June 2, 2013: U.S. Soccer's 100th Anniversary Game

June 2, 2013: The U.S. Soccer Federation celebrates its 100th Anniversary with a game at the closest thing it has to a "national stadium," Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington. The match, an exhibition or "friendly," was between the U.S. team and Germany, seen by 47,359 paying customers, myself included.

The U.S. got a goal by Jozy Altidore (then playing with Dutch team AZ Alkmaar) and an own goal by the German goalkeeper, Marc-Andre ter Stegen (of Borussia Mönchengladbach), and were up 2-0 in the 16th minute. I was in the upper deck, behind a corner, in what would have been center field in RFK’s baseball configuration, surrounded by German fans, and they were stunned.

They were stunned, but not distressed: After all, this was not a competitive match, nor was it a full-strength Germany team. Of the 20 players on their roster, 17 of whom they sent into the game, only 3 would appear for them in the 2014 World Cup Final: Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke 04 of Gelsenkirchen, Germany), Miroslav Klose (Rome team SS Lazio), and, very briefly at the end of that final, Per Mertesacker.

(In addition to Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski played in this game. It marked the 1st time I had ever seen current Arsenal players play. I had seen Mesut Özil play live at Yankee Stadium the previous Summer, but he was with Real Madrid at the time. The following Summer, I saw Arsenal play the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.)

Heiko Westermann (Hamburger SV) scored in the 51st minute, but Clint Dempsey (North London team Tottenham Hotspur) scored in the 60th, and again in the 65th, to make it 4-1. Max Kruse (SC Freiburg) scored in the 78th, and Julian Draxler (Schalke) scored in the 81st, to get Germany to within 4-3, but the U.S. hung on to win.

Ironically, the U.S. manager was one of Germany’s greatest players, Jürgen Klinsmann. The legendary player for VfB Stuttgart had this habit of guiding the U.S. team to big wins in friendlies, including away to Germany, the Netherlands and Italy; but not in games that actually counted for something.

RFK Stadium, built in 1961 as District of Columbia Stadium (or "D.C. Stadium"), and renamed for the assassinated Presidential candidate, U.S. Senator, and former U.S. Attorney General in 1969, had been home to baseball's Washington Senators (1962-71) and Washington Nationals (2005-07); the NFL's Washington Redskins (1961-96) and the USFL's Washington Federals (1983-84); and the football teams of George Washington University (1961-66) and Howard University (1974-76), and the Military Bowl (2008-12).

More to the point, it was home to these professional soccer teams: The Washington Whips of the North American Soccer League (1967-68), the Washington Diplomats of the NASL (1974, and again 1977-81), Team America of the NASL (1983), a new version of the Diplomats in the American Soccer League (1988-90), D.C. United of Major League Soccer (1996-2017), and the Washington Freedom of the Women's United Soccer Association (2001-03). It hosted more U.S. national team matches than any other facility, 25; 5 matches of the 1994 World Cup; and 9 matches of the 1996 Olympics (with most sports held in Atlanta).

But with every team that had played there having moved out, it was scheduled for demolition in 2022, so that a new stadium for the NFL team, now named the Washington Commanders, could be built on the site, so they can get out of their unpleasant stadium in the suburbs of Landover, Maryland. (UPDATE: The stadium was demolished in 2023.)

*

June 2, 2013 was a Sunday. This was also the day the HBO series Game of Thrones aired the murder scene known as "The Red Wedding." I have a separate entry for that event.

American-style football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were approaching a climax. The next day, the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers to win the Eastern Conference title, and went on to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals.

In hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings, 4-2 at the United Center in Chicago, to win Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference Finals. The Hawks took a 2-0 series lead. The day before, the Boston Bruins had taken a 1-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hawks would beat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals, 4 games to 2.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 3-0 at Yankee Stadium. The game was called in the middle of the 6th inning, due to rain. (It had threatened to rain in Washington all day, but it only really started as we came out of RFK Stadium. The real problem was the 90+ degree heat.) Clay Buchholz allowed only 3 baserunners: A walk by Robinson Canó in the 1st inning, a single by Ichiro Suzuki in the 2nd, and a single by Austin Romine in the 3rd.

* The New York Mets lost to the Miami Marlins, 11-6 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-5 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Despite the threat of rain, they got the entire game in.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Despite the threat of rain, they got the entire game in.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals, 6-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Travis Snider singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-0 at Target Field in Minneapolis. How many Twins pitchers does it take to pitch a 4-hit shutout? This time, 4.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-1 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb or Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the San Diego Padres, 7-4 at Petco Park in San Diego. Mark DeRosa hit a home run in the top of the 11th, and the Jays got 2 more runs to put the game away.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-4 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-0 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum). How many A's pitchers does it take to pitch a 3-hit shutout? This time, 4.

June 2, 2013: "Game of Thrones" Airs "The Red Wedding"

Oona Chaplin as Talisa Maegyr and

Richard Madden as Robb Stark

June 2, 2013: The HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones airs an episode titled "The Rains of Castamere." Based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series, this episode includes a scene known to the books' fans as "The Red Wedding."

The show's 1st 6 seasons each had 10 episodes. The 9th episode of Season 1, "Baelor," featured the death by execution of the character who, to that point, had been suggested as the show's hero, Eddard "Ned" Stark.

