Carl Lewis Wins Olympic Gold In 100-Meters

On August 4, 1984, United States Olympian Carl Lewis wins the Gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

In addition to winning the Gold medal in the 100-meter dash, Lewis won the 200-meter spring, 4x100-meter relay and the long jump at the 1984 Olympics.

In 1988 is Seoul, Lewis continues his reign in the 100-meter dash by earning his fifth Olympic Gold medal, and his sixth with the Gold medal in the long jump as well. He wouldn’t be able to keep his streak of Gold medals alive though as he earned a Silver medal in the 200-meter dash.

In 1992 in Barcelona, Lewis won Gold in the 4x100-meter relay and the long jump.

In the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta Lewis earned his ninth Gold medal of his Olympics career, also his last in the long jump.

But it wasn’t just at the Olympics where Lewis shined, in the Inaugural World Championships in 1983 at Helsinki, Lewis took Gold in the 100-meter dash, 4x100-meter relay and long jump.

In the 1987 World Championships in Rome, he earned Gold in all three events again, topping the field in the 100-meter dash, 4x100-meter relay and long jump.

Again in 1991 at the World Championships in Tokyo, Lewis continued his reign on the track taking Gold in both the 100-meter dash and the 4x100-meter relay.

"The best race of my life," Lewis said of his 100-meter dash. "The best technique, the fastest. And I did it at thirty."

Lewis was referring to what would be the deepest 100 meters race ever to that time, with six men finishing in under ten seconds, with Lewis not only defeating his opponents, but he reclaimed the world record with a clocking of 9.86 seconds. Lewis's world record would stand for nearly three years.

However, he was dethroned in the long jump, taking home his only Silver medal in his World Championships career.

Lewis would be dethroned by Mike Powell who took Silver behind Lewis at the Olympics in 1988.

The two battled, in what is considered by some to have been one of greatest competitions ever in any sport.

Powell's 8.95 meter jump and Lewis's final two jumps of 8.87 and 8.84 meters still stand as of October 2011 as the top three low altitude jumps ever. The farthest anyone has jumped since under legal conditions is 8.74 meters.

In reference to his efforts at the 1991 World Championships, Lewis said, “This has been the greatest meet that I’ve ever had.”

In 1993 at the Stuttgart World Championships, Lewis placed third, taking home his only Bronze medal in World Championships competition.

At the San Juan Pan American Games in 1979, Lewis took Bronze in the long jump before coming back for Gold at the 1987 Indianapolis Pan American Games. He also took Gold in the 4x100-meter relay.

In the Goodwill Games of 1986 in Moscow, Lewis took home Gold in the 4x100-meter relay, but was only able to grab Bronze in the 100-meter dash.

The 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle saw Lewis take Silver in the 100-meter dash while taking Gold in the long jump.

At the 1994 St. Petersburg Goodwill Games, Lewis took Gold in his only event, the 4x100-meter relay.

In the Olympic Boycott Games of 1980 in Philadelphia Lewis took Bronze in the long jump.

Lewis goes down as one of most glorified American athletes with his nine Gold and one Silver medal in Olympic competitions.

NBA Expands

On Nov. 3, in 1989 and 1995 new teams joined the NBA and played their first game.

In 1989 the Minnesota Timberwolves played their first ever NBA game. The Wolves opened up their first season on the road and lost to the Seattle SuperSonics 106-94. They finished the season with a record of 22-60. Minnesota did not reach the playoffs until their eighth season in the league.

Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor. The Timberwolves played their home games in the Metrodome during its inaugural season, before moving to Target Center in 1990.

Like most expansion teams, the Timberwolves struggled in their early years; but after the acquisition of Kevin Garnett in the 1995 NBA Draft, the team made the playoffs eight consecutive times from 1997 to 2004. Despite losing in the first round in their first seven attempts, the Timberwolves won their first division title in 2004 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. Garnett was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for that season.

The team has been in rebuilding mode since missing the playoffs in 2005, and trading Garnett to the Boston Celtics in 2007.

