2002 Sports Chronology

Jan. 1 -- Joey Harrington threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns as No. 2 Oregon routed No. 3 Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Jan. 1 -- In the highest-scoring Sugar Bowl ever, Domanick Davis ran for four touchdowns, Josh Reed caught two scoring passes from Rohan Davey and LSU beat Illinois 47-34. Reed set Sugar records by catching 14 passes for 239 yards and Davey closed out his career by going 31-of-53 for a Sugar-record 444 yards and three TDs.

Jan. 2 -- Mike Modano scored on the power play to become the fourth United States-born player to reach 400 NHL goals as Dallas beat Atlanta 2-1.

Jan. 2 -- Carolina's Ron Francis became the fifth player in NHL history to record 500 goals and 1,000 assists when he scored in the Hurricanes' 6-3 loss to Boston.

Jan. 3 -- Miami ended talk of a split national championship, completing a perfect season to win their fifth national title and first in 10 years unanimously. The Hurricanes (12-0) finished the season as the nation's only major unbeaten team with a 37-14 victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl.

Jan. 3 -- Fewer than 1,000 fans watched Charlotte defeat Golden State 114-102 at the Charlotte Coliseum because of a 10-inch snowfall.

Jan. 4 -- Michael Jordan became the fourth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, reaching the milestone for the Washington Wizards in an 89-83 win over his old team, the Chicago Bulls. Jordan scored 29,277 in 13 seasons with the Bulls.

Jan. 5 -- Diana Taurasi scored a career-high 32 points as the top-ranked Huskies beat No. 2 Tennessee 86-72 to improve to 16-0. There have been 34 meetings of No. 1 vs. No. 2 teams in The Associated Press rankings since 1979. Five of those 1-2 matchups have been between these teams.

Jan. 6 -- The Carolina Panthers set an NFL record with their 15th straight loss, 38-6 to New England, the first time a team has lost 15 consecutive games in one season.

Jan. 6 -- Dominic Rhodes rushed for 141 yards in the Indianapolis Colts' 29-10 victory over Denver and finished the season with 1,104, the first undrafted rookie in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000. Peyton Manning went over the 4,000-yard mark for the third straight season, joining Dan Fouts and Dan Marino as the only players to achieve that feat.

Jan. 6 -- Marshall Faulk of St. Louis became the first player in NFL history with four straight 2,000-yard seasons from scrimmage in a 31-13 victory over Atlanta.

Jan. 6 -- Emmitt Smith of Dallas set an NFL record with his 11th 1,000-yard season as he ran for 77 yards to finish the season with 1,021 in a 15-10 loss to Detroit.

Jan. 6 -- New York Giants DE Michael Strahan broke the 17-year-old single-season record of 22 sacks set by Mark Gastineau. Strahan got to 221/2 with 2:42 left in a 34-25 loss, falling on Brett Favre after the Green Bay quarterback rolled out and fell down.

Jan. 8 -- Ozzie Smith, regarded as the finest-fielding shortstop ever, was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try. Smith was a 13-time Gold Glove winner while with the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres.

Jan. 8 -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took yet another shot at the NBA and its officials after the league hit him with a record $500,000 fine. The fine -- the largest against an individual in NBA history -- came in response to Cuban's comments about the officiating after the Mavericks' 105-103 loss to San Antonio on Jan. 5.

Jan. 8 -- Major League Soccer, looking to reduce rising financial losses, folded both Florida franchises: the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny.

Jan. 10 -- Todd Eldredge won his sixth U.S. Figure Skating Championships title. After skipping two seasons of competition, Eldredge edged defending champion Tim Goebel.

Jan. 10 -- Aileen Eaton, a boxing promoter at Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles from 1942 to 1980, earned the distinction of being the first woman to be honored in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Jan. 11 -- In Cambridge, Mass., Thomas Junta was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for beating Michael Costin to death at their sons' hockey practice. Junta claimed he Costin in self-defense after they argued over rough play during the practice on July 5, 2000. Junta was later sentenced to 6-to-10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

Jan. 12 -- Michelle Kwan won her fifth successive U.S. Figure Skating Championships crown and sixth overall. Kwan became the first woman with five consecutive American championships since Janet Lynn (1969-73).

Jan. 12 -- Brendan Shanahan got his 1,000th career NHL point with a first-period goal in Detroit's 5-2 win over Dallas.

Jan. 14 -- Kobe Bryant scored a career-high 56 points before sitting out the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Memphis 120-81.

Jan. 14 -- Washington's Adam Oates became the eighth NHL player with 1,000 career assists, setting up Dainius Zubrus' overtime goal in the 1-0 victory over Boston.

Jan. 14 -- Steve Spurrier made his mark on the NFL even before coaching his first game or running a practice. He became the highest-paid coach in league history, signing a five-year deal worth $25 million.

Jan. 15 -- Alberto Martin knocked top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt out in the Australian Open's first round -- the earliest exit by a top seed in a Grand Slam tournament since 1990. The Spaniard won 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in 3 hours, 33 minutes.

Jan. 15 -- Allen Iverson scored a career-high 58 points as Philadelphia posted a 112-106 overtime victory over Houston.

Jan. 16 -- Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Sebastien Grosjean, the No. 4 and 5 seeds, were beaten in the Australian Open leaving the the tournament without its top five men's seeds halfway through the second round, something that never had happened before at a Grand Slam event.

Jan. 16 -- The struggling Miami Heat finally reached 100. Alonzo Mourning had a season-high 28 points and 11 rebounds as the Heat rallied to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102-96. The Heat (10-26) went an NBA-record 35 straight games without scoring 100 points.

Jan. 18 -- Ed Moses of the United States broke his own short-course world record in the 200-meter breaststroke, finishing in 2:04.37, at a World Cup meet in Paris. Moses clipped more than 2 seconds off his mark of 2:06.40, set March 25, 2000.

Jan. 18 -- Luc Robitaille scored his 611th goal to break Bobby Hull's NHL record for goals by a left wing. Robitaille scored in the first period of the Detroit Red Wings' 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Jan. 19 -- Yana Klochkova of Ukraine and Luo Xuejuan of China broke short-course world records at a World Cup swim meet in Paris. Klochkova broke an 8-year-old world record in the women's 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:27.83. She topped the mark of 4:29 set by China's Dai Guohong in December 1993. Luo broke the record in the 50-meter breaststroke, finishing in 30.47 seconds. Luo beat Zoe Baker of Britain, who held the old record of 30.51 seconds.

Jan. 20 -- Aeneas Williams returned two interceptions for touchdowns, a playoff record, and Tommy Polley had one, lifting the St. Louis Rams into the NFC championship game, 45-17 over the sloppy Green Bay Packers. The Rams picked off six passes by Brett Favre, the most he has thrown in any game, as the Packers suffered their worst playoff loss.

Jan. 20 -- Steve Yzerman became the ninth player in NHL history to notch 1,000 assists, which he earned on Mathieu Dandenault's game-winning goal when Detroit beat Ottawa 3-2 in overtime.

Jan. 22 -- Ed Moses of the United States broke short-course world records in the 50- and 200-meter breaststrokes at a World Cup meet in Stockholm, Sweden. In the 50, Moses swam 26.28 seconds, an impressive improvement on the old mark of 26.70, set by Mark Warnecke of Germany on Dec. 11, 1998. Moses later broke his own 200 breaststroke mark by finishing in 2:03.28. It was third world record in four days by Moses.

Jan. 22 -- The NBA completed a six-year, $4.6 billion TV package with ABC, ESPN and TNT, shifting nearly all of the league's games to cable. The deals with The Walt Disney Co. and AOL Time Warner are worth a total of $765 million a year, a 25 percent increase from the league's TV contracts that expire after the 2001-2002 season.

Jan. 23 -- Ed Moses broke his third short-course world record in two days, winning the 100-meter breaststroke in 57.47 seconds at a World Cup meet in Stockholm, Sweden. Moses broke his own record of 57.66 in the 100-meter breaststroke, which he set nearly two years ago. Emma Igelstrom of Sweden broke the women's 50 breaststroke mark with a time of 30.43. That beat the previous mark of 30.47, set by China's Luo Xuejuan this month.

Jan. 24 -- Martina Hingis advanced to her sixth consecutive Australian final when she rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Monica Seles.

Jan. 24 -- Ty Tryon, the youngest PGA Tour rookie in history, shot a 6-over-par 77 in his first PGA round at the Phoenix Open. The 77 left him in second-to-last place and 13 strokes out of the lead.

Jan. 25 -- Martina Hingis won her fourth Australian Open -- and ninth Grand Slam -- doubles title, teaming with Anna Kournikova for a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1 victory over Daniela Hantuchova and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.

Jan. 26 -- Jennifer Capriati produced the greatest comeback in a Grand Slam final to overcome Martina Hingis and defend her Australian Open title. Capriati saved four match points before clinching a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 victory over Hingis. The win was her first defense of a major, and no woman has saved more match points and won a Grand Slam final.

Jan. 27 -- Thomas Johansson wound up as one unlikely Grand Slam champion beating the more established Marat Safin 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the Australian Open final.

Jan. 26 -- Australia's Geoff Huegill, Ukraine's Oleg Lisogor and Slovakia's Martina Moravcova set short-course world records at a World Cup meet in Berlin. Huegill broke his 4-day-old mark for the 50-meter butterfly, finishing a preliminary heat in 22.74 seconds. Lisogor swam the 50 breaststroke in 26.20, 0.08 faster than Ed Moses of the United States turned in Jan. 22. Moravcova won the women's 100 butterfly in 56.55, chopping one-hundredth of a second off the 56.56 mark held by Jenny Thompson. Moses swam to his fifth world record at meets in Paris, Stockholm and Berlin, this time setting a 200-meter breaststroke mark of 2:03.17.

Jan. 27 -- Zoe Baker of Britain and Thomas Rupprath of Germany broke short-course world records at a World Cup meet in Berlin, raising the total to five new marks in two days. Baker lowered the women's 50-meter breaststroke record to 30.31 seconds, while Rupprath's 50.10 in the 100 butterfly broke his own mark of 50.26, set Dec. 14, 2001.

Jan. 27 -- Drew Bledsoe replaced an injured Tom Brady and led the Patriots to a 24-17 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game. Bledsoe got plenty of help from Troy Brown, who returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown and was the middle man on a 60-yard return of a blocked field goal that put New England ahead 21-3 early in the third quarter.

Jan. 27 -- The St. Louis Rams earned their second trip to the Super Bowl in three years with a 29-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jan. 27 -- Sergei Berezin scored the 10,000th home goal in Canadiens franchise history as Montreal beat San Jose 3-1. The Canadiens are the first team in NHL history with that many goals in home games.

Jan. 30 -- Jeremy Roenick reached the 1,000-point mark by scoring the only Philadelphia goal in a 3-1 loss to Ottawa.

Jan. 31 -- Kentucky, cited by the NCAA for more than three dozen recruiting violations, was placed on three years' probation for football recruiting violations, banned from a bowl game next season and made to forfeit 19 scholarships over the next three years.

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Feb. 1 -- The NCAA placed Alabama on five years' probation, jolting the program with a two-year bowl ban and heavy scholarship reductions.

Feb. 2 -- Tampa Bay's Nikolai Khabibulin, stopped all 20 shots he faced in the third period, as the NHL World All-Stars rallied to defeat North America 8-5. Eric Daze of the Chicago Blackhawks, making his first All-Star appearance, won MVP honors with two goals and an assist for North America.

Feb. 2 -- Jim Kelly, who led the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances -- losing all of them -- and Pittsburgh Steelers star John Stallworth were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Joining them in the class of 2002 were Dave Casper, Dan Hampton and the late George Allen.

Feb. 3 -- Kalara McFadyen of Memphis turned in a triple-double for the Lady Tigers without taking a single shot. The 5-foot-6 point guard grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out 12 assists and had 10 steals in a 91-56 victory over Charlotte.

Feb. 3 -- Russia's Svetlana Feofanova broke Stacy Dragila's world record in the women's indoor pole vault with a leap of 15 feet, 51/2 inches in Stuttgart, Germany. Ethiopia's Berhande Adere set another world record, winning the women's 3,000 meters in 8 minutes, 29.15 seconds. She bettered by 3.73 seconds the year-old mark held by Romania's Gabriela Szabo.

Feb. 3 -- Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal as time expired gave the New England Patriots a 20-17 win over two-touchdown favorite St. Louis in the Super Bowl.

Feb. 6 -- Svetlana Feofanova of Russia broke her own indoor world record in the pole vault, clearing 15 feet, 5 3/4 inches at the Globen Galan meet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Feb. 7 -- The Toronto Raptors overcame the loss of Vince Carter to an injury and beat the San Antonio Spurs 80-74 in overtime while the two teams set an NBA record. The two teams scored the fewest points in an overtime game since the inception of the shot clock.

Feb. 9 -- At the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands won the gold medal in the men's 5,000-meter speedskating race in world record time of 6:14.66. Just 20 minutes earlier, Derek Parra of Orlando, Calif., who won the silver medal, set the record of 6:17.98.

