One time this guy got all liquored up at a Washington, DC, function and told a female Supreme Court justice to “Loosen up … you’re too tight.”
John Riggins was a hard-nosed running back who enjoyed his most successful seasons with the Washington Redskins during a 14-year NFL career, including a Super Bowl XVII MVP performance when he carried 38 times for 166 yards which included a late 43-yard touchdown to seal the 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins. A 1992 Football Hall of Fame inductee, Riggins had one (at least!) notable lapse in judgment while attending a black-tie event at the Washington, DC, Sheraton on January 30, 1985. Billed as a “Salute to Congress” Riggins was seated at a table that included Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Riggins was, shall we say, over served and uttered the now infamous line, “come on, loosen up, Sandy baby, you’re too tight.” Please, do yourself the favor, and read the oral history of this event found here.
Then-New York Jets’ running back John Riggins, seen here while unsigned during a 1973 exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (AP Photo)
Below is a sampling of the many hairstyles of John Riggins. Enjoy!
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you by the early kickoff on Sunday.
To be fair, the Lions are easy prey. Well, maybe not the feline variety but certainly the football team.
It was a pithy blog post about how I’m sort of forced to be a Lions’ fan based upon my geographical location and the heartache through the years has certainly left plenty of scars. It was written as the HBO series, Hard Knocks, was finishing up its run profiling Coach Dan Campbell‘s squad during the preseason, but before the Laydowns (as I sometimes refer to them) got off to a horrendously awful 1-6 start.
That piece I wrote in early September seemed almost prescient a scant six weeks later.
But then something happened. Following a Halloween Weekend near-miss in Miami, the Lions won three straight, nearly upset the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving Day, and then won three more before an unfortunate hiccup in Carolina.
That the Detroit Lions are playing the final 2022 NFL regular-season game – repeat, the last game of all NFL teams save their opponent, Green Bay – is nothing short of miraculous.
Campbell and General Manager Brad Holmes seem to have built something that might have legs here. No one-offs, no smoke and mirrors, and while, ultimately, the game Sunday night meant nothing for the Lions it was important to play a meaningful game in early January as part of the maturation process for this team. Add to it the fact the team ran through the tape even after realizing they were eliminated from the post-season and … whoa … these just might not be the Same Old Lions.
With that, this is my mea culpa to the Detroit Lions. And, dare I say it, I’m looking a little bit forward to the 2023 season.
Speed, soft hands, and grace. He once hosted a TV game show for a time … replaced by Alex Trebek.
Few names in sports are as apropos as that of Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receive and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Lynn Swann. Personifying grace and acrobatics on the field, it was not hard to imagine him floating majestically on some body of water.
Swann enjoyed a tremendous performance during Super Bowl X played in Miami’s Orange Bowl on January 18, 1976. Swann made four catches during the game, good for 161 yards and a touchdown in leading the Steelers’ to a 21-17 victory; their second in a row. The peformance earned him the Most Valuable Player Award.
Swann enjoyed an eclectic life after football. Along the way he ran for Pennsylvania’s governorship (2006) as the Republican Party candidate, toyed with a run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, and served as the Director of Athletics for his alma mater, the University of Southern California from 2016-19. He also dabbled in the media beginning during his playing days. That included a 14-week as host of NBC’s early 1990s rebooted game show, To Tell the Truth, before his work with ABC Sports conflicted with that role and he was replaced by Alex Trebek.
Here’s the full image of Pittsburgh Steelers’ receiver Lynn Swann’s remarkable second-half grab during Super Bowl X. He had a similarly spectacular catch in the first half and finished the game with four receptions for 161 yards and a TD en route to the MVP Award. (Sports Illustrated photo)
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you by the early kickoff on Sunday.
I’ll admit, I was rather looking forward to my hometown Detroit Lions’ game against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday. For a downtrodden organization that hasn’t had a whiff of the playoffs in half a decade, a meaningful game this late in December was, indeed, something to look forward to.
Yet, by the time our Christmas Eve (nay, my wife’s birthday) lunch was over and I finally tuned in, the Lions were heading into the lockerroom at halftime trailing, 24-7, having yielded nearly 250 yards rushing … in the first half!
Sigh, classic Lions:-(
The good news is that every team they’re chasing for the final wild card spot also lost.
The bad news is that those dastardly Packers won a game in Miami they weren’t favored to and are now very much alive in the playoff picture, meaning the Lions’ season finale at Lambeau Field might actually have significance.
