The Chaotic Beginning & Familiar Ending For The 1978 Los Angeles Rams
A preseason head coaching change didn’t stop the Rams from making their fourth NFC Championship Game in five years. Read the game-by-game narrative.
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1976 Minnesota Vikings: One Last Run For Proud Vets
The 1976 Minnesota Vikings had a lot of proud veterans who were past their prime. But rather than fading quietly into the night after a devastating playoff loss in 1975, this group of vets put it together for another big run and reached a third Super Bowl in four years.
1975 Minnesota Vikings: Fran Tarkenton’s Best Year Ends In Heartbreak
Fran Tarkenton had the best of year of his career at age 35 for the 1975 Minnesota Vikings. The team might have been the best in the seven-year stretch that Tarkenton played for Bud Grant (1972-78). Tarkenton won the MVP award, the Vikings went 12-2 and were poised to reach the Super Bowl for the third straight year and perhaps this time, finally bring home a championship. Heartbreak caught up with them at the end.
1976 World Series: The Big Red Machine Rolls Through The Bronx
One team was the powerful defending champions, already one of the dominant teams of the decade and looking to secure the legacy of a dynasty. Another was the team making its first World Series appearance in over a decade. It was the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees.
1976 NLCS: Cincinnati Sweeps Back The Phillie Challenge
The Reds were the Big Red Machine, the defending World Series champions, with three pennants and four NLCS appearances already under their belt from 1970-75. The Phillies were the up-and-comers, who had displaced the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL East. While the Phils would become postseason regulars in the ensuing eight years, they were a fresh face in 1976.
2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals: Superman Trumps King James
Over the last several years, LeBron James has become the NBA’s signature star, the consensus “greatest player in the world.” In that same timeframe, Dwight Howard has become synonymous with the word “diva”. But it wasn’t always so—in the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, “Superman”, as Howard modestly dubbed himself, trumped “King James” when Dwight’s Orlando Magic ousted LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
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 1979 Washington Redskins: When Building Anguish Found Its Peak
The great fan base of the Washington Redskins had endured some heartache in both 1977 and 1978. Each season saw the Redskins miss the playoffs on the final week of the season, in the latter case after giving away a 6-0 start to the year. What the fans couldn’t have guessed, nor would they have wanted to, was that the 1979 Washington Redskins would lift the season-ending anguish to a new level.
The 1988 Los Angeles Rams: A Roller-Coaster Ride That Ends Up In The Middle
In the course of one season, the Rams took their fans on a wild roller coaster ride that ended up in the middle. Read the game-by-game narrative.
1979 DePaul Basketball: The March Of Their Lives
DePaul University has had a long history playing basketball and most of it has been away from the national spotlight. The most notable exception to that came in the late 1970s and early 1980s under the coaching of Ray Meyer, and the high point was the 1979 DePaul basketball edition that got Coach Meyer to the Final Four.
1976 Cincinnati Reds: Running On All Cylinders
The 1976 Cincinnati Reds came to spring training having found redemption the previous October. After World Series losses in 1970 and 1972 and an upset loss in the 1973 National League Championship Series, the Reds had gotten over the top in an epic seven-game World Series against the Boston Red Sox, a Series that ranks high on the list of the best ever. The offensive juggernaut known as the Big Red Machine was looking to build on a championship legacy securely established
1976 Philadelphia Phillies: The Spark That Lit A New Era
The Phils were a proud franchise, but they were on hard times. They had not seen the World Series since 1950. Even a winning season had been elusive since 1967. Danny Ozark took the managerial reins in 1973, and by ’75, the Phils finally won more than they lost. Now the question was if they could overtake the Pittsburgh Pirates, the traditional power in what used to be the National League Eas