January 28, 1996: The Cowboys' Last Dance -- So Far

Emmitt Smith

January 28, 1996: Super Bowl XXX is held at Sun Devil Stadium, on the campus of Arizona State University, in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. For the 3rd time, the Super Bowl is between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Those of us who were a part of the audience for Super Bowl X in 1976 (I was a little too young) and Super Bowl XIII in 1979 (I did watch that one) were hoping for the same result: A Steeler win. For some of us, it was out of admiration for the Steelers as an organization. But for far more of us, it was out of disgust over the Cowboys, both what they were in the 1970s and what they were now in the 1990s.

But, back then, the Cowboys had Roger Staubach as quarterback, while the Steelers had Terry Bradshaw. This time, the Cowboys had Troy Aikman, while the Steelers had Neil O'Donnell. Bradshaw was called "dumb," but proved he was a smart quarterback. O'Donnell played one of the dumbest games in Super Bowl history.

The Cowboys jumped out to a 13-0 lead late in the 1st half, on a touchdown pass from Aikman to Jay Novacek, bracketed by field goals by Chris Boniol. Just before the half, O'Donnell threw a touchdown pass to Yancey Thigpen, to put the Steelers on the board, making it 13-7. In the 3rd quarter, Emmitt Smith ran a touchdown in, to make it 20-7 Dallas.

The Steelers tried to come back in the 4th quarter. Norm Johnson kicked a 46-yard field goal. With 6:36 left, Byron "Bam" Morris ran a touchdown in, making it 20-17. They regained possession of the ball at their own 32-yard line with 4:15 remaining, giving them plenty of time. But, for the 2nd time in the game, O'Donnell was intercepted by Larry Brown -- ironically, sharing a name with an offensive lineman in the Steelers' 1970s dynasty, and an earlier running back for the Cowboys' arch-rivals, the Washington Redskins. Brown returned it 33 yards to the Steelers' 6-yard line. Two plays later, Smith ran it in from the Steeler 4, and the final score was Cowboys 27, Steelers 17.

Now, the Cowboys had the same number of Super Bowl wins as the Steelers: A record-tying 5. Their old tagline of "America's Team" seemed absolute. The "Triplets" -- Aikman, Smith and receiver Michael Irvin -- ruled the NFL.

And, having taken over from Jimmy Johnson, who had been a rival at Oklahoma State and the University of Miami, while he was at Oklahoma, Barry Switzer joined him as the only coaches ever to win both a college football National Championship and a Super Bowl. (Paul Brown had won both a National Championship and a pre-Super Bowl NFL title. Pete Carroll has since joined them.)

But Super Bowl XXX was their last dance. From this day forward, the Dallas Cowboys have never won another Super Bowl. The Steelers have. The Cowboys haven't even been to a Super Bowl. The Steelers have -- including one in the Cowboys' new stadium. The Cowboys have not been to so much as an NFC Championship Game.

In 2020, Jason Sudeikis began starring as the title character in Ted Lasso, about an American football coach hired to coach a team in English soccer's Premier League. He said he needed to learn the League, and chose to match what he didn't know to things he did know:

Brendan Hunt as assistant coach Willis Beard: Manchester United. Super-rich. Everybody either loves them or hates them.

Lasso: The Dallas Cowboys.

Beard: Liverpool. Used to be great, but haven't won in a long time.

Lasso: Also, the Dallas Cowboys.

UPDATE: Liverpool have since won the League again, twice. Through the 2025 season, the Cowboys have not been to an NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season.

The Cowboys have a team hall of fame, calling it the Ring of Honor. From their Super Bowl XXVII, XXVIII and XXX winners, they have honored quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith, receiver Michael Irvin, guard Larry Allen, defensive end Charles Haley, safety Darren Woodson, and head coach Jimmy Johnson.

The Steelers also have a team hall of fame, calling it the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor. From their 1995 AFC Champions, they have inducted team owner Dan Rooney, executive Art Rooney Jr. (Dan's brother), head coach Bill Cowher, assistant coaches Dick Hoak and Dick LeBeau, scout Bill Nunn, broadcasters Myron Cope and Tunch Ilkin; center Dermontti Dawson; linebackers Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene and Jason Gildon; cornerback Rod Woodson, and safety Carnell Lake-- but not quarterback Neil O'Donnell.

