Crazy About Winning Streaks

So the Boston Celtics are shooting for their 17th consecutive win tonight after beating the pesky Atlanta Hawks on the road the other night. Believe it or not, as long as the streak is, it's not the longest one in team history. Which isn't surprising, given the team's storied past. The team record is 18 wins in a row, set by Bird and his buddies back in 1981-82.

Everybody loves a winning streak - it's peak season for dormant fans to come out of the woodwork. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But please just don't go in complete hibernation when your team hits the skids. Be a fan, man!

Anyway, here are few interesting notes on some famous winning streaks of the past:

Many of us know that the Los Angeles Lakers of 1971-72 hold the all-time record for the longest winning streak in professional sports, at 33 games. But did you know that longtime Lakers star Elgin Baylor's last pro game was the one right before the first win of the 33-game streak? Yep.

The New England Patriots set the all-time NFL mark for continuous winning with a 21-game, regular season streak that ran from December 2006 to September 2008. Did you know that the team that ended the streak - the Miami Dolphins - was also the last team that beat the Pats? Wicked amazing, right?

In the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins concluded the 1993 regular season by reeling off 17 straight W's. However, had the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion pens not lost a seven-game Wales Conference Division Series to the New York Islanders and then won in the next round, the world could have witnessed a Wayne Gretzky-Mario Lemieux showdown in the Finals. As it turned out, Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings squared off against eventual champion Montreal.

Finally, the 1916 New York Baseball Giants earned a spot in the MLB record books with 26 victories in a row. But, did you know that one of those games actually ended in a tie? Uh-huh. The Giants' streak was preserved because tie games are not reflected in Major League Baseball's official statistics.

Shea it ain't so

Lost for the most part in all of the hullabaloo over the final season of Yankee Stadium was the farewell to New York's Shea Stadium. So while history will record 2008 as the final year in which a major league baseball game was played at the stadium near La Guardia Airport, what about the last NFL contest? In fact, today marks the anniversary of that event, which was played on a Saturday. If that isn't enough of a clue for you, the following are players that were on the teams (the host Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers) that played in that last NFL game at Shea: Franco Harris and Richard Todd. Click here to find out the year.

Check out more about Shea Stadium:

Recent New York Times article on the dismantling of Shea Stadium (with photos)

You Tube video of The Beatles' performance at Shea in 1965

Mets.com: History of Shea Stadium

Igor The Great

It's time for SportsTriviaBuff.com to express happy birthday wishes to one of hockey's greatest players: Igor Larionov. Today marks the 48th birthday for Igor, who just last month was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hockey fans may know all about Igor's impressive career on-ice accomplishments: Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988, a bronze medal in 2002; four World Championship gold medals; the 1981 Canada Cup; gold at the 1980 World Juniors; and three Stanley Cup rings with the Detroit Red Wings (1997, 1998 and 2002).

However, did you know that Igor now runs his own wine company? Here's a link to iltripleovertime.com, where you can revisit the inspiration for the name of his company, his game-winning triple-overtime goal in Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.

Speaking of the 2002 Finals winners, two of Igor's Red Wings teammates that season became just the second and third players to win a Stanley Cup championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, following former Islanders and U.S. defenseman Ken Morrow's feat in 1980. Who were they? Click here for Player #1. Click here for Player #2.

Don't Be A Turkey; Appreciate Thanksgiving Day Football!

With hours to go before this year's set of NFL Thanksgiving Day games kick off, I'd like to bring up something that I am confident you've encountered at least one time on previous Thanksgivings. And that is, someone asking "Why is it that Detroit and Dallas always play on Thanksgiving?"

Well, this year it's time to serve up a perfect answer that your questioners can mix in with their mashed potatoes. NFL games on Thanksgiving Day actually date back to 1920 with multiple games taking place for more than 20 years. But after drawing large Thanksgiving Day crowds in 1934 and 1935, Detroit wanted Turkey Day football each year. Then, in 1966, Dallas joined the party after accepting the league's invitation to play on the holiday only if they are the home team each time.

There were a couple anomalies with the Detroit and Dallas Thanksgiving Day game traditions. Between 1939 and 1944, the Lions did not play on the date, largely because of World War II. Then in 1975 and 1977, the NFL switched the Dallas games to St. Louis after receiving pressure to open up the tradition to other teams. It wasn't the same.

In 2006, the NFL added a third game to be played yearly on the holiday - a night contest televised by the NFL Network. But the Lions and Cowboys still rule the day.

There you have it - everything you need to avoid looking like a turkey when that inevitable Detroit/Dallas question comes up. Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the games!

The links:
Detroit Thanksgiving Football history
Dallas Thanksgiving Football history
Good Read: Detroit Free Press column by Drew Sharp

Cardinals Rule The Road in NFC West

One NFL game to keep an eye on this weekend is the matchup between the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants and the red-hot Arizona Cardinals. The G-Men return to the scene of their incredible Super Bowl XLII triumph over the then-unbeaten New England Patriots - University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

But let's shift the focus to the Cardinals, who are flying high on a three-game winning streak. With their victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field last Sunday, the Cards won all of their divisional road games for the first time since 1968.

Back then, of course, the team played in St. Louis. But here's the stumper: In what division did the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals belong? Click here for the answer.

