November 1, 2023: The Texas Rangers Finally Do It

NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.

November 1, 2023: The Texas Rangers win the World Series. It caps the franchise's 63rd season, and its 52nd in the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex."

The team began in 1961, as the Washington Senators, a replacement for the "Old Senators," who had just moved to become the Minnesota Twins. As a parody of a description of George Washington -- "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen" -- sportswriter Charles Dryden reflected the Old Senators' status as perennial losers by calling them, "Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League."

The "New Senators" were no better: In only 1 of their 11 seasons in the nation's capital did they finish above .500, in 1969, at 86-76. And only once, in 1967, did they get within 16 games of the Pennant. Given the fact that the Vietnam War and a great deal of inner strife was going on at the time, the city was now said to be last in war, last in peace, and last in the American League -- and, 3 times, in 1962, '63 and '68, they did, indeed, finish 10th and last in the single-Division AL.

After the 1971 season, they were moved to an expanded minor-league ballpark in Arlington, Texas, about halfway between the downtowns of Dallas and Forth Worth, and named for the State's famed law-enforcement agency, the Texas Rangers.

After losing 100 games in 1972 and 105 in '73, they finished 2nd in 1974, only 5 games behind the Oakland Athletics in the AL Western Division. They won 94 in 1977, and were 8 games behind the Kansas City Royals; 87 in 1978, 5 games behind the Royals; and 83 in 1979, 5 games behind the team then known as the California Angels. In the split-season format of 1981, they were a game and a half out in the 1st half of the season, and 4 1/2 out in the 2nd half, narrowly missing the Playoffs both times. In 1986, they won 87, and were 5 games behind the Angels.

They were rarely bad, but they were never quite good enough, and trailed both the NFL's Cowboys and, from 1980 onward, the NBA's Mavericks in North Texas pro sports popularity. Having to compete for attention with college football, in a State where that's treated as a quasi-religion, didn't help. Having Texas native Nolan Ryan on the mound 1 day out of 5 helped from 1989 until he retired in 1993, but nothing else seemed to work.

Arlington Stadium had been a minor-league ballpark from its 1965 opening through 1971, and it never lost that image. For the 1994 season, the Rangers opened a new stadium, larger and with featured that evoked classic ballparks from the Northeast and the Midwest, known for most of its existence as simply "The Ballpark" or "Rangers Ballpark."

That seemed to do the trick. In 1994, they had a 52-62 record when the Strike of '94 began, but they were in 1st place in the AL Western Division, making them, unofficially, the 1st MLB team to "finish" 1st in their Division with a losing record. In 1996, 1998 and 1999, they won the AL West, making the Playoffs for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd time -- but losing the AL Division Series to the New York Yankees each time.

For a few years, they struggled, just missing a Wild Card berth in 2004. In 2010, they finally won their 1st Pennant, in their 39th season in the Dallas area, their 50th season overall, and even beat the Yankees in the AL Championship Series. But they were swept in the World Series by the San Francisco Giants. In 2011, they won another Pennant. But they blew a 2-run lead in the 9th inning, and again in the 10th inning, in Game 6 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals -- doing in the 9th and the 10th what the Boston Red Sox famously did in the 10th in 1986. And the Cardinals won Game 7.

In 2012, the Rangers blew a big Division lead, and lost the AL Wild Card Game to the Baltimore Orioles. They just missed the Playoffs in 2013, and in both 2015 and '16, they won the Division but lost the ALDS to the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 2020, they were all set to move into a new retractable-roof stadium, to finally give their fans some protection from the oppressive Texas heat. But COVID hit, and while the stadium was chosen by MLB to host postseason games, including the World Series, as a protective "bubble," the Rangers weren't even close: Their 22-38 record worked out to a winning percentage of .367, which, if kept up for a full 162 games, would have been 59-103. They lost 102 in 2021 and 94 in '22. They were not expected to be a postseason factor in 2023.

But for 2023, they hired Bruce Bochy, who had managed the Giants to 3 World Series wins, and the San Diego Padres to a National League Pennant before that. They got a .327 season from former Los Angeles Dodger shortstop Corey Seager. They got 39 home runs from right fielder Adolis García, 33 from Seager, and 29 from 2nd baseman Marcus Semien. They got 107 RBIs from García, 100 from Semien, 96 from Seager, 95 from catcher Jonah Heim, and 82 from 1st baseman Nathaniel Lowe. And they got strong pitching from 2 New York Met castoffs who had won Cy Young Awards: Future Hall-of-Famer Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom; and 3 Yankee castoffs: Starters Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery, and closer Aroldis Chapman.

They went 90-72, tying the Houston Astros (who had moved to the AL in 2013) for the AL West title. The Rangers had the tiebreaker, rendering the Rangers the 6th seed. MLB had gone to 6 Playoff seeds the year before, plus the COVID-forced season of 2020, and 5 in 2012. No 5th or 6th seed had ever won a World Series, so the odds were against the Rangers.

But they swept 2 Wild Card Games from the Tampa Bay Rays, and 3 ALDS games from the Orioles. In MLB's 1st All-Texas postseason series, the Astros won all 3 games in Arlington, but the Rangers won all 4 games in Houston, blowing the Astros out 11-4 in Game 7.

