October 24, 2004: The Battle of the Buffet

October 24, 2004: The Boston Red Sox take a 2-games-to-0 lead in the World Series with a 6-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park. Curt Schilling, again wearing the Bloody Sock, gets the win. Orlando Cabrera‚ Mark Bellhorn‚ and Jason Varitek each drive in a pair of runs.

But, as disgusting as the Red Sox cheating their way to another win was, that wasn't the most disgusting sporting event that happened on this day. Not by a long shot.

Arsenal Football Club, of North London, had gone 49 straight Premier League games without a loss, a record streak for top-flight English "football" dating back to the founding of The Football League in 1888. Arsenal F.C. hadn't lost since Yorkshire team Leeds United beat them on May 7, 2003 -- 536 days. That included the entire 2003-04 season, making Arsenal the only "Invincibles" of the modern era.

Making it 50 straight games without a loss would have been great semantically, but more important was who they were playing in Game 50: They went into Old Trafford, home of the other dominant team of the era, Manchester United. Either Arsenal or Man U had won the last 9 League titles, and 13 of the last 16.

The game was scoreless going into the 72nd minute (out of 90, so, 80 percent done), mainly because

United's players, particularly the Neville brothers -- right back Gary and midfielder Phil, not the singing Neville brothers of New Orleans -- were kicking Gunners forward José Antonio Reyes into oblivion, rendering him too timid to shoot. He was, literally, intimidated.

In addition, United's Dutch striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy -- nicknamed Van Horseface due to an uncanny facial resemblance to Seattle Slew -- had a challenge on Arsenal defender Ashley Cole that was clearly worthy of a straight red card. So the Red Devils should have been down to no more than 10 men, possibly as few as 8.

But the referee for this game was Mike Riley, and he hates Arsenal. He gave only 2 cards to United throughout the match, a yellow each to the Neville brothers. Indeed, van Nistelrooy was retroactively given the punishment he would have gotten if, in fact, he had received a straight red during the game: 3 domestic games. (2 yellows, which equal 1 red, would have been a mere 1-game suspension.)

In that 72nd minute, United's young striker, Wayne Rooney, on his 19th birthday, executed a blatant dive in the 18-yard box, going down without being touched, in an attempt to be awarded a penalty kick. Instead of properly giving him a straight red card and sending him off, Riley called a foul on Arsenal defender Sol Campbell, who never even touched Rooney. It was a completely bogus call, and Riley awarded a penalty, which van Nistelrooy converted. Rooney added another goal that he didn't deserve to even be on the pitch for, in the 90th minute, and United had unfairly won, 2-0.

In contrast to the 2 yellow cards on United, Riley had actually given Arsenal 3 yellow cards -- and the alleged penalty foul by Campbell wasn't one of them.

The fireworks for this most dubious of games in the long and fractious history of Arsenal-Manchester United matches were hardly over at the final whistle. Despite being teammates on the national side, Campbell refused to shake Rooney's hand, a deserved mark of disrespect. Entering the tunnel to head to the locker rooms, United manager Alex Ferguson was hit in the face by a slice of pizza from the postgame spread in Arsenal's locker room.

The game became known as "The Battle of the Buffet" -- a 1990 match between the teams, featuring a fight, had already been given the name "The Battle of Old Trafford" -- and, as it turned out, the Arsenal player who threw the slice was 17-year-old Spanish midfield wizard Cesc Fàbregas. As it also turned out, this, not anything he did on the field from 2003 to 2011, was the best thing Fàbregas did in an Arsenal uniform.

In 2009, Mike Riley was appointed the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the governing body for English soccer referees. Arsenal have not won the Premier League since 2004. That is not a coincidence, although Riley's influence over such corrupt referees as Mike Dean, Howard Webb, Phil Dowd, Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver is just one reason. (UPDATE: He stepped down in 2023.)

*

October 24, 2004 was a Sunday. The NBA season didn't start for another 9 days. The NHL players were locked out by the team owners, and, eventually, the entire 2004-05 season was canceled. These NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Detroit Lions, 28-13 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to their arch-rivals, the New England Patriots, 13-7 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat the Buffalo Bills, 20-6 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Carolina Panthers, 17-6 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Chicago Bears, 19-7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the St. Louis Rams, 31-14 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Cleveland Browns, 34-31 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now Huntington Bank Field). Jeff Garcia sent the game to overtime with a 4-yard quarterback draw for the Browns, but David Akers kicked a 50-yard field goal with 5:02 left in overtime to win it for the Eagles.

* The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts, 27-24 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Josh Scobee kicked a 53-yard field goal with 38 seconds left to win it.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 41-20 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Tennessee Titans, 20-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Atlanta Falcons, 56-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Yes, you read that right: Fifty-six to ten.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks, 25-17 at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Oakland Raiders, 31-26 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Denver Broncos, 23-10 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* And the Houston Texans, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins had a bye week.

