October 13, 1972: Derry City Withdraw From the Irish Football League

Brandywell Stadium

October 13, 1972: Derry City Football Club withdraw from the Irish Football League, the governing body for soccer in Northern Ireland, after what turned out to be the hardest year of "The Troubles" in that "country."

The conflict was especially dangerous in their own city, known as Londonderry to the governments in Belfast and London, but as simply "Derry" -- or, perhaps, "Free Derry" -- to the Catholic people who lived there. Ireland has had a few days in its history known as "Bloody Sunday," including "The Battle of the Bogside," earlier in the year in Derry.

Founded in 1928, and nicknamed the Candystripes for their shirts of red and white stripes, and playing in Brandywell Stadium on the west bank of the River Foyle, 3 miles from the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Derry City won their only title in the IFL in the 1964-65 season. They had also won the Irish Cup, Northern Ireland's version of England's FA Cup, in 1949, 1954 and 1964.

Surviving in junior football for 13 years, Derry City entered the Republic of Ireland's football system for 1985-86, joining its 2nd division, known as the League of Ireland First Division. They were an immediate success. On February 23, 1986, "the randy Brandywell," as its fans call the stadium, hosted 9,800 fans, still a record attendance for a League of Ireland team, for an FAI Cup Second Round match against Finn Harps of County Donegal. In Ireland, Derry vs. Finn Harps is known as the Northwest Derby.

Derry City won the title in their 2nd season, 1986-87, and were promoted to the actual first division, known as the Premier Division, winning the title in 1989 and 1997. In 1989, 1995, 2002 and 2006, they won the ROI's version of the FA Cup, the FAI Cup. (The Republic's governing body is the FAI, the Football Association of Ireland. Northern Ireland's is the IFA, the Irish Football Association.)

The Cup win over 1989 meant that they won their adoptive country's "Double." They also won the League of Ireland Cup that year, so their victory in the FAI Cup Final on April 30, 1989, at Dalymount Park in Dublin, the last of the three trophies available, gave them a domestic "Treble."

The club was expelled from the LOI in November 2009, when it was discovered there were unofficial secondary contracts with players. It was reinstated a few weeks later but, as punishment, was demoted to the First Division.

The club eventually won its way back to the Premier Division. Although they have not won the league since 1997, they have won the FAI Cup again in 2012 and 2022. More importantly, there has never been a violent incident at a Derry City game since they entered the LOI in 1985. In 2018, the stadium was renamed the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, in memory of McBride, Derry's Captain, who died in his sleep, without explanation, the year before. He was only 27 years old.

As I said, Derry City have won the top division of Republic of Ireland football twice. Teams from County Dublin have won 58 titles, while all other Counties combined have won 41.

Shamrock Rovers, of Tallaght, south of Dublin, have won it 20 times. Shelbourne, of North Dublin, have won 13. Bohemian, or "Bohs," of North Dublin, have won 11. St. Patrick's Athletic, of Inchicore, west of Dublin, have won 8. Drumcondra, of North Dublin, have won 5. St. James's Gate, of South Dublin, have won 2. Dolphin, of Dolphin's Barn in South Dublin, won the title in 1935 and finished 2nd in 1936, but the Depression meant that it couldn't pay wage increases, and went out of business.

Dundalk, of County Louth, have won 14 titles. Waterford, of the County of the same name, have won 6. Sligo Rovers, of County Sligo, have won 3. Limerick, of the County of the same name, have won 2. Athlone Town, of County Roscommon, have won 2. Drogheda United of County Louth won the title in 2007.

In County Cork, Cork United won 5 before going out of business in 1948. Cork Athletic, intended as United's replacement, won 2 before going out of business in 1957. Cork Hibernians won the title in 1971, and Cork Celtic won it in 1974, before going out of business in 1977 and 1980, respectively, and being replaced by Cork City in 1984. Cork City have won 3 titles.    

