December 15, 2019: The Raiders Play Their Last Game In Oakland

Derek Carr, the last Oakland quarterback

December 15, 2019: The Raiders play their last game in Oakland. No, no, really, they mean it this time.

Team owner Mark Davis fulfills his destiny, and gets the team moved out of the East Bay -- not to Los Angeles, because the Rams and Chargers have taken the market away, but to Las Vegas. The government of Nevada actually put out a statements saying that the Silver State was now the Silver and Black State.

Knowing that it was probably their last season in Oakland, the Raiders looked like they might go out on a good note. They started the season 6-4, including a win over the Chicago Bears in London. But they lost 3 straight going into their last home game, and were out of Playoff contention.

The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum -- known at the time of this game as the RingCentral Coliseum -- has often been beset with bad weather, but it couldn't have been better for the last Raider home game, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, as it was 59 degrees and sunny as the kickoff came at 1:05 PM Pacific Time.

There was some irony in the opponent: Because the Jaguars had been having attendance issues in Jacksonville, and had also willingly forsaken home games to go to London, they had often been considered the next team to move. But the Rams left St. Louis for the 2016 season, and the Chargers left San Diego for 2017, both to go back to Los Angeles from whence they came.

The Raiders opened the game by scoring on their 1st drive, as Derek Carr threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Tyrell Williams. Then the field goals started: The Jags got a 28-yard kick from Josh Lambo, and the Raiders got them from Daniel Carson, 33, 34 and 27 yards, giving them a 16-3 lead at the half. Lambo kicked a 43-yarder at the end of the 3rd quarter.

In the 4th quarter, Gardner Minshew combined for touchdown passes to Chris Conley, 6 yards with 5:15 to go, and 4 yards with 31 seconds left, giving the Jags a 20-16 win. The crowd of 52,788 booed the Raiders as they left the field for the last time.

William Shakespeare put words in the mouth of Julius Caesar: "Cowards die a thousand times before their death. The valiant taste of death but once." The James Bond franchise introduced the saying "You only live twice." Now, the Oakland Raiders had died twice.

And now, the Raiders were leaving Oakland for the 2nd time, going from the hometown of the Hell's Angels, who were often among the less aggressive denizens of the Coliseum parking lot, for the real "Sin City."

The next week, the Raiders beat the Chargers in Carson, California. But the week after that, they closed with a loss to the Broncos in Denver, finishing 7-9. On September 21, 2020, they played their 1st home game as a Las Vegas team, beating the New Orleans Saints, 34-24 at Allegiant Stadium in the Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.

From 1971, when the San Francisco Warriors moved across the Bay to the Oakland Coliseum Arena, becoming the Golden State Warriors, until 1976, the City of Oakland had teams in all 4 major league sports. But in 1976, the NHL's California Golden Seals moved to become the Cleveland Browns, where they failed, and merged with the also-bankrupt Minnesota North Stars. Baseball's Oakland Athletics came very close to moving to Denver for the 1978 season, seriously threatened to move to New Orleans for 1979, and made an effort for Denver again in 1980, before being sold and staying put.

The Raiders left for Los Angeles in 1982, returned in 1995, and now, in 2019, had left for Las Vegas. Earlier in 2019, the Chase Center had opened in San Francisco, and the Warriors moved into it, though they kept the "Golden State" name.

The A's were now the only team left in Oakland. And they began maneuvering their way out of Oakland for Las Vegas as well.

UPDATE: In 2023, the A's announced they were moving to Las Vegas, and the MLB team owners approved the movie unanimously. They will play the 2024 season in Oakland, then move to the small Las Vegas Ballpark for 2025, before a new stadium opens, most likely in 2028.

The Raiders have never retired a uniform number. Nor do they have a team Hall of Fame. But, as of the 2025 NFL season, there are 16 Raider figures in the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. From their 1967 AFL Champions, who lost Super Bowl II: Quarterback George Blanda and center Jim Otto.

From their Super Bowl XI winners of the 1976-77 season: Quarterback Ken Stabler, receiver Fred Biletnikoff, tight end Dave Casper, guard Gene Upshaw, tackle Art Shell, linebacker Ted Hendricks, cornerback Willie Brown, punter Ray Guy, and head coach John Madden. From their Super Bowl XV winners in the 1980-81 season: Upshaw, Shell, Casper, Hendricks, Guy, quarterback Jim Plunkett, tight end Raymond Chester, and head coach Tom Flores.

From their 2002 AFC Champions, who lost Super Bowl XXXVII, so far, only receiver Tim Brown has been inducted. And, as you might guess, the Raiders' "godfather," Al Davis, has been inducted.

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December 15, 2019 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins, 36-20 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Redskins, 37-27 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Carolina Panthers, 30-24 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

* The Houston Texans beat the Tennessee Titans, who used to be the Houston Oilers, 24-21 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Rams, 44-21 at AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-10 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The New England Patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-13 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Detroit Lions, 38-17 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* In the NFL's oldest rivalry, the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears, 21-13 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 23-3 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Cleveland Browns, 38-24 at State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Los Angeles Chargers, 39-10 at Dignity Health Sports Park in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the San Francisco 49ers, 29-22 at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Santa Clara, California.

