49ers Beat Chargers In Super Bowl

On Jan. 29, 1995, the San Francisco 49ers became the first NFL franchise to win five Super Bowls with a 49-26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in an all-California affair in Miami.

Quarterback Steve Young was named the game's MVP after throwing for 325 yards with a 24-for-36 efficiency.

Young was responsible for all six of his team's touchdowns as he threw six TD passes and no interceptions.

The victory for Young, was his only Super Bowl victory as a starter, he had another victory on the bench behind Joe Montana in 1989.

This was also the last time the 49ers were in the Super Bowl.

The 49ers five Super Bowl victories ties them for second all-time with the Dallas Cowboys and behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers who have six victories.

Last years Super Bowl was also played in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome, home of the New Orleans Saints, as the 49ers were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, in what many labeled the "Harbaugh-bowl" or "Harbaughcalypse."

In 1990 the 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55-10 in the then called Louisiana Super Dome to win Super Bowl XXIV (24), the last under Joe Montana.

Since Super Bowl XXIV (24) the Super Dome has played host to two more Super Bowls, 1997 in Super Bowl XXXI (31) with the Green Bay Packers against the New England Patriots and in 2002 in Super Bowl XXXVI (36) with the New England Patriots against the St. Louis Rams.

Cooperstown Inducts First Hall of Fame Class

On Jan. 29, 1936, the first-ever induction class for the National Baseball Hall of Fame was announced.

Five players became the first members of the hallowed halls located in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner were the inaugural class of baseball's hall of fame.

The idea of a hall of fame for baseball was recognized in 1935 as the sport became America's pastime.

Since the inception of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York their have been 306 members elected.

Included are 208 former major league players, 28 executives, 35 Negro leaguers, 19 managers and 10 umpires. 

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has elected 112 candidates to the Hall while the Committees on managers, umpires, executives and long-retired players (in all of its forms) has chosen 162 deserving candidates (96 major leaguers, 28 executives, 19 managers, nine Negro Leaguers and 10 umpires). The defunct “Committee on Negro Baseball Leagues” selected nine men between 1971-77 and the Special Committee on Negro Leagues in 2006, elected 17 Negro Leaguers.

There are currently 68 living members.

By position, there are: 74 pitchers, 17 catchers, 22 first basemen, 20 second basemen, 15 third basemen, 24 shortstops, 21 left fielders, 23 center fielders, 24 right fielders, 23 managers, 10 umpires and 33 executives.

This year three players, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas were inducted into Cooperstown, all as first ballot Hall of Famers.

While Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre were inducted as managers.

UCLA Men's Basketball Sets Record

On Jan. 27, 1973, John Wooden and his UCLA Bruins men's basketball team broke the consecutive victories record in NCAA basketball Jan. 27, 1973.

Their 61st consecutive win was an 82-63 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame figured prominently into the eventual 88-game winning streak of the Bruins. Notre Dame was the last team to beat UCLA as the streak started.

They were also the next team to defeat Wooden's squad to end the streak at 88 games.

The 88 game win streak was the longest in history in any major North American professional sport or collegiate sport.

He would also coach four undefeated teams in 1964, 1967, 1972 and 1973. The 1972-1973 teams continued their unbeaten streak into 1974, which was 88 game win streak team.

John Wooden, nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—seven in a row  – as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat.

Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games. Wooden was named national coach of the year six times.

Wooden would win 664 games in his career as a head coach and only lose 162, to have a winning percentage of .802 (just over 80 percent).

As a player, Wooden was the first to be named basketball All-American three times and he won a national championship at Purdue. Wooden was named a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (inducted in 1961) and as a coach (in 1973), the first person ever enshrined in both categories.

Only Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman have since had the same honor.

He was one of the most revered coaches and was beloved by his former players, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.

Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players, including his "Pyramid of Success". These often were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball.

In 2006 Wooden was part of the founding class for the College Basketball Hall of Fame, which is located in Kansas City, Mo.

NFL Pro Bowl + Podcast

Scratch Hit Sports creator Stephen Langsam recaps the NFL Championship Round Playoffs with former co-host of the Sporting Hangover, Ryan Hilton.

