August 30, 1997: The 1st WNBA Championship

Left to right: Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, Sheryl Swoopes

August 30, 1997: The 1st WNBA Championship is awarded. Instead of a series, as it is today, it is a single game, at the Compaq Center -- formerly The Summit -- in Houston, and the Houston Comets beat the New York Liberty, 65-51.

Despite having such stars as Rebecca Lobo, Teresa Weatherspoon, Kym Hampton and Rutgers graduate Sue Wicks, the Libs couldn't keep up with Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper -- "Swoopes to the Hoop" and "Coop to the Hoop." Cooper led all scorers with 25 points, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Under head coach Van Chancellor, the Rockets won the WNBA's 1st 4 Championships. In comparison, Houston's other teams combined have won 5: The Rockets 2, MLS' Dynamo 2, the Astros 1, the Texans none and the Oilers none. (This does not count the AFL Championships won by the Oilers in 1960 and '61, or the WHA Championships won by the Aeros in 1974 and '75, as those were not World Championships.) In contrast, the Liberty have gone 0-for-4 in Finals. But the Liberty are still in business, while the Comets folded in 2008.

When the Rockets and the Comets left The Summit for the Toyota Center in 2003, Dr. Joel Osteen bought the old arena, and turned it into Lakewood Church Central Campus, the base of his “megachurch.” He will never recover from the knowledge that the most popular person ever to speak in that building is a black Muslim immigrant whose first language was not English, Hakeem Olajuwon.

The WNBA title roll: The Comets 4, the Minnesota Lynx 4, the Seattle Storm 4, the Los Angeles Sparks 3, the Detroit Shock 3 (they moved in 2009, are now the Dallas Wings, and haven't won another), the Phoenix Mercury 3, the Sacramento Monarchs 1 (they folded in 2009), the Indiana Fever 1, the Washington Mystics 1, and the Chicago Sky 1.

*

August 30, 1997 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Montreal Expos, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. It was foreshadowing for darker things for the Yankees: Pedro Martínez outpitched David Wells.

* The New York Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles, 13-6 at Camden Yards. Bernard Gilkey hit a home run in support of Brian Bohanon. Cal Ripken went 0-for-2 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox, 15-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-4 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Matt Beech went 7 2/3rds innings, and Ricky Bottalico finished the 8-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros, 9-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat their cross-State rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 16-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Mark McGwire was making his 1st serious run at the home run record. He didn't hit any. The Royals hit 5: Dean Palmer, Chili Davis, Jermaine Dye, Jeff King and Shane Halter.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Texas Rangers, 4-1 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Seattle Mariners, 11-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-3.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, 7-3 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. J.T. Snow hit 2 home runs. Barry Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk.

This was also the opening weekend of the college football season. Some notable games from the day:

* Number 2 Florida beat Southern Mississippi, 21-6 at Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. (Penn State began the season ranked Number 1, but did not open their season until the following Saturday.)

* Number 5 Tennessee beat Texas Tech, 52-17 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

* Number 6 Nebraska beat the University of Akron, 59-14 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Number 13 Syracuse was upset by North Carolina State, 32-31 in overtime at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The Carrier Dome was recently renamed the JMA Wireless Dome.

* Number 14 Miami beat Baylor, 45-14 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.

* Number 16 Alabama beat the University of Houston, 42-17 at Legion Field in Birmingham.

* In a cross-State rivalry, West Virginia beat Marshall, 42-31 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.

* In another, Kentucky beat Louisville, 38-24 at Commonwealth Stadium (now Kroger Field) in Lexington, Kentucky.

* In another, Utah State beat Utah, 21-14 at Rice Stadium (now Rice-Eccles Stadium) in Salt Lake City.

* The University of Mississippi, a.k.a. Ole Miss, beat Central Florida, 24-23 in overtime at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in oxford, Mississippi. This was the only other game that went to overtime that day.

* And in a game I actually attended, Michael Vick led Virginia Tech to a 59-19 win over Rutgers, 59-19 at the new Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Also on that day, there was a North London Derby at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur played to a 0-0 draw.