Feb. 9 -- Oakland's Rich Gannon led the AFC to a 38-30 victory over the NFC to win the player of the game award in the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year.

Feb. 10 -- Mark Bett of Kenya ran the fastest indoor 10,000 meters in history at the Flanders Indoor meet in Ghent, Belgium, shattering a world best that had stood for 27 years. Bett won in 27:50.29, more than 21 seconds faster than the 28:12.04 that Emiel Puttemans of Belgium ran in Paris in 1975. Svetlana Feofanova of Russia broke the indoor world record in the pole vault for the third time in a week, clearing 15 feet, 61/4 inches. Feofanova added half an inch to the record she set on Feb. 6.

Feb. 10 -- In Salt Lake City, Claudia Pechstein of Germany shattered her own world record in 3,000 speedskating event, crossing the line in 3:57.70 -- more than 11/2 seconds ahead of the old mark of 3:59.26.

Feb. 10 -- Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 31 points -- the most in an All-Star game since 1988 -- to lead the Western Conference to a 135-120 win over the East in the NBA All-Star Game.

Feb. 11 -- Americans Ross Powers, Danny Kass and J.J. Thomas took gold, silver and bronze in the men's halfpipe, thrusting themselves and their radical sport to the forefront of the Salt Lake City Olympics. The full sweep in the halfpipe marked the first time Americans took all three medals in a winter event since men'ure skating in 1956. Russia's 11th straight pairs title started with a collision and ended with a controversy -- both involving the Canadian duo. Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze were crowned the champions, although many observers felt the best duo was Jamie Sale and David Pelletier of Canada. Germany's George Hackl failed to win his fourth consecutive gold in the luge, settling for the silver. With that medal, Hackl became the first person to win a medal in five straight Winter Olympics.

Feb. 15 -- Unbalanced wagering led to huge show payoffs in the seventh race at Gulfstream Park in Florida, including $351.40 payout on a $2 bet that obliterated a national record set in 1912. The payoffs happened when Pleasant Colony, the 2-to-5 favorite, finished fifth. Of the $406,934 wagered to show, $396,411 or 97 percent was bet on her -- most of it from off-track sites. The winner, Emory Board, paid $12.20 to win, $7.20 to place but $86 to show. Man I Love Clare paid $45.80 to place but $351.40 to show. Third-place finisher Long Haul, who would have paid $56 to win, paid $125.60 to show. The previous show payoff record was $172.60 set at Latonia (now Turfway Park) in Kentucky in 1912.

Feb. 15 -- The worst judging scandal in Winter Olympics history was finally resolved, with Canadian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier declared co-gold medalists with the Russian winners.

Feb. 16 -- At the Winter Olympics, Gerard van Velde of the Netherlands set a world speedskating record in the men's 1,000 meters at the Utah Olympic Oval. Van Velde crossed the line in 1:07.18, easily eclipsing the mark of 1:07.72 set by Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon in December, 2001 on the same ice.

Feb. 17 -- Ward Burton took advantage of Sterling Marlin's blunder for his first victory in the Daytona 500. Marlin, who was leading when the red flag came out on lap 195 and appeared in control of the race, was penalized for getting out of his car and pulling briefly on a damaged fender during the stoppage.

Feb. 17 -- At Salt Lake City, American Chris Witty won a speedskating gold medal with a world record in the 1,000 meters, bouncing back from a case of mono she contracted just a month before the Olympics. Witty's time of 1 minute, 13.83 seconds smashed Sabine Voelker's record of 1:14.06, set in December at the Utah Olympic Oval.

Feb. 18 -- Tony Boselli, the five-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle, was the first pick in the expansion draft to stock the Houston Texans.

Feb. 19 -- In Salt Lake City, bobsledders Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers gave the United States 21 medals in the Winter Games -- one more than the bold prediction made months ago by U.S. Olympic officials. Flowers became the first black athlete in history to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. U.S. speedskater Derek Parra zipped around the Utah Olympic Oval in world-record time of 1:43.95 in the 1,500 meters, breaking the mark set an hour earlier by Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands, who took the silver.

Feb. 20 -- In Salt Lake City, Vladimir Kopat scored on a shot that bounced off goalie Tommy Salo's head with 2:24 remaining and Belarus stunned Sweden 4-3 in the men's ice hockey quarterfinals. Belarus -- outscored 16-2 in its previous two games -- pulled off one of the greatest team upsets in any sport in any Olympics. Jim Shea won the men's skeleton race, finishing the two runs at Utah Olympic Park in 1 minute, 41.96 seconds. The victory was the culmination of an emotional two months for Shea, whose 91-year-old grandfather, Jack Shea, died four weeks ago. Jack Shea won two speedskating gold medals at the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. His father, Jim Sr., was also an Olympian and competed in three cross-country events in 1964. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen became the third winter Olympian to win four gold medals at a single games as Norway won the men's 30-kilometer biathlon relay. German Anni Friesinger lowered her own world speedskating record in the 1,500 meters covering the track in 1:54.02

Feb. 20 -- On a day of shockers in the opening round of the Match Play Championship, Tiger Woods, David Duval and Phil Mickelson were eliminated in the first round.

Feb. 20 -- Michael Redd of Milwaukee made an NBA record eight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 29 points in the Bucks's 115-76 win over Houston.

Feb. 21 -- In Salt Lake City, U.S. figure skater Sarah Hughes jumped from fourth to first to win the gold after a near-flawless performance, leaving teammate Michelle Kwan to settle for a bronze. The powerful Americans lost a 3-2 gold medal game to a Canadian team that it had beaten eight consecutive times in women's ice hockey. The U.S. team had beaten the Canadians four years ago in Nagano. High-scoring Hayley Wickenheiser, known as the female Wayne Gretzky, broke a second-period tie to catapult the Canadians to the Olympic championship.

Feb. 22 -- Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands broke the world speedskating record in the 10,000 meters at the Salt Lake Olympics. The Dutchman became the first man ever to break the 13-minute barrier, skating 12 minutes, 58.92 in the grueling 25-lap race.

Feb. 23 -- The Americans ended nearly a half-century of Olympic frustration for the U.S. men's bobsled team, driving to the silver and bronze medals in the four-man race. Claudia Pechstein of Germany broke the world speedskating record in the Olympic 5,000 meters. Pechstein, trying to win her third straight 5,000 gold medal, skated the 12 1/2-lap race in 6:46.91. She broke the record of 6:49.22 set in the first pairing by Gretha Smit.

Feb. 23 -- Penn State pole vaulter Kevin Dare, 19, died after landing on his head during the Big Ten indoor championships in Minneapolis.

Feb. 24 -- Svetlana Feofanova broke the pole vault indoor world record for the fourth time this month, clearing 15 feet, 6 1/2 inches at the Gaz de France meet. Feofanova added a quarter of an inch to the mark she established two weeks ago.

Feb. 24 -- Joe Sakic had two goals, including the game-winner, and two assists, and Jarome Iginla scored twice as Canada beat the United States 5-2 for the gold medal at the Winter Olympics. It was the seventh time Canada has won the gold in its national sport, but the first since 1952.

Feb. 25 -- Twelve-year-old Michelle Wie claimed one of two qualifying spots for the LPGA Tour's season-opening Takefuji Classic.

Feb. 27 -- Former Florida Marlins owner John Henry and his partners completed their record $660 million purchase of the Boston Red Sox, ending seven decades of ownership by the Yawkey family and its trust. The price more than doubled the previous record for a baseball franchise -- the $323 million paid by Larry Dolan for the Cleveland Indians in 2000.

Feb. 28 -- Twelve-year-old Michelle Wie struggled to a 2-over 72 in her LPGA Tour debut, while defending champion Lorie Kane shot a 63 to take the first-round lead in the season-opening Takefuji Classic.

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March 2 -- Eric Brandon pitched the first nine-inning perfect game in Auburn history, retiring all 27 Murray State batters, 12 by strikeout, in a 9-0 victory.

March 3 -- Jolanda Ceplak broke the 800-meter world record, a mark which stood 14 years, at the European Indoors in Vienna, Austria. She broke the mark of 1:56.40 set by East Germany's Christine Wachtel, also set at a meet in Vienna in 1988. Svetlana Feofanova broke the pole vault world record for the fifth time this year with a vault of 15-7, topping her previous record of 15-6 1/2.

March 3 -- Dallas set an NHL record with its 48th straight win when leading after two periods with a 4-1 win over San Jose. The streak broke the record of 47 games by the Detroit Red Wings from Nov. 21, 1964, to Jan. 23, 1966.

March 8 -- Tracy McGrady scored a career-high 50 points as Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak with a 99-96 win over Washington.

March 10 -- John Stockton, the NBA's career assist leader, had 13 assists in Utah's 95-92 loss at Houston to give him exactly 15,000 for his career.

March 10 -- San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov became the seventh goalie in NHL history to score a goal when he hit an empty net with 48 seconds left to cap 7-4 win at Vancouver.

March 10 -- In Sindelfingen, Germany, U.S. pole vaulter Jeff Hartwig cleared 19 feet, 9 inches, a height reached indoors by only two others. Sergei Bubka of Ukraine holds the world record at 20-2. Radion Gataullin also leaped 19-9.

March 11 -- The Carolina Hurricanes tied at home for the sixth straight time -- a NHL record -- when Craig Conroy scored his second goal of the game with 1:19 left in regulation for Calgary to tie 3-3.

March 12 -- Siena (17-18) with an 81-77 victory over Alcorn State in the play-in game, became the first team in 47 years to win an NCAA men's basketball tournament game with a losing record.

March 12 -- Martin Buser captured his fourth Iditarod and completed the 1,100-mile race in record time. He and his dogs ended their trek from Anchorage in eight days, 22 hours, 46 minutes -- the first musher to do so in less than nine days.

March 14 -- Emma Igelstrom of Sweden broke the world short-course swimming record in the 50-meter breaststroke, clocking 30.24 seconds at Goteborg, Sweden. Igelstrom bettered Zoe Baker of Britain's mark by seventh hundredths of a second as she won the final.

March 15 -- Creighton stunned fifth-seeded Florida 83-82 in double overtime in a Midwest Regional opener on Terrell Taylor's 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left. Add in Missouri's victory over Miami, and Tulsa's upset of Marquette -- both on March 14 -- and it is the first time three No. 12-seeded teams have won first-round games in the same NCAA tourney.

March 15 -- Sandis Ozolinsh and Ivan Novoseltsev set a record for the fastest two goals in Florida history -- eight seconds -- in the first period of a 5-2 victory over Buffalo.

March 17 -- Dutchman Jochem Uytdehaage won the 10,000 meters speedskating to capture the all-around world title and set a record points total in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Uytdehaage was timed in 13 minutes, 27.25 seconds, and finished with 152,482 points. That was the best performance for four events -- 500, 1,500, 5,000, 10,000 meters -- in a single weekend.

March 18 -- Thirteen-year-old Brittanie Cecil died, two days after after she was hit in the head by the puck at a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames. It was the first such fan fatality in NHL history and one of the few at an American sports event, other than auto racing, directly related to action on the field.

March 18 -- Sami Kapanen's goal with 10.4 seconds left helped Carolina extend its NHL record to seven straight ties at home with a 1-1 draw with Montreal.

March 20 -- Aaron Peirsol set a world record in the 200-meter backstroke, finishing nearly 5 seconds ahead of his closest competitors in the Spring National Championships at Minneapolis. Peirsol finished in 1 minute, 55.15 seconds to break the record of 1:55.87 set by Lenny Krayzelburg in 1999.

March 21 -- Missouri became the first 12th-seeded team to reach the round of eight by beating UCLA 82-73 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

March 21 -- Carolina's NHL-record streak of seven consecutive ties at home came to a halt as the Hurricanes rallied to beat Florida 3-2.

March 21 -- Alexei Yagudin recaptured the men's free skate title at the World Figure Skating Championships at Nagano, Japan. Yagudin became the first skater to win skating's four major titles in one season: the Grand Prix final, European championship, Olympics and worlds.

March 23 -- Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings scored his 500th career goal, breaking a scoreless tie at 7:48 of the third period, and Detroit beat Colorado 2-0.

March 23 -- Frederic Cassivi stopped 50 shots in just his second NHL start as the Atlanta Thrashers beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2. The Senators fired a season-high 52 shots at their former prospect Cassivi, who earned his first NHL win in his first start with a 33-save performance the previous night, a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

March 23 -- Street Cry, ridden by Jerry Bailey, won by 4 1/4 lengths over Sei Mi to win the $6 million Dubai World Cup, the world's richest thoroughbred race.

March 23 -- Irina Slutskaya captured her first world title, defeating four-time champion Michelle Kwan at the World Figure Skating Championships in Nagano, Japan.

March 23 -- Iowa State's Cael Sanderson became the first undefeated four-time NCAA wrestling champion at the NCAA Championships. Sanderson beat Lehigh's Jon Trenge, 12-4, to win at 197 pounds and finish his career with a perfect 159-0 record.

March 26 -- Utah's John Stockton turned 40, becoming the 10th player in NBA history to play at that age. Stockton celebrated his birthday by scoring 20 points in the Jazz's 109-105 victory over Houston.

