Big Deal in the Desert

Perhaps the marquee attraction in college football today is at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., where the No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils (7-1) host the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1). Each school is hoping a victory will help boost them to a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Some thoughts and musings about today's matchup at 12:30 PT:

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 3-0, and comes off a 37-34 victory over ASU in Arlington, Tex., last season.
- The first meeting between the two schools was on Oct. 10, 1998. The Irish, led by 193 combined rushing yards by Joey Goodspeed (109) and Autry Denson (84), prevailed 28-9.
- Which leads to a trivia question: Name the Notre Dame quarterback at the time (pictured below). The answer is at the bottom of this post.

#341510 / gettyimages.com

- All told, Notre Dame has an all-time record of 2-3 in games played at Sun Devil Stadium. They are 1-3 in Fiesta Bowls played at the site.
- Notre Dame won the 1988 National Championship on Sun Devil Stadium turf, beating West Virginia, 34-21, on Jan. 2, 1989.
- Arizona State's passing attack ranks 22nd in the nation, with 291.1 yards per game.
- Notre Dame's pass offense is positioned just a few slots lower (26th), with 288.9 yards per game.
- In a 49-39 win over Navy on Nov. 1, Notre Dame senior quarterback Everett Golson became the first player in Irish history to rush for three touchdowns and pass for three touchdowns in the same game.

Trivia question answer: Jarious Jackson.

Quiz Time: Brady vs. Manning XVI

It's been a while since the last Sports Trivia Buff blog post, but we're back and turning up the volume real quick. Today marks the 16th head-to-head matchup between quarterbacking greats Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. How well do you know this rivalry? (Mouse over each Answer area to reveal the answers.)

#463830589 / gettyimages.com

1. Which QB has the most wins in this series?


Answer: Brady leads the series with 10 wins, while Manning owns five triumphs.


2. Of their 15 head-to-head match-ups, which QB is the only one to throw for 400 yards in a game?


Answer: Manning's 400-yard effort in the 2013 AFC Championship game (Jan. 19, 2014) stands as the only 400-yard performance in the series.


3. Which player has thrown more touchdown passes in the three weeks prior to today's game?


Answer: Brady has accounted for 12 touchdown tosses, while Manning has posted 10 for Denver.


4. Among active players, Manning and Brady rank first and second, respectively, in most wins by a starting quarterback during the regular season. Which current quarterback ranks third?


Answer: Drew Brees, with 113 wins, is third behind Manning (173) and Brady (154).

Sports History Test: 1985 NBA Finals

Image via Wikipedia

Steve Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com

Twenty-six years ago today, on June 9, 1985, the Los Angeles Lakers claimed their first-ever NBA Finals conquest of the Boston Celtics. It also marked the first time the Celtics lost a Finals series on their home parquet floor.

Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 29 points and Magic Johnson's triple-double (14 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds), L.A. wrapped up the title with a 111-100 Game 6 win in Boston Garden.

So, on with the sports history test, a special Lakers-Celtics 1985 NBA Finals Edition . . .

1. Who was Boston's head coach that season?
A: K.C. Jones

2. Who was named the MVP of the 1985 NBA Finals?
A: Abdul-Jabbar, who set a record for being the oldest player (38 years old) to win the award.

3. How many times had the Lakers lost to Boston prior to their first championship series win over the Celtics in 1985?
A: 8 times (1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1984).

4. In 1984-85, which marksman became the first Lakers player to lead the NBA in three-point field-goal percentage?
a.) Byron Scott
b.) Michael Cooper
A: Byron Scott, with a .433 three-point field-goal shooting percentage.

5. After topping Boston in 1985, how many NBA championships had the Lakers won while in Los Angeles?
a.) 1
b.) 2
c.) 3
d.) 4
A: 4 (1972, 1980, 1982, 1985)


The Link: NBA.com's recap of the 1985 NBA Finals.

Shaq: The Big Trivia

Image via Wikipedia

It seemed like yesterday when a young Louisiana State University player named Shaquille O'Neal was making waves in the basketball world with spectacular performances that matched his huge physical presence.

