Malice at the Palace: Pistons/Pacers Brawl

The date: November 19, 2004

The Location: The Palace at Auburn Hills

The Reason: Showdown between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons were the defending champion. The Pacers had a better record.

The Result: "The Malice at the Palace" It started as a fight between two players during the final minute of the game. Things turned ugly, however, when a fan threw a drink at Pacers player Ron Artest. Artest climbed into the stands and thus the brawl between players and fans was underway. At the end of the brawl 9 players had been suspended, 5 players had been charged with assault and 5 fans faced criminal charges and were banned from attending games from life.

The game not only changed basketball history but also the policies and rules for spectators. Following the brawl the league re-evaluated their alcohol policies and league commissioner, David Stern, vowed to impose lifetime, league wide bans on fans who cause trouble.

So the question stands, would stricter alcohol rules really have prevented the brawl? Probably not. Sporting venues already have alcohol rules. They try to limit serving as best they can. They stop serving as the game comes to a close. Ushers are constantly on the lookout for intoxicated, rowdy fans. Despite these policies, though, alcohol is a part of sports culture. As long as an adult is over the age of 21 there is nothing to keep him or her from enjoying an alcoholic beverage inside the confines of the stadium. While we can hope they'll be responsible for knowing their limits, that isn't always the case.

 Most people blame the lower inhibitions caused by alcohol as the reason behind the fan throwing a cup at Artest. So, if the stadium had done more to limit his alcohol intake or if he had stopped after two beers, would the brawl still occur? It may not have occurred as quickly, but the allegiance to a team or a player may have caused adrenaline charged fans to get involved. Alcohol and adrenaline are powerful forces and when you combine them, you've got a chance of malice.

Sources:
Wikipedia: Pacers-Pistons brawl http://goo.gl/EaNjc
NBA Hoopedia: Pacers-Pistons brawl http://goo.gl/aTLjX

Pedal to the Metal: Land Speed Record

November 15, 1965 flew by for Craig Breedlove. The 28-year-old had just set the land speed record in the Utah desert by traveling 600.601 miles per hour. His car was named the Spirit of America and it was powered by a Navy jet engine.

To give you a frame of reference, 600 miles per hour is  ...

• 55 times faster than the average human can run
• 9 times faster than the fastest animal, the cheetah
• the same speed as a jet airliner

So pretty impressive, right? Well, yes but there's more to the story than just a guy driving his really fast car in the salt flats. No, the biggest part of the story is the determination Breedlove exhibited to break the record. Now, I'm not just talking about the work that went into creating a car that was able to reach that level.

The first person to ever break the 400 mph barrier was a guy named Craig Breedlove. In 1963, he powered his car, named the Spirit of America to victory. Yes, two years before Breedlove broke the land speed record, he broke the 400 mph barrier.

But, like all records, they can be easily broken. The current land speed record is 760.343 set in 1997 by Andy Green. So, it looks like Craig Breedlove is out of luck for the time being.

Or, is he? Breedlove is determined to keep breaking records. Recently, he's announced he will attempt to hold the record once again. His goal? 800 mph. The date? Fifty years after he broke his first land speed record. He plans to try again in 2013 at the same Utah salt flats he broke the second land speed record.

So, I think we can all agree. Breedlove is determined and fast runs in his blood.

Sources:
ESPN Radio: http://goo.gl/yHA2K
History.com: Craig Breedlove sets new land speed record http://goo.gl/RbVvT
Fox News: Craig Breedlove going for 800 mph http://goo.gl/LDscf
Wikipedia: Land Speed Record http://goo.gl/3bfN

Sid Luckman Has The Game of His Life

Today, in 1943, Chicago Bears quarterback Sid Luckman set an NFL record when he threw for seven touchdowns in one game. Against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, Luckman was able to show signs of the success what would become of the NFL in years to come. The success of the forward pass. That's not to say that the forward pass was not used before Luckman's historic day. It was a part of professional football offenses. But to truely comprehend the impressiveness of Luckman's feat, it should be made known that outside of fellow Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh, no other quarterback in the league in '43 threw for more than 20 touchdowns. Only the top six passers in the league that season had as many or more touchdowns that season than Luckman had in that one game against the Giants. Also, take note that while other quarterbacks have throw for seven touchdowns in a game, but none since 1969. Which is also surprising, seeing as how the league has involved into more of a passing league over the years. Luckman played 11 seasons in professional football, all with Chicago. He finished his career with nearly 15,000 passing yards, with 137 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1965. And there's no doubt that the game Luckman had in 1943 against the Giants played a big role in that induction. Sources: Photo- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Luckman http://www.todayinsport.com/day/november/14 http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?PlayerId=135&tab=Stats http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1943/passing.htm http://www.nfl.com/history

On Goal

Today, in 1963, Gordie Howe tied the lifetime goal record as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. The previous record was set at a mark of 544 by Rocket Richard. Howe would go on to shatter the record, scoring another 257 goals to end his career at 801 scores. Howe played 33 seasons of hockey, a majority of those with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. He won six MVP awards, as well as six scoring titles throughout the course of his career. He was inducted into the hall of fame in 1972. He played in nearly 2500 games, before hanging up the skates in 1980, at the age of 51. Sources: Photo-http://www.hockeychump.com/2010/04/hockey-quote-gordie-howe.html http://www.todayinsport.com/day/november/11 http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014254.html http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/h/howego01.html

Magic Johnson HIV+ 21 years+

On this day in 1991, basketball legend Magic Johnson made an announcement that shocked the world.