Three days earlier, on Thursday, December 12, the New York Jets lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 42-21 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

And the day after, on ESPN Monday Night Football, the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts, 34-7 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Baseball was out of season. There were 6 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Denver Nuggets, 111-105 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-89 at the Barclays Center.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 101-96 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

* The Orlando Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 130-119 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 107-85 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Golden State Warriors, 100-79 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

There were 4 games in the NHL:

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild, 5-3 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-3 at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

* And the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-3 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.

And in English soccer, Arsenal lost to Manchester City, 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

December 9, 2023: The NBA's 1st In-Season Tournament

December 9, 2023: The Final of the NBA's 1st "In-Season Tournament" is held at the T-Mobile Arena, on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.

NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.

I've often compared English soccer's FA Cup to college basketball's NCAA Tournament, except that it preceded the NCAA Tournament by 67 years, and it runs all season long. The In-Season Tournament -- hereafter abbreviated as "IST" -- wasn't quite all season long, but it was comparable to "March Madness." November Nuthousery, and December Delirium?

The NBA introduced the Tournament for the 2023–24 season, with all games except the championship final counting towards the regular-season standings. It was structured as follows:

* Six intraconference pools of five.

* Tuesdays and Fridays during November featured group games against each of the other teams in their pool, 2 at home and 2 on the road. These games still counted as regular season games.

* The winners of each pool, and two wild-card teams, advanced to a single-elimination tournament.

* The Semifinals and Final were to be played in Las Vegas. (Well, in the suburbs of Las Vegas.)

* Players for the Tournament Champion will each receive $500,000.

* To compensate, the NBA's regular season scheduling formula was modified, so only 80 games for each team are initially announced during the offseason. The 1st 2 rounds of the in-season tournament would then count as regular-season games 81 and 82. The Championship Game would then be an extra 83rd game that would not count toward the regular season.

* Teams that did not qualify for the in-season tournament knockout round, or were eliminated in the quarterfinals, would then be scheduled additional games against each other that are eliminated in the same conference (if possible) and round to reach 82 games.

The Tournament began on November 3. In the East, the Groups were won by the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics. In the West, it was the Los Angeles Lakers, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings. The New York Knicks from the East and the Phoenix Suns from the West qualified for the Knockout Stage as the remaining teams with the best records.

Despite accusations that the IST was just a money grab for the NBA, and that the hyper-decorated courts were a bad look, it was an overwhelming success, in both attendance and television viewership. And the quality of play was considered excellent.

Two games of the Quarterfinals were held on December 4: The Pacers beat the Celtics, 122-112 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis; and the Pelicans beat the Kings, 127-117 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The other 2 Quarterfinals were held on December 5: The Bucks beat the Knicks, 146-122 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, with Julius Randle scoring 41 in defeat but Giannis Antetokounmpo scoring 35; and the Lakers beating the Suns, 106-103 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The Semifinals were held on December 7. The Pacers beat the Bucks, 128-119 in Milwaukee, and the Lakers clobbered the Pelicans, 133-89 in Los Angeles. Having covered that game for ESPN, Michael Wilbon said this while co-hosting the network's Pardon the Interruption the following night:

LeBron wants his name on that hardware, the first one! So, guess what? Russell's name can't be on it. Magic's name, Bird's name, Jordan's name, Isiah, none of their names, Hakeem, none of their names are on it. Not Kobe. His name is gonna be on it, 'cause they're gonna beat Indiana, and they're gonna beat 'em convincingly. So his will to win is what matters... The fact that he wants it is what matters.

Wilbon had a point: Pretty much everything else that can be done in the NBA, LeBron had already done: Winning the Championship, leading the league in scoring, winning the Most Valuable Player award in the regular season, winning it in the All-Star Game, winning it in the Finals. Winning this tournament, leading a team to victory in it, is something that nobody had ever done before.

In that Final, the Pacers hung with the Lakers most of the way, getting within 4 points in the 4th quarter. But the Lakers pulled away, and won, 123-109. Anthony Davis was the star of the Final, scoring 41 points. But the MVP award was for the entire Tournament, and, of course, it went to LeBron.

UPDATE: In 2024, the tournament was renamed the Emirates NBA Cup, sponsored by Emirates Airways, the airline owned by the royal family of the United Arab Emirates. In 2024, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Final.

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December 9, 2023 was a Saturday. This was also the day that "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" hit Number 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100, making Brenda Lee, at age 78, the oldest singer ever to have a Number 1 hit. I have a separate entry for that event.

This was the only NBA game scheduled for the day. Baseball was in the off-season, although this was the day on which the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to the biggest contract in North American sports history to that point, $700 million over 10 years. One college football game was played: Army beat Navy, 17-11 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

There were 12 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Washington Capitals, 4-0 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The New York Islanders beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2 at the UBS Arena in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the winning goal, 13 seconds into overtime.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Calgary Flames, 4-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Arizona Coyotes, 5-3 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Nashville Predators, 4-0 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 in a shootout at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-1 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Dallas Stars, 6-1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-2 at the Ball Arena in Denver.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Seattle Kraken, 4-3 at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Nikita Kucherov scored the winning goal with 1:48 left in overtime.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

In American soccer, the MLS Cup Final was played: The Columbus Crew beat Los Angeles F.C., 2-1 at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. And in English soccer, Arsenal F.C., the North London team I support, lost to Aston Villa, 1-0 at Villa Park in Birmingham, West Midlands.

