Danny Ainge and Wayne Rollins Rumble

On April 24, 1983, a classic NBA altercation takes place.

In a first round meeting between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks, Boston sharp-shooter Danny Ainge takes one too many elbows from Hawks center Wayne "Tree" Rollins.

Ainge, who had allegedly called Rollins a "sissy," finally ran up and tackled the 7-footer, causing a bench-clearing brawl to ensue. While Ainge and Rollins were scuffling on the floor, Rollins took a bite at Ainge's middle finger.

"He almost bit my finger off,'' Ainge said in a  Sports Illustrated interview. "He bit it all the way through. I had to get two stitches.''

Ainge was ejected from the game, as was Atlanta guard Mike Glenn. Rollins, however, was not ejected. Boston went on to win the game and sweep the Hawks out of the postseason. Rollins was later given a $5,000 fine and a five-game suspension to be assessed at the beginning of the '83-84 season.

The Boston Herald covered the story with the headline: "Tree Bites Man." In later years, the facts of the incident began to strain, and people began to believe that it was Ainge who had bitten Rollins, and not the other way around. Ainge was able to dispell these rumors, though only after displaying the scar that had been made on his middle finger.

Detroit Red Wings Win 60 Games

On April 11, 1996, the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings become second NHL team to win 60 games in a season.

The Red Wings are members of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL), and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Chicago Blackhawks.

They play home games in the 20,066 capacity Joe Louis Arena after having spent over 40 years playing in Olympia Stadium. The Red Wings are one of the most popular franchises in the NHL, and fans and commentators refer to Detroit and its surrounding areas as "Hockeytown".

Between the 1933–34 and 1965–66 seasons, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only four times. More recently, the Red Wings have made the playoffs in 27 of the last 29 seasons, including the last 22 in a row (1991–2013). This is the longest current streak of post-season appearances in all of North American professional sports.

The Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships (11) of any NHL franchise based in the United States, and are third overall in total NHL championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens (24) and Toronto Maple Leafs (13). 

The 2007-2008 Detroit Red Wings squad, the last of which won the Lord Stanley Cup.

The Red Wings have won six Conference Championships including back-to-back in 2007-2008, 2008-2009. They have won six Presidents Trophies and 19 Division Championships including three consecutive from 1993-1994 to 1995-1996. They have won six Clarence S. Campbell Bowls, 11 Prince of Wales Trophies, and five O’Brien Trophies.

The Red Wings have retired several numbers including Hall of Famers Terry Sawchuk and his no.1 jersey. Ted Lindsay and his no. 7 jersey. Gordie Howe and his no. 9 jersey. Alex Delvecchio and his no. 10 jersey. Sid Abel and his no. 12 jersey. Steve Yzerman and his no. 19 jersey. Finally Wayne Gretzky’s no. 99 jersey as it has been retired league wide in the NHL as of 2000.

The no. 6 jersey formerly worn by Larry Aurie a right wing from 1927-1939, has not been officially retired but has not been issued since 1939. From 1975-2000 it was listed as retired, but has been changed back to being unofficially retired.

The no. 16 jersey of Vladimir Konstantinov, a defender on the Red Wings teams from 1991-1997 had his jersey retired in 1997 followed a career-ending car accident.

Buffalo Sabers Clint Malarchuk Suffers Near Fatal Injury

On March 22, 1989, Clint Malarchuk of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres suffered a near fatal throat injury in a game against the St. Louis Blues. Malarchuk had his interior carotid artery severed when teamed Uwe Krupp and Blues forward Steve Tuttle crashed into him at high speeds.

Clint Malarchuk of the Buffalo Sabres after having his throat hit with a skate.

Malarchuk came dangerously close to losing his life that night, but the quick thinking of athletic trainer Jim Pizzutelli save his life. Pizzutelli, a former army medic who served in Vietnam, reached into Malarchuk’s neck and pinched off the bleeding until doctors arrived.

It took doctors 90 minutes and over 300 stitches to close the wound. Suprisingly, Malarchuk spent only one night in the hospital and was back at practice just four days later.

