December 11, 2021: New York City FC Win the MLS Cup

December 11, 2021: New York City Football Club win the MLS Cup.

With the New York Tri-State Area having at least 2 teams in the other sports, and just the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer, there was room for a 2nd team. A revived New York Cosmos never got their act together to get admitted to MLS. So NYCFC was founded in 2013, and began play in 2015.

They played most of their home games at the new Yankee Stadium, due to the New York Yankees holding a 20 percent ownership stake. The remaining 80 percent is owned by City Football Group, owned by Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, brother of the President and de factor monarch and dictator of the United Arab Emirates.

City Football Group also owns Manchester City Football Club, which has dominated England's Premier League since 2012; Melbourne City FC, the Australian team formerly known as Melbourne Heart, so they, metaphorically, "cut the heart out of the club"; and teams in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Uruguay, India, China and Japan.

The UAE is a country whose official policy discriminates against women, Jews and gays, making them anathema to many in the mainly-liberal Tri-State Area. Their own fans don't care. They point out their slogan, "Five Boroughs, One City," and remind Red Bull fans that they play in New Jersey (in Red Bull Arena in Harrison, Hudson County), not in the City.

This came back to bite City fans, known to Red Bull fans as "The Smurfs" due to their blue jerseys, when, not controlling their own venue, they had to move "home games" due to the Yankees controlling scheduling at Yankee Stadium. They were able to move some games to the New York Mets' Citi Field. But they've had to play 2 games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut, 116 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Red Bull fans have called City "East Hartford FC."

The low point for Red Bull fans, until the 2021 MLS Cup Final, was their own team's management opening Red Bull Arena up to NYCFC for "home games." The high point was on May 21, 2016, when the Red Bulls went into Yankee Stadium and beat City, 7-0. Despite the Red Bulls being a charter MLS team that had never won an MLS Cup, losing its only Final in 2008, they could still, with much legitimacy, claim, "New York is Red."

That changed in the 2021 Playoffs. The Red Bulls reached the Playoffs in their 2nd season, 2016, for the 1st of 4 straight trips to the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. They got knocked out in the 1st Round in 2020. But in 2021, they beat Atlanta United in the 1st Round, beat the New England Revolution away on penalty kicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and beat the Philadelphia Union away in the Conference Finals.

They faced the Portland Timbers, at Providence Park in Portland. The 1st half was a bit dull, until Valentin Castellanos putting NYCFC on the board in the 41st minute. They thought they had the game won, until stoppage time: In the 94th minute, Felipe Mora equalized for the Timbers.

There was no scoring in extra time, and the game went to penalties. City goalkeeper Sean Johnson saved penalties from Mora and Diego Valeri. Alexander Callens sent the winning penalty kick home.

New York City FC were the Champions of Major League Soccer. It was the 1st top-flight league title for a New York-based soccer team since the original Cosmos won Soccer Bowl '82, 39 years earlier. And it was the 1st league title for a New York-based team in any sport since the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI, nearly 10 years earlier.

New York was now Blue. It was the most humiliating moment in the long, humiliation-riddled history of the New York Red Bulls, and they didn't even play.

*

December 11, 2021 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. There was 1 college football game played that day, the Army-Navy Game. Navy beat Army, 17-13 at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.

There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Golden State Warriors, 102-93 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Washington Wizards, 123-98 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls, 118-92 at the FTX Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Houston Rockets, 113-106 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 127-112 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio. Nikola Jokić led all scorers on the night with 35 points, and also had 17 rebounds.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings, 117-103 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Orlando Magic, 106-104 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

And there were 12 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-2 at the UBS Arena.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-4 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-0 at the Corel Centre in Ottawa.

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

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Anaheim Ducks, 1-0 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Arizona Coyotes, 5-3 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Calgary Flames, 4-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Minnesota Wild, 2-1 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Dallas Stars, 2-1 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

* And the New York Rangers, the Detroit Red Wings, the Vancouver Canucks, the Colorado Avalanche, the Florida Panthers, the Nashville Predators, the Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Hampshire team Southampton, 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

November 23, 2008: The New York Red Bulls Lose Their 1st MLS Cup Final

The Captains, holding hands with the mascots,

leading the teams out: Frankie Hejduk of Columbus,

and Juan Pablo Ángel of New York

November 23, 2008: For the 1st time in their history, the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer reach the Final of the MLS Cup. It doesn't go so well.

The Red Bulls were a founding member of MLS in 1996, using the name of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars until 2005. In 2006, they were bought by Red Bull, the Austrian soft-drink maker, and rebranded as Red Bull New York. The American media, while sometimes using the initials "RBNY," usually sticks to North American convention, calling them "the New York Red Bulls" or just "the Red Bulls," and the initials "NYRB."

Fans of the team's original rivals, Washington-based D.C. United, call them "The Pink Cows." Many New York fans have resisted the rebranding, and still wear their old MetroStars shirts to games, and refer to the team as "Metro" for short, as they always had.

Under any name, they had not reached the MLS Cup Final until 2008. Their closest call was a trip to the Semifinals, in 2000. But, in 2008, under manager Juan Carlos Osorio, with Captain Juan Pablo Ángel, a fellow Colombian, as leading scorer, they finished 5th in the Eastern Conference, beat the Houston Dynamo in the Quarterfinals, and beat Real Salt Lake in the Semifinals.

The Final was to be held on neutral ground, at the Home Depot Center, in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. This is no longer done: Since 2011, the Final has been held at the home of the team with the better regular-season record.

The opponent was the Columbus Crew, another charter member of MLS, also in their 1st Final, winners of the Supporters' Shield for best overall record in the regular season, and seeking the 1st league championship for any major league team from Columbus, Ohio, ever -- unless you count the Columbus Bullies, who won the Championship of the 3rd American Football League in 1940 and '41. (That league folded due to World War II. The AFL of the 1960s was the 4th league with the name. And the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets have rarely done well.)