In Northern Ireland, the Irish Football League was reorganized into the NIFL Premiership in 2008. Overall, Linfield, of South Belfast, have won 56 titles, more national league titles than any team in any country; Glentoran, of East Belfast, have won 23; Belfast Celtic, of West Belfast, won 14 before withdrawing from the League in 1949, for reasons similar to Derry City's, and went out of business in 1960; Crusaders, of North Belfast, have won 7; Distillery, of West Belfast, won 6 titles, the last in 1963, before moving to South Belfast and becoming Lisburn Distillery, and haven't won one since; Cliftonville, of North Belfast, have won 5; Portadown, of County Armagh, 4; Glenavon, of Lurgan in County Armagh, 3, the last in 1960; Coleraine, of County Londonderry, 1, in 1974; Queen's Island, of South Belfast, 1, in 1924, and went out of business in 1929; and Ards, of Bangor in County Down, 1, in 1958.

UPDATE: In the LOI, Shamrock Rovers won a 21st title in 2023, and a 22nd in 2025. Shelbourne won a 14th title in 2024. In the NIFL, Linfield won a 57th title in 2025. Larne, of County Antrim, which had never won the title before, have now won 3: In 2023, 2024 and 2026.

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October 13, 1973 was a Friday -- a Friday the 13th. Summer Sanders, winner of 2 Gold Medals in swimming at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, was born on this day.

Also on this day, a Friday the 13th, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, taking off from Uruguay's capital of Montevideo and intending to land in Chile's capital of Santiago, crashes in the Andes Mountains outside Malargüe, Argentina. Of the 45 people on board, only 24 survived the crash.

The passengers were members of Old Christians, a rugby team from Montevideo, traveling to play Santiago team Old Boys. Those who survived did so as best they could, but their food ran out quickly. Eventually, they turned to cannibalizing the bodies of those killed. On October 29, 8 of the survivors were killed in an avalanche.

By the time they were finally rescued on December 23 -- a Christmas miracle -- only 16 of the passengers were still alive. Incredibly, 48 years later, 15 of those 16 are still alive. In 1993, the film Alive, starring Ethan Hawke, dramatized the events.

In sports: Baseball was between its Playoffs and the World Series. The Oakland Athletics went on to beat the Cincinnati Reds in 7 games.

There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-104 at the Boston Garden.

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 104-101 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Bullets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 115-98 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena).

* The Houston Rockets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 109-108 at the Cleveland Arena. Austin Carr scored 40 in defeat for the Cavs.

* The Detroit Pistons beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bulls, 100-91 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns, 117-105 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led all players on the night with 41 points.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat their arch-rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers, 92-84 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Spencer Haywood scored 35 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Sonics.

And there were 3 games played in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets beat the Kentucky Colonels, 114-90 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Carolina Cougars beat the Indiana Pacers, 106-88 at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis.

* And the Denver Rockets beat the San Diego Conquistadors, 109-100 at the Peterson Gym on the campus of San Diego State University.

There were no games scheduled in the NHL. The World Hockey Association's Quebec Nordiques played their 1st home game at Le Colisée de Québec. They beat the Alberta Oilers 6-0. They would reach the WHA Finals in 1975 and win the title in 1977.

Not so lucky are fellow their fellow WHA home debutantes, the Philadelphia Blazers. First, they were frozen out of using Philly's new arena, The Spectrum, because it was owned by Flyers owner Ed Snider. So they had to use the much-older Convention Hall of the Philadelphia Civic Center.

Then, their 3 biggest acquisitions all got hurt in preseason: John McKenzie (also their head coach) and Derek Sanderson, from the 1970 and '72 Stanley Cup-winning Boston Bruins; and former Flyers goalie Bernie Parent. Then, on October 12, they lost their 1st regular-season game, 4-3, to the New England Whalers at the Boston Garden, where, presumably, some people had bought tickets expecting to see McKenzie and Sanders.

But on this night, when the Zamboni was driven onto the playing service, the improperly made ice could not support its weight, and it cracked. The game was postponed. They ended up losing their 1st 7 games, including their eventual home opener, on October 25, 8-2 to the Cleveland Crusaders. Their 1st win finally came on October 27, 5-4 over the Los Angeles Sharks.

