Author: Luke Reimer

Today in sports history (1973), Ken Norton defeated Muhammad Ali in a split decision. Many inside and outside the sport believe that Ali is the greatest of all time. In fact, Ali finished his career with a 56-5 record, winning 37 of those fights by knockout. Joe Frazier was probably Ali’s biggest rival. Louis defeated Ali once. Norton was also a big rival of Ali’s. Looking to prove himself as one of the best boxers in the sport, Norton gave Ali everything he could handle, even winning their fight against each other. This was important because, before the fight, Norton was unsure of…

Today in sports history (1981), the Indiana Hoosiers beat the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 1981 NCAA Tournament championship. At the time of this game, there were talks about canceling it. This was due in part to the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. With Reagan surviving his injuries, the NCAA played the game as scheduled. The game only featured a seven-minute delay. Much like the championship game after, this game featured two of the greatest coaches in college basketball history, Dean Smith and Bob Knight. NBA legend Isiah Thomas was the star player for Knight’s squad, where he averaged 16…

Today in sports history (1982), the North Carolina Tar Heels took down the Georgetown Hoyas in the 1982 NCAA Tournament Championship Game. Two of the biggest coaches in college basketball history matched up in this game — John Thompson for Georgetown and Dean Smith for North Carolina. The Hoyas were led by All-American Eric Floyd and seven-foot freshman Patrick Ewing. North Carolina was led by All-American James Worthy and freshman Michael Jordan. The Hoyas came into the championship as the six seed, while North Carolina came in as the one seed. North Carolina was favored by 1.5 points in this game. North…

Today in sports history (1990), Michael Jordan scored 69 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jordan, who is one of, if not the greatest basketball player of all time was known for his competitive edge. After the 1997 NBA Finals, Jordan gave the background on his career-high. Early in the first quarter, Jordan got fouled hard by Cavaliers’ Hot Rod Williams. This caused the home Cleveland fans to start cheering at Jordan’s injury. This, I guess, was another example of Jordan taking something personally. Michael Jordan proceeded to score 69 points to stick it to Cavs’ fans. “I think the game I had…

Today in sports history (1939), the Oregon Webfoots beat the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first NCAA Tournament championship game ever. Patten Gymnasium in Evansville, Illinois hosted the championship game. Slim Wintermute, Lauren Gale, John H. Dick, Bobby Anet and Wally Johansen filled out the starting lineup for Oregon. Jimmy Hull, John Schick, Dick Baker, Dick Boughner and Bob Lynch led the way for the Buckeyes. This game was famously noted as being the first organized NCAA Tournament championship game. Unlike today’s tournament, the 1939 tournament featured only eight teams, as opposed to 68. Oregon took down Oklahoma to make the championship,…

Today in sports history (1974), the North Carolina State Wolfpack beat the Marquette Warriors in the 1974 NCAA Championship. This was NC State’s first championship. The Wolfpack was led by the legendary David Thompson. Marquette featured Bo Ellis and Lloyd Walton and was coached by the legendary Al McGuire. The big story coming into the game was NC State beating UCLA in the Final Four. This put an end to UCLA’s streak of seven straight championship wins. The game was held in Greensboro, NC, basically giving the Wolfpack a home game. With their win over UCLA, many believed that NC State would…

Today in sports history (2019), New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement from the NFL. Gronkowski was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round in the 2010 NFL Draft. With Tom Brady, Gronkowski became one of the most popular players in NFL history. This came from his carefree and party attitude. Being the ultimate odd couple, Gronkowski and Brady dominated the NFL in their time together, becoming one of the greatest passer-pass catching duos in NFL history. Even with the “party-boy” personality, Rob Gronkowski produced on the football field. At the end of his tenure with…

Today in sports history (1957), the North Carolina Tar Heels won their first NCAA Tournament Championship. The championship was one of the greatest in history, as the Tar Heels won by one point in overtime. This game featured incredible talent, with Lennie Rosenbluth leading UNC and head coach Frank McGuire. Kansas was led by Wilt Chamberlain. Dick Harp was patrolling the sidelines in his first season as head coach of the Jayhawks. Kansas started the season as the favored champion, due in part to Chamberlain. North Carolina basketball came into the game undefeated, looking to complete an undefeated season, while Kansas came…

Today in sports history (1972), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took home the second MVP of his career. The young center was coming off a season where the Milwaukee Bucks won the championship and Abdul-Jabbar was named MVP of the season. In 1972, he picked up his second straight MVP and overall second MVP with the Bucks. With his partnership with Oscar Robertson, Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks to a 63-19 record, which qualified them for the second-seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers took the one-seed after famously winning 33 games in a row. The Bucks were actually the team to break the 33-game win…

Today in sports history (2020), Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady was one of the most coveted free agents in NFL history at the time of his release from the New England Patriots. This ended a 20-year run for Brady as the leader of the New England Patriots. In New England, Brady finished with six Super Bowls, numerous records and an image of being one of the greatest football players of all time. Coming to Tampa Bay, many were skeptical about Brady’s ability to still play. He immediately dispelled those thoughts as he won a Super Bowl in his…