July 3, 2001: Arsenal sign Sol Campbell

Sol Campbell with the FA Cup (in his right hand)

and the Premier League trophy (in his left)

July 3, 2001: Arsenal Football Club sign Sol Campbell. The centreback had been Captain of their North London arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur F.C., and had led "Spurs" to the 1999 League Cup. But, his contract having run out, he was not given any assurances by team management that they would bring in new talent to improve the team.

In contrast, Arsenal offered the 26-year-old East Londoner the chance to stay in London, and play Champions League games. After he had rejected all overtures by Spurs, and from European giants FC Barcelona, Internazionale Milano and Bayern Munich, Campbell signed with Arsenal. Spurs' Captain was now the rock of Arsenal's defense, ready to replace the aging team Captain, Tony Adams.

Tottenham fans were livid, turning as red as their rivals' shirts. Not with embarrassment, as they should have, but with rage.

Result? In his 1st season with Arsenal, they won the Premier League and the FA Cup -- the Double. 2nd season? The FA Cup again. 3rd season? An unbeaten League season, clinching the title at, of all places, Spurs' White Hart Lane. 4th season? Another FA Cup. 5th season? Arsenal reached the Champions League Final, and Sol scored in the game, although Arsenal lost.

He then left Arsenal, signing with Hampshire team Portsmouth FC. In 2008, Portsmouth made an unlikely run to win the FA Cup, with Campbell as Captain.

To this day, Spurs fans sing about Sol being "Judas," and that's one of the more printable things they say. But he says he has no regrets.

Since he made the North London switch, Spurs have won just 1 major trophy, and that's if you consider the League Cup to be a "major trophy," doing so in 2008, meaning that Campbell still outdid them that season by leading Portsmouth to the FA Cup.

*

July 3, 2001 was a Tuesday. Folarin Balogun, a Brooklyn native of Nigerian descent who has played for Arsenal, AS Monaco, and the U.S. National Team, was born on this day. 

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 10-6 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius hit home runs. Randy Keisler started, but only went 4 innings, so Ramiro Mendoza became the winning pitcher. Cal Ripken, in his final season, went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 at Shea Stadium. Kerry Wood had a 5-hit shutout going through 6 1/3rd innings, but had thrown 110 pitches and already had a history of injury. Kyle Farnsworth and Tom Gordon went the rest of the way, without allowing another hit. Sammy Sosa and Ron Coomer hit home runs for the Cubs.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Montreal Expos, 7-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Ryan Dempster pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 14-7 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tom Glavine started for the Braves, but didn't get past the 3rd inning. Still, the Phils blew a 5-1 lead. Chipper Jones hit 2 home runs, and the Braves scored 8 runs in the 7th inning. Bobby Abreu homered for the Phillies.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 8-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Jamey Wright pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball. For some reason, Brewer manager Davey Lopes decided he needed 3 pitchers to finish the 9th inning, and Wright wasn't one of them. Mark McGwire went 0-for-3 with a walk for the Cardinals.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 8-4 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. "Rookie" sensation Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base.

* The Houston Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-5 at Enron Field (soon to be renamed Minute Maid Park, now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-5 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk. In his final season, Tony Gwynn appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with 2 walks, 1 of them intentional.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Anaheim Angels, 5-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).

May 17, 2008: Portsmouth's Corrupt Bargain

May 17, 2008: It is a "Cinderella" Final in England's FA Cup. No matter which side wins it, it will be a historic achievement. As it turns out, though, the side that wins it will end up paying a terrible price.

Harry Redknapp grew up in East London, and was a mediocre midfielder for his local side, West Ham United. He who later played in the North American Soccer League for the Seattle Sounders and the Phoenix Fire. He ended up as the 4th-best player in his own family: His son, Jamie Redknapp, became a better player; while his sister married his West Ham teammate, Frank Lampard Sr., and their son, Frank Lampard Jr., became one of the best English players of his generation.

Harry went into management. In 1983, he was hired to manage AFC Bournemouth, in Dorset on the English Channel. He maintained a home there, despite going from job to job like Lou Saban in American football and Larry Brown in basketball. He got them promoted from the 3rd to the 2nd division in 1987, but relegated back to the 3rd in 1990, and promoted again in 1992.

While in Italy to watch the 1990 World Cup, he was in a minibus crash. He suffered a fractured skull and nerve damage to his face, which left him with no sense of smell and a facial tic, mocked by rival fans as a "twitch."

He went back to West Ham as manager, running them from 1994 to 2001. In 2000, they won the Intertoto Cup, then Europe's 3rd-most important club tournament behind the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup (now known as the UEFA Europa League).