March 28 -- Earl Barron scored a career-high 25 points and tournament MVP Dajuan Wagner had 16 as Memphis won the NIT with a 72-62 victory over South Carolina.

March 30 -- New Jersey defenseman Ken Daneyko set an NHL record by failing to score a goal in his 246th straight game.

March 30 -- Sammy Kipketer broke his own world record for 10 kilometers, leading a 1-2-3 Kenyan sweep in winning the Crescent City Classic in New Orleans. Kipketer quickly pulled away and finished in 27 minutes, 10 seconds. He beat the record he set a year ago in the Netherlands by eight seconds.

March 31 -- Connecticut beat Oklahoma 82-70 to conclude its second unbeaten season with a third women's national championship. Connecticut, at 39-0, became the fourth team to go undefeated since women's basketball came under the NCAA in 1981 and was the first school to do it twice.

March 31 -- Annika Sorenstam closed with a 4-under 68 that featured clutch putts and no mistakes, and defeated Liselotte Neumann by one stroke to become the first back-to-back winner of the Nabisco Championship.

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April 1 -- With Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter leading the way, Maryland won its first national championship with a 64-52 victory over Indiana.

April 3 -- Barry Bonds made it four homers in two games, hitting a pair of mammoth blasts into the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium. Bonds became the second player to hit two homers in each of his team's first two games.

April 3 -- Baseball salaries topped $2 billion for the first time this year, with Texas shortstop Alex Rodriguez atop the list at $22 million. The New York Yankees led all clubs with a record payroll of nearly $126 million -- $92 million more than last-place Tampa Bay.

April 3 -- Pat Riley will not finish the season with a winning record for the first time in his 20 years as an NBA coach after Miami dropped a 97-90 decision to Charlotte.

April 3 -- Utah set an NBA record by clinching its 17th straight winning season after defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 99-87.

April 3 -- The China team of Yang Yu, Tang Jingzhii, Zhu Yingven and Xu Yanvei won the 800-meter women's freestyle relay in a world record time 7 minutes, 46.30 seconds at the short-course World Swimming Championships in Moscow. The previous record of 7:47.14 was set by Britain in August 2001.

April 4 -- Emma Igelstrom of Sweden broke her world record and became the first woman to finish in less than 30 seconds in the 50-meter breaststroke. Igelstrom's time of 29.96 at the short-course World Swimming Championships shaved nearly a half-second off her mark of 30.24 that she set less than three weeks ago.

April 5 -- New Jersey's Martin Brodeur became the first goalie in NHL history to post six straight 35-win seasons after stopping 14 shots in a 3-1 win over Atlanta.

April 5 -- Sweden set a world record in the women's 400-meter medley relay at the short-course World Swimming Championships in Moscow. The time of 3 minutes, 55.78 seconds beat the mark set by a U.S. team two years ago. The Swedish team consisted of Therese Alshammar, Emma Igelstrom, Ana-Karin Kammerling and Johanna Sjoberg.

April 5 -- Barry Bonds hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to lift San Francisco to a 3-1 win over San Diego. With his fifth home run by the fourth game of the season, he matched the mark set by Lou Brock in 1967.

April 6 -- In her third world-record race in three days, Sweden's Emma Igelstrom won the 100-meter breaststroke at the short-course World Swimming Championships at Moscow. Igelstrom, finished in 1:05.38, 0.02 seconds ahead of the mark set in 1999 by Penelope Heyns.

April 6 -- Minnesota's Grant Potulny scored on a power play 16:58 into overtime, giving the Golden Gophers a 4-3 victory over Maine -- their first NCAA ice hockey championship since 1979.

April 7 -- Aaron Peirsol broke two world records, one in a relay, and fellow American Lindsay Benko also bettered a mark at the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Moscow. Peirsol won the men's 200-meter backstroke in 1 minute, 51.17 seconds, shattering the old mark of 1:51.62, shared by Matt Welsh of Australia and Gordan Kozulj of Croatia. He then teamed with David Denniston, Peter Marshall and Jason Lezak as the U.S. 400 medley relay team finished in 3:29.00, erasing the record of 3:29.88 set by Australia in 1999. Benko won the women's 200 freestyle in 1:54.04, eclipsing the 5-year-old record of Claudia Pol of Costa Rica by 0.13.

April 7 -- Curt Schilling allowed one hit over nine shutout innings, striking out a career-high 17, in Arizona's 2-0 victory over Milwaukee.

April 8 -- Craig Biggio hit for the cycle and had four RBIs in Houston's 8-4 win over Colorado.

April 8 -- Following the Tigers' 0-6 start, Detroit fired manager Phil Garner. The dismissal of Garner tied the quickest firing of a manager who started the season since 1900. Baltimore fired Cal Ripken Sr. in 1988 after the Orioles lost six games en route to an 0-21 start.

April 9 -- The New Jersey Nets clinched their first division title since joining the NBA in 1976 after a 101-88 win over Washington. The Nets' 50th victory -- the most they have won in an NBA season -- wrapped up the Atlantic Division crown.

April 9 -- The Montreal Canadiens welcomed back Saku Koivu and capped an already-emotional night by clinching a playoff berth. Seven months after he was diagnosed with abdominal cancer, Koivu -- Montreal's captain -- resumed his playing career as the Canadiens scored three second-period goals and held on for a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.

April 10 -- Michelle Kwan, the most accomplished figure skater of her generation, won the 2001 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete.

April 10 -- San Jose became only the second team in NHL history to improve its point total for six consecutive seasons, joining the Islanders (1973-79), by totaling 97 points following a 5-3 victory at Columbus.

April 14 -- Kevin Harvick became the first driver barred from a Winston Cup race for rough driving when NASCAR ordered him out of the Virginia 500 hours before the race began. The penalty, the first in the history of NASCAR, grew from Harvick's on-track clash with Coy Gibbs during the truck race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

April 14 -- Tiger Woods became only the third player to win back-to-back Masters titles. He closed with a 1-under 71 to claim a three-stroke victory over Retief Goosen.

April 14 -- Khalid Khannouchi of the United States broke his own world record for the marathon, winning the London Marathon in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 38 seconds. Khannouchi set the old mark of 2:05:42 three years ago in Chicago. Paula Radcliffe of Britain, making her marathon debut, won the women's race in the second-fastest time in history, 2:18:55.

April 14 -- Ray Allen scored a career-high 47 points on a club-record 10 3-pointers, as Milwaukee beat Charlotte 98-91. Allen's eight 3s after halftime tied an NBA record for 3-pointers in a half.

April 14 -- John Force claimed the Funny Car title at the O'Reilly Spring Nationals, the 100th victory of his 15-year career. The 52-year-old Force joined NASCAR Winston Cup drivers Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105) as the only drivers to earn 100 or more victories.

April 15 -- Rodgers Rop led a Kenyan sweep of the Boston Marathon, winning in 2:09:02. Margaret Okayo, also of Kenya, won the women's race in 2:20:43, taking 62 seconds off the course record.

April 16 -- Lance Berkman homered in his first three at-bats and drove in five runs in Houston's 8-3 victory over Cincinnati.

April 17 -- The Toronto Raptors, written off after losing 13 straight and Vince Carter to season-ending knee surgery, capped one of the most remarkable turnarounds by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-85 to clinch one of the last two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors joined the 1996-97 Phoenix Suns and the 1976-77 Chicago Bulls as the only teams in the history of the NBA, NHL and major league baseball to endure a 13-game losing streak and still advance to the postseason.

April 20 -- Tony Mongelluzzo of the Savannah Sand Gnats hit five home runs in five consecutive trips to the plate. No one in major league baseball has ever accomplished either feat. The power surge began April 19, when Mongelluzzo homered in the 12th inning of a 6-5 loss to the Asheville (N.C.) Tourists -- his first homer of the young season. In his first four trips to the plate against the Tourists on this date, Mongelluzzo homered to left field, left-center, center and right.

April 20 -- Fresno State quarterback David Carr was the top pick in the NFL Draft by the expansion Houston Texans.

April 21 -- Detroit and Toronto combined for just 25 points in the first quarter, tying the NBA record for the fewest points scored in the first quarter of a playoff game. Detroit won 85-63.

April 21 -- Iva Majoli, ranked 58th in the world, became the lowest ranked player to win a top-tier tournament when she defeated Patty Schnyder 7-6 (5), 6-4 for the championship of the Family

Circle Cup, her first singles title since the 1997 French Open. The pair made up the first ever top-tier tournament final between unseeded players.

April 21 -- Randy Johnson struck out 17 batters while giving up only two hits in Arizona's 7-1 win over Colorado.

April 21 -- Atlanta's Rafael Furcal tied a modern major league record and became the first Braves player in 46 years to hit three triples in a game, as Atlanta beat Florida 4-2.

April 23 -- Brent Johnson tied an NHL record with three straight shutouts in the playoffs. That had not happened in 57 years. Johnson achieved the milestone in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

April 24 -- Ottawa's Patrick Lalime grabbed a share of NHL history by recording his third consecutive 3-0 shutout over Philadelphia to equal a league record.

April 25 -- The NCAA relaxed its eligibility rules, allowing high school athletes to enter the NBA draft but still go to college as long as they don't sign with a team or an agent.

April 26 -- Odalis Perez was perfect for six innings as Los Angeles beat the Cubs 10-0 at Wrigley Field, but he wound up with a one-hitter after speedy Corey Patterson beat out a bad-hop infield single leading off the seventh. Perez faced the minimum 27 batters in his first career shutout.

April 26 -- Shawn Estes, seeking the first no-hitter in New York Mets history, gave up a clean single to Eric Young leading off the seventh inning of a 1-0 one-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers.

April 26 -- The Ottawa Senators eliminated Philadelphia in just five games in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Ottawa help the Flyers established an NHL record for futility, becoming the first team to go five consecutive games -- dating to last season -- without scoring a goal in postseason regulation time. After winning the series opener 1-0 in overtime, the Flyers were shut out in three consecutive games by Senators goaltender Patrick Lalime. Dan McGillis finally snapped the string of 320 minutes, 36 seconds without a playoff regulation goal by scoring 3:53 into Game 5.

April 27 -- Derek Lowe, who struggled to keep his job as a closer last season, pitched a no-hitter against Tampa Bay. Brent Abernathy was the only baserunner Lowe allowed in Boston's 10-0 victory, spoiling his chance at a perfect game.

April 28 -- Ted Lilly took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, but lost it when Desi Relaford hit a one-out, RBI single in Seattle's 1-0 win over the Yankees. Relaford's single gave the Mariners their lone hit.

April 30 -- Anaheim pounded out a season-high 21 runs and 22 hits in a 21-2 win over Cleveland. Troy Glaus went 4-for-6 with five RBIs to lead the Angels.

April 30 -- Al Leiter cruised through seven three-hit innings in the New York Mets' 10-1 rout of Arizona to become the first pitcher to beat all 30 teams in the majors.

April 30 -- Texas Rangers Alex Rodriguez became the second-youngest player to reach 250 homers a 10-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Only Jimmie Foxx was younger.

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May 1 -- With a save against the Chicago Cubs, San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman set the major league record for the most saves with one team, 321. He broke Dennis Eckersley's record of 320 with Oakland.

May 2 -- Mike Cameron hit four homers and came close to a record-setting fifth in leading the Seattle Mariners to a 15-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. He's only the 13th player in major league history to homer four times in a game, and the first since Mark Whiten in 1993 for St. Louis. Cameron connected in his first four at-bats, in just five innings. He joined Bret Boone as the first teammates ever to both hit two home runs in the same inning. They connected back-to-back twice in a 10-run first.

May 2 -- Patrick Lalime became the 14th goalie in NHL history to record four shutouts in one postseason after his 27-save performance in Ottawa's 5-0 defeat of Toronto.

May 3 -- Atlanta's Damian Moss had a no-hitter after seven innings but was lifted for a pinch-hitter to lead off the eighth in the Braves' 2-1, 11-inning victory over the Cardinals.

May 3 -- Danny Bautista, Steve Finley and Damian Miller hit consectuive homers off Bruce Chen in the first inning of Arizona's 6-3 victory over the Expos. Finley, Miller and Mark Grace hit three straight home runs off Florida's Josh Beckett on April 28.

May 4 -- War Emblem, a 20-1 shot, scored a wire-to-wire, four-length victory over Proud Citizen in the Kentucky Derby.

May 4 -- Boston's Paul Pierce scored 46 points in a 120-87 win over Philadelphia, the fifth-best playoff performance in Celtics' history. Pierce scored 29 in the first half -- one point shy of the Celtics' playoff record held by Larry Bird and John Havlicek.

May 5 -- K.J. Choi became the first South Korean winner in PGA Tour history, closing with a 5-under 67 for a four-stroke victory in the Compaq Classic in New Orleans.

May 5 -- Joey Clanton set an American Speed Association record with his fourth victory in four races this season, winning the ASARacing.com 300 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.

May 9 -- San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan edged New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd for NBA MVP honors. Duncan received 57 first-place votes and 954 points from a panel of 126 sports writers and broadcasters, while Kidd drew 45 first-place votes and 897 points.

May 10 -- NBA owners approved the Hornets' move to New Orleans, ending the team's 14-year era in Charlotte.