November 21, 1980: The MGM Grand Fire

Note the helicopters heading for the roof.

November 21, 1980: A fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, outside Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It kills 85 people, mostly through smoke inhalation: 7 employees, 78 guests.

The fire began at 7:07 AM, Pacific Time (10:07, U.S. Eastern), from a refrigerated pastry display case in one of the restaurants, located on the first floor. Fire engulfed the resort's casino, and smoke travelled into the hotel tower.

The hotel opened in 1973, and there were 5,000 people inside at the time of the fire. The fact that less than 2 percent of the people inside died is due in large part to the amount of support the Las Vegas Fire Department got, including helicopters from the nearby Nellis Air Force Base, which rescued over 1,000 people from the hotel's roof.

The tragedy remains the deadliest disaster in Nevada history, and the third-deadliest hotel fire in modern U.S. history, after the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta, which killed 119 people; and the 1986 Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico; which killed 97. The incident led to the reformation of fire safety guidelines and codes in the State.

The MGM reopened in July 1981, and was sold in 1986 to Bally's, who renamed the hotel Bally's Las Vegas. A new MGM Grand opened in 1993, south of the original. In 2022, Bally's was renamed Horseshoe Las Vegas.

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November 21, 1980 was a Friday. This was also the night that the TV show Dallas revealed who shot J.R. Ewing. I have a separate entry for that event.

This was also the day that rock band REO Speedwagon released their album Hi Infidelity. It is their biggest album, and contains their 1st Number 1 hit, “Keep On Loving You,” and also their best-known song, "Take It On the Run." ("Heard it from a friend who... ")

Baseball was out of season. Football was played the next 2 days. There were 8 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Chicago Bulls, 130-121 at the Chicago Stadium. Ray Williams scored 36 points for the Knickerbockers, but it wasn't enough.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Houston Rockets, 116-108 at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Moses Malone dropped 33 on the Nets.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers, 97-88 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Bullets beat the San Diego Clippers, 102-90 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors, 108-106 at the Boston Garden.

* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the expansion Dallas Mavericks, 101-91 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Kansas City Kings, 134-121 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 116-88 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And there was 1 NHL game: The Buffalo Sabres beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.

November 13, 1982: The Tragedy of Kim Duk-koo

November 13, 1982: Boxer Ray Mancini, the WBA Lightweight Champion of the World, defends his title against Korean boxer Kim Duk-koo in the outdoor stadium at Caesar's Palace in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. (Kim's name usually then listed as "Duk Koo Kim.")

Kim was 27, had a career record of 17-1-1, and was the Lightweight Champion of the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF). But except for 1 fight in the Philippines, this would be his 1st time fighting outside Korea. Indeed, except for that, and 1 fight each in Pusan and Ilsan, he had only fought in the South Korean capital of Seoul.

In contrast, Mancini, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, and like his father Lenny nicknamed "Boom-Boom" for his hard punching, was only 21, but was 24-1 going into the fight. His only loss was the year before, to Alexis Argüello, who held the WBC Lightweight Championship. On May 8, 1982, Mancini beat Arturo Frias to win the WBA version of the lightweight title. On July 24, he successfully defended that title against Ernesto España, and was looking forward to a rematch and unification bout with Argüello. But, first, he had to fight Kim. And then, the night before Mancini vs. Kim, Argüello lost his piece of the title to Aaron Pryor.

Kim struggled to make the 135-pound weight limit. Before the fight, Kim was quoted as saying "Either he dies, or I die." He wrote the message "live or die" on his Las Vegas hotel lampshade only days before the bout -- which led to a mistaken translation of "kill or be killed" being reported in the media.

On November 26, in fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, broadcast in prime time on ABC, Larry Holmes won a unanimous 15-round decision over Randall "Tex" Cobb. The fight was brutal, and it made announcer Howard Cosell, known for his boxing broadcasts, swear never to broadcast another professional fight, a vow he kept until his death.

Between them, these 2 fights led to changes in boxing. The maximum of 15 rounds was reduced to 12. A standing eight-count for any knockdown was required. And any fighter knocked out automatically had his license suspended for 45 days, for his own safety.

Mancini went to Kim's funeral in Korea, and while boxing fans didn't seem to hold Kim's death against him, he fell into a deep depression. To make matters worse, Kim's mother died by suicide 3 months after the fight; and the bout's referee, Richard Green, did so 6 months after that.

Mancini never did fight Pryor, and never got a rematch against Argüello. Officially, he defended his title 4 times, plus won 2 non-title fights, raising his record to 29-1. On June 1, 1984, at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, he lost the title on a technical knockout against Livingstone Bramble, a fighter from the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, the only Rastafarian ever to win a boxing title. He sometimes fought under the name Ras-I Alujah Bramble.

Mancini got a rematch against Bramble, losing a very close, but unanimous, decision. He fought twice more, losing a split decision to former Lightweight Champion Héctor "Macho" Camacho in 1989, and a 7th-round TKO to former Lightweight Champion Greg Haugen in 1992. Mancini retired with a record of 29-5. He went on to become a film producer, and as of November 13, 2022, is still alive.

