THE WATERCOOLER
QUESTION: What is the most exciting and/or memorable sports moment you’ve witnessed live during your career?
(To all of our readers, after seeing what all the journalists have to say to this question, please go to the comments field below and share your favorite sports eyewitness accounts.)
BERNIE MIKLASZ
I have been blessed to witness so many spectacular moments from my perch along press row. There was Mike Tyson, in his prime, delivering a cold-blooded first-round knockout of Michael Spinks in 1989. Ozzie Smith’s dramatic HR to beat the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS. Joe Montana throwing the winning touchdown pass to John Taylor to lead the 49ers to a come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl 23. Adam Wainwright’s strikeout of Carlos Beltran to clinch Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS at Shea Stadium to send the underdog Cardinals to the World Series. And Wainwright doing it again (Brandon Inge this time) to wrap up the Cardinals’ 10th World Series championship. McGwire’s 62nd homer was awfully exciting at the time.
And before I name my No. 1 moment, let me make special mention of my runner-up: Michael Jordan sinking the winning jumper at Utah in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. The clutch shot provided the Chicago Bulls with their sixth NBA title of the Jordan Era and it would be his last appearance in the NBA championship series. And what a way to go out: the Bulls down, Jordan stealing the ball from Karl Malone, and making his way upcourt to burn Bryon Russell with a crossover dribble to give MJ an open look on that winning 17 foot jumper for his 44th and 45th points of the night.
But the No. 1 is Mike Jones making “The Tackle” of Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson just short of the goal line to save the 1999 Rams’ thrilling victory in Super Bowl 34 on Jan. 30, 2000. So many things set up that moment, including Ricky Proehl’s TD catch to beat Tampa Bay in the 1999 NFC Championship, and Kurt Warner and Isaac Bruce hooking up for that remarkable 73-yard TD pass to put the Rams ahead of Tennessee in that Super Bowl. But the Jones tackle made the dream season into something shocking and real: a Super Bowl championship for a St. Louis NFL team and before 1999 that was something I thought I would never see.
JEFF GORDON
The home-run pass from Kurt Warner to Isaac Bruce in the Super Bowl edges out George Brett’s ALCS homer against Goose Gossage and Villanova’s title game conquest of mighty Georgetown. The whole Rams season was astonishing, then it ended spectacularly with Bruce’s catch and The Tackle. (For me, that play was more a case of Kevin Dyson not getting it done after making the catch.)
MIKE SMITH
In the “arena” at Lake Placid for the 1980 Winter Olympics, there was “press seating” next to the ice for 150 credentialed journalists. You had to line up hours ahead of time to claim one of the seats, but the shuttle bus from our “lodge” out in the Adirondack wilderness broke down that day. Three of us actually hitchhiked into town, putting us behind the first 150 camped out in line.
So, do you believe in miracles? Aware of some space at the back of the broom closet that served as the “broadcast booth” for the game, press officials sent gophers next door to Lake Placid High School to borrow risers from the music department. They schlepped the risers to the broadcast booth, set tiny school chairs on them and crafted an auxiliary press box for about a dozen of us.
And that’s how I got to watch the Miracle On Ice game, sitting three feet directly behind … Al Michaels.
RICK HUMMEL
Sitting at ringside and hearing the ring announcer declare St. Louisan Leon Spinks, an enormous underdog, the winner by a split decision in the world heavyweight championship bout against champion Muhammad Ali in Las Vegas in 1978. I remember climbing onto the ring apron and holding the ropes and saying to myself, “Now, what I am going to write?” because I, like the judge sitting next to me, felt that Spinks had fought well but hadn’t won the fight. I wasn’t prepared for the announcement that Spinks actually had won.
DERRICK GOOLD
One from each of the two beats I’ve had at the Post-Dispatch, and oddly neither of which was too “exciting” for the locals.
First, hockey: Back at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, I covered the tremendous Gold Medal game between Canada and Team USA. Never been at a louder rink and never seen as much at stake as there was for the Canadian team that day. Great game. Great history. Afterward, Wayne Gretzky handed me the “lucky Loonie” they had buried at center ice so I could check the date.
Second, baseball: In 2004, after Game 4 of the World Series, as Red Sox fans wept and got free admission into the ballpark to see the “curse” calmed after 86 years, I stood beside Johnny Pesky as he tried to get into a locked Boston clubhouse in between hugging anyone and everyone who happened by. I don’t think I’ve seen joy like Pesky’s unbridled joy too often in my life. And then the door opened and Pedro Martinez doused everyone with champagne.
BILL COATS
The finish of the 1982 Indianapolis 500. Veteran Gordon Johncock seemingly had the race won, but young Rick Mears began closing on him in the final laps. They pulled even down the front stretch with a lap to go and went wheel-to-wheel the rest of the way. Johncock nosed in front out of the final turn and won by 16-hundredths of a second in front of about 400,000 screaming fans.
GERRY FRALEY
The 2006 Rose Bowl, with the national championship on the line, came down to one play. Trailing 38-33 with 26 seconds remaining, Texas had a fourth-and-five from the USC eight. The play, “Sneak 928,’’ called for quarterback Vince Young to throw. With his first two options covered, Young pulled back the ball and ran to the right side. USC’s lauded defense, which included linebacker Rey Maualuga, could not catch him. Young got to the corner, ran through the tackle of lineman Frostee Rucker and scored the winning touchdown.