They faced the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series. García won Game 1 with a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Seager also hit a home run. The D-backs won Game 2, 9-1 to gain a split in Arlington.

In Game 3 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Seager hit a home run, and Jon Gray pitched superbly after relieving Scherzer, who left in the 4th inning with a back injury. The Rangers won, 3-1. Seager, Semien and Heim all homered in Game 4, and the Rangers won, 11-7. Evoaldi pitched 6 shutout innings in Game 5, and the Rangers scored 4 runs in the 9th, including a Semien home run, and, with a 5-0 win, the Rangers were World Champions for the 1st time. Seager was named the Series MVP.

This gave Dallas a clean sweep of the "Big Four" North American major league sports: The Cowboys had won 5 Super Bowls, starting in 1972; the Stars won the 1999 Stanley Cup; and the Mavericks won the 2011 NBA Championship. If you count soccer, FC Dallas have never won the MLS Cup (they lost the 2010 Final), but the Dallas Tornado won the 1971 North American Soccer League title.

UPDATE: The Rangers have a team Hall of Fame. From the 1970s, they have honored catcher Jim Sundberg, 3rd baseman Toby Harrah, left fielder Tom Grieve, pitcher Fergie Jenkins, and the team's founding father, Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff, who also served as a broadcaster.

From the 1980s, they have honored Sundberg, 3rd baseman Buddy Bell, right fielder Rubén Sierra, pitcher Charlie Hough, executive John Blake, public address announcer Chuck Morgan, and broadcasters Mark Holtz and Eric Nadel.

From the 1990s, they have honored Blake, Morgan, Holtz, Nadel; pitchers Nolan Ryan, Kenny Rogers, Jeff Russell, John Wetteland; catcher Iván Rodríguez, left fielder Rusty Greer, right fielder Juan González, manager Johnny Oates, team president Tom Schieffer, and Mayor Richard Greene of Arlington, who helped get their 1994-2019 ballpark built.

From their 2010 and 2010 Pennant winners, they have honored Blake, Morgan, Nadel, 2nd baseman Ian Kinsler, shortstop Elvis Andrus, shortstop-3rd baseman Michael Young, 3rd baseman Adrián Beltré, and left fielder Josh Hamilton. From their 2023 World Champions, so far, their only honorees have been Blake, Morgan and Nadel.

The Texas Sports Hall of Fame has inducted Sundberg, Ryan, Rodríguez, Young, Beltré, and 1970s scout Lee Ballanfant.

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November 1, 2023 was a Wednesday. Football was out of season. There were 13 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 95-89 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Miami Heat, 109-105 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 155-104 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Wizards, 130-121 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

* The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-106 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls, 114-105 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 128-119 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 130-111 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons, 110-101 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets, 110-89 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 133-109 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, 102-101 at the Chase Center in San Francisco. (Despite being closer than most NBA opponents, neither team considers the other to be its arch-rival. Both teams consider that to be the Lakers.)

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat their tenants, the Los Angeles Clippers, 130-125 in overtime at the Crypto.com Arena. LeBron James led the Lakers with 35 points. For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard led all scorers on the night with 38, and Paul George also had 35.

There were 4 games in the NHL:

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-1 at the Ball Arena in Denver.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Anaheim Ducks beat the Arizona Coyotes, 4-3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Troy Terry scored the winning goal with 1:33 left in overtime.

November 1, 2010: The San Francisco Giants End the "Torture"

November 1, 2010: The Giants win their 1st World Series since moving to San Francisco. Édgar Renteria, who drove in the winning run for the Florida Marlins against the Cleveland Indians in the 11th inning during Game 7 of the 1997 Fall Classic, joins Yankees legends Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra as only the 4th player in baseball history to collect two World Series-winning hits. (He had also made the last out for the St. Louis Cardinals as the Boston Red Sox won the 2004 World Series *.)

He was named the Series' Most Valuable Player. His 3-run home run off Cliff Lee in the 7th inning led to San Francisco's 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers, and brings an end to 56 seasons of what some Giants fans had been, in recent days, describing as "torture." (Clearly, they'd never been truly tortured.)

Since the 1957-58 move, the Giants had won the National League Pennant, but lost the World Series, in 1962, 1989 and 2002; lost the NL Championship Series in 1971, 1987; lost the NL Division Series in 1997, 2000 and 2003; fell just short of the single-division Pennant in 1959, 1964, 1965 and 1966; and fell just short of the NL Western Division title in 1969, 1982, 1993, 2001 and 2004.

This was made worse by the fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had been their Brooklyn-based arch-rivals when both were in New York City, and whose move to L.A. led to the Giants moving to San Francisco to continue the rivalry in a geographic sense (instead of moving to the site of their top farm team, Minneapolis, as they'd planned), had been far more successful.

From 1958 to 2009, the Giants had reached the postseason 8 times, winning 7 Division titles and 3 Pennants, but never a World Series; while the Dodgers had reached the postseason 18 times, winning 11 Division titles, 9 Pennants, and 5 World Series -- although their last Pennant, at this point, was in 1988.

But this 2010 title changed baseball history, at least on the West Coast. Bruce Bochy, a former major league catcher, had helped the San Diego Padres win both of their Pennants, in 1984 as a player and in 1998 as their manager. Now, he was managing the Giants to glory.