Incredibly, they went 38-33 (no ties) the rest of the way, and make the Playoffs, but are swept by the Crusaders. So few people came out to see them that they moved to Vancouver for 1973-74, and had to sell Parent back to the Flyers, where he helped them win back-to-back Stanley Cups. The Blazers became the Calgary Cowboys in 1975, and folded in 1977.

The Minnesota Fighting Saints, named for their home city, lost their debut, 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets at the St. Paul Civic Center. And the Houston Aeros and the Los Angeles Sharks made their debuts, against each other, with the Aeros winning, 3-2 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

September 21, 1949: England 0-2 Ireland

September 21, 1949: The Republic of Ireland soccer team defeats England 2-0 at Goodison Park in Liverpool, the home ground of Everton Football Club. As a result, Ireland become the 1st non-United Kingdom team to defeat England on English soil.

Cornelius "Con" Martin of Birmingham team Aston Villa, and Peter Farrell of Everton (thus playing on his home pitch), scored the goals. Davy Walsh, a forward whose best years were with Belfast team Linfield, Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion, and Aston Villa (where he was a teammate of Martin), was the last survivor from this team, living until 2016.

Things would get worse for England over the next few years: In 1950, they participated in the World Cup for the 1st time, and were humiliated by the U.S. team; followed by shreddings at the hands of the "Magnificent Magyars" of Hungary in 1953 and 1954, and poor performances in the 1954, 1958 and 1962 World Cups. It would take until 1966 for them to redeem themselves.

Ireland, however, were unable to follow up on this triumph. They didn’t make the World Cup until 1990 (reaching the Quarterfinals), doing so again in 1994 and 2002, but not since.

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September 21, 1949 was a Wednesday. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Artis Gilmore was born.

And these baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 10-9 at Yankee Stadium. The White Sox scored 3 runs in the 8th inning and 3 more in the 9th, to come from behind to win. Rocky Krsnich and Gus Zernial hit home runs for the Pale Hose. Joe DiMaggio did not play.

* A doubleheader was split at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The New York Giants lost the opener to the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4. Sheldon "Available" Jones should not have been so available, as he walked Danny Litwhiler with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Giants won the nightcap, 5-2. The game was called due to rain after 7 innings.

* A doubleheader was split at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The St. Louis Cardinals won the opener, 1-0. Max Lanier pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching Don Newcombe. The Brooklyn Dodgers won the nightcap, 5-0. Elwin "Preacher" Roe pitched a 2-hit shutout, while Harry Brecheen didn't get out of the 4th inning. Duke Snider hit a home run. Over the 2 games, Jackie Robinson went 0-for-6 with 2 walks, while tan Musial went 1-for-7.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams and Al Zarilla hit home runs for the Red Sox. Ellis Kinder won his 22nd game of the season.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 7-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Dick Welk pitched a 3-hit shutout.

* The Boston Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-7 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ralph Kiner hit 2 home runs for the Bucs, but it wasn't enough.

* And a doubleheader was split at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 1st game, 3-1. The Chicago Cubs won the 2nd game, 9-6.

May 3, 1921: The Partition of Ireland

Map showing "Ireland's Four Courts"

May 3, 1921: The United Kingdom passes the Government of Ireland Act, creating the province of Northern Ireland, separate from what is then called the Irish Free State.

Of the traditional "Ireland's Four Courts," Ulster, with its 6 Counties of Antrim (including the capital of Belfast), Down, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Derry, became Northern Ireland. The other three remained part of Ireland proper:

* Leinster: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois (pronounced "Leesh"), Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.

* Munster: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. And:

* Connaught: Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo.

This partition of Ireland intended both territories to remain within the UK, and contained provisions for their eventual reunification. The smaller Northern Ireland was duly created with a devolved government (Home Rule), and remained part of the UK. The larger Southern Ireland was not recognized by most of its citizens, who instead recognized the self-declared 32-county Irish Republic.