The game kicked off at 3:30 PM, Eastern Time. It was scoreless for the 1st half-hour, but Alejandro Moreno put the Crew on the board in the 31st minute, and it was 1-0 Columbus at halftime. John Wolyniec, popular with Metro fans as he was a local boy made good, from Staten Island, tied the game in the 51st.

But just 2 minutes later, the Crew went back ahead, on a goal by Chad Marshall. The Crew's Captain, Frankie Hejduk, put the game away in the 82nd. Final score: Crew 3, Red Bulls 1. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, an Argentine of Italian descent, assisted on all 3 Columbus goals, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player, as he had been for the league in the regular season.

Having previously won it with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002, Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid became the first manager to win the MLS Cup with two different teams. Before the founding of MLS, Schmid led UCLA to the College Cup, the NCAA Championship for men's soccer, 3 times.

Born in Germany, and raised in Southern California, Schmid then left the Crew to become the 1st manager of the revived Seattle Sounders, and returned to the Galaxy before heart trouble forced him to retire. He and Bruce Arena, due to both men having "coaching trees" that extend throughout MLS, are known as "the godfathers of American soccer." Sigi died on Christmas Day 2018, at the age of 65. Within weeks, MLS renamed its Coach of the Year award for him.

Schmid remains a beloved figure in the league. The Crew were favored to win the game. And no one has ever alleged that they used unfair tactics to win, or that the referees blatantly favored them. So Red Bull fans don't begrudge the Crew the win, or consider them to be a rival team. (The Red Bulls have enough rivals: In descending order of hate, D.C. United, New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, the New England Revolution, and the LA Galaxy.) Still, the fact that the MetroStars/Red Bulls have, through 2022, played 27 seasons and reached only 1 MLS Cup Final, and lost it, is galling.

The Red Bulls crashed in 2009, putting together the worst record in the League. It was their last season on the hard artificial turf, and in front of the vast unsold seats, at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands of East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey. In 2010, they moved to a venue over which they had ownership and control: Red Bull Arena, in Harrison, Hudson County, New Jersey, across the Passaic River from Newark, the State's largest city, and closer to their fan base of Irish, Italians, Portuguese, Brazilians, and various Latin American ethnicities in the Newark-Harrison-Kearny corridor.

The Red Bulls, more often than not, have reached the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. But, since 2008, they have only reached the Semifinals in 2014, '15 and '18, and never again reached the Final. Nor have they ever won the American version of the FA Cup, the U.S. Open Cup, losing the Final in 2003 and 2017. They have won the Supporters' Shield, for best overall record in the MLS regular season, in 2013, '15 and '18, so they are not without trophies.

But they are known for their postseason collapses, losing games to teams they were favored to beat. Of the original 10 MLS teams, 9 are still in existence, and 6 of those have won at least 1 MLS Cup. The Red Bulls are not one of them.

To make matters worse, there are teams that have been founded since that lone Finals appearance that have won it, including, to Metro fans' horror, New York City FC, an expansion team that began play at Yankee Stadium in 2015, and winning it in 2021. The Red Bulls have dominated the regular-season series between them, but don't have an MLS Cup. "The Smurfs" (for their light blue uniforms) have one.

With all the resources at their disposal -- they are owned 80 percent by Manchester City, and 20 percent by the Yankees -- they should have reached more than 1 Final by now. But then, with all the resources at their disposal -- Red Bull aren't exactly hurting for cash, and they're also in the New York market -- so should the Red Bulls.

*

November 23, 2008 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. These NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants beat the Arizona Cardinals, 37-29 at University of Phoenix Stadium (now State Farm Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, California.

* The New York Jets beat the Tennessee Titans, 34-13 at LP Field (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 36-7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers, 45-28 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 30-12 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now EverBank Stadium.)

* The New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins, 48-28 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Houston Texans beat the Cleveland Browns, 16-6 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now Huntington Bank Field).

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Detroit Lions, 38-20 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Chicago Bears beat the St. Louis Rams, 27-3 at the Edward Jones Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 54-31 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Denver Broncos, 31-10 at Invesco Field at Mile High (now Empower Field at Mile High).

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the San Diego Chargers, 23-20 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the San Francisco 49ers, 35-22 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Seattle Seahawks, 20-17 at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* The preceding Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-10 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* And the next night, on ESPN Monday Night Football, the New Orleans Saints beat the Green Bay Packers, 51-29 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

There were 5 games played in the NBA:

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Golden State Warriors, 89-81 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors, 118-103 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons, 106-80 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Chicago Bulls, 114-101 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 118-108 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There were 2 games played in the NHL. New York wasn't more successful in either of them, but New Jersey was: The New Jersey Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-3 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa. Dainius Zubrus scored 4 goals for the Devils. In the other game, the Nashville Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

October 30, 1998: The Great Chicago Fire... Soccer Team

October 30, 1998: The Chicago Fire beat the Columbus Crew, 2-1 at Soldier Field in Chicago, to win the U.S. Open Cup. Following their win in the MLS Cup Final 5 days earlier, this gives them the American version of the Premier League and the FA Cup: They have "done The Double."

It is only their 1st season.

Chicago Sparta, a team of Czech-Americans, had won the Open Cup in 1938 and 1940; the Chicago Vikings, a Scandinavian team, had won it in 1946; the Chicago Falcons, a Polish team, had won it in 1953; and the Chicago Sting had won the North American Soccer League Championship in 1981 and 1984 (the League's last season).

Despite Soldier Field being one of the venues for the 1994 World Cup, and the city's history as one of America's great multiethnic centers and one of its great sports cities, Chicago did not get a charter franchise in Major League Soccer. The team, officially named Chicago Fire Football Club (to match the "F.C." names of so many British teams) was founded on October 8, 1997, the Anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. Their logo, or "badge," as British clubs would call it, matched that of the city's Fire Department.