Ned was played by Sean Bean, and it had already become a trope that Bean dies in everything he's in (which is greatly exaggerated, as he "only" dies in 1 out of every 3 roles on the average), so maybe the show's fans should have seen it coming. The message from the show, and before that from the books, to the fans was, "See? No character is safe. Anybody can be killed off at any time."

This was made clear in Season 3, again in the 9th episode. At this point, the main conflict on the show was between the portrayed-as-noble, though often reckless, family House Stark, now led by Ned's eldest son Robb (played by Richard Madden); and the evil, forever-scheming House Lannister, officially led by the sociopathic teenage King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), but truly led by his mother, Cersei (Lena Headey), and her father, Tywin (Charles Dance).

There is a lull in the fighting, and one of the other family heads, Walder Frey (David Bradley), who is pledged to support another of the family heads, Robb's uncle Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) -- offers to allow Robb to marry one of his daughters. Before this can happen, Robb falls in love with Talisa Maegyr (Oona Chaplin -- granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin and great-granddaughter of Eugene O'Neill), and marries her.

In revenge for Robb breaking his promise, Walder comes up with a new plan. He offers to let Edmure marry one of his daughters, and to host the wedding. It's a trap: Walder is now allied with the Lannisters, and he breaks the sacred rule that no guest may enter a wedding armed. Walder's men use swords and daggers to kill the Starks: Robb, his wife, even his mother, Edmure's sister Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley); along with many men loyal to House Stark. Edmure, not being a Stark by blood, is not targeted, and escapes. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Robb's teenage sister, is barely rescued and taken away.

This scene was horribly violent, and very bloody, and could not have been shown on non-pay TV. The level of cruelty was as shocking as the fact of Robb's death. As Tywin pointed out in the next episode, Robb had a large army of very loyal men, and had never lost a battle -- but because he had followed his heart instead of his head, he was now dead, and his family in seemingly irrevocable decline.

As photographer and YouTuber Phil Alexander put it, to the tune written by Jim Steinman for the song sung by Bonnie Tyler:

Once upon a time, he was a King in the North

now he's just a corpse in the dark.

There's nothing he can do:

A Total Eclipse of the Starks.

Author Martin had used 2 sources for the Red Wedding, both from Scotland: The Black Dinner, in Edinburgh in 1440, where the Earl of Douglas and his brother were executed by their great uncle (who inherited the Earldom) in front of the 10-year-old King James II; and the Massacre of Glencoe, in Argyll in 1692, where 30 members of Clan MacDonald were killed for refusing to pledge themselves to England's King William III.

It took 3 more seasons for Arya to train as a warrior, and to get her revenge on Walder Frey; and 2 more seasons, and several twists, for House Stark to ultimately triumph.

*

June 2, 2013 was a Sunday. It was the day that the United States Soccer Federation celebrated its 100th Anniversary with a special match at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, the closest thing American soccer then had to a "national stadium." The match was between the U.S. team and Germany, seen by 47,359 paying customers, myself included.

The U.S. got a goal by Jozy Altidore and an own goal by the Germans, and were up 2-0 in the 16th minute. Germany scored in the 2nd half, but Clint Dempsey scored 2, to make it 4-1. Germany scored in the 78th and the 81st to make it 4-3, but the U.S. hung on to win. I have a separate entry for that event.

This was not a full-strength Germany team: Of the 20 players on their roster, 17 of whom they sent into the game, only 3 would appear for them in the 2014 World Cup Final: Benedikt Höwedes, Miroslav Klose, and, very briefly at the end of that final, Per Mertesacker.

American-style football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were approaching a climax. The next day, the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers to win the Eastern Conference title, and went on to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals.

In hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings, 4-2 at the United Center in Chicago, to win Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference Finals. The Hawks took a 2-0 series lead. The day before, the Boston Bruins had taken a 1-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hawks would beat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals, 4 games to 2.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 3-0 at Yankee Stadium. The game was called in the middle of the 6th inning, due to rain. (It had threatened to rain in Washington all day, but it only really started as we came out of RFK Stadium. The real problem was the 90+ degree heat.) Clay Buchholz allowed only 3 baserunners: A walk by Robinson Canó in the 1st inning, a single by Ichiro Suzuki in the 2nd, and a single by Austin Romine in the 3rd.

* The New York Mets lost to the Miami Marlins, 11-6 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-5 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Despite the threat of rain, they got the entire game in.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Despite the threat of rain, they got the entire game in.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals, 6-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Travis Snider singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-0 at Target Field in Minneapolis. How many Twins pitchers does it take to pitch a 4-hit shutout? This time, 4.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-1 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb or Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the San Diego Padres, 7-4 at Petco Park in San Diego. Mark DeRosa hit a home run in the top of the 11th, and the Jays got 2 more runs to put the game away.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-4 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-0 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum). How many A's pitchers does it take to pitch a 3-hit shutout? This time, 4.

May 31, 2002: The Sacramento Swindle

May 31, 2002: Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Finals is played at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 106-102. Shaquille O'Neal scored 41 points and had 17 rebounds. Kobe Bryant added 31 points in support.

Almost immediately, there were allegations that this game was fixed by the referees. In 2008, as part of the scandal that involved him betting on games he had officiated, fired NBA referee Tim Donaghy said that two of the referees in this game were told to fix it so the NBA and televising network NBC could make more money on a Game 7.

The officials for this game were Dick Bavetta, Ted Bernhardt and Bob Delaney. Bavetta holds the record for most NBA games officiated, with 2,635, having never missed a game from his 1975 hiring until his 2014 retirement. Early in his career, he was considered one of the worst refs in the game. He decided to do something about it, and practiced with Summer league games, such as in New York City's Rucker League. By 1986, when he was assigned to officiate a Playoff game for the first time, he had begun to be regarded as one of the best referees.

And yet, in a 2002 article for ESPN, Bill Simmons named the worst officiated games of the prior four years, alleging that the games involved either extending a series so it did not end quickly or advancing a large market team for the NBA's benefit. All seven games named had been officiated by Bavetta. It should be noted that Simmons is a Boston Celtics fan, and is usually full of... highly questionable opinions.

Bernhardt was best known for a 1996 game where he called a foul on Dennis Rodman, who then head-butted him and was suspended for it. Delaney seems an unlikely candidate for corruption: He was a New Jersey State Trooper who successfully infiltrated the Mob, and worked his way all the way from high school games to the NBA Playoffs.

In this Game 6, the awarding of fouls resulted in the Lakers shooting 40 free throws overall, a whopping 27 in the fourth quarter alone, and the Kings' big men were plagued with foul trouble: Between them, Vlade Divac, Chris Webber, Scot Pollard, and Lawrence Funderburke were called for 20 fouls, Divac and Pollard both fouling out.

Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post, already co-hosting Pardon the Interruption on ESPN with fellow Post columnist Tony Kornheiser, wrote, "I wrote down in my notebook six calls that were stunningly incorrect, all against Sacramento, all in the fourth quarter when the Lakers made five baskets and 21 foul shots to hold on to their championship." Wilbon pointed out that Kobe Bryant did not get a foul called on him after elbowing Mike Bibby in front of an official.

Two nights later, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, the Lakers won Game 7, 112-106 in overtime.

Also on May 31, 2002, the NBA's Eastern Conference Championship was won. The New Jersey Nets defeated the Boston Celtics, 96-88, to win Game 6 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, and win their first NBA Eastern Conference Championship. After 26 years of trying, they were in their first NBA Finals. They did this despite none of their players scoring more than Kenyon Martin’s 16 points, and former Net Kenny Anderson scoring 18 for Boston.

What guard Jason Kidd did with this team in 1 season, taking them from one of the worst teams in the league to a Finalist, is one of the greatest achievements any NBA player has ever had.

Given the Nets' history to this point -- they had won just 1 Playoff series between 1977 and 2001 -- this should have been the most remarkable NBA story of the night. But it wasn't, because of the perceived Sacramento Swindle.

Was the Lakers-Kings Game 6 fixed? Did NBA Commissioner David Stern, and NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol, want the Lakers in the Finals rather than the Kings? It would be easy to say, "You do the math": There are 13 million people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and only 2.5 million in Sacramento's.

But that theory doesn't hold up for the East: There are 13.2 million in New England, and, while the Nets are part of the New York Tri-State Area, the New York Knicks have always held the vast majority of those fans. So if it was fixed for the Lakers, why not for the Celtics?

The Kings, previously the Rochester Seagrams (1923-43), the Rochester Pros (1943-45), the Rochester Royals (1945-57), the Cincinnati Royals (1957-72) and the Kansas City Kings (1972-85), still have not been to the NBA Finals since 1951. From 2002 to 2021, the Lakers made it 6 more times.

When the NBA named its 50th Anniversary Team in 1996, the only man named to it to have played for the Kings, either in Kansas City or Sacramento, was Kansas City star Nate "Tiny" Archibald, although Cincinnati players Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas were named. Shaquille O'Neal, then in his 1st season with the Lakers after 4 years with the Orlando Magic, was a controversial selection.

When the NBA named its 75th Anniversary Team in 2021, there was no controversy around Shaq being named, or with Phil Jackson again being named one of the top coaches, as he was in 1996 as well, when he was still running the Chicago Bulls. Kobe Bryant was added: His crime in Colorado had already been chosen to be forgotten before his death. And no player on the Kings franchise, not even Hall-of-Famer Chris Webber, was added.

*

May 31, 2002 was a Friday. Football was out of season. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Detroit Red Wings pretty much settled their "rivalry" with the Colorado Avalanche by winning Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, 7-0 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Derek Lowe outpitched David Wells. Jorge Posada had 2 hits, including driving in both Yankee runs with a home run, but the rest of the team only had 4 hits.

* The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 6-5 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Rey Ordóñez, not known for his power, hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-7 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Gerónimo Gil hit a sacrifice fly to score Brian Roberts with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 13-9 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-0 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Bartolo Colón allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-0 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. How many Braves pitchers does it take to pitch a 4-hit shutout? Apparently, 4: Greg Maddux, 2 hits over 5 innings; Kevin Gryboski, none over an inning and 2/3rds; Kerry Lightenberg, 2 over an inning and 1/3rd; and Chris Hammond, striking out the side in a perfect 9th.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 11-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 10-7 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. The Royals got 3 straight home runs in the top of the 11th inning, from Carlos Beltrán, Mike Sweeney and Joe Randa.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres, 12-1 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

May 31, 1997: The Confederation Bridge Opens

May 31, 1997: The Confederation Bridge opens. It is the 1st road crossing linking the Canadian Province of Prince Edward Island with the rest of the country: Borden-Carleton, PEI with Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick.

