October 5, 2016: The NHL's Youngest Captain

October 5, 2016: Connor McDavid, about to start his 2nd season in the NHL, is named Captain by the Edmonton Oilers. He is 19 years, 8 months and 23 days old. This makes him the youngest Captain in NHL history.

Steve Yzerman had been named Captain of the Detroit Red Wings in 1985, at 21. There wasn't much leadership available: The Detroit franchise had been bad for years, known as the Dead Things. He led them back to respectability in the early 1990s, winning 3 Stanley Cups, and putting in place a team that, after his retirement, won a 4th.

Sidney Crosby had been named Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the start of the 2007-08 season, at just past 20. That seemed to be a pandering, as he was already being heavily promoted as the next great NHL star. But he got the Penguins to the Finals, losing to the Wings in their 4th Cup in their run. In 2009, Crosby got them over the hump, beating the Wings, and then won the Cup again in 2016 and 2017.

It remains to be seen whether McDavid can do something similar with the Oilers. Through the 2021-22 season, he has been one of the top players in the game, and has led them to the Playoffs in 4 out of his 6 seasons "wearing the C." In 2022, they got to the Western Conference Finals. He's 25. He has time.

*

October 5, 2016 was a Wednesday. There was only one score on this historic day: The National League Wild Card Game was played. The New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants were tied 0-0 after 8 innings at Citi Field, a scorching pitching duel between Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner.

But Met manager Terry Collins brought Jeurys Familia in to pitch the top of the 9th, and he blew it, allowing a leadoff double to Brandon Crawford, striking out Angel Paga, walking Joe Panik, and giving up a home run to Conor Gillaspie. Giant manager Bruce Bochy trusted "MadBum" to finish the shutout, which he did with ease. Giants 3, Mets 0.

June 15, 1995: Pat Riley Quits the Knicks -- With a Fax

June 15, 1995: Pat Riley quits as head coach and general manager of the New York Knicks. He tells the Madison Square Garden Corporation by sending them a fax.

Quitting by fax? You just don't do that. That's like breaking up with your girlfriend by text message.

And you thought he was so suave, and so cool. Actually, he ruined that reputation by changing his M.O.: With the Los Angeles Lakers, he was the director of "Showtime!" Following the title they won in 1980 under head coach Paul Westhead, Riley led them to titles in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988, losing in the Finals in 1983, '84 and '89. The greatest team the NBA has ever seen -- yes, better than the Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan that the Knicks simply couldn't get past (except in 1994, when Jordan was, um, away).

But with the Knicks, Riley brought scoring all across the NBA down, down, down. He was the basketball equivalent of George Graham's "Boring, Boring Arsenal," the difference being that Graham's Arsenal, unlike Riley's Knicks, won a League title. (Two, in fact.) In 4 seasons at The Garden, Riley won 3 Atlantic Division titles, but only got to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, and to the NBA Finals once, losing to the Houston Rockets in Game 7 in 1994. As Knick boss, Riley failed.

But he stuck with the Heat longer than the Lakers or the Knicks, winning a title as head coach in 2006; then, as team President, guiding them to 5 trips to the Finals and 2 more titles: Winning in 2012 and 2013; losing in 2011, 2014 and 2020. (UPDATE: They reached the Finals but lost again in 2023.)

In Los Angeles and Miami, "Riles" is loved. In New York, he is still despised, the basketball equivalent of Bill Belichick stiffing the Jets for the New England Patriots after 1 day -- except Pat did it first, paving the way.

*

June 15, 1995 was a Thursday. The NBA season ended the night before, when the Rockets completed a 4-game sweep of the Orlando Magic. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals, and the New Jersey Devils went on to sweep the Detroit Red Wings in 4 straight. Football was out of season.

And these 9 games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 9-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Sean Bergman was the winning pitcher, while Brian Boehringer only lasted 4 innings as the Yanks' starting pitcher. Danny Tartabull went 3-for-4 with an RBI, but the rest of the team only got 4 hits.