June 22, 1994: The Rockets Make Houston Clutch City

June 22, 1994: Game 7 of the NBA Finals, at The Summit in Houston. The New York Knicks can still make it a title double for New York City, and for Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately for them, John Starks turned The Summit into a brick house.

The Houston Oilers had won the AFL Championship in 1960 and 1961, but had lost the Championship Game in 1962 and 1967, the AFC Championship Game in 1978 and 1979, and the biggest blown lead in NFL Playoff history in 1993.

The Houston Aeros had won the World Hockey Association title in 1974 and 1975, but lost the Final in 1976, and folded in 1978, and the NHL has never put a team in Houston. The Housotn Astros had won the National League Western Division title in 1980 and 1986, but had lost the NL Championship Series both times. And the Houston Rockets had reached the NBA Finals in 1981 and 1986, but lost to the Boston Celtics both times.

Not that Texas' other major city, Dallas, had much sports success. But the Dallas Cowboys had won 2 Super Bowls in the 1970s, and, at this time, had just won the last 2. In contrast, Houston had become known as "Choke City."

But with head coach Rudy Tomjanovich, a former star player for the Rockets, and center Hakeem Olajuwon leading the way, the Rockets reached the Finals again in 1994. They had to get past the Utah Jazz, with their 2 big stars, forward Karl Malone and guard John Stockton. Malone was nicknamed "The Mailman," because he always seemed to "deliver." But Game 7 of their series was at The Summit on a Sunday, and a fan held up a sign saying, "There's no mail on Sunday!" (Unless you're in the British newspaper business.)

With Michael Jordan taking time off, the Knicks were finally able to get past the Chicago Bulls, after losing to them in the Playoffs in 1992 and 1993. It took them 7 games, but they did it. Then they beat Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Knicks took a 3-games-to-2 lead in the Finals, but Games 6 and 7 would be at The Summit. And the Rockets came through in Game 6, winning 86-84. The entire series was close: The Rockets won Game 1 by 7 points, Game 3 by 4, and Game 6 by 2; while the Knicks won Game 2 by 8, Game 4 by 9, and Game 5 by 7.

Game 7. The biggest game in Rockets history, and the biggest game for the Knicks in 21 years. The Rockets led 22-21 after the 1st quarter, 45-43 at the half, and 63-60 after 3 quarters. They never quite pulled away, but won, 90-84, for their 1st NBA Championship.

Olajuwon scored 25 points, and Vernon Maxwell added 21. Derek Harper led the Knicks with 23. The stat that really stands out, though, belonged to John Starks: He made 2 out of 18 shots from the field, including taking 11 3-point shots and missing all of them. He was 4-for-4 on free throws, for a total of 8 points. So maybe it wasn't so much that the Rockets were finally clutch, as Starks went the other way, putting up the most infamous "bricklayer" performance in basketball history.

Houston had so often known as "Choke City" for its sports performances. The Rockets printed up signs reading "CLUTCH CITY," for the fans to hold up. They lived up to it.

The following year, the Rockets acquired Portland Trail Blazers star Clyde "the Glide" Drexler, Olajuwon's teammate at the University of Houston. They got back to the Finals, and swept the Orlando Magic in 4 straight. During Game 4, a fan held up a sign saying, "Hey, Clyde: What's your ring size?" He had made 2 NBA Finals with the Blazers, losing both of them. Now, Clyde the Glide and Hakeem the Dream had won an NBA Championship together.

It's easy to forget now, just how good the 1994 and '95 Houston Rockets were. Don't assume that, just because Michael Jordan wasn't there that year, the Chicago Bulls would have beaten them.

UPDATE: The Rockets do not have a team Hall of Fame, but they do retire numbers. From their 1981 NBA Western Conference title, they have retired 23, for guard Calvin Murphy; 24, for center Moses Malone; 44, for forward Elvin Hayes; and 45, for forward Rudy Tomjanovich. From their 1986 Western Conference title: 34, for center Hakeem Olajuwon.

From their 1994 and 1995 NBA Champions: Tomjanovich, by then the head coach; Olajuwon; and 22, for guard Clyde Drexler. From since then, 11, for 2000s center Yao Ming. They have also raised a banner for longtime general manager Carroll Dawson.