Catcher Buster Posey was the team's on-field leader, starring with shortstop Renteria and Juan Uribe, 1st baseman Aubrey Huff, 3rd baseman Pablo Sandoval, and, from the 2008 World Series-winning Philadelphia Phillies, left fielder Pat Burrell. The starting rotation was led by Tim Lincecum, a.k.a. "The Freak"; former Oakland Athletics ace Barry Zito, who had struggled since signing with the Giants but came through this season; and Matt Cain, who pitched a perfect game 2 years later. Brian Wilson led the NL with 48 saves.

The Giants won the NL West by 2 games over the Padres, beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 in the NLDS, and beat the Phillies 4-2 in the NLCS, before beating the Rangers, 4-1. The Rangers had won their 1st American League Pennant, and their win in Game 3 was the 1st World Series game ever won by a Texas-based team. But they were no match for the Giants.

The Giants began an on-and-off run: The Giants would do well in even-numbered years, but not odd-numbered years. They won the World Series in 2010, missed the Playoffs in 2011, won the World Series again in 2012, had a losing record in 2013, won the World Series again in 2014, missed the Playoffs in 2015, and won the NL Wild Card Game but lost the NLDS in 2016. After that, they fell apart, and rebuilt.

The Dodgers wouldn't win another Pennant until 2017, or another World Series until 2020.

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November 1, 2010 was a Monday. On ESPN Monday Night Football, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans, 30-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

There were 3 games in the NBA:

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 110-98 at the United Center in Chicago. Luol Deng scored 40 points.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 97-88 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors, 111-108 at the Power Balance Pavilion (formerly the ARCO Arena) in Sacramento.

And there were 3 games in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

* And the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

October 31, 2010: "The Walking Dead" Premieres

October 31, 2010: The Walking Dead premieres on AMC -- appropriately enough, on Halloween Night. It is based on the graphic novel series of the same title, created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore in 2003, and published by Image Comics until 2019.

English actor Andrew Lincoln played Rick Grimes, a Sheriff in Cynthiana, Georgia, who falls into a coma after being wounded in a shootout. Some time later, he awakens to discover that, in his absence, a zombie apocalypse has taken place. He is told his wife Lori and son Carl had been taken to Atlanta for their protection. Rick becomes the leader of a group of survivors, trying to fend off both zombies (known as "walkers") and rival survivor groups, the more evil enemy: Unlike the walkers, who are acting solely on instinct, the other survivors have made choices.

Lincoln left the series during its 9th season, succeeded as group leader by Norman Reedus as hunter Daryl Dixon. But many viewers had already given up on the show by then, saying that the stories had become repetitive. It's inspired several spinoffs featuring individual characters; Fear the Walking Dead, which shows how it all began, but with a separate group of characters; and Talking Dead, a post-show fan-discussion show. The original show's final episode, concluding its 11th season, will air on November 20, 2022.

(UPDATE: The series finale left the fates of both Rick and Michonne Hawthorne, played by Danai Gurira, unclear. On June 18, 2023, another spinoff series began: The Walking Dead: Dead City follows the characters of Maggie Greene, played by Lauren Cohan; and Negan Smith, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, in what remains of New York City. On February 25, 2024, a new series, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, picked up the story of Rick and Michonne.)

In a 2014 episode of Epic Rap Battles of History, "Nice" Peter Shukoff played Rick, against "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist, who played Walter White of Breaking Bad.

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October 31, 2010 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played that Halloween:

* The New York Jets lost to the Green Bay Packers, 9-0 at the New Meadowlands Stadium (now MetLife Stadium). Yes, that's a football score, not baseball.

* The New England Patriots beat the Minnesota Vikings, 28-18 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-10 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 22-14 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Washington Redskins, 37-25 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The St. Louis Rams beat the Carolina Panthers, 20-10 at the Edward Jones Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills, 13-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Ryan Succop kicked a 35-yard field goal as time ran out in overtime.

* The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Dallas Cowboys, 35-17 at the new Cowboys Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Arizona Cardinals, 38-35 at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Tennessee Titans, 33-25 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Seattle Seahawks, 33-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos, 24-16 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* The next night, on Monday Night Football, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans, 30-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

* And the Atlanta Falcons, the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears, the Cleveland Browns, the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles had a bye week.

Game 4 of the World Series was played at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium), practically next-door to the new Cowboys Stadium. The San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers, 4-0. Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey hit home runs for the Giants. Madison Bumgarner pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball. He and Posey were the 1st rookie battery to start a World Series game since 1947, when Frank "Spec" Shea and Yogi Berra did it for the New York Yankees. The Giants took a 3-1 lead in the Series, and won it the next day.

There were no games played in the NHL, but 4 were in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Miami Heat, 101-78 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 120-99 at the Ford Center (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City.

* And in a doubleheader at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors, 107-83; and the Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 99-83.

October 28, 2023: "Friends" Star Matthew Perry Dies

October 28, 2023: Actor Matthew Perry dies, drowning in the pool at his home in Los Angeles. He was 54 years old.

NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.