*

January 28, 1996 was, like all Super Bowl days, a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. The NBA didn't want to compete with the Super Bowl for fan attention, so they scheduled only one game, but it had Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley: The Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns, 93-82 at the United Center in Chicago. Jordan scored 31 points; Barkley, 20.

There were 2 games in the NHL. In an "Original Six" matchup, the Monteral Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 5-4 in one of the last games played at the Montreal Forum, before the Canadiens moved to the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre). And the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2 at the USAir Arena (formerly the Capital Centre) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. Steve Konowalchuk scored the winning goal with 40 seconds left in overtime.

January 4, 1999: The 1st Bowl Championship Series Game

Number 17 is Tee Martin.

January 4, 1999: The Fiesta Bowl is played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University, in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. It was the 1st game played under the Bowl Championship Series system, with the intention of selecting a definitive National Champion, something college football had never had before.

The Fiesta Bowl had hosted de facto National Championship games before, because it didn't have an automatic league tie-in: The Rose Bowl in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California had the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Champions play each other; the Big Eight, and now Big Twelve, Champions were locked into the Orange Bowl in Miami; the Southeastern Conference Champions were locked into the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans; and the Champions of the now-defunct Southwest Conference were locked into the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas.

But, effective with the 1998 season, the BCS was determined to make it official. As a result, the NCAA allowed Conference Champions to opt out of their usual bowls, and play in the BCS National Championship Game, if they finished the last pre-bowl national poll ranked Number 1 or Number 2.

The Number 1 team in the last 1998 poll was the University of Tennessee, coached by Phillip Fullmer. For 4 years, the Volunteers had been an elite team, led by quarterback Peyton Manning, but they couldn't get past the University of Florida in the SEC. Now, their quarterback was the less-heralded Tamaurice "Tee" Martin, but they had a better all-around team, going 12-0, beating teams then ranked Number 2 (Florida), 7 (Georgia, away), 10 (Arkansas), 17 (Syracuse, away), and 23 (Mississippi State, in the SEC Championship Game).

The Number 2 team was Florida State University, coached by Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles opened the season by beating Number 14 Texas A&M at the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands, but then stumbled with a 24-7 loss away to North Carolina State.

They followed it by dropping 62 points on Duke, and beating Number 18 USC. They beat Clemson 48-0, then went to Atlanta and beat Number 20 Georgia Tech. They beat Number 12 Virginia, and won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. And they had to get past Number 4 Florida, beating them, 23-12 -- and they didn't need overtime to beat Florida, as Tennessee did. Perhaps that's why, despite having a loss, the Seminoles were favored by 5 1/2 points.

The 'Noles had been National Champions in 1993. The Vols, despite many good teams over the years, last won a National Championship in 1951.

The 1st quarter ended scoreless. In the 1st minute of the 2nd quarter, Martin threw a short touchdown pass to Shawn Bryson. On the next drive, the Vols' Dwayne Goodrich intercepted Marcus Outzen, and took it in 54 yards for a touchdown. It was 14-0 Tennessee.

Outzen drove the Seminoles to the Volunteer 1-yard line, and William McCray scored. Still fuming over missed field goal attempts earlier in the decade, Bowden had recruited Sebastian Janikowski, a 6-foot-1, 255-pound native of Wałbrzych, Poland, who grew up in Florida, and became the top high school kicker in the nation. But Janikowski missed the extra point on this touchdown. He made up for it on the last play of the 1st half, kicking a 34-yard field goal. It was Tennessee 14, Florida State 9, and still anybody's ballgame.

Goodrich, whose interception had been key, and had been assigned to cover Outzen's favorite receiver, All-American Peter Warrick, did not return for the 2nd half, having sustained an ankle injury. He was replaced by Gerald Griffin, who had hardly played, but limited Warrick to a single catch.

The 3rd quarter saw no scoring. With 9:17 left in the 4th, Martin threw to the superbly named Peerless Price, and he took it 79 yards for a touchdown. But as had Janikowski, Vols kicker Jeff Hall missed the extra point. With 6 minutes left, Hall again followed Janikowski's pattern, and kicked a field goal, from 23 yards out. It was 23-9 Tennessee.

Florida State wasn't done. There was still time for the 2 scores they needed. Outzen got them to within 7 yards, and scored on his own run with 3:42 left, to make it 23-16. Their defense forced a fumble by Travis Henry, and they had a last shot with 2 minutes to go. But Outzen threw a pass that was intercepted by Steve Johnson, and that was the ballgame, and the National Championship: Tennessee had won.

