Niagra Upsets Florida A&M

On March 13, 2007, University of Niagra defeats Florida A&M 77-69 in Dayton Ohio, in the tournament opener.

The Niagra Eagles Clif Brown after scoring a bucket in the game against Florida A&M.

The win for Niagra in the NCAA Tournament, albeit a “play-in” game, was the first win for Niagra in the tournament since 1970, so it was a big deal.

The hero on the night for the Eagles was Clif Brown, who helped the team to their 12 straight win, scoring 32 points on the night.

With the win Niagra moved on to play top-seeded Kansas in Chicago just a few days later.

The Eagles would end up falling to the Jay Hawks 107-67, but the Eagles would make history in the process winning the only “play-in” game that season, and getting a chance to make history in the NCAA Tournament.

United States Football League Debuts

On March 6, 1983, the USFL, United States Football League, plays their first game. The game featured the Washington Federals and Philadelphia Stars.

Three of the elite USFL quarterbacks from left: Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly and Steve Young.

The USFL which featured 12 teams in its first year of play, 1983, expanded to 18 in its second year of play.

However the USFL, after three years of play had most of their teams fold due to going into severe debt not being able to fill their stadiums.

Some teams like the Oakland and Los Angeles franchises suspended operations for a year, in 1986, hoping to rebuild capital.

Finally four teams merged into two during 1986,, the Denver and Jacksonville franchises merged to play in Jacksonville and the Houston and New Jersey franchises merged to play in New Jersey.

With all of these changes the USFL was doomed and were never able to get back on track with competing against the NFL, and closed their doors a year later in 1987.

Olajuwon Records Quadruple-Double

On March 3, 1990, Hakeem Olajuwon, then known as Akeem Olajuwon, briefly records a quadruple-double in a 129-121 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Hakeem Olajuwon (left) with teammate Clyde Drexler (right) in 1990 on the Houston Rockets.

Olajuwon compiled 29 points, 18 rebounds, 11 blocks, nine assists and five steals. However after the game, members of the Rockets’ scoring crew went back and reviewed the tape of the game. They decided that he had not been rightfully given an assist on a first quarter shot by Buck Johnson, so they have him the tenth assist.

With the updated stat Olajuwon had recorded a quadruple-double, which only two others had done before him, Nate Thurmond and Alvin Robertson. It was short lived though as NBA vice president Rod Thorn looked over the game and decided to remove the additional assist.

The decision would have been a bad footnote in Olajuwon’s career, however just 26 days later Olajuwon recorded a quadruple-double against the Milwaukee Bucks, going for 18 points, 16 rebounds, 11 blocks and 10 assists – that quadruple-double was league approved.

WNBA Hosts First Championship

On Aug. 30, 1997, the WNBA held its first ever championship game.  

The game took place at the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas and saw the Houston Comets defeat the New York Liberty 65-51 to capture the league’s inaugural championship.

The Houston Comets and New York Liberty had the two best records in the regular season finishing 18-10 and 17-11 respectively.  

Since the WNBA was only an eight team league, only four playoff spots were available with New York beating Phoenix in one semi-final and Houston getting past Charlotte in the other.  

Houston Comets guard Cynthia Cooper was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, capping off a great season for her.

To go along with the finals MVP, Cooper also won the regular season Most Valuable Player and was the league’s top scorer.  

She would go on to win both awards again the next season and won four championships as a member of the Houston Comets.

Gagne Breaks Consecutive Save Record

On Aug, 28, 2003, Eric Gagne sets a record with consecutive save 44 of the 2003 season, with a total of 52 in a row dating back to the 2002 season.

Gagne would continue his streak into the midst of the 2004 season and eventually earn 84 consecutive saves. By far more than any other closer.

Gagne would finish his career with 187 saves, almost half of those were earned during his streak which last over three consecutive seasons.

Sandberg Notches Back-To-Back 30 Home Run Seasons

On Aug. 28, 1990, Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs hit home run 30 of the season, which helped the Cubs beat the Houston Astros at the Astrodome.

 It was the second year in a row the future Hall of Famer hit at least 30 home runs, becoming the first major league second baseman to do that. Sandberg wasn't done in 1990 either. He ended up with 40 home runs. After hitting an even 30 in 1989.

Sandberg played 16 years in the major leagues, his first with the Philadelphia Phillies, but as a result of a classic ill-advised trade on the part of Philadelphia, was sent to the Cubs in year two and played the next 15 seasons on the northside of Chicago.

Sandberg was a career .285 hitter, appeared in 10 all-star games, was National League Most Valuable Player in 1984, and elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. 

Since Sandberg retired second base has still be a position with limited power but a few players after him have completed the feat.

Jeff Kent hit 30 home runs in three consecutive seasons.