That bold play encapsuled Young’s remarkable game. He came as close as a player can come to winning a game single-handedly, running for 200 yards and throwing for 247 yards.
One question lingered for the group of reporters standing just outside the corner of the end zone for that play. Why were several USC song-girls cheering and shaking their pom-pons as Young scored?
JEREMY RUTHERFORD
The date was March 26, 2005. The venue was Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. I was covering the Illini basketball team, and with Dee Brown, Deron Williams, James Augustine, Roger Powell and Luther Head, they were hopeful to get to St. Louis for the Final Four. But here the Illini were trailing Arizona 75-60 in an Elite Eight game with four minutes remaining in regulation. A promising season was nearly extinct. Then in one of the most thrilling comebacks in NCAA Tournament history, the Illini went on a 20-5 run, tied the score on Williams’ improbable 3-pointer, and won 90-89 in OT. Some called it “The Resurrection at Rosemont.” I’ll never forget re-writing my entire game story, or watching the Illini travel to play in the NCAA championship game in my backyard. Of course, they lost to North Carolina in the final, but not before producing the best sporting event I’ve ever witnessed.
Editor’s Note: Jeremy provided the following link for anyone who might want to take a stroll down memory lane with that unbelievable come-from-behind Illini win.
ROGER HENSLEY: I’ll never forget being at Minute Maid Park in Houston for Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS. The fans there were going absolutely berserk as the Astros led the series 3-1 and were just one out from securing a 4-2 win over the Cardinals that would propel them to the World Series. Albert Pujols stepped to the plate with two men on and two outs and the Houston crowd was yelling at the top of their lungs thinking closer Brad Lidge was about to turn out the lights on the series. As soon as Pujols made contact with the ball, I mean instantaneously, you knew it was leaving the park, and it flew all the way up onto those silly train tracks in Houston. I have never in my life witnessed a place go from being so insanely loud to pin-drop quiet so quickly. It was just an amazing moment to experience. Of course the Cards did go on to lose that series with Astros back at Busch Stadium, but it doesn’t diminish the memory of that moment one bit. (A close second may be Edmonds diving catch in centerfield in the 2004 NLCS.)
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MIDDAY NEWS AND THOUGHTS
ALBERT TAKES A STAND: I thought Joe Strauss brought the heat in this morning’s Post-Dispatch when he quoted Albert Pujols as saying, “My goal is to try to win. If this organization goes the other way, then I have to go the other way.” Those are some pretty strong word’s coming from “The Franchise.” Pujols appears a pretty straight-shooter in the article and tries to be diplomatic by not pointing fingers at anyone, but it’s clear that as a guy who’s deferred millions of dollars in his own paycheck to give the club financial flexibility he is frustrated by the team’s tight purse strings. I wonder what team owner Bill DeWitt and general manager John Mozeliak thought when they read Pujols’ comments today? I know my reaction … “wow.”
If you missed the story, you can still check it out on our Web site. And in addition to the payroll questions, make sure you read to the bottom of the story to get Pujols’ take on steroids. He’s sticking by his guns on things he’s said in the past about performance enhancers and his convictions appear pretty strong on the issue. He doesn’t sound like a guy who’s worried his name is going to be on the list of 104 players who were randomly tested in 2003 (known now as the A-Rod list.)
SPEAKING OF STEROIDS: Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz tells the Associated Press that he believes players who test positive for steroids should be suspended from baseball for the whole season. Now you’re talking. Big Papi, who once said the only thing a test would find inside him was a whole lot of rice and beans, often has been a voice of reason in baseball. Just a big, fun-loving guy who genuinely seems to just have fun playing the game. A full-season suspension would hit players where it really counts — in their wallets — so I think this might be the most sensible thing I’ve heard yet. And today I’ve become a bigger fan of Ortiz.
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THINGS TO PONDER
THE POWER PLAY DANCE: I don’t yet really know much about this latest craze going on at the Scottrade Center known as the “power play dance,” but I’m determined to find out. I’m taking my daughter to next Tuesday’s game with Phoenix, and if I see enough folks doing it we might just have to do a write-up in the paper about it. I need to see for myself if it’s just a couple folks doing it, or if it’s really catching on as a phenomenon at the games. I see a lot of posters on our forums discussing the merits of the dance — whether it’s cool or dorky or whatever — but I’m not sure why anyone would criticize others for getting fired up and showing their support in whatever way they so desire … within reason, of course. But if it’s really catching on at the Scotty, I’m betting my 10-year-old will be doing the dance by game’s end.
THE COMBINE’S VALUE: Hey, Rams fans, ESPN has a live chat going on all day today with a panel of their experts breaking down the upcoming NFL Combine and what it might mean to your favorite team. If you haven’t stopped in, it might be worth a look.
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STAT OF DAY
35 — The largest margin of victory in the regular-season goal-scoring race. Who did it? Brett Hull for the 1990-91 St. Louis Blues. Hull netted 86 goals that season. There were three runners-up for second-place at 51 goals apiece … Steve Yzerman, Cam Neely and Theoren Fleury. (Source: Hockey’s Top 100, the Game’s Greatest Records.)