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November 13, 1982 was a Saturday. 

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Georgia beat Auburn, 19-14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Georgia won the Southeastern Conference Championship.

* Number 2 Southern Methodist University beat Texas Tech, 34-27 at Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. SMU won the Southwest Conference Championship.

* Number 3 Arizona State were upset by Number 7 Washington, 17-13 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* Number 4 Nebraska beat Iowa State, 48-10 at Cyclone Stadium (now Jack Trice Stadium) in Ames, Iowa. Nebraska won the Big 8 Conference Championship.

* Number 5 Penn State beat Number 13 Notre Dame, 24-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. An independent with no conference title available to them, Penn State rose to Number 2, and beat Number 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, to win their 1st National Championship.

* Number 6 Louisiana State University were upset by Mississippi State, 27-24 at Scott Field (now Davis Wade Stadium) in Starkville, Mississippi. LSU were invited to the Orange Bowl, where they lost to Nebraska.

* Number 8 University of Pittsburgh beat Army 24-6 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. As for the other service academies, Navy lost to South Carolina, 17-14 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina; while Air Force had the week off.

Pitt were invited to the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to SMU. With no losses but a tie, SMU claimed the National Championship ahead of 1-loss Penn State, but both the AP and the UPI had Penn State ahead of them in their polls.

* Number 9 Florida State beat Louisville, 49-14 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

* Number 10 Arkansas beat Texas A&M, 35-0 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

* Number 11 Clemson beat Number 18 Maryland, 24-22 at Byrd Stadium (now SECU Stadium) in the Washington suburb of College Park, Maryland.

* Number 12 UCLA beat Stanford, 38-35 at the Rose Bowl in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California. UCLA won the Pac-10 Conference Championship.

* Number 13 Oklahoma beat Missouri, 41-14 at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma were invited to the Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to Arizona State, on ASU's home field.

* Number 14 Michigan beat Purdue, 52-21 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan won the Big 10 Conference Championship, but lost the Rose Bowl to UCLA.

* Number 17 Alabama were upset by Southern Mississippi, 38-29 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

* As for New Jersey's teams, Princeton lost to Yale, 37-19 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut; while Rutgers played 2 nights earlier, losing to Number 19 West Virginia, 44-17 at Giants Stadium. RU played 3 "home games" at the Meadowlands that year, and all 3 crowds could have fit at Rutgers Stadium, provided they opened the grass hills in the corners.

And in New Jersey high school football, the school I would enter in the 10th grade 2 years later, East Brunswick, lost to Union of Union Township, Union County, 10-0 at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick.

Baseball was out of season. There were 7 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons, 112-100 at Madison Square Garden. Kelly Tripucka, a native of Bloomfield, New Jersey who grew up as a Knicks fan, scored 35 points for the Pistons. Isiah Thomas added 30 points, perhaps the first time he drove Knick fans crazy, but by no means the last. Bernard King, as he so often did in those days, led the Knicks in scoring, with 27 points.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 110-100 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Chicago Bulls, 119-115 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. At the time, the Bulls would have been considered at the time to be the Pacers' arch-rivals, at least geographically. They probably should still be, but are not generally thought of that way.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 140-130 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas. Alex English scored 40 points for the Nuggets.

* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the San Antonio Spurs, 107-98 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. David "Skywalker" Thompson scored 32 for the Sonics.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the San Diego Clippers, 112-111 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena). Eddie Johnson, known as "the Man Who Put the J in 'Jump Shot,'" scored 35 for the Kings.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-101 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Joe Barry Carroll scored 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. He did not always show that much effort, which earned him the uncomplimentary nickname "Joe Barely Cares."

There were 10 games in the NHL, with every team except the New York Rangers scheduled to play:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Washington Capitals, 3-1 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Quebec Nordiques, 7-2 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Boston Garden.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-2 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Chicago Black Hawks beat their arch-rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And in English soccer, Arsenal and Everton, the blue club in Liverpool, played to a draw, 1-1 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London. 

November 11, 1971: “Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas” Is Published

November 11, 1971: Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson begins to be serialized in Rolling Stone magazine. It is published in book form on July 7, 1972. Since Thompson was admittedly on drugs the whole time, he may have been the least reliable "unreliable narrator" of all time.

The story follows its protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Oscar Acosta, known in real life as "Zeta" and in the book as "Doctor Gonzo," as they travel to Las Vegas, to chase the American Dream through a drug-induced haze, all the while ruminating on the failure of the 1960s countercultural movement.

Born on July 18, 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky, Thompson served in the U.S. Air Force, and became famous in 1967 with Hell's Angels, which he wrote after living with the motorcycle club of the same name for a year. In 1970, he satirized his hometown's biggest event, writing "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" for the magazine Scanlan's Monthly. He became known for his bucket hat and sunglasses, and always smoking a cigarette through a holder like Franklin Roosevelt.

Thompson had attended Columbia University in New York, but never earned any academic degree. In 1970, he purchased a legitimate mail-order Doctorate of Divinity from the Universal Life Church. For $25, he bought the privilege, rather than earned the right, to be called "Doctor" for the rest of his life.

