1986 Notre Dame Football: The Arrival Of Lou Holtz
The 1986 Notre Dame football team was first go-around in South Bend and while you could clearly see the progress, there was a lot of heartbreak along the way.
Dan Flaherty
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The 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Come Through The Cold To Super Bowl Warmth
The issue of Tampa Bay playing in the cold was a prominent issue at the time. Not only is this a topic for conversation any time a warm weather team goes north, but the Bucs own recent history had seen consecutive playoff losses in Philly. What’s more, they had just won for the first time in franchise history when the weather was below 32 degrees—and that was against the 4-12 Chicago Bears.
The 2002 Detroit Red Wings Ride The Veterans To The Stanley Cup
Detroit picked up Brett Hull, a former league MVP, who had been a big contributor to a 1999 Stanley Cup run for the Dallas Stars. The Red Wings added longtime Los Angeles Kings’ great Luc Robatille, and the Red Wings finished their offseason moves by acquiring Dominic Hasek, merely the best goaltender of his time in the NHL
The 2002 Final Four: Gary Williams Gets It Done
Maryland won the first NCAA basketball championship in program history, and the first for their coach, the respected veteran Gary Williams, at the 2002 Final Four. What’s more, the events of the previous year made the long-awaited title even sweeter.
The American League MVP Landscape
The race for the American League MVP award clearly centers on Los Angeles Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout. If you’re one who has a bias against starting pitchers, there’s frankly no argument against Trout based on the season up to today.
If you share the view of TheSportsNotebook, and are more broad-minded in your MVP mindset, then there’s a couple worthy challengers. In either case, any discussion of the American League MVP landscape has to begin with Trout.
2000 Michigan State Basketball: The Big Breakthrough Of The Izzo Era
Michigan State was gaining steam as a basketball power under young head coach Tom Izzo. After being irrelevant through much of the 1990s, the Spartans made the Sweet 16 in 1998 and the Final Four in 1999. The 2000 Michigan State basketball team was ranked #3 to start the season and eyeing the big breakthrough.
Great Conference Finals Mark The 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs was the last time both conference finals went the full seven games, and both were rivalry battles to boot. The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche had gone seven games in this same round a year ago in the West. And there’s plenty of bad blood in any circumstance when the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers hook up in the East.
2000 Miami-Florida State: The Vote-Count Controversy In Florida
2000 was the year of Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court case that settled the controversy over how to count presidential votes in the state of Florida, and ultimately decided the election itself. Miami and Florida State didn’t have quite the same stakes, but their own debate came right on the heels of the presidential battle.
The 2000 Oklahoma Sooners Return To National Prominence
The Oklahoma Sooners were no strangers to competing for national championships and doing it at the Orange Bowl, but when they arrived in Miami following the 2000 college football season, it had been a while since Boomer Sooner had been on top.
1999 Final Four: The Duke-UConn Showdown In St. Petersburg
Duke and UConn spent the entire 1999 college basketball season circling each other and eyeing the other up. One or the other was at the top of the polls every week, and it ended with a much-anticipated Showdown in St. Petersburg, at the 1999 Final Four.
The 1999 World Series: A Showdown That Turns Into A Sweep
The Yankees had won two of the previous three Fall Classics. The Braves were in their fifth Series of the decade and aiming for their second title. It was all set up to a great World Series Showdown…only it didn’t turn out quite that way.
1999 Stanley Cup Finals: Dallas Trumps Buffalo Again
The Dallas Stars and the Buffalo Sabres were two different types of teams who had taken two different paths when they met in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals.