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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "JANUARY4 – 2003 Heisman winner Jason White is awful and 2004 winner Matt Leinart is great as USC destroys Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, 55-19, to finish undefeated and add a BCS championship to its 2004 AP championship. Leinart throws for an Orange Bowl record five touchdowns.
10 – In New York to take a physical and meet the press after signing with the Yankees, Randy Johnson gets off to a bad start when, after leaving his hotel, he shoves a cameraman in the street and orders the man not to take his picture. Johnson would later apologize for the incident. The team takes no action.
13 – Major League Baseball and the players’ association announce a new steroid testing agreement that calls for a 10-day suspension for a first offense.
16 – Peyton Manning had set a record for touchdown passes in a season with 49, but he still can’t get past New England, which thrashes the Colts, 20-3, in the second round of the playoffs.
23 – In their fourth trip to the NFC championship game, the Eagles finally prevail, eliminating the Falcons 27-10 despite the absence of Terrell Owens, who is recovering from surgery required to repair a severe ankle sprain.
23 - The Patriots have no trouble with the upstart Steelers and their rookie quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, in the AFC championship game. The Pats intercept Big Ben three times en route to a 41-27 victory and advance to their second consecutive Super Bowl.
29 – Serena Williams reasserts herself, winning her seventh Grand Slam singles title, taking out Lindsay Davenport 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the Australian Open final. Williams had come into the tournament seeded 16th and becomes the highest seed to win the tournament in the Open Era.
30 – Lleyton Hewitt was hoping to become the first Aussie to win his homeland’s Open in 29 years, but he falls 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to Russian Marat Safin, who adds the Australian to a U.S. Open crown won in 2000.
31 – Barry Bonds undergoes surgery on his right knee to clean out damaged cartilage. ";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "FEBRUARY
2 – With the NHL season in mortal danger, the league proposes a salary cap ranging from $32 million-$42 million
2 – Max Schmeling, who beat Jack Sharkey in 1930 to become the first European to hold the heavyweight boxing title, dies at 99. Schmeling became famous in 1936 when he beat Joe Louis. In 1938, with Nazi power rising in Europe, Louis destroyed him in a return match. Schmeling and Louis became friends after their fights, and the German helped Louis financially toward the end of the American’s life.
6 – Terrell Owens defies doctor’s orders to play in the Super Bowl, where he catches nine passes for 122 yards. It’s not enough, as the Patriots join the Cowboys as the only teams to win three Super Bowls in four seasons. The final score is 24-21, and it runs Tom Brady’s playoff record to 9-0. Donovan McNabb throws for three touchdowns, but also throws three picks.
13 – The sides in the NHL labor dispute meet with federal mediators, but no progress is made.
14 – The NHL proposes a $40 million cap. The union demands $52 million.
15 – The NHL raises its cap offer to $42 million, while the union drops its demand to $49 million
16 – The NHL gives up on negotiating a settlement and becomes the first major North American sport to cancel an entire season.
16 – Patriots linebacker and team leader Tedi Bruschi complains of blurred vision and numbness and is taken to the hospital, where he is diagnosed with a stroke. He will subsequently have surgery to repair a hole in his heart that doctors say it responsible. No one can say if or when he will play again.
19 – Jeff Gordon wins his third Daytona 500 title, holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch.
22 – Reggie Roby, one of the greatest punters in NFL history, dies of an apparent heart attack at the age of 43.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "MARCH
6 – Chuck Thompson, for years the voice of the Baltimore Orioles and a member of the broadcasters’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, dies of a stroke at the age of 83.
9 – Glenn Davis, the 1946 Heisman Trophy winner and the “Mr. Outside” half of Army’s Mr. Outside and Mr. Inside tandem, dies at the age of 80 of prostate cancer.
12 – A second-place finish in the giant slalom at the World Cup finals secures skiing’s World Cup for American Bode Miller. He is the first American since Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre, both of whom won in 1983, to earn the title of the world’s best skier.