May 10 -- Boston and Detroit played the lowest-scoring game in the NBA playoffs since the shot clock was introduced in the 1954-55 season as the Celtics beat the Pistons 66-64. The 130-point total was far below the previous low of 142 registered three times. The teams also tied the record for fewest points scored in a half, with 60 combined points in the second half.

May 13 -- An earthquake shook Pacific Bell Park during the game between the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants, but play was not interrupted.

May 13 -- Carolina's 8-2 victory over Montreal tied the mark for the most goals the Canadiens Montreal have allowed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Chicago beat the Canadiens 8-7 in Game 5 of the 1973 finals.

May 16 -- Colorado goalie Patrick Roy, who played in his record-tying 11th Game 7 against San Jose, stopped 27 shots to record his league-record 22nd career shutout, as Colorado blanked San Jose 1-0 to win the Western Conference semifinals.

May 17 -- New York's Jason Giambi hit a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 14th inning, lifting the Yankees to a 13-12 victory over Minnesota.

May 17-- Arizona's Erubiel Durazo hit three home runs, a double and drove in nine runs as the Diamondbacks, defeated Philadelphia 12-9.

May 18 -- War Emblem, ridden by Victor Espinoza, held off fast-closing long shot Magic Weisner by three-quarters of a length to win the Preakness Stakes and set up a shot at the Triple Crown. Trainer Bob Baffert got a third shot at a Triple Crown in the last six years.

May 19 -- Joey Clanton extended his record season-opening winning streak to five, winning the ASA's O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Hawkeye Downs. The streak ended June 9 with a second-place finish in the Oneidea Bingo & Casino 300.

May 20 -- The Los Angeles Lakers' NBA-record streak of 12 consecutive road playoff victories ended with a 96-90 loss to Sacramento in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

May 21 -- New Jersey's Jason Kidd registered another triple-double with 23 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, but the Nets were beaten by Boston 93-86 in the Eastern Conference finals. Kidd became the fourth player in NBA history to record triple-doubles in consecutive conference finals games, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson.

May 21 -- Linesman Ray Scapinello officiated his 400th career playoff game -- an NHL record. In his 31st season, Scapinello leads all officials in having worked 2,382 games.

May 22 -- Jeff Weaver pitched a one-hitter in Detroit's 2-0 win over Cleveland.

May 23 -- Los Angeles Dodgers' slugger Shawn Green became the 14th man in major league history to homer four times in a game and set a big league record with 19 total bases. He went 6-for-6, scoring six times with seven RBIs in a 16-3 win at Milwaukee.

May 24 -- U.S. Olympic Committee president Sandra Baldwin resigned, a day after she admitted lying about her academic credentials.

May 25 -- Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers, homered twice in a 10-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks setting a major league record with seven homers in his last three games.

May 25 -- Boston set an NBA record, overcoming a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit in a 94-90 win over New Jersey. The Celtics outscored the Nets 41-16 in the quarter and took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. The previous largest comeback in a fourth-quarter was 18 points when Phoenix, came back to win 124-117 in overtime over Houston on May 11, 1994.

May 26 -- Helio Castroneves needed three hours to win his second straight Indianapolis 500 on the track and nearly twice that long to have the victory upheld by race officials. Officials reviewed a late-race pass by Paul Tracy and determined it came seconds after the final caution light froze the field in position.

May 27 -- Jocelyn Forest threw a one-hitter and California scored six runs in the seventh inning off ace Jennie Finch to beat Arizona 6-0 in the NCAA championship softball game.

May 28 -- The NBA fined the Cleveland Cavaliers $150,000 and suspended coach John Lucas for the first two games of next season for including LeBron James, the nation's top high school basketball player, in a voluntary workout for players last week at Gund Arena.

May 28 -- Martin Gelinas tipped in a pass 8:05 into OT, lifting Carolina to a 2-1 victory over Toronto and clinching the NHL Eastern Conference finals in six games. The Hurricanes became the 28th franchise to play for the Cup since 1918.

May 29 -- Roger Clemens recorded the 100th double-digit strikeout game of his career, fanning 11 in seven innings against Chicago. Only Nolan Ryan (215) and Randy Johnson (175) have more games with 10 or more strikeouts.

May 31 -- In Seoul, South Korea, the first World Cup in Asia began with one of the biggest upsets in tournament history: Senegal 1, France 0. Senegal, a former French colony making its first appearance in soccer's showcase event, defeated its former conquerer on a goal by Papa Bouba Diop.

May 31 -- Jason Kidd became the first player in 35 years to record three triple-doubles in an NBA playoff series, and the New Jersey Nets finished off the Boston Celtics and their disappearing duo of superstars with a 96-88 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Nets are the first team since the 1977-78 Seattle SuperSonics to make it to the Finals after failing to qualify for the playoffs the previous season. Kidd finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists. He joined Oscar Robertson (1963) and Wilt Chamberlain (1967) as the only players with three triple-doubles in a series.

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June 1 -- Detroit advanced to the Stanley Cup finals for the fourth time in eight years with a 7-0 win over Colorado in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Colorado became the first NHL team to play in four consecutive Game 7s. Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek set an NHL record by recording his fifth shutout of the playoffs.

June 2 -- Annika Sorenstam, a little more than a year after shooting the first 59 in LPGA history, matched the best 54-score ever on the tour in winning the inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic. Sorenstam finished at 21-under-par 195 to win by 11 strokes, the largest margin on the tour this year.

June 3 -- Andre Agassi, down two sets and a break in the third, overcame wild-card entry Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the French Open quarterfinals. It's the fourth time (all since 1996) that Agassi won after losing the first two sets, and the prior occasion was in the same setting.

June 4 -- The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Ball State right-hander Bryan Bullington with the top pick in Major League Baseball's Amateur Draft.

June 5 -- Magic Johnson, the man who set the standard for point guards with his all-around brilliance in leading the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA championships in the 1980s, was introduced as a member of the 2002 class elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Others elected were Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown; University of Arizona coach Lute Olson; the late Drazen Petrovic, a star with the Portland Trail Blazers and New Jersey Nets; North Carolina State women's coach Kay Yow, and the Harlem Globetrotters.

June 5 -- In Suwon, South Korea, the United States posted a shocking 3-2 upset of Portugal, the world's fifth-ranked team.

June 5 -- Justine Bak broke her own world record in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the IAAF Milan (Italy) meet. Bak, of Poland, covered the distance in 9 minutes, 22.29 seconds, shaving 3.02 seconds the mark she in Nice, France, last year.

June 8 -- Mike Tyson took a beating in Memphis, where heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis turned boxing's scariest force into a mortal whose legacy, already tarnished, was further darkened by his clear inferiority. Tyson received eight rounds of punishment from Lewis in a brutally one-sided fight. The fight, at $54.95, was the highest-grossing pay-per-view event in history.

June 8 -- The oldest team in the NHL got the game-winning goal from the oldest player in the league to win one of the longest games in Stanley Cup history. The Detroit Red Wings' 3-2 victory on 41-year-old Igor Larionov's goal at 14:47 of the third overtime gave them a 2-1 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes. The game was the third-longest game in finals history.

June 8 -- Serena Williams got the best of her big sister Venus at the French Open, beating her 7-5, 6-3 for the championship -- nine months after Venus came out on top at the U.S. Open.

June 8 -- Sarava, a 70-1 shot, stunned a record crowd of 103,222, by capturing the Belmont Stakes. War Emblem, seeking to become racing's 12th Triple Crown winner and first in 24 years, stumbled to his knees and nearly fell coming out of the starting gate. The colt led briefly at the half-mile pole before fading to eighth. Sarava, ridden by Edgar Prado, paid a record $142.50, the highest-priced winner in the Belmont's 134-year history.

June 9 -- Se Ri Pak stole the show from 45-year-old Beth Daniel, turning a four-stroke deficit into a three-stroke victory at the LPGA Championship to become the youngest woman to win four major championships. The 24-year-old Pak now has four majors, the fastest start in women's golf. Mickey Wright was 25 when she won the fourth of her 13 majors at the 1960 LPGA Championship.

June 9 -- Albert Costa won the French Open using steady tennis and benefitting from the error-filled play oellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero for a 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory.

June 9 -- The Los Angeles Lakers' 106-103 win over New Jersey was an NBA Finals record seventh straight victory -- four over Philadelphia last year and three over the Nets.

June 9 -- Jeff Ward overtook Al Unser Jr. just inches from the line, his only lead in the 2002 Boomtown 500, and won by just .0111 seconds, the closest finish in IRL history.

June 10 -- Dominik Hasek put on a spectacular show for his record sixth shutout of the playoffs to lead the Red Wings to a 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals. Brett Hull of Detroit became the fourth player in NHL history -- and the first without any Edmonton Oilers lineage -- to reach 100 career playoff goals when he scored. Detroit's win was Scotty Bowman's 35th career finals victory, passing former Montreal coach Toe Blake for the NHL record.

June 10 -- New York Yankees rookie Marcus Thames hit a home run on the first pitch he saw in the majors -- off Randy Johnson. Thames launched a two-run shot against the four-time Cy Young winner, becoming only the 17th player ever to homer on his first pitch.

June 11 -- Jared Sandberg became the 16th AL player to homer twice in an inning, and the third this season, as Tampa Bay beat Los Angeles 11-2. Sandberg, the nephew of former Chicago Cubs star Ryne Sandberg, homered his first pitches in a nine-run fifth inning for the first multi-homer game of his career.

June 11 -- France, the defending champions, crashed out of the World Cup in the first round. They lost 2-0 to Denmark becoming the first champion eliminated in the opening round since Brazil in 1966. France didn't score a goal in three games.

June 12 -- Shaquille O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers finished off the New Jersey Nets in four games, winning their third straight NBA title with the 113-107 victory. The Lakers made Phil Jackson the winningest coach in NBA postseason history, giving him his 156th win, 24th consecutive playoff series victory and his ninth title -- tied with Red Auerbach for the record. O'Neal won his third straight NBA Finals MVP award joining Michael Jordan (1991-93, 1996-98) as the only players to win three straight Finals MVPs since the award was first presented in 1969.

June 12 -- Alesia Turova of Belarus set a world record of 9 minutes 21.72 seconds in the women's 3,000 steeplechase at the Golden Spike meet at Ostrava, Czech Republic. Turova broke the record of 9:22.29, set June 5 by Poland's Justine Bak at the IAAF Milan meet.

June 12 -- Brian Lawrence became the fourth pitcher this season and 36th in baseball history to strike out a side on nine pitches, when he retired San Diego's Brook Fordyce, Jerry Hairston and Melvin Mora in the third inning of Baltimore's 2-0 loss. Only one of the pitches was a called strike.

June 13 -- The Detroit Red Wings and coach Scotty Bowman won the Stanley Cup, then Bowman skated off into retirement. The Red Wings, in beating Carolina 3-1 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, won their 10th Stanley Cup and Bowman won his record ninth title.

June 14 -- Aaron Boone hit a pair of homers -- one in the ninth inning to tie the game and one to win it in the 11th -- off Pittsburgh closer Mike Williams as Cincinnati beat the Pirates 4-3.

June 14 -- With all 14 interleague games -- and one NL game -- taking place in National League parks, the DH was not employed anywhere throughout baseball.

June 15 -- Florida second baseman Luis Castillo extended his hitting streak to 30 games with an infield single in the sixth inning as Florida defeated Tampa Bay, 3-0. Castillo became the 39th player to hit in 30 straight games.

June 15 -- A double in the fifth inning of Texas' 4-0 loss to Houston gave Rafael Palmeiro 1,000 career extra-base hits. He became the 25th major league player to reach that mark.

June 16 -- A runaway winner again in the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods became the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1972 to capture the first two major championships of the year with a three-stroke victory at Bethpage (N.Y.) Black.

June 17 -- Brian McBride and Landon Donovan scored on counterattacks, and the United States beat Mexico 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, the best showing for the Americans since 1930.

June 18 -- South Korea pulled off a stunning 2-1 upset of Italy at the World Cup, tying the score with just minutes left and then scoring the game-winner in overtime.

June 18 -- Martina Navratilova, playing her first tour singles match in eight years, beat Tatiana Panova of Russia 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 at the Eastbourne grass-court tournament. The victory, her first in singles in 7 1/2 years, marked her as the oldest (45) woman ever to win a WTA match.

June 19 -- Luis Castillo tied Rogers Hornsby's 80-year-old record for the longest hitting streak by a second baseman, beating out a dribbler to the pitcher in the sixth inning to make it 33 games in a row, in a 2-1 Florida win over Cleveland.

June 19 -- Rod Langway, Bernie Federko, Clark Gillies and Roger Neilson were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Neilson, the only non-player honored, was a head coach in the NHL with Toronto, Buffalo, Vancouver, Los Angeles, the New York Rangers, Florida and Philadelphia.

June 21 -- Luis Castillo singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 35 games, tying Ty Cobb and two others for the 10th longest all-time.

June 21 -- Lance Deal won his ninth U.S. hammer championship. He joined Hal Connolly as the only nine-time winner in the event. Deal's winning throw of 244 feet, 5 inches was the shortest of any of his winning efforts at the U.S. Track and Field Championships.