In 2002, he went back to the South Coast, managing Portsmouth FC in Hampshire. He got them promoted to the Premier League in 2003. But after his 2nd seasons, 2003-04, he jumped ship (an appropriate analogy, given 2 naval cities), for Southampton FC, Portsmouth's Hampshire arch-rivals. He suddenly became the most popular man in Southampton, and the most hated man in Portsmouth. But in his 1 season in charge of Southampton, he got them relegated. And Portsmouth hired him back. Suddenly, to "Pompey" fans, he was the hero who had gotten them promoted and their rivals relegated.

In the 2007-08 season, his big spending got Portsmouth to an 8th-place finish in the Premier League, their best finish in 53 years. This was managed by signing former Liverpool goalkeeper David James, former Chelsea FC stars Glen Johnson and Lassana Diarra, former Tottenham Hotspur (or "Spurs") star Pedro Mendes, on-loan Tottenham star Jermain Dafoe, and Arsenal FC legends Sol Campbell at the back and Nwankwo Kanu up front.

But it was in the national tournament, the FA Cup, that this side became legends. As a Premier League team, Portsmouth received a bye into the 3rd round. They beat Ipswich Town away, 1-0; Plymouth Argyle at home, 2-1; and Preston North End away, 1-0.

One of the most stunning weekends in FA Cup history began with 2 of the 4 Quarterfinals, on March 8. Portsmouth hadn't won the Cup since 1939, or any major trophy since the 1950 Football League Division One title. Manchester United were the defending Premier League Champions, and would soon be again. But Portsmouth went to Old Trafford, and beat them, 1-0. United's usual tricks didn't work, and they even (rightly) get a penalty called against them at home.

Just as stunning was Yorkshire club Barnsley hosting the Cup holders, West London team Chelsea, winners of the 2005 and ’06 League titles, at Oakwell and beating them 1-0.

On March 9, the Quarterfinals continued, with another surprising result, as Cardiff City of Wales, in English soccer's 2nd division, defeated North-East club Middlesbrough, 2-0 at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough. Cardiff are the only team outside England ever to win the Cup (1927), and were now 2 rounds from doing it again.

The other Quarterfinal was the only 1 of the 4 that was not a tremendous upset, although West Country team Bristol Rovers even getting that far was a surprise. Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion went to Bristol, and won 5-1. For the "Baggies," it was, and remains, their best Cup run since 1982.

The Semifinals were held on neutral ground, at the new Wembley Stadium in West London. On April 5, Portsmouth beat West Brom, 1-0. On April 6, Cardiff beat Barnsley, 1-0. In what remains perhaps the most unlikely Final in the tournament's 146-year history, it would be Pompey vs. the Bluebirds.

The most improbable FA Cup tournament ever played came to a conclusion at Wembley on May 17. Defoe was "cup-tied," having previously played in that same tournament for Spurs, and was unavailable for Portsmouth. Since both teams traditionally wore a bright blue at home, a coin was tossed. Portsmouth won, and chose their traditional blue kit. Cardiff wore their usual black away kit.

Before the game, English soprano Lesley Garrett sang the British National Anthem, "God Save the Queen"; Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins sang the unofficial Welsh National Anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Translation: "The Old Land of My Fathers"); and they duetted on "Abide With Me," the traditional pre-Final anthem, "Abide With Me" -- coincidentally, introduced before Cardiff's 1927 Final win.

Cardiff attacked repeatedly through the 1st 15 minutes, to no avail, before Kanu got through, and hit the post with a shot. A few minutes later, Kanu had another shot that went just over the crossbar. In the 37th minute, John Utaka crossed the ball close to the goal line from the right. Cardiff goalkeeper Peter Enckelman knocked the ball away, but it landed at the feet of Kanu, who knocked the ball into the net, to give Pompey the lead.

Cardiff rallied quickly in an attempt to equalize, and Glenn Loovens was also able to put the ball in, but his effort was ruled out, due to a Cardiff handball. In the 61st minute, Cardiff brought on a hometown hero, their youngest-ever first-team player, 17-year-old midfielder Aaron Ramsey. It was, obviously, his 1st FA Cup Final. It would not be his last.

A diving header by Loovens bounced in front of, then over, the goal in the 71st. That would be the last chance of the game, as James and Pompey's back 4 held, and it was a final score of 1-0. As Captain, Campbell received the Cup, not from a member of the royal family as is usual, but from Sir Bobby Robson, the former manager of the England national team, who had managed Ipswich Town to the Cup in 1978, 30 years earlier, in a major upset over Arsenal.

