1988 Kansas Jayhawks: The Bracket Opens Up For Danny & The Miracles
…It was a most improbable ride to a Final Four. A #6 seed had gone through the bracket playing no one seeded higher than fourth (Kansas State)
sports history articles
The 1988 Edmonton Oilers Find Another Gear At Playoff Time
The 1988 Edmonton Oilers didn’t dominate the regular season in the manner they had been accustomed to since 1983, a year that marked their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals with Wayne Gretzky and was followed up by their first championship a year later. But what the 1988 edition of the Edmonton Oilers did have was an ability to step it up in the playoffs and they added another Cup to their Gretzky-era legac
Spurs-Heat II: What NBA Finals Rematch History Teaches
A rematch of one of the great NBA Finals of all time is set. The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs each closed out their conference finals in six games, and we’re back to where we were last June. It’s time to find out what NBA Finals rematch history teaches us about where Miami-San Antonio II might go.
Rick Pitino & Billy Donovan Both Arrive At The 1987 NCAA Tournament
Rick Pitino and Billy Donovan have each made their mark on college basketball history. Pitino coached three Final Four teams at Kentucky, including a 1996 national championship. He went on to take Louisville to the Final Four in 2005 and 2012, and won the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Donovan took over the Florida program, made the Final Four in 2000 and won consecutive national titles in 2006-07. The 1987 NCAA Tournament was where each one first made their mark and they did it together
The 1987 Edmonton Oilers Make Amends And Get Back On Top
An upset bid had derailed Wayne Gretzky’s bid for a third straight Stanley Cup in 1986. Gretzky and the 1987 Edmonton Oilers came out ready to make amends. They did it, but not without a great fight put up by the Philadelphia Flyers in the Finals.
The 1987 NBA Finals: Magic & Bird’s Last Battle
The 1987 NBA Finals were the third time in four years that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would play for a championship at the NBA level—in addition to their 1979 NCAA final battle–and as it turned out, it would be the final time.
The Edmonton Oilers Dynasty Flames Out In The 1986 NHL Playoffs
By the time the 1986 NHL playoffs rolled around, hockey fans were used to watching dynasties. The Montreal Canadiens won four straight from 1976-79. The New York Islanders did the same from 1980-83. So when the Edmonton Oilers broke through in 1984 and followed it up with a repeat Stanley Cup in 1985, one could be forgiven for the assumption that the Oilers would be next in line to win up to four in a row. Only it didn’t work out that wa
1992 Notre Dame Football: Bettis & Brooks Blast Their Way To The Top 5
Notre Dame has produced some great running backs in its heralded football history over the years, going all the way back to the days of George Gipp and before him The Four Horsemen. The modern history isn’t quite that dramatic, but what the 1992 Notre Dame football team put out in the backfield was awfully good. The tandem of Reggie Brooks and Jerome Bettis led the way on a season that came out of a midseason valley and finished strong.
The 1984 NBA Finals: The First Bird-Magic Battle In The Pros
It had been five years since Larry Bird and Magic Johnson changed the landscape of college basketball with their battle at the 1979 NCAA championship game. Even though both stars had immediately made their mark on the NBA in the ensuing four years—two titles and two Finals MVP for Magic, and one crown for Bird—they had yet to meet again for a championship. The 1984 NBA Finals changed all that.
The 1984 Edmonton Oilers: Wayne Gretzky Hoists His First Stanley Cup
The 1984 Edmonton Oilers had the best player in the NHL—Wayne Gretzky might have been only 23 years old, but he won his fifth MVP award in as many seasons in the league. The one thing the Oilers didn’t have coming in was a Stanley Cup. After four years of gradual buildup, Gretzky and the Oilers hoisted the Cup for the first time in 1984.
1983 N.C. State Basketball Brings March Madness To A New Era
The development of the NCAA Tournament as a time of Madness had taken place in phases since 1975, a year that marked both the end of the UCLA dynasty and the inclusion of multiple teams from each conference in the event. The 1983 N.C. State basketball team represented the culmination of that development
The 1983 Seattle Seahawks: Beating Back Elway & Marino In The Playoffs
…it was a satisfying run in the Pacific Northwest, one that saw the Seahawks tell two future Hall of Famer quarterbacks to wait their turn.