Today in Sports – Week Ahead, Nov. 29 – Dec. 5
Nov. 29
1890 — Navy beats Army 24-0 in the first matchup of this historic series.
1934 — The Detroit Lions play their first traditional Thanksgiving Day home game and lose to the Chicago Bears 19-16 in front of 26,000. CBS Radio does the first national broadcast of an NFL game.
1987 — The New Orleans Saints hold off the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-16 to assure themselves of their first winning season in their 20-year history.
1992 — New York Jets defensive end Dennis Byrd is paralyzed in his lower body after colliding with teammate Scott Mersereau and breaking his C-5 vertebra in a 23-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
1995 — Grant Fuhr becomes the 11th NHL goalie to win 300 games as the St. Louis Blues beat Winnipeg 4-1.
1998 — Miami’s Dan Marino becomes the first player to throw 400 career TD passes, passing for 255 yards and three TDs in the Dolphins’ 30-10 win against New Orleans.
2003 — LeBron James, 18, becomes youngest player in NBA history to score 30 or more points in a game with his 33-point effort in the Cavaliers’ 122-115 double-overtime loss to Memphis. Kobe Bryant was 19 when he reached 30 for the Lakers in 1997.
2003 — Maryland’s Bruce Perry rushes for 237 yards while Wake Forest’s Chris Barclay gains 243 yards, marking the first time in ACC history and only the fifth time in NCAA history that opposing backs have more than 200 rushing yards in the same game. Perry scores three touchdowns in the Terrapins’ 41-28 win.
2004 — Brett Favre celebrates his 200th straight regular-season start with three touchdown passes and yet another record in the Green Bay Packers’ 45-17 rout of the St. Louis Rams.
2008 — Chris Duhon passes out a franchise-record 22 assists in New York’s 138-125 victory over Golden State. Duhon breaks Richie Guerin’s team record of 21 assists set in 1958. New York scores 82 points in the first half to break the record for most first-half points at the present Madison Square Garden, set when Kansas City scored 81 on Dec. 8, 1979.
2009 — Francesco and Edoardo Molinari become the first brothers to win the World Cup of Golf, giving Italy its first title in the team event with a one-stroke victory over Sweden and Ireland.
2009 — The Indianapolis Colts earn their 20th straight regular-season victory with a 35-27 win over Houston. The Colts came back from fourth-quarter deficits in each of their past five games to become the first NFL team to win five in a row when trailing in the fourth quarter of each contest.
2012 — Drew Brees throws a career-high five interceptions and his record touchdown streak of 54 consecutive games ends in New Orleans’ 23-13 loss to Atlanta. Brees completed 28 of 50 passes for 341 yards.
2013 — David Fales throws for 543 yards and six touchdowns in an entertaining showdown with Derek Carr and San Jose State ends No. 16 Fresno State’s run toward a possible BCS bowl with a 62-52 victory. Carr passes for 519 yards and six touchdowns.
2015 — Andy Murray gives Britain its first Davis Cup title in 79 years when he beats Belgium’s David Goffin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in the first of reverse singles. The win gives Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
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Nov. 30
1941 — The Chicago Bears score 49 points in the second half to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 49-13.
1948 — Baseball’s Negro National League disbands.
1956 — Floyd Patterson knocks out Archie Moore in the fifth round to win the world heavyweight title in Chicago.
1969 — Russ Jackson throws a record four touchdowns to lead the Ottawa Rough Riders to a 29-11 victory over Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL Grey Cup championship.
1979 — Sugar Ray Leonard wins the WBC welterweight title with 15th-round knockout of Wilfred Benitez in Las Vegas.
1987 — Bo Jackson, also an outfielder for the Kansas City Royals, rushes for 221 yards to lead the Los Angeles Raiders to a 37-14 rout of the Seattle Seahawks. Jackson, playing in his fifth NFL game, scores on runs of 91 and 2 yards and has a 14-yard touchdown reception.
1990 — Boston’s Larry Bird scores his 20,000th career point in the Celtics’ 123-95 win over Washington at the Garden. Bird is the fifth player in league history (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West) to gather 20,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists in his playing career.
1991 — San Diego State’s Marshall Faulk becomes the first freshman to capture the national rushing and scoring titles after gaining 154 yards on 27 carries in a 39-12 loss to top-ranked Miami.
1996 — Michael Jordan becomes the 10th player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points after scoring 35 in the Bulls 97-88 win at San Antonio. Jordan reaches 25,000 in 782 games, faster than any other player but Wilt Chamberlain (691).
2003 — Mark Philippoussis gives Australia its 28th Davis Cup title, fighting off a shoulder injury that nearly forces him to retire after the fourth set to beat Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, 6-0.
2008 — Keith Tkachuk reaches 1,000 career points with the tying goal late in the second period in St. Louis’ 4-2 victory over Atlanta.
2008 — Oakland has only one catch by a wide receiver in its 20-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and that officially was for 0 yards by Ronald Curry on a hook-and-lateral play.
2012 — NBA Commissioner David Stern fines the San Antonio Spurs $250,000 for “a disservice to the league and our fans” when they don’t bring Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili or Danny Green to Miami for the final game of a six-game trip.
2012 — Georgetown and Tennessee hold each other scoreless over the final four minutes, and the Hoyas beat the Volunteers 37-36 in a display of abysmal shooting in the SEC/Big East Challenge. The teams combine to make just 7 of 20 shots — from the free throw line. The field-goal shooting is just as horrid, with the Vols hitting 33 percent and the Hoyas 36 percent.