This Cup is the only major trophy won in 30 seasons in management by Harry Redknapp. Early the next season, 2008-09, he not only left Pompey, taking the Tottenham job, he "left them holding the bag," leaving them and . He avoided going to prison for income tax evasion, basically because his defense was that his reading comprehension was so bad, he didn't understand his own documents. Any Arsenal fan, Portsmouth fan, or Southampton fan could have told you he was dumb.

The financial shenanigans and general stupidity he left behind would soon get Portsmouth not only relegated for the 2nd time, but send it into a death spiral: By Christmas 2009, they were already in administration, meaning an automatic points deduction, leading to relegation to English soccer's 2nd division. They would eventually crash to the 4th, and, twice, they literally came within hours of going out of business. (They have since been sold and straightened out, and are back up to the 3rd division.)

On April 11, 2010, an FA Cup Semifinal was held at Wembley: Tottenham, managed by Redknapp, against Portsmouth, now managed by Avram Grant, who had gotten Chelsea to penalties of the 2008 Champions League Final before losing. Through what English football fans call "the magic of the Cup," they managed to get this far, and to hold Spurs to a 0-0 draw in regulation. Then came extra time, and the bankrupt team beat the rich team 2-0, and advanced to play Chelsea in the Final. They fought bravely, but lost, 1-0.

Since winning the Cup in 1991, Spurs have reached 8 Semifinals, and lost them all -- 3 of them to neighboring rivals Arsenal. Redknapp would later manage and relegate West London team Queens Park Rangers; and West Midlands side Birmingham City (although that last one was probably going to happen even before he got there). Even Tottenham, whom he got to 4th place in 2010 and the Champions League Quarterfinal in 2011, were forced to sell off their best players because of his spending.

Overall, over 31 seasons, Redknapp managed 7 different clubs and 1 national side. Results: He won 1 major domestic trophy and 1 minor continental trophy; and was responsible for 2 promotions, 5 relegations, and 1 near-demise of a club.

*

May 17, 2008 was a Saturday. In American soccer, the New York Red Bulls and the Kansas City Wizards played to a 1-1 draw at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

American football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were underway, but no games were played. One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Dallas Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena.

And these Major League Baseball games were played, most of them Interleague, many of those close geographic rivalries:

* The New York Mets beat the New York Yankees, 7-4 at Yankee Stadium. Johan Santana outpitched Andy Pettitte. It was only 3-2 Mets when new manager Joe Girardi replaced Pettitte with Kyle Farnsworth, who never figured out that it doesn't matter how hard you throw if you can't hit the strike zone, or if the other team hits it. José Reyes and David Wright, the key figures in the Mets' current run since 2005, both hit home runs off Farnsworth. Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu homered for the Yankees.

* The Boston Red Sox swept the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 and 7-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. Over the 2 games, David Ortiz cheated his way to 2-for-5 with a home run, 2 walks and 3 RBIs.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Nationals, 6-5 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-3 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Ba Rays, 9-8 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. This was the only extra-inning game of the day, and Ryan Ludwick won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

 

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 6-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres, 4-2 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

May 17, 2006: Arsenal's Champions League Robbery

Top row, left to right: Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann, Gilberto Silva,

Emmanuel Eboué, Kolo Touré, Robert Pires.

Bottom row, left to right: Aliaksandr Hleb, Cesc Fàbregas,

Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole.

May 17, 2006: North London soccer team Arsenal FC reach the UEFA Champions League Final for the first time, at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

The fact that Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger got a team with Emmanuel Eboué at right back, Aliaksandr Hleb at left midfield, and the weak-minded (and not yet 19-year-old) Cesc Fàbregas in central midfield into the Final shows that he was a better manager than Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp could ever be.

FC Barcelona were managed by Frank Rijkaard, who had won the Champions League, then known as the European Cup, as a player with AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, and with Ajax Amsterdam after the tournament's name change in 1995.

This team was absolutely loaded, with the great Brazilian forward Ronaldinho; Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o, rising Spanish stars Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, Swedish star Henrik Larsson; and national Captains Carles Puyol of Spain, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Mark van Bommel of the Netherlands, and Rafael Márquez of Mexico.

(Lionel Messi had already made his debut for Barcelona, but was not listed as a starter or a substitute for this game. Former star and future manager Josep "Pep" Guardiola was wrapping up his playing career elsewhere.)

When Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off with a straight red card in the 18th minute by referee Terje Hauge -- dubiously, if not incorrectly -- and Wenger had to send in backup goalie Manuel Almunia, later so bad he was nicknamed "The Clown" by his own team's fans -- he had to take off an attacking player to meet the down-to-10-men requirement, and he chose Robert Pires. A massive mistake.

But not as big a mistake as sending Lehmann off in the first place. He brought down a charging Eto'o, and then Ludovic Giuly tapped the ball into the net. It could have been 1-0 Barça. Except the linesman had his flag raised, meaning Eto'o was offside. Therefore, Lehmann bringing him down should have been canceled out, and Hauge awarded Barça a free kick. This was the correct ruling.