They began regular-season play on March 21, 1998, beating the Miami Fusion, 2-0 at Lockhart Stadium in the Miami suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Their 1st home game was also a 2-0 win over a Florida team that would be folded after the 2001 season, the Tampa Bay Mutiny. A crowd of 36,444 attended at Soldier Field.

They lost their next 5 games, but won their next 11. Then they lost their next 5, but won their next 4 of their next 5, before losing their regular-season finale.

The U.S. Open Cup works the same way the FA Cup works in England: It runs concurrent with the League season. As an MLS team, the Fire got a bye into the 3rd Round, and ended up playing another area team, the Chicago Stingers, sort-of named for the former NASL team. They were based in the United Soccer League (USL), then the 2nd tier of U.S. soccer, and hosted the July 6 game in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The Fire didn't have to try too hard to win, and did so, 3-1.

On July 22, the played the San Jose Clash in the Quarterfinals, on neutral ground, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. It ended in a 1-1 draw, but the Fire advanced on penalties, 4-3. The Semifinal would be against the Dallas Burn (the team now known as FC Dallas), but it wouldn't be in Dallas or Chicago. Instead, this one was also at neutral ground, at Zephyr Field in Metairie, Louisiana, home of the minor-league baseball team representing New Orleans. The Fire won, 3-2, and advanced to the Final, which they would host.

In the MLS Cup Playoffs, they needed a shootout to beat the Denver-area team, the Colorado Rapids, at home, 3-2 after a 1-1 draw on October 1; then beat them 1-0 away on October 5. In the Western Conference Finals, they beat the Los Angeles Galaxy, 1-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on October 10; but, on October 16, at Soldier Field, again, they could only manage a 1-1 draw, before winning 2-1 in a shootout.

That set up the MLS Cup Final on October 25, on neutral ground, again at the Rose Bowl, against D.C. United, the Washington-based team that had won the 1st 2 league titles, including "The Double" in 1996. Attendance was listed at 51,350, but that left the old bowl nearly half-empty.

Despite D.C. having such talents as John Harkes, Jeff Agoos, Eddie Pope, Roy Lassiter, Marco Etcheverry and Jamie Moreno, it was the Fire who emerged victorious. Polish striker Jerzy Podbrożny scored in the 29th minute. Colombian midfielder Diego Gutiérrez added another just before the half. Another Pole, Chicago's Captain Piotr Nowak, was named Man of the Match, much to the delight of the large Polish rooting section among the Fire's ultra support, known as Section 8.

Zach Thornton kept a clean sheet in goal. Manager Bob Bradley could also count among his starting lineup Jesse Marsch, later to manage the New York Red Bulls to 2 Supporters' Shields.

Five days later, at home at Soldier Field, the Fire faced the Columbus Crew. The Fire tended to wear white, with red and blue trim, similar to the City flag, but, on this occasion, wore white with black trim. By a weird coincidence, the Crew wore black and gold, which, given the "insect" theme, were the usual colors of the Fire's NASL predecessors, the Chicago Sting.

A much smaller crowd of 18,615 saw the Fire awarded a penalty just before halftime, converted by Podbrożny. Stern John -- apparently, the Trinidadian forward's full birth name -- scored for the Crew in the 53rd minute.

The game went to extra time, and, in the 99th minute -- no "Golden Goal" in this tournament -- Fotios "Frank" Klopas, a Greek forward who came on at the start of extra time, scored the goal that gave the Fire The Double.

The Fire have since won the Open Cup again in 2000, 2003 and 2006, losing the Final in 2004 and 2011; and the Supporters' Shield, the MLS regular-season title, in 2003. But they have never again won the MLS Cup, losing the Final in 2000 for a just-missed-Double and 2003 for a runner-up-Double.

*

October 30, 1998 was a Friday. Baseball season had ended 9 days earlier, when the New York Yankees completed a 4-game World Series sweep over the San Diego Padres. The NBA's team owners had locked the players out, and so the season started late. There were 7 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 1-0 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-3 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Dallas Stars and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim played to a tie, 3-3 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Washington Capitals and the Calgary Flames played to a tie, 0-0 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-0 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks played to a tie, 2-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

The NFL and the NCAA had no football games scheduled. But in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, beat South Brunswick, 36-10 at Mike Elko Stadium in South Brunswick.

October 28, 2018: Los Angeles Hosts All 5 Sports In 1 Day

October 28, 2018: Los Angeles becomes the 1st metropolitan area to host games in all 5 of North American sports' major leagues on the same day.

In the National Football League: The Los Angeles Rams beat the Green Bay Packers, 29-27 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, to move to 8-0. The following week, the Rams fell from the ranks of the undefeated, losing to the New Orleans Saints. The other team in the area, the Los Angeles Chargers, had a bye week, and did not play.

In the National Basketball Association: At the Staples Center (renamed the Crypto.com Arena a year later), the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Washington Wizards, 136-104. The city's main NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers, were not scheduled.

In the National Hockey League: Later in the day, also at the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers, 4-3. The area's other NHL team, the Anaheim Ducks, were also at home, at the Honda Center, but lost to the San Jose Sharks, 4-3. Timo Meier scored the winning goal with 2:48 left in overtime.

In Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Galaxy lost to the Houston Dynamo 3-2 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The city's other MLS team, Los Angeles FC, were on the road, losing 2-1 to Sporting Kansas City.

Most importantly, in Major League Baseball: Game 5 of the World Series was held at Dodger Stadium. Andrew Bentinendi hit a 2-run home run for the Boston Red Sox in the top of the 1st inning, while David Freese hit a solo homer for the Dodgers in the bottom of the inning. That 2-1 score held until the 7th, when J.D. Martinez homered to make it 4-1, extending Clayton Kershaw's poor postseason record. Steve Pearce hit a home run in the 8th, cementing his status as the Series' Most Valuable Player.

