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What We Do

TheSportsNotebook.com’s mission is to preserve the history of the modern age of American sports through a series of articles and e-books that capture the important moments starting in the mid-to-late 1970s and continuing up to the present.

Each sport covered—major league baseball, college football, the NFL, college basketball, the NBA and NHL, have different reasons for the mid-to-late 1970s marking a key demarcation point in their history. All of the following took place between the years of 1976-79…

*Baseball saw the advent of free agency and a new fluidity introduced that we now take for granted.

*College football had the combination of all its major bowl games being played on New Year’s Day and both major polls waiting to after the bowl games to vote for the national champion. Thus, college football had a true showcase day that would eventually evolve into today’s playoff.

*The NFL made three key changes—they added a fifth team per conference to the playoffs, thus creating a four-round bracket. They went to a 16-game schedule. And most important, they tightened up on what defenses were allowed to do. The more open offenses, 16-game schedule and four rounds of playoffs are staples of the league we understand today.

*College basketball saw the retirement of UCLA’s John Wooden and the end of his dynasty, ushering in a new age of parity. Along with this, the NCAA Tournament was gradually expanded and also seeded for bracket balance for the first time.

*The NBA merged with the ABA and added a three-point shot.

*The NHL began the last installment of the Montreal Canadiens dynasty, who won four straight Stanley Cups beginning in 1976.

From this vantage point, TheSportsNotebook builds toward the present day. We dig into past seasons, past teams, past playoff series, games and tournaments to not only remember the big moments but the season-defining ones that took place prior to that. We focus not just on the championship teams but those that challenged and have their own stories worth telling.

We also haven’t lost sight of the games that are unfolding before us and our home page blog contains regular commentary.

There is no greater cultural treasure in America than its great modern stage and TheSportsNotebook is the place where it is preserved and celebrated. Please take a look around, dive in and enjoy.