He dominated both ends of the court with fearless and aggressive play and was the most hyped prospect since Michael Jordan left North Carolina for the pros in 1984.

In June 1992, I was in attendance at the NBA Draft, held that year in Portland, when the Orlando Magic made the 7'1'' center out of Newark, New Jersey, the top selection.

Now, almost 19 years later to the day, I'm watching Shaq announce his retirement on my desktop. How things have changed. And yet how things haven't changed–Shaq is still the gregarious guy with a magnetic personality. He's like a big brother clowning on you with his goofy sense of humor. Life of the party, then and now.

But what a professional hoops career Shaq built. Here are just some of the facts and numbers:

• 4-time NBA champion (3x with the Lakers, once with the Heat)
• 6 teams (Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns, Cavaliers, Celtics)
• 4 different jersey numbers (32, 33, 34, 36)
• Nicknames galore (including The Man of Steel, Shaq Diesel, The Big Aristotle, The Big Cactus)
• 28,596 career points (7th on the all-time list)
• 15 NBA All-Star games
• 1992-93 NBA Rookie of the Year
• 1999-2000 NBA MVP
• 3-time NBA Finals MVP
• 3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP
• A sweep of MVP awards in 1999-2000 (Regular Season, All-Star Game and Finals)

Well done, Big Fella. Happy Retirement.

The Big Link:
Shaq Sports Illustrated Covers Through The Years

The Big Trivia:
Who was Shaq's first coach in the NBA?
Answer (highlight area below):
Matt Guokas

2011 NBA Finals Countdown

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

All eyes will be on AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami tonight for Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Finals, as the Dallas Mavericks look to avenge their loss to the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals.

The players that will be under the microscope the most of course are Miami's Big Three—LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh—along with Dallas's über forward from Wurzburg, Germany, Dirk Nowitzki. All of the above have been dominant in the postseason and it will be interesting to see how this duel plays out over a best-of-seven series.

With that said, let's examine the trivial-yet-oh-so-important things you need to know going in to this championship bout.

1. The Miami Heat, which began play in the 1988-89 season, selected a Dallas Maverick (Arvid Kramer) as their first choice in the 1988 NBA Expansion Draft. Oh, you knew that already?
2. Miami has a four-game winning streak over Dallas in NBA Finals play. In the 2006 NBA Finals, Dallas carried a 2-0 lead into Game 3 but lost four in a row to a white-hot Heat squad led by Wade and Shaquille O'Neal.
3. A third trip to the NBA Finals might be the charm for Mavs guard Jason Kidd, who played for two championship runners-up (New Jersey Nets in 2002 and 2003).
4. After playing for seven NBA clubs over 16 seasons, Juwan Howard took his talents to South Beach for Year 17 and has finally made it to the NBA Finals. Give it up for the last standing Fab Fiver in the league!
5. The Miami Heat's tradition of giving fans white t-shirts to wear for a mass show of support at games goes all the way back to the first-ever home game in 1988-89. On Nov. 5, 1988, fans were actually given white tuxedo t-shirts. Check it out in the early part of this video clip. For the record, the Heat lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 111-91.

Opening Day Quick Quiz

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

With Opening Day of the 2011 baseball season upon us, it's time for a pair of Opening Day Trivia questions to get things warmed up.

- . . . For the Yankees, No. 2, Derek Jeter, Jeter, Jeter . . . will be making his 15th Opening Day start at shortstop on Thursday, further distancing himself from the franchise's previous record for the position (11, by Phil Rizzuto). Who was the last shortstop to play as many or more games at SS for his team?

Answer: Barry Larkin, 17 seasons with Cincinnati.

- The San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers rivalry gets an early start as the defending World Series champion Giants visit Dodger Stadium on Thursday night. Interestingly, this is how the teams kicked things off 53 years ago after each franchise moved from New York. At what stadium was that first L.A.-S.F. regular-season game played (April 15, 1958)?

Answer: Seals Stadium in San Francisco

Lakers Über All NBA Teams? Not So Fast

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

There are currently only two NBA teams that have an all-time winning series record against the mighty Los Angeles Lakers. One of those teams is their longtime nemesis, the Boston Celtics. Can you name the other club? Hint: The Lakers lost to this team again on Monday night.