June 22 -- Darryl Kile, 33, of the St. Louis Cardinals was found dead in the team hotel. The game between the Cardinals and the Cubs at Wrigley was canceled.

June 22 -- The Detroit Tigers ended Luis Castillo's 35-game hitting streak. Castillo went 0-for-4 and was left on deck when the Florida Marlins finished off a four-run, ninth-inning rally to beat the Tigers 5-4.

June 22 -- Texas beat South Carolina 12-6 for its fifth College World Series title and first since 1983. It was the fourth national title for Texas coach Augie Garrido, who won three at Cal State Fullerton before coming to Texas in 1996.

June 22 -- The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired the No. 1 pick of the NHL draft from the Florida Panthers, and used it to select rugged forward Rick Nash. Nash, compared to Detroit sniper Brendan Shanahan, had 32 goals and 72 points in 54 games with London of the Ontario Hockey League last season.

June 23 -- Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron finished his career with his 7,141st trip to the winner's circle, his final ride a victory on Came Home in the $107,500 Affirmed Stakes.

June 24 -- Both starters in the first game of the Anaheim-Texas doubleheader -- Joaquin Benoit and Aaron Sele -- threw 96 pitches, 53 strikes and 43 balls. Benoit and the Rangers won 8-5.

June 25 -- Jose Cruz Jr. went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer and a career-high six RBIs as Toronto outslugged Tampa Bay 20-11.

June 25 -- Odalis Perez pitched his second one-hitter of the season in Los Angeles' 4-0 win over Colorado.

June 25 -- History was made when Luis Pujols' Detroit Tigers took the field against Tony Pena's Kansas City Royals. Pujols and Pena became the first Dominican-born managers to oppose each other in a major league game.

June 26 -- Yao Ming, the 7-foot-5 center who gained clearance from the Chinese national federation to play in the NBA only hours earlier, was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets in the NBA draft.

June 26 -- In one of the most extraordinary days at the All England Club, seven-time champion Pete Sampras, 1992 winner Andre Agassi and No. 2-seeded Marat Safin all lost -- throwing the Wimbledon tournament wide open. For the first time in the Open era, five of the top-eight seeded men's players were eliminated before the third round.

June 26 -- California's football team was banned from a bowl game this season and placed on five years of probation by the NCAA for academic fraud, recruiting and eligibility violations.

June 29 -- When American Jeff Morrison, 98th-ranked, lost to No. 18 Sjeng Schalken 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-0 at Wimbledon, it marked the first time since 1922 that no American man reached the fourth round at the All England Club.

June 30 -- Ronaldo scored both goals to lead Brazil to a 2-0 victory over Germany for the team's record fifth World Cup title, capping a superb tournament that helped erase bad memories of his knee injuries and the team's 1998 World Cup final.

June 30 -- Don Pooley made a 10-foot birdie putt on the fifth playoff hole to end an epic duel with Tom Watson and become the first qualifier to win the U.S. Senior Open.

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July 1 -- Los Angeles' Eric Gagne picked up his 30th save in a's 4-0 win over Arizona, reaching that mark in the Dodgers' 82nd game -- a major league record. The previous mark was 83 games by Bobby Thigpen with the Chicago White Sox in 1990 and Lee Smith with St. Louis in 1993.

July 2 -- A record 62 home runs were hit in the major leagues, breaking the mark of 57 set April 7, 2000. Raul Ibanez homered twice for Kansas City, making him the record ninth player to hit at least two in a game. San Francisco's Damon Minor, Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Reggie Sanders each homered twice as the Giants became the 16th team to have three players with multiple homers in a game, an 18-5 win against Colorado.

July 3 -- Cleveland Indians slugger Jim Thome homered in his seventh straight game, leaving him one shy of the major league record. Thome hit a solo shot off David Wells of the New York Yankees.

July 4 -- Sisters Venus and Serena Williams won in straight sets to set up their third title match at a major in 10 months -- and the first all-sister Wimbledon final since 1884. Top-seeded Venus, the two-time defending champion, overpowered Justine Henin 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court. Second-seeded Serena routed Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-1 in 55 minutes.

July 6 -- Serena Williams beat older sister Venus 7-6 (4), 6-3 to win her first Wimbledon title and second straight Grand Slam tournament.

July 7 -- Lleyton Hewitt crushed David Nalbandian in straight sets in the Wimbledon final to win his second Grand Slam title. Hewitt, 21, put on a ruthless performance to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in less than two hours and became the youngest Wimbledon men's champion since Boris Becker won his second title in 1986 at age 18.

July 7 -- Juli Inkster matched the lowest final-round score by an Open champion with a 4-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Annika Sorenstam in the U.S. Women's Open. It was her seventh major, most among active players.

July 7 -- Cristiano da Matta led from start to finish in the Toronto Molson-Indy, matching the CART record of four consecutive victories.

July 9 -- Despite Barry Bonds hitting a home run and Torii Hunter making a spectacular catch, the All-Star game finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers.

July 14 -- Patrick Carpentier won the the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland to end Cristiano da Matta's CART winning streak at four races.

July 15 -- Lisa Leslie scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half and earned her third WNBA All-Star MVP trophy, leading the Western Conference to an 81-76 victory over the East.

July 16 -- The NBA salary cap went down for the first time in its 18-year history. The cap, which rose last year by $7 million to $42.5 million, was dropped to $40.271 million for the 2002-03 season primarily because of a $100 million-plus decrease in guaranteed television money.

July 19 -- Cory Lidle pitched a one-hitter, giving up only an eighth-inning double, to help Oakland beat Texas 10-0.

July 20 -- Tiger Woods, trying to win the third leg of the Grand Slam, shot his worst round ever (81) as a professional, knocking himself out of contention.

July 21 -- Ernie Els faced great pressure in the British Open by squandering a three-stroke lead and outlasted Thomas Levet of France to win a four-man playoff that produced the first sudden-death finish in the 142-year history of the tournament. The South African shot a 1-under 70 to join Levet (66) and Australians Stuart Appleby (65) and Steve Elkington (66) at 6-under 278. Appleby and Elkington dropped out after playing the four holes in 1 over.

July 21 -- Florida pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts, establishing a franchise record for a nine-inning game, in a 4-0 win over Montreal. Starter Josh Beckett struck out a career-high 12 in six innings.

July 21 -- Michael Schumacher, the most dominant Formula One driver in years, captured the French Grand Prix to clinch his fifth title. He and Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio, who rode in the 1950s, share the record for most championships. This was Schumacher's third consecutive title and sixth victory of the season.

July 23 -- Nomar Garciaparra homered three times on his 29th birthday, connecting twice in a 10-run third inning and then hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning of Boston's 22-2 win over Tampa Bay.

July 27 -- John Ruiz retained the WBA heavyweight title he won from Evander Holyfield, this time getting off the canvas three times -- all after low blows -- and lasting long enough for Kirk Johnson to be disqualified.

July 28 -- Lance Armstrong won his fourth straight Tour de France. His final winning margin over second-place Joseba Beloki of Spain was 7 minutes, 17 seconds, making it Armstrong's second-biggest victory. He beat Alex Zuelle by 7:37 in 1999 for his first championship.

July 30 -- Lisa Leslie became the first woman to dunk in a professional game, jamming on a breakaway in the first half of the Los Angeles Sparks' 82-73 loss to the Miami Sol in the WNBA.

July 30 -- World and Olympic champion Ian Thorpe improved his own world record in the 400-meter freestyle, clocking 3:40.08 to win the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Manchester, England. The 19-year-old Australian set the previous mark of 3:40.17 to win the world championships at Fukuoka, Japan on July 22 last year.

July 31 -- Mike Mussina became only the second pitcher in major league history to give up six doubles in one inning, during the New York Yankees' 17-6 loss to Texas. Hall of Famer Lefty Grove allowed that many with Boston in 1943 against Washington.

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Aug. 4 -- Corina Morariu, in her first competitive singles match since being diagnosed with leukemia, lost to Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the first round of the JPMorgan Chase Open.

Aug. 4 -- Otylia Jedrejczak of Poland broke the world record in the women's 200-meter butterfly, finishing in 2 minutes, 5.78 seconds at the European Swimming Championships in Berlin. She bettered the mark of 2:05.81 set by Australian Susan O'Neill in May 2000.

Aug. 6 -- At 32, Robb Nen became the youngest player to record 300 saves, as San Francisco beat the Chicago Cubs 11-10. Nen became the 16th member of the 300-save club.

Aug. 8 -- John Smoltz became the fastest to earn 40 saves in a season in Atlanta's 4-1 win over Arizona. It was the Braves' 114th game of the season. Lee Smith of St. Louis was the previous fastest to 40, in 117 games in 1993.

Aug. 9 -- Barry Bonds hit his 600th homer, becoming the fourth major leaguer to reach the mark. With a 421-foot, solo shot off Pittsburgh's Kip Wells, the San Francisco Giants slugger joined Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays in the exclusive club.

Aug. 10 -- Sammy Sosa hit three three-run homers before being pulled for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning in the Chicago's 15-1 rout of Colorado.

Aug. 10 -- Barry Bonds broke Willie McCovey's 1969 record for intentional walks in a season with his 46th of the year. His three intentional walks also tied the record for a nine-inning game in San Francisco's 8-3 win over Pittsburgh.

Aug. 10 -- Pat Day broke the career money record for a jockey, riding With Anticipation to victory in the $500,000 Sword Dancer Handicap at the Saratoga (N.Y.) Race Course. With the $300,000 in prize money, Day's horses have earned $264,580,968 in his 29-year career. Chris McCarron, who retired last month, had the previous record of $264,351,679.

Aug. 11 -- Karrie Webb's latest comeback established a new standard of excellence on the LPGA Tour: the Super Slam -- winning the four tournaments that are currently regarded as majors as well as the du Maurier, which lost its major status in 2000 after 21 years. Webb shot a 6-under 66, rallying from three strokes behind to the first three-time winner in the Women's British Open.

Aug. 11 -- Sammy Sosa hit a grand slam and drove in five runs in the Chicago Cubs' 12-9 victory over Colorado to set an NL record for RBIs in consecutive games with 14.

Aug. 12 -- Sammy Sosa connected again, hitting his major league-leading 40th home run for the Chicago Cubs in a 9-6 loss to the Houston Astros. Sosa's two-run shot made him only the third player in NL history with five straight 40-homer seasons, beside Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner (1947-51) and Duke Snider (1953-57).

Aug. 13 -- Natalie Coughlin shattered the 100-meter backstroke world record, finishing in 59.58 seconds at the U.S. National Swimming Championships. Coughlin broke the previous record of 1:00.16 set by Chihong He of China in 1994 and is the first American to hold the world record since Catherine Ferguson in 1966.

Aug. 13 -- Edna Campbell, fighting breast cancer, returned to the court to help the Sacramento Monarchs beat the Seattle Storm 59-51 in the final game of the WNBA regular season.

Aug. 14 -- Trevor Hoffman became the first reliever in major league history to have 30 or more saves in eight straight seasons in San Diego's 6-2 win over the New York Mets.

Aug. 15 -- Michael Phelps and Erik Vendt shattered the world record in the men's 400-meter individual medley at the U.S. National Swimming Championships. Phelps edged Vendt by less than two-tenths of a second, finishing in 4:11.09, well ahead of Tom Dolan's world mark of 4:11.76.

Aug. 16 -- Brahim Boulami broke his own world record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Weltklasse Golden League meet in Zurich, Switzerland. Boulami finished in 7:53.17. He set his previous mark of 7:55.28 in Brussels in August 2001.

Aug. 17 -- Alex Rodriguez became the sixth player in major league history to have five straight 40-homer seasons.

Aug. 18 -- Rich Beem beat Tiger Woods to capture the PGA Championship. Beem closed with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Woods, who shot 67. Beem became the 12th player in the last 15 years to make the PGA Championship his first major victory.

Aug. 19 -- A rare event in the major leagues happened as all 10 games took less than three hours to play. The shortest was Bartolo Colon's two-hitter which took just 1 hour, 55 minutes as Montreal defeated San Diego 4-0.

Aug. 21 -- Cory Lidle pitched a one-hitter and extended his scoreless innings streak to 31 in Oakland's 6-0 win over Cleveland.

Aug. 25 -- Randy Johnson, won his 19th game, striking out 16, in Arizona's 7-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Aug. 25 -- Baltimore's Mike Bordick broke Cal Ripken's major league record for consecutive errorless chances by a shortstop, throwing out leadoff hitter Shannon Stewart on a grounder in the first inning to run his string to 429. Bordick went on to complete his 81st game in a row without an error in the Orioles' 5-2 loss to Toronto.

Aug. 25 -- Aaron Alvey put the United States back on top at the Little League World Series. Alvey hit a 250-foot home run in the first inning, set two pitching records and tied a third as Louisville, Ky., beat Sendai, Japan, 1-0 in the championship game. Alvey struck out 11 on his way to setting World Series records for strikeouts (44) and scoreless innings (21) and tying the mark for consecutive no-hit innings (12).