Unlike his predecessor Peyton Manning, Tee Martin did not have a good pro quarterbacking career. He played 1 series, throwing no passes, backing Kordell Stewart up for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2001. He played in 2 games, completing 6 of 16 passes, backing Rich Gannon up on the 2003 Oakland Raiders. He also played for the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe in 2002, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in 2004 and '05. He has since coached at the high school, college and professional level, including a return to Tennessee, but never as a head coach.

The BCS didn't always work as intended. There would always be a team stuck at Number 3, sometimes even Number 4, that thought it deserved to get into the final game. Finally, taking effect with the 2013 season (settled in early January 2014), a College Football Playoff National Championship system was set up.

Except that the new system, as had the BCS, allows teams that didn't win their Conference, sometimes not even their Division -- read: Alabama, or a team that lost the SEC Championship Game to Alabama, or lost the West Division to Alabama -- to be one of the last 4.

There is no perfect system. It may just be that the hated BCS is the best system we have yet had.

UPDATE: In 2023, Sun Devil Stadium was renamed Mountain America Stadium.

*

January 4, 1999 was a Monday. No other college football bowl games were played that day. The NFL was between its regular season and its Playoffs. Baseball was out of season. And the NBA players were still locked out by their team's owners, so the season didn't start until February 5. So the only other games were in the NHL, 7 of them:

* The New York Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Calgary Flames, 5-1 at what's now named the TD Garden.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4 in one of the last games played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Fredrik Modin scored the winning goal, 1:54 into overtime.

* The Ottawa Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes played to a tie, 4-4 at the Greensboro Coliseum, where the 'Canes played from their 1997 move from Hartford until what's now the PNC Arena opened in Raleigh in 1999.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 2-1 at what's now the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-0 at what's now the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* And the Colorado Avalanche beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

And Swiss hockey soccer player Nico Hischier was born on this day.

January 3, 2003: The Great Tempe Robbery -- That Wasn't

January 3, 2003: The Fiesta Bowl is played at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. The University of Miami were going for back-to-back National Championships. But they got shocked by The… Ohio State University.

Miami had not lost since September 9, 2000. They had won the Big East Conference and the Sugar Bowl in the 2000 season. They had won the Big East, the Rose Bowl, and the National Championship in the 2001 season. Now, in 2002, they had again won the Big East, and were ranked Number 1 in the country, carrying a 34-game winning streak into the Fiesta Bowl.

They had beaten Florida, then Number 6, away, by 25 points. They had beaten their other arch-rival, Florida State, then Number 9. They had beaten Number 17 Pittsburgh and Number 18 Virginia Tech. In 9 of their 12 regular-season games, they had scored at least 38 points. One potential warning sign: In 5 games, they had allowed at least 3 touchdowns, including their finale against Virginia Tech, which was a shootout, 56-45.

They were coached by Larry Coker. They had quarterback Frank Dorsey. They had running backs Willis McGahee and Frank Gore. They had tight end Kellen Winslow II, son of a Hall of Fame tight end. They had defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. They had linebacker Jonathan Vilma. They had cornerback Antrel Rolle. They had safety Sean Taylor. What's more, McGahee, Gore, Winslow, Wilfork, Rolle and Taylor were sophomores. And Vilma was a junior. The Hurricanes were expected to be a dominant team for a long time to come. The record for the longest winning streak in college football history, 47 by Oklahoma in the 1950s, was beginning to look like it was in jeopardy.

Ohio State were coached by Jim Tressel, and had won the Big Ten Conference title. They had lost their bowl game the season before, but they had won all 13 regular-season games, including over Number 10 Washington State, Number 17 Penn State, Number 23 Minnesota, and Number 9 Michigan.

Craig Krenzel, a junior, was their starting quarterback. One of his blockers was center Nick Mangold. They had a quartet of interesting freshmen: Quarterback Troy Smith, running back Maurice Clarett, receiver Santonio Holmes and linebacker A.J. Hawk. They were the Number 2 team in the country, behind Miami at Number 1. But the Buckeyes were 11 1/2-point underdogs in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Hurricanes jumped out to an early 7–0 lead. But in the 2nd quarter, Mike Doss intercepted Dorsey, setting up touchdown run by Craig Krenzel; and a Dorsey fumble set up the Buckeyes on the Miami 14. A Clarett touchdown run put Ohio State ahead 14–7 at halftime. They added a field goal in the 3rd quarter, for a 17-7 lead. But McGahee scored a touchdown to end the quarter at 17-14 Buckeyes.