17 – Rafael Palmiero tells Congress he never used steroids. Mark McGwire reveals he doesn’t want to live in the past. Sammy Sosa forgets how to speak English. Donald Fehr defends an indefensible testing policy, and baseball comes out of its meeting with a subcommittee looking much the worse for wear.
17 – Barry Bonds undergoes a second operation on his right knee.
21 – There is high anxiety in San Antonio when Tim Duncan severely sprains an ankle during a loss to the Pistons. Duncan will be placed on the injured list and there are doubts about his availability for the playoffs.
22 – Navigating with crutches, Barry Bonds bitterly blasts the media for its reporting on allegations of steroid use and declares he might never play baseball again.
22 – Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols beat Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament to give Summitt her 880th career victory, the most by any coach, man or woman, in history. Dean Smith falls to second place with 879.
27 – Annika Sorenstam ties Nancy Lopez by winning her fifth consecutive LPGA tournament. More important, it’s the first major of the season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. It’s Sorenstam’s eighth major and the victory margin is eight strokes over Rosie Jones. Amateur sensation Michelle Wie finishes in a tie for 14th.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "APRIL
3 – Alex Sanchez of the Devil Rays will never make it to the Hall of Fame, but he does make the baseball record books as the first player ever suspended for using steroids under baseball’s new agreement.
3 – The Major League Baseball season opens with the Yankees and Red Sox meeting in Yankee Stadium. Former Yankee David Wells pitches for Boston, while Randy Johnson takes the mound for the Yankees. New York wins, 9-2, as Johnson goes six innings for the victory. The great start doesn’t last as the Yankees lose the next two, with Mariano Rivera blowing the saves.
4 – Roy Williams finally wins his first NCAA championship as the Tar Heels, led by center Sean May’s 10-of-11 shooting, 26 points, and 10 boards, beat Illinois 75-70 in the NCAA men’s basketball final. May matches his father, Scott, who also won a championship in 1976 on Bobby Knight’s undefeated Indiana team. After building a 15-point lead, Raymond Felton’s play down the stretch holds off a gallant rally by the Illini.
5 – Word breaks that mercurial Eagles receiver Terrell Owens has hired Drew Rosenhaus as his agent. It is the beginning of a raucus and controversial year for Owens and one in which Rosenhaus never does get the superstar the new contract he promised him.
5 – Baylor is the surprise winner of the NCAA women’s basketball championship. The Lady Bears topple three No. 1 seeds along the way: North Carolina, LSU and Michigan State. The Spartans fall in the final, 84-62, the second largest margin of defeat in tournament history.
8 – Playing in his 45th Masters, Jack Nicklaus misses the cut and declares he will not play again in the tournament he won a record six times. Nicklaus plays the tournament less than two weeks after the accidental death of his 17-month-old grandson.
10 – A former NFL lineman, Al Lucas suffers a broken neck in a collision on the field and dies during an Arena League game. He was 26.
10 – Tiger Woods chips in an incredible shot on the 16th hole of Augusta National – the 40-footer has to travel nearly twice that distance up and then down the severely sloped green. The ball hangs on the lip for what seemed forever before tumbling in. Woods bogeys the next two holes to fall into a tie with Chris DiMarco, but Woods drains a 15-foot birdie on the first playoff hole to win his ninth Grand Slam and get halfway to Jack Nicklaus’ record.
12 – An early sign that the Eagles are not going to have a year of serenity comes when Terrell Owens says that he wasn’t “the guy who got tired” in the Super Bowl, a clear shot at quarterback Donovan McNabb.
18 – Six-time tour de France champion Lance Armstrong says he will retire after the 2005 race.
18 – Sam Mills was considered too small at 5-foot-9, 225 pounds, to play linebacker in the NFL. But he was a five-time Pro Bowler during a career that began in the USFL and carried him to New Orleans and Carolina. Mills died of cancer at the age of 45.
