November 11, 2011: College Basketball On an Aircraft Carrier

November 11, 2011: Two of college basketball's greatest programs face each other -- on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

The USS Carl Vinson, named for the longtime Congressman from Georgia known as "the Father of the Two-Ocean Navy," was docked at the U.S. naval base in San Diego. Stands were erected on its deck, and 8,111 fans were in attendance, including President Barack Obama, who had been a high school basketball star, along with some of his family, including First Lady Michelle Obama, and her brother, Craig Robinson, then the head basketball coach at Oregon State. The proceeds benefited the Wounded Warrior Project, a veterans' organization.

The date was chosen because it was Veterans Day. The teams chosen were the University of North Carolina, already 5-time NCAA Champions and 18-time Final Four participants; and Michigan State University, 2-time National Champions and 8-time Final Four participants. The North Carolina Tar Heels were represented by their greatest player ever, Michael Jordan; the Michigan State Spartans, by theirs, Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

North Carolina won, 67-55. Harrison Barnes of North Carolina led all scorers with 17 points, and John Henson added 12. Branden Dawson and Adreian Payne led Michigan State with 10 points.

The Carrier Classic was renewed on November 9, 2012, aboard the USS Yorktown in Charleston, South Carolina. It was a doubleheader, first the Notre Dame and Ohio State women's teams, then the Ohio State and Marquette men's teams. Notre Dame won the opener, 57-51. But the Ohio State-Marquette game had to be canceled, due to condensation on the court. That wasn't an issue in the previous year's game in dry San Diego, despite being right on the water, but it was this time.

Two more Carrier Classics were scheduled. Also on November 9, on the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, Florida, between Georgetown and the University of Florida. This game got underway, but had to be stopped due to condensation. And on November 11, aboard the USS Midway in San Diego, a game was played to a conclusion, with Syracuse beating San Diego State, 62-49.

In June 2013, it was announced that the Carrier Classic would not be renewed. Finally, on November 11, 2022, another was held, named the Peraton Armed Forces Classic: Gonzaga beat Michigan State, 64-63, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego.

*

November 11, 2011 was a Friday. Baseball season was over. The NBA team owners had locked out the players, so the season ended up not starting until Christmas Day. One college football game was played: The University of South Florida beat Syracuse, 37-17 at the Carrier Dome (now the JMA Wireless Dome) in Syracuse, New York.

There were 7 NHL games played that night:

* The New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Washington Capitals, 3-1 at the Prudential Center.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-1 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.

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

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Calgary Flames, 4-1 at the United Center in Chicago.

* And the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

April 3, 2000: Izzo & the Flintstones

April 3, 2000: Michigan State University defeats the University of Florida, 89-76 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, and wins its 2nd National Championship.

Jud Heathcote had coached Michigan State to the National Championship in 1979, led by Earvin "Magic" Johnson. In 1983, he took Tom Izzo on as an assistant coach. Heathcote retired in 1995, and Izzo was named head coach.

Izzo led a team that included guards Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell, forwards Andre Hutson and Morris Peterson, and center A.J. Granger. Cleaves, Bell and Peterson were from Flint, Michigan, and were known as the "Flint Stones." Hutson and Granger were from Ohio. Ohio State fans could console themselves with saying at least they didn't go to the University of Michigan, arch-rival to both Ohio State and Michigan State. (And, arguably, to Notre Dame, too.)

Michigan State got back to the Final Four the next year, and has gotten there 8 times under Izzo. Through the 2021-22 season, he has led them to win the Big Ten Conference regular-season title 10 times, and the Conference Tournament 6 times. (UPDATE: He won the regular-season title again in 2025.) Florida would win the title in 2006 and 2007.

Cleaves, the team's star player, would only last 4 seasons in the NBA, although he nearly reached the Finals with the 2002 Sacramento Kings. He is now a studio analyst for Fox Sports Detroit.

*

April 3, 2000 was a Monday. It was Opening Day for most Major League Baseball teams:

* The New York Yankees beat the Anaheim Angels, 3-2 at Edison International Field (now Anaheim Stadium). Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez pitches 7 strong innings, and is backed by home runs by Paul O’Neill and Shane Spencer.

* The New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Shea Stadium. Tony Gwynn went 0-for-3.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 10-4 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Bartolo Colón (cough, steroids, cough) outpitched Mike Mussina. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies, 2-0 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Greg Maddux (5 hits over 7 2/3rds innings) and Mike Remlinger combined on a 6-hit shutout.