But then, Puyol and van Bommel got in Hauge's face, and Edmilson started waving an imaginary red card. Thus intimidated, instead of giving each of the three of them yellow cards for dissent, Hauge gave Lehmann the straight red, reducing Arsenal to 10 men.

Arsenal actually went 1-0 up in the 37th minute, thanks to a header by Sol Campbell. And they held that 1-0 lead into the 76th minute. There were 14 minutes, plus stoppage time, left. And then...

Well, you didn't expect FC Barcelona, one of the dirtiest sports teams on the planet, to let that pass without cheating, did you? Eto'o's equalizer was clearly offside, but Hauge gave the goal. And then, in the 80th minute, Juliano Belletti put Barça up, 2-1. That was the final score.

Juliano Belletti

Thierry Henry, who captained Arsenal in the game, and picked the worst possible time to have a bad game, said afterward, "I don't know if the referee was wearing a Barcelona shirt. If he didn't want us to win, he should have said so from the off.

This turned out to be the last game for Arsenal for Pires, Campbell, the tapped-up Ashley Cole, and the retiring Dennis Bergkamp. And it was the beginning of the end at Arsenal for Henry. He did win a Champions League title... with Barcelona in 2009. By that point, Guardiola was managing them to tainted glory, and Messi was, along with Cristiano Ronaldo of arch-rival Real Madrid, being called the best player in the world.

I hadn't yet become an Arsenal fan. Which is a good thing. This game, known to Arsenal fans as "Heartbreak In Paris," the closest they have ever come to winning the Champions League, came just 6 days after my grandmother's death. I did not need this added to the list of things on my mind.

Arsenal would also be knocked out of the CL by Barcelona, albeit in earlier rounds, in 2010 and 2011, the latter being one of the most dubious games in team history, worthy of its own post, which I have written. Arsenal reached the Semifinals in 2009, but were knocked out by Manchester United.

UPDATE: In 2025, knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain, who went on to win the Final.

*

May 17, 2006 was a Wednesday. American football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs that day. The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 86-84 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. LeBron James scored 32 points. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks, 98-97 at the SBC Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio. Tim Duncan scored 36 points.

There was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-0 at Rexall Place, as the Northlands Coliseum was then known.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at Yankee Stadium. Chien-Ming Wang was the winning pitcher. Derek Jeter went 2-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0 at the new 3rd edition of Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Mark Mulder came within 2 outs of a 4-hit shutout, and former Met starter Jason Isringhausen, now the Cards' closer, had to finish it for him. Steve Trachsel took the loss, as the Cards only got 4 hits themselves, and Mulder, who spent most of his career in the American League with the designated hitter, got 2 of them. The only run came in the 6th inning, when Scott Rolen hit a sacrifice fly to score Albert Pujols.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Camden Yards. David Ortiz hit a steroid-aided home run.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 6-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. The Marlins scored a run in the top of the 11th inning, but Chipper Jones hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 11th to win it.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-0 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Jake Westbrook pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-0 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Justin Verlander pitched 8 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and Todd Jones completed the 7-hit shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals, 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sean Marshall pitched 6 innings, and the bullpen finished the shutout. The Nats only got 1 hit, a single by Alfonso Soriano in the 6th.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-7 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 10-1 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. Barry Bonds did not play.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 14-10  at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-0 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Casey Jansen pitched 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and B.J. Ryan completed the 2-hit shutout.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the McAfee Coliseum).

May 15, 2004: Arsenal Finish the Premier League Season Unbeaten

The usual starting lineup. Top row, left to right:

Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Edu Gaspar,

Jens Lehmann, Lauren Mayer, Sol Campbell, Kolo Touré.

Bottom row, left to right: A mascot, Ashley Cole,

Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires.

May 15, 2004: Arsenal defeat Leicester City, 2-1 at Highbury, and complete an undefeated Premier League season.

Only once before had an English team gone through an entire top-flight season without a League loss: Preston North End, in the 1st Football League season, 1888-89. And that was a season of 22 games. Arsenal in 2003-04? As the announcer on that day's broadcast, Jon Champion, said at the final whistle, "Played 38, won 26, drawn 12, lost exactly none!"

Arsène Wenger, from Strasbourg, France, had been named manager of Arsenal in September 1996, having won a League title as a player for RC Strasbourg, and as a manager for AS Monaco, and national cups for Monaco in France's Football Federation (even though Monaco, however small, is a separate country) and for Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan. In 1998, he led Arsenal to win the Premier League and the FA Cup, "The Double." He led them to another Double in 2002.