Matthew Langford Perry was born on August 19, 1969 in the Boston suburb of Williamstown, Massachusetts, and grew up in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario. As a result, in an early episode of Friends, where his character, Chandler Bing, still had a cubicle job, he had a Toronto Blue Jays cap in the cubicle. At 14, he was already drinking. But 18, he was already an alcoholic.

In 1989, he had a three-episode arc on the ABC sitcom Growing Pains, portraying Carol Seaver's boyfriend Sandy, who dies in a drunk-driving incident. He was cast as a regular on the 1990 CBS sitcom Sydney, playing the younger brother of Valerie Bertinelli's character. In 1993, he starred in the briefly-airing ABC sitcom Home Free.

In 1994, he was cast as Chandler in Friends. The character was immediately revealed as being insecure, and using humor, frequently sarcastic, as a defense mechanism. Like Seinfeld's George Costanza, he was always complaining about having no luck with women. He actually had a few girlfriends, but none of them lasted, although one of them, Janice Hosenstein (played by Maggie Wheeler), was his on-again-off-again girlfriend: "Janice was my safety net!" At the end of Season 4, Chandler and Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) got together, and got married in the Season 7 finale. The show lasted 10 seasons, until 2004.

In 1997, Perry had a jet-ski accident, and took Vicodin as a painkiller, and became addicted. He later said that the booze and the drugs had affected his memory: He could see reruns of Friends, and have no memory of filming the episode. 

While starring on Friends, he also starred in films, including Fools Rush In, Three to Tango, The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards. In 2003, while Friends was still on the air, he made 3 appearances on the NBC TV drama The West Wing.

In 2011, he starred in Mr. Sunshine, as the manager of an arena in San Diego, with The Forum, former home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings standing in. ABC filmed 13 episodes, and canceled it after 9. In 2015, he played Oscar Madison in a reboot of The Odd Couple, with the character updated as a radio sports-talk host instead of a newspaper columnist. It lasted 2 years. In 2017, he played Ted Kennedy in the Reelz miniseries The Kennedys: After Camelot. There was some justice to that: Ted was a heavy drinker, and his son Patrick overcame a prescription drug problem.

In 2022, he published a memoir, titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. "The big terrible thing" was his addiction. He dated actresses Yasmine Bleeth (which led to the inside joke of Chandler and Matt LeBlanc's Joey Tribbiani being obsessed with Bleeth's show Baywatch) and Julia Roberts (which led to her appearance on a 1996 episode of Friends). But he never married, and is not known to have had any children.

On October 28, 2023, Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub as his house in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, and was pronounced dead at 4:17 PM that day, at the age of 54. The cause of death wasn't clear: Despite being in a hot tub, he didn't drown. There was no sign of foul play, and there was no indication of drugs, legal or otherwise, being involved.

I'm 4 months younger than Perry. Friends was the 1st TV show that treated people of my generation as if we were adults, however immature. Season 1 was fantastic. Season 2 was really good. Season 3 was pretty good, until the show's "jump the shark moment": "Maybe we should take a break." In spite of the characters seeming to "grow up," they seemed to become caricatures of themselves, their worst traits getting emphasized. But the show remained beloved, and most fans of the show were happy that Chandler and Monica ended up together.

James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther, the manager of Central Perk, died of cancer in 2021. But of the 6 main castmembers of Friends, Perry was the 1st to die. One of the six had to be the first to go. Accidents and sudden illnesses happen, so it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for that to have happened sooner. And, given his admission of past substance abuse, I'm not surprised that he's the first. But it's still a shock.

UPDATE: On December 15, 2023, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office released its toxicology report, saying that Perry died from "the acute effects of ketamine." His manner of death was ruled an accident.

He had reportedly been taking the drug as part of a ketamine infusion therapy, used to treat depression and anxiety. The report concluded, however, the amount in his system could not have been from his treatment, as his last-known session had been a week and a half before his death; and  said the method of the drug’s intake is unknown.

Ketamine, a disossociative anesthetic with some hallucinogenic properties, is used both recreationally and for medical purposes such as treating pain, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” the medical examiner added. In other words, he could have sunk into the hot tub, and been unable to get back up, so drowning could have been a factor.

But the thought that he had relapsed with drugs -- or had died due to a drug designed to counter the effects of his addiction -- made his death all the more disturbing.

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October 28, 2023 was a Saturday. Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Georgia beat rival Florida, 43-20 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

* Number 2 Michigan and Number 9 Alabama were both idle that week.

* Number 3 Ohio State beat Wisconsin, 24-10 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 4 Florida State beat Wake Forest, 41-16 at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

* Number 5 University of Washington beat Stanford, 42-33 at the new Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, California.

* Number 6 Oklahoma were upset by Kansas, 38-33 at David Booth Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Number 7 Texas beat Brigham Young University (BYU), 35-6 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

* Number 8 Oregon beat Number 13 Utah, 35-6 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.

* Number 10 Penn State beat Indiana, 33-24 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

* Number 11 Oregon State were upset by Arizona, 27-24 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.

* Number 12 Mississippi beat Vanderbilt, 33-7 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

* Number 14 Notre Dame beat the University of Pittsburgh, 58-7 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Number 17 North Carolina were upset by Georgia Tech, 46-42 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.