Hayes, Tomjanovich, Olajuwon, Drexler and Dawson have been elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

*

June 22, 1994 was a Wednesday. Football was out of season. The hockey season ended 8 days earlier, when, to my dismay, the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup. And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-2 at Yankee Stadium. Scott Kamieniecki was the winning pitcher. Paul O'Neill hit a home run. Don Mattingly went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-2 at Atlanta-Fulton Stadium.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken Jr. went 1-for-3.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-2 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Barry Bonds and Matt Williams hit home runs for the Giants. As far as I know, neither was using steroids yet.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-6 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 4-0 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Wilson Álvarez pitched 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and Paul Assenmacher struck out the side in the 9th.

* The Montreal Expos beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros, 14-5 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-6 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the California Angels, 12-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* And the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 10-1 at the Oakland Coliseum.

May 29, 1997: John Stockton's Jumper

May 29, 1997: John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals for the 1st time, with perhaps the greatest buzzer-beater in NBA history.

Despite all its growth, Salt Lake City only has a team in one of the "Big Four" North American major league sports. If you count soccer, they have teams in both men's and women's leagues. But no baseball, no football, no hockey. Just basketball.

The Utah Stars reached the ABA Finals in 1970, won the ABA Championship in 1971, and reached the Finals again in 1974. But their owners ran out of money early in the 1975-76 season, and after a failed merger with another team, the Spirits of St. Louis, failed, the league canceled the franchise. They never made it to the end of the season, when 4 of the 6 surviving teams were accepted into the NBA: The New York Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets.

But the Salt Palace still stood, and fans were ready to accept an NBA team. In 1979, the New Orleans Jazz, unable to fill the massive Superdome, were moved to Salt Lake City. Everyone knew the name "Utah Jazz" made no sense. Frank Layden, their head coach from 1981 to 1988, suggested they trade names with Los Angeles: That city was the center of the West Coast jazz scene, and "Utah Lakers" would have made sense with the Great Salt Lake. But the NBA wouldn't allow it.

The Jazz made the Playoffs for the 1st time in 1984, the 1st of 20 straight qualifications. But there always seemed to be somebody in the way: The Lakers of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, the Houston Rockets of Hakeem Olajuwon, the Portland Trail Blazers of Clyde Drexler, the Phoenix Suns of Charles Barkley.

The Jazz chose John Stockton, a guard from Gonzaga University in his hometown of Spokane, Washington, with their 1st pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. They chose Karl Malone, a forward from Summerfield, Louisiana and Louisiana Tech, with their 1st pick in the 1985 Draft.

They made the Jazz Playoff perennials, but a title proved elusive: They reached the Western Conference Finals in 1992, but lost to the Portland Trail Blazers; got there again in 1994, but lost to the Houston Rockets; and got there again in 1996, but lost to the Seattle SuperSonics.

In the 1996-97 season, Stockton and Malone were both named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, despite never having reached the NBA Finals -- yet. That season, Malone was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player.

Under head coach Jerry Sloan, a former Chicago Bulls star, they again reached the Conference Finals, and again played the Rockets, looking for their 3rd Finals berth, and 3rd Championship, in 4 years. They were still led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, but now with Charles Barkley added. The Jazz won Games 1 and 2 in Salt Lake City, dropped Games 3 and 4 in Houston, with Eddie Johnson hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Rockets Game 4. The Jazz won Game 5 in Salt Lake.

Game 6 was played at The Summit in Houston. The game was tight throughout, with the Jazz leading 23-21 after the 1st quarter, the Rockets leading 49-43 at the half, and the Rockets leading 71-70 after 3 quarters. As the clock ran out in regulation, with the score tied, Stockton fired a 3-point shot, and it went in, giving the Jazz a 103-100 victory, and their 1st Finals berth. It is among the biggest "buzzer-beaters" in NBA history.

The Jazz went on to lose the NBA Finals to the Bulls, and did so again in 1998. They have not been back to the Finals since, although they usually make the Playoffs. The Rockets would not win another Playoff series until 2009, did not return to the Conference Finals until 2015, and, through the 2021-22 season, have not returned to the NBA Finals.