Chicago Cubs Install Lights

On Feb. 23, 1988, the city of Chicago gives the MLB team the Cubs the right to install lights and play up to 18 night games a season.

The Chicago Cubs were the last team in Major League Baseball to get lights installed to play night games.

Wrigley Field was a holdout against night games, not installing lights until 1988 after baseball officials refused to allow Wrigley to host any post-season games without lights. Before then, all games at Wrigley were played during the day. Night games are still limited in number by agreement with the city council.

In 1942, then-owner P.K. Wrigley had planned to install lights, but instead, the lights and stands were scrapped for the war effort. Though Wrigley was the last Major League ballpark to get its lights, the first night game was scheduled for August 8, 1988; a 91-year-old Harry Grossman flipped a switch and Wrigley Field joined the modern era in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the game was rained out after three and a half innings.

A snapshot of Wrigley Field in Chicago after the lights had been installed in 1988.

The first official night game at Wrigley was held the following day, August 9. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's first All-Star Game during the 1943 midseason, was played under temporary lights at Wrigley Field, between two teams composed of South Bend Blue Sox and Rockford Peaches players versus Kenosha Comets and Racine Belles players. It was also the first night game ever played in the historic ballpark (July 1, 1943).

Currently the Cubs are one of only a few teams in baseball that do not have a video board as part of their in-game festivities.

Along with Fenway Park, Wrigley is one of the last parks to maintain a hand-turned scoreboard. Unlike the home of the Red Sox, the scoreboard at Wrigley is mounted above the center field bleachers, rather than at ground level, making it harder to hit during play. No players have hit the current scoreboard, although several have come close. The scoreboard was installed in 1937, when Bill Veeck installed the new bleachers. The scoreboard has remained in place ever since, and has only seen minor modifications. The clock was added in 1941, a fifth row of scores was added to each side in 1961 and later a sixth. A set of light stands facing onto the scoreboard was added in 1988 with the introduction of night games. An electronic message board was also added below the scoreboard.

The scoreboard is still manually operated, with scores coming in through a computer (a ticker tape machine was used in the past); a number turner watches the score changes closely, and updates scores by manually replacing the numbers from within the scoreboard. The scoreboard is made out of sheet steel. The numbers that are placed into the inning windows are steel, painted forest green, and numbered with white numerals. The box for the game playing at Wrigley uses yellow numerals for the current inning. The clock, which sits at the top center of the scoreboard, has never lost time in its 71-year existence. Standing over the clock are three flagpoles, one for each division in the National League. There are 16 flags, one for each National League team, and their order on the flagpoles reflects the current standings. The entrance to the scoreboard is a trap door on the bottom. On the reverse of the scoreboard, visible from the CTA elevated trains, is a blue pennant, with the words "Chicago Cubs", in white outlined in red neon. The scoreboard was extensively rehabilitated for the 2010 season.

In 2010, the Cubs toyed with the idea of adding a video screen to the stadium, but the presence of the hand-turned scoreboard (which cannot be moved due to the park's landmark status, which also prohibits even simple facelifts such as adding two more games on either side 15 teams (seven games on each, plus the one interleague game), respectively, in the leagues; the 12-game, 24-team scoreboard reflects MLB from 1969 to 1976, so up to three games (one NL, one AL, and the inter-league) each day cannot be posted) has hampered efforts to do so. Most Cubs players support the addition of a Jumbotron, but it is unknown whether the team will proceed with plans to add one.

Those games may eventually be part of the auxiliary video board currently on the right field that may also be added in left field also.

The Cubs have not won the World Series in 104 years, the longest championship drought of any major North American professional sports team, and are often referred to as the "Lovable Losers" because of this distinction. They are also known as "The North Siders" because Wrigley Field, their home park since 1916, is located in Chicago's north side Lake View community at 1060 West Addison Street (as opposed to their cross-town rivals, the Chicago White Sox, who play on the city's South Side).