Thompson once said, "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." Because of the Doctor Gonzo character, his writing, and that of his copycats, became known as "Gonzo Journalism." The name may also have inspired the names of Gonzo the Great, operated by Dave Goetz on The Muppet Show; and Dr. G. Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates, played by Gregory Harrison on Trapper John, M.D.

Acosta went on a trip to Mexico in 1974, and never came back. As with the writer Ambrose Bierce, who went to Mexico in 1913 and was never again seen in America, his body has never been found, but he was quickly presumed dead.

Thompson wrote several other books, including Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. He was a leftist, except for one issue: He was a gun nut. On February 20, 2005, noting that, at 67, he had lived 17 years longer than he'd wanted, and was ill, Thompson shot and killed himself at his home in rural Woody Creek, Colorado.

Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas was long considered unfilmable, probably because, before the era of computer-generated imagery (CGI), the special effects needed to match Thompson's drug-induced hallucinations would have been too expensive. A film version was finally released in 1998. Not surprisingly, the director who took it on was Terry Gilliam, Monty Python member and director of Time Bandits, Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Johnny Depp played Duke, and Benicio del Toro played Dr. Gonzo.

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November 11, 1971 was a Thursday. Actor David DeLuise, son of actor Dom DeLuise, was born.

There were 2 games in the NBA. The New York Knicks lost to the Golden State Warriors, 112-103 at Madison Square Garden. And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 110-91 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. 

There were 2 games in the American Basketball Association. The Carolina Cougars beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 127-109 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. And the Utah Stars beat the Denver Rockets, 112-106 at the Denver Auditorium Arena.

And there were 3 games in the NHL:

* The Boston Bruins beat the California Golden Seals, 5-2 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

November 5, 1994: George Foreman Regains the Heavyweight Title

November 5, 1994: A 45-year-old overweight minister wins the Heavyweight Championship of the World. It doesn't sound possible. It is, when it's George Foreman.

Wearing the same trunks he wore 20 years minus a week earlier, when he lost the title to Muhammad Ali, Big George knocks Michael Moorer out in the 10th round at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. He thus breaks Jersey Joe Walcott's record as oldest Heavyweight Champion. (Walcott was 38 when he lost the title to Rocky Marciano in 1952).

He doesn't hold the title for long, as organizational shenanigans beyond his control forced him to give it up. But he had made his point. Today, who remembers the guys who made George Foreman give up the title (except for Ali)? Ah, but everybody remembers George, and everybody likes George. Which was not the case the first time around: After retiring from boxing for the 1st time in 1977, he totally changed his life, and became a different and better person. His last fight was a loss to Shannon Briggs in 1997. His final record was 76-5 -- 31-3 after his comeback.

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November 5, 1994 was a Saturday. Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Nebraska beat Kansas, 45-17 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska won the Big Eight Conference title.

* Number 2 Penn State beat Indiana, 35-29 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won the Big Ten Conference title, in only their 2nd season in the league.

* Number 3 Auburn beat East Carolina, 38-21 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama.

* Number 4 Florida beat Southern Mississippi, 55-17 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Florida won the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 5 Miami beat Number 10 Syracuse, 27-6 at the Carrier Dome (now the JMA Wireless Dome) in Syracuse, New York. Miami won the Big East Conference title, but Nebraska beat them in the Orange Bowl, avenging their 1984 Orange Bowl defeat, and finally winning Coach Tom Osborne his 1st National Championship.

* Number 6 Alabama beat Louisiana State, 35-17 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Number 7 Colorado beat Oklahoma State, 17-3 at Folsom Field in the Denver suburb of Boulder, Colorado.

* Number 8 Florida State beat Georgia Tech, 41-10 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. Florida State won the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Then, in their last regular-season game, came from 31-3 down to tie, 31-31 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, a game known as the Choke at Doak. A rematch was ordered for the Sugar Bowl, as the SEC Champion always received a bid, while the ACC Champion was not locked into a bowl. Florida State won it, 23-17.

* Number 9 Utah were upset by New Mexico, 23-21 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

* Number 10 Colorado beat Oklahoma State, 45-32 at Lewis Field (now Boone Pickens Stadium) in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Colorado beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame had the week of November 5 off.

* Number 11 Texas A&M beat their arch-rivals, Texas, 34-10 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

* Number 12 Washington were upset by Stanford, 46-28 at the old Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, California.

* Number 13 Virginia were upset by Number 23 Duke, 28-25 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

* Number 16 Washington State were upset by Number 22 Southern California, 23-10 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. USC did not win the Pacific-Ten Conference title, but did receive a bid to the Cotton Bowl, where they beat Texas Tech, the Southwest Conference Champions.

* Number 19 North Carolina were upset by Clemson, 28-17 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Number 21 Oregon beat Arizona State, 34-10 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. Oregon won the Pac-10 title, but lost the Rose Bowl to Penn State. Despite finishing undefeated, Penn State finished Number 2 in the last poll, behind Nebraska. They needed to worry less about who was winning the National Championship, and what defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was doing.

* Among the service academies, Air Force beat Army, 10-6 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; and Navy beat Tulane, 17-15 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* And Rutgers beat Temple, 38-21 at the new Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

The baseball players were on strike, and the season would have been over by this point, anyway. The NHL players were locked out, meaning that 2 of the "Big Four" sports in North America were stopped cold due to management's unfairness to the players.