Sent to London to negotiate peace terms, Michael Collins was offered a treaty that would establish the Irish Free State -- with an Oath of Allegiance to the Crown. The British Crown, held by King George V. In other words, this "Free State" would have another nation's head of state as its own -- just like Canada, Australia, and a few other "independent nations."

Collins accepted this compromise, calling it "the freedom to achieve freedom." Some in the Provisional Government did not, and the end of the Irish War of Independence led to the beginning of the Irish Civil War. This led to Collins' assassination on August 22, 1922.

On January 7, 1922, Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratified the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a vote of 64–57 at Leinster House in Dublin.

On December 6, 1922, the Partition was complete. At that time, the territory of Southern Ireland left the UK,  and became the Irish Free State, now known as the Republic of Ireland.

Up until that moment, the British Empire had been at its greatest extent, ruling over one-quarter of the world's land, and over one-quarter of the world's people. That would never be the case again: Over the next 60 years, while some of the Empire would become part of the British Commonwealth, most of it would carry out its own "Brexit," and the old saying, "The Sun never sets on the British Empire," would no longer be true.

Today, the population of Northern Ireland is a little under 2 million, slightly more Protestant than Catholic; while that of the vast-majority-Catholic Republic is just under 5 million. The UK's recent "Brexit" deal has essentially reestablished a border between them.

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May 3, 1921 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Babe Ruth went 0-for-4, but catcher Wally Schang went 4-for-4. Bill Percy allowed 10 hits, but kept the shutout, outpitching future Yankee Herb Pennock.

* The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 7-2 at the Polo Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known while Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at Ebbets Field. Brooklyn trailed 3-2 going to the bottom of the 9th, but a single by Zack Wheat and a triple by Ed Konetchy won the game.

* The Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Joe Judge tripled home 2 runs in the top of the 10th inning.

* And the the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 13-1 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Ty Cobb went 1-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Luzerne "Lu" Blue went 2-for-4 with 5 RBIs. For the White Sox, Eddie Collins went 1-for-4.

April 10, 1998: The Good Friday Agreement

David Trimble (left) and John Hume

April 10, 1998: The Good Friday Agreement, a.k.a. the Belfast Agreement, is signed, ending "The Troubles," which had plagued Northern Ireland for about 30 years.

The agreement acknowledged that the majority of the people of Northern Ireland wished to remain a part of the United Kingdom, but also that a substantial section of the people of Northern Ireland, and the majority of the people of the island of Ireland, wished to bring about a united Ireland. Both sides agreed, for the first time, that both wishes were legitimate.

A governmental system was set up, and the 2 main belligerent groups -- the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), representing Catholics, and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), representing Protestants, agreed to lay down their weapons, and participate in the government. One group, the Protestant Ulster Defence Assocation (UDA), was notable in its refusal.

Signing the agreement were the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair; the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam; the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of the Republic of Ireland, Bertie Ahearn; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the ROI, David Andrews.

For negotiating the agreement, John Hume, Leader of the ROI's Social Democratic and Labour Party, and David Trimble, Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and subsequently First Minister of Northern Ireland, shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize.

Peace is a precious commodity, but it doesn't solve everything. Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, may no longer be a city of paramilitary extrajudicial killings and terrorist bombings, each responding to the other. But it remains a city overseen by the British government, and subject to the national Conservative Party's backward policies, and the British class system, which has never truly gone away. 

As recently as 2011, singer Rihanna, a subject of the United Kingdom until her native Barbados declared itself a republic on 2021, had a Number 1 hit with a song whose video was filmed in Belfast. The title refrain sings, "We found love in a hopeless place."

John Hume died on August 3, 2020. As of April 10, 2022, David Trimble is still alive. (UPDATE: Trimble died on July 25, 2022.)