The club played its first games in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings. This makes the Cubs, along with the Braves who were founded in 1871, one of the two oldest active teams in major North American sports. There is an argument as to whom is actually older because although the Cubs are a full season "older" they lost two seasons to the Great Chicago Fire, thus the Braves have played more seasons.

The Cubs have won two World Series titles in 1907 and 1908. They have won 16 National League pennants, their last being in 1945. They have won two National League Central Division Titles in 2003, 2007 and 2008.

Before the rezoning of teams in the National League the Cubs had won two East Division Titles in 1984 and 1989.

The Cubs have also earned one Wild Card berth in 1998, since the inception of the Wild Card.

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.

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

First Collegiate Football Game

On Nov. 6, 1869, the first intercollegiate football game in history took place. 

The game was played between Rutgers and Princeton, with Rutgers winning the game 6-4. The game at the time resembled rugby more than it did modern football. 

The game is immortalized with a statue honoring it on the Rutgers campus.

Since the first college football game was played football has become a regular part of the collegiate landscape at most big colleges.

Over the past decade or two, college football has reached new highs with television networks wanting to air games. 

The NCAA and colleges across the nation are signed up for ‘Bowl Games’ left and right if a team even reaches .500 on the season.

The game has come along way from the 6-4 win as Rutgers beat Princeton in 1869, games are now usually in the mid 20’s and resemble pro football more so than rugby.

Athletics Fall To Tigers In ALDS Game 5

Mojo in Oaktown runs out as Oakland falls to Detroit in yet another Game 5 in the ALDS

OAKLAND, Calif. – In a rematch of Game 2 the Oakland Athletics sent out rookie pitcher Sonny Gray for the pitching duties to matchup against the former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander in a winner take all Game 5 of the ALDS.

Verlander was bringing in 22 consecutive innings of scoreless ball against the A’s, while Gray was only making his second postseason start of his career, in what was also his second of the series.
The pitching matchup proved to be similar from Game 2 as Gray and Verlander were un-hittable through three full innings, with Gray allowing just one walk to Prince Fielder. But for Gray the wheels began to spin like a truck in mud. He continued to pound the zone with fastballs and gave up back-to-back hits to Torii Hunter and a home to Miguel Cabrera in the top of the fourth inning.

TOD FIERNER / Courtesy -- Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera (right) hit a two-run home run in he fourth inning off of Oakland Athletics Sonny Gray. Cabrera’s two-run home run would prove to be all the Tigers would need to clinch their second straight ALDS title at the O.Co Coliseum on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013.

The home run for Cabrera was his first since Sept. 17, also his first extra base hit in the same time span.

“He didn’t have the leg driving he normally does, and I surprised he pulled it for a home run,” said Oakland A’s Manager Bob Melvin. “But I guess you can’t be surprised when Cabrera hits a home run.”

Gray would continue to get in trouble in the inning after he got Fielder to ground out, he allowed back-to-back singles to Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta before walking Alex Avila to load the bases. After a mound visit by pitching Coach Curt Young, Gray would get Infante to ground out to escape what would have been instantaneous danger.

Gray would again come out to pitch the fifth and sixth innings, but would be pulled in the sixth after allowing back-to-back hits to Martinez and Peralta again. Gray would leave the game to a standing ovation from the crowd, as Melvin also gave the youngster a round of applause on his way to the mound.

Reliever Dan Otero would come in and get out of the inning, but only before allowing one of the two inherited runners from Gray to score pushing the score to 3-0 in favor of the Tigers.

TOD FIERNER/ Courtesy -- Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander proved to be too much for the Oakland Athletics to handle in Game 5 of the ALDS on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. Verlander was dominant pitching a perfect game until the sixth inning, a no-hitter until the seventh inning and eventually pitching eight scoreless innings in the 3-0 win.

In the other dugout it was Verlander who continue to stifle the Oakland offense as he took his perfect game bid into the sixth inning before walking Josh Reddick with one out. Reddick would advance to second on a fly ball from Stephen Vogt, the hero from Game 2, but he would be left at second as Coco Crisp flied out to end the inning.