Answer: The Charlotte Bobcats, who ran their all-time record against the Lakers to 8-5 following a 109-89 pasting in Charlotte on Monday night. It should be noted that the San Antonio Spurs can claim the lead in their series with L.A. if they win their final two 2010-11 regular-season meetings (Los Angeles currently has a 71-70 edge).

Jerry Sloan Trivia Tribute

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Here's to Jerry Sloan, longtime head coach of the Utah Jazz, who today announced his resignation from the team. Sloan made his decision in the midst of his 26th season (23rd coaching the Jazz). The Basketball Hall of Famer's list of accomplishments is extraordinary, led by his 1,221 career wins. Karl Malone and John Stockton are often mentioned when Sloan's coaching career is discussed, but it's important to keep in mind that he led the Jazz to four NBA playoff berths after the two players' departures after the 2002-03 season. Only two other coaches have won more games in NBA history. Can you name them?


Highlight the area below to reveal the answer
Answer: Don Nelson (1,335 wins) and Lenny Wilkens (1,332).

Related articles

• Jerry Sloan resigns from Utah Jazz (sportingnews.com)

Oct. 15, 1989: Gretzky Scores, And Howe!

On this date back in 1989, Wayne Gretzky became the NHL's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe (1,850). Apologies for the punny headline. Anyways, let's see if you're as slick as Gretz by answering these two trivia questions. (Highlight the areas underneath the questions to reveal the answers.)

1.) Against which team did "The Great One" achieve the milestone?

A: Edmonton. Yeah, I know. Who wrote this script, right?

2.) Who held the league's career points record before Howe?

A: Maurice Richard. That's "Rocket" to you, pally.

Amazing Facts About the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

(2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Floyd Little, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith.)

Special congratulations go out to each of today's Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees - Dick LeBeau, John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and Floyd Little. Here are some facts you may or may not have known about each member of the class of 2010:

Dick LeBeau - Started 171 consecutive games at cornerback for the Detroit Lions, a record for his position.

John Randle - In each season from 1992-99, Randle totaled 10 or more sacks for the Minnesota Vikings.

Russ Grimm - Key member of "The Hogs," the vaunted group of offensive linemen for the Washington Redskins in the 1980s. Helped pave the way for John Riggins' then-Super Bowl-record rushing record of 166 yards in Super Bowl XVII.

Rickey Jackson - At the time of his retirement in 1995, Jackson ranked third in the NFL record books in all-time sacks (128).

Jerry Rice - The holder of many all-time NFL receiving records, Rice played in eight conference title games and four Super Bowls (winning MVP honors in Super Bowl XXIII). Additionally, no one scored more touchdowns than Rice (208).

Emmitt Smith - The NFL's all-time leading rusher with 18,355 career yards, Smith also scored the most rushing TDs (164) and helped the Dallas Cowboys win three Super Bowls.

Floyd Little - Little totaled more than 12,000 all-purpose yards and 54 touchdowns during his career with the Denver Broncos (1967-75). He retired in 1975 as Denver's all-time leading rusher (6,323 yards) and kickoff return man (2,523 yards).

2K Trivia: The Quest For 2,000 Yards

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, fresh off a 2,006-yard season in 2009, has his eye on becoming the first player to turn the 2,000-yard season trick twice. Do you think he will do it? Last year, he was the sixth player to surpass the 2K milestone. O.J. Simpson was the first to do it (2,003 yds. in 1973), and Eric Dickerson set the NFL single-season mark with 2,105 yards in 1984. Can you name the other three players to gain 2,000-plus yards in a season? (Highlight the area following this post to reveal the answers.) Answers-->Barry Sanders (2,053 yds. in 1997), Terrell Davis (2,008 yds. in 1998) and Jamal Lewis (2,066 yds. in 2003).