18 – Clarence E. \"Big House\" Gaines, legendary college basketball coach whose players included Earl Monroe, dies at the age of 81.
19 – The Heat’s hopes for an NBA title take a hit when Shaquille O’Neal suffers a deep thigh bruise and is forced to miss the rest of the regular season.
23 – Auburn sees its entire offensive backfield go in the first round of the NFL draft. Tailbacks Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams go second and fifth to Miami and Tampa, while quarterback Jason Campbell is taken by Washington with the 25th pick. Cornerback Carlos Rogers makes it four Tigers in the first round when the Redskins take him with the ninth pick. The 49ers make Utah quarterback Alex Smith the first overall pick.
23 – Earl Wilson, the first African-American pitcher on the Boston Red Sox and the first African-American to throw a no-hitter, dies at the age of 70. He was also a member of the 1968 World Champion Tigers.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "MAY
1 – John Ruiz, owner of the WBA version of the heavyweight championship, loses a decision and his belt to James Toney in Madison Square Garden.
2 – Barry Bonds undergoes surgery on his right knee for the third time since the beginning of the year, this time to clean out an infection left by previous operations.
7 – The experts all have George Steinbrenner’s horse, Bellamy Road, winning the Kentucky Derby, but a 50-1 longshot named Giacomo runs away with the roses.
14 – Despite missing Shaquille O’Neal, who is still hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, the Heat wins an eighth straight playoff game, eliminated the Wizards and advancing to the NBA Eastern Conference finals against the defending champion Pistons.
21 – Triple Crown fever ends early as Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo falls to Afleet Alex in the Preakness.
26 – A Venezuelan shortstop who came up in the 1950s, Chico Carrasquel was the first Latin American player to be named an All Star. He dies at the age of 77.
29 – Dan Wheldon wins the Indy 500, but it’s doubtful many people remember him. Instead, it is the debut of Danica Patrick, racing for Bobby Rahal and David Letterman, that dominates coverage and boosted television ratings. Patrick becomes the first woman to lead Indy, holding the lead for 19 laps before finally giving it up on lap 194 and finishing fourth. Patrick would continue to dominate racing headlines during the season and would win rookie of the year on the Indy circuit, but she would not win a race.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "JUNE
1 – George Mikan, the bespectacled center for the Minneapolis Lakers who was the first dominant and athletic big man in the NBA, dies at the age of 80 from diabetes and kidney failure.
1 – The Suns, led by point guard and league MVP Steve Nash, had sailed through the first two rounds of the playoffs, but run into a wall against San Antonio. The Spurs eliminate the Suns with a 101-95 victory in just five games.
4 – Justin Henin-Hardenne of Belgium wins her second straight French Open, losing just two games in a straight-set stomping of Mary Pierce, who had won in 2000.
5 – The French Open goes to 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who, in his first trip to Roland Garros, defeats Mariano Puerta of Argentina.
6 – New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s grandiose plan to build a stadium on Manhattan’s West Side for the Jets is torpedoed, thereby dealing a death blow to New York’s dwindling shot at landing the 2012 Olympics.
6 – The Pistons eliminate the Heat 88-82 and advance to the NBA Finals against the Spurs. The Game 7 matchup draws the highest cable rating ever for an NBA game.
6 – Kostya Tszyu quits on his stool after 11 rounds to give the IBF junior welterweight title to Englishman Ricky Hatton.
11 – Afleet Alex cements his credentials with a seven-length victory in the Belmont
11 – Mike Tyson’s career finally seems irrevocably over after he fights six mediocre rounds, then quits rather than continue the battle against someone named Kevin McBride.
12 – Michelle Wie gets closer to a first win with a second-place finish at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship. But she’s three strokes back of champion Annika Sorenstam, who wins her second major of the year and ninth overall.
