November 26, 1998: A Turkey of an Overtime Coin Flip

November 26, 1998: The Detroit Lions' annual tradition of hosting a game on Thanksgiving Day turns into a delicious result for them, because of a turkey of a turn of events.

The Lions were hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan, in a game televised nationally on CBS. With Barry Sanders in the backfield, the Lions came into the game 4-7. With an offense with quarterback Kordell Stewart (known as "Slash" because he was a quarterback/runner/receiver) and running back Jerome Betts (known as "The Bus" because he was as big as one), the Steelers came in 7-4, and were leading the AFC Central Division.

The 1st quarter was scoreless. Norm Johnson kicked 2 field goals for the Steelers in the 2nd quarter, and Jason Hanson kicked 1 for the Lions, so it was 6-3 Pittsburgh at halftime. Stewart threw a touchdown pass to Will Blackwell to put the Steelers up 13-3. Hanson kicked another field goal, and it was 13-6 after 3 quarters.

In the 4th quarter, Charlie Batch threw a touchdown pass to Herman Moore, to tie the game. Hanson kicked a field goal to give the Lions their 1st lead of the game. But with 4 seconds left in regulation, Johnson kicked a 25-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime, 16-16.

Referee Phil Luckett called the team Captain to midfield for the overtime coin toss. As the visiting team, the Steelers had the right to call the toss, as they did at the beginning of the game. Luckett told Bettis to call the coin in the air.

Bettis had started to say, "Heads," but changed his mind in mid-syllable: "He -- Tails!" But Luckett went with the first syllable he said he heard, and ruled that Bettis had said, "Heads," which he hadn't. The coin landed tails, meaning the Steelers should have had the ball. Instead, Luckett ruled that the Lions had won the toss, and gave them the ball.

Batch took the Lions down the field, and, just 2 minutes and 52 seconds into overtime, with the Steelers never even getting the ball, Hanson kicked a 42-yard field goal to win it, 19-16.

The Steelers cried foul, but there was nothing they could do. The NFL was never going to order the overtime replayed. And while the win didn't affect the Lions much, as they lost the last 4 games of the season, to finish 5-11, the loss ruined the Steelers' season: It started a season-ending 5-game losing streak. They finished 7-9, and missed the Playoffs completely.

This play inspired 2 rule changes. First, the player making the call now does so while the ref is still holding the coin, and the ref repeats the call before flipping, with his microphone being piped into both the stadium public-address system and the television microphones. This way, no one, inside the stadium or outside, has any doubt as to what the Captain's call is.

That change took effect the next season. But it would be many more years before the NFL changed its rule so that the team winning the toss must score a touchdown to automatically win; if they only kick a field goal, the opposing team then gets the ball and a chance to win.

Luckett was also the referee 10 days later at the Meadowlands, when Vinny Testaverde of the New York Jets appeared to score a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks, but the replay showed that the ball did not cross the plane of the goal line. Head linesman Earnie Frantz ruled it a touchdown, and Luckett, the man in charge, let it stand. The following season, the NFL instituted instant replay.

That didn't stop Luckett from being involved in a controversial play again the next season -- and this time, it was in the Playoffs. Luckett ruled that Frank Wychek's pass to Kevin Dyson, leading to Dyson's touchdown run that won the game for the Tennessee Titans against the Buffalo Bills was a lateral, and thus legal, and the play stood. This was the right call to make: It was a lateral.

Since 2012, Luckett has been a supervising official, in charge of instant replay.

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November 26, 1998, like all Thanksgiving Days, was a Thursday. In the NFL's other game that day, the Minnesota Vikings beat the Dallas Cowboys, 46-36 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

There were 2 college football games played that day, both of them intrastate matchups. Tulane, so rarely ranked since the 1st half of the 20th Century, were ranked Number 11, and beat Louisiana Tech, 63-30 at the Superdome in New Orleans. And Mississippi State, ranked Number 25, beat Mississippi, a.k.a. Ole Miss, 28-6 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

Baseball was in the off-season. Traditionally, the NBA and the NHL avoid scheduling games on Thanksgiving Day, so as not to compete with football for TV ratings. This time, however, the NHL scheduled 2 games, and a New York Tri-State Area team was in both. And both lost. The New York Islanders lost to the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at the Corel Centre in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario. (It's now the Canadian Tire Centre. The town was absorbed into Ottawa proper in 2001.) And the New Jersey Devils lost to the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-2 at the America West Arena (now the Footprint Center) in Phoenix.