The Red Sox won, 5-1, taking the Series in 5 games, their 4th World Championship since 2004 -- and their 4th since 1918. There was no steroid-using David Ortiz this time, but they found a new way to cheat: Apple Watches. A little more than 3 months later, Boston would beat Los Angeles for another World Championship, as the New England Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have a team Hall of Fame. From the 2018 World Champions, they have inducted 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, pitcher Jon Lester; executive Elaine Weddington Steward, guest relations director Al Green, broadcasters Jerry Remy and Joe Castiglione, and longtime vendor Arthur D'Angelo.

*

October 28, 2018 was a Sunday. This was the only baseball game played that day. Aside from the Rams, these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 20-13 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Chicago Bears, 24-10 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-18 at the new Wembley Stadium in London. Officially, it was a home game for the Jaguars, who willingly gave up a home game because they weren't drawing well at home.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 36-21 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 33-18 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-34 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions, 28-14 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings, 30-23 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 30-23 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. It would almost make sense geographically for these teams to be each other's arch-rivals, but both teams have a bigger rivalry with the Raiders, whatever city they're in.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers, 18-15 at State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, California.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Oakland Raiders, 42-28 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* In the week's Thursday night game, the Houston Texans beat the Miami Dolphins, 42-23 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston.

* The following night, on Monday Night Foot ball, the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 25-6 at New Era Field (formerly Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium)in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* And the Atlanta Falcons, the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans had a bye week.

In addition to the Clippers' game, there were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Golden State Warriors, 120-114 at the Barclays Center. Steph Curry scored 35 points.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns, 117-110 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City.

* And the Utah Jazz beat the Dallas Mavericks, 113-104 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

In addition to the Kings' and Ducks' games, there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars, 4-2 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 at the United Center in Chicago. Connor McDavid scored the winning goal, 53 seconds into overtime.

* And the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Jonathan Marchessault scored the winning goal, with 2:36 in overtime.

In addition to the 2 L.A.-area teams, there were 9 games in Major League Soccer:

* The New York Red Bulls beat Orlando City, 1-0 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

* New York City FC beat the Philadelphia Union, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.

* The New England Revolution beat the Montreal Impact, 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* Toronto FC beat Atlanta United, 4-1 at BMO Field in Toronto.

* The Columbus Crew beat Minnesota United, 3-2 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

* The Chicago Fire and D.C. United played to a draw, 0-0 at SeatGeek Stadium in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois.

* The Colorado Rapids beat FC Dallas, 2-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado.

* The Seattle Sounders beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-1 at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Portland Timbers, 2-1 at BC Place in Vancouver.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to South London, but could only manage a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

October 27, 2013: Kolten Wong Is Picked Off

October 27, 2013: As if the interference call ending the previous night's game wasn't weird enough, Game 4 of the World Series also has a weird ending. The Boston Red Sox win the 1st World Series game to ever end on a pickoff, beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

The game was tied 1-1 in the top of the 6th, when Jonny Gomes hit a 3-run home run for the Red Sox. The Cardinals took a run back in the 7th, but it was still 4-2 in the bottom of the 9th.

Kolten Wong, a 23-year-old rookie, was caught off 1st base by Boston closer Koji Uehara, ending the contest with the dangerous Carlos Beltrán at the plate as the tying run. The 1st base umpire got the call right, and the Cardinals did not argue it.  Ironically, Wong was pinch-running for Allen Craig, the beneficiary of the previous game's weird ending.

The Cardinals had momentum after the previous night's wacky ending, but now, they won't win another game that counts until March 31, 2014.

The Red Sox won the Series in Game 6, 3 days later. David Ortiz -- who, 4 years earlier, had been exposed as having failed a steroid test 6 years before that, and had been lying about it ever since -- was named the Series' Most Valuable Player.

He had rallied Bostonians around the Sox as relief for having suffered the Boston Marathon Bombing in April. He was hailed as baseball's greatest hero, and the baseball establishment -- the Commissioner's office, the media, and fans in general -- chose to ignore that he was a big fat lying cheating bastard who should have been banned from the sport.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have a team Hall of Fame. From the 2013 World Champions, they have inducted designated hitter David Ortiz, 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, pitcher Jon Lester; executives Dick Bresciani and Elaine Weddington Steward, guest relations director Al Green, broadcasters Jerry Remy and Joe Castiglione, and longtime vendor Arthur D'Angelo.

*

October 27, 2013 was a Sunday. There was NFL action:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 15-7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The New York Jets lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 49-9 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-17 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 42-10 at what's now EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Buffalo Bills, 35-17 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-30 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 44-31 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Rookie Cordarelle Patterson of the Vikings returns the opening kickoff 109 yards for a touchdown, tying an unbreakable NFL record. But that would be the highlight for his team.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns, 23-17 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kanas City.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Washington Redskins, 45-21 at what's now Empower Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Atlanta Falcons, 27-13 at what's now State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* And the Oakland Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18 at the O.co Coliseum (as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was then known).

The preceding Thursday, the Carolina Panthers had beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-13 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. And the next day, on Monday Night Football, the Seattle Seahawks beat the St. Louis Rams, 14-9 at what's now Lumen Field in Seattle.

And the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears, the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers and the Tennessee Titans had a bye.

The NBA season didn't start for another 2 days. There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-2 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat their arch-rivals, the Florida Panthers, 4-3 at the BB&T Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Anaheim Ducks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 in a shootout, at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There were also 5 games in Major League Soccer, on the last day of its regular season. The New York Red Bulls beat the Chicago Fire, 5-2 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, outside New York City. This clinched a finish of 1st overall in the league, winning them the Supporters' Shield. This was the 1st time in their 18-season history that they had won a trophy. Also in MLS that day:

* The Houston Dynamo beat D.C. United, 2-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The New England Revolution beat the Columbus Crew, 1-0 at Columbus Crew Stadium in, well, Columbus.