14 – Less than a year after leaving the Lakers and declaring Kobe Bryant to be “uncoachable,” Phil Jackson returns to L.A. for a second tour of duty as Lakers coach.
19 – Defending U.S. Open Champion Retief Goosen blows up with an 81 in the final round at Pinehurst No. 2, allowing New Zealand’s Michael Campbell to come from four strokes back and outduel Tiger Woods for title.
23 – Hobbled by a bad ankle, pushed around by the Pistons, questioned by the analysts, Tim Duncan reaffirms his greatness in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the defending champion Pistons. Duncan scores 25, hauls in 11 boards and wins his third Finals MVP award along with his team’s third title in the 81-74 win.
26 – In two years as a pro, Korea’s Birdie Kim had done nothing to distinguish herself. She had made the cut in just half of the 14 events she played coming into the U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills in Colorado and her highest-ever finish was seventh. But she holed an improbable sand shot on the 18th hole for birdie and a two-shot win over two amateurs, neither of whom was named Michelle Wie. Tied for second were Morgan Pressel and Brittany Lang.
25 – Floyd Mayweather beats Arturo Gatti for the WBC junior welterweight title.
26 – Texas defeats Florida, 6-2, as the Longhorns win their sixth College World Series, second only to USC, which has twice as many titles.
28 – The NBA draft sees a reemphasis on experience. For the first time in five years, a player with more than one year’s college experience goes No. 1 overall. That is Andrew Bogut, the two-year center from Utah, who finds a new home in Milwaukee. With the second pick, the Hawks take Marvin Williams of North Carolina, despite the fact he was not even a starter on the Tar Heels. Williams is one of four Tar Heels taken in the first round; the others are Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants. The only other team to have four first-rounders in a draft was the 1999 Duke Blue Devils.
29 – The Rangers’ Kenny Rogers assaults a television cameraman while walking out on the field for pre-game workouts. Commissioner Bud Selig would suspend the prickly pitcher 20 days for the offense.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "JULY
2 – Venus Williams follows her sister’s Australian Open triumph by winning her third Wimbledon crown, defeating first defending champ Maria Sharapova in the semis then Lindsay Davenport in the final. The championship match went three sets and, at two hours, 45 minutes, is the longest women’s final in the event’s history.
3 – Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player in the world, finally wins a 2005 major, eradicating American Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon final in straight sets. Federer joins Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras as the only players to win three straight All-England titles.
4 – Famous forever for the NFL Films clip in which he exhorts his Kansas City Chiefs to “matriculate the ball down the field,” Hank Stram dies at the age of 82. He also coached the Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl IV.
6 – The handicappers had the 2012 Olympics going to Paris, which hosted the second modern Games in 1900 and hasn’t seen them since. But London is the surprise pick of the IOC.
13 – The NHL and its players union reach an agreement that ends the longest play stoppage in American sports history. The agreement, negotiated by union head Bob Goodenow, establishes a $39 million salary cap – $3 million less than the league had offered in February. Along with the labor agreement come new rules that will open up the game.
15 - BALCO Labs founder Victor Conte pleads guilty to steroid trafficking and money laundering, as does Barry Bonds’ former trainer Greg Anderson. BALCO VP Jim Valente pleads guilty to trafficking.
16 – Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins’ long reign as middleweight champion ends in Las Vegas at the hands of Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor, who wins a 12-round decision.
17 – Tiger Woods glides to a five-stroke victory in the British Open at Royal St. Andrew’s. Finishing second is perennial also-ran Colin Montgomerie.
19 – The Pistons, tired of Larry Brown’s flirtation with other teams, reach an agreement with Brown that will end his tenure in Detroit after two years and one title.
19 – The NFL clears Ricky Williams to return to the Dolphins after a one-year sabbatical that ends when the Dolphins demand that return his signing bonus. Williams will have to sit out the first four games of the season to serve a suspension for marijuana use.