* Number 18 Louisville beat Number 20 Duke, 23-0 at L&N Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.

* Number 19 Air Force beat Colorado State, 30-13 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. As for the other service academies, Army lost to Massachusetts, 21-14 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; and Navy had the week off.

* Number 21 Tennessee beat rival Kentucky, 33-27 at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.

Game 2 of the World Series was played. The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Texas Rangers, 9-1 at Globe Life Field in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. This would turn out to be the only game the D-backs won in the Series, as the Rangers won in 5 games.

There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the New Orleans Pelicans, 96-87 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

* The Washington Wizards beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 113-106 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors, 114-107 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 33-14 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls, 118-102 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Zach LaVine scored 51 points in defeat.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Miami Heat, 106-90 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Utah Jazz, 126-104 at the Footprint Center (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

There were 9 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver. K'Andre Miller scored the winning goal with 1:12 left in overtime.

* The New York Islanders beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-0 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-3 in a shootout at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Anaheim Ducks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-4 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Seattle Kraken, 3-2 at the FLA Live Arena (now the Amerant Bank Center) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Roman Josi scored the winning goal with 2:47 left in overtime.

* And the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-3 in a shootout at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Yorkshire team Sheffield United, 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

October 28, 2011: The "Watch the Throne" Tour Begins

Kanye West (left) and Jay-Z

October 28, 2011: The Watch the Throne Tour begins, at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta. It remains the highest-grossing tour in hip-hop history.

It was in support of Watch the Throne, a collaborative effort between what were already two of the biggest names in rap history: Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) and Kanye West. It was released on August 8, and it was practically a rap Justice League, also featuring Jay-Z's wife Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, The-Dream (Terius Nash), Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi), Seal (Seal Samuel) and others. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, known as The Neptunes when they worked together, produced it, with assistance from Q-Tip (Kamaal Fareed) and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean -- whose wife, singer Alicia Keys, was not involved with the album).

The 1st single, "H-A-M," introduced the expression "Go HAM" into the lexicon, meaning "Hard As a Motherfucker." It only reached Number 32. The 2nd single, "Otis," reached Number 12. A later single, titled "Niggas In Paris," reached Number 5.

The tour came to the New York Tri-Stare Area a week in, playing the Meadowlands Arena (then named the Izod Center) on November 5 and 6, and Madison Square Garden on November 7 and 8. Later in the month, it moved on to Canada, playing the Bell Centre in Montreal on November 22, and the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto on November 23 and 24. As the tour moved west, it went back into Canada on December 17 and 18, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

After that 2nd Vancouver show, the tour took a break, then headed across the Atlantic Ocean. Between May 18 and June 22, it played the British Isles cities of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and Sheffield; and also played in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Despite Kanye's difficult personality, both already-established and later on, there was no indication of friction between him and Jay-Z, or any of the other performers. The tour did so well that comedian Chris Rock said, "This might be the greatest show I ever saw. It's the equivalent of the Billy Joel-Elton John tour, but if they did it in 1979, when the songs were hot!"

For perspective: When the tour began, Jay-Z was about to turn 42, and Kanye was 34; whereas, when they began their 1st Face to Face Tour, Elton John was 47, and Billy Joel was 45. But Elton and Billy had already been having hits for 20 years. Jay-Z's 1st Top 10 hit, "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," came in 1998, 13 years earlier; while Kanye's, "All Falls Down," came in 2004, just 7 years earlier. So while Rock was a little off on the ages, he was pretty close to where each of the 4 men was in his career at the respective times.

*

October 28, 2011 was a Wednesday. Game 7 of the World Series was played. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Football was in midweek. The NBA season was delayed, due to the team owners locking the players out, and the season did not begin until Christmas Day. There were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-0 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Joe Louis Arena.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* And the Calgary Flames beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

October 27, 2011: The David Freese Game

October 27, 2011: Game 6 of the World Series. In 1986, the Boston Red Sox had a 2-run lead in the 10th inning of Game 6, and were 1 strike away from winning their 1st World Series in 68 years... and blew it. Exactly 25 years and 2 days later...

The St. Louis Cardinals were a frequent postseason visitor. The 2011 season was their 24th trip to the postseason, and their 8th in the last 12. It was their 18th trip to the World Series, having won 10 of them.

In contrast, the franchise that began in 1961 as "the new Washington Senators," and moved to the Dallas area to become the Texas Rangers in 1972, hadn't reached the postseason until 1996. They reached it again in 1998 and 1999. But they didn't reach another, and didn't win a postseason series, until 2010, winning the American League Pennant, before losing the World Series to the San Francisco Giants. Now, they were playing the Cardinals, National League Champions.

In St. Louis, the Cardinals won Game 1, but the Rangers took home-field advantage away by winning Game 2. As the series moved to Arlington, the Cards pounded the Rangers in Game 3, 16-7, to take the advantage back, thanks to a Series record-tying 3 home runs by Albert Pujols. But the Rangers won Games 4 and 5, and needed to take only 1 out of 2 at the new Busch Stadium to win their 1st World Championship.