* The Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Colorado Rapids, 3-0 at BC Place in Vancouver.

October 27, 2013: The New York Red Bulls Finally Win a Trophy

October 27, 2013: The New York Red Bulls win a trophy. This might not seem like a big deal, but it had never happened before.

The franchise began in 1996, the inaugural season of Major League Soccer, as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, playing at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey.

In 2006, they were bought out by the Austrian soft drink company Red Bull, and were rebranded as Red Bull New York, or "the New York Red Bulls." Sometimes with the abbreviation NYRB, sometimes as RBNY. But the team's original fans continued to call them "Metro," and still do. Some still wear old MetroStars jerseys to games. 

There are several trophies available to MLS teams. There is the Supporters' Shield, given to the team that finishes 1st overall in the league in the regular season. There is the MLS Cup, given to the winner of the league's Playoffs. There is the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a tournament that is run concurrently with the league season. In effect, it is America's equivalent to England's FA Cup.

And there is the CONCACAF Champions League, for which 4 teams from the United States qualify: The MLS Cup winner, the Supporters' Shield winner, the winner of the regular season title in the other Conference, and the U.S. Open Cup winner. If one of the Conference Champions is one of MLS' Canadian teams -- FC Montreal, Toronto FC or the Vancouver Whitecaps -- and that team also wins the Canadian Champions' Cup (Canada's version of the FA Cup), then the 2nd-place team gets the 4th U.S. berth.

Despite having the advantages that come with playing in the New York market, they were never an especially good team. In 2000, the MetroStars won the Eastern Conference. But unless the Conference winner is the overall 1st place team, it does not receive a trophy. And they were 3rd overall. The team reached the MLS Cup Final in 2008, losing to the Columbus Crew. It reached the Semifinals in 2000. It reached the U.S. Open Cup Final in 2003, losing to the Chicago Fire. It reached the Semifinals in 1997, 1998 and 2000.

In 2010, their 1st season playing at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, Hudson County, New Jersey, they signed forward Thierry Henry, who had been the best player in the world while with North London team Arsenal. Even that boost wasn't enough: Although they finished 1st in the Eastern Conference, they were only 3rd overall in the league. They got to the Quarterfinal of the MLS Cup in 2010, and again in 2011, and again in 2012.

Finally, in 2013, it looked like they might have put it all together. With Luis Robles in goal; a back four of Connor Lade, Jamison Olave, Markus Holgersson and Heath Pearce; a midfield of Eric Alexander, Tim Cahill, Dax McCarty and Jonny Steele; and Thierry Henry and Bradley Wright-Phillips leading the line, the Red Bulls won 17 games, drew 8 and lost 9, to collect a team record 59 points.

On the season's last day, October 27, they beat the Chicago Fire, 5-2 at Red Bull Arena. This clinched a finish of 1st overall. They had won the Supporters' Shield. At last, they had won a trophy.

But they blew it in the 1st round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the away leg, against the Houston Dynamo, they had a 2-0 lead, but allowed the game to be tied. Olave was sent off with a dubious straight red card, and the Dynamo tied the game in stoppage time. In the home leg, Metro took a 1-0 lead, only to be tied. Unfortunately, MLS doesn't have the away goals rule, so, instead of Metro advancing that way, extra time was necessary, and Houston won 4-3 on aggregate.

The Red Bulls have won the Supporters' Shield again in 2015 and 2018. But they have never won the MLS Cup. Of the 10 original teams from 1996, only the Red Bulls and the New England Revolution are both still in business and have yet to win an MLS Cup. The 1st 26 MLS Cups have been won by 14 different teams -- including the last one, won by New York City FC, in only their 7th season. That was the most humiliating moment in MetroStars/Red Bulls history, and they didn't even play that day.

For comparison's sake: It only took the New York Rangers 2 seasons to win their 1st Stanley Cup, the New York Islanders 8, and the New Jersey Devils 13; the team now known as the Brooklyn Nets needed 7 seasons to win their 1st ABA Championship, and the New York Knicks 24 to win their 1st NBA Championship; the New York Giants first won their League in their 3rd season, the New York Jets theirs in their 9th; the New York Mets won their 1st World Series in their 8th season, the New York Yankees in their 21st.

The WNBA's New York Liberty have now played 25 seasons without a championship, having gone 0-4 in Finals, so that's comparable to what the MetroStars/Red Bulls have done.

(UPDATE: In 2024, the Liberty and the Red Bulls each made their leagues' Finals. The Liberty won. The Red Bulls lost.)

*

October 27, 2013 was a Sunday. There were 4 other games played in MLS that day:

* The Houston Dynamo beat DC United, 2-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The New England Revolution beat the Columbus Crew, 1-0 at Columbus Crew Stadium in, well, Columbus.

* The Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw at what's now Lumen Field in Seattle.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Colorado Rapids, 3-0 at BC Place in Vancouver.

Game 4 of the World Series was played that day, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Boston Red Sox found a way, whatever that was, to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2. Jonny Gomes hit a home run. Red Sox closer Koji Uehara picked Kolten Wong off 1st base for the final out, the 1st time a postseason game had ever ended with a pickoff. I have a separate entry for this event. The Sox tied the Series at 2-2, and won it 3 days later. *

Being a Sunday, there was NFL action:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 15-7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The New York Jets lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 49-9 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-17 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 42-10 at what's now EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Buffalo Bills, 35-17 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-30 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 44-31 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Rookie Cordarelle Patterson of the Vikings returns the opening kickoff 109 yards for a touchdown, tying an unbreakable NFL record. But that would be the highlight for his team.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns, 23-17 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kanas City.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Washington Redskins, 45-21 at what's now Empower Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Atlanta Falcons, 27-13 at what's now State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* And the Oakland Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18 at the O.co Coliseum (as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was then known).