* The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 5-4 at Shea Stadium. The Mets scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to send the game to extra innings, and Joe Orsulak singled Todd Hundley home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th innign. This made Blas Minor a winning pitcher in relief of Pete Harnisch.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Montreal Expos, 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Greg Maddux pitched a 7-hit shutout, outpitching Pedro Martínez. Mike Kelly hit a home run, and Marquis Grissom went 4-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Tony Longmire hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th to win it.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-7 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Barry Bonds appeared as a pinch-hitter, and struck out.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Ray Lankford hit a home run. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* And the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Mark Gubicza allowed 1 hit, a single to Mark McGwire in the 4th. He also hit McGwire with a pitch in the 2nd, had Rickey Henderson reach on an error in the 3rd, and walked Rubén Sierra in the 6th. In contrast, A's starter Ron Darling allowed all 7 runs, and didn't get out of the 3rd inning.

June 13, 1995: Alanis Morissette Releases "Jagged Little Pill"

June 13, 1995: Alanis Morissette releases her album Jagged Little Pill. It makes her the most influential musical performer of the 1990s.

Stop laughing. She was the one. Not Kurt Cobain, or his band Nirvana as a whole.

I might have said 4 Non Blondes, Linda Perry's then-band, but if you can think of a song of theirs other than "What's Up?" (a.k.a. "What's Going On"), then you know more about them than I do.

By the time Alanis came out with Jagged Little Pill, not only was Cobain dead, but Nirvana's grunge aesthetic was buried as well. Dave Grohl went on to form Foo Fighters, who sound very different. Pearl Jam moved away from that style as well.

Without Alanis, there's no Pink, no Kesha, no Ariana Grande, no Halsey. Christina Aguilera doesn't do Stripped. Taylor Swift probably remains a country singer.

Her lyrics and attitude influenced black women, too: Without Alanis, we might still have had Beyoncé, Ashanti, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, but they would have sounded very different. I'll bet you any money you like: If Alanis had gone into another line of work, Beyoncé would never have sung "If I Were a Boy."

Did Alanis influence guys, too? Yes: Without Alanis, we might have had a very different Eminem.

The native of Ottawa caught flak for apparently not understanding the meaning of the word "Ironic," the title of one of the songs on the album. But "You Oughta Know" was a scathing indictment of an ex-boyfriend, rumored to be Full House star Dave Coulier. And while it was never actually released as a single in the U.S., "Hand in My Pocket" became an inescapable song in the Autumn of 1995.

So what it all came down to was that, having just turned 21, she really did have a lot figured out. To put this in perspective: Elvis Presley was 21 when he hit it big nationally, but never wrote a song; Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson were both 21 when their bands first hit it big; Bob Dylan was 22 when his 2nd album made him a legend; Michael Jackson was 21 when he released Off the Wall, but 24 when he released Thriller; Joni Mitchell, the previous standard for a Canadian woman writing her own songs, was 24 when she released "Both Sides Now"; and Cobain was 24 when Nirvana released Nevermind.

Alanis has never hit such heights again, but she remains a solid songwriter.

*

June 13, 1995 was a Tuesday. The New Jersey Devils beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands, to win Game 6 and clinch their 1st NHL Eastern Conference Championship, and their 1st berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. They would sweep the Detroit Red Wings in 4 games.

The NBA Finals were between Games 3 and 4. The Houston Rockets were about to sweep the Orlado Magic, and make it back-to-back Championships.

Football was out of season. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Mike Stanley hit a home run in support of Jack McDowell. Don Mattingly went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.

* The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 7-3 at Shea Stadium.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-7 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 11-0 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Two former Orioles victimized them: Dennis Martínez pitched an 8-hit shutout, and Eddie Murray went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Albert Belle and Jim Thome hit home runs. Cal Ripken went 1-for-2 with a walk, and, unusually, was pinch-hit for in the 8th: Manny Alexander grounded to 2nd, and took over at shortstop.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Barry Bonds went 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 14-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-6 at the Oakland Coliseum. Frank Thomas hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* And the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. was injured, and did not play.

June 10, 2000: Jason Arnott Ends the Movie

June 10, 2000: The New Jersey Devils take the Stanley Cup Playoffs' idea of "It's a marathon, not a sprint" too far, but they finally break the tape. If you don't mind me mixing my sports metaphors.

As in their Stanley Cup win in 1995, they did not finish 1st in the Atlantic Division, the Philadelphia Flyers did. As a result, late in the regular season, general manager Lou Lamoriello fired head coach Robbie Ftorek, and replaced him with Larry Robinson, an assistant to Jacques Lemaire for the 1995 win, and previously a Hall of Fame defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens.