In the 4th quarter, on 3rd down a catch by Ohio State receiver Chris Gamble was ruled incomplete due to his being out of bounds. Replays however seem to show that Gamble had his jersey grabbed on this play, which could have resulted in pass interference call and a consequent Ohio State 1st down; and that Gamble appeared to land inbounds, again a 1st down. Ohio State would have been in a position to run the clock out, and win the game without it going to overtime. Instead they had to punt, leading to Miami's Todd Sievers kicking a field goal to send the game into overtime.

On their first possession in overtime, Winslow caught a 7-yard touchdown pass. A 2nd-down sack of Krenzel helped set the Buckeyes up for 4th & 14, Krenzel threw a 17-yard pass to Michael Jenkins, to keep his team alive.

Miami held Ohio State off long enough to force another 4th down, & 3. Then came one of the most talked-about plays in college football history. Krenzel attempted a pass to Gamble, but the ball bounced off Gamble's hands and was called an incomplete pass by the line judge. The Miami fans and team, believing the game to be over, began to rush the field.

However, Terry Porter, the field judge, had thrown a late flag in the end zone, for pass interference, called on Miami cornerback Glenn Sharpe. As a result, Ohio State received the ball on the 2-yard line with an automatic 1st down. With a fresh set of downs, Krenzel rushed for a 1-yard touchdown on 3rd down. The extra point tied the score at 24, sending the game into a 2nd overtime.

With the possession order switched, Ohio State had the ball first. Clarett ran the ball in for 5 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. When Miami had the ball, the Buckeyes were hit with 2 pass interference penalties, giving the Hurricanes 1st & goal on the 2. But Ohio State held them, so it was 4th & goal on the 1. Dorsey threw an incomplete pass, and Ohio State had won, 31-24. It was their 1st National Championship in 34 years, since Woody Hayes' "Super Sophomores" of 1968.

Miami fans still whine that they got robbed by the officials. They need to put a sock in it: Their team gave away 5 turnovers; they couldn't stop Ohio State on a 4th & 14 in the 1st overtime, a play which would have ended the game and given them the National Championship; and they couldn't convert 1st & goal on the 2. If you can't do those things when it matters most, then you shouldn't argue that you were robbed, because you weren't worthy of the National Championship.

*

January 3, 2003 was a Friday. Environmental activist Greta Thunberg and got-away-with-it-racist-murderer Kyle Rittenhouse were born.

Baseball was out of season. The NFL was between the end of its regular season and the start of its Playoffs. There were 9 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers, 98-96 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Miami Heat, 100-80 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Boston Celtics, 108-103 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-111 at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis. Corey Magette scored 34 points in defeat for the Clips.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Orlando Magic, 100-89 at the New Orleans Arena (now the Smoothie King Center). Tracy McGrady scored 40 points in defeat for the Magic.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors, 81-80 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 118-115 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors, 98-95 at the SBC Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio. Tim Duncan of the Spurs and Antawn Jamison of the Warriors each scored 37 points.

* And the Denver Nuggets beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 94-82 at the KeyArena in Seattle.

And there were 7 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Boston Bruins, 8-4 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-0 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets played to a tie, 2-2 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-3 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at the Joe Louise Arena in Detroit.

* And the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 1-0 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center).

January 2, 1987: Penn State vs. Miami, "The Game of the Century"

January 2, 1987: The Fiesta Bowl is held at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. The University of Miami entered the game ranked Number 1 in the country. Pennsylvania State University, a.k.a. "Penn State," came in ranked Number 2. The winner would win the National Championship.

It was one of those games that, in the pregame hype, was tagged "The Game of the Century." Fortunately, it was one of those that lived up to the billing.

Miami had won the title for the 1983 season, and was going for their 2nd. Penn State thought they had teams worthy of the National Championship in 1968, 1969 and 1973, going undefeated each season. But, each time, it was awarded to another team. In the 1982 season, they were finally awarded the title.

