Status Note

Notre Dame basketball came into 1986 looking to build off success. In 1985, the Fighting Irish ended a three-year drought with a return to the NCAA Tournament. With the key players back in the fold, expectations were high in ’86. Digger Phelps’ team spent all year generally meeting those expectations and had the look of […]

Notre Dame basketball came into 1985 after three seasons of rebuilding. Following the eight years of 1974-81 where Digger Phelps had them routinely contending with the nation’s elite, the Irish had fallen on hard times. 1982 was a losing season. In 1983 and 1984, they started to win again but settled for NIT bids at […]

The Cleveland Indians came into 1996 looking to take the final step. The long-suffering franchise became a contender in the strike-shortened year of 1994. In 1995, they broke through and won their first American League pennant in over forty years. The 1996 edition was poised to go all the way—until an October disappointment did them […]

Hank Raymonds had long been a stabilizing force for Marquette basketball. A coach acknowledged for this tactical shrewdness, he was Al McGuire’s righthand man during the program’s glory years, which included a Final Four trip in 1974 and a national title in 1977. After McGuire’s retirement, which combined with changing winds in college basketball that […]