Game 6 was delayed a day by rain, and it was a back-and-forth affair. It was 1-0 Rangers after the top of the 1st, 2-1 Cardinals after the bottom of the 1st, tied 2-2 after the top of the 2nd, 3-2 Rangers after the top of the 4th, tied 3-3 after the bottom of the 4th, 4-3 Rangers after the top of the 5th, tied 4-4 after the bottom of the 6th, 7-4 Rangers after the top of the 7th, and 7-5 Rangers after the bottom of the 8th.

The Rangers had a 2-run lead in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 6, and were 1 strike away from winning the 1st World Series in the 51 years of the franchise, 40 of them in their current location... and blew it. Actually, they'd been shaky all inning: While Neftali Feliz began the inning for the Rangers by striking Ryan Theriot out, he gave up a double to Pujols, then walked Lance Berkman, putting the tying run on base. He struck Allen Craig out, and got a 1-and-2 count on Cardinal 3rd baseman David Freese.

But Freese hit a triple to right field, scoring Pujols and Berkman, tying the game. Perez got Yadier Molina to fly to right, but the damage was done, and the game went to extra innings.

If the Rangers were fazed by this screwup, they didn't show it. With 1 out in the top of the 10th, Elvis Andrus singled, and Josh Hamilton, he of the great comeback story from drugs (but later to write an unhappy ending to that story), hit a home run, to give the Rangers a 9-7 lead.

Darren Oliver, the bullpen ace of the Rangers' late 1990s Playoff teams, was sent out to close it out in the bottom of the 10th. But he couldn't do it: He allowed leadoff singles to Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay, and a sacrifice bunt to opposing pitcher Kyle Lohse.

Ranger manager Ron Washington pulled Oliver, and brought in Scott Feldman, who allowed an RBI groundout by Theriot. It was 9-8. Not surprisingly, especially with 1st base open, Pujols was intentionally walked. But Berkman singled Jay home, and it was tied again. Feldman got out of it, but the Rangers had now blown a 2-run lead in extra innings of a potential World Series clincher in back-to-back innings. Even the '86 Red Sox couldn't do that.

The Rangers got a 1-out single from Mike Napoli in the top of the 11th, but that was all they got. Mark Lowe was sent out to pitch the bottom of the 11th. The leadoff batter was Freese. He worked Lowe for a full count, then hit a drive to center field, landing on the grass hitter's background. Game over: Cardinals 10, Rangers 9.

If the '86 Red Sox were not officially off the hook for the biggest World Series choke ever seen to that point, thanks to the Red Sox of 2004 and '07, they were now, thanks to the Rangers having a bigger one.

It would have been understandable if the Rangers had nothing left for Game 7. But they took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st, to show that they were not going to go down without a fight. But go down, they did: The Cardinals scored 2 runs in the 1st, 1 in the 3rd, 2 in the 5th and 1 in the 7th. They won, 6-2, for their 11th World Series win, tops among National League teams, 2nd overall only to the Yankees.

The Rangers are still looking for their next Pennant.

UPDATE: The Cardinals have a team Hall of Fame. From their 2011 World Champions, they have inducted manager Tony La Russa, coaches Albert "Red" Schoendienst, Dave Duncan and José Oquendo; broadcasters Mike Shannon and Al Hrabosky; left fielder Matt Holliday and pitcher Chris Carpenter. 1st baseman Albert Pujols, catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright have not yet been inducted. 

La Russa, Schoendienst, Duncan, Shannon, Hrabosky, Holliday, Carpenter, and later manager Mike Matheny were elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. La Russa, Schoendienst, Duncan, Shannon, Hrabosky, Carpenter, and pitcher Jason Motte, a St. Louis native, were elected to the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.

*

October 27, 2011 was a Thursday. Obviously, that was the only baseball game played that day. The NBA team owners had locked the players out, and their season ended up starting on Christmas. And while Thursday Night Football had become common in the NFL by this point, there was no game scheduled for this day.

There were 11 NHL games played that day: 

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-3 at what's now named the Desert Diamond Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 in a shootout.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 9-8 at what's now the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* In another "Original Six" matchup, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Florida Panthers, 4-3 at what's now the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2 at what's now the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Dallas Stars, 5-3 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Anaheim Ducks beat the Minnesota Wild, 3-2 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Washington Capitals, 2-1 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

October 25, 1973: Two Unpopular Baseball Trades

Fergie Jenkins

October 25, 1973: The Chicago Cubs trade 6-time 20-game winner Ferguson Jenkins to the Texas Rangers for 3rd baseman Bill Madlock and utility man Vic Harris. "Fergie" has led the Cubs in wins in each of the past 7 seasons‚ the only pitcher ever to do so for a club and then be traded.

Although Madlock will win 2 batting titles with the Cubs, they will be out of contention while he is with them. They trade him to the San Francisco Giants, who then trade him to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he will win 2 more batting titles, and help them win the 1979 World Series.

Bill Madlock

By contrast, Jenkins will pitch the Rangers to a 2nd-place finish in 1974, their best-ever finish until 1994. He would also pitch for the Red Sox, finishing 2nd with them as one of the "Buffalo Heads" in 1977. He did, however, return to the Cubs, and help them win the 1984 Division Title.