We talk about the "New" style Pro Bowl, and draft our own Pro Bowl teams. Just a quick five on five draft, sorry offensive lineman, this one is just about skill positions!

We also dive into a few thoughts about the Super Bowl.


NFL Pro Bowl Podcast

Super Bowl History

January 26th has been a day where many Super Bowls were played. Here are a few that had some very interesting story lines.

On Jan. 26, 1986 Super Bowl XX (20) was played The Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 46-10 in the Louisiana Superdome.

At the time, it was the most lopsided Super Bowl in history as linebacker Richard Dent was named the game's MVP.

New England jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but then Chicago's defense clamped down and the offense picked it up a notch. The Bears rattled off the next 44 points to secure their victory.

The Superdome in New Orleans is playing the host for this years Super Bowl with the 49ers and Ravens.

On Jan. 26, 1992, Super Bowl XXVI (26) was played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.,

Mark Rypien of the Washington Redskins was the game's MVP as the Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills by a score of 37-24. Rypien threw for 292 yards on 18-for-33 passing.

Washington had a 24-0 lead before Buffalo even scored its first points in the third quarter.

On Jan. 26, 1997, the Green Bay Packers won their first Super Bowl in the modern NFL over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI (31).

Desmond Howard was the game's MVP as his 99-yard kickoff return in the third quarter sealed the game for the Packers.

The final score was 35-21 as quarterback Brett Favre beat the Patriots' Drew Bledsoe.

On Jan. 26, 2003, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders, in Super Bowl XXXVII (37).

The final score was 48-21 as the Buccaneers scored three touchdowns directly off interceptions.

Dwight Smith had two of those interceptions and Derrick Brooks had the other as Tampa Bay won their only Super Bowl title in their only appearance in the Super Bowl to this point.

Bryant Puts Up 81 On Raptors

On Jan. 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 81 points in a single game. 

It is the second highest total in history behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point effort. Bryant's effort came in a 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors.

The Lakers were trailing by double digits in the third quarter when Bryant really started to turn it on. He had a total of 55 points in the second half to help the Lakers win.

Bryant has put together a tremendous career becoming the youngest player in league history to score 30,000 career points and is the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. He currently ranks third and fourth on the league's all-time post-season scoring and all-time regular season scoring lists.

At one point it looked like Bryant would be a shoe in to take over the post-season scoring title, but with his injuries over the past two seasons and the Lakers failure to post a respectable win-loss record he might end up where he is currently.

Since his second year in the league, Bryant has been selected to start every All-Star Game. He has won the All-Star MVP Award four times (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011), tying him for the most All-Star MVP Awards in NBA history.

At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals as a member of the USA national team. Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the top NBA player of the 2000s.

Chargers Land Unitas

On Jan. 22, 1973,  the Baltimore Colts dealt legendary quarterback Johnny Unitas to the San Diego Chargers.

Despite his record numbers, the Colts felt that Unitas was too advanced in years to help them anymore. He was traded for the draft rights to quarterback Bert Jones.

Unitas started just four games for the Chargers before he was benched in favor of Dan Fouts. Fouts would go on to have a legendary career for the Chargers.

Nicknamed "The Golden Arm", Unitas, was a Lithuanian American professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts.

He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football League's most valuable player in 1959, 1964 and 1967. For 52 years he held the record of throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games (between 1956–1960), until New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke his long standing record on Oct. 7, 2012.

Unitas was drafted in the ninth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL but was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. 

Steelers Head Coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he somehow thought him not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team.

The opposite would be true, as Unitas would become one of the greatest on-field leaders of all time, introducing the 2-minute offense to the NFL.

Kiesling never even let Unitas take a snap in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future NFL quarterback and longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas--by this time married--worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family.

On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semipro team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game

Unitas was the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback with a strong passing game, media fanfare and widespread popularity. He has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.