The T-Wolves biggest notable story in the last five years was the 31 points and 31 rebounds in one game that Kevin Love put together on Nov. 12, 2010 against the New York Knicks. It was the first 30-30-game the NBA had seen in 28 years.

In 1995 the Toronto Raptors played their first NBA game. The Raptors hosted the New Jersey Nets and managed to win the game 94-79. However, the Raptors lost their next seven games and finished their first season with a 21-61 record.

The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, to become the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian team in the NBA. They originally played their home games at the SkyDome, before moving to the Air Canada Centre in 1999.

The Raptors struggled in their early years, but after the acquisition of Vince Carter through a draft day trade in 1998, the team set league attendance records and made the NBA Playoffs in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

Carter was instrumental in leading the team to a franchise high 47 wins and their first playoff series win in 2001, where they advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. During the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, they failed to make significant progress and he was traded in 2004 to the New Jersey Nets.

After Carter left, Chris Bosh emerged as the team leader, but they continued to struggle. However, with the appointment of Bryan Colangelo as Raptors President and General Manager, the first overall NBA draft selection of Andrea Bargnani, and a revamp of the roster for the 2006–07 season, they qualified for their first playoff berth in five years and captured the Atlantic Division title with 47 wins. In the 2007–08 season, they advanced to the playoffs again but failed to make the playoffs in the following season. In a bid to persuade Bosh to stay beyond the final year of his contract, Colangelo overhauled the team roster for the 2009–10 season.

However, Toronto's descent down the standings, coinciding with Bosh's injuries after the All-Star break, meant a second consecutive season of failing to make the playoffs. Bosh signed with the Miami Heat in July 2010, ushering in a new era for the Raptors with Bargnani becoming the new face of the franchise.

Replacement Players In NFL

On Oct. 4, 1987, the NFL has replacement players play for the first time. The replacement players would last three weeks before the regular players would return. Most teams saw record low attendance during the replacement player games.

The 1987 NFL season was the sixty-eighth regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players. 85% of the veteran players did not cross picket lines during the strike.

The replacement player teams were given mock names like "Chicago Spare Bears", "San Francisco Phoney Niners", "New Orleans Saint Elsewheres", "Washington ScabSkins", and "Seattle Sea-scabs".

Final television revenues were down by about 20 percent, a smaller drop than the networks had expected. The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants went 0–3 in replacement games, ultimately costing them a chance to make the playoffs and repeat their championship.

After the season the St. Louis Cardinals' owners announced they would be leaving Missouri for Tempe, Arizona and become the Phoenix Cardinals for 1988.

The season ended with Super Bowl XXII when the Washington Redskins defeated the Denver Broncos 42-10 in Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The Broncos made their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance while the Redskins were returning for the first time since they advanced to Super Bowl XVIII four seasons earlier.

Cubs Win 116 Games

On Oct. 4, 1906, the Chicago Cubs picked up win 116 of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

The win moved the Cubs record to 116-36. That still stands as the best winning percentage ever. The Cubs failed to win the World Series, however, as they lost in six games. They would recover to win the World Series in 1907 and 1908.

Since 1906 only one team was reached as many wins as the Cubs, the 2001 Seattle Mariners who won 116 games but lost 46 compared to the 1906 Cubs who only lost 36. The reason for the discrepancy in games is because of the addition of more teams and more games to the regular season.

Since the record-tying performance with 116 wins by the Mariners in 2001, no team has gotten close to breaking the record. The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals have the most wins in the last decade with 105. In 2002 the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees tied for the leagues best record with 103 wins apiece.

Rice Sets A New Touchdown Record

On Sept. 5, 1994, Hall of Famer and San Francisco 49ers great Jerry Rice catches an National Football League (NFL) record touchdown with career touchdown reception 127.

Rice would go on to catch another 70 touchdowns over his career ending his career as the player with the most receiving touchdowns of all time with 197 touchdown receptions.

Over his career Rice played for the 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. However, he never actually played a regular season game with the Broncos, just playing with them in the preseason before being cut.