Time Out For T.O. Trivia

Online reports indicate 14-year NFL receiver Terrell Owens has agreed to a one-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. Owens, 36, has caught 1,006 passes in his pro career, including 144 receiving touchdowns. Which brings us to a quick trivia question about T.O. - A third-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 1996, Owens scored four TDs in his rookie season. Against which team did the former Tennessee-Chattanooga star score his first pro touchdown? Hint: The opponent was an AFC Central team at the time. (Highlight area directly after this post for the answer). T.O.'s 1st TD was vs. Cincinnati on 10/20/96.

And 1 (More) Team for Juwan Howard

Veteran NBA forward Juwan Howard today signed a deal with the Miami Heat, allowing him to join the highly touted triumvirate of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. If he makes it on to the court in a Heat uniform, it would represent the eighth club for which he has seen game action (Washington, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Houston, Charlotte, Portland, Miami).

J-E-T-S Honor J-O-E & Other Greats

Joe Namath, the guarantor of the New York Jets' Super Bowl III victory over the Baltimore Colts, will be part of the Jets' first Ring of Honor induction, scheduled for Aug. 16, at halftime of the first game at New Meadowlands Stadium, the team announced today. Joining Namath in the inaugural group will be Weeb Ewbank (shown at left with Namath), Winston Hill, Joe Klecko, Curtis Martin and Don Maynard.

The Magic's Mountain

As we head into the meat of the 2009 NBA Finals, today's trivia topic revolves around the Finals' 2-3-2 format. First adopted by the NBA for the 1985 playoffs, the format has been the way of life for the league's championship series ever since.

Love it? Hate it?

Well, Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic - down 0-2 to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers - better embrace the opportunity to get back in this series with potentially three games in a row at home.

I took a look at the archives and came up with some interesting discoveries about previous Finals teams tabbed to play the "middle three" games at home:

- Since 1985, only two of those teams swept their three consecutive home games and went on to win the NBA title ('03-04 Pistons and '05-06 Heat).

- Since 1985, only three "3-4-5" home teams won the NBA title despite losing one of their three home games ('84-85 Lakers, '92-93 Bulls and '97-98 Bulls).

It's a tall order for Orlando but there's no better time than now to get on a hot streak.

Above image: Anfernee Hardaway soars on a sweet Basketball Digest cover in 1995. Penny and the Magic wouldn't have minded at least one more home game vs. Houston in the Finals that year. The Rockets won games 1 and 2 in Orlando and needed only two of their three allotted home games to win it all.

Defense Rules For Denver

As a native of Denver and someone who grew up just outside the Mile High City, I'm really stoked about the Denver Nuggets right now. The team's current success takes me back to the glory years of the late 70s and 80s, when D.T., "The Horse," Kiki, Fat and Alex dominated the headlines.

Given the team's big year, I thought a comparison to perhaps the best Nuggets team from that era - or any era in franchise history - was in order. I'm talking about Doug Moe's 1987-88 team (the pic shows dapper Doug on the cover of Denver's slick '88-89 press guide). Now, you can draw a number of parallels between the 2008-09 Denver Nuggets and their 1987-88 forebears, but two noticeable similarities are that each team posted 54 wins (the club's highest peak since it joined the NBA in 1976-77) and squared off against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs.

As for the biggest difference between the teams - aside from fashion (I've got to say that as a teenager, I loved wearing my white hoodie with the Nuggets' rainbow-colored skyscraper design) - it's got to be their playing philosophies.

In '87-88, the Nuggets were led by colorful coach Moe, who preached a run-and-gun offense that lit up scoreboards all over the NBA map. That year, the Nugs ranked first in the league in scoring, averaging 116.7 points per game. Their defense, meanwhile, was fifth-worst, giving up 112.7 ppg.

At the present time, 21 years later, it's all about defense for Denver (along with solid-as-a-rock team solidarity, fortified by hometown hero Chauncey Billups). Head Coach George Karl, who kept with Denver's breakneck offensive tradition for his first four years at the helm, broke with the past before the '08-09 opener.

The new emphasis on D not only resulted in the 54 W's, it also helped deliver the team's first playoff series win since Mt. Mutombo & Co. upset Karl's heavily favored Seattle team in 1994. Get this- through the team's first seven playoff games, they've allowed an average of only 88.7 points per game.

Where do they go from here?