Robinson settled things down. The Devils swept the Florida Panthers in the 1st round of the Playoffs, beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in 6 games, and then came from 3 games to 1 down to beat the Flyers for the Eastern Conference title. Their opponents in the Stanley Cup Finals would be the defending Champions, the Dallas Stars.

May 30, 2000: Game 1 was played at the Continental Airlines Arena (formerly the Brendan Byrne Arena), at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey. It was the only game of the series that turned out not to be close. Goaltender Ed Belfour was a big reason why the Stars won the previous year's Cup, as he was for the Chicago Blackhawks' run to the Finals in 1992. This time, he was an absolute sieve.

The game was a relatively innocent 1-1 after the 1st period. Then, Eddie the Eagle, with eagles painted on his mask, began leaking. He let in 2 goals by Petr Sýkora (not a big surprise), but also a goal each by defensemen Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko (in each case, a big surprise). Sergei Brylin added one, despite practically getting mugged by his fellow Russian Sergei Zubov. Just 3 minutes into the 3rd period, it was 6-1 New Jersey.

Variation on an old joke: What time was it? Six past Belfour. Stars coach Ken Hitchcock finally showed mercy and pulled Belfour, who blamed his bad performance on a cold and too much cough medicine.

Jason Arnott had scored the 1st goal of the game, and he scored the Devils’ last, past Manny Fernandez. The Stars did get a consolation goal, ironically from Kirk Muller, a former Devils Captain. (Yes, we called him "Captain Kirk.") Devils 7, Stars 1. The entire rest of the series, the Devils only scored 8 goals.

June 1, 2000: The Devils lost Game 2, 2-1 at the Meadowlands, and the series went to Dallas tied.

June 3, 2000: Game 3 was held at the Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas. Again, Belfour and Devils goalie Martin Brodeur – who went on to win 1,276 games between them, including Playoffs – have an epic goalies' duel. But Sýkora made the difference for the Devils, and they won, 2-1, and took a lead of the same value in the series.

The Stars would remember this, and would exact a price from Sýkora.

June 5, 2000: John Madden scored a goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Yes, you read that right: This John Madden, no relation to the football coach turned announcer turned video game impresario, scored for the Devils in their 3-1 defeat of the Stars. The Devils also led the series, 3-1, and could have wrapped it up in Game 5 at the Meadowlands.

June 8, 2000: Game 5 ended scoreless, and it went to overtime. And then to a 2nd overtime. And then to a 3rd overtime. This game went on, and on, and on, with Brodeur stopping 40 shots, and Belfour stopping 48.

Finally, 6 minutes and 21 seconds into the 3rd overtime, Mike Modano of Dallas ended it. It was a "blink and you'll miss it" moment. The Meadowlands hadn't been that quiet since... the last time the NBA's New Jersey Nets played there, in April.

Those of us watching Game 5 hoped that Game 6 would end in regulation. It didn’t.

June 10, 2000: Game 6, at the Reunion Arena. The Stars need to beat the Devils to force a Game 7 of the Meadowlands. But after the triple-overtime loss in Game 5, the Devils wanted to end the thing on this night.

Reunion Arena

Stars Captain Derian Hatcher elbowed Sýkora in the face. The game was held up as Sýkora was tended to, carried off the ice, and taken to a hospital. No penalty was called for this massively dirty play. Nor was Hatcher ever suspended, or even fined.

Goals were scored by New Jersey's Scott Niedermayer and Dallas' Mike Keane. The game ended tied. More overtime. The 1st overtime ended scoreless. ABC's cameras kept focusing on Melanie Brodeur, Marty's wife. She was wearing a black cowboy hat and a tight black T-shirt. In a terrible lapse of judgement, he would later leave her -- for Melanie's sister-in-law, an unfortunate scandal.

At that point, I was burnt out. I pleaded with the TV, saying, "Please, no more hockey. Somebody win this!"

At 12:30 AM Eastern Time on June 11, at 8 minutes and 20 seconds of the 2nd overtime, Jason Arnott listened to me: He took a hellacious backhanded pass from Patrik Eliáš, and shoveled the puck past Belfour to win it.