The preceding Thursday, the Carolina Panthers had beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-13 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. And the next day, on Monday Night Football, the Seattle Seahawks beat the St. Louis Rams, 14-9 at what's now Lumen Field in Seattle.

And the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears, the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers and the Tennessee Titans had a bye.

The NBA season didn't start for another 2 days. There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-2 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat their arch-rivals, the Florida Panthers, 4-3 at the BB&T Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Anaheim Ducks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 in a shootout, at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

October 21, 2001: A California Clásico for the MLS Cup

October 21, 2001: The MLS Cup Final is played at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It is a "California Clásico," perhaps the league's best rivalry, and the San Jose Earthquakes beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1.

Northern California vs. Southern California had already been a major sports rivalry for decades: The University of California (Berkeley) vs. the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the San Francisco Seals vs. the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League, the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco Giants vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Jose Sharks vs. the Los Angeles Kings, and, in the old North American Soccer League, the original version of the San Jose Earthquakes vs. the Los Angeles Aztecs.

When MLS was founded in 1996, both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles area, naturally, got teams. L.A. got the Galaxy, who played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Bay Area got the San Jose Clash, who took up the old Quakes' home of Spartan Stadium, home of San Jose State University. After the 1999 season, the name was changed to the Earthquakes. The rivalry became known as the California Clásico, in honor of "El Clásico," the rivalry between the 2 major teams of Spain, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

In that inaugural 1996 season, the Clash and the Gals faced each other in the 1st round of the Playoffs, and the Gals won. The Clash/Quakes didn't make the Playoffs again until 2001, when they beat the Columbus Crew and the Miami Fusion. The Gals beat the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls) and the Chicago Fire. So the team in the country's 2nd-biggest market beat the teams in the 1st and the 3rd, to set up a Final with a team in the 4th.

In that Final, the Gals, led by Cobi Jones and Paul Caligiuri, took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute on a goal by Luis Hernandez. But the Quakes tied it up in the 43rd when Landon Donovan tallied. The game went to extra time, and, with the "golden goal" rule still in effect, Dwyane De Rosario, a Canadian son of Guyanese immigrants, won it in the 96th minute.

In 2003, the Galaxy moved from the Rose Bowl, 10 miles north of downtown L.A., into what's now named Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, 16 miles south. That season, the Quakes eliminated the Gals, and went on to win their 2nd MLS Cup, beating Chicago in the Final -- on the neutral site of the Gals' home field.

But playing at a college football stadium built in 1933, 50 miles southeast of downtown San Francisco, didn't work for the Quakes' owners, and they couldn't get a soccer-specific stadium in a location they liked. So, after the 2005 season, they moved the team, making them the Houston Dynamo. And they won the next 2 MLS Cups, in 2006 and 2007.

A 3rd version of the Earthquakes was established as an expansion team in 2008, and played at Buck Shaw Stadium, home of Santa Clara University. In 2015, they moved to what's now named PayPal Park, adjacent to a CalTrain station for extra convenience. But they've never won the MLS Cup again. In contrast, the Galaxy have won a record 5. (UPDATE: And the newly-established Los Angeles FC won it in 2022.)

Landon Donovan is often considered America's greatest soccer player ever. He played for the Earthquakes from 2001 to 2004, and for the Galaxy from 2005 to 2016. He remains popular with fans of both teams.

*

October 21, 2001 was a Sunday. Also on this day, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Atlanta Braves‚ 3-2‚ to win the National League Championship Series and reach the World Series for the 1st time in their history. They got to the Series faster than any expansion team in history‚ doing so in the 4th year of their existence. Randy Johnson got the win for Arizona. Erubiel Durazo's pinch-hit 2-run homer is the key blow. Craig Counsell was named the NLCS MVP.

The New York Yankees took a 3-1 lead in their American League Championship Series matchup with the Seattle Mariners‚ winning by a score of 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. Bret Boone's 8th inning homer broke a scoreless tie‚ but Bernie Williams homered in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score. The Yankees won on Alfonso Soriano's 2-run walkoff dinger in the 9th. Mariano Rivera got the victory in relief.

In spite of this defeat, Mariner manager Lou Piniella mades a bold prediction: His team will win Game 5. "We're going back for Game 6," he tells the media, meaning back to Seattle. Sweet Lou should have known better than to test the Yankees' Ghosts of October. After all, he was one of them.

And these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Jets lost to the St. Louis Rams, 34-14 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The re-established Cleveland Browns beat the team that had been the original Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, 24-14 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now named Huntington Bank Field).

* The Washington Redskins beat the Carolina Panthers, 17-14 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 17-10 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat their arch-rivals, the New Orleans Saints, 20-13 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-0 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Tennessee Titans beat the Detroit Lions, 27-24 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The New England Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts, 38-17 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat their arch-rivals, the Green Bay Packers, 35-13 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 24-16 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Denver Broncos, 27-10 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The preceding Thursday, the Buffalo Bills beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 13-10 at Alltel Stadium (now Everbank Stadium) in Jacksonville.

* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants, 10-9 at Giants Stadium.

* And the Dallas Cowboys, the Miami Dolphins, the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks each had a bye week.

October 20, 1996: The 1st MLS Cup

October 20, 1996: The 1st Major League Soccer season comes to a climax with the 1st MLS Cup Final, held on neutral ground at Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the NFL's New England Patriots and MLS' New England Revolution.

MLS was then divided into Eastern and Western Conferences. The Tampa Bay Mutiny ran away with the East, with D.C. United, the league's Washington team, 12 points back. But in the 1st round of the Playoffs, DCU beat the New York Tri-State Area's team, the NY/NJ MetroStars in a shootout.