Arsène Wenger, 2002

In 2002-03, Wenger was mocked for saying he dreamed of going an entire League season unbeaten. When it didn't happen, oh, how the English media and fans of other teams laughed at the Frenchman. But a year later, in 2003-04, he did it. No other manager has. Like those Preston pioneers, the 2003-04 Gunners became known as "The Invincibles."

Arsenal had won the FA Cup in 2002-03, but a loss to Blackburn Rovers on March 15 and another to Leeds United on May 4, with 2 League games to go, cost them the title, throwing it to Manchester United. Between them, Arsenal and United had won 12 of the last 15 titles in the English top flight. (The Football League Division One became the Premier League in 1992.)

Arsenal beat Southampton and Sunderland in their last 2 games of 2002-03. At the time, few people cared. But those 2 games would become part of the most remarkable streak in English soccer history.

The main lineup: Goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann of Germany; right back, Lauren Etame Mayer (usually just "Lauren") of Cameroon; left back, Ashley Cole of England; centerbacks, Sol Campbell of England and Kolo Touré of the Ivory Coast; midfielders, Freddie Ljungberg of Sweden, Captain Patrick Vieira of France, Gilberto Silva (usually just "Gilberto") of Brazil, and Robert Pires of France; and forwards, Dennis Bergkamp of the Netherlands and Thierry Henry of France.

The season began with the FA Community Shield, formerly named the Charity Shield, the annual season opener, not counting in League standings, between the previous year's League and Cup winners. (If a team won both, "The Double," then the 2nd-place team is invited.) The game was scoreless, and United won on penalties. There seemed little foreshadowing in it, and, compared to what came, it was soon forgotten.

The 1st 4 games of the 2003-04 Premier League season weren't very notable: Arsenal beat Everton at home, Middlesbrough away, Aston Villa at home, and Manchester City away. After the previous season, their greatest goalkeeper ever, David Seaman, saw his contract run out. He signed with Man City, as Arsenal signed Lehmann. As the game against Man City proved, he had aged a lot overnight, and by the time the teams played again later in the season, he had retired.

Then came 2 threats to the Gunners' ambitions. The 2nd was expected. The 1st was not. Portsmouth, of Hampshire on England's South Coast, came in to Highbury on September 13. The English media treated their manager, Harry Redknapp, once a pedestrian player for West Ham United, as a jolly good bloke. In truth, he was one of the dirtiest managers in League history.

Teddy Sheringham, who drove Arsenal crazy with local rival Tottenham Hotspur, and then with competitive rival Manchester United, scored for Portsmouth in the 26th minute. In the 39th, Pires was tripped in the box by Steve Stone. To this day, Arsenal-haters insist that this was a "dive" by Pires. They are idiots. Henry converted the penalty, and Arsenal had a draw.

Then they went to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. The game was scoreless after 90 minutes, when United's Diego Forlán made a pathetic, obvious dive. Since it was Old Trafford, and since the opponent was Arsenal, the penalty was awarded.

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, also a notorious diver, took it, but it clanged off the crossbar, and the game ended 0-0. Veteran English centerback Martin Keown, who had seen so much United chicanery, got in van Nistelrooy's horselike face, and the teams had to be separated. It is one of a few games that is known as the Battle of Old Trafford.

"Count Keown" vs. "Ruud Van Horseface"

Surviving such a close call seemed to spark Arsenal. They beat Newcastle United at home, beat Liverpool away on a stunning goal by Pires, beat Chelsea at home, survived a close call to draw with Charlton Athletic in South London, and crushed Leeds United away.

Then came the 1st North London Derby of the season. It had been 10 years since Tottenham Hotspur, or "Spurs," had beaten Arsenal at Highbury. They took a 1-0 lead, but Pires equalized, and in the 79th, a Ljungberg shot was deflected high into the air, but came down in the net. This is my favorite Bergkamp moment, and he didn't even touch the ball: The deflection just begins to come down, and he raises his fists, as he realizes before anybody else in the stadium that it's going in.

This was followed by a win away to Birmingham City, draws at home to Fulham and away to Leicester City, a win over Blackburn Rovers, a draw away to Bolton Wanderers, a 3-0 home demolition of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day, and they closed the calendar year winning away to Southampton. They were now halfway through the League schedule: Played 19, won 13, drawn 6, lost none.

The new year began with Everton holding them to a draw in Liverpool, but this was followed by 9 straight wins: Home to Middlesbrough, away to Aston Villa, home to Manchester City, away to Wolverhampton, home to Southampton, over Chelsea in West London, home to Charlton, away to Blackburn, and home to Bolton. That was 29 straight unbeaten to start the League season, through March 20. This tied the record set by Leeds United in 1973-74. They ended up losing 4 games.