So, what’s a guy to do? Live vicariously through his buddy, that’s what. My friend Wayne and his family are enjoying a holiday in England and he sent along this photo early Monday. It’s of his seats at South London’s Selhurst Park for the Fulham at Crystal Palace English Premier League match. The visitors from Fulham won, 3-0.
Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace. (Photo by Wayne Wilson)
As I prepare for another Thanksgiving Weekend filled with family, food, and plenty of sports spectating, I find myself recollecting one from nearly 30 years ago.
1995 was a memorable year for me for a several reasons, chief among them was my wedding Mother’s Day Weekend. But when it comes to being a sports fan, nothing in 1995 could measure up to Thanksgiving Weekend.
My friend Mike (heard here in Episode 9 of Conversations with Sports Fans) got married on Friday, November 24, 1995. A fellow sports fan, it should come as no surprise that a live sporting event would factor into his wedding weekend activities.
His wedding festivities included the following:
Wednesday Night – Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
Thursday Morning – Buddies’ breakfast at my apartment
Thursday Afternoon – Bachelor party at the Vikings-Lions football game
Friday Afternoon – Wedding ceremony
Friday Evening – Wedding reception
A late addition to the weekend was my friend Josh from Fairbanks, AK, who was able to snag a good airfare and decided to come in for a long holiday weekend visit. I hadn’t seen Josh since moving back to Michigan from Fairbanks 14 months earlier so this was a happy bonus. Mike and his soon-to-be wife Sheryl and their families were gracious enough to allow Josh full participation in all of their wedding events.
And, because Josh was traveling close to 4,000 miles to visit, I figured I should do something to make it worth his while. So I reached out to a contact I had in the University of Michigan Athletic Department about tickets to The Game. I figured it was a bit of a longshot as Ohio State was a perfect 11-0, featured eventual Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, and ranked No. 2 and Michigan No. 18 entering. Lo-and-behold, my man Paul was able to find a pair of seats at Michigan Stadium for Saturday’s game.
With that, the makings of an epic sports weekend were set … now if only the games could deliver.
Boy, did they!
By all accounts my breakfast skills were solid: The scrambled eggs were free of shells, the bacon and sausage was done to everyone’s liking, and the pancakes were plentiful. It was, in short, a great way to begin our Thanksgiving.
The Lions and Vikings apparently also fueled up appropriately, that morning. The Over/Under for the game was set at 46. The teams combined to score 52 points by halftime, with Minnesota leading 28-24.
Vikings quarterback Warren Moon threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns while the Lions’ Scott Mitchell finished with 410 yards and four touchdowns. Barry Sanders was, well, Barry Sanders. He rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown and Detroit’s big three wide receivers (Herman Moore, Johnny Morton, and Brett Perriman) all finished with over 100 yards and at least one touchdown.
In the end, Detroit led 44-38 after a field goal by Jason Hanson giving Moon and the Vikings the ball one more time. The final Hail Mary was interecepted by Sean Vanhorse.
Lions’ Herman Moore, Brett Perriman, Johnny Morton, and Scott Mitchell tear into John Madden’s turducken following their win. (Photo Detroit Free Press)
My lasting recollection of this game, aside from enjoying a wildly entertaining 44-38 Lions victory with a dozen or so fellas who got along famously, was Lions’ receiver Moore, who stood 6-feet-4, being on the field playing deep safety for Moon’s final throws.
My lasting recollection of the Michigan-Ohio State game – my first and only as an in-person spectator – was Michigan running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka aka Touchdown Tim.
He ran over, around, and through the Ohio State defense all day long. He had 18 carries for 195 yards … at halftime! Biakabutuka finished the afternoon with 37 carries for 313 yards and a touchdown. The more highly touted George, meanwhile, finished with a rather pedestrian by comparison 21 carries for 104 yards and a score.
Touchdown Tim running through an OSU defender en route to his 313 yards. (Photo by Cleveland.com)
In the end, Michigan took down the second-ranked Buckeyes, 31-23, thanks to an interception by then-freshman Charles Woodson as OSU was driving late in Wolverines’ territory late in the game.
Josh and I are still in touch and we talk about this weekend every so often. He repeated a Thanksgiving trip in the following year and, in an effort to complete a Detroit pro sports hat trick of sorts, we attended a Detroit Pistons-Vancouver Grizzlies game the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the Lions-Kansas City Chiefs game Thursday, and a Detroit Red Wings-Florida Panthers matinee on Sunday.
As a member of the Steelers, Holmes was a 2-time Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowls IX and X. Holmes began wearing the arrowhead mohawk in 1974, the year Pittsburgh won the first of its consecutive Super Bowls.
