May 27, 1982: The Falklands Final

May 27, 1982: A replay is held for the FA Cup Final at the original Wembley Stadium in West London. Five days earlier, Tottenham Hotspur of North London, who had won the Cup the season before, and Queens Park Rangers of West London, a team in Football League Division Two, had played to a 1-1 draw.

"Spurs" were without arguably their 2 best players, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa. "Ossie" and "Ricky" were from Argentina, and the Falkland Islands War was ongoing, and they were unable to return to England.

For both the original Final and the replay, neither team wore its usual kit: Spurs wore all yellow with navy blue collars, as opposed to their usual white with navy blue collars; while QPR wore red shirts with black shorts, instead of their usual blue and white horizontal stripes, which gave them the nickname "The Super Hoops."

In the 6th, minute, QPR Captain Tony Currie brought Graham Roberts down in the penalty area, and a penalty was awarded. Glenn Hoddle, the other contender for the title of Spurs' best player, converted it. Spurs hung on the rest of the way, and won, 1-0. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, representing his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, presents the Cup to Spurs Captain Steve Perryman.

Clive Allen was among the QPR players in these games. Spurs signed him in 1984. QPR's manager was Terry Venables, a former Spurs player. He would manage Spurs from 1987 to 1991.

Spurs went on to win the UEFA Cup in 1984. They shockingly lost the FA Cup Final in 1987, then won it under Venables in 1991. Through the 2022 Cup, they but haven’t appeared in a Final since, going 0-8 in Semifinals. But QPR would consider that to be an overwhelming success: Aside from the 1967 League Cup, the closest they’ve come to a major trophy is finishing 2nd in the Football League in 1976, and this Final. Since being relegated from the Premier League in 1996, they have spent just 3 seasons in the top flight.

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May 27, 1982 was a Thursday. Game 1 of the NBA Finals was played at The Spectrum in Philadelphia: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 124-117. The Lakers went on to win the title in 6 games.

The Stanley Cup was awarded 11 days earlier, as the New York Islanders swept the Vancouver Canucks in 4 straight games.

Football was out of season. There were 3 games played in Major League Baseball:

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 6-0 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Sammy Stewart pitched a 5-hit shutout, while Frank Tanana didn't get out of the 3rd inning. Eddie Murray went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Rookie Cal Ripken Jr. played 3rd base, and went 1-for-5 with an RBI. He missed the next 2 games. The next one after that, he started his streak.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Cecil Cooper each went 1-for-4. Molitor's hit and Coopoer's hit were home runs. Brian Downing hit one for the Angels. Reggie Jackson went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Rod Carew went 2-for-4 with an RBI. This turned out to be a preview of the American League Championship Series.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-6 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, including his 432nd career home run.

May 13, 2012: The Sergio Agüero Game

May 13, 2012: Arsenal FC hang on to win 3-2, away to Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion, and secure a UEFA Champions League place for the next season. I watched this game at the Blind Pig, in New York City's East Village, which was served as one of the homes of local Arsenal supporters from 2011 until it closed in 2019.

What happened 3 minutes after that final whistle was cheered at the Blind Pig almost as much. Because Arsenal fans hate Manchester United almost as much as we hate Tottenham Hotspur, and possibly more than we hate Chelsea FC.

United had just finished off Sunderland AFC, 1-0 at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, in the North-East of England. At the same time, their local rivals, Manchester City, which hadn't won the League since 1968, were playing West London team Queens Park Rangers, at home at the Etihad Stadium. If City could win, they would tie United with 89 points on the season, and, with a greater goal difference, they would win the title.

But, when United's game ended, City were losing, 2-1. United's players, and manager Alex Ferguson, thought they had won the Premier League title, and they were already celebrating on the pitch.

But Edin Džeko, City's Bosnian striker, scored in stoppage time, in the 92nd minute. The game was tied, but that wouldn't be enough. They had to win. In the 94th minute, Sergio "Kun" Agüero, City's Argentine striker, put the ball past QPR keeper Paddy Kenny.

City had won, 3-2. Agüero ripped his shirt off, and swung it around like a madman. The fans went wild, over what was, without question, the greatest moment in their club's history. In bars all over the world, people who weren't happy that City had spent so much of the Abu Dhabi royal family's money to win the title watched, and were still happy that United had been beaten, and could no longer claim supremacy over the League in general, or even their city in particular.

Agüero had scored the greatest goal in League play since Michael Thomas won the title for Arsenal in even tighter circumstances in 1989. Since that was before the changeover from the old Football League Division One in 1992, this remains the greatest goal in Premier League history.

Agüero went on to help Man City win 5 Premier League titles. In 2019, he helped them win the League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup, England's 1st-ever "Domestic Treble." He also helped Argentina reach the Final of the 2014 World Cup. By the time they won it in 2022, he was no longer a member of the national team. He was previously married to Giannina Maradona, daughter of fellow Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona.

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May 13, 2012 was a Sunday. In America, 2 games were played in Major League Soccer. The New York Red Bulls beat the Philadelphia Union, 3-2 at PPL Park (now Subaru Park) outside Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania. And the San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles-based Chivas USA played to a 1-1 draw at Buck Shaw Stadium (now Stevens Stadium) outside San Jose in Santa Clara, California.

American-style football was out of season. These Major League Baseball games were played:

Two games were played in the NBA Playoffs. The Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers, 95-86 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami. LeBron James scored 32 points. And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 82-72 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-2 at the Jobing.com Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 6-2 at Yankee Stadium. Kevin Millwood outpitched Andy Pettitte. Justin Smoak and Casper Wells hit home runs for the M's. Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-5. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets lost to the Miami Marlins, 8-4 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami. The Mets led 4-2 in the bottom of the 9th inning, but relievers Frank Francisco and Manny Acosta melted down, until future Yankee Giancarlo Stanton hit a walkoff grand slam off the animatronic "Home Run Sculpture" in left-center field.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 12-1 at Fenway Park in Boston 

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Jimmy Rollins hit a home run.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-8 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Josh Harrison singled Clint Barnes home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Senators, 9-6 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Anaheim Angels, 13-6 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 11-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then known as the O.com Coliseum).