Team Trivia Spotlight: Atlanta Hawks

It may have been caused by the Ted Turner feature on 60 Minutes last night, but for some reason, SportsTriviaBuff.com's Grand Poobah had the Atlanta Hawks on his brain this morning. So today's post is dedicated to Teddy's old team.

Here's the trivia you need to know to be the MVP at the water cooler:

* The Hawks won their fifth consecutive game yesterday, marking the fourth time in franchise history that they won their first five games.

* On this date in 1969, Hawks legend Lou Hudson scored a then team-record 57 points vs. Chicago at Auburn, Alabama.

* Hudson's scoring feat stood for almost 16 years before the "Human Highlight Film," Dominique Wilkins, equaled it on 4/10/86 and again on 12/10/86.

! Question: Who was the last Hawks player to score 50-plus points in a game? Hint: He played college ball at Cal. Click here for the answer.

College Football Dandy

There's one whopper of a college football game scheduled down in the Bayou today - Nick Saban and his No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide playing against his old team, the No. 16 LSU Tigers.

With that said, here's your whopper of a college football trivia question related to that game today in Baton Rouge:

Did you know that LSU is one of only three NCAA schools using the old H-style field goal posts? Name just one of the other two colleges. Hints: One team plays in the ACC and the other in the PAC-10.

Answers below (no peeking).



A: Florida State (Doak Campbell Stadium) and Washington State (Martin Stadium).

No, seriously, are you a Cubs fan?

With the Chicago Cubs back in the postseason - and a real threat to advance to their first World Series since 1945, you're bound to see Cubs caps come out of the closet. But how many of these supposedly long-suffering fans have really felt the misery of losing year after year, have always checked on the team via the box scores on a daily basis and never wavered in their support?

So how do you know who's a fair-weather supporter and who's a die-hard fan? Friends, we now present you with a test to serve any Cubbies-cap-wearer on the street to gauge their fan quotient. You know the type, the ones saying "I've been following the Cubs for yeeears" the loudest. If they score four or five correct, buy them a Bud or Old Style (provided they're of age, of course!). If they miss four or five, well, it's your call on whether to direct a Lou Piniella-like tantrum at them or welcome them on the bandwagon. Answers follow at the bottom of this post.

1. Who are the only two players to hit more than 500 home runs with the Cubs?

2. Who was the Cubs catcher on their 1984 NL East Championship team?

3. Who managed the Cubs to the World Series in 1945?

4. Name the former Cub nicknamed "Hawk."

5. Name this great third baseman for the Cubbies who had his No. 10 retired by the team in 2003.


1. Sammy Sosa & Ernie Banks; 2. Jody Davis; 3. Charlie Grimm; 4. Andre Dawson; 5. Ron Santo

Goodbye Yankee Stadium

This Sunday, New York's venerable Yankee Stadium will be hosting its final MLB game (owing to the Yankees failure to qualify for the postseason). ESPN will be televising the game and you can be sure it will be a night of nostalgia for players, coaches, legends, fans and media in attendance.

To set the trivia tempo for the final homestand at the Stadium, we're proud to present a quick quiz to test your knowledge of Yankee Stadium lore.

1. Name the pitcher who has the most wins at Yankee Stadium since its remodeling in 1976.

A: Ron Guidry (99 wins)

2. How many World Series championships have the Yankees won since Yankee Stadium opened in 1923?

A: 26

3. Name the two boxers that squared off in the final heavyweight championship staged at Yankee Stadium (Sept. 28, 1976).

A: Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton

4. Name the two Yankees greats whose duel for the AL batting title was decided on the final day of the 1984 season at Yankee Stadium.

A: Don Mattingly (.343) and Dave Winfield (.340)

Brett or a Jet?

One of the major storylines this week is Brett Favre's scheduled debut with the New York Jets on Sunday. The crew here at Sports Trivia Buff are joining in the fray with its own heaping of Favre hype. The goal here my friends is to distinguish which of the following pre-2008 quarterbacking masterpieces were performed by Favre or a New York Jet. Think you know Brett? You've got four downs. Here's the snap . . .

(Highlight the area under each feat to reveal the answer.)

Threw for 3,421 yards in 1993
A: Jet - Boomer Esiason

Won a Super Bowl MVP award
A: Jet - Joe Namath

Set a Super Bowl record with an 81-yard scoring pass
A: Brett - Super Bowl XXXI

Set an NFL record (since broken) with 4,579 passing yards in a season
A: Jet - Joe Namath (1967)

Five new names for sports greats

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With Cincinnati Bengals pass catcher and touchdown dancer Chad Johnson officially changing his name to Chad Ocho Cinco this week, Sports Trivia Buff thought it would be fun to give new names to five retired sports greats based on their jersey numbers. For example, "Wayne Noventa Nueve" would represent the "Great One" among current NHL general managers. See if you can guess who's who. To see the answers, mouse over the area next to each number.

1. Terrell Treinta
2. Lynn Ochenta y Ocho
3. Bobby Cuatro
4. Earvin Treinta y Dos
5. Mickey Siete

Answers (use cursor to highlight area next to each number):
1.) Terrell Davis
2.) Lynn Swann
3.) Bobby Orr
4.) Earvin "Magic" Johnson
5.) Mickey Mantle