He was HIV positive. He had a disease that many believe he was immune from. Most people thought HIV and the imminent disease AIDS was a disease "other people" got. It was considered to be a disease only gay men could contract. We now know this is not true, and that is mostly thanks to the advocacy and example Magic has set for the rest of humanity.

Magic Johnson has a deadly disease, but 21 years later, he is still alive. He is now 53 and runs a foundation in his name dedicated to HIV education and prevention.

HIV/AIDS is now manageable thanks to advancements in medicine. Yes, there are fights to be had and pills to take, but diagnosis is not the grim reaper knocking on the door.

The Centers for Disease control estimates that 50,000 new cases of HIV are diagnosed every year in the United States. 61% of these new infections will occur in gay and bisexual men. African American men and women are estimated to have HIV rates 8 times higher than whites. In 2010, 20-24 year olds had the highest diagnosis rate with a little more than 7,500 new cases.

According to the Mayo clinic, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS but there are a variety of medications that can be taken to control the disease. The Mayo clinic recommends patients combine at least 3 different drugs from two different classes. The classes each block the virus in a different way. There are currently 5 different medications.

Magic has not let his disease define him. He is currently keeping busy with Magic Johnson Enterprises that includes Starbucks franchises, reloadable debit cards, movie theaters in undeserved areas and urban development. He is also a basketball commentator.

World Aids Day is December 1, 2012.

Sources:
ABC News: Magic Johnson's HIV Announcement Resonates 21 years later. http://goo.gl/L0OCm
Biography.com: Magic Johnson http://goo.gl/46IXz
NBA on TNT http://goo.gl/h1zRJ
CDC: HIV Statistics http://goo.gl/ZH1C
Mayo Clinic: HIV/AIDS Treatment and Drugs http://goo.gl/DHO8N

Bringing the Heat

Today, in 1987, the National Basketball Association announced the addition of four franchises to the league. One of those franchises, the Miami Heat, have been one of the more successful teams since that time. The other franchises that were announced that day were Charlotte Hornets, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic. Since the Miami Heat started play in 1988, they have made 16 playoff appearances, good enough for tenth best since that time in a 30-team NBA. Out of those 16 appearances, they have made it to the conference finals, the semi-final round of the NBA playoffs, five times. In the 23 seasons that have come and gone since the first NBA game tipped off in Southern Florida, just 8 different teams have won the title. The Heat are ranked fifth among those teams, claiming two titles. Those two titles were captured over the span of just seven years. To say the Miami Heat are one of the most successful franchises in NBA history would be jumping the gun. However, since coming into the league in 1988, a year after it was announced they would join the league, the Miami Heat have become an established force in the NBA. Sources- Photo: https://www.facebook.com/nba http://www.todayinsport.com/day/november/4 http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/miami/heat.html http://www.nba.com/history/finals/champions.html http://nbahoopsonline.com/History/Leagues/NBA/playoffs/teams.html

CBS: Can Buy Sports?

What do your favorite show and your favorite sports team have in common? They could be owned by the same company. For years, media companies purchased sports teams to save money on broadcasting rights.

Today is just one of those days. In 1964, CBS purchased the New York Yankees for $11.2 Million.

This trend is not uncommon. Today many sport teams are owned by large corporations, broadcast or otherwise.

Here's a current look at who owns who

• Atlanta Braves. The Braves are currently owned by Liberty Media. Prior to this sale in 2007 they were owned by Time Warner, and before that from 1976-1996 they were owned by Ted Turner (CNN, TBS)
• Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are currently owned by a company known as Fenway Sports Group. It is made up of investors such as John Henry, Tom Werner and The New York Times. 
• The Chicago cubs are  now back in private control, but from 1981-2009 they were owned by the Tribune company (known for owning several newspapers)
• The Los Angeles Angels are also back in private control, but they were owned by Disney from 1996-2003. 
• The 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers are owned by Comcast.
• The Texas Rangers weren't owned by a media company or even any kind of corporation, but fun fact, they were owned in part by George W. Bush from 1989-1998.

And with a list this extensive, it may be surprising to hear that some media companies are shying away from purchasing teams. In an interview with Forbes's Mike Ozanian in 2011, JP Morgan top sports banker Scott Milleisen broke down the reason behind it into four simple words. Companies can't manage teams. Many of these big media corporations found out the hard way they knew nothing about managing a sports team. When their teams started to do poorly, they all of a sudden had to answer tough questions from their shareholders.

This creates a conundrum in my mind. Is it better to have a team owned by someone local who has an allegiance to the team and to its fans? Or, do you allow a large, faceless corporation buy the team and benefit from the corporation's vast resources and capital? I say, why can't we have our cake and eat it too? Why not let a big company with a lot of resources buy the company and then just employ someone local to actually manage it and run it. The company could write the checks. It would be a win-win. The company gets the broadcasting rights it desires and the team is successful.

What do you think? Should companies be allowed to purchase sports teams? How do you feel about companies owning too much? Does the corporate world have too much control over our sports?  Let's keep this discussion going in the comments!

Sources:
Forbes: Media Companies No Longer Want to Own Sports Teams http://goo.gl/XNTeU
Wikipedia: List of Professional sports team owners http://goo.gl/n1icQ