Aug. 26 -- Without playing a game, Oklahoma moved into a tie with Miami for No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 football poll. It's just the fourth tie in the 66-year hisy of the poll.

Aug . 26 -- New York shortstop Derek Jeter scored his 100th run of the season joining Ted Williams (1939-49) and Earle Combs (1925-32) as the only players in modern history to score at least 100 runs in their first seven seasons. Jeter scored again in the bottom of the eighth as the Yankees routed visiting Texas 10-3.

Aug. 27 -- Barry Bonds homered three times against the Colorado Rockies, including the third-longest home run hit at Coors Field, at 492 feet. It was the fourth three-homer game of Bonds' career.

Aug. 28 -- Odalis Perez became the fourth Los Angeles pitcher to homer this season in the 1-0 win over Arizona. He joined Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Omar Daal. The last time four Dodgers pitchers homered in the same year was 1930, when Sloppy Thurston, Ray Phelps, Jumbo Elliott and Watty Clark all went deep.

Aug. 29 -- Mark Bellhorn became the first player in NL history to hit a home run in the same inning from both sides of the plate, in the fourth of the Chicago Cubs' 13-10 win over Milwaukee.

Aug. 29 -- The United States set a world record in the final of the men's 4x100-meter medley relay in the last event at the Pan Pacific swimming championships. The U.S. team of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps and Jason Lezak posted a time of 3:33.48, eclipsing the previous mark of 3:33.73 set by the American team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Aug. 30 -- With just hours to spare, baseball averted a strike when negotiators pulled off a surprise by agreeing to a tentative labor contract. It was the first time since 1970 that players and owners accepted a new collective bargaining agreement without a work stoppage.

Aug. 31 -- Rookie Nikki Teasley, dogged by 4-of-11 shooting, hit a 3-pointer for the go-ahead basket with 2.1 seconds remaining and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the New York Liberty 69-66 to successfully defend their WNBA championship.

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Sept. 1 -- Five-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher won the Belgian Grand Prix for his record 10th victory of the season.

Sept. 1 -- Miguel Tejada hit a game-ending three-run homer to power Oakland to a 7-5 win, Oakland's 18th straight victory, over Minnesota.

Sept. 2 -- Miguel Tejada had his second straight game-ending hit as he singled home Terrence Long with the bases loaded in the ninth inning as Oakland tied the longest winning streak in AL history with a 7-6 victory over Kansas City. Oakland, which overcame a 5-0 deficit, equaled the 19 straight wins by the 1906 Chicago White Sox and the 1947 New York Yankees.

Sept. 2 -- Kerry Wood tied a major league record with four strikeouts in one inning, doing it in the fourth inning of the second game in a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Sept. 3 -- The New York Mets ended their NL-record home losing streak at 15 by beating the Florida Marlins 11-5 in the second game of a doubleheader. The Mets won for the first time at Shea Stadium since beating the Houston Astros 10-0 on July 31. Their 3-2 loss in 12 innings in the first game set the record for ineptitude at home, surpassing Boston's 14 in a row in 1911.

Sept. 4 -- Argentina pulled off a victory that until recently was considered nearly impossible, defeating the United States 87-80 in the World Basketball Championships at Indianapolis. It was the first loss for a U.S. team in 59 games since the Americans began sending NBA players to international tournaments in 1992.

Sept. 4 -- The Oakland Athletics set an AL record by winning their 20th straight game. They somehow blew an 11-run lead before pinch-hitter Scott Hatteberg homered in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Kansas City 12-11. Oakland broke a three-way tie for the longest winning streak in AL history with the 1906 Chicago White Sox and the 1947 New York Yankees.

Sept. 5 -- There were no medals for the United States at the World Championships. In yet another stunning outcome, Yugoslavia came back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and defeated the U.S. team 81-78. After going 58-0 using NBA players in international competitions, the Americans lost two straight.

Sept. 5 -- Alex Rodriguez became the fifth player in major league history to record successive 50-homer seasons, hitting two in Texas' 11-2 rout of Baltimore. Rodriguez, who hit 52 homers last season, joined Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr.

Sept. 5 -- The smallest Montreal crowd in 26 years watched the Expos miss a four-game sweep against Philadelphia, as the Phillies won 4-1. The crowd was announced as 2,134 for tickets sold, but appeared to be 1,000.

Sept. 5 -- Jose Cortez's 36-yard field goal with :06 to play, gave the San Francisco 49ers a 16-13 victory over the New York Giants in a special Thursday night opener that ushered in the season.

Sept. 6 -- The Oakland Athletics' 20-game winning streak came to an end as Brad Radke pitched the Minnesota Twins to a 6-0 victory at the Metrodome. The Athletics fell short of matching the second-longest winning streak in baseball history. The Chicago Cubs of 1880 and 1935 both won 21 straight.

Sept. 6 -- St. Louis' Andy Benes got a pair of hits off younger brother Alan during an 11-run third inning as the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 11-2. The Benes vs. Benes matchup was believed to be only the seventh time in major league history that brothers have faced each other.

Sept. 7 -- Serena Williams easily beat Venus Williams 6-4, 6-3 to win the U.S. Open and a third straight Grand Slam title -- all against her older sister in the final.

Sept. 7 -- Mike Devore of St. John's, N.Y., intercepted four passes, including one that sealed the game in overtime for a 17-14 win over Canisius.

Sept. 8 -- Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to win his 14th Grand Slam title and the U.S. Open for the fifth time. At 31, Sampras is the Open's oldest champion since 1970.

Sept. 8 -- The Houston Texans beat the state rival Dallas Cowboys 19-10 in the first game in franchise history. The Texans became only the second expansion team to start 1-0. Minnesota did it in 1961, beating the Chicago Bears.

Sept. 8 -- New York Jets beat Buffalo, Green Bay edged Atlanta and New Orleans topped Tampa Bay -- all in overtime -- marking just the second time that many games went to an extra period on the opening weekend, and first since 1979.

Sept. 8 -- Chad Morton ran back two kickoffs, including a 96-yarder to start overtime to lift the New York Jets to a 37-31 victory over Buffalo. Morton became just the second player in NFL history to return an overtime kickoff for a touchdown.

Sept. 8 -- Cleveland's Dwayne Rudd tossed his helmet downfield, thinking he had sacked Kansas City's Trent Green to end the game. But he had his back to the play and didn't see the quarterback flip the ball to tackle John Tait, who rumbled 28 yards to the Browns 25. Rudd was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, setting up Morten Anderson's 30-yard field goal with no time showing to give the Chiefs an improbable 40-39 win.

Sept. 8 -- Wheel-to-wheel with Al Unser Jr. for the last 22 laps, Sam Hornish Jr. nosed ahead in the last turn to win the Delphi Indy 300 in the closest Indy car finish in history. Hornish won by a mere 24 ten-thousandths of a second -- about three inches.

Sept. 8 -- The Texas Rangers set a major league record by homering in their 26th consecutive game when Rafael Palmeiro hit a solo homer against Tampa Bay. The Rangers passed the 1941 New York Yankees, 1994 Detroit Tigers and 1998 Atlanta Braves.

Sept. 9 -- The Atlanta Braves won its 11th straight division title when second-place Philadelphia lost to the New York Mets 6-4.

Sept. 9 -- Randy Johnson reached 300 strikeouts for the sixth time in 14 seasons, tying the major league mark of Nolan Ryan, in Arizona's 5-2 victory over San Diego. Johnson also earned his 21st victory, matching his career best set last year.

Sept. 9 -- Alex Rodriguez hit a pair of three-run homers, reaching 53 homers this season and breaking his major league record for shortstops, as the Texas Rangers beat Seattle 12-7.

Sept. 10 -- Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones became the 11th player in NL history to homer in four straight at-bats, though the streak began three days earlier. Jones hit a pair of solo homers off Pedro Astacio of the New York Mets before the streak ended with a two-run single in the fifth.

Sept. 10 -- The Texas Rangers' record streak of 27 games with a home run ended, but they still beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2.

Sept. 12 -- Freshman linebacker Matt Sklom, 18, of Ferris State died after collapsing during practice. Sklom was participating in a tackling drill at the NCAA Division II school.

Sept. 12 -- Chicago outhit Cincinnati 22-17 but lost to the Reds 15-12. The last major league team to get 22 hits and lose a nine-inning game was Oakland on April 27, 1980. The Athletics lost that game 20-11 at Minnesota.

Sept. 13 -- Fred McGriff got his 1,500th career RBI with a two-run homer as the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6. McGriff became the 40th player with 1,500 RBIs.

Sept. 13 -- Mike Bordick set an AL record with his 96th consecutive errorless game at shortstop, breaking a tie with former Orioles star Cal Ripken.

Sept. 14 -- Tim Montgomery of the United States set a world record in the 100 meters, clocking 9.78 seconds at the IAAF Grand Prix Final in Paris. The previous world record of 9.79 was set by fellow American Maurice Greene in 1999.

Sept. 14 -- Randy Johnson struck out 17 and earned his career-high 22nd victory in a three-hitter, leading Arizona past Milwaukee 5-0.

Sept. 14 -- In just his second season, Alfonso Soriano hit his 37th homer for the Yankees, surpassing Bret Boone's AL record for second basemen set last season but the Chicago White Sox defeated New York 8-1.

Sept. 14 -- Tampa Bay's 8-4 loss at Toronto was the Devil Rays' 100th of the season. The Devil Rays (48-100) became the quickest AL team to lose 100 games since the 1949 Washington Senators lost 100 in their 147th game. They also became the first team to lose 100 in consecutive seasons since Toronto did it from 1977-79.

Sept. 15 -- Sam Hornish Jr. won another incredible race at Texas Motor Speedway, and his second straight IRL title. Hornish went side-by-side with Helio Castroneves for many of the last 25 laps in the season-ending Chevy 500, crossing the finish line 0.0096 seconds -- only a few inches -- ahead of the only other driver in contention for the season championship. Hornish won his IRL-record fifth race of the season and became the first driver to win two IRL championships.

Sept. 15 -- Troy Glaus hit three home runs to lead Anaheim to a 13-4 rout of Texas.

Sept. 15 -- Arizona's Curt Schilling struck out eight to reach 300 for the season, joining Randy Johnson as the first teammates in baseball history to each strike out 300 in the same season. The Diamondbacks beat Milwaukee 6-5 in 13 innings.

Sept. 15 -- Sammy Sosa's 421-foot, three-run shot in the Chicago Cubs' 6-0 win over Cincinnati allowed him to join Hall of Famers Mel Ott and Willie Mays as the only NL players to record eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons.

Sept. 15 -- Miguel Olivo became the 83rd player in major league history to homer in his first at-bat, hitting a three-run homer in the Chicago White Sox's 8-4 loss to the New York Yankees.

Sept. 15 -- Annika Sorenstam won her eighth LPGA Tour title of the year, closing with a 4-under 68 to hold off Kate Golden by a stroke in the Safeway Classic. Sorenstam earned $150,000 for her 39th LPGA Tour victory to break her own single-season tour record with $2,211,991 in 17 events. She set the record last year with $2,105,868 in 26 events.

Sept. 15 -- Drew Bledsoe set career and franchise highs with 463 yards passing in Buffalo's wild 45-39 overtime win at Minnesota. Bledsoe, playing in his 126th career game, surpassed the 30,000-yard mark.

Sept. 15 -- Rich Gannon broke nearly every major single-game franchise passing record, going 43-of-64 for 403 yards and a touchdown in Oakland's 30-17 win at Pittsburgh. Oakland's Rod Woodson, a former Steeler, tied an NFL record with three of the Raiders' four fumble recoveries.

Sept. 16 -- Anaheim's Troy Glaus hit a first-inning home run against Oakland to give him homers in four straight at-bats, tying a major league record. Glaus hit a three-run shot to right off Cory Lidle for a 3-0 lead.

Sept. 16 -- San Francisco's Barry Bonds walked three times against Los Angeles, breaking his own major league record for most in a season with 179, including 60 intentional.

Sept. 17 -- Suzy Whaley became the first woman to qualify for a PGA Tour event, earning an exemption to next year's Greater Hartford Open by winning a PGA Section Championship. Whaley, also the first woman to win a Section Championship.

Sept. 19 -- Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro of Texas tied a major league record by homering in the same game for the 15th time this season. Rodriguez and Palmeiro equaled the mark set by Barry Bonds and Rich Aurilia for San Francisco last season.

Sept. 19 -- Kansas City first base coach Tom Gamboa was attacked without warning by two fans who came out of the seats. The Royals rushed to his aid and the 54-year-old Gamboa escaped with a few cuts and a bruised cheek. He walked off the field to a standing ovation from the crowd at Comiskey Park, where the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1. The father, 34-year-old William Ligue Jr., and his 15-year-old son were led off the field in handcuffs.

Sept. 20 -- Mike Bordick broke the major league record for most consecutive errorless games at shortstop, making it 102 straight in the Baltimore Orioles' 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, surpassing the mark Rey Ordonez set with the New York Mets in 1999-2000.

Sept. 20 -- Mike Altman and Simon Carcagno became the first Americans to reach the finals of the lightweight men's pair event at the World Rowing Championships at Seville, Spain.

