Dean Smith had some rebuilding to do. A guy named Michael Jordan had departed from Chapel Hill. After winning a national title in 1982, UNC had continued to produce great teams with Jordan in 1983 and 1984, but there was disappointment in March. The Tar Heels had failed to win the conference tournament—a big deal […]
The 1980s were a great time for DePaul basketball. They had earned four #1 seeds in the first half of the decade. Even though March flameouts became all-too-common, the Blue Demons were on the map as a national power. When Joey Meyer took over the coaching reins from his father Ray in 1985, the son […]
In 1987, Notre Dame basketball was on the upswing. A three-year NCAA Tournament drought came to an end in 1985 with the arrival of heralded freshman point guard David Rivers. The Irish were even better in 1986 and got all the way to the 3-line in the NCAA bracket. But that year ended with a […]
There was optimism abounding in Green Bay. While it taken the Bart Starr era several years to find its footing, the Packers had contended to the last week of the regular season in 1981, then made the playoffs in the strike-shortened year of 1982. They had a dynamic passing game. The 1983 Green Bay Packers […]
Bart Starr’s coaching tenure wasn’t going well. The Hall of Fame quarterback took over his old team in 1975. The team appeared to turn a corner in 1978, when they nearly made the playoffs. But they plummeted to five-win campaigns in 1979 and 1980. The 1981 Green Bay Packers started much the same way and […]
Just three years removed from making a surprise run to the national title, the University of Connecticut had an even more out-of-nowhere run to the top of college basketball. Here’s a look back at how UConn, along with Kentucky, Florida, and Wisconsin, all reached the 2014 Final Four in Dallas. UCONN After the 2011 NCAA […]
For four straight seasons, the Buffalo Bills had been the gold standard of the AFC—four straight conference championships, a feat unparalleled in the Super Bowl era. They hadn’t won that final game of the year, but they were winning most everything else. All good things come to an end though, and the 1994 Buffalo Bills […]
The 1994 Miami Dolphins were feeling the urgency of the moment. Even with the great Dan Marino at quarterback and the legendary Don Shula on the sidelines, the Fish hadn’t been to a Super Bowl since Marino’s MVP year of 1984, and they had yet to win one with the future Hall of Fame quarterback. […]
Bill Belichick became a staple of the NFL playoffs during his legendary 21st century tenure in New England. But his first trip to the postseason came with the 1994 Cleveland Browns. Following a 3-13 disaster in 1990, the Browns tapped Belichick, fresh off coordinating the defense of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. At […]
The 1969 World Series between the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets was a bit ironic. Just nine months earlier, these same two cities had met in Super Bowl III, when the then-Baltimore Colts met Joe Namath’s Jets. In that Super Bowl, the heavily favored team from Baltimore was upset by New York. Now, in […]
Baseball entered a new era in 1969. For the first time, the two leagues had been split into divisions, meaning a postseason round would have to be played prior to the World Series. The first edition of the 1969 NLCS featured the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. In a series that was then […]
The League Championship Series round was brand-new in 1969, and the first edition of the ALCS was between the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins. Two young, aggressive managers who would both become very familiar with each other and to baseball fans everywhere were in the dugouts—Earl Weaver and Billy Martin. There was some extremely tense […]