The bridge was designed by French engineer Jean M. Muller, who was a specialist of multiple span match-casting bridges. Construction began on November 1, 1993, took 3 1/2 years, and cost C$1.3 billion.

It is 8 miles long, making it Canada's longest bridge. It is 36 feet wide, 2 lanes, and most of it is 131 feet above the Northumberland Strait. The speed limit on the bridge is 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, but can vary with wind and weather conditions. When travelling at the speed limit, it takes about 12 minutes to cross the bridge. It is part of the Trans-Canada Highway, which had previously been part of a ferry crossing at that location.

Prince Edward Island, part of "Atlantic Canada" or "The Maritime Provinces," was named after a son of King George III of Britain, a brother of King George IV and King William IV, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the Earl of Dublin, and the father of Queen Victoria. She was on the British throne when Confederation was proclaimed in 1867, and thus he is known as "The Father of Confederation," even though he died in 1820, a few days before his father, never mind before his brothers, and never got to be King.

Nevertheless, there is a reason the Island is named for him: He was commander-in-chief of British forces in what become known as the Maritime Provinces from 1791 to 1800. In 1794, he became the 1st British royal to visit the United States following its independence.

(The 1st eventual King of Great Britain to visit was Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, in 1919 and 1924, and most things in North America named "Prince of Wales," including the hockey trophy, are named for him. The 1st reigning British monarch to visit the United States, and the 1st one to visit Canada, was King George VI, in 1939.)

PEI is Canada's smallest Province by area, 2,190 square miles, and 157 miles by road from North Cape to East Point; its smallest by population, about 155,000; and its smallest by representation in the House of Commons, 4 seats. Nevertheless, it is a popular Summertime resort, similar to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts.

(UPDATE: As of 2026, of the 343 seats in the House of Commons, Ontario has 122, Quebec 78, British Columbia 43, Alberta 37, Saskatchewan and Manitoba 14 each, Nova Scotia 11, New Brunswick 10, Newfoundland and Labrador 7, PEI 4; and each of the Territories, Yukon, Northwest and Nunavut, each has 1. The Maritimes, combined, have 32, not even 10 percent.)

*

May 31, 1997 was a Saturday. Football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals. The Chicago Bulls would beat the Utah Jazz in 6 games. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played at the CoreStates Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, starting a 4-game sweep.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, 7-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Andy Pettitte outpitched Tim Wakefield. Paul O'Neill went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Derek Jeter went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3 at Shea Stadium. Armando Reynoso outpitched Mark Leiter. Carlos Baerga went 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs. The only home run was hit by the Phillies' Darren Daulton.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-5 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The O's got home runs from Cal Ripken, Tony Tarasco, Mike Bordick and Jeffrey Hammonds. The Tribe got them from Manny Ramirez, David Justice and Pat Borders.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 8-4 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-1 at The Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 12-5 at the Astrodome in Houston. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 13-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-4.

May 30, 2009: The Earliest FA Cup Final Goal Ends Up Not Mattering

Louis Saha (left) and Steven Pienaar

May 30, 2009: For the 1st time, I watch the FA Cup Final, played at the new Wembley Stadium in London. At least, it's the 1st time I can remember watching it. It's possible that, when I was a boy, I might have seen it broadcast on ABC Wide World of Sports, but I don't think I did.

Both teams traditionally wear blue: Everton, the blue team in Liverpool, gets to wear their usual blue shirts with white shorts; while Chelsea, of West London, wear an all-yellow kit. Everton were managed by Scotsman David Moyes, and, through the 2021-22 season, this is the closest he's ever come to managing a team to a major trophy.

Chelsea were managed by Guus Hiddink, who had won 6 Eredivise (Dutch league) titles and the 1988 European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) with PSV Eindhoven, and had just guided Russia to 3rd place at Euro 2008. He had taken over on February 11, after the team's owner, Russian energy billionaire Roman Abramovich, fired manager Luis Felipe Scolari, despite a good record.

Louis Saha, Everton's French forward, scores 25 seconds into the match, the fastest Cup Final goal ever. In 1895, Bob Chatt of Birmingham team Aston Villa had scored 30 seconds into the match, and Villa went on to win. Saha had beaten his record, and had beaten Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech.

But Didier Drogba, Chelsea's big forward from the African nation of Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast), ends their momentum with a goal in the 21st minute. He is known for his diving for penalties: Earlier in the month, he had executed 5 dives in the Champions League Semifinal against Barcelona, but didn't find it necessary this time. Frank Lampard scores in the 72nd, and Chelsea win, 2-1.

It was the 8th time that Everton had lost the FA Cup Final, a record. They have won it 5 times, most recently in 1995. It was Chelsea's 5th win, and they received the FA Cup from the honorary chairman of the Football Association, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. (Through the 2021-22 season, they have now won it 8 times, most recently in 2018.)

I watched the game at the first great American soccer bar, Nevada Smith's, at 74 3rd Avenue in New York's East Village, now closed. Two weeks earlier, I had seen Manchester United clinch the Premier League title there, with a draw against North London's Arsenal, the team I support. The United fans trashed the place.

Despite Chelsea's fans in London having a reputation for despicable violence, the "New York Blues" celebrated like human beings. Also unlike the United fans, they seemed to understand the Champagne Difference: The cheap stuff is for spraying, the good stuff is for drinking.

One more note: At the time, Arsenal had a forward from Mexico, Carlos Vela. Big things were expected of him, and their fans sang, to the tune of "Que Sera Sera," a common song for English soccer chants:

Carlos Vela, Vela!