Writing in The Times on February 9, Rick Broadbent wrote, "Some people refuse to appreciate new Arsenal. They still believe this is the side that Nick Hornby said stood for boring and lucky and dirty and petulant and rich and mean. The truth is, it is a privilege to watch new Arsenal. They are Prozac for those used to the prosaic."

Arsenal weren't totally unbeatable. They rarely take the League Cup seriously, and were knocked out of it by Middlesbrough in the Semifinal on February 3. In the Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League, they lost 2 and drew 1, before winning 3 straight to top their group, including a 5-1 defeat of Internazionale Milano, making them the 1st English team ever to beat "Inter" at the San Siro. (In a 2008 CL match, they became the 1st English team to beat AC Milan there.)

They got past the CL's Round of 16, eliminating Celta Vigo, including their 1st win ever in Spain. But the Quarterfinals began on March 24, and this began the most difficult part of the season. It was an All-London matchup, against Chelsea. Arsenal managed a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, which seemed to be a good sign. Then, on March 28, came the home game against Man United, and Henry gave them a 1-0 lead, but Louis Saha scored in the 86th to earn United a draw. That was 30 straight to start, a new record, and, despite back-to-back draws, there seemed little reason to worry.

But the next game, on April 3, was also against United, in the FA Cup Semifinal, on neutral ground at Villa Park in Birmingham. Arsenal had been cruising through the Cup to this point. They won 4-1 away to Leeds United in the 3rd Round, won 4-1 home to Middlesbrough in the 4th round, and beat Chelsea 2-1 at home in the 5th Round. Unlike the 2 League games against Portsmouth, the Quarterfinal away to them was easy, a 5-1 win.

But in the Semifinal, Paul Scholes scored in the 32nd minute, and that was it: Arsenal, still thinking about a "European Treble" of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, were out of the Cup.

On April 6, the home leg of the CL Quarterfinal was played. Chelsea had recently been bought by Russian energy baron Roman Abramovich. Whether he was spending his wealth on bribing officials to look the other way on his players' misdeeds is still, for all the evidence, speculation. Whether he was spending it on bringing in great players from around the world was obvious. But it was the rather pedestrian left back Wayne Bridge who scored in the 87th minute to help Chelsea advance.

Given that Chelsea then lost in the Semifinal to AS Monaco, who then lost in the Final to Portuguese team FC Porto, managed by Jose Mourinho, the 2003-04 Champions League is considered by many to be the great missed opportunity in Arsenal history. The next season, Chelsea hired Mourinho away, and what was essentially a 2-team League became a 3-team League.

Four straight big games that Arsenal had failed to win. Knocked out of 2 competitions in 3 days. Only the League, and the chance at an unbeaten season, remained. But in the next game, Arsenal trailed Liverpool 2-1 at the half, at home. It looked like it was all falling apart. But Pires equalized, and then Henry completed a hat trick with 2 candidates for the goal of the season, and Arsenal had won, 4-2. This was followed with a draw away to Newcastle United, and a 5-0 home walloping of soon-to-be relegated Leeds United, with Henry scoring 4 goals, for 33 down, 5 to go.

Thierry Henry, 2002

On Sunday, April 25, 2004, Arsenal were scheduled to play Spurs, 4.7 miles up the road at White Hart Lane. Newcastle had beaten Chelsea in the day's early game, meaning that Arsenal could clinch the League title with only a draw. They jumped at the chance, with superb goals by Vieira in only the 3rd minute of the game, and Pires, who always seemed to score against Spurs, in the 35th.

But in the 58th, Jamie Redknapp, son of Harry, hit a screamer of his own. In stoppage time, referee Mark Halsey ruled that Lehmann had pushed Robbie Keane during a corner kick, and awarded a penalty. Keane took it, and it was 2-2.

Before the game, Wenger had told his players that, if they get the point they need, they should not celebrate on the pitch, but rather wait until they were in the dressing room. But, as Henry later said, after the equalizer, the Spurs fans "celebrated like they won the World Cup Final." (As a part of the France team that did just that in 1998, he would know, as would Vieira and Pires, and 2002 Brazil winner Gilberto.)

Play resumed, and when Halsey almost immediately blew his whistle, the Gunners basically said, "To hell with it, we're the Champions," and partied along with the Arsenal fans who'd made the trip up the Seven Sisters Road to celebrate. The song, dating back to the 1971 title clincher in the old Football League Division One, went up:

We won the League (We won the League)
at White Hart Lane! (at White Hart Lane!)
We won the League at White Hart Lane!
We won the League at the Shithole!
We won the League at White Hart Lane!

The title was especially sweet for Sol Campbell. He had been Tottenham's Captain, but his contract ran out in 2001, and they made no effort to re-sign him. So he went to Arsenal. He had now won a Double in 2002, another FA Cup in 2003, and had won the League at White Hart Lane -- playing against Tottenham.