* The Florida Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-4 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-4 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds were tied, 3-3 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati, after 6 innings, when the game was called due to rain. Ken Griffey Jr., making his Reds debut, went 0-for-2.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Steve Traschel pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers completed an 8-hit shutout.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 7-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Now, why would you schedule your arch-rivals for Opening Day? Why waste Opening Day on a game that would probably be a sellout, anyway? Mark McGwire was injured, and did not play. Sammy Sosa went 0-for-4.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 10-4 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-4 at the Oakland Coliseum (then known as the Network Associates Coliseum).

* And the Boston Red Sox, the Seattle Mariners, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Houston Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates opened their seasons the next day.

March 26, 1979: Magic & Larry Make March Go Mad

March 26, 1979: The Camp David Accords are signed at the White House, by President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel.

It is a momentous day for another reason, although hardly anybody knew it at the time. The NCAA held the Final of its Division I Basketball Tournament, at the Special Events Center at the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City.

As CBS college basketball analyst Seth Davis put it in the title of a book he wrote, it was When March Went Mad.

Built in 1969, the building is still used by the Utah Runnin' Utes, and has since been renamed the Jon M. Huntsman Center, in honor of the chemical magnate whose son, also named Jon Huntsman, would later serve as Governor of Utah and U.S. Ambassador to Russia.

Indiana State University, of Terre Haute, coached by Bill Hodges, undefeated at 33-0, Champions of the Missouri Valley Conference in both its regular season and its tournament, and in its 1st-ever Final Four (the term had officially been adopted the year before), took on Michigan State University, of East Lansing, coached by George "Jud" Heathcote, 25-6, Co-Champions of the Big Ten Conference (which then had no tournament), and in its 2nd Final Four, the 1st coming in 1957.

A crowd of 15,410 saw it live. About 40 million saw it on NBC, making it the most-watched basketball game ever to that point, college or pro -- and probably the best thing to happen to the Peacock Network all year. The announcers Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, and Al McGuire, who had won this game 2 years earlier in his final game as head coach at Milwaukee's Marquette University.

Why such a huge audience? Because of each team's respective stars. ISU, the Sycamores, had senior forward Larry Bird. Portland Trail Blazers star Bill Walton was so frequently hurt. Ernie DiGregorio had flamed out. And John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Rick Barry and Pete Maravich were winding down their careers. So white basketball fans wanted to believe in a "Great White Hope." "The Hick from French Lick" seemed to be it.

But MSU, the Spartans, had Earvin Johnson, a sophomore guard nicknamed "Magic." Like Michael Jackson, he had a million-dollar smile -- at a time when the phrase "million-dollar" still meant something. Like Julius "Dr. J" Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers, he had amazing moves and a fabulous nickname. Unlike the moody Los Angeles Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he had a winning personality, and a name that was easy to spell and pronounce.

Both men wore Number 33. When Magic was drafted by the Lakers, Kareem had 33, so Magic switched to 32. Bird was able to keep 33 with the Boston Celtics.

The game was close for a little while, with Michigan State leading 9-8. But the Spartans were able to cover Bird tightly, enabling them to go on a 9-0 run, and led 37-28 at the half. In the 2nd half, they jumped out to a 50-34 lead. 

But Bird got the Sycamores on a good run, and with 10 minutes left (college basketball uses halves but not quarters, but this would have been the end of the 3rd quarter), Indiana State had climbed to within 52-46. The game was far from over.

There was no shot clock in college basketball at the time. For the last 5 minutes, Michigan State held onto the ball as much as they could, eating the clock, stalling. At one point, Johnson tried to inbound the ball, and Bird stole it -- presaging a famous play he would make for the Celtics against the Detroit Pistons in the 1987 NBA Playoffs. But since this was not done for the Celtics in the Boston Garden, the referee applied the rule book, and called Bird for a technical foul.

That was Indiana State's last real gasp. Michigan State won, 75-64. It was Indiana State's only loss of the season. Bird scored 19 points, but only made 7 of his 21 field goal (2-point) attempts. Johnson scored 24, shooting 8 of 15. Following his 29-point performance in the Semifinal win over Bob Weinhauer's University of Pennsylvania (still the last Ivy League team to reach the Final Four), Magic was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Many observers credit this game with "saving basketball." This was ridiculous. As I said, the NBA already had Kareem, Dr. J and Walton. It also had Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone. It was not wanting for stars. Just for white stars.