The Mexican superstar!

He's better than Lou Saha!

Carlos Vela, Vela!

Vela would star for his national team, and later for Los Angeles F.C. in Major League Soccer. But he was not better than Louis Saha, who had helped Manchester United win the Premier League in 2007, and both that and the Champions League in 2008.

*

May 30, 2009 was a Saturday. The Stanley Cup Finals began, a rematch of the previous season's Finals, in which the Detroit Red Wings had beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Wings won Game 1, 3-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. But the Penguins went on to win in 6 games.

Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals was played, at what was then named the Amway Arena in Orlando. The Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-90, and clinched a berth in the NBA Finals. Dwight Howard scored 40 for the Magic, while LeBron James scored 25 for the Cavs. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Magic in Finals in 5 games.

Football was out of season. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-5 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. CC Sabathia defeated his former team. Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher hit home runs. Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Robinson Canó went 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with 2 walks.

* The New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins, 7-3 at Shea Stadium. Josh Johnson outpitched Tim Redding.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals, 9-6 at Citizens Bank Park. Cole Hamels was the winning pitcher. Ryan Howard hit 2 home runs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. David Ortiz went 0-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 7-4 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ryan Dempster pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Ángel Guzmán and Aaron Heilman completed the 5-hit shutout.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-5 at at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 14-1 at Rangers Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 8-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Eric Byrnes singled Mark Reynolds home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. 

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a sacrifice fly to score Wladimir Balentien with the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Albert Pujols hit 2 home runs.

May 29, 1997: John Stockton's Jumper

May 29, 1997: John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals for the 1st time, with perhaps the greatest buzzer-beater in NBA history.

Despite all its growth, Salt Lake City only has a team in one of the "Big Four" North American major league sports. If you count soccer, they have teams in both men's and women's leagues. But no baseball, no football, no hockey. Just basketball.

The Utah Stars reached the ABA Finals in 1970, won the ABA Championship in 1971, and reached the Finals again in 1974. But their owners ran out of money early in the 1975-76 season, and after a failed merger with another team, the Spirits of St. Louis, failed, the league canceled the franchise. They never made it to the end of the season, when 4 of the 6 surviving teams were accepted into the NBA: The New York Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets.

But the Salt Palace still stood, and fans were ready to accept an NBA team. In 1979, the New Orleans Jazz, unable to fill the massive Superdome, were moved to Salt Lake City. Everyone knew the name "Utah Jazz" made no sense. Frank Layden, their head coach from 1981 to 1988, suggested they trade names with Los Angeles: That city was the center of the West Coast jazz scene, and "Utah Lakers" would have made sense with the Great Salt Lake. But the NBA wouldn't allow it.

The Jazz made the Playoffs for the 1st time in 1984, the 1st of 20 straight qualifications. But there always seemed to be somebody in the way: The Lakers of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, the Houston Rockets of Hakeem Olajuwon, the Portland Trail Blazers of Clyde Drexler, the Phoenix Suns of Charles Barkley.

The Jazz chose John Stockton, a guard from Gonzaga University in his hometown of Spokane, Washington, with their 1st pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. They chose Karl Malone, a forward from Summerfield, Louisiana and Louisiana Tech, with their 1st pick in the 1985 Draft.

They made the Jazz Playoff perennials, but a title proved elusive: They reached the Western Conference Finals in 1992, but lost to the Portland Trail Blazers; got there again in 1994, but lost to the Houston Rockets; and got there again in 1996, but lost to the Seattle SuperSonics.

In the 1996-97 season, Stockton and Malone were both named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, despite never having reached the NBA Finals -- yet. That season, Malone was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player. In 2021-22, they were again named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players.

Under head coach Jerry Sloan, a former Chicago Bulls star, they again reached the Conference Finals, and again played the Rockets, looking for their 3rd Finals berth, and 3rd Championship, in 4 years. They were still led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, but now with Charles Barkley added. The Jazz won Games 1 and 2 in Salt Lake City, dropped Games 3 and 4 in Houston, with Eddie Johnson hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Rockets Game 4. The Jazz won Game 5 in Salt Lake.

Game 6 was played at The Summit in Houston. The game was tight throughout, with the Jazz leading 23-21 after the 1st quarter, the Rockets leading 49-43 at the half, and the Rockets leading 71-70 after 3 quarters. As the clock ran out in regulation, with the score tied, Stockton fired a 3-point shot, and it went in, giving the Jazz a 103-100 victory, and their 1st Finals berth. It is among the biggest "buzzer-beaters" in NBA history.

The Jazz went on to lose the NBA Finals to the Bulls, and did so again in 1998. They have not been back to the Finals since, although they usually make the Playoffs. The Rockets would not win another Playoff series until 2009, did not return to the Conference Finals until 2015, and, through the 2021-22 season, have not returned to the NBA Finals.

Stockton was named to 10 NBA All-Star Games, and became the NBA's all-time leader in assists and steals. Malone was named to 14 NBA All-Star Games.

UPDATE: In 2024, the NHL's Arizona Coyotes moved to Salt Lake City. For their 1st season, they were simply "Utah Hockey Club." For the next season, they became the Utah Mammoth. They share the Delta Center with the Jazz.