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April 10, 1998 was, of course, a Friday. A full slate of Major League Baseball games was played, including the wildest home opener in Pinstriped history:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 17-13 at Yankee Stadium. The A's scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning, and 8 runs in the 5th to lead 13-12, and still lost the game. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-5 for the A's, but had no RBIs or stolen bases. For the Yankees, Tino Martinez went 3-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBIs. David Cone started, but didn't get out of the 5th inning. Mike Buddie blew the lead, but still ended up as the winning pitcher. He would win only 4 more games in the major leagues.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 13-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Brant Brown and Henry Rodriguez hit home runs for the Cubs. Sammy Sosa did not, but would hit 66 for them that season.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-7 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Lieberthal singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 9th, as Curt Schilling outpitched Greg Maddux.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Florida Marlins, 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The team then known as the Cleveland Indians beat the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, 8-5 at the ballpark then known as Jacobs Field. (Current names: Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels, Progressive Field.) Jim Thome hit a 3-run home run to win the game in the bottom of the 10th.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 3-0 at the new Comiskey Park in Chicago. (It's now named Rate Field.) Mike Sirotka and Matt Karchner combined on a 5-hit shutout.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at what was then named The Ballpark at Arlington, in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. (It's now named Choctaw Stadium.)

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies, 18-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-4 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 7-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. John Mabry hit a home run for the Cardinals. Mark McGwire did not, but would go on to hit a record 70 for them that season. The Giants hit no home runs. Three years later, Barry Bonds would break McGwire's record with 73 of them.

The NFL was out of season. But there were 8 games played in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic, 82-80 in overtime at the FleetCenter. (It's now named the TD Garden.)

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 99-87 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors, 111-105 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. (It's now named the Scotiabank Arena.)

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-102 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Allen Iverson scored 43 for the Sixers, but the T-Wolves got 29 from Sam Mitchell, 28 from Stephon Marbury, and 26 from Kevin Garnett.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 99-84 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 126-109 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. 

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-105 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Antonio McDyess scored 37 points.

* And the Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings, 97-85 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento. (It is now named the Sleep Train Arena.)

Only 1 game was played in the NHL that day: The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo. (It is now named the KeyBank Center.)

February 15, 1995: The Lansdowne Road Riot

February 15, 1995: Lansdowne Road Stadium in Dublin is the venue for a soccer game between the Republic of Ireland and England, a matchup fraught with political implications.

Ireland took the lead in the 22nd minute on a goal by David Kelly -- ironically, a native of England who, within the rules, chose to play for Ireland due to his ancestry, since he was unlikely to make the England team, which was then good. A lot better than it is now.

Lansdowne Road

Most likely, what happened next was due not to Kelly's choice, but to a reaction against the perception that the Ireland team supported the Irish Republican Army's attacks on Great Britain. Between the relationship between the countries, and the fact that it was a night game and there was more time for fans to drink before the game, something bad was bound to happen.

It did. A group of right-wing extremists calling themselves Combat-18 started a riot. The game was abandoned, and the 2 countries would not play each other again until 2013, a 1-1 draw at the new Wembley Stadium.

It's worth noting that, at the time, Ireland's manager was Jack Charlton, one of the heroes of English soccer's signature triumph, the 1966 World Cup (as was his brother Bobby). There had been some resistance in the Republic to his hiring by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), but his working-class ways won the fans over. When Ireland and England next played each other, the Republic's manager was Martin O'Neill, Northern Ireland-born, -raised and -capped, but there was no resistance.

Lansdowne Road has since been demolished, and the new Aviva Stadium has been built on the site. Officially, these 2 teams have faced each other 16 times through February 15, 2022: England have won 6 times; the Republic of Ireland twice, a famous 1949 win at Everton's Goodison Park in Liverpool and at Stuttgart in Euro 88; and there have been 8 draws, including at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. (UPDATE: In 2024, England won 2 games for the 2025 UEFA Nations League, increasing their advantage to 8-2.)

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February 15, 1995 was a Wednesday. Rapper Meghan Thee Stallion was born.

Baseball and football were out of season. There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-97 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic, 100-99 in overtime at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Detroit Pistons, 114-88 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Bullets, 107-92 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 120-113 in overtime at the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix. Charles Barkley led all scorers on the night with 35 points.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 102-96 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors, 116-115 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

And there were 8 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals, 4-2 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Florida Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-0 at the Miami Arena.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-1 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Ceter).