Bird graduated, and the Celtics had traded up to acquire his draft rights, and he signed with them between the end of his eligibility and the deadline for the draft -- which would soon be banned by what became known as "The Larry Bird Rule." Johnson forewent his last 2 years of college eligibility, and made himself eligible for the 1979 NBA Draft. He was the top pick, as the Lakers had acquired the pick from the Utah Jazz.

Johnson would be key to the Lakers winning the NBA Championship in 1980 and 1982; Bird would be key to the Celtics doing so in 1981. They would face each other in 3 out of 4 NBA Finals: The Celtics won in 1984, the Lakers won in 1985 and 1987.

The Celtics also won in 1986, over the Houston Rockets; while the Lakers won in 1988 over the Detroit Pistons, and also lost Finals to the 76ers (with Erving and Malone) in 1983, the Pistons in 1989, and the Chicago Bulls (with Michael Jordan) in 1991, before the Magic Era came to a stunning end, with 3 letters none of us knew in 1979: HIV. Bird played on until 1992. Both of them, and Jordan, played on the U.S. "Dream Team" that won the Gold Medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

The term "March Madness" had been used in high school basketball before 1979. But it began to be applied to the NCAA Tournament as well. The NCAA now owns the trademark.

As of March 26, 2022, the 1979 NCAA Tournament Final remains the most-watched college basketball game of all time, although its 40 million viewership has been surpassed by a few NBA games.

*

March 26, 1979 was a Monday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. No NBA games were scheduled. Nor were any games scheduled in the World Hockey Association.

Only 1 game was played in the NHL: The Buffalo Sabres beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-2 at the Checkerdome in St. Louis. At the time, St. Louis-based Ralston Purina owned the Blues, and they renamed the St. Louis Arena after their "Checkerboard Square" logo. The Arena regained its old name in 1980.

January 1, 1966: The New York Transit Strike

Mike Quill

January 1, 1966: For the 1st time, the New York City Transit Workers Union goes on strike, shutting down the City's Subway and bus systems.

Their contract with the City had expired, and, after threatening strikes before, the union's head, Michael Joseph Quill, called it at 5:00 AM.

This was just 5 hours into the Administration of the new Mayor, John Vliet Lindsay. At his Inaugural Ball that night, the lead entertainer was New York native Sammy Davis Jr., who told the crowd, "Just one day in office, and he's already eliminated crime in the Subways!"

In their issue dated on this day, Billboard magazine's chart of the biggest songs in America, the Hot 100, was topped by "The Sound of Silence," by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. It includes Simon's line, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenement halls." But nobody saw the words on this day. 

Lindsay had won the office because he was good-looking, well-spoken, charismatic, smart, and seemed to be paying attention to the City's nonwhite neighborhoods. Though a Republican (he had been a Congressman for 6 years before that), he stood by his Party's stance in favor of civil rights after the national edition of the Party had abandoned it.

You wanted the job, John.

Mike Quill had been a personal friend of the outgoing Mayor, Robert F. Wagner Jr., and worked things out with him rather than go on strike, making what he considered acceptable gains. But Lindsay was not his friend.

Quill was 60, an immigrant from Ireland, a Roman Catholic, a former ditch-digger, who had founded the TWU in 1934, at a time when being in the American labor movement meant that you, quite literally, took your life into your own hands. He had served 12 years on the City Council, with the leftist American Labor Party, earning him the nickname Red Mike.

Lindsay was 44, of English descent, a Protestant, as patrician as you could get, and had pretty much run the year before against the idea of New York's old Democratic political machine, of which Quill's friend Wagner had been a symbol. And each man took it personally.

As Jimmy Breslin wrote in the New York Daily News, "John Lindsay looked at Mike Quill, and he saw the past. And Mike Quill looked at John Lindsay, and he saw the Church of England." Quill was not Boss Tweed, and Lindsay was not Oliver Cromwell. But they had one thing in common: They were stubborn as hell. You couldn't tell either of them anything.

And Quill managed to gain the upper hand in the media. At a time when the Irish were still the best-known ethnic group in New York (if not the biggest), and when not just the TWU, but the police and fire departments were dominated by Irish-Americans, the City that had elected Lindsay with a plurality in a 3-way race, with 45 percent of the vote, decided that it liked Quill better. This pretty much poisoned the political atmosphere and made Lindsay a lame duck, literally from Day One.