Otero would work a clean inning, allowing two hits to Fielder and Martinez, but not allowing any runners to score, keeping the score at 3-0.

“Since he came up for his, look at his numbers, they have been fantastic,” said Oakland Manager Bob Melvin. “We used in a number of roles, and he’s been a guy we really leaned on late in games. And he was the first guy we called on tonight to come in and stop the rally.”

Verlander would continue to dominate with the no-hit bid still in tact but would give up a single to Yoenis Cespedes with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The fans would go crazy as Cespedes rounded first base, only to trot back to pound fists with first base Coach Ty Waller. However for the A’s fans and Cespedes, he would be left on-base as Verlander would strike out Seth Smith, for his eighth strikeout of the night.

Then it was Sean Doolittle’s turn to get some action as he came in from the bullpen. Doolittle would work a one-two-three inning, giving the A’s fans some hope that their team could work around the 3-0 deficit.

The bottom of the eighth inning saw Brandon Moss strike out for his third time in the game and Alberto Callaspo ground out to Fielder at first before Reddick got on-base for the second time in the game, this time with a single up the middle.

Still with a bit of hope in their pocket the A’s fans rose to their feet hoping that Vogt would get a clutch hit. However, it was Verlander who would have the last laugh as he recorded strikeout number 10 on the night.

“Justin was locked in tonight,” said Tigers Manager Jim Leyland. “I don’t know how he is locked in against a certain team, but he was.”

The top of the ninth brought in Australian closer Grant Balfour to face the Tigers top of the line up.

Balfour would strike out Austin Jackson, earning his third strikeout of the game, and Divisional Series record of 13, a record that Oakland’s Moss tied with his three in the game. Balfour would continue to do what he did throughout most of the season, get batters out as he got Hunter to fly out to Crisp in center for the second out. Then it was time to face Cabrera, who only had two hits after the first inning of each game in the series. Balfour would get Cabrera swinging, breathing one last breath of life into the stands of the O.Co Coliseum.

Down 3-0 and with the top of the lineup due the Tigers brought in closer Joaquin Benoit for Verlander, as well as their defensive replacements as Peralta and Cabrera went to the dugout in favor of Jose Iglesias and Ramon Santiago respectively.

“You feel relieved when Verlander doesn’t come out,” said Melvin. “But Benoit has been doing well too.”

“Verlander told me he was dead tired after the eighth inning,” said Leyland.

With the fans on their feet and chanting “Let’s Go Oakland,” Crisp started off the inning against Benoit with a ground out to second, bringing up Donaldson who had been slumping in the series, holding just a .150 average in the series into the at-bat against Benoit would strike out swinging.

Down to there last out former Stanford Cardinal product, and first year A’s shortstop Lowrie would step into the box to face Benoit, looking to give the Oakland fans some sort of miracle. But like Donaldson he had been slumping in the series, bringing a .105 average into the at-bat, but he would come through, hitting a double to left-center field.

That brought up one of the two hottest hitters for the A’s in the series, Cespedes, the player who broke up Verlander’s no-hit bid earlier in the game. Once again the fans jumped to their feet to cheer on their slugger.

Once again the fans chanted “Let’s Go Oakland,” as Cespedes took a pair of uninhibited hacks at pitches from Benoit.

With a two-ball and two-strike count Benoit would hit Cespedes on the inner leg, bringing the tying run to the plate in Seth Smith, who would work the count, but would eventually fly out to right field, ending the Oakland A’s season.

“I was worried when Smith came in,” said Leyland. “I wasn’t very comfortable.”

“Our fans were just waiting to get into a frenzy, we just needed to get some base runners, and let our fans pull us the way we did last year,” said Melvin.  “We just didn’t get any consistency, until the last inning.”

TOD FIERNER / Courtesy -- The Detroit Tigers celebrating on the field at the O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. after recording the final out of the 2013 ALDS.

But you wouldn’t have noticed that the game was over by the way the Oakland fans stayed and cheered on the team again raining down chants of “Let’s Go Oakland,” as the Detroit Tigers rushed the field to celebrate on the infield.