Alfonso Soriano hit 30 home runs in three consecutive seasons.

Chase Utley also hit 30 home runs in three consecutive seasons.

Dan Uggla is the current record holder with five consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs.

Five Way Wildcard Tie

On August 28, 2003, five National League teams were tied for the wildcard position, with another three teams within one game of the loss column. An eight-team race with only a month remaining in the regular season - you don't see that everyday.

Montreal Expos: The Expos were the best story of the year. Threatened by contraction only a year earlier, the Expos split time between Olympic Stadium in Montreal and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico.

Despite traveling to three separate countries over the course of their schedule, and despite having an incredibly small payroll, the Frank Robinson-led Expos were the feel-good story of 2003 and finished with a winning record. Sadly, the team lost nine of their next ten games to completely fall out of contention. The team's star player, Vladimir Guerrero, left for the Anaheim Angels a year later, and due to poor attendance numbers in Montreal, the team moved to Washington D.C. in 2005.

Houston Astros: Technically, the wildcard race was a seven-team race, but because the NL Central-leading Astros were tied with the Cardinals, eight teams were involved. Houston would lose the Central by a single game while finishing as the runner-up in the wildcard too. Houston later added Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite, and with their already formidable batting order, the Astros went to the World Series in 2005. There they were swept by the Chicago White Sox.

Philadelphia Phillies: Every season, the Phillies were the dark horse team that could have been a contender but oddly wasn't. This year was no exception. On September 19, with less than ten games to go, Philadelphia was atop the wildcard standings. But in true Philadelphia style, the Phillies lost seven of their last eight games to erase any shred they had of the postseason. In 2008, the Phillies finally made it to the World Series. Less than a handful of players from the '03 team were on the 2008 version.

Florida Marlins: With 72 year-old Jack McKeon at the helm, the Marlins went on a tear down the stretch. After August 28, the Marlins won 13 of their next 15 games and 21 of their last 29. They finished four games ahead of the runner-up Astros, turning what was a competitive wildcard chase into a runaway. The Fish then beat the Giants and Cubs to advance all the way to the World Series, and in beating the New York Yankees, became the second wildcard team to win it all.

After the season, the small-market Marlins decided it wasn't worth it to keep their star players around. From Ivan Rodriguez to Josh Beckett, Miguel Cabrera, Carl Pavano, Mike Lowell, A.J. Burnett, Dontrelle Willis, and Derrek Lee, the team went on a complete firesale. In only four years, every single player from the 2003 championship team was off the roster. And people wonder why the Marlins get bad attendances... It's hard to follow a team when you know they'll get traded as soon as they win.

St. Louis Cardinals: From 2000 to 2006, the Cardinals won the National League Central division ... except for 2003. Never down by more than a half a dozen games, the Cards went .500 in September and failed to make up enough ground. They finished just three games out of the Central and six games behind the Florida Marlins. With mostly the same players, St. Louis went to the World Series in 2004 and 2006, winning it all on their second try.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Just two years after beating the New York Yankees in the World Series, the D-backs were once again in playoff the mix. Injuries would prove costly however. The dynamic pitching duo of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, who had both won 20 games the previous two seasons, missed a combined 29 starts. Further injuries to Tony Womack, Matt Williams, and Byung-Hyung Kim sunk the Diamondbacks' fate. After winning the NL West two years in a row, Arizona finished 15.5 games out of first in the NL West and 7 games out in the wildcard.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Los Angeles stayed competitive thanks to their excellent pitching. The Dodgers posted the best ERA in the National League and featured Cy Young winner Eric Gagne, who had the greatest season of any closer in history: 55 saves, 0 blown saves, a 1.20 ERA, and 137 strikeouts in just 82.3 innings. The Dodgers' bats failed to carry their weight. LA ranked in the bottom five in the National League in runs, hits, doubles, walks, and home runs and lacked a single batter who hit over .300. LA lost 9 of their last 14 and finished six behind the Marlins for the wildcard.

Chicago Cubs: Last, but not least, the Cubs. Chicago would not win as many games as the Marlins, but by finishing ahead of the Astros and Cardinals, they conquered the NL Central and got into the postseason nonetheless. The Cubs and Astros were tied with only three games to go; Chicago won two of their final three games while Houston lost two of three.

The Cubs made it all the way to the National League Championship Series, where they collided with the wildcard-winning Florida Marlins. Chicago led the series 3-2 with games 6 and 7 being played in the windy city, and had their top two pitchers, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, going in both contests. The Cubs lost both matches. In one of them, a foul ball veering into the stands was deflected by Steve Bartman, who would become the most infamous fan in sports history. The Cubs' defeat was likely their most painful in franchise history; never had they come so close to victory in defeat.