Unitas was a star studded pro in the NFL earning several honors including three Bert Bell Awards, a 10-time Pro Bowler, being a three-time Pro Bowl MVP, two-time NEA NFL MVP, three-time UPI NFL MVP, three time AP NFL MVP, six-time First Team All-Pro selection, one Second Team All-Pro selection, one Second Team All-Conference award as well a two time NFL World Champion and Super Bowl Champion in Super Bowl V. He also won the 1970 NFL Man of the Year Award.

Unitas was honored to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994, as well honored as part of the All-Decades team from the 1960s. Unitas’ no. 19 jersey was also retired by the Baltimore Colts.

NHL Approves Jets Move To Phoenix

On Jan. 19, 1996, the National Hockey League (NHL) approved the move of the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix. The move was another example of a Canadian team moving to a new American market. The Quebec Nordiques had moved to Colorado following the 1994-95 season.

The Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes and have struggled to establish a market in the desert.

In 2011 Winnipeg offered up a new stadium to host another NHL team. The NHL agreed that Canada should have another team, and Winnipeg was re-given the Jets, but this time in the form of the Atlanta Thrashers franchise.

The Jets, formerly known as the Atlanta Thrashers were founded in 1999 in Atlanta, and have won zero Stanley Cups, zero Conference Championships, zero President Trophies and zero Division Championships.

In their 12 years, the Thrashers, now Jets, have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs only once, during the 2006–07 season. Partially due to their lack of playoff success, the team had difficulty-drawing fans to attend their games over their final seasons.

The original Winnipeg Jets, which were founded in 1972 as part of the World Hockey Association (WHA), moved to the NHL in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA.

During their time in the WHA the Jets put together some fantastic seasons winning the Avco World Trophy, similar to the Stanley Cup, three times, during the 1975-1976, 1977-1978 and the 1978-1979 seasons.

Another notable accomplishment was the Jets' 5–3 victory over the Soviet National team on January 5, 1978, making the Jets the first club team ever to defeat the Soviet elite squad.

In the last season in the WHA, Kent Nilsson had 107 points, while Morris Lukowich had 65 goals, and Peter Sullivan had 46 goals and 86 points. The Jets made it to the Avco Cup and Gary Smith gave up the last goal in WHA history to Dave Semenko in a 7–3 Jets win.

Hockey great Bobby Hull played for the Jets and holds the record for most games played with 411, goals with 303 and points with 638.

After the Jets moved into the NHL they were just another team in a bigger league, and their winning ways did follow suit as they failed to win a Stanley Cup or even win a Conference Championship, President Trophy or Division Championship.

The Jets would win only two playoff series. The first came in 1985, as the Jets finished with the fourth-best record in the entire league (behind only Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and Washington Capitals.

They also notched 96 points, which would remain the franchise's best as an NHL team until the 2009–10 Coyotes racked up the franchise's second 100-point season (and first as an NHL team).

While they managed to dispatch the Calgary Flames in four games in the best-of-five division semi-final, the eventual Stanley Cup champion Oilers, with Wayne Gretzky, in the division final, swept them. In fact, Winnipeg and Edmonton played each other in the playoffs six times between 1983 and 1990.

The Oilers not only won every series, but also held the Jets to only four total victories over the six-playoff series.

Five of those times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990), the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup.

The second playoff series victory came in 1987, defeating Calgary in the division semi-final before losing to Edmonton, in the division final.

NFL Divisional Round Playoffs + Brady and Manning Playoff Moments.

Scratch Hit Sports creator Stephen Langsam recaps the NFL Divisional Round Playoffs with former co-host of the Sporting Hangover, Ryan Hilton, our predictions for the championship round, as well who is the best quarterback in each matchup.

We also dive into the previous Tom Brady and Peyton Manning playoff moments.

Scratch Hit Sports NFL Divisional Round Podcast

NBA Suspends Rodman Indefinitely

On Jan. 17, 1997, ESPN reports bad boy Dennis Rodman was suspended indefinitely by the NBA season due to the first lockout that actually went on during the NBA season.

Rodman kicked a courtside cameraman and was fined $25,000 for the incident. Rodman was reinstated and went on to become one of the top rebounders in the league.

Rodman started his career in Detroit with the Pistons, after being drafted 27^th overall in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft. On the Pistons, Rodman was part of the “Bad Boys” for their hard-nosed approach to basketball.