The A’s loss to the Tigers makes it 10 consecutive playoff losses to the Tigers dating back to 2006 when they lost to the Tigers in the ALCS. The last six losses coming in the last two ALDS matchups from 2012 and 2013.

For the Tigers, they head to Boston to face the Red Sox in the ALCS.

The Tarps Are Coming Off In Oakland

Your wish is my command!

Those are a few words Oakland Athletics fans would have never expected to come from the front office of the East Bay’s baseball franchise, the Oakland A’s. However, your wish is being granted.
No the ownership group didn’t decide on a location in Jack London Square for a new stadium to keep the team in Oakland, but they did agree to take the tarps off of the third deck of the coliseum, minus the tarps that cover Mt. Davis. Of note, the third deck already has a few sections behind home plate that are called the “Value Deck” where you can purchase a ticket that includes free food and beverages. Those seats will now be apart of the “View Level” seating which is the entire bowled section of the third deck.

Here is a tweet from the Oakland Athletics official twitter handle @Athletics – Due to strong demand, additional View Level seating is now available for #Athletics ALDS games #OAKtober http://atmlb.com/188XA4y - 12:44 PM - 17 Sep 2013.

Last year the A’s ownership group noted they would take off the tarps on the third deck if the team made the ALCS, although the note was made after the team was already down 0-2 to the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. The team would push a Game 5 at home, but would eventually lose to those same Tigers, who ended up losing in the World Series to the San Francisco Giants, the A’s cross bay rival.

My assumption is, if the A’s move on beyond the American League Divisional Series to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) or the World Series the tarps will remain off, and possibly more tarps will be coming off of Mt. Davis, in an attempt to gain more revenue.

So what does this mean?

First off, it means more seats for people looking to go to a playoff game in the Bay Area.
The current capacity, and will be for the remainder of the regular season of the O.Co Coliseum is 35,067 plus standing room only tickets. For the ALDS and likely the Wild Card game or other series in the playoffs, the attendance figures will be bumped up to near 44,000 seats plus standing room only.

Secondly, it means that the fans and fan base that supports the A’s is growing in numbers and their voices are beginning to be heard. Well at least their dollars are willing to seen.

The seats in the third deck are starting at $35 for the ALDS and will continue to increase if the team extends its post-season run.

Third, this means the A’s are giving their fan base a shot as packing the house, like it used to be in the early 2000’s and before that, a few more times once the post season begins.

So A’s fans, and baseball fans alike, now is your chance to get tickets, which went on sale Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 10 a.m.

To purchase tickets online you can visit www.OaklandAthletics.com/tickets, you can also visit their box offices at the O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif.

With less than two weeks until the post season begins, it’s time to put on your rally cap and root for your team. The playoffs are upon us.

A's Win 20

On Sep. 4, 2002, the Oakland A’s set an American League record with their twentieth straight win.

The A’s gave up an 11-run lead against the Kansas City Royals that day, however Scott Hatteberg homered in the bottom of the ninth for the win to cap off the 20-game win streak for the Oakland franchise.

The 20-game win streak went on to be immortalized in the movie “Moneyball” which portrayed Billy Beane’s philosophy of baseball and the 2002 Athletics club.

The 2002 A’s club went on to win 103 games. However, they were bounced from the playoffs in the first round after losing to the Minnesota Twins.

Reds Set A National League Record

On Sep. 4, 1999, the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 22-3. 

The story lies in that the Reds had nine home runs a National League record, with eight different players hitting a home run, which was a Major League record.

The eight players who hit home runs in that game were: Ed Taubensee, who hit two, Jeffrey Hammonds, Pokey Reese, Greg Vaughn, Aaron Boone, Mark Lewis, Dimitri Young and Brian Johnson.

Amazingly Lewis and Johnson’s home runs came in pinch-hit at-bats.

The 1999 Reds would go to post the best record by a Reds team since the “Big Red Machine” in 1976, however, their 96 wins would still not get them to the playoffs.

Since the switch to 162 games in 1963, the Reds of 1999 posted the sixth-best record, only to not make the playoffs.