There were 11 games in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 112-103 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 115-107 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-109 in overtime at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 122-107 at the Orlando Arena.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Boston Celtics, 112-103 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Chicago Bulls, 100-99 in overtime at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 97-96 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 115-85 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets, 108-104 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 112-95 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Clyde Drexler scored 41 points.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Utah Jazz, 110-103 at the Tacoma Dome. The Sonics played the 1994-95 season there while the Seattle Center Coliseum was being rebuilt as the KeyArena.

October 31, 1974: "The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast" Premieres

October 31, 1974: The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast premieres on NBC. The concept had begun a year earlier, as a segment on The Dean Martin Show, but was now extended to a full hour all to itself.

A roast is a form of comedy in which a specific individual, a guest of "honor," is subjected to jokes at their expense, intended to amuse the event's wider audience. In addition to jokes and insult comedy, such events may also involve genuine praise and tributes.

The assumption is that the roastee can take the jokes in good humor, and not as serious criticism or insult. The individual is surrounded by friends, fans, and well-wishers, who can receive some of the same treatment during the evening.

For example: Dean Martin, legendary singer and actor, and the host -- and, once, the subject of an installment -- was a member of "The Rat Pack," which also included Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. The 3 of them were close friends, had done movies and TV specials together, and knew how far they could go with each other. Many of the "panelists" were friends of theirs, including Don Rickles, the king of insult comedy.

(In real life, just as comedian Jack Benny wasn't actually a cheapskate, and Martin and Foster Brooks, also a frequent participant, weren't really heavy boozers, people who knew Rickles said he was a wonderful guy, and particularly supportive of young comedians and actors.)

The show was based on the roasts at The Friars Club, a New York-based club for comedians. It was taped at the Ziegfeld Room at the MGM Grand Hotel, in the Rat Pack's adopted hometown of Las Vegas. (In 1986, it was bought by Bally's, and rebranded as Bally's Las Vegas. In 1993, a new hotel opened elsewhere in Vegas as the MGM Grand.) (UPDATE: In 2022, the former MGM Grand/Bally's was bought by Caesar's, and rebranded again, as the Horseshoe Las Vegas.)

Since the show was on NBC, Tonight Show host Johnny Carson was a regular guest. So were members of the cast of the now-canceled Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, including Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. For some strange reason, Laugh-In's Ruth Buzzi always appeared in character as frumpy, handbag-swinging Gladys Ormphby.

The show was bipartisan: It roasted Republicans such as Governor Ronald Reagan of California and Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, but also Democrats such as former Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

It wasn't all old guys, or even all "establishment" guys. Shortly after Muhammad Ali, hardly an establishment figure at the time, regained the Heavyweight Championship of the World, he was invited -- probably at the insistence of Sinatra, a huge boxing fan. Among the roasters were ABC Sports' Howard Cosell, and a young comedian who did impressions of both Ali and Cosell: Billy Crystal. Crystal and Ali had never met before, but Ali was so impressed, he called the diminutive Crystal "Little Brother," and they were friends for the rest of Ali's life.

In addition to Ali, sports personalities roasted included baseball's Leo Durocher (a close friend of Sinatra's), Joe Garagiola and Hank Aaron; football's Joe Namath; basketball's Wilt Chamberlain; and tennis' Bobby Riggs.

Three men were "Man of the Hour" twice: Namath, Michael Landon, and Jack Klugman, although, the 1st time, Klugman was roasted along with his Odd Couple castmate Tony Randall.

On November 21, 1980, a fire broke out at the MGM Grand, killing 85 people. The damage done to the hotel meant the end of the show, except for a brief revival in 1984.

*

October 31, 1974 was a Thursday. And it was Halloween. I was 4 years old, going on 5, and I was dressed as a cowboy. Unfortunately, this was also the day that Ronald O'Bryan killed his 8-year-old son Timothy by poisoning his candy, becoming the source of all the myths about tainted candy. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball season ended 2 weeks earlier, with the Oakland Athletics beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Football was in midweek. There were 3 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks, 93-90 at Madison Square Garden. Earl "The Pearl" Monroe scored 35 points.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 118-101 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio. Austin Carr scored 33 for the Cavs. Bob Lanier scored 41 in defeat.

* And the Houston Rockets beat the Washington Bullets, 95-92 at the Hofheinz Pavilon (now the Fertitta Center) in Houston.

There were no games in the American Basketball Association. There were 3 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals, 3-0 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* And the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings played to a tie, 1-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles.

And there were 3 games in the World Hockey Association:

* The New England Whalers beat the Indianapolis Racers, 6-1 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Cleveland Crusaders beat the Michigan Stags, 4-2 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit. The Stags didn't finish the season as the Michigan Stags. They became the Baltimore Blades. They didn't finish the season under that name, either. They didn't finish the season at all.

* And the San Diego Mariners beat the Chicago Cougars, 4-3 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena). 

October 29, 1991: The Tailhook Scandal Is Exposed

A demonstration after the exposure of the scandal

October 29, 1991: The Tailhook Scandal is exposed. It was one of the earliest "Me Too" stories.

