Messier's Jersey Retired
Jan 12 During an emotional ceremony, Mark Messier's #11 jersey is retired by the New York Rangers
- Jan 22 AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Denver Broncos, 34-17
Bryant Second-Highest Point Game
Jan 22 Kobe Bryant scores 81 points in a 122-104 Lakers victory over the Toronto Raptors; second-highest game total in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game (1962)
- Jan 22 NFC Championship, Qwest Stadium, Seattle: Seattle Seahawks beat Carolina Panthers, 34-14
Mauresmo's 1st Grand Slam
Jan 28 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Amélie Mauresmo of France wins her first Grand Slam title; beats Justine Henin 6-1, 2-0; Henin retires from stomach cramps
Federer Defeats Baghdatis
Jan 29 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Roger Federer beats Marcos Baghdatis 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 for his 2nd Australian title
- Jan 29 Irfan Pathan becomes first bowler to take a Test cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match
- Feb 1 High school senior Epiphanny Prince scores US girls national prep basketball record 113 points in Murry Bergtraum HS's 137-32 win over Brandeis HS; surpasses Cheryl Miller's 105
Sports History
Feb 1 Thierry Henry breaks Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goals record, bringing his league goal tally to 151
- Feb 5 Super Bowl XL, Ford Field, Detroit, MI: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Seattle Seahawks, 21-10; MVP: Hines Ward, Pittsburgh, WR
Michaels Joins Saturday Night Football
Feb 9 Al Michaels joins NBC's "Sunday Night Football" broadcast with John Madden
XX Winter Olympics
Feb 10 XX Winter Olympic Games open in Turin, Italy, Luciano Pavarotti sings "Nessun dorma" in his last ever performance
NBA All-Star Game
Feb 19 55th NBA All-Star Game, Toyota Centre, Houston, TX: East beats West, 122-120; MVP: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, F
- Feb 26 XX Winter Olympic Games close in Turin, Italy
- Mar 11 27th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Syracuse beats Pittsburgh, 65-61
- Mar 12 47th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Florida beats South Carolina, 49-47
- Mar 12 53rd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #1 Duke beats #7 Boston College, 78-76
- Mar 18 France wins Six Nations Rugby Championship on points difference over Ireland, with a 21-16 win over Wales at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff; Ireland receives consolation prize of the Triple Crown Trophy
- Mar 26 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Canadian Stephen Ames shoots a final round 67 to complete biggest win of his career by 6 strokes from Retief Goosen of South Africa
Golf Major
Apr 2 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Australian Karrie Webb beats Lorena Ochoa of Mexico with a birdie on the 1st playoff hole; earlier eagles same hole to force the playoff
- Apr 3 68th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Florida beats UCLA, 73-57; Gators first title; center Joakim Noah named tournament Most Outstanding Player
Sports History
Apr 3 Steve Yzerman scores his final NHL goal (#692) against the Calgary Flames
US Masters Golf
Apr 9 70th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Phil Mickelson wins his 2nd green jacket by 2 shots from South African Tim Clark
Boston Marathon
Apr 17 110th Boston Marathon: Kenyan double; Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot wins 2nd men's title in 2:07:14; Rita Jeptoo takes women's title in 2:23:38
- Apr 29 NFL Draft: North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams first pick from Houston Texans
- May 6 132nd Kentucky Derby: Edgar Prado aboard Barbaro wins in front of 157,532 fans
- May 7 On the final day of the Premier League season, Thierry Henry scores a hat-trick against Wigan Athletic in the last match played at Highbury
- May 13 English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (71,140): Liverpool beats West Ham United, 3-1 on penalties after 3–3 (a.e.t.); Reds 7th title
- May 17 14th UEFA Champions League Final: Barcelona beats Arsenal 2-1 at Saint-Denis
- May 20 131st Preakness: Javier Castellano aboard Bernardini wins in 1:54.65
- May 21 The Swedish ice hockey team Tre Kronor takes gold in the World Championship, becoming the first nation to hold both the World and Olympic titles separately in the same year.