There is some discrepancy over the arrow and its meaning: Some recall Holmes said it pointed the way toward the quarterback while others believe it pointed the way to the Super Bowl. Either way, Holmes was one of the NFL’s biggest characters of the mid-1970s as Sports Illustrated‘s famed NFL writer Paul Zimmerman recollects in this remembrance following Holmes’ death in 2008.
“You consider all of that, and September 1972 has to be one of the greatest months in the history of sport.”
Mark Mulvoy, journalist
That was enough to send me down the rabbit hole. Of course, it’s not possible to go through every month in the history of sport but, I figured, the least I could do was recap what exactly happened during the month in question. What follows are the highlights of my discoveries (there are, of course, more). I’d welcome any thoughts you might have on the topic and am happy to dive into another rabbit hole if presented with a compelling reason to do so.
Billie Jean KingMark SpitzOlga KorbutRoberto ClementePaul Henderson
1972 World Chess Championship, Reykjavik, Iceland: The Championships actually began on July 11, 1972, but this was a 21-game affair. The 21st game began August 31st, was adjourned overnight, and Spassky resigned on September 1 before any moves occurred. Fischer won the championship, 12.5-8.5. Here is a 60 Minutes segment on Fischer in the spring of 1972.
The Tragedy:Remembered for many competitive achievements, these Games are likely most remembered for the events of September 5 when the Palestinian Black September militant group broke into the Olympic Village and took 11 Israeli athletes, coaches, and officials hostage. Ultimately, all 11 hostages were killed during a botched rescue effort after an 18-hour standoff. This report from ABC-TV’s studio host Jim McKay became one of the most watched moments from these Olympics.
Mark Spitz (USA), Swimming: Spitz won a record seven gold medals during these games – all by virtue of a world-record performance, bringing his total to nine (he had two previously from 1968 in Mexico City). It took 36 years for Spitz’s single-games’ record of seven golds to fall when American Michael Phelps won eight in 2008. See highlights of Spitz’s performance here.
Olga Korbut (USSR), Gymnastics: Just 17 at the time, Korbut became a sensation leading the Soviet team to the Team Gold Medal. She was the favorite to win the All-Around, but she missed her mount on bars multiple times and it cost her. She did win individual gold on the Balance Beam and Floor Exercise and a silver on bars. See highlights of Korbut’s performance here.
Men’s Basketball Gold Medal Game (USSR vs. USA): Perhaps the most controversial ending to an Olympic team competition in the history of the Games, the Soviets won the game, 51-50, after the game ended on two occasions with the United States winning 50-49 before a third conclusion saw the Soviets hit the winning shot. Entering the game, the U.S. men were 63-0 in Olympic competition. There’s really no way to describe what transpired, it must be seen to be believed. Please find the waning minutes of the game here. To this date, the members of Team USA have refused to accept their silver medals.
Dan Gable (USA), Wrestling: En route to winning his only Olympic Gold Medal, the Iowa State University product did not allow a point during his six matches, winning three by falls and the other three by scores of 20-0, 6-0, and 3-0. Here is some grainy black and white footage of Gable’s third-round fall over Greece’s Stefanos Ioannidis.
Lasse Viren (Finland), Track: The Finn claimed gold medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, becoming just the fourth athlete at the time to accomplish the feat. He, himself, repeated the double in the 1976 Montreal Games. Here is footage of the latter part of his 5,000 meter victory.
NCAA Football Opening Weekend: The first weekend of the season (September 9) provided enough fireworks to cement it as one of the most noteworthy of the era. Two-time defending national champion Nebraska rode a 23-game unbeaten streak into its season-opening game at the Los Angeles Coliseum against unranked UCLA. Nebraska featured that year’s eventual Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Rodgers, but UCLA kicker Efren Herrera‘s 30-yard field goal with 22 seconds left sent the Bruins to a 20-17 upset victory (highlights seen here). Earlier in the day, No. 8 USC traveled to Fayetteville, AR, for a 30-10 rout of fourth-ranked Arkansas. The Trojans ran the table during the regular season and then waxed Ohio State, 42-17, in the Rose Bowl to claim the National Championship.
NFL’s Opening Month: No one knew it at the time, but the Miami Dolphins were beginning one of the best – if not the best – seasons in the history of the league in September 1972. On opening week (September 17), Miami went on the road and dispatched the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-10, and one week later blasted the Houston Oilers, 34-13. The Dolphins finished the season 17-0 and champions of Super Bowl VII; the last undefeated team to run the table in a NFL season. Enjoy the season highlights with John Facenda narrating, here.