24 – Lance Armstrong dominates the Tour de France almost from the beginning, winning his seventh straight title with almost absurd ease. It is his last tour.
28 – The Knicks introduce their new coach to the media – Larry Brown. Analysts will note that while Brown is a great coach, the Knicks are still a lousy team that will test even his abilities.
28 – Having secured his place in history as the worst leader any sports union ever had, Bob Goodenow resigns as head of the NHL Players Association. Ted Saskin, who was the union’s lead negotiator, takes Goodenow’s place.
31 – Jeong Jang of Korea takes all the drama out of the Weetabix British Women’s Open with a wire-to-wire four-stroke victory over Sophie Gustafson. Jang is the fourth Korean woman to win a major.
31 – Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg are cast in bronze and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jerry Coleman is inducted into the broadcaster’s wing and Peter Gammons into the writer’s wing.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "AUGUST
1 – Rafael Palmiero claims all he took was a shot of vitamin B12, but baseball says it was steroids caught in an early-season test and Palmiero is suspended.
4 – Former LSU women’s basketball coach Sue Gunter, 66, who took 13 LSU teams to the NCAA tournament in 22 years and won more than 700 games, dies of emphysema. She would be inducted posthumously into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September.
5 – The NCAA bans the use of Indian mascots in all of its future tournaments. Mascots that are approved by the tribes they are modeled on will be allowed.
7 – It’s a great day for quarterbacks and Dan Marino, arguably the best ever at the position and Steve Young are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Joining them are old-timers Fritz Pollard, the first African-American to play and coach in the league, and Bennie Friedman, a quarterback who retired in 1934.
8 – The manager who presided over the collapse of the 1964 Phillies and watched the Red Sox snatch a trip to the World Series away from his Angels in 1986, Gene Mauch, dies at the age of 1979. He holds the distinction of managing the most seasons without ever going to the World Series.
10 – The bad blood between Terrell Owens and the Eagles comes to a head when Owens is sent home for a week from training camp after screaming at coach Andy Reid.
11 – Ted ``Double Duty'' Radcliffe, a star of the Negro Leagues and believed to be the oldest living professional baseball player, dies in Chicago at the age of 103. He got his nickname from Damon Runyon after catching the first game of a doubleheader and pitching the second game. For the past several years, he had thrown out the first pitch of White Sox games on his birthday.
15 – Phil Mickelson tried to give away the PGA Championship, but no one would take it from him. With the final groups forced to suspend their rounds by Sunday thunderstorms, Mickelson came back Monday to beat Steve Elkington and Tomas Bjorn by a stroke when he chipped onto the 18th green from heavy rough to within a couple of feet of the birdie putt that would win it for him. Although in range and just two strokes back, Woods goes home Sunday rather than stay an extra day in New Jersey in case there was a playoff.
23 – The French sports magazine L’Equipe charges that Lance Armstrong’s urine samples from the 1999 Tour de France tested positive for traces of EPO, a drug that boosts the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. Officials did not test for the drug in 1999 and Armstrong furiously denies ever using drugs. ";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "SEPTEMBER
5 – After falling to third on the Broncos depth chart, 42-year-old Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver in the history of the NFL, retires with 38 NFL records, including 1,549 receptions, 22,895 yards and 197 touchdown catches.
10 – The Class of 2005 is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. They are college coaches Jim Calhoun of UConn, Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and the late Sue Gunter of LSU along with former coach Hubie Brown and Brazilian star Hortencia Marcari.
10 – There is no hometown or even American hero to cheer in the women’s final of the U.S. Open. Mary Pierce, appearing in her second grand slam final of the year, again falls in straight sets, this time to Kim Clijsters of Belgium. Clijsters continues a string of seven straight women’s grand slam events without a repeat winner.