The Jazz do not have a team Hall of Fame. They have honored 11 men with banners, including 9 retired uniform numbers, 4 of them for men who never played for them: 1, for 1981-88 head coach Frank Layden; 9, for 1985-2009 team owner Larry Miller; 1,223, the number of his coaching wins, for 1988-2011 head coach Jerry Sloan; and a banner with a microphone on it for 1974-2009 broadcaster "Hot" Rod Hundley.

* From their time as the New Orleans Jazz, 1974-79: 7, for guard "Pistol" Pete Maravich.

* From after the move to Utah, but before their Finals appearances: 4, for forward Adrian Dantley; 35, for guard Darrell Griffith; and 53, for center Mark Eaton.

* From their 1997 and '98 NBA Finals appearances: 12, for guard John Stockton; 14, for guard Jeff Hornacek; and 32, for forward Karl Malone.

Miller, Layden, Sloan, Eaton, Stockton and Malone have also been elected to the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.

In addition, since Stockton and Malone were so linked, a statue of the two of them together stands outside the Delta Center.

*

May 29, 1997 was a Thursday. The NBA Eastern Conference Finals had wrapped up the night before, with the Chicago Bulls eliminating the Miami Heat in 5 games.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals, and the Detroit Red Wings went on to sweep the Philadelphia Flyers.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. David Cone allowed 5 hits over 7 2/3rds innings, striking out 12, and Jeff Nelson completed the 5-hit shutout. Tino Martinez hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 2-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. The White Sox scored 4 runs in the top of the 11th, including a home run by Jorge Fábregas. The Red Sox could only pull 1 run back in the bottom of the 11th.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Shawn Estes outpitched John Smoltz. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 6-5 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. With MLB moving the Brewers to the National League the next season, this would be the last season for Wisconsin vs. Minnesota to be the kind of rivalry in baseball that it is in football (college and pro) and hockey (college).

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 10-6 at the Astrodome in Houston. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-1 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-3 with a walk. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a walk.

May 29, 1995: Derek Jeter's 1st Major League Game

May 29, 1995: The New York Yankees played the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome in Seattle. Making his major league debut was a player originally from West Milford, New Jersey, but growing up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and a student at the University of Michigan, a month short of his 21st birthday. His name was Derek Jeter.

Reflecting his publicly-stated desire to reach the Yankees while they still had a single-digit uniform number available, he wore Number 2, started at shortstop, and batted 9th.

The Mariner starter that night was Rafael Carmona, and if you've never heard of him, don't worry about it: He, too, was a rookie, making his own big-league debut just 11 days earlier. He made a grand total of 81 major league appearances, all for the Mariners. Despite the M's making the Playoffs that year and in 1997, he made no postseason appearances for them, and made his last appearance for any major league team just 4 years later, almost to the day. His opposition of Jeter that night is the only truly remarkable thing about him.

Jeter led off the top of the 3rd for his 1st at-bat, and flew out to right field. The right fielder was Darren Bragg -- not the ex-Yankee Jay Buhner. He led off the top of the 5th, and grounded to shortstop Félix Fermín -- whom the Yankees wanted to trade Mariano Rivera to the Mariners for the following Spring, as they didn't think Jeter was ready. (No, I'm not making that up. It could have been the worst MLB trade of the era.) In the 6th, he hit a line shot to right that was caught by Bragg. In the 9th, he grounded to 2nd.

The game went to extra innings, and he struck out to end the 11th. The Yankees lost in 12 innings, 8-7, when Rich Amaral hit a home run off Scott Bankhead. Jack McDowell started for the Yankees, and Randy Velarde and Dion James hit home runs for them.

Yes, Jeter went 0-for-5 in his big-league debut. If 0-for-4 is "the horse collar" (or just "the collar"), then 0-for-5 is "the collar plus one." Only 18,948 fans saw it, having no idea that they were watching the beginning of a legend.

Mariano Rivera had made his major league debut on May 23. Andy Pettitte had made his on April 29. Jorge Posada went on to make his on September 4. And that was the Core Four.

The next day, May 30, Jeter led off the top of the 5th, against Tim Belcher, and hit a ground ball through the hole for a single to left field, the 1st hit of what turned out to be 3,465.

Think about that total for a moment: Only 5 human beings who have ever lived have collected more major-league hits than Jeter: Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Tris Speaker. Of those, only Rose is still alive. So Derek Jeter has more hits than any living person under the age of 81. 

He has also reached the postseason more times than any other player, 17 times. He played on 7 Pennant winners and 5 World Championships, easily more than any active player. He was voted onto 14 American League All-Star Teams. He was the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year, and while he was never awarded the Most Valuable Player, he finished in the top 10 in the voting 8 times, and in the top 3 on 3 occasions. He was truly robbed of the MVP in 1999 and 2009, and possibly in 2006. Contrary to the opinions of people who hate the Yankees, he was a great defensive shortstop, winning 5 Gold Gloves.

Derek Jeter surpassed Cal Ripken Jr. as the greatest shortstop in AL history, and is behind only Honus Wagner among all-time shortstops. No, Ernie Banks isn't ahead of him. Neither is Luke Appling, nor Luis Aparicio. Remember the debate about whether Nomar Garciaparra and Alex Rodriguez were better? Well, now, nobody remembers A-Rod as a shortstop anyway (and who would want to put him ahead of Jeter, knowing what we now know?), and Nomar's career flamed out due to injury and diva behavior.