Sept. 21 -- Ian Smart ran for 335 yards and six touchdowns, including a school-record 91-yarder, as C.W. Post defeated Massachusetts-Lowell 57-21. Smart scored on runs of 3, 54, 52, 58, 91 and 39 yards.

Sept. 21 -- The New York Yankees clinched their fifth straight AL East title with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Sept. 22 -- New England's Tom Brady completed 39 of 54 passes for 410 yards and threw touchdown passes to four different receivers as the Patriots posted a 41-38 overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sept. 25 -- Sheryl Swoopes scored 18 points and Lisa Leslie added 17, leading the United States to a 79-74 victory over Russia and its second straight Women's World Championship.

Sept. 28 -- Charles Rogers of Michigan State, set an NCAA record by catching a TD pass in his 13th straight regular-season game as the Spartans beat Northwestern 39-24.

Sept. 29 -- Europe beat the Americans at their own game, winning the singles matches for only the sixth time in history to capture the Ryder Cup 15 1/2-12 1/2. It was the largest margin by either side since Europe scored 16 1/2 points in 1985.

Sept. 29 -- After losing to Iowa State, Nebraska dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 football poll after being ranked for 348 consecutive weeks. The last time Nebraska was missing from the poll was Oct. 5, 1981.

Sept. 29 -- Seattle's Shaun Alexander scored an NFL-record five touchdowns in the first half of a 48-23 rout of Minnesota. He finished with 139 yards rushing and 92 receiving and was one TD short of the league mark of six in a game.

Sept. 29 -- LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego tied the team record with 217 yards and scored on runs of 58 and 37 yards in a 21-14 victory over the Patriots.

Sept. 29 -- Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe set an NFL record with his fourth overtime TD pass, hitting Travis Henry for a 26-yard touchdown on the second play of overtime to beat Chicago 33-27.

Sept. 29 -- Oakland Raiders receiver Jerry Rice became the NFL's career leader in yards from scrimmage. Rice finished with 151 yards in the Raiders' 52-25 win over Tennessee to give him 21,281 for his career, 17 more than Walter Payton's previous record. Rice has 20,649 receiving and 632 rushing in his 18-year career. Raiders safety Rod Woodson had three interceptions for 100 yards to become the NFL's career leader in interception return yards with 1,339.

Sept. 29 -- San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds became the oldest player to win a National League batting title, hitting .370. He walked 198 times, shattering the previous mark of 177 he set last year. Bonds had a .582 on-base percentage, easily topping the record of .553 that Ted Williams set in 1941. Bonds also received 68 intentional walks, 23 more than the previous record, set by the Giants' Willie McCovey in 1969.

Sept. 30 -- Chris McAlister of Baltimore set an NFL record, returning a missed field goal 108 yards for a touchdown during the Ravens' 34-23 win over the Denver Broncos. It was the longest play in NFL history, breaking the record of a 106-yard kickoff return.

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Oct. 3 -- Alex Cabrera hit his 55th home run, tying the Japanese record set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964 and matched by Tuffy Rhodes last year. Cabrera ended the season with 55 homers.

Oct. 5 -- The wild-card Anaheim Angels roughed up Yankees starters Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and David Wells in succession to win the AL division series 3-1 and end New York's four-year run as league champions.

Oct. 5 -- Chas Gessner of Brown caught 24 passes to tie Jerry Rice's NCAA record for receptions in a game in a 38-28 loss to Rhode Island. Gessner finished with 207 yards and two TDs.

Oct. 5 -- Fordham routed Georgetown 41-10 for the 700th victory in school history. Fordham is the fifth Division I-AA team -- and the first non-Ivy League school -- to win 700 games.

Oct. 6 -- Drew Bledsoe of Buffalo passed for 417 yards and two touchdowns -- his second 400-yard game this season and the sixth of his career -- in a 49-31 loss to Oakland.

Oct. 6 -- Cristiano da Matta clinched the CART series championship, winning the Grand Prix of the Americas in the slowest race in the circuit's history. Da Matta held off his Newman/Haas teammate Christian Fittipaldi by 0.734 seconds, winning for the seventh time this season and the 11th time in his career.

Oct. 6 -- Annika Sorenstam won her ninth tournament of the season -- beating the record of eight she set last season -- shooting a 7-under-par 65 to pull away from Cristie Kerr and win the Samsung World Championship.

Oct. 7 -- The wild-card San Francisco Giants eliminated the Atlanta Braves 3-1 and moved on to face St. Louis in the NL championship series. For the first time since the current postseason format was adopted in 1995, all four teams with the best record were eliminated in the opening round.

Oct. 12 -- Chris Brown rushed for 309 yards, including runs of 78 and 51 yards, to lead Colorado past Kansas 53-29.

Oct. 12 -- Iowa's pass defense held Michigan State WR Charles Rogers to five catches for 78 yards and ended his NCAA record streak of 14 straight games with a TD catch. Iowa beat Michigan State 44-16.

Oct. 12 -- Mike Kelly earned his 200th career victory in his 242nd game as Dayton beat Valparaiso 52-3. Kelly is in 22nd year coaching at Dayton. He became the second-fastest NCAA coach to reach the 200-win mark after Florida A&M's Jake Gaither, who reached 200 victories in 240 games.

Oct. 13 -- Michael Lewis of New Orleans returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns and had 70 yards receiving in a 43-27 win at Washington. Lewis' kickoff return went for 90 yards and his 83-yard punt runback tied the franchise record. He had 356 yards combined.

Oct. 13 -- With St. Louis' 28-13 victory over Oakland, the Rams ended a five-game slide. It was the first time since Oct. 7, 1979 that a team which was 0-4 or worse beat a team 4-0 or better, the 0-5 N.Y. Giants beat 5-0 Tampa Bay.

Oct. 13 -- Adam Kennedy hit his third homer of the game in the seventh inning and the Angels erupted for a 13-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins to win the AL championship series in five games and advance to the World Series for the first time in their 42-year history. Kennedy, the ALCS MVP, became just the fifth player to homer three times in a postseason game.

Oct. 13 -- Miami has itself a record-setting streak -- most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll. The Hurricanes, who extended the nation's longest winning streak to 28 games with a 28-27 win over Florida State, remained in the top spot for a record 19th straight poll.

Oct. 13 -- Michael Schumacher delivered a perfect ending to a near-perfect season. Schumacher, who finished among the top three in every race this season, won his third consecutive Japanese Grand Prix, his 11th win this season.

Oct. 13 -- Britain's Paula Radcliffe set a world best in the Chicago Marathon, finishing in 2 hours, 17 minutes, 18 seconds. 28-year-old Radcliffe, running in just her second marathon, broke the previous mark of 2:18:47, set last year by Catherine Ndereba in the same event.

Oct. 13 -- Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers, threw for three touchdowns in a 28-10 victory at New England. Farve, with 301 TD passes for his career, moved into third place, ahead of John Elway's 300 scoring passes. Only Dan Marino (420) and Fran Tarkenton (342) have more.

Oct. 14 -- Kenny Lofton hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning that sent Barry Bonds to his first World Series as the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 to win the NL championship series.

Oct. 18 -- New Zealand's Michael Campbell won the longest match in World Match Play history in the morning, then defeated Ian Woosnam later in the day to reach the semifinals. Campbell made a 10-foot birdie putt at the seventh sudden-death hole to beat Nick Faldo in the record-setting match. The first-round match, scheduled for 36 holes, had been halted by darkness yesterday after 42 holes. The Campbell-Faldo match was the longest in the event's 39-year history by three holes.

Oct. 19 -- Avon Cobourne became the fifth Division I-A rusher with four 1,000-yard seasons as West Virginia beat Syracuse 34-7. Cobourne finished with 108 yards on 28 carries and has 1,002 yards this season.

Oct. 20 -- Marshall Faulk, ran for 183 yards and had his fifth career four-touchdown game in a 37-20 St. Louis win over Seattle. Faulk also became the 15th NFL player to gain 10,000 yards rushing.

Oct. 20 -- Shannon Sharpe set an NFL record for tight ends with 214 yards receiving as Denver beat Kansas City 37-34 in overtime.

Oct. 20 -- Carlos Ruiz, the league's most valuable player and leader with 24 regular-season goals scored in the 23rd minute of overtime to give the Los Angeles Galaxy a 1-0 victory and their first win in four MLS championship games.

Oct. 21 -- Tim Salmon's second homer of the game, a tiebreaking, two-run shot with two outs in the eighth inning, lifted the Anaheim Angels over the San Francisco Giants 11-10 and evened the World Series at 1-all. Francisco Rodriguez pitched three perfect innings, relieving in the sixth inning. The 20-year-old sensation became the youngest pitcher to win a Series game. At 5-0, he tied Randy Johnson's record for wins in a postseason set last year.

Oct. 24 -- Patrick Roy played in his 972nd NHL game, overtaking Terry Sawchuk for the most appearances by a goaltender.

Oct. 26 -- Volponi, a 43-1 long shot, found room along the rail and blew past the fading Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem and beat Medaglia d'Oro by 6 1/2 lengths in the Breeders' Cup Classic. In the $2 million Distaff, Azeri had a wire-to-wire victory. The filly, who finished five lengths ahead of Farda Amiga, won her seventh straight and has 10 victories in 11 career starts.

Oct. 26 -- Troy Glaus' two-run double in the eighth inning capped a comeback from a five-run deficit, giving Anaheim a stunning 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants in Game 6 of the World Series.

Oct. 27 -- Emmitt Smith broke the NFL career rushing yardage record held by the late Walter Payton on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter. Smith had 109 yards and a touchdown in Dallas' 17-14 loss to Seattle, but he has 16,743 career yards -- 17 more than Payton gained. Smith also extended his league record for rushing TDs to 150.

Oct. 27 -- Behind rookie pitcher John Lackey and a three-run double by Garret Anderson, the Anaheim Angels beat Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants 4-1 for the franchise's first World Series in 42 years. Anaheim third baseman Troy Glaus was voted MVP after hitting .385 with three home runs and eight RBIs. Lackey became the first rookie starter to win Game 7 in 93 years.

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Nov. 3 -- Karl Malone, fighting a head cold, got into early foul trouble and went scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in Seattle's 91-77 victory over the Utah Jazz. It was the first time Malone, second on the NBA's career scoring list, had been shut out in 18 NBA seasons.

Nov. 3 -- Boston Marathon champion Rodgers Rop, won the New York City Marathon in 2:08:07. Rop beat fellow Kenyon Christopher Cheboiboch by 10 seconds. Joyce Chepchumba of Kenya finished in 2:25:56 to capture the women's title.

Nov. 5 -- Randy Johnson won his record-tying fourth straight National League Cy Young Award, a unanimous pick over Arizona teammate Curt Schilling. It was his fifth Cy Young Award, one short of Roger Clemens' record.

Nov. 7 -- Michigan punished its men's basketball program, imposing a postseason ban for 2003 and forfeiting all victories from four seasons because of a scandal involving former booster Ed Martin.

Nov. 9 -- Montana matched the NCAA Division I-AA record with its 24th straight victory, rallying to beat Sacramento State 31-24. John Edwards passed for 282 yards and three TDs as the defending national champion Grizzlies tied the record set by Penn from 1992-95.

Nov. 10 -- Tommy Maddox had a franchise-record 473 yards passing in Pittsburgh's 34-all tie against Atlanta. Maddox went 28-of-41, and his yardage total broke Bobby Layne's 1958 record of 409. Plaxico Burress had nine catches for a team-record 253 yards and two touchdowns. The old team mark of 235 yards was set by Buddy Dial against Cleveland in 1961. The tie was the first in the NFL in five years and just the 16th since the league implemented overtime in 1974.

Nov. 10 -- St. Louis' Marc Bulger joined Pittsburgh Steelers' Tommy Maddox as the first quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for at least 450 yards on the same day. Bulger completed 36 of 48 passes for 453 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-24 win over San Diego.

Nov. 10 -- Annika Sorenstam became the first LPGA player in 34 years to win 10 times in one season, successfully defending her Mizuno Classic title. Sorenstam is the first player to win 10 times in a season since Kathy Whitworth and Carol Mann both accomplished the feat in 1968.

Nov. 11 -- The Oakland Raiders, behind record-setting performances, beat the Denver Broncos 34-10. Rich Gannon completed 21 straight passes and Jerry Rice became the first player to score 200 career touchdowns. Rod Woodson extended his own career mark of interception returns for touchdowns (12) with a 98-yarder in the first quarter. Rice, who scored twice for a total of 201 TDs, also broke Walter Payton's record for total yardage. Gannon's 21 straight completions set a record for one game, breaking the mark of 20 by Ken Anderson of Cincinnati set on Jan. 2, 1983.

Nov. 11 -- Barry Bonds became baseball's first five-time Most Valuable Player, winning the NL award unanimously. Bonds also won the MVP award for Pittsburgh in 1990 and 1992 and for the San Francisco Giants in 1993 and 2001.

Nov. 12 -- After leading Oakland to the AL West title, Miguel Tejada easily defeated Alex Rodriguez for the AL Most Valuable Player award when he received 21 of 28 first-place votes from a panel of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. While Tejada hit a career-high .308 with 34 homers and 131 RBIs, Rodriguez batted .300 with 57 homers and 142 RBIs.