The squad featured Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars at the guard positions, Adrian Dantley and Sidney Green at forward, and center Bill Laimbeer.

Rodman would play with the Pistons from 1986-1993 and would earn two NBA Championships with the Detroit franchise. He would earn two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, two All-Star nominations, one All-NBA Third Team nomination in 1992, five NBA All-Defensive First Team nominations and two NBA Rebounding Champion awards.

The Detroit Pistons would retire his no. 10 jersey in 2011.

After his first five years with the Pistons, Rodman would move to the San Antonio Spurs for three years from 1993-1995. With the Spurs, Rodman would continue his dominance as a defensive presence, winning another All-Defensive First Team award in 1995, as well All-Defensive Second Team award in 1994, while earning the NBA Rebounding Champion every year in San Antonio. He would also earn another All-NBA Third Team award in 1995.

After his short stint with the Spurs, Rodman would make his best career move, joining the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan on his first return from retirement. During his four years with the Bulls, Rodman would win four more NBA Rebounding Champion awards, one more All-Defensive First Team award, and most importantly three more NBA-Championships from 1996-1998.

After the 1998 season Rodman would leave the Bulls for the Los Angeles Lakers. He would only play one year with the Lakers, during the lockout-shortened season he would only see action in 23 games before being released.

In the 2000 season Rodman would join the Dallas Mavericks. For the Mavericks, he played 12 games, was ejected twice and alienated the franchise with his erratic behavior until he was waived again; then Dallas guard and teammate Steve Nash commented that Rodman "never wanted to be [a Maverick]" and therefore was unmotivated.

After leaving the NBA in 2000, Rodman went on a hiatus from basketball for three years until picking up with Long Beach Jam of the newly-formed American Basketball Association during the 2003–2004 season, with hopes of being called up to the NBA midseason.

In the following 2004–2005 season, he signed with the ABA's Orange County Crush and the following season with the league's Tijuana Dragons.

After retiring from wrestling, Rodman became Commissioner of the Lingerie Football League in 2005.

In 2005, Rodman also made two visits to Finland. At first, he was present at Sonkajärvi in July in a wife-carrying contest. However, he resigned from the contest due to health problems. In November, he played one match for Torpan Pojat of the Finland's basketball league, Korisliiga.

That same year, Rodman published his second autobiography I Should Be Dead By Now and promoted this by sitting in a coffin.

The return to the NBA never materialized, but on Jan. 26, 2006, it was announced that Rodman had signed a one-game "experiment" deal for the UK basketball team Brighton Bears of the British Basketball League to play Guildford Heat on January 28, and went on to play three games for the Bears.

In spring 2006, he played two exhibition games in the Philippines along with NBA ex-stars Darryl Dawkins, Kevin Willis, Calvin Murphy, Otis Birdsong and Alex English. On April 27, they defeated a team of former Philippine Basketball Association stars in Mandaue City, Cebu and Rodman scored five points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

On May 1, 2006, Rodman's team played their second game and lost to the Philippine National Basketball team 110–102 at the Araneta Coliseum, where he scored three points and recorded 16 rebounds.

Apart from basketball, Rodman is a retired part-time professional wrestler and actor. He was a member of the NWO and fought alongside Hulk Hogan at two Bash at the Beach events. He had his own TV show The Rodman World Tour, and had lead roles in the action films Simon Sez and Double Team alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. Both films were critically panned, with the latter earning Rodman a triple Razzie Award. He appeared in several reality TV series and was the winner of the $222,000 main prize of the 2004 edition of Celebrity Mole. Rodman won the first ever Celebrity Championship Wrestling tournament.

On April 4, 2011, it was announced that Rodman would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

This year Rodman got into some hot water with the media for his comments made during his trip to North Korea.

Suns Cancel Game With Heat

On Jan. 17, 1989, the Phoenix Suns cancel their game against the Miami Heat just minutes before game time.

The Chicago Tribune reported racial tensions in Miami were intense and parts of the city were rioting that evening. The Suns were scheduled to play the Miami Heat, but the game was canceled 50 minutes before it was scheduled to start due to pressure from the community.