11 – A day earlier, Andre Agassi had delighted the New York crowd by beating fellow American Roger Ginepri to get to the U.S. Open men’s final. But even Agassi has no magic that works against Roger Federer, the top-ranked player in the world. The Swiss star wins his second straight U.S. Open crown after winning his third straight Wimbledon. The last person to win both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open two straight times was Don Budge. The years were 1937-38.
11 – Chris Schenkel, one of the most honored and beloved sportscasters ever, dies at the age of 82 of emphysema.
12 – Barry Bonds finally plays his first game for the Giants, doubling in his first at-bat and just missing a home run. He would play in 14 games before the end of the season, hitting five home runs to bring him to 708, 6 shy of Babe Ruth and 47 behind Hank Aaron.
20 – The Sacramento Monarchs win their first WNBA title, 62-59 over Connecticut in Game 4 of the best-of-five finals.
29 – The White Sox give up most of a big lead down the stretch, but finally clinch the AL Central with a 4-2 win over the Tigers. The Sox are helped by Cleveland’s inability to win down the stretch.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "OCTOBER
1 – The Yankees beat the Red Sox to clinch the AL East; the Red Sox take the wild card by winning the next day.
2 – For the second straight year, the Astros clinch the NL wild card on the last day of the season, beating the Cubs 6-4 as Roy Oswalt wins his 20th game of the season. Counted out early in the year, Houston has a terrific second half to win.
5 – Michelle Wie says she’s turning pro five days before she intends to turn 16
5 – After a year off for bad behavior, the NHL returns with every team playing on opening night. Fans come back in record numbers and the league’s new rules produce more scoring and less interference, grabbing and fighting.
6 – A team outing turns into a sex scandal and criminal investigation when members of the Minnesota Vikings charter two boats for a cruise and party on Lake Minnetonka. The party ends early with crew members filing charges of lewd and lascivious conduct exhibited by people on the cruise.
7 – The Red Sox’ hopes of defending their World Series title die early as Boston is eliminated in three games by the White Sox in the ALDS.
9 – With Roger Clemens pitching in relief on two days rest, the Astros eliminate the Braves in Game 4 of the NLDS. The final score is 7-6 in 18 innings, the longest playoff game ever.
10 – The Yankees survive three more days than the Red Sox, losing Game 5 of the ALDS to Anaheim, 5-3.
15 – Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier collapses and dies at the age of 28. A heart abnormality is given as the cause.
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| Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images |
16 – Michelle Wie thinks she’s finished fourth in her first tournament as a professional, the Samsung World Championship. But Sports Illustrated reporter tells officials that he thinks she took an improper drop the previous day. After taking Wie out to the scene of the crime and carefully measuring distances, officials determine the drop was improper and disqualify Wie for having signed an improper scorecard the day before. It does not make Bamberger a popular person.
15 – The White Sox get their fourth straight complete game to eliminate the Angels in five games and advance to the World Series for the first time since 1917.
18 – The voice of the A’s for 25 years and perhaps the best-known sports voice in the Bay Area, the flamboyant Bill King dies at the age of 78.
18 – BALCO Labs founder Victor Conte is sentenced to four months in jail. Jim Valente gets three years probation while Greg Anderson, gets three months.
19 – Eight months after suffering a stroke, Tedy Bruschi returns to practice with the Patriots.
19 – The Astros continue a magical season, beating the Cards in six games to advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
25 – Wellington Mara, son of Tim Mara, who founded the New York Giants football team, dies at the age of 89. One of the true giants of the game, Mara is given credit for the revenue-sharing system that is the backbone of the NFL.
26 – The Astros’ dream season ends four wins short of where the team wanted it to be, but the Chicago White Sox, who had last won the World Series in 1917, celebrate after sweeping the ‘Stros in four games, winning Game 4 on a 1-0 combined shutout by four pitchers.
