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The 2004 San Antonio Spurs Repeat Bid Gets Derailed By A Debatable Call

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It was a time of change for the 2004 San Antonio Spurs. Even though David Robinson had been displaced by Tim Duncan as the best player on the team five years earlier, the retirement of “The Admiral” after the championship run of 2003 still marked a crossing point in Spurs history. San Antonio had another strong season in ’04, but with a little bit of transition and the rival Los Angeles Lakers beefed up, the Spurs bid for a repeat title came up short–with no small assistance from a controversial call that may have significantly altered history.

The 1989 Boston Red Sox Continue The Odd-Year Disappointment Pattern

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The Boston Red Sox spent six years on pendulum of good seasons in even-numbered years—a pennant in 1986, and AL East titles in 1988 & 1990—and disappointing seasons the following year. The 1989 Boston Red Sox did their part to keep that pattern in place, as they struggled to an 83-79 record, with only a weak division keeping them in contention much of the year

2003 Notre Dame Football: Disappointment Resumes In South Bend

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The Ty Willingham era had started at Notre Dame with a lot of promise in 2002, but ended with disappointment in a season-ending loss and bowl defeat, both by convincing margins. The question facing the 2003 Notre Dame football team was which they would build off of—the promise or the disappointment. It proved to be the latter, in a long season at South Bend.

The 1969 Minnesota Vikings Take The Super Bowl Step

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Bud Grant came to the Twin Cities in the 1967 season and turned the Minnesota Vikings into a feisty team. In 1968, Grant got the team into the playoffs for the first time. And the 1969 Minnesota Vikings continued the improvement, enjoying a monster season and reaching the Super Bowl.

1973 Washington Redskins: A Tumultuous Road To The Playoffs

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The 1973 Washington Redskins were coming off a Super Bowl trip, and had consecutive playoff seasons in their two years with George Allen as head coach. 1973 was a good year—they again made the playoffs in an era when only four teams per conference qualified—but inconsistency at bad times, the loss of the running game and a merry-go-round at quarterback prevented them from reaching the previous year’s heights.

The 1978 New York Yankees: A Tale Of Two Halves

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The New York Yankees were coming off two straight pennants—they returned to the World Series in 1976 for the first time in thirteen years, and then won it in 1977. They made it three straight pennants and two straight championships, but it was anything but easy. The 1978 New York Yankees went through a tale of two seasons, a managerial change and finally won one of the most dramatic baseball games ever played

The 1978 Kansas City Royals Struggle To Survive A Weak AL West

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The 1978 Kansas City Royals are part of a franchise run that saw the team win four AL West titles in five seasons. The ’78 Royals are the last in the line of three straight KC teams that lost heartbreaking ALCS battles to the New York Yankees. But the 1978 edition was the weakest of those teams, as it took then a long time to close out what was a weak division.

The Yankees Make It Three Straight Over The Royals In The 1978 ALCS

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The New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals had waged epic battles in the American League Championship Series of 1976 and 1977, with the Yankees winning each in the ninth inning of the deciding fifth game (this round was best-of-five from 1969-84). The Yankees and Royals met for a third straight year in the 1978 ALCS. This one didn’t go down to the final inning—or even the final game. But it still had memorable games and a familiar result as the Yankees again advanced to the World Series.

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