In 2017, the Yankees retired Jeter's Number 2, and dedicated a Plaque for him in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. In 2020, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, in his 1st year of eligibility: Out of 397 voters, he got 396 votes. The one writer who voted against him has never been publicly identified, nor has he ever, even anonymously, divulged his reason. In 2022, ESPN named its 100 Greatest Baseball Players. They ranked Jeter 28th.

*

May 29, 1995 was a Monday, Memorial Day. Once a holiday with doubleheaders, not a single twinbill was played that day. These other games were:

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Shea Stadium. Melvin Nieves won it for the Padres with a home run in the top of the 13th inning.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Montreal Expos, 11-6 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Barry Bonds went 2-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-6 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Houston Astros, 9-7 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (The stadium has been renamed several times, and is now Hard Rock Stadium.)

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at the SkyDome in Toronto. (It was renamed the Rogers Centre in 2005.) David Cone was the winning pitcher.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-6 at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. (It was renamed Progressive Field in 2007.) 

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Gerónimo Peña singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 12-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Gary Gaetti went 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs, and Vince Coleman went 3-for-4 with ah RBI triple (but, oddly, no stolen bases). Tom Gordon, later better-known as a reliever, pitched the 1st 6 2/3rds innings, and 2 relievers helped him finish a 6-hit shutout.

* The California Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.) Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* And the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-6 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were somewhat delayed, due to the lockout that delayed the start of the season. Now, they were between the Conference Semifinals and the Conference Finals. The New Jersey Devils went on to win the Cup.

In the NBA, Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals was played. At the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. The Indiana Pacers beat the Orlando Magic, 94-93. But the Magic would go on to win the series. The Western Conference Finals was between games, and the Houston Rockets would beat the San Antonio Spurs, and then the Magic for the title.

May 28, 1987: The Landing of Mathias Rust

May 28, 1987: West German pilot Mathias Rust, just 18 years old, evades Soviet air defenses, and lands a private plane on Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained, and is released on August 3, 1988.

This flight irreparably damaged the reputation of the Soviet military. This enabled President Mikhail Gorbachev to remove many of the strongest opponents to his reforms. It was the biggest turnover in the Soviet military since Josef Stalin's purges 50 years earlier, except nobody was executed.

Needing cash, the Russians eventually sold the plane to a Japanese museum, and they gave it back to its homeland. It is now in the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin.

Rust's life since has not befitted a hero. In 1989, he worked in a hospital, and, when a female coworker rejected his advances, he stabbed her. She survived, and he ended up serving 15 months in prison -- longer than he did in Russia. He would later be convicted of shoplifting, and again of fraud.

After getting out of prison, he worked for an investment bank, opened a yoga school in Hamburg, and returned to the role of a peace activist that made him famous 30 years ago.

*

May 28, 1987 was a Thursday. The NBA Playoffs were underway. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals was played at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan. The Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics, 113-105. But the Celtics won Game 7. They were then defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played. Jean-Jacques Daigneault scored with 5:32 left in regulation to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, and send the series to a Game 7. It became known in Philadelphia as "The Night The Spectrum Shook." But the Oilers won the Cup 3 days later.

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

* The New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Rick Rhoden outpitched Mike Moore. Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson and Gary Ward hit home runs. Don Mattingly went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 12-8 at Fenway Park in Boston. Steve Carlton, running out the string, started for the Indians, and didn't get out of the 5th inning. Dwight Evans went 3-for-4 with a home run and 6 RBIs.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the California Angels, 8-7 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Angels scored a run in the top of the 12th inning. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. DeWayne Buice walked Lee Lacy to start the bottom of the 12th, and then Mike Young won the game with a home run. Larry Sheets and Mike Young each hit 2 home runs for the O's. Eddie Murray went 2-for-5. So did Cal Ripken, and he added an RBI.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Reggie Jackson, in his final season, went 2-for-5 for the A's.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the team that was then their arch-rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, 13-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Robin Yount went 0-for-3. Paul Molitor went 1-for-4.

* And in the only game played in the National League that day, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

May 27, 1994: The Stéphane Matteau Game

May 27, 1994: What might have been the greatest game in NHL history is played. Great game. Horrible result. For me, anyway.

The New Jersey Devils began play in 1982, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, 7 miles west of Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Rangers. The Rangers and their fans still considered the New York Islanders, 25 miles to the east at the Nassau Coliseum, to be their arch-rivals. But Devils fans didn't care about that. In 1992, their team faced the Rangers in the Playoffs for the 1st time, but the Rangers won in 7 games.

Now, they would play each other again, for a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. For the Devils, their 1st ever; for the Rangers, their 1st in 15 years. For the Devils, a chance at their 1st Cup in 12 seasons of trying; for the Rangers, their 1st in 54 years, an end to "The Curse of 1940."

Somebody noticed that the seating capacity for hockey games at the Brendan Byrne Arena, the Devils' home in the Meadowlands Complex, was 19,040. A coincidence. Not a coincidence were the chants Devils fans had picked up from Islanders fans: "Rangers suck!" and "Nine-teen-for-ty!"

The 1st 2 games were on May 15 and 17, at The Garden. In Game 1, the Rangers blew leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. Claude Lemieux scored with 43 seconds left in overtime, and Stéphane Richer scored at 15:23 of the 2nd overtime. New Jersey Devils 4, New York Rangers 3. It is one of the most shocking defeats in the Broadway Blues’ history. In Game 2, the Rangers beat the Devils, 4-0, to salvage a split.