Stockton was named to 10 NBA All-Star Games, and became the NBA's all-time leader in assists and steals. Malone was named to 14 NBA All-Star Games.

UPDATE: In 2024, the NHL's Arizona Coyotes moved to Salt Lake City. For their 1st season, they were simply "Utah Hockey Club." For the next season, they became the Utah Mammoth. They share the Delta Center with the Jazz.

The Jazz do not have a team Hall of Fame. They have honored 11 men with banners, including 9 retired uniform numbers, 4 of them for men who never played for them: 1, for 1981-88 head coach Frank Layden; 9, for 1985-2009 team owner Larry Miller; 1,223, the number of his coaching wins, for 1988-2011 head coach Jerry Sloan; and a banner with a microphone on it for 1974-2009 broadcaster "Hot" Rod Hundley.

* From their time as the New Orleans Jazz, 1974-79: 7, for guard "Pistol" Pete Maravich.

* From after the move to Utah, but before their Finals appearances: 4, for forward Adrian Dantley; 35, for guard Darrell Griffith; and 53, for center Mark Eaton.

* From their 1997 and '98 NBA Finals appearances: 12, for guard John Stockton; 14, for guard Jeff Hornacek; and 32, for forward Karl Malone.

Miller, Layden, Sloan, Eaton, Stockton and Malone have also been elected to the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.

In addition, since Stockton and Malone were so linked, a statue of the two of them together stands outside the Delta Center.

*

May 29, 1997 was a Thursday. The NBA Eastern Conference Finals had wrapped up the night before, with the Chicago Bulls eliminating the Miami Heat in 5 games.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals, and the Detroit Red Wings went on to sweep the Philadelphia Flyers.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. David Cone allowed 5 hits over 7 2/3rds innings, striking out 12, and Jeff Nelson completed the 5-hit shutout. Tino Martinez hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 2-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. The White Sox scored 4 runs in the top of the 11th, including a home run by Jorge Fábregas. The Red Sox could only pull 1 run back in the bottom of the 11th.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Shawn Estes outpitched John Smoltz. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 6-5 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. With MLB moving the Brewers to the National League the next season, this would be the last season for Wisconsin vs. Minnesota to be the kind of rivalry in baseball that it is in football (college and pro) and hockey (college).

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 10-6 at the Astrodome in Houston. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-1 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-3 with a walk. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a walk.

January 19, 1976: The Iowa Caucuses Matter for the 1st Time

January 19, 1976: The Iowa Caucuses are held. They had been held for the 1st time in 1972, but had little bearing on the Presidential election. This time, they had a rather large bearing on the election.

They were first held on January 24, 1972. Incumbent President Richard Nixon was unopposed on the Republican side. On the Democratic side, Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine won 36 percent of the vote. Senator George McGovern won 23 percent, but since Iowa is right next-door to his home State of South Dakota, this was not seen as all that odd, or as a bad sign for Muskie, the 1968 Vice Presidential nominee and the front-runner in the polls coming into this vote.

In 1975, having served 1 term, 4 years, as Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter had announced his candidacy for President. Before he did, he told his mother, "Mama, I'm running for President." Known to the family as "Miss Lillian," she said, "President of what?"

He had released a campaign biography, titled Why Not the Best? And yet, his career to that point did not suggest that he was the best possible candidate:

* 1962: He made his 1st run for office, at age 37, for the State Senate in Georgia. He lost. He asked for a recount. He got it. As it turned out, the election had been stolen. With the recount, he won.

* 1966: He did not run for a 2nd term. Instead, ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor, as a pro-civil rights candidate against a member of the segregationist establishment, Lester Maddox. He lost.

* 1970: He ran for Governor again. He won. He was generally considered to be a good Governor. At the time, the Constitution of the State of Georgia did not allow a Governor to serve a 2nd consecutive term.

That was it. But he thought that, in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate, he could appeal to Americans as a decent and honest man with a record that, however brief, backed that up, despite having almost no name recognition. He was being called, "Jimmy Who?"

