Center in 2012, becoming the Brooklyn Nets. They reached the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, but, for the most part, due to poor drafts, poor trades, and internal dissension that occasionally breaks them up, they have been an NBA failure.

However, it should also be noted that the 1976 ABA title is the last league championship won by a basketball team in the New York Tri-State Area. The Knicks won the NBA in 1970 and 1973, the Nets won the ABA in 1974 and 1976. Since then, between them, they are 0-4 in NBA Finals, winning just 6 Finals games in 40 years. The Nuggets haven't even reached the NBA Finals.

The NBA never adopted the ABA's red-white-and-blue ball, keeping their traditional orange. But in 1979, they adopted the 3-point field goal, which the ABA had, as had the American Basketball League of 1961-62.

UPDATE: The Nuggets finally reached the NBA Finals in 2023, and won. The New York Liberty won the WNBA Championship in 2024, finally succeeding the '76 Nets.

*

May 13, 1976 was a Thursday. The NBA Playoffs were in progress, but no games were played on this date.

The Montreal Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, and won Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. They completed the sweep 3 days later. The World Hockey Association Playoffs were in the Semifinals, and the Houston Aeros beat the New England Whalers, 4-2 at The Summit in Houston. (Televangelist Joel Osteen later turned the arena into the Central Campus of his Lakewood Church.)

Football was out of season. And these 6 Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Vern Ruhle outpitched Rudy May. Rusty Staub hit a home run for the Tigers, and Chris Chambliss hit one for the Yankees.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Luis Tiant outpitched Jim Kern. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Indians player-manager Frank Robinson did not put himself into the game.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Jim Palmer outpitched Bill Travers. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Reggie Jackson, in his only season with the Orioles, went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Robin Yount went 1-for-4.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 13-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 3-for-4 with a solo home run.

* And the California Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 7-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

May 10, 1974: The New York Nets Win the ABA Championship

May 10, 1974: The New York Nets beat the Utah Stars, 111-100 at the Nassau Coliseum, in Hempstead (mailing address, Uniondale), Long Island, New York, and win the Championship of the American Basketball Association, in 5 games.

Hail the Champions: Guards Bill Melchionni, "Super" John Williamson, Mike Gale, and Brian Taylor of Perth Amboy, New Jersey; forwards Julius "Doctor J" Erving, Wendell Ladner, Jim O’Brien, Billy Schaeffer and Larry Kenon; and centers Billy Paultz and Willie Sojourner. The head coach was Kevin Loughery.

The Nets won the ABA Championship again in 1976. So, while the Knicks had won 2 titles in 4 seasons, the Nets won 2 out of 3. Overall, over 7 seasons, New York basketball teams made 6 Finals, winning 4 of them.

But no New York Tri-State Area basketball team has won a major league championship since. Not the now-Brooklyn Nets, not the New York Knicks, not the WNBA's New York Liberty.

UPDATE: It wasn't quite true. The New York Stars won the Women's Basketball League title in 1980, but that wasn't exactly major league. The Liberty went 0-4 in WNBA Finals before finally winning in 2024.

*

May 10, 1974 was a Friday. Game 6 of the NBA Finals was played that night. The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Boston Celtics, 102-101 in double overtime at the Boston Garden. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 34 points for the Bucks, while John Havlicek had 36 for the Celts. All the Bucks had to do to win their 2nd title in 4 years was in Game 7 at home. But they couldn't do it.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 2 and 3. The Philadelphia Flyers went on to beat the Boston Bruins in 6 games. The World Hockey Association Playoffs were between their Semifinals and their Finals. The Houston Aeros went on to sweep the Chicago Cougars in 4 straight.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-2 at Shea Stadium, where the Yankees were playing while the original Yankee Stadium was being renovated. The newly-acquired Dick Tidrow started, and went the distance for the win. He would later become better known as a relief pitcher. Thurman Munson went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Jerry Koosman was the winning pitcher, while Burt Hooton lasted only 2 innings. Dave Schneck went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs for the Mets.

* The Montreal Expos beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Lou Brock went 2-for-4 with 2 stolen bases and an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell each hit a home run.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-4 at Atlanta Stadium (renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium the next year). Garry Maddox went 3-for-6 for the Giants, including singling Bobbby Bonds home with the winning run in the top of the 13th inning. Hank Aaron went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. An Earl Williams single and a Don Baylor sacrifice fly brought home the winning runs in the top of the 10th inning, making a winning pitcher out of Dave McNally. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3 with a walk. Mark Belanger, the Orioles' great-field-no-hit shortstop, hit a home run, 1 of only 20 he would hit in his career.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 2-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Johnny Bench went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Mickey Lolich ran out of gas in the 9th inning, and was replaced by John Hiller, who gave up a game-tying 3-run home run to Rico Petrocelli. In the bottom of the 9th, Willie Horton and Ben Oglivie doubled, and the Tigers won. Al Kaline, in his last season, went 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 8-7 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Jorge Orta singled Dick Allen home with the winning run in the top of the 14th inning.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 7-5 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Willie McCovey went 0-for-4 with a walk. Dave Winfield went 0-for-4 with an RBI on a groundout.

* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Nolan Ryan outpitched Paul Splittorff. Frank Robinson went 0-for-3 with a walk for the Angels. Rookie George Brett went 0-for-2 with a walk.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Jim "Catfish" Hunter outpitched Bert Blyleven. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-4. Rod Carew went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.