U.S. Open Tennis: If it’s September it must mean there’s a Grand Slam tennis championship in Flushing, NY. The U.S. Open did, in fact, occur, and crowned a repeat winner on the ladies side: American Billie Jean King, who won her third straight Slam title that year (she also won the French Open and Wimbledon) . On the men’s side, Ille Nastase defeated American Arthur Ashe in a five-set thriller for his only U.S. Open title.
Hank Aaron Breaks Stan Musial‘s Career Total Bases Record: During the Atlanta Braves’ 8-0 loss to Steve Carlton and the Philadelphia Phillies on September 3, Aaron singled twice in three at bats to eclipes Musial’s career record for total bases with 6,135. Aaron, who played four more seasons, finished his career with 6,856 total bases which remains the career mark by more than 600 total bases over second-place’s Albert Pujols.
Roberto Clemente Records his Hit 3,000: No one realized it at the time, but when Clemente doubled off of New York Mets’ pitcher Jon Matlack during the Pirates’ 5-0 win on September 30 for his 3,000th career hit, it would be his final regular-season hit as Clemente tragically died that New Year’s Eve in plane crash. Here’s the video of the hit.
Summit Series (Canada vs. USSR): Borne of the Cold War, a series that was supposed to reclaim Canada’s place atop the hockey game by including many of their best NHL players in an 8-game exhibition series against the Soviet Union, turned into a battle for survival for the Canadians. The first four games were played in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver) and the final four in the USSR (Moscow). The games were played between September 2-28 in the two nations with a 2-week break in between for travel (and Canadian exhibitions in Sweden). The Soviets won Games 1, 4, and 5, the teams tied Game 3, and Canada won Game 2 and the final three games in Moscow to claim the series, 4-3-1. The series-clinching goal by Paul Henderson with just over 30 seconds left is seen here. A full documentary on the serie is found here.
Yeah, I guess I see what Mulvoy was getting at. Any other thoughts? Please let us know.
With my hometown Detroit Tigers long ago on the outside of this year’s Major League Baseball post-season discussion, I found myself more rooting against teams rather than for teams these past 10 days of MLB playoff action.
For example, I’m more than happy that the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals will spend the remainder of the playoffs watching from their easy chairs just like me. And if the New York Yankees can join them … well, that wouldn’t stink.
Rest assured, I was also pulling hard for the Seattle Mariners in their 2-for-the-price-of-1, 18-inning, 6-hour, 22-minute marathon from the Emerald City Saturday night when they were ultimately eliminated. Nothing against Dusty Baker, but I’ll be rooting against Houston no matter who its opponent might be come Wednesday.
Legend has it that Dusty Baker (right) and teammate Glenn Burke originated the high-five. Despite this, the author will still root against his Astros the remainder of the playoffs.
Aside from not having an actual rooting interest, I guess I’m unsure why I’m behaving this way?
Is it a natural part of the aging process? I’ve heard tell of my father and others of his generation who behave similarly. Shoot, several of my buddies do the same thing!
And it’s not just limited to the baseball post-season.
On what was truly a pretty remarkable day for sports fans Saturday I also found myself pulling for the Tennessee Volunteers (and I’m ordinarily no fan of “Rocky Top”!) against the Alabama Crimson Tide because … it’s Alabama, duh! And Texas Christian beating Oklahoma State in double-overtime was just fine by me (see Coach Mike Gundy‘s mullet) as was Illinois and Coach Brett Bielema (gulp!) taking down Minnesota and it’s boat-rowing coach, P.J. Fleck.
This transferred to Sunday when, with no Detroit Lions’ action to torment my day, I had cart blanche to root for the New York Jets er, rather, against the Green Bay Packers (J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!) as well as the for the Tampa Bay Bucaneers to lose to the Ben Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers (a year ago I would’ve rooted for a tie!).
Here’s hoping the hometown Detroit Red Wings keep up the hot start and their NBA-brethren Pistons get off to a quick start against Orlando on Wednesday. Perhaps then can find some joy in rooting for someone again.
Prior to mid-March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived with full force on the shores of the United States, there was only one other moment in my lifetime when sports – all American sports, at least – stopped their competition.
It was, of course, the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA.
Twenty-one years ago this week most adult Americans, myself included, went about their daily routines in a state of numbness. Most experienced a full continuum of emotions that ranged from sorrow to rage to fear to unknowingness. One thing most folks weren’t doing was cheering for their favorite teams or athletes, and understandably so.