February 5, 2006: Last Stop for the Bus

February 5, 2006: Super Bowl XL is played at Ford Field in Detroit. The Seattle Seahawks were making their 1st appearance, having won the NFC Championship, after having played in the AFC from 1977 (after their 1st season, 1976, in the NFC) to 2001. They were coached by Mike Holmgren, who had coached the Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were making their 6th appearance. They had won their 1st 4, but had won their last in 1980, and thus sought "One for the Thumb In '81," but couldn't get it. They lost their most recent appearance, in 1996.

Head coach Bill Cowher had Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. "Big Ben" had faced controversy over his treatment of women. Among his blockers was future Hall of Fame guard Alan Faneca. And a new edition of the "Steel Curtain" defense included linebackers James Farrior and Joey Porter, and future Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.

But the leading figure on the team was running back Jerome Bettis. "The Bus" was retiring after 13,662 rushing yards, 200 receptions for 1,449 yards, and 94 total touchdowns. And he was playing his last game in his hometown of Detroit.

The Seahawks scored first, on a field goal by Josh Brown. They thought they had a touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Matt Hasselback to Darrell Jackson. But the officials called a penalty on Jackson for offensive pass interference, nullifying the score. The Seahawks and their fans were furious with this call, but replays showed it was correct.

The only score in the 2nd quarter was a 1-yard run by Roehtlisberger, and it was 7-3 Steelers at the half. Early in the 2nd half, Willie Parker broke off a 75-yard touchdown run to put the Steelers up 14-3. Hasselback threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens, and the 3rd quarter ended with Seattle down just 14-10.

In the 4th quarter, Seattle right tackle Sean Locklear was called for holding Steelers linebacker Clark Haggans, nullifying a deep pass that would have put the Hawks in position to take the lead. Seattle and their fans were furious with this call as well, but, again, the replay proved the call to be correct. Also disputed was a penalty called on Hasselbeck for an illegal block below the waist, while making a tackle during Ike Taylor's interception return.

With 8:56 left in the game, the Steelers tried some trickery: A reverse got the ball to receiver Antwaan Randle El, who had been a quarterback at Indiana University. He threw an option pass to Hines Ward, who took it 43 yards for a touchdown. It was the 1st touchdown pass by a receiver in a Super Bowl, and it made the score 21-10 Pittsburgh. That score held, as good clock management on offense and strong defense got the Steelers their "One for the Thumb."

The retiring Bettis rushed 14 times for 43 yards. He did not score a touchdown, but he converted a key first down, and allowed his team to run time off the clock late in the 4th quarter.

The Seahawks had more 1st downs, 20-14; more net yards, 396-339; fewer turnovers, 2-1; and more time of possession, 33:02-26:58. It was argued that the difference was penalties: The Hawks were penalized 7 times for 70 yards; the Steelers, 3 times for 20 yards.

But there were also 2 questionable calls that hurt the Steelers, and these were equally justified by instant replay. It wasn't the officials that cost the Seahawks the game: It was the Steelers getting the job done that did that.

The Steelers won a 6th Super Bowl 3 years later. The Seahawks finally won their 1st Super Bowl in 2014.

UPDATE: The Steelers have a team hall of fame, calling it the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor. From their Super Bowl XL winners, they have inducted team owner Dan Rooney, executive Art Rooney Jr. (Dan's brother), head coach Bill Cowher, assistant coaches Dick Hoak and Dick LeBeau, scout Bill Nunn, broadcaster Tunch Ilkin; quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running backs Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker, receiver Hines Ward, tight end Heath Miller, guard Alan Faneca; defensive end Aaron Smith, defensive tackle Casey Hampton; linebackers Joey Porter, James Farrior and James Harrison; and safety Troy Polamalu.

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February 5, 2006 was, like all Super Bowl days, a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. There were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets, 93-89 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Toronto Raptors, 115-113 in overtime at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Utah Jazz, 96-78 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

And there were 2 games in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-0 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. And the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins, 4-3 in a shootout at the TD Banknorth Garden (now just "The TD Garden") in Boston.