In the 1986 regular season, Miami went 11-0, having beaten both then-Number 1 Oklahoma and then-Number 20 Florida State at home at the Orange Bowl stadium. They also won road games against South Carolina, Florida, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Head coach Jimmy Johnson could call on that year's Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who ended up playing 21 seasons in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets, and passing for over 46,000 yards and 275 touchdowns; receiver Brian Blades, later a Pro Bowler with the Seattle Seahawks; Brian's brother, safety Bennie Blades, later a Pro Bowler with the Detroit Lions; and defensive end Russell Maryland, a 3-time Pro Bowler and 3-time Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys.

Penn State also went 11-0, beating then-Number 2 Alabama away, and also winning away to Boston College, West Virginia and Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions were led by running back D.J. Dozier, who would go on to play in Major League Baseball as well as in the NFL; and linebacker Shane Conlan, who made 3 Pro Bowls and played in 4 Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills.

Sports Illustrated named head coach Joe Paterno their Sportsman of the Year for 1986, citing him for showing it was possible to win big while running a "clean program." Indeed, as with the 1988 Miami-Notre Dame "Catholics vs. Convicts" game, this was seen as a contest between good, Penn State and their "clean program"; and evil, Miami and their urban, hip-hop, "thug" image, trash-talking, and wearing army-style fatigues as they got off the plane. It would be years before the general public learned just how far off the mark that really was.

Even if Miami's image had been accurate, Penn State didn't care. Linebacker Pete Giftopoulos said, "We were a team that couldn't be intimidated, and that's what Miami liked to do to other players. "How are you going to intimidate a bunch of steel-town kids from Pittsburgh, Ohio, Pennsylvania? You just can't do that."

An estimated 21.9 million people watched this game on NBC, and that is believed to be an all-time record for a college football bowl game.

The 1st quarter ended scoreless. In the 2nd quarter, Penn State fumbled, and Miami recovered at the Penn State 23. Four plays later, Melvin Bratton scored a touchdown that put the 'Canes ahead, 7-0. But it would prove to be their only touchdown of the night.

The Lions came right back, going 74 yards in 13 plays, with John Shaffer scoring from 4 yards out with 1:14 left in the half. The teams went into the locker rooms tied 7-7.

There was no scoring in the 3rd quarter. Early in the 4th quarter, Mark Seeling kicked a field goal to put "The U" back on top, 10-7. Conlan returned his 2nd interception of the game to the Miami 5-yard line, and Dozier gave the Lions their 1st lead with a touchdown run, 14-10, with 8:13 to go.

With 3:07 left, Miami began their last drive, converting a 4th down with a 31-yard pass from Testaverde to Brian Blades. With 45 seconds left, Testaverde got the 'Canes to the Penn State 5. But he got sacked on 2nd & goal, and threw incomplete on 3rd down. With 18 seconds left, it was 4th & goal. Testaverde thought he had an open receiver in the end zone, but it was intercepted by Giftopoulos, his 2nd pick of the game, the 5th off Testaverde, clinching the National Championship for Penn State.

Miami rebounded the next season, winning the National Championship, and again in 1989, and again in 1991 (albeit in a split poll). But Johnson would only be there for the 1st of those. In 1989, he was hired as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, leading them to 2 Super Bowl wins, and making himself the 1st head coach ever to win both a National Championship and a Super Bowl -- the 1st since Paul Brown in 1942 and 1950 to win both an NCAA and an NFL Championship.

*

January 2, 1987 was a Friday. No other bowl games were played on the day. The day before, Arizona State had beaten Michigan in the Rose Bowl, Oklahoma beat Arkansas in the Orange Bowl, Nebraska beat Louisiana State in the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, and Auburn beat USC in the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Baseball was out of season. There were 10 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Detroit Pistons, 129-128 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls, 113-99 at the Boston Garden. Larry Bird scored 37 points, and Michael Jordan scored 34.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Bullets, 118-101 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. Dominique Wilkens scored 30.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 91-84 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-106 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 117-107 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets, 114-111 at the McNichols Arena in Denver. Hakeem Olajuwon scored 32.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Utah Jazz, 104-99 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. Charles Barkley scored 30.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 155-118 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Despite the huge total, no Laker scored more than Magic Johnson's 32.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, 115-109 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Joe Barry Carroll, often mocked as "Joe Barely Cares," scored 35.

And there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Boston Bruins, 7-2 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-3 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Minnesota North Stars, 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* And the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks played to a 3-3 tie at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.