Meanwhile‚ the San Francisco Giants trade 3-time home run champion Willie McCovey‚ a Giant since 1959 and their most popular player since their 1957-58 move from New York‚ together with a minor leaguer named Bernie Williams (no relation to the Yankee Legend of the same name)‚ to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Mike Caldwell.

Willie McCovey. For once, saying that a player

"didn't look right in a Padre uniform"

had nothing to do with the uniform's style, or lack thereof.

This was a bad trade, as Caldwell did nothing for the Giants, but developed one of the best curveballs in the game in helping the Milwaukee Brewers mature into a Pennant winner in 1982. As Jenkins did with the Cubs, McCovey later rejoined the Giants, a second act that would include winning NL Comeback Player of the Year in 1977, and his 500th career home run in 1978. He finished with 521 homers.

Mike Caldwell, with the Brewers

Jenkins and McCovey are in the Hall of Fame. Madlock has his supporters for election, but will probably never make it. Caldwell isn't even close, although he had a good career, finishing with a record of 137-130.

*

October 25, 1973 was a Thursday. The baseball season had ended 4 days earlier, when the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Mets in Game 7 to win the World Series. Football was in midweek. There was only 1 game played in professional basketball, and it was in the ABA, not the NBA: The Carolina Cougars beat the Utah Stars, 115-104 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

There were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders and the Minnesota North Stars played to a tie, 1-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 9-4 at the Boston Garden. Phil Esposito had 2 goals and an assist. Chris Oddleifson also had 2 goals. Bobby Orr had a goal and an assist.

* And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-0 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

And there were 2 games in the World Hockey Association. The New England Whalers beat the New York Golden Blades, 8-3 at Madison Square Garden. And the Chicago Cougars beat the Quebec Nordiques, 4-2 at Le Colisée de Québec.

October 20, 2011: The Death of Muammar Gaddafi

September 26, 1987: The Fox Network debuts the sitcom Second Chance. The opening scene of the pilot episode takes place in an office in Heaven, where St. Peter determines who gets in. The date is July 29, 2011, and the dictator of the North African nation of Libya, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, shows up, apparently having been killed in a coup. St. Peter's choice is easy: Send him to Hell.

It was a throwaway joke, on a bad show that got canceled after 9 episodes. The biggest thing anybody remembers, other than the Gaddafi reference, is that it was the 1st sitcom to star future Friends star Matthew Perry. Sadly, Kiel Martin, who played the 2011 version of Perry's character, who gets sent back to Earth to keep his younger self on the straight and narrow, died of cancer in 1990, only 46 years old. (UPDATE: It gets worse: Perry died from a drug relapse in 2023, at 54.)

If only Gaddafi had died in 1987, at 45 or so. Better yet, even earlier.

Here's the kicker: This lousy show predicted Gaddafi's death. It got the how right, which wasn't that hard. But as for the when, it was only off by 86 days. Pretty good for a throwaway joke on a sitcom with, as it turned out, 24 years of lead time.

*

October 20, 2011: Muammar Gaddafi is killed by Libyan rebels during the Battle of Sirte. Having been deposed 3 months earlier from his brutal, weird rule of the country that had begun in 1969, the ex-dictator was believed to be 69 years old.

Little is known of his early life, including his full name. It appears to have been Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi. The spelling is unclear, as the Arabic alphabet doesn't really translate well to the Roman alphabet. Hence, his surname had often appeared as "Khadafy," "Qaddafi," and variations thereof; and his given name had often appeared as "Moammar."

The indeterminate spelling of his surname even worked its way into the pilot of the TV show The West Wing in 1999: The first lines spoken by John Spencer as White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry are in response to Gaddafi being a clue in the renowned New York Times Crossword Puzzle. McGarry said the dictator's name did not, as the puzzle said, have seven letters, even though the now-accepted version, "Gaddafi," does.

Because his family, as was usually done in nomadic Bedouin tribes, kept no birth records, his age was not known for certain. Most sources say he was born sometime in 1942, or in the Spring of 1943. Some who have studied the available evidence suggest he could have been born before 1940.

His birthplace was probably outside Qasr Abu Hadi, about 300 miles east along the Mediterranean Sea's coast from the capital of Tripoli. It is a rural area outside the town of Sirte, in the deserts of Tripolitania, in western Libya, then controlled by Benito Mussolini's fascist Italy. His upbringing in Bedouin culture influenced his personal tastes for the rest of his life: He preferred the desert over the city, and would retreat there to meditate. (His later arch-nemesis, Ronald Reagan, who liked going to his ranch outside Santa Barbara to get away from first Hollywood, then Washington, could probably have related on this one level.)

Italy had been trying to regain Libya, across the Mediterranean, since the end of the Roman Empire. (Arch-rival Carthage was in present-day Tunisia, adjacent to Libya.) It did so in 1934, but lost control in 1943, during World War II. The Libyan city of Benghazi, familiar to Americans for the 2012 attack on their consulate there, has been fought over many times, and 2 battles there in World War II were won by the Allies, forcing Axis forces out of the country.

Britain and France considered dividing the nation between their empires, but the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) decided that the country was to be granted political independence, and in 1951 created the United Kingdom of Libya, a federal state under the leadership of a pro-Western monarch, King Idris, who banned political parties and centralized power in his own hands. So, still, the country was not "free" as Americans understand the term, paving the way for future dictators.