30 – Tedy Bruschi has seven tackles and plays nearly the entire game as the Patriots beat the Bills, 21-16.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "NOVEMBER
3 – During an interview on ESPN, Terrell Owens says that the Eagles would have a better record if Brett Favre were their quarterback. He also accuses the Eagles of lacking class for not publicly celebrating his 100th touchdown catch; the Eagles, in fact, have a policy of not noting individual achievements during games.
5 – In response to Owens’ latest comments, the Eagles tell Owens to take the rest of the year off.
8 – Bartolo Colon of the Angels won his first AL Cy Young Award after going 21-8. Mariano Rivera, who had his best year ever as a reliever, finishes a distant second.
10 – Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals wins his first NL Cy Young Award after going 21-5 during the season. Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins finishes second, a scant 20 points behind.
14 – Alex Rodriguez didn’t get his World Series ring, but he picks up his second AL MVP award, edging Boston’s David Ortiz by 24 points.
15 – Without Barry Bonds to contend with, Albert Pujols finally wins the NL MVP award. Andruw Jones is second and Derrek Lee third.
15 – Robert Tisch, co-owner of the New York Giants, dies at the age of 79 of brain cancer, just three weeks after the death of Wellington Mara. Tisch, a former U.S. Postmaster General, was the chairman of Loew’s corporation and one of the richest men in the world.
15 – With Congress, led by Sen. John McCain, threatening to impose drug testing rules on baseball, players and management agree to increase penalties for steroid use to 50 games for a first offense, 100 for a second and life for a third. The parties also agree to test for amphetamines for the first time.
20 – Tony Stewart finishes 15th in the year’s final race at Homestead, Fla., and it’s good enough to win the Nextel Cup and his second NASCAR championship.
22 – In 1974, Mike Austin, was 64 and playing in the U.S. National Seniors Open Championship when he was challenged to hit a ball as far as he could. Austin, a showman and prodigious driver, hit a drive that landed 65 yards over the green – on a par 5. The 515-yard drive remains the longest ever hit in competition.
25 – George Best, the hell-raising star of Manchester United during the 1960s and 70s, dies of multiple organ failure at the age of 59.";
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YearInSports_2005[i-1].body = "DECEMBER
5 – Jermain Taylor confirms his middleweight championship in winning by a close decision his rematch against Bernard Hopkins.
7 – Longtime NFL coach Bud Carson, best known as the architect of the Pittsburgh Steel Curtain defense, dies of emphysema at 75.
9 – The draw for the 2006 World Cup is announced, and the United States is ranked eighth and put in Group E with second-ranked Czech Republic, 12th-ranked Italy and Ghana.
10 – Reggie Bush gets the highest percentage of first-place votes ever in running away from the Heisman field just like he ran away from tacklers all year. Texas quarterback Vince Young is second and Matt Leinart, the 2004 winner, is third.
12 – At least 19 members of the Eagles attend the birthday party Terrell Owens throws for himself in Atlantic City. Donovan McNabb isn’t one of them.
12 – Citing a desire to spend time with his family, Stan Van Gundy resigns after just over two years as coach of the Miami Heat. Pat Riley, who had quit himself two years earlier, comes down from the executive offices to take over the team.
13 – Former 100-meter world record holder Tim Montgomery is suspended for two years by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Montgomery never tested positive for drugs, but was named as a user during the BALCO investigation. Montgomery later says he will refuse to give back medals and prize money as demanded by track’s governing body, the IAAF.
14 – The U.S. Treasury Department refuses to allow Cuba to bring a team to the United States to play in the inaugural World Baseball Classic scheduled for next March. The department says it involves the ban on trade with Cuba. There had been no such objection nine years earlier when Cuba participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
15 – Misdemeanor charges of lewd conduct are filed in Minnesota against Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper and teammates Bryant McKinnie, Fred Smoot and Moe Williams in connection with the team’s October “Love Boat” party.
17 - John Ruiz loses the WBA heavyweight title to 7-foot Nikolay Valuev of Russia, who, at 323 pounds, is the tallest and heaviest champ ever."; // END editorial data