Game 3 was played at the Meadowlands on May 19. It went to double overtime, and the Rangers won, 3-2, taking home-ice advantage back. The winning goal was scored by Stéphane Matteau. It was the biggest goal he has ever scored. For now.

Game 4 was played at the Meadowlands on May 21. Richer scored again. He scored 2 goals against them in the 1st live hockey game I ever saw. He hated the Rangers so much, he even scored against them on an episode of Seinfeld. This time, he scored the opener, launching the Devils to a 3-1 win. The series was tied.

Game 5 was played at The Garden on May 23. The Devils humiliated the Rangers in their own house, 4-1, and take a 3-2 lead in the series. The Rangers' "inevitable" Stanley Cup win had become very, very evitable.

On the morning of May 25, the day of Game 6, it looked like it would be the Devils moving on, and the Rangers not. All the Devils had to do is win that night, and they were in the Stanley Cup Finals. And the 1993-94 New York Rangers would go down as the most spectacularly failed team in the history of New York Tri-State Area sports.

Ranger Captain Mark Messier, the man acquired to end the Rangers' curse, was on the verge of becoming the biggest failure in the history of New York sports. But the day before, he gave the media a prediction of victory in Game 6, and it appeared on the back pages of the tabloids.

This was even bigger than Joe Namath's prediction of a Super Bowl win for the New York Jets 25 years earlier: He wasn't predicting a massive upset, he was predicting that a heavily favored team would get its act together. If the Rangers had lost this game – or won it, and then lost Game 7, or even if they'd won both and then lost the Finals, Messier would have gone from savior-in-waiting to a massive letdown, and Ranger fans would have turned on him.

At first, it looked like that would happen at the Meadowlands. The Devils took a 2-0 lead in the 1st period. But Alexei Kovalev scored for the Rangers, and then Messier put the team on his back, and scored the next 3. The Rangers had won, 4-2, and there would be a Game 7 at The Garden on May 27.

At 9:31 of the 2nd period, Brian Leetch scored. It remained 1-0 Rangers until the very end of regulation. With 7.7 seconds to go, Valeri Zelepukin scored for the Devils. The game went to overtime. It went to double overtime. Mike Richter had saved 31 of 32 shots. Martin Brodeur, in only his 2nd NHL season, a few days past his 22nd birthday, had saved 46 of 47.

At the 4:24 mark of the 2nd overtime, Stéphane Matteau skated around the net, and put the puck past Brodeur's left hand. Rangers 2, Devils 1. Pandemonium in The Garden. Howie Rose had the call on radio station WFAN:

Fetisov for the Devils plays it cross-ice, into the far corner. Matteau swoops in to intercept. Matteau behind the net, swings it in front, he scores! Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! Stéphane Matteau! And the Rangers have won more hill to climb, baby! But it's Mount Vancouver! The Rangers are headed to the Finals!

It became hockey's version of Russ Hodges' "The Giants win the Pennant!" after the Bobby Thomson home run gave the baseball version of the New York Giants the 1951 Pennant over their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 43 years earlier.

Indeed, the similarities with the '51 Dodger-Giant Playoff were many. The established team had struggled to beat the upstarts, but had finally done it. It wasn't a superstar who had done the deed: Neither Thomson nor Matteau would ever be seriously considered for his sport's Hall of Fame. And the distance? Actually, it was 7 miles for Rangers vs. Devils, half that for Giants vs. Dodgers, even though, this time, there was a State Line involved.

It might have been the greatest game in hockey history. But, for me, it was a horrible result. After Matteau scored, I called my grandmother, who had been a Brooklyn Dodger fan, and told her I finally understood how she felt on October 3, 1951.

Oddly, although she had been alive for all 3 of the Rangers' Cup wins at that point, she never became a hockey fan until she was old, and living near the Jersey Shore, and she became a Devils fan, and got to enjoy 3 Stanley Cups. Because, instead of folding after taking such an emotional blow, the Devils sucked it up, and won the Cup the next season, with 2 more over the next decade.

The Rangers? Sam Rosen had the call of their Cup win, 18 days later, saying, "This one will last a lifetime!" As of May 27, 2022, it has been 82 years, 1 Cup. That one has lasted a lifetime.

And to think, if the Devils had scored in that overtime, the Rangers would still be under the Curse of 1940, and Mark Messier would have gone down as the biggest failure -- or, at least, the biggest letdown -- in the history of New York sports.

*

May 27, 1994 was a Friday. Football was out of season. There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs, Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals: The Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets, 95-86 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Jimmy Key was the winning pitcher. Daryl Boston hit a home run. Yes, a man named Boston hit a home run for the Yankees. Don Mattingly went 0-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-2 at Shea Stadium. Pete Smith went the distance for the win. Luis Rivera and Todd Hundley hit home runs.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The California Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-2 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-2 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-0 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Wilson Álvarez pitched a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Mike Mussina. Both pitchers went the distance. That was still a thing in 1994. Frank Thomas hit a home run. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-6 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Bucs scored 4 runs in the top of the 9th to send the game to extra innings, and Jay Bell hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning. But in the bottom of the 10th, Tim Wallach was hit with a pitch, Eric Karros singled, Mitch Webster singled home the tying run, and Darren Dreifort -- a rookie pitcher in only his 2nd major league plate appearance -- pinch-hit a single to bring home the winning run.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Florida Marlins, 4-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4.