Lindsay didn't help himself. He tried to brush it off by saying, "New York is a fun city." "Fun City" soon became a nickname, every bit as sarcastic as calling the New York Mets baseball team "Amazin'" was at the time. What's worse, all of Lindsay's public relations skills, his greatest asset the year before, abandoned him. Evidence of this was his suggestion that "nonessential" workers stay home. When the holiday ended, a lot of people decided they were "nonessential." It was, for all intents and purposes, a sympathy strike.

Lindsay got a judge to issue an injunction against the strike, meaning that Quill was subject to arrest. Shortly after midnight on January 4, Quill said, "The judge can drop dead in his black robes. I don't care if I rot in jail: I will not call off the strike." He was arrested.

If enforcing the law was intended to give Lindsay the upper hand with the public, it backfired massively. Quill was sick, and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. (And not to the hospital's famous psychiatric ward.) The City's sympathy was with Quill.

On January 10, 15,000 workers picketed City Hall. Lindsay knew he had lost, and ordered negotiations to start. On January 13, the strike was settled, on terms the union embraced. 

Quill was released from the hospital on January 25. He made a victory speech to the union that day. He died on January 28. As with Bart Giamatti's fatal heart attack a week after his permanent ban of Pete Rose perhaps dooming Rose's chance of ever being reinstated, Quill's death so soon after his win in the transit strike cast a pall over Lindsay's mayoralty that he was never able to shake. He had a rough time running for re-election in 1969, and didn't dare run for a 3rd term in 1973.

New York would have another transit strike in 1980. That time, Mayor Ed Koch seized the media narrative from the beginning, and made the union out to be the villains, and won.

*

January 1, 1966 was a Saturday. It was the off-season for Major League Baseball. The major pro football leagues were wrapping up their seasons.

The American Football League had its Championship Game 6 days earlier, on December 26, 1965, and the Buffalo Bills beat the San Diego Chargers, 23-0 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego. Neither team has won a league championship since.

The National Football League had its Championship Game the next day, January 2, 1966. It was the 1st time its season extended beyond New Year's Day. The Green Bay Packers beat the defending Champion Cleveland Browns, 23-12 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Jim Brown -- the team was not named for him -- ran for just 50 yards. This was his last game, as he retired the following Summer.

There were 3 National Basketball Association games played that day:

* The New York Knicks beat the Cincinnati Royals, 147-122 at the old Madison Square Garden. For the Knicks, Willis Reed and Dick Barnett each scored 36 points. For the Royals, Happy Hairston scored 26, and Oscar Robertson 23. The Royals moved to Kansas City to become the Kings in 1972, and to Sacramento in 1985.

* The Baltimore Bullets beat the Detroit Pistons, 116-112 at the Baltimore Civic Center. The Bullets moved to Washington in 1973, and changed their name to the Washington Wizards in 1997. The Civic Center still stands, under the name of the CFG Bank Arena.

* And the St. Louis Hawks beat the Boston Celtics, 100-98. The Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968. Lenny Wilkens scored 25 for the Hawks. The Celtics' Sam Jones scored 37 points to lead all scorers on the day.

There were 2 National Hockey League games played that day:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 5-1 at the Montreal Forum. Jean Ratelle scored the Rangers' only goal.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 6-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The other two members of the NHL's "Original Six," the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks, were not scheduled.

Being New Year's Day, college football bowl games were played: 

* In the Rose Bowl in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California, UCLA, the University of California at Los Angeles, beat Michigan State University, 14-12. Michigan State had been declared the National Champions before the bowls by the AP, the sportswriters' poll, so this put that into question.

* In the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Louisiana State University beat the University of Arkansas, 14-7. Arkansas had won a share of the National Championship for the 1964 season, and had they won this game, their Number 2 ranking and Michigan State's loss would have given them a sweep of the polls. But they lost, and were out.

* In the Orange Bowl in Miami, the University of Alabama beat the University of Nebraska, 39-28. Since Alabama went in ranking Number 3, this led to UPI, the coaches' poll, declaring them the National Champions.

* In the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the University of Missouri beat the University of Florida, 20-18.

Also, Arsenal lost to Fulham, 1-0 at Craven Cottage in West London.