The arena was located on the edge of the Overtown neighborhood. A day before the game, police officers shot and killed a black resident of the neighborhood. Schools were closed and police were out in force as they tried to quell sniper fire and looting in Overtown.

Other games that have been cancelled in the NBA have been during the 1998-1999 season. The lockout in 98-99 lasted more than six months. Which forced the season to be shortened to 50 regular season games by the time the league was back up and running.

During the 2005 season the New Orleans Hornets would play all of their games in Oklahoma City due to damage to their stadium and the city of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In 2007 the Hornets returned to New Orleans.

Last year, during the 2011-2012 season the NBA was in the middle of another lockout. This time the lockout lasted just over five months and forced the NBA regular season schedule to be reduced to 66 regular season games.

This year Hurricane Sandy forced the postponement of several games on the East Coast, but none of the games were completely cancelled.

NFL Debuts Super Bowl

On Jan. 15, 1967, the NFL would host the first ever Super Bowl.

The site was Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Calif. and the Green Bay Packers, led by quarterback Bart Starr, defeated Len Dawson and the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 35-10.

Green Bay scored three touchdowns in the second half to break open a close game that was only 14-10 at the halfway point. Starr was 16-for-23 and 250 yards en route to being named the game's MVP.

The historic day marked the first-ever contest between the NFL and AFL, which were in competition with each other at the time.

The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues' champion teams would play in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a "conference", and the game was then played between the conference champions. Currently, the National Football Conference (NFC) leads the series with 25 wins to 21 wins for the American Football Conference (AFC).

Three years later, the leagues merged and the single-greatest game in American team sports took off to become an advertising juggernaut, which is because the Super Bowl every year is one of the most watched sporting events on television.

But it is not just about television and advertising, the Super Bowl is about showing your dominance over the league, and bringing home a Vince Lombardi Trophy to your fans.

The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some a de facto American national holiday, is called "Super Bowl Sunday". It is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls, the most of any team; the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have five victories each; and both the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have four Super Bowls championships.

Thirteen other NFL franchises have won at least one Super Bowl.

Ten teams have appeared in Super Bowl games without a win.

The Minnesota Vikings were the first team to have lost a record four times without a win. The Buffalo Bills played in a record four Super Bowls in a row, and lost every one. Four teams (the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans) have never appeared in a Super Bowl.

The Browns and Lions both won NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl's creation, while the Jaguars (1995) and Texans (2002) are both recent NFL expansion teams.

The Minnesota Vikings won the last NFL Championship before the merger, but lost to the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.

NFL Pro Bowl Debuts

On Jan. 15, 1939, the NFL hosts the first ever Pro Bowl.

The New York Giants played the Pro All-Stars at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, Calif. The Giants won the game by a score of 13-10 over a team that had several future Hall of Fame inductees.

The NFL's version of the all-star game would change formats over several years. Sometimes teams would play college stars. Other times the game would be held in the summer.

For the first time in 1939, the Pro Bowl was held after the season was over.

The NFL All-Star Game was played again in Los Angeles in 1940 and then in New York and Philadelphia in 1941 and 1942 respectively. Although originally planned as an annual contest, the all-star game was discontinued after 1942 because of travel restrictions put in place during World War I.

During the first five all-star games, an all-star team would face that year's league champion. The league champion won the first four games before the all-stars were victorious in the final game of this early series.

The concept of an all-star game would not be revived until June 1950, when the newly christened "Pro Bowl" was approved.

The Los Angeles Publishers Association sponsored the game. It was decided that the game would feature all-star teams from each of the league's two divisions rather than the league champion versus all-star format, which had been used previously.

This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicago College All-Star Game, an annual game that featured the league champion against a collegiate all-star team. The coach of each of the division champions would lead the teams.

The first 21 games of the series (1951–1972) were played in Los Angeles, California. The site of the game was changed annually for each of the next seven years before the game was moved to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii for thirty consecutive seasons from 1980 through 2009.