2013 — Chris Davis races 100-plus yards with a missed field-goal attempt for a touchdown on the final play to lift No. 4 Auburn to a 34-28 victory over No. 1 Alabama. Davis catches the ball about 9 yards deep in the end zone after freshman Adam Griffith’s 57-yard attempt falls short. He sprints down the left sideline and cuts back with nothing but teammates around him in a second straight hard-to-fathom finish for the Tigers.
2015 — NBA star Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers) announces his intention to retire at the end of the season.
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Dec. 1
1936 — End Larry Kelley of Yale is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1951 — Arnold “Showboat” Boykin of Mississippi scores seven touchdowns in a 49-7 rout of Mississippi State.
1956 — The United States beats the Soviet Union 89-55 to win the gold medal in men’s basketball at the Melbourne Olympics. Bob Jeangerard (16), K.C. Jones (15), Jim Walsh (14) and Bill Russell (13) each score double-digits.
1959 — Louisiana State halfback Billy Cannon is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1961 — Paul Arizin of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 33 points in 138-177 win over the Los Angeles Lakers to become the third NBA player to reach the 15,000-point plateau.
1973 — Jack Nicklaus wins the Disney World Open to become the first professional golfer to surpass $2 million in career earnings.
1980 — South Carolina running back George Rogers is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1984 — Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie is named the 50th Heisman Trophy winner.
1990 — Ty Detmer of Brigham Young wins the Heisman Trophy. Detmer, who had set or tied 25 NCAA passing and total offense records, becomes the first BYU winner and third consecutive junior winner.
1996 — Wayne Gretzky becomes the first player in NHL history to reach the 3,000 point plateau.
2001 — North Texas (5-6) loses to Troy State 18-16 to become the third team to go to a bowl with a losing record. The Mean Green, bound for the inaugural New Orleans Bowl as the Sun Belt Conference champion, joins SMU (4-6 in 1963) and William & Mary (5-6 in 1970) as the only teams to play in a bowl game with losing records.
2003 — Sylvester Croom becomes the Southeastern Conference’s first black head football coach, accepting an offer to take over troubled Mississippi State.
2004 — McKendree College coach Harry Statham tops Dean Smith with his 880th career victory, an 83-72 win over Maryville. Smith, with 879 wins, still holds the NCAA record for career victories because all of Statham’s wins are at the NAIA level.
2012 — Landon Donovan scores the tiebreaking goal on a penalty kick in the 65th minute, and David Beckham leaves the MLS as a two-time champion with the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup.
2013 — Josh Gordon has 10 catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland’s 32-20 loss to Jacksonville. He becomes the first player in NFL history to record 200 yards receiving in consecutive games.
2015 — The Philadelphia 76ers end the longest losing streak in the history of major professional sports in the United States, topping the Los Angeles Lakers 103-91 to snap a 28-game skid.
2018 — In a dramatic twist on last season’s national championship game, Jalen Hurts comes off the bench to pass for one touchdown and run for another in the fourth quarter, rallying No. 1 Alabama to a 35-28 win over No. 4 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference title.
2018 — Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fights to a split draw, with Wilder retaining his WBC heavyweight title after knocking down his British challenger twice at Staples Center.
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Dec. 2
1907 — Tommy Burns defends his world heavyweight title by knocking out Gunner Moir in the 10th round at London.
1944 — Ohio State quarterback Leslie Horvath wins the Heisman Trophy.
1947 — Notre Dame quarterback Johnny Lujack wins the Heisman Trophy.
1951 — Future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Hutson has his #14 jersey retired by the Green Bay Packers; first number retired in franchise history.
1952 — Oklahoma halfback Billy Vessels is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1958 — Army back Pete Dawkins is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1977 — Veterinarian Mark Gerard is indicted in a horse-switching scandal. Cinzano, a purportedly dead 4-year-old champion colt, won a race on Sept. 23 at Belmont Park, under the name of Lebon, a 57-1 long shot.
1984 — Dan Marino throws his 37th touchdown pass to break NFL single-season touchdown pass record.
1995 — Notre Dame advances to the NCAA women’s soccer championship by becoming the first team to beat 13-time champion North Carolina in the national semifinals. The lone score comes when Tar Heels forward Cindy Parlow accidentally heads a ball into her own net.
2002 — Oakland’s Tim Brown and Jerry Rice take turns rewriting the NFL record book in a 26-20 win over the New York Jets. Brown becomes the third player with 1,000 receptions and the third with 14,000 yards receiving. Rich Gannon ties an NFL record with his ninth 300-yard passing game of the season. On the very next play after Brown’s 1,000th catch, Rice scores on a 26-yard catch, giving Oakland a 13-10 lead. It’s Rice’s record 192nd TD catch and puts him over 1,000 yards receiving for a record 14th season.
2009 — The New Jersey Nets are pounded into NBA infamy, falling 117-101 to the Dallas Mavericks for their 18th straight loss to start the season. The Nets pass the 1988-89 Miami Heat and 1999 Los Angeles Clippers, who both dropped their first 17 games.
2018 — Dallas Dorosy of Florida State scores in the 60th minute to help the Seminoles beat North Carolina 1-0 for the NCAA Women’s College Cup championship. Florida State wins the NCAA women’s soccer title for the second time. North Carolina, a 21-time NCAA champion, is shut out for the second time this season.
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