Sol Campbell, 2002

The title was won. The unbeaten season was still to play for. Fans of teams who have achieved much, but not an unbeaten season, accuse Arsenal of having "played for draws" the rest of the way. Which is stupid. They were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Birmingham City on May 1, and a 1-1 draw away to Portsmouth on May 4. But they beat Fulham 1-0 at Loftus Road for the 37th straight. (Fulham were renovating their usual home, Craven Cottage, and playing home games at the home of their West London neighbors and arch-rivals, Queens Park Rangers.)

May 15. One to go. Home to Leicester City, already relegated. It shouldn't have been too hard. But Paul Dickov, who had started his career with Arsenal, scored in the 26th minute. As Sky Sports announcer Alan Parry said, "That wasn't in the script now, was it?"

But they had come too far to blow it in the last game, at home, against a relegated opponent. A Bergkamp pass came to Cole in the box, but Cole was practically given an American-style football tackle by Frank Sinclair. Referee Paul Durkin correctly awarded the penalty. (It was the last game for the retiring Durkin, who had also officiated in major Arsenal wins in the 1998 FA Cup Final and the title-clincher against Manchester United in 2002.) Henry took it, becoming the 1st Arsenal player to score 30 goals in a League season since Ronnie Rooke in the title season of 1948. In the 66th minute, Captain Vieira, appropriately, closed it out: Arsenal 2-1 Leicester.

Patrick Vieira, 2004

At the final whistle, Parry said, "Make a note of the date: May the 15th, 2004. History has been made. One of the greatest achievements since English football began: Arsenal have gone through an entire League campaign without losing. The first time it's happened for over 100 years. Played 38, won 26, drawn 12, lost exactly none!"

The streak was actually 40 straight, counting the last 2 games of the season before. They broke the old record of 42, set by Nottingham Forest in 1977-78. They ran their streak of unbeaten matches in the League to an all-time record 49, before a Wayne Rooney dive would give Man United a dubious penalty and a dubious win at Old Trafford the following October 24.

Arsenal have not won the Premier League since. They've won the FA Cup in 2005, 2014, 2015 and 2017. They've reached the Final of the League Cup in 2007 and 2018, and of the UEFA Champions League in 2006. They've seriously challenged for the League title -- contrary to what a bunch of fools will tell you -- in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2016. (UPDATE: And 2023, and 2024.) But they haven't won it.

Manchester United have won the "European Treble": The Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League, in 1999. Manchester City have won the "Domestic Treble": The Premier League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup, in 2019. But nobody else has been "The Invincibles." Only The Arsenal have done it.

One more note about United: Having knocked Arsenal out in the Semifinal, they won the FA Cup a week later, defeating South London team Millwall, 3-0 at the Millennium Stadium (now the Principality Stadium) in Cardiff, the Final's temporary home while the new Wembley Stadium was being built in West London.

United Captain Roy Keane accepted the Cup, not from a representative of the royal family as is usually the case, but from the manager of the England national team at the time, Sven-Göran Eriksson. So the championship of England was played in Wales, won by a manager from Scotland, with the trophy accepted by a Captain from Ireland, from a presenter from Sweden.

*

May 15, 2004 was a Sunday. Football was out of season. There were 2 games played in the NBA Playoffs. The Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat, 94-83 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 88-76 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 4 was played in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. But the Lightning would win the series in 7 games, and beat the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup Finals.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 13-7 at Yankee Stadium. Donovan Osborne started for the Yankees, and didn't have much. The Yankees got 2 home runs from Alex Rodriguez, and 1 each from Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams. Derek Jeter went 1-for-7.

Here's what Yankee pitcher Gabe White allowed in the top of the 13th inning: Double, intentional walk, sacrifice bunt, a 2nd intentional walk, a 2-RBI double, a 3rd intentional walk, hit a batter to force a run home, and a 3-RBI double, before finally getting 2 more outs.

* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Astros, 7-4 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. Once-and-future Yankee Andy Pettitte started and won for the Astros.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-4 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Bronson Arroyo allowed 3 hits over 8 innings, and Keith Foulke completed the 4-hit shutout.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9-7 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-1 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-6 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 4-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Chris Carpenter allowed 4 hits over 7 1/3rd innings, and and 2 Cardinal relievers completed the 5-hit shutout.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies, 16-5 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-0 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix. Claudio Vargas allowed 6 hits over the 1st 7 innings, and Luis Ayala finished the 7-hit shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 7-5 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Todd Van Poppel allowed 5 hits over 6 innings, and 3 Reds relievers completed the 6-hit shutout.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-4 at SBC Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Barry Bonds did not play in this game against his former team.