Gary Thorne had the call on ABC. The Devils had their 2nd Stanley Cup. Bill Clement, a member of the Philadelphia Flyers' 1974 and '75 Stanley Cup winners, was Thorne's color man, and, seeing the camera go on an overjoyed Melanie, he said, "Finally, the ending of the movie that Melanie Brodeur has been watching!"

The Dallas fans, showing greater respect for the sport and a great effort than I would have expected from people who root for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, shook off the shock enough to chant for Belfour: "Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!"

Devils Captain Stevens was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs, and, as in 1995, was handed the Stanley Cup by Commissioner Gary Bettman.

It was fitting that the winning goal was scored by Arnott: A native of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, his age then 25, matching his uniform number, he usually centered a line with Czechs Patrik Eliáš on one side and Sýkora on the other. During the celebration, Robinson, who had his Number 19 retired by the Canadiens, wore Sýkora's Number 17 jersey, backwards so it the name could be seen from the front.

Left to right: Petr Sýkora, Jason Arnott, Patrik Eliáš

(Eliáš wore 26, and it would go on to be retired by the Devils, as would the 4 of Stevens, the 30 of Brodeur, the 3 of Daneyko, and the 27 of Niedermayer.)

The Devils got back to the Finals in 2001, but lost to the Colorado Avalanche; in 2003, beating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for their 3rd Cup. Ironically, in between, they traded Arnott to the Stars, but that trade gained them Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner, from the Stars' 1999 Cup win. Nieuwendyk also played on the Calgary Flames' 1989 Cup win, and both contributed to the Devils' 2003 Cup win. With a very different roster, and a new home arena, the Prudential Center in Newark, they made the Finals again in 2012, losing to the Los Angeles Kings.

The Stars would also open a new arena, the American Airlines Center. They made the Finals again in 2020, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Arnott returned to the Devils in the 2010-11 season, and retired a year later with 417 career goals. He became a scout.

*

June 10, 2000 was a Saturday. The NBA Finals were between Games 2 and 3. The Los Angeles Lakers went on to beat the Indiana Pacers in 6 games. Football was out of season. And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the New York Mets, 13-5 at Yankee Stadium. Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher. Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada hit home runs off Pat Mahomes, whose son Patrick became a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Paul O'Neill hit a home run off Bobby Jones.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-0 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. How many Braves does it take to pitch a 5-hit shutout? This time, 5: Terry Mulholland, 3 over 5 innings; Kerry Ligtenberg, 1 over 2; Rudy Caballero Seánez, 1 over 1; Don Wengert, a perfect 8th; and Mike Remlinger, a perfect 9th.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-4 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken hit a home run off Curt Schilling.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Neither of the Florida teams uses their 2000 names anymore.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-2 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs, including his 416th career home run.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-1 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Mark McGwire went 2-for-4, but did not hit a home run.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Sammy Sosa did not hit a home run, but Mark Grace did.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Mike Sweeney singled Johnny Damon home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Texas Rangers, 12-6 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-3 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 13-3 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Tony Gwynn did not play.

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

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-2 at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. For the M's, Rickey Henderson went 2-for-5 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base and 2 RBIs. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-2 with 2 walks, a stolen base and an RBI. For the Jints, Barry Bonds went 3-for-4.

June 6, 2007: The Niedermayer Brothers Win Anaheim the Cup

Rob (left) and Scott Niederymayer

June 6, 2007: The Anaheim Ducks win the Stanley Cup, in their 14th season of play. The Los Angeles Kings had been playing for 40 years, and hadn't won one.

The NHL granted Anaheim an expansion franchise for the 1993-94 season, giving the Los Angeles metropolitan area 2 teams in each of the "Big Four" sports, although the 1995-2015 NFL interregnum messed that up. Given how few people really supported the Los Angeles Kings, a 2nd L.A.-area team was probably a bad idea. Naming them after the Disney film The Mighty Ducks was definitely a bad idea. Officially naming them "The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim" was an even worse one.

But Disney promoted them well enough that they drew well. It took them 4 seasons to reach the Playoffs, and to win a Playoff series. In 2003, they won the Western Conference title, but lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the New Jersey Devils in 7 games.

For the 2005-06 season, they acquired Scott Niedermayer, an All-Star defenseman who had won 3 Cups with the Devils, and named him Captain. He joined his younger brother, center Rob Niedermayer, who had been on the other side of the 2003 Finals, and was a rookie on the Florida Panthers when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996. They already had right wing Teemu Selänne, "The Finnish Flash"; and goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the 2003 Playoffs, despite losing the Finals. In 2006, they reached the Conference Finals again, losing to the Edmonton Oilers.