I know I was in a bit of a daze for the days that followed and, until I began thinking about what I’d write about this week, really couldn’t recall what happened to my hometown teams and their return to action so I had to look it up. .
The Detroit Tigers were in the midst of a miserable 66-96 season and returned to action, September 18, in Minnesota’s Metrodome and were 3-hit by four Twins’ pitchers during an 8-3 laugher.
The Detorit Lions were in the midst of a forgettable 2-15 season (its last in the Pontiac Silverdome) and returned to action, September 23, in Cleveland where the Browns dismissed Detroit, 24-14. It was the second of 12 straight losses to begin the season.
The University of Michigan football team was in the midst of a so-so 8-4 season, beat Western Michigan, 38-21, in front of 109,837 in Ann Arbor.
The Michigan State University football team was in the midst of an equally so-so 7-5 season, beat Notre Dame, 17-10, in South Bend.
Clearly there were plenty of reasons to not recollect what happened to the sports teams here but I’d say rather forgettable seasons for all of them had something to do with it as well.
I’m not sure I recall much of anything, specifically, about the events that followed 9/11. I have a faint recollection of Dale Earnhardt Jr. toting the American flag around the track following his victory and plenty of FDNY and NYPD emblazoned on hats, shirts, and jackets.
What I do recall pretty clearly, however, is President George W. Bush’s first-pitch before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series in Yankee Stadium later that fall. It was the type of moment that felt like a giant F-you to the perpetrators and that felt right.
Here’s hoping we never have to shutter sport again for any reason aside from an ill-timed weather issue.
In my stars I am above thee; but be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.
Malvalio from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”
To paraphrase the pre-eminent bard, “some are born Detroit Lions’ fans, some choose to be Detroit Lions’ fans, and some have Detroit Lions’ fandom thrust upon’em.”
Thousands are part of the first group, only a true masochist can claim to be part of the second, and I, sadly, fall under the final category.
The logo might be ferocious, the team through the years … not so much.
My family moved to suburban Detroit from northeastern Indiana late in the summer of 1978. At that time, Indiana was an NFL wasteland. The Irsay family was still six years away from orchestrating its 2 a.m. Mayflower move from Baltimore to Indianapolis. In effect, as a Hoosier we more or less got a steady diet of Bears, Bengals, and Browns games or, more often than not, whatever the marquee games of the week were. That’d explain why this kid from rural Indiana was such a big fan of the Miami Dolphins.
That all changed in the fall of 1978 when I was thrown into the Detroit media market and was subjected to what’s become an all-too-familiar 7-9 season that featured five consecutive losses following a 1-1 start to essentially render the rest of first-year coach Monte Clark‘s debut season moot.
And, so it began.
There were a few highs along the way (see Billy Simsand Barry Sanders highlights as well as the 1992 playoff thumping of the Cowboys, 38-6, in the Pontiac Silverdome) and plenty of lows (hello, Monte Clark praying on the San Francisco sideline during the waning moments of the 24-23 New Year’s Eve 1983 NFC Divisional Playoff loss).
A screen capture of Lions’ coach Monte Clark before kicker Eddie Murray’s missed field goal.
At the end of the day, however, a league that’s designed for parity has provided me with a NFL team that’s gone 271-423-3 during the 44 years I’ve been subjugated to the Lions and just one playoff trip every four years on average. Heck, I’ve seen more head coaches (14) during my time in southeast Michigan than playoff appearances (11); and only one of those ended in a Detroit victory. (Thankfully, I was one of the 80,000+ who were in the Silverdome that afternoon.)
Perhaps this team’s historical irrelevance has led me to – despite calling myself a sports fan – not view a minute of the HBO series Hard Knocks which features the Lions this training camp/preseason. I rue growing invested in the team because, invariably, it’ll crush your spirit with a late-game turnover, a successful Hail Mary walkoff touchdown from a rival, or a touchdown catch will be ruled incomplete because the “process wasn’t completed.”
Season 45 begins this Sunday. The Lions host the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field. I will, no doubt, succumb to tempation and tune in for a minute or two and, if things are going well, I’ll allow myself to be further seduced and – gulp! – maybe even keep the game on until it’s conclusion. Heaven forbid they win because then I’ll have to take a peek at the following game against the Commanders.
A Detroiter’s relationship with this team is, I suppose, a good bit like Stockhom Syndrome. After being held captive for 44 years I expect I count myself among those at this point.