In secondary school, Gaddafi had Egyptian teachers, and, from them, he received stories, both word-of-mouth and newspaper, about the overthrown of the corrupt King Farouk and the Socialist, pan-Arab dictatorship of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who outwitted Britain and France during the Suez Crisis of 1956.

With his good looks, cult of personality, and his adaptability -- appearing as a Western businessman, a soldier, or a pious Muslim, whichever he needed to seem to be at the time -- Nasser became the template for Middle Eastern dictators such as Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the Assads in Syria, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and, of course, Gaddafi. But Gaddafi was a voracious reader, and also came to admire Abraham Lincoln, Chinese leader Sun Yat-sen, and the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. 

He enlisted in the Libyan Army, and rose through its ranks. In April 1966, he was assigned to Britain for further training. He learned English, but hated the place, claiming that British officers were racist to him. He later related that while he travelled to England believing it more advanced than Libya, he returned home "more confident and proud of our values, ideals and social character."

Libya's pointless participation in the Six-Day War against Israel in 1967 weakened King Idris, and resentment against him increased.

On September 1, 1969, while Idris was in Turkey, a group of Libyan Army officers under the leadership of Gaddafi launched a coup from Benghazi, and quickly established control over the country. The coup was bloodless, and received enthusiastic support from the public. Libya was declared a free and sovereign republic by the Revolutionary Command Council. Colonel Gaddafi, in his capacity as RCC chairman, became the de facto head of state.

He continued to call himself "Colonel Gaddafi" for the rest of his life. I remember thinking, "If he's all-powerful within his country, why doesn't he promote himself to General?" The British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen apparently agreed with me: While the events of Gaddafi's 2011 fall were going on, he was making a film titled The Dictator, and he named his character "Admiral-General Haffaz Aladeen." The parallels to Gaddafi were obvious, down to the Amazonian martial-arts-expert female bodyguards that Gaddafi preferred.

When Iran had its Islamic Revolution in 1979, he allied Libya with it. He made Libya pretty much the only nation that took Iran's side in its 1980-88 war with Iraq. Like Iran, he made Libya a state sponsor of terrorism against America. This resulted in President Ronald Reagan ordering a bombing attack on Libya in 1986. Gaddafi responded with the suicide bombing that destroyed an American airliner, Pan Am Flight 103, in 1988.

On a 1980 TV special, the Jewish American comedian Alan King used a map, photos and a pointer to try to explain the situation in the Middle East, which was confusing to so many Americans, who couldn't tell the difference between Iran and Iraq. Iraq had a President named Hussein, Jordan had a King named Hussein, Morocco had a King named Hassan, Finally, King (Alan, not Hussein or Hassan) said, "Now, who's on the side of rich little Iran? Not Rich Little! We have Libya. Libya, which is run by Colonel Gaddafi. And they gotta throw a net over this guy. Colonel Gaddafi makes the Ayatollah look like Donny Osmond!"

But after Pan Am 103, America and Libya pretty much left each other alone for a while. Osama bin Laden, the leader of terrorist group al-Qaeda, became the prime focus of American attention on the Middle East. With that attention taken off him, Gaddafi was free to continue to rule absolutely, his whims allowing him to do things that would make people in free countries shudder -- or laugh.

But as he got older, his hold on power became more tenuous. There were protests in Zawiya on August 8, 2009. That paved the way for a new round of protests that began in Benghazi on February 15, 2011. The forces opposing Gaddafi established a "shadow" governing body, the National Transitional Council (NTC). On February 26, the United Nations Security Council froze the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle, restricted their travel, and referred their case to the International Criminal Court for investigation.

In August, rebel forces launched an offensive, backed by a wide-reaching NATO bombing campaign, taking back territory lost months before, and ultimately capturing Tripoli. On September 16, the NTC was recognized by the UN as the legal representative of Libya.

Muammar Gaddafi evaded capture until October 20, when he was captured and killed in Sirte. The NTC declared "the liberation of Libya" and the official end of the war on October 23.

There was a low-level insurgency by former Gaddafi loyalists, and this led to a second civil war that lasted until 2020, including the 2012 storming of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed 4 Americans. As of October 20, 2022, there is no active fighting, but a new government has been slow to gain traction in acceptance. Libya remains in turmoil, and it cannot seriously be considered a "free country."

*

October 20, 2011 was a Thursday. Game 2 of the World Series was played, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1. Back-to-back sacrifice flies by Josh Hamilton and Michael Young won the game in the top of the 9th inning. Albert Pujols went 0-for-4 for the Cardinals.

There were 2 major college football games played that night. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) beat the University of Central Florida (UCF), 26-24 at Legion Field in Birmingham. And the University of Arizona (the abbreviation "UA" is usually not used) beat the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), 48-12 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.

The NBA team owners locked the players out, so the season didn't start until December 25, Christmas Day. There were 11 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Calgary Flames, 3-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary. Ryan McDonagh scored the winning goal with 2 seconds left in overtime, preventing a shootout.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-2 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Florida Panthers, 3-0 at the BankAtlantic Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1 at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 2-0 at the Jobing.com Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 in a shootout at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was known at the time) in Edmonton.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators, 5-1 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.