For the 2006-07 season, they were rebranded as simply "The Anaheim Ducks." Their arena, the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, was renamed the Honda Center. They dropped the stupid duckbill goalie mask logo. They changed team colors. And they signed All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger. Under head coach Randy Carlyle, a former defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Winnipeg Jets, they beat the Minnesota Wild, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Detroit Red Wings to reach the Finals.

Honda Center

Their opponents would be the Ottawa Senators. Although the original Senators had won 9 Stanley Cups between 1903 and 1927, they went out of business in 1934, and the new team, starting in 1992, was the losing Eastern Conference Finalist in 2003. This would be their 1st Stanley Cup Finals. Ironically, given that their home was the capital of Canada, the Ducks had more Canadians on their roster; and the Senators' Captain, Daniel Alfredsson, was from Sweden, making him the 1st non-North American to captain a Finals team.

While some other Canadian teams' Finals defeats seem suspicious, part of the belief that NHL Commissioner won't let another Canadian team win the Cup, this series was no contest, and not suspicious at all. The Ducks led 2-1 after 2 periods in Game 1 in Anaheim, but Travis Moen scored with 2:51 left in regulation to give the Ducks a 3-2 win. Samuel Pahlsson scored the only goal of Game 2, with 4:44 left in regulation.

Game 3 was held at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa. The Senators won, 5-3. But Dustin Penner scored in the 3rd period to give the Ducks Game 4, 3-2. The Ducks won the clinching Game 5, 6-2 in Anaheim, getting goals from 6 different players: Andy McDonald, Rob Niedermayer, Traivs Moen, Francois Beauchemin, Moen and Corey Perry.

Bettman handed first the Conn Smythe Trophy, then the Cup, to Scott Niedermayer. It was his 4th Cup. Over the course of the Playoffs, Scott had 3 goals, 8 assists, and a plus/minus of +11; while Rob had 5 goals, 5 assists, and a +9 -- but also a Playoff-leading 39 penalty minutes.

The Ducks thus became the 1st West Coast team to win the Stanley Cup since the 1925 Victoria Cougars, and beat the Kings to L.A.'s 1st Cup by, as it turned out, 5 years. It made Los Angeles only the 6th metro area to win World Championships in all of the "Big Four" sports: New York had achieved it with the 1970 Knicks, Philadelphia with the 1974 Flyers, Detroit with the 1989 Pistons, Chicago with the 1991 Bulls, and Boston with the 2002 New England Patriots. (UPDATE: From 2007 through 2025, it has also been achieved by Washington, St. Louis, Dallas and Miami.)

Scott Niedermayer's 27 and Teemu Selanne's 8 have been retired by the Ducks. So has the 9 of Paul Kariya, who was on their 2003 Stanley Cup Finalists, but not the 2007 team. The franchise does not yet have a team Hall of Fame. Scott Niedermayer, Selanne and Pronger were named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players in 2007. So was Adam Oates, who played for the Ducks on their 2003 Finalists.

*

June 6, 2007 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Chien-Ming Wang outpitched the once and future Yankee Javier Vázquez. Bobby Abreu hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Shea Stadium. Former Yankee Orlando "El Duque" Hernández started for the Mets, and pitched 6 shutout innings. But Aaron Heilman blew it in the 7th. Adam Eaton was the winning pitcher. Jimmy Rollins went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, 2 stolen bases, and 3 RBIs.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their nearby rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 10-0 at Ameriquest Field in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Justin Verlander pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Bobby Seay and Todd Jones completed the 5-hit shutout.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros, 8-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants, 1-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Brandon Webb pitched 7 innings of 6-hit shutout ball. Brandon Lyon allowed a hit in the 8th, and José Valverde pitched a hitless 9th, preserving the 7-hit shutout. Barry Bonds drew a walk as a pinch-hitter.

* The San Diego Padres beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-5 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at the McAfee Coliseum (as the Oakland Coliseum was then known). David Ortiz went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* And the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-5 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

Football was out of season. Game 3 of the NBA Finals was played at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Utah Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls, 104-93. Karl Malone scored 37 points. But the Bulls would win the title in 6 games.

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 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.