A tailhook, arresting hook, or arrester hook, is a device attached to the rear of some military fixed-wing aircraft. The hook is used to achieve rapid deceleration during routine landings aboard aircraft carrier flight decks at sea, or during emergency landings or aborted takeoffs at properly equipped airports. The Tailhook Association is a non-profit organization supporting the interests of sea-based aviation, with emphasis on aircraft carriers.

The 35th Annual Tailhook Association Symposium was held at the Las Vegas Hilton from September 5 to 8, 1991. The Gulf War ad taken place earlier in the year, and over 11 hours of presentations and discussion concerning U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation operations in the conflict were to be the central focus for the 4,000 attendees.

Before the Symposium was over aviation officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted up to 83 women and 7 men, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct.

This scandal broke in the immediate aftermath of the Clarence Thomas hearings, and the reaction of American women was one of disgust. Something had to be done.

Not much was done: Approximately 40 naval and Marine officers received non-judicial punishment, mainly for conduct unbecoming an officer and false official statements. Three officers were taken to courts-martial, but their cases were dismissed. No officers were disciplined for the alleged sexual assaults.

The aftermath resulted in sweeping changes throughout all military services in the Department of Defense regarding attitudes and policies toward women.

The Las Vegas Hilton was originally the International Hotel, where Elvis held court from 1969 to 1977. It's now the Westgate Las Vegas.

*

October 29, 1991 was a Tuesday. The baseball season had ended 2 days earlier, when the Minnesota Twins won Game 7, and thus the World Series, over the Atlanta Braves. Football was in midweek. The NBA season began 3 days later. There were 5 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Minnesota North Stars, 3-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders beat the San Jose Sharks, 8-4 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Winnipeg Jets, 7-2 at the Colisée de Québec. Owen Nolan had a hat trick.

* And the Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-0 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

October 3, 1974: Curt Gowdy's "The Way It Was"

October 3, 1974: The Way It Was premieres on PBS. Sportscaster Curt Gowdy, taking advantage of the nostalgia wave for the 1950s -- and earlier times, since the films Paper Moon and The Sting had recently brought interest in the 1930s back -- hosts a talk show from Las Vegas, inviting the stars of famous sports occurrences to talk about their big moments. The theme song is "Happy Days Are Here Again."

To be fair, he invites players from both sides. The pilot episode featured the 1951 New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers playoff for the National League Pennant, "The Bobby Thomson Game." Both Thomson, who hit the deciding home run, and Ralph Branca, the pitcher who gave it up, were among the invited guests.

Curt Gowdy

The series ran through 1978. These were the events covered:

In baseball: The World Series of 1946, 1947, 1948, 1954, 1956, 1960 and 1975 (easily the most recent event covered); the Thomson Game; an overview of the Negro Leagues; and a 3-part overview of the Yankee Dynasty, 1949 to 1964.

In football: The NFL Championship Games of 1940, 1950, 1952, 1958 and 1960; the 1946 Army-Navy Game; the 1963 Rose Bowl; the 1964 USC-Notre Dame game; the 1968 Harvard-Yale game.

In basketball: The 1957 and '58 NBA Finals, the 1962 NBA Finals, and the 1968 UCLA-Houston "Game of the Century."

In hockey: The 1954 Stanley Cup Finals.

In boxing: Joe Louis' fights with Tony Galento in 1939 (the furthest-back event covered), Billy Conn in 1941 and 1946, and Jersey Joe Walcott in 1947 and 1948; the Rocky Graziano vs. Tony Zale trilogy of 1946 to 1948; the Sandy Saddler vs. Willie Pep quadrilogy of 1949 to 1951; and the 1951 "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" between Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta.

In horse racing: Citation's run to the 1948 Triple Crown, and the 1955 match race between Swaps and Nashua. Admittedly, getting interviews with the horses' jockeys and trainers was easier than getting them with the horses themselves, since horses can't talk. At least Nashua was still alive at the time.

And in track and field: The 1960 Olympics, where he interviewed Wilma Rudolph and Jesse Owens. Owens, the hero of the 1936 Olympics, covered the 1960 Olympics as a journalist.

In every one of these cases, Gowdy also interviewed one of the broadcasters for the event, who recreated their calls. These included baseball announcer Ernie Harwell, football announcer Bill Campbell, and boxing announcer Don Dunphy.

*

October 3, 1974 was a Thursday. Baseball was between the regular season and the Playoffs. Football was in midweek. And it was too early for the basketball and hockey seasons. So there were no scores on this historic day.

October 2, 1980: Muhammad Ali's Last Stand

Even in defeat, Ali was the main story,

not the man who actually won the fight.

October 2, 1980: Muhammad Ali, 38 years old, tries to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World for the 4th time.

Sugar Ray Robinson and Archie Moore had been champion boxers in their 40s, but it was a mistake for Ali to even think about getting back in the ring. He is already beginning to show signs of Parkinson's disease, from the poundings he had taken in the ring from 1975 to 1978.

He hadn't fought in 2 years. He has gotten his weight down to 217 1/2 pounds, his lowest since he won the title for the 2nd time, from George Foreman in 1974. But, at the same time, he'd lost too much weight too fast, and it had drained him, as it had Jim Jeffries against Jack Johnson in 1910, and Joe Louis against Rocky Marciano in 1951.