In 1988, the high-scoring Nuggets opened up a 1-0 lead on the Mavs before falling in six games. At the time of this writing, Denver's new defense-first unit was up 2-0 on Dallas in the '09 West semifinals. Does defense really win championships? The Nuggets are putting the old adage to the test. Don't change the channel. I know I'm not.

Hit For The Cycle Week

Not to be confused with Lando Calrissian.

Let's go cycling!

C'mon, honey, everyone's doing it. We're going through the quad!

In the past week, we've seen three players hit for the cycle in the major leagues: Los Angeles's Orlando Hudson, Texas's Ian Kinsler and Minnesota OF/DH Jason Kubel. Which brings up this interesting question: When was the last time a player hit a natural cycle (getting a single, double, triple and home run, in that order)?

The last occurrence of a natural cycle in the majors was on Sept. 13, 2006, by Gary Matthews, Jr. of the Rangers. It's a rare feat- it's happened only 14 times in MLB history. Authoring one of those gems was "Sweet-swinging" Billy Williams (above), a Hall of Famer who made his name with the Chicago Cubs. He turned the trick on July 17, 1966.

Midweek trivia mix: Magic, Bird, Kimble, L.T. & Espo

Esposito in action

It's mid-week and we're just starting to dip our toes into the college basketball tournament waters. Conference tourneys are in process and we're just days away from being able to fill out our NCAA Tournament brackets. Aside from college hoops, LaDainian Tomlinson is also in the news, with San Diego confirming his place on its roster with a new three-year contract. And now it's time to get buff:

CLOUD 9

Do you realize it's been 20 years since the amazing run by Bo Kimble and Loyola Marymount? And 30 years since the legendary, magical Larry Bird-Earvin "Magic" Johnson matchup in 1979? And let's not forget UConn's big upset of Duke 10 years ago behind Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin. Years ending in "9" have certainly been special when it comes to the NCAAs. Here's hoping 2009 provides similar memories.

ALL SMILES IN SAN DIEGO

Congrats to Chargers fans, who are stoked to learn that LaDainian Tomlinson will still be wearing powder blue on retro Sundays after agreeing to a restructured contract. On the subject of Tomlinson, his extraordinary rushing and receiving skills are well documented, but did you know that he has also thrown for seven touchdowns in his NFL career? See L.T.'s stats here.


ON THIS DATE IN 1971

In a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito scored twice to set three new NHL scoring records. He increased his single-season record totals to 60 goals and 128 points. Along with breaking Bobby Hull's regular-season record for goals (58) and his own mark for points (126), "Espo" also set a new standard for most goals in a season including playoffs (previous record was 59, set by Jean Beliveau of Montreal). More on Esposito here.

Know This: Tiger Woods is back

Welcome back, Mr. Woods.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I re-introduce to you . . . Tiger Woods.

After an eight-month layoff to repair and rehabilitate an injured knee, Tiger is back.

It's been a while, so without further adieu, here's your lineup of links to get you up to speed on Tiger.

Follow Tiger's progress at the Match Play tourney (scores, video, photos) - PGATour.com

The 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship leaderboard - PGATour.com

Is Tiger really back? Try birdie and eagle on the first two holes - New York Times

Mickelson beats Woods - to the driving range - San Diego Union-Tribune

The official website of Tiger Woods

Last but not least, here's a classic highlight clip:

- A 2-year-old Tiger on The Mike Douglas Show

There you have it, everything you need to know to impress the clubhouse after your round of un-Tiger like golf.

Pure Sports, No Steroids

A+ plus for Mr. Aikman

If you're tired of hearing about all of the recent stories about athletes who have either confessed to using or those who are alleged to have used performance-enhancing drugs, welcome to the sanctuary for good, clean organic sports stuff.

Here you go, sports fans, load up for the day:

- Troy Aikman is back at UCLA

- Prez says predicting North Carolina-Duke game may cost him his Blackberry

- Something special about Cy Young and Cleveland (Frank Viola to team up with Cliff Lee)
Note: Cy Young played over half his career in Cleveland and began his career with the Cleveland Spiders - Cy for yourself

- Six straight NHL games with a goal? And you're a defenseman?