Rice still holds nearly every possible receiving record for both regular and post-season performance.
Including being the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns. In his 20 NFL seasons, Rice missed only 10 regular season games, seven of them in the 1997 season, and the other three in the strike-shortened season of 1987. His 303 games are by far the most ever played by an NFL wide receiver.

Rice finished his regular season career with 1,549 receptions for 22,895 yards with 208 touchdowns for a total of 1,256 points scored. Of the 208 touchdowns Rice scored 10 of those are rushing and one is passing with the majority, 197 coming as receptions.

Six times Rice led the league in receiving yards and touchdown receptions with his highest single season totals coming in 1995 and 1987 respectively.

His 1,848 receiving yards in 1995 was the highest single season total until 2012 when Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions broke the record with 1,964 receiving yards.

His 22-touchdown reception season of 1987 was the highest single season mark of any receiver until then New England Patriots Randy Moss broke the mark in 2007. However, Rice caught 22 in 14 games while it took 16 games for Moss to catch 23.

Rice also led the league in receptions twice, with his highest single season total coming in 1995 with 122, although he did not lead the league in receptions that year.

Rice’s 20-year career saw him make 13 Pro Bowl appearances, including 11 consecutive appearances from 1986-1996. In 1995 Rice was the Pro Bowl MVP. He was a 12-time All-Pro selection, including 11 consecutive times from 1986-1996. He was a two-time NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1986 and 1987. He was a two time AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1987 and 1993. He was the UPI NFC Player of the Year in 1988 and also the PFWA MVP that same year. Rice was the Bert Bell Award winner in 1987. Rice was also the UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year in 1985.

Rice helped the 49ers to three Super Bowl Championships in Super Bowl XXIII (23), XXIV (24) and XXIX (29). He was named the Super Bowl MVP for Super Bowl XXIII (23).

Rice has been named to the NFL 1980’s, 1990’s All-Decade Teams, and was named to the NFL 75 Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994.

Rice was inducted into Canton’s Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

The San Francisco 49ers retired his no. 80 jersey.

Rice is rated the no. 1 NFL Player of all-time by NFL.com, which is no wonder why his nickname is the “G.O.A.T.” or the Greatest of All Time.

Griffey Jr. and Sr. Team Up

On August 31, 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. become the first father and son duo to play on same team. Each Griffey goes 1-4, with back-to-back singles in the first inning for the Seattle Mariners.

Griffey Jr. also known as “The Kid” goes down as one of the best ball players during the 1990’s and was elected to the All-Century team in 1999.

A 13-time All-Star, Griffey was one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history; his 630 home runs rank as the sixth-most in MLB history behind only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and former teammate Alex Rodriguez. Jr. is also tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (8 games, tied with Don Mattingly and Dale Long).

Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field over the course of his career.

Griffey also won seven Silver Slugger Awards, the 1997 American League MVP Award, the 1992 MLB All-Star Game MVP, the 2005 National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. Despite only winning one MVP award Jr. was in the conversation 10 times over the course of his career, being in the top five in voting five times.

He was a three-time Home Run Derby winner, and a four time American League Home Run Champion, and the 1997 American League RBI Champion.

Griffey Jr. would finish his career with a .284 average, 2,781 hits consisting of 524 doubles, 38 triples and 630 home runs. He would also have 1,836 RBIs, 1,662 runs scored, 1,312 walks, 184 stolen bases. He struck out 1,779 times.

Four times Griffey Jr. led the league in home runs with his highest single season total coming in 1997 and 1998 when he hit 56 home runs each season.

Junior’s career had some stellar moments including playing with his father Ken Griffey Sr. in 1990 and 1991.

On September 14, the pair hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the first off California Angels pitcher Kirk McCaskill, becoming the first father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs. The duo played a total of 51 games together before Griffey Sr. retired in June 1991.

Griffey Jr. is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League games in four different calendar decades.

On Jan. 22, 2013, the Mariners announced Griffey would be the seventh person inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.

Griffey Jr. will most likely be a first ballot Hall of Famer into Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame as he was one of the few athletes during the 1990’s and 2000’s to not be associated with steroids or performance enhancing drug use.