The 2010 Pro Bowl was played at Sun Life Stadium, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV, on January 31, the first time ever that the Pro Bowl was held before the championship game, with the new rule that the conference teams do not include players from the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl. T

The 2011 and 2012 Pro Bowls were played again in Hawaii, but again held during the week before the Super Bowl.

Since the merger with the rival American Football League (AFL) in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference (AFC) against those in the National Football Conference (NFC).

Unlike most other sports leagues, which hold their all-star games during (roughly) the halfway point of their respective regular seasons, the Pro Bowl is played at the end of the NFL season.

Currently, players are voted into the Pro Bowl by the coaches, the players themselves, and the fans. Each group's ballots count for one third of the votes. The fans vote online at the NFL's official website. There are also replacements that go to the game should any selected player be unable to play due to injuries. Prior to 1995, only the coaches and the players made Pro Bowl selections.

In order to be considered a Pro Bowler for a given year, a player must either have been one of the initial players selected to the team, or a player who accepts an invitation to the Pro Bowl as an alternate; invited alternates who decline to attend are not considered Pro Bowlers. Being a Pro Bowler is considered to be a mark of honor, and players who are accepted into the Pro Bowl are considered to be elite.

The Pro Bowl head coaches are traditionally the head coaches of the teams that lost in the AFC and NFC championship games for the same season of the Pro Bowl in question (not the case for the 1980 and 1981 seasons, regarding the Pro Bowls played in 1981 and 1982). However, for the 2010 and 2011 Pro Bowls, a new rule was presented: The teams that lose in the divisional playoff game with the best regular-season record will have their coaching staffs lead their respective conference Pro Bowl team. If the losing teams of each conference had the same regular season record the coaches from the higher-seeded team will get the Pro Bowl honor.

A Player of the Game was honored from 1951–56. From 1957–71, awards were presented to both an Outstanding Back and an Outstanding Lineman.

In 1972, there were awards for both an Outstanding Offensive Player and an Outstanding Defensive Player.

From 1973–2007, only one Player of the Game award was honored (though three times this award has been presented to multiple players in a single game).

In 2008 the award was changed to Most Valuable Player (MVP).^.

Since 1984 the winner has received the Dan McGuire Award.

Players are paid for participating in the game with the winning team receiving a larger payout. In the 2011 season, a record $50,000 was awarded for a win versus $25,000 for the losers.

The NFL's all-star game draws bigger television ratings than all other major sports all-star games. The 2012 Pro Bowl drew 13.5 million viewers

Despite the great viewership and the “fun” aspect the Pro Bowl has for players, on Oct. 24, 2012, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had second thoughts about the Pro Bowl taking place this year, telling a Sirius XM show that if the players did not play more competitively, he is “not inclined to play it anymore.”

Chamberlain Scores 73

On Jan. 13, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored a then-NBA record 73 points as his home team Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Packers 135-117. The point total was the most scored by an individual in a regulation NBA game.

The record has been eclipsed since then, by two players, Chamberlain himself later in the 1962 season with 100 points, against the New York Knicks in a 169-147 win, and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006 against the Toronto Raptors with 81 points.

Chamberlain’s 73-point output remains the third-highest total in NBA history to this day behind his 100-point game and Bryant’s 81-point game.

Chamberlain was a very decorated athlete during his NBA tenure winning two NBA Championships, in 1967 with the Philadelphia 76ers and in 1972 with the Los Angeles Lakers; he was also the NBA Finals MVP in 1972.

He was awarded the NBA MVP award four times, in 1960, and three consecutive years from 1966-1968. He was a 13-time NBA All-Star, and the All-Star game MVP in 1960, as well the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1960.

Chamberlain was a seven-time NBA scoring champion as he won the title every year from 1960-1966. He was an 11-time NBA rebounding champion.

Chamberlain was named to the All-NBA First Team seven times, All-NBA second team three times. He was named to two NBA All-Defensive First Team’s.

He is the still the All-Time leading scorer for the Golden State Warriors.

Chamberlain was a member of the NBA 35^th and 50^th Anniversary Teams.

His no. 13 jersey has been retired by the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers.

He is still one of only two players to average more than 30 points per game, the other being Michael Jordan. Both averaged 30.1 points per game.