This started a rivalry known as the Atlantic Cup. Despite Metro's 2005 rebranding as the New York Red Bulls, the chance to jump on the traditional New York vs. New England rivalry from the outset, and the establishments of the Philadelphia Union and New York City F.C., DCU remain the team that Metro/Red Bull fans most want to beat: "The D.C. Scum."

DCU went on to eliminate the Mutiny in the Conference Final. In the West, the Los Angeles Galaxy won by 8 points over the Dallas Burn, and then, in the Playoffs, beat the San Jose Clash and the Kansas City Wiz to make the Final. (Respectively, those teams are now named F.C. Dallas, the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City.)

Boston and Washington had never previously played in a major league sports final. Due to the NBA and the NHL being split into geographic conferences, it hasn't been possible in those leagues.

It had been possible in Major League Baseball only from 1903, when the World Series began, until 1952, when the Boston Braves moved, and could no longer play the Washington Senators in the World Series. It became possible again with the 2005 arrival of the Washington Nationals, but they have never played the Boston Red Sox in a World Series.

It was, and remains, possible for the Patriots to play the Washington Football Team (who actually started out in Boston, from 1932 to 1936) in the Super Bowl, but it hasn't happened.

Foxboro Stadium, replaced by Gillette Stadium in 2002, seated 61,000, but the stadium operators were surprised that over 40,000 tickets were sold, so they had to open the upper deck. But Hurricane Lili swept through the Northeast, postponing Game 1 of the World Series in New York the night before. A tarp wasn't enough, as the natural grass field got soaked. A postponement was considered, but rejected. Out of 42,368 people who bought tickets, 34,643 showed up, including 7,000 DCU fans who made the trip north.

Dan Calichman, a defender from Huntington, Long Island, New York, who was ordinarily the Galaxy's Captain, had to sit the match out, suspended 1 game due to yellow card accumulation. So another defender, Miami native Robin Fraser, wore the armband on this occasion.

Their lineup also included Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos, Ecuadoran forward Eduardo Hurtado, U.S. national team stars Cobi Jones and Chris Armas, and, oddly for an American team, a player from Iran, defender Arah Noamouz. Their manager was German, Lothar Osiander.

DC was managed by Bruce Arena, who had built the great soccer program at the University of Virginia, and would go on to become MLS' greatest manager, winning 5 Cups -- 2 with D.C., 3 with L.A. His Captain was midfielder John Harkes, a native of one of the places that could legitimately be called Soccertown, U.S.A.: Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey.

Also in the lineup: Mark Simpson, who, oddly for a goalkeeper, wore Number 2; American defenders Eddie Pope and Jeff Agoos; a pair of Bolivians, midfielder Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno; and forward Raúl Díaz Arce, who would go on to become the El Salvador national team's all-time leading scorer.

ABC broadcast the match. In only the 5th minute, Hurtado scored on a header to put L.A. ahead. He celebrated by doing a belly-flop on the soaked grass. It remained 1-0 to L.A. through halftime. In the 56th minute, Armas made it 2-0 to L.A.

With rain coming down and the wind getting worse, it was beginning to look like the Galaxy had the game in the bag. Arena rolled the dice, bringing on American midfielders Tony Sanneh and Shawn Medved as substitutes. It worked: Sanneh headed in an Etcheverry free kick in the 73rd.

In the 78th, Jones tried to put it away for the Galaxy, but hit the crossbar. In the 81st, United were awarded another free kick. Etcheverry took it, and Campos was able to punch it away. But Medved scored on the rebound, and the game was tied.

According to league rules at the time, overtime would be sudden death. The 1st team to score would have a "Golden Goal," and be Champions. In the 94th minute, Etcheverry took a corner, and Pope scored it. D.C. United had won, 3-2. Etcheverry, who assisted on all 3 goals, was named Man of the Match.

D.C. United would win 3 of the 1st 4 MLS Cups, and 4 of the 1st 9. L.A. wouldn't win their 1st until 2002, but have now won 5, and remain the league's leader in titles. Here are the Final records of all MLS teams to have played in the Final:

Los Angeles Galaxy, 5-4

D.C. United, 4-1

Seattle Sounders, 2-2

Houston Dynamo, 2-2

Columbus Crew, 2-1

Sporting Kansas City, 2-1

San Jose Earthquakes, 2-0

Toronto F.C., 1-2

Chicago Fire, 1-2

Portland Timbers, 1-2

Real Salt Lake, 1-1

Colorado Rapids, 1-1

Atlanta United, 1-0

New York City FC, 1-0

F.C. Dallas, 0-1

New York Red Bulls, 0-1

New England Revolution, 0-5

Of the 10 charter MLS teams from 1996, the Tampa Bay Mutiny folded without reaching a Final; among the other 9, only the MetroStars/Red Bulls have failed to win at least 1 Cup.

*

October 20, 1996 was a Sunday. MLS probably shouldn't have scheduled its 1st Final on an NFL gameday, especially since Game 2 of the World Series was also supposed to be played. But the only other real options were the day before, a college football gameday when Game 1 of the World Series was supposed to be played, or wait a week, when it would still conflict with football, either college or pro, and still might conflict with the World Series, either Game 6 or Game 7. Or wait another week, and still conflict with football?

At any rate, because Game 1 of the World Series was delayed by rain, it was played at the same time as the MLS Cup. The defending World Champions, the Atlanta Braves, pounded the New York Yankees, 12-1 at Yankee Stadium. Andy Pettitte was chased by 2 runs in the 2nd inning and 6 runs in the 3rd. Andruw Jones hit 2 home runs, his 1st making him the youngest home run hitter in Series history. John Smoltz was the beneficiary pitcher. The Braves also took Game 2, but the Yankees won the next 4 straight.