He entered the Iowa Caucuses, the earliest contest in the nominating schedule. Most of the candidates ignored them, preferring to concentrate on the New Hampshire Primary, to be held on February 24. New Hampshire had mattered in the nominating process since 1952.

Carter thought that "retail politics," which had helped him in his run for Governor of a mostly-farm State, would help him in Iowa. He met people in small towns throughout Iowa's 99 Counties, used his experience as a farmer (peanuts), but also as a "small businessman," to show the locals that he knew what he was talking about. He even went on a cooking show on a Des Moines TV station.

And, with the experiences of Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon in Vietnam, and Nixon in Watergate, he had a message which proved to be more powerful than anyone had imagined: "I will never lie to you."

Not running for President, although they would have had some support if they had: Senators Muskie, McGovern, Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota (former Vice President, 1968 Presidential nominee, and runner-up in 1972) and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

In the race, but not even entering the Caucuses, were Governors George Wallace of Alabama, Terry Sanford of North Carolina, Milton Shapp of Pennsylvania and Jerry Brown of California; and Senators Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, and Frank Church of Idaho.

Those who did enter: Carter; Senators Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington, Fred Harris of Oklahoma and Birch Bayh of Indiana; Representative Morris "Mo" Udall of Arizona; and former Ambassador Sargent Shriver (brother-in-law of the Kennedys, and the 1972 Democratic nominee for Vice President). Going in, the favorites -- for these caucuses, if not for the nomination overall -- were Bayh and Harris, due to being from Midwestern farm States.

Who won the 1976 Iowa Democratic Caucuses? Officially, no one: "Unpledged" led all comers with 39 percent of the vote. That surprised very few people. But the actual candidate with the most votes, 27.5 percent, turned out to be Carter. He was followed by Bayh, 13.2; Harris, 9.9; Udall, 6.0; Shriver, 3.3; and Jackson, 1.1.

The result stunned people, who thought that Carter was banking on something virtually meaningless. He gave it meaning. This momentum carried him through New Hampshire, where he edged Udall, 27 percent to 22. Carter winning Florida, a Southern State, on March 9 didn't surprise many people; but winning Illinois, a big Midwestern State with a big city, a week later, did.

Jackson ended up winning New York, riding the fact that he was the most vocal Democrat in the Senate in support of Israel, giving him a hammerlock on New York City's Jewish vote. But it didn't help him much outside New York State, and Carter won pretty much every other State of consequence. He ended up getting 74 percent of the Delegates on the 1st ballot at the Democratic Convention in New York.

On January 20, 1977, 1 year and 1 day after showing people what the Iowa Caucuses could do for a Presidential candidate, James Earle Carter Jr. was inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States.

Most people outside Iowa don't pay attention to the State for most of 4 years -- unless they're big fans of college football or wrestling -- and then do so only because of the Caucuses. A candidate entering them has to hear an inordinate amount of information about farming, especially corn, and how it can be converted into ethanol to fuel cars. The politics-themed TV show The West Wing made a point of this in its 2005 episode "King Corn."

Democrats tend to win in Iowa by pointing out that they're better for farmers than the Republicans. Republicans tend to win in Iowa by appealing to the State's hardcore right-wing evangelicals.

As this chart shows, the Iowa Caucuses have a better record in predicting Democratic nominees than they do in predicting Republican nominees. But, as it also shows, for both parties come the general election, it's better to have won the nomination without winning in Iowa.

Note that, in 1992, Senator Tom Harkin won on the Democratic side, because he was from Iowa, and every other Democrat had accepted his overwhelming popularity there and given up on the State, and concentrated on the New Hampshire Primary.

*

January 19, 1976 was a Monday. Baseball was out of season. Football season ended the day before, when the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl X, beating the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. There were no games in either the American Basketball Association, the National Hockey League or the World Hockey Association.

There was one in the NBA: The Houston Rockets beat the Washington Bullets, 115-96 at The Summit in Houston. After the Rockets moved into the Toyota Center in 2003, The Summit was bought by televangelist Joel Osteen, and converted into the "Central Campus" of his Lakewood Church. If you're a minister, and can afford to buy a sports arena, you're not giving enough money to the poor.