Nov. 12 -- Three former fraternity brothers were accused of using telephone betting accounts and a computer to manipulate a bet that paid $3 million at the Breeders' Cup last month. Derrick Davis of Baltimore, Glen DaSilva of New York and Chris Harn of Newark, Del., all 29, were charged in U.S. District Court with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Nov. 12 -- Billy "Zeke" Parker Jr. became the 10th North American driver in harness racing history to win 8,000 career races, by guiding Pass On The Right to a win in the third race at Monticello (N.Y.) Raceway.

Nov. 12 -- Three women refereed an NAIA game in what appears to be the first time an all-female crew officiated in men's college basketball during the regular season. Mona Miller, Erica Bradley and Leigh Anne Webb were the officials for Martin Methodist's 82-44 victory over Atlanta Christian in Pulaski, Tenn.

Nov. 15 -- Tampa Bay forward Dave Andreychuk set an NHL record by scoring his 250th career power-play goal in the first period of the Lightning's game against San Jose. Andreychuk was tied for the record with Phil Esposito, a radio broadcaster for the Lightning.

Nov. 16 -- Larry Johnson ran for 327 yards, a career-high four TDs and shattered the 31-year-old school career rushing record, leading Penn State to a 58-25 victory over Indiana. Johnson finished with 1,736 yards, breaking Lydell Mitchell's mark of 1,567 yards set in 1971.

Nov. 16 -- J.R. Taylor set a school record with 308 yards rushing and four TDs as Eastern Illinois routed Florida Atlantic 47-6. Taylor also set the school record with his 50th career TD, eclipsing the previous mark of 49.

Nov. 16 -- Kentucky's Derek Abney set an NCAA record with his sixth kick return for a TD this season, a 95-yard runback of a kickoff against Vanderbilt.

Nov. 16 -- Eastern Washington handed Montana its first loss in more than a year, 30-21. Montana the nation's top Division I-AA team, had won 24 straight games since a Sept. 8, 2001, loss to Hawaii. The Grizzlies came into the game riding a 20-0 record in Big Sky Conference games.

Nov. 17 -- Indianapolis' Marvin Harrison reached 600 receptions earlier than any player in NFL history. Harrison, with 600 receptions in 102 games, reached the mark 16 games sooner than Detroit's Herman Moore.

Nov. 20 -- Virginia Tech tailback Lee Suggs set an NCAA Division I record by scoring a touchdown in his 24th consecutive game, breaking the record by Bill Burnett, who scored in 23 consecutive games for Arkansas from Oct. 5, 1968 through Oct. 31, 1970.

Nov. 22 -- Natalie Coughlin set a world record short-course in the 100-meter butterfly, finishing in 56.34 seconds at the FINA World Cup in East Meadow, N.Y. The 20-year-old junior at Cal broke the mark of 56.55, set on Jan. 26 by Martina Moracova of Sweden.

Nov. 23 -- Penn State's Larry Johnson became the ninth running back in NCAA Division I-A history to run for 2,000 yards in a season when he gained 279 yards and scored four TDs in the first half against Michigan State. The Nittany Lions went ahead 48-0 at intermission, and won 61-7. Johnson pushed his season total to 2,015 yards on 251 carries, setting an NCAA record with an average of 8.02 yards per carry. The previous record was 7.8, set by Nebraska's Mike Rozier in 1983.

Nov. 23 -- Anthony Davis of Wisconsin ran for a career-high 301 yards and five TDs as the Badgers posted a 49-31 victory over Minnesota.

Nov. 23 -- Ohio State survived two late drives by Michigan for a 14-9 win that propelled the 13-0 Buckeyes into the Fiesta Bowl.

Nov. 23 -- Missouri QB Brad Smith became the second player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a season. Smith entered the game against Kansas State needing 1 yard rushing to join Clemson QB Woody Dantzler, who reached the marks last year. Smith entered the game with 2,207 yards passing.

Nov. 23 -- Air Force's Chance Harridge set the NCAA Division I-A single-season record for touchdowns by a quarterback with three scores in a 38-34 loss to San Diego State. Harridge scored on runs of 6, 2 and 35 yards, giving him 22 TDs rushing this season. Navy's Chris McCoy set the previous record of 20 in 1997.

Nov. 24 -- Mike Vanderjagt of Indianapolis kicked a 54-yard field goal in the snow to tie the game in Denver at 20-all, then he made a 51-yarder in overtime to win it, 23-20. Colts receiver Marvin Harrison caught 11 passes for 107 yards, giving him 100 catches for this season and making him the first player in NFL history to have four straight 100-catch seasons.

Nov. 24 -- Atlanta shut out Carolina twice this season, by a combined score of 71-0. It's the first time that an NFL team has shut out an opponent twice in the same season since 1976, when Denver blanked San Diego 26-0 and 17-0.

Nov. 24 -- Denver Broncos kicker Jason Elam hit the left upright with an extra-point attempt, ending his NFL-record streak at 371. It was only the second missed extra point of his career and the first since Nov. 14, 1993.

Nov. 24 -- Dominant to the very end, Annika Sorenstam finished off the best LPGA Tour season in 38 years with a 4-under 68 to win the season-ending ADT Championship, her 11th victory of the year. Sorenstam finished at 13-under 275 for a three-stroke victory. She ended the season with a 68.70 scoring average, shattering the record she set last year (69.42).

Nov. 25 -- The Boston Red Sox made 28-year-old Theo Epstein the youngest general manager in baseball history.

Nov. 25 -- Ozzie Newsome became the first black general manager in NFL history, signing a new five-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens that includes an upgrade in his title.

Nov. 27 -- Michael Finley had his way against the league's best defensive team while leading the unbeaten Dallas Mavericks (14-0) within one victory of making NBA history. Finley was unstoppable, scoring a career-high 42 as Dallas defeated the Detroit Pistons 102-82.

Nov. 27 -- No. 2 Kansas and No. 7 Florida were upset in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT. North Carolina stung the Jayhawks 67-56 after Stanford wore down Florida 69-65 to send the two unranked teams into the championship game.

Nov. 27 -- The Miami Sol folded after three seasons in the WNBA, citing the inability to raise enough revenue to meet the league's new restructuring agreement.

Nov. 28 -- The Dallas Mavericks were denied a spot in the NBA record books by an Indiana Pacers team that showed why it has the best record in the East. The Pacers prevented Dallas (14-1) from matching the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and 1993-94 Houston Rockets for the best start to a season in NBA history -- 15-0.

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Dec. 1 -- Russia won its first Davis Cup title by rallying to beat defending champion France 3-2 with the greatest comeback in a final in 38 years. Substitute Mikhail Youzhny -- a ball boy the last time Russia played in a Davis Cup final -- won the last match in the best-of-five series. He came back from a two-set deficit to stun Paul-Henri Mathieu 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Dec. 1 -- Michael Vick set a modern NFL record for yards rushing by a quarterback with 173 on 10 carries, carrying Atlanta to a win over Minnesota. The 173 yards rushing were the most by a quarterback since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. The previous mark was 127 by the Bears' Bobby Douglass in 1972.

Dec. 1 -- Ricky Williams had the biggest game of his four-year career with a Miami-record 228 yards rushing, including TD runs of 45 and 55 yards, in a 38-21 loss at Buffalo.

Dec. 1 -- LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego rushed for a team-record 220 yards on 37 carries and had three touchdowns in a 30-27 OT win against Denver.

Dec. 1 -- Peyton Manning of Indianapolis topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the fifth straight year, the first NFL quarterback to open his career with five straight 3,000-yard seasons.

Dec. 1 -- Kansas City posted a 49-0 win over Arizona, the worst loss in modern Cardinals history. The 49-point victory margin was the largest in the NFL since the Bengals beat the Oilers 61-7 on Dec. 17, 1989.

Dec. 2 -- Oakland's Tim Brown and Jerry Rice took turns rewriting the NFL record book in a 26-20 win over the New York Jets. Brown became the third player with 1,000 receptions and the third with 14,000 yards receiving. Rich Gannon tied 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 scored on a 26-yard catch, which gave Oakland a 13-10 lead, was Rice's record 192nd TD catch and put him over 1,000 yards receiving for a record 14th season.

Dec. 2 -- The league's oldest player looked young again as John Stockton and his Utah teammates held Reggie Miller scoreless for the first time since 1989 in a 102-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The 40-year-old Stockton scored a season-high 22 points, while Miller was 0-for-3 from the field and the line in 26 minutes.

Dec. 7 -- In his first major test of a ranked heavyweight in the United States, Wladimir Klitschko showed he belonged among the heavyweight elite when Jameel McCline's corner refused to allow him to continue after the 10th round to retain his lightly regarded WBO title.

Dec. 7 -- Willis McGahee ran for a school-record six touchdowns and career-best 205 yards as top-ranked Miami beat No. 18 Virginia Tech 56-45 to earn a spot in the national championship game against Ohio State at the Fiesta Bowl.

Dec. 7 -- St. John's (Minn.) coach John Gagliardi won his 400th game with a 21-14 victory over Linfield in the Division III quarterfinals. Gagliardi is only the second coach to reach the 400 mark and is nine victories from breaking Eddie Robinson's record of 408.

Dec. 8 -- Dante Hall of Kansas City had an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and an 86-yard punt return for a score in a 49-10 rout of St. Louis. Hall had a team-record 90-yard punt return for a TD last week.

Dec. 8 -- Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon set an NFL record with his 10th 300-yard game of the season, throwing for 328 yards in the Raider 27-7 win over San Diego and breaking a tie with Dan Marino, Warren Moon and Kurt Warner.

Dec. 8 -- Curtis Martin of the New York Jets became the 16th player over 10,000 career yards rushing. He had 57 yards and a TD in the Jets' 19-13 win over Denver.

Dec. 9 -- Miami's Ricky Williams ran for 216 yards, the highest ever rushing total against the Chicago Bears in their 83 seasons. Williams became just the third running back to reach the 200-yard milestone in consecutive games, and the first since Earl Campbell in 1980. He ran for a team-record 228 yards last week in a loss at Buffalo.

Dec. 11 -- Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic scored the 500th goal of his NHL career in a 3-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

Dec. 11 -- Danielle Dube became the third female goalie to start in a men's professional hockey game, stopping 18 shots in the Long Beach Ice Dogs' 4-1 loss to San Diego in the West Coast Hockey League.

Dec. 11 -- Haile Gebrselassie earned $1 million by setting a world best for 10,000 meters on a road course that starts and finishes at the same spot at Doha, Qatar. The Ethiopian finished in 27 minutes, 2 seconds at the QSI road race, and received the cash prize from organizers. The old mark was 27:11 by Sammy Kipketer.

Dec. 13 -- Southern Cal quarterback Carson Palmer won the Heisman Trophy. He received 242 out of 811 first-place votes and 1,328 points overall -- 233 more than Iowa quarterback Brad Banks.

Dec. 14 -- Marvin Harrison broke Herman Moore's 1995 mark of 123 catches. By making nine receptions in a 28-23 win at Cleveland, Harrison reached 127 with two games remaining. He also gained 172 yards, giving Harrison 1,500 yards for the second straight season, the first player with consecutive 1,500-yard seasons.

Dec. 14 -- Seattle's 30-24 victory at Atlanta was the 22nd overtime game of the season, breaking the NFL record set in 1995, and no team has contributed more than the Falcons -- 1-2-1 in four OT games.

Dec. 14 -- Michael Jordan matched his career low with two points as the Washington Wizards beat the short-handed Toronto Raptors. The 39-year-old Jordan went 1-for-9 from the field, but had nine assists and eight rebounds as he matched his season high by playing 40 minutes.

Dec. 18 -- Robert Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television, was chosen as owner of the NBA's new Charlotte expansion franchise. The 56-year-old Johnson will become the league's first black majority owner.

Dec. 22 -- Rich Gannon broke Warren Moon's 11-year-old single-season NFL record for completions in the second quarter of the Oakland Raiders' game against Denver. Gannon threw a 5-yard pass to Charlie Garner for his 405th completion of the season, breaking the mark set by Moon with the Houston Oilers in 1991.

Dec. 22 -- The Kansas City Chiefs tied an NFL record when Trent Green connected with Marc Boerigter for a 99-yard touchdown pass against the San Diego Chargers. It was the ninth 99-yard completion in league history. The last time it happened was Sept. 11, 1995, when Green Bay's Brett Favre hooked up with Robert Brooks in a 27-24 win over Chicago.

Dec. 22 -- Houston Texans rookie David Carr was sacked for the 73rd time of the season, breaking Randall Cunningham's 1986 NFL record.

Dec. 23 -- Alabama, winner of six national football championships, moved to the top of the AP college basketball poll for the first time ever. Alabama is the 48th school to hold the No. 1 spot since the AP poll began in 1948.

Dec. 25 -- Katie Hnida became the first woman to play in a Division I football game when she attempted an extra point following a New Mexico touchdown in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hnida, a walk-on junior, had her kick blocked but by then she had already made history in the 27-13 loss to UCLA.

 

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