And he was facing Larry Holmes, who was 30, and 35-0, with 26 knockouts. The native of Easton, in northeastern Pennsylvania, was already known as "The Easton Assassin," and had beaten Earnie Shavers, who nearly beat Ali in 1977, twice; Ken Norton, who beat Ali in 1973, lost to him later that year, and nearly beat him in 1976; Alfredo Evangelista, whom Ali beat in 1977; and Mike Weaver, who would later win a share of the Heavyweight Championship.

The fight was held at the outdoor boxing stadium at Caesar's Palace, outside Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It was a mismatch: Holmes won each of the 1st 10 rounds, and Ali looked like, in boxing terms, a very old man. His trainer, Angelo Dundee, stopped the fight. It was the only time in his 61 professional fights that The Greatest neither won nor at least went the distance.

For the only time in its history, Sports Illustrated put the loser, but not the winner, of a prizefight on its cover, with the headline "THE LAST HURRAH," invoking Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel about an aging politician in his last campaign. Ali had lost 3 times before, but this was the first time he had truly looked like a beaten man. The expression on his face in the cover photo shows that he knew it. For its article on the fight, SI titled it "Doom In the Desert."

Like the rising Marciano, when he inflicted a similar punishment on the aging Louis in 1951, Holmes was seen crying after his victory. He gained very little from the win, and may even have lost respect from many of Ali's fans. This was unfair: If there's anybody with whom they should have been angry, it should have been Ali, for even trying this fight.

Father Time doesn't always win, but he always wins the rematch. Watching this was like watching Elvis in Omaha in the last TV special.

And still, Ali fought once more, on December 11, 1981, losing to Trevor Berbick in Nassau. It became known as "The Trauma in Bahama." That fight may have damaged him even further. He did as much good as he could in the last 34 years of his life, but Parkinson's severely limited this. He really should have quit after the 3rd fight with Joe Frazier in 1975, "The Thrilla in Manila."

*

October 2, 1980 was a Thursday. Football was in midweek, and the NBA and the NHL were in their preseasons. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Ron Guidry outpitched Jack Morris, and was supported by home runs from Reggie Jackson and Oscar Gamble.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski did not play.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs, but no stolen bases.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Seattel Mariners, 6-2 at Royals Stadium (later Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 0-for-2 with a walk, and an RBI on a sacrifice fly. His batting average, which had been up to .401 in early September, dropped to .389, and he would finish at .390.

* The Minnesota Twins swept a doubleheader from the Texas Rangers, 6-3 and 4-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* And the New York Mets, the Baltimore Orioles, the California Angels, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres were not scheduled.

October 1, 2017: The Las Vegas Massacre

October 1, 2017: The largest mass shooting in American history takes place on the Las Vegas Strip. Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old real estate executive from nearby Mesquite, Nevada, who had previously been a law-abiding gun owner, took a room on the 32nd floor at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, opened the window, and opened fire with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. He shot 471 people, 60 of whom died, all of whom had been attending the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. He then shot and killed himself.

The American federal government, then led by Donald Trump in the White House, Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate, and Paul Ryan in the U.S. House of Representatives: What did they do about this? Nothing. They were all Republicans, beholden to the National Rifle Association.

The day was a Sunday, before the start of the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League seasons The NHL's new expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, hung a banner in memory of the victims in their new arena, the T-Mobile Center.

It was the last day of Major League Baseball's regular season, and there was a full slate of games:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1 at the new Yankee Stadium. Jordan Montgomery was the starting pitcher for the Yankees, but it was Domingo German in relief who turned out to be the losing pitcher. The only Yankee run came on a home run to Matt Holliday.

* The New York Mets got clobbered by the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-0 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals, 11-8 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins, 8-5 at Marlins Park in Miami.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-1 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Kansas City Royals, 14-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 5-2 at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) in Arlington, Texas.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-2 at Angel Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim, California.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at what's now named Oracle Park in San Francisco.

And, being a Sunday, there was a full slate of National Football League games:

* The New York Giants lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 25-23 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The New York Jets beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 23-20 at MetLife Stadium in the New York suburb of East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey. Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Miami Dolphins, 20-0 at Wembley Stadium in London.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the New England Patriots, 33-30 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts. Take that, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 26-9 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns, 31-7 at FirstEnergy Stadium (now Huntington Bank Field) in Cleveland.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Atlanta Falcons, 23-17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

* The Houston Texans beat the Tennessee Titans, the team that used to be the Houston Oilers, 57-14 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston. And the Titans weren't a bad team, either: They went 9-7, and not only ended up making the Playoffs, but winning a Playoff game, beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions, 14-7 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Dallas Cowboys, 35-30 at AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders, 16-10 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers, 18-15 in overtime at what's now named State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Los Angeles Chargers, 26-24 at what's now named Dignity Sports Health Park in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. Only 25,000 people can fit in the stadium, and most of them seemed to be rooting for the Eagles. I have a separate entry for this event.

* And the Seattle Seahawks beat the Indianapolis Colts, 46-18 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

The next night, on Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Washington Redskins, 29-20 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers had a bye.

Also on October 1, 2017, Arsenal beat Brighton & Hove Albion, 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.