A little break from the current popular sports stories; NBA, Bonds, NHL, etc. Some of the best moments in sports were witnessed by millions but have been forgotten over time in favor of something more memorable that happened later on. As I stated in my 'About Me,' I have a wacked memory for sports happenings. The fact that I can set my keys down and have no idea where they are five minutes later has always baffled me, though. But I've always been able to remember bits of trivia or moments in sports like they happened yesterday, or at least last month. For example, who is the only player in MLB history to hit 35 homers and have 200 hits three straight years? (Answer at the end. The most logical guess would be Lou Gehrig. It's not him). Just one of many bits of trivia I have floating around. Without further ado, (and from memory-hopefully it's accurate), here is my list of some of the most (un)remembered happenings in sports.

1975 World Series: Everyone has seen the footage of Carlton Fisk coaxing his home run fair in the bottom on the 12th inning in Game 6. While there was a certain amount of pressure on him during that at-bat, it was nothing compared to the bottom of the 9th. The Red Sox trailed 6-3, were down 3-2 in the Series, had two runners on and two outs. In other words, last gasp. The Red Sox sent up a pinch hitter. He homered. Tie game. Way, way more dramatic that Fisk's home run in extra innings. It's a game that I watched, and I'll never forget it. Unfortunately though, it's been lost in Fisk's later heroics. Nothing against Fisk here. The pinch hitter's name? Bernie Carbo.

Super Bowl XXV: Scott Norwood. That name makes everyone say, "Oh, yeah. That one." Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal at the end of the game that would have won the Super Bowl for Buffalo. A 47-yarder is certainly not a chip shot, and he hit it well. It had plenty of distance, it was just wide by a small margin. Yet he has been villified as if he had hit it like a chunked pitching wedge. What has been forgotten is this: a couple plays before that, Thurman Thomas took a screen pass down to the Giants 17 yard line or so, but it was called back for holding. Nobody ever mentions that play. The real goat is the lineman who committed the penalty. (I'm not condemning the lineman here, just trying to make a point). I'm guessing that Norwood would have made a 35 yarder, but we'll never know. That was the first of four straight Super Bowls the Bills lost. Could it have been the first of two, three, or four that they won? We'll never know that either. Best NFL team that didn't win a championship? Has to be the Bills of the early 90s.

Rose Bowl 1997: Ohio State won with a late touchdown against Arizona State. The same Arizona State team that vaulted from #24 in the rankings into the top ten with a 19-0 victory over defending champion Nebraska early in the season. Jake Plummer was the QB of that Sun Devil team, and had a phenomenal season. What got lost in ASU coach Bruce Snyder's asinine decision to squib kick it after his Sun Devils had scored with a minute and a half left is this: During ASU's scoring drive to take the lead before that, Plummer threw an absolutely perfect fade pattern on fourth and 11 to a receiver who was covered like a blanket but caught the ball in the only possible place it could be thrown-over his outside shoulder. He made a spectacular diving catch that would be remembered as one of the great plays of all time had ASU won he game. Later on third and goal from the 11, Plummer dropped back to pass and had to scramble after finding no one open and getting pressured. And what a scramble it was. He somehow got the ball into the end zone. How Plummer didn't win the Heisman that year is beyond me. (Some guy from Florida won it. Must have been the media hype). To this day, one of the greatest games I've ever seen.

Nolan Ryan: Okay, this one isn't a moment, but rather a statement to those who say Roger Clemens is the greatest living pitcher. For starters, Ryan was 8-16 in 1987 but led the league in ERA. Think about that for a minute. (Again, these numbers are off the top of my head, so accuracy is hoped for, but not a given. I can assure you that they are not too far off). Ryan had 14 complete game one-hitters. A staggering number. So are his seven no-hitters, especially considering that two of those came after his 40th birthday. He had over a hundred games in his career where he struck out ten or more batters. Look at his innings pitched, complete games, and strikeout totals. And while you are doing that, keep in mind that even in his mid-40s, he still overpowered hitters on a regular basis. Clemens has had the luxury, due to free agency, of playing with some very good teams with good offenses. Ryan never had that.  (Since I am just a wealth of information, here's a tidbit for our younger bloggers: Steve Carlton once won 27 games for a Phillies team that won 54 all season. I'll let you do the math and imagine that one.)

Answer to above trivia question: Jim Rice

Thanks for taking the time to read.  ricko