These were the NFL games played that day: 

* The New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 31-21 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. This was the 'Skins last season of 36 at RFK, before moving to a new stadium in the Maryland suburbs; and DCU's 1st season of 22 there, before moving to Audi Field in 2018.

* The New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills, 25-22 at Giants Stadium. This was the Jets' 1-15 year under head coach Rich Kotite.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Miami Dolphins, 35-28 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints, 19-7 at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte. (It's now Bank of America Stadium.)

* The New England Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts, 27-9 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The Pats being on the road made Foxboro Stadium available.

* The St. Louis Rams beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 17-14 at the Trans World Dome in St. Louis. (It's now The Dome at America's Center.)

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons, 32-28 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Houston Oilers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-13 at the Astrodome. The Oilers would play out this season in Houston, and then move to Tennessee the next year.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Baltimore Ravens, 45-34 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 13-9 at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 28-21 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco.

* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Oakland Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 23-14 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* And the Chicago Bears, the Dallas Cowboys, the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks had a bye.

The NBA Season didn't start until November 1. But there were 6 NHL games played on this day:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-2 at the Ice Palace in Tampa. This was the 1st regular-season game at the building, now named the Benchmark International Arena.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-2 at the Kiel Center in St. Louis. (It's now the Enterprise Center.)

* The Florida Panthers and the Phoenix Coyotes played to a tie, 1-1 at the AmericaWest Arena in Phoenix.

* In a Battle of Alberta, the Calgary Flames beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Boston Bruins beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 5-1 at the Arrowhead Pond in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim, California.

October 12, 2018: Columbus Saves the Crew

October 12, 2018: The Columbus Crew are "saved." This was not a given.

One of the founding franchises of Major League Soccer in 1996, the team in Ohio's capital city were the 1st to move into a soccer-specific stadium, in 1999, which became known as Historic Crew Stadium. The Crew won the U.S. Open Cup in 2002, won the Supporters' Shield as regular-season champions in 2004, won the Shield and the MLS Cup in 2008, won the Shield again in 2009, and reached the MLS Cup Final again in 2015.

In 2013, hedge fund manager Anthony Precourt bought the team from Clark Hunt, owner of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. (and son of Lamar Hunt, the founding owner of both teams). Like so many other sports team owners, decided he didn't like the team's current playing venue. (So why buy the team, stupid?) On October 17, 2017, he announced intentions to relocate the franchise to Austin, Texas if a downtown stadium could not be secured in Columbus.

Following this news, fans and supporters of the club began a campaign and movement known as #SaveTheCrew. Later in the month, it was revealed that Precourt had a clause in his purchase of the club that would allow him to relocate the franchise, but only to Austin.

This made no sense. First of all, by playing in a Summer league, the Crew had no competition. The city's baseball team, the Columbus Clippers, was only Class AAA. There was competition early in the season, from the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, but the Crew are arguably more popular, and the closest NBA teams were in Cleveland and Indianapolis. And at the end of the season, there was no NFL team to hog the schedule, although Ohio State football sure does.

Second of all, Precourt moving the team to Austin made no sense. It was a metropolitan area that had never previously had any major league sports team, not even in a secondary "rebel league" like the AFL, the ABA, the WHA, the WFL or the USFL. He'd still have to get a stadium built, no matter where he wanted to play, unless he wanted to play before 90,000 empty seats at the University of Texas' Memorial Stadium, or fill a high school stadium.

And the location made no sense for Precourt himself: He grew up in Denver, went to high school in Connecticut, went to college at Pepperdine outside Los Angeles, worked at Merrill Lynch in New York, and started his firm in San Francisco. He had no connection to Austin, or even to Texas.

Responding to fans' demands, on March 5, 2018, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein filed a lawsuit against Precourt, citing a previously untested 1996 State law that prevents sports teams that benefited from public facilities or financial assistance from relocating to another city without a six-month notice and attempting to sell the team to a local ownership group. This was known as the Modell Law, and was passed after Art Modell moved the original version of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.

The new Browns franchise was established in 1999, and was now owned by Jimmy Haslam, who owned the Pilot Flying J chain of truck stops, and the Browns, and also a share of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. His brother, Bill Haslam, was then the Governor of Tennessee, owns minor-league baseball's Knoxville-based Tennessee Smokies, and, as of 2022, is in the process of buying the NHL's Nashville Predators. So the family is involved in all 5 sports at the professional, if not major-league, level.

On October 12, 2018, Jimmy Haslam revealed that he was in the process of buying the Crew from Precourt. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said that if this deal went through, Precourt would get an expansion team in Austin. The State's lawsuit against Precourt was dropped, and the Modell Law remains untested. The fans and the State government, working together, had #SavedTheCrew. It is one of the few examples of fan power saving their team.

Haslam officially became owner of the Crew on January 1, 2019. With the fans getting a second chance, the Crew won the MLS Cup in 2020. In 2021, the Crew moved into Lower.com Field. Their former home, now named Historic Crew Stadium, remains in operation as the team's training facility and a concert venue. (UPDATE: The Crew won the MLS Cup again in 2023.)

Precourt began operating Austin FC almost immediately after the sale to Haslam went through, hiring coaches and other staff starting in July 2019, and signing players starting in July 2020. They began play on April 17, 2021, losing 2-0 away to Los Angeles F.C. Served Precourt right. They played their 1st 8 games on the road, until the stadium that Precourt wanted so badly, Q2 Stadium, opened on June 19. Austin and the San Jose Earthquakes played to a dull 0-0 draw. Also served Precourt right.

*

October 12, 2018 was a Friday. Game 1 of the National League Championship Series was played at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5. But the Dodgers won the series in 7 games, and then lost the World Series to the Boston Red Sox.

The NBA season hadn't started yet. The NHL season had, but no games were scheduled for the day.

And in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, lost to Edison, 31-14 at Matthew J. Drwal Stadium in Edison.