- May 22 Laureus World Sports Awards, Parque del Fórum, Barcelona, Spain: Sportsman: Roger Federer; Sportswoman: Janica Kostelić; Team: Renault F1 team
- May 27 NHL Western Conference Final: Edmonton Oilers beat Anaheim Ducks, 4 games to 1
Sports History
May 27 Super Rugby Final, Christchurch: Canterbury Crusaders retain title with a 19-12 win over the Wellington Hurricanes; Dan Carter kicks 4 penalties & a conversion for the winners
- May 27 WLAF World Bowl 14, LTU arena, Düsseldorf: Frankfurt Galaxy beats Amsterdam Admirals, 22-7
Baseball Record
May 28 Barry Bonds hits his 715th career home run, passing Babe Ruth on the MLB all-time list
- May 28 Indianapolis 500: Sam Hornish Jr. wins from the pole position; record 14th Indy victory for Penske Racing; 0.0635 second margin from runner-up Marco Andretti second-closest finish in history at the time
- May 28 Senior PGA Championship, Oak Tree GC: Jay Haas wins his first of 3 Champions Tour major titles with a birdie on the third playoff hole against Brad Bryant
- Jun 10 138th Belmont: Fernando Jara aboard Jazil wins in 2:27.81
- Jun 10 Anna Stöhr wins a gold medal in bouldering at the UIAA Climbing World Cup in Grindelwald, Switzerland
- Jun 10 French Open Women's Tennis: Justine Henin-Hardenne retains her title; beats Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-4, 6-4 for 5th Grand Slam singles crown
French Open Men's Tennis
Jun 11 French Open Men's Tennis: Rafael Nadal of Spain wins his 2nd straight French title; beats Roger Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6
LPGA Championship
Jun 11 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Bulle RockGC: Se Ri Pak wins her 3rd title in the event and 5th major; beats Australian Karrie Webb on first play-off hole
- Jun 18 US Open Men's Golf, Winged Foot GC: Geoff Ogilvy of Australia makes clutch pars on the final 2 holes to win by 1, as runners-up Jim Furyk, Colin Montgomerie and Phil Mickelson all fail to par the 72nd hole
- Jun 19 Stanley Cup Final, PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC: Carolina Hurricanes beat Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 for a 4-3 series victory; Hurricane's first Championship
NBA Finals
Jun 20 NBA Finals: Miami Heat beat Dallas Mavericks, 95-92 in Game 6 for first title in franchise history; MVP: Dwyane Wade
- Jun 28 NBA Draft: Italian power forward Andrea Bargnani is first pick by Toronto Raptors
Sports History
Jul 2 Michael Schumacher wins US F1 Grand Prix for the 5th time, 1st driver in any series to win 5 races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Cricket Record
Jul 2 Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (152) and Upul Tharanga (109) compile world record cricket ODI opening stand of 286 vs England at Headingley
- Jul 3 Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman officially retires from the NHL, finishing with 692 goals and 1,755 points
US Women's Golf Open
Jul 3 US Open Women's Golf, Newport CC: Annika Sörenstam wins her 10th and final major title by 4 strokes in a playoff with Pat Hurst
- Jul 4 Sri Lanka sets new ODI cricket record score 443-9 in a World Cup win over Netherlands in Amstelveen (Jayasuriya 157, Dilshan 117no)
- Jul 7 Cleveland Indians first baseman Travis Hafner becomes first player in MLB history to hit 5 grand slams before the All-Star break when he homers off Baltimore's Kris Benson
- Jul 8 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Amélie Mauresmo of France wins her 2nd and last Grand Slam singles event; beats Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Jul 9 FIFA World Cup Final, Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany: Italy beats France, 5-3 on penalties; 1-1 after extra time
US Senior Golf Open
Jul 9 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Prairie Dunes GC: Defending champion Allen Doyle wins by 2 strokes ahead of Tom Watson for his 4th Champions Tour major title
- Jul 9 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Roger Federer wins 4th straight Wimbledon title beating Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
- Jul 11 77th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 3-2 at PNC Park, Pittsburgh
ESPY Awards
Jul 16 14th ESPY Awards: Lance Armstrong, Annika Sörenstam win
- Jul 16 Senior Players Championship Men's Golf, TPC of Michigan: Bobby Wadkins his lone career major title by 1 stroke from Jim Thorpe
- Jul 23 93rd Tour de France won by Oscar Pereiro of Spain
British Golf Open
Jul 23 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Liverpool GC: Tiger Woods wins his 2nd consecutive Open Championship title and 3rd overall; holds off fellow American Chris DiMarco by 2 strokes
- Jul 30 British Senior Open Men's Golf, Turnberry: American Loren Roberts wins in a playoff with Eduardo Romero of Argentina
- Jul 30 Bruce Sutter, relief pitcher for Cubs, Cardinals, and Braves, inducted into MLB Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York
- Aug 3 Barry Bonds' 715th MLB home run ball (moved him past Babe Ruth for 2nd all-time) fetches $220,100 at auction
- Aug 3 Brazilian Champ Car driver Cristiano da Matta crashes into a deer during testing at Road America, Wisconsin; seriously injured but returns to racing in 2008
Hall of Fame
Aug 5 Warren Moon becomes the first black quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio; joined by Troy Aikman, John Madden, Rayfield Wright, Harry Carson and Reggie White
- Aug 6 British Open Women's Golf, Royal Lytham & St Annes GC: 43-year-old American Sherri Steinhauer wins her second major title, 3 strokes ahead of Sophie Gustafson and Cristie Kerr
- Aug 6 For a MLB record 11th time in his career, Padres closer Trevor Hoffman records 30 or more saves in a season; beats mark set by Lee Smith, baseball's all-time saves leader
- Aug 6 Tiger Woods (30) becomes the youngest player to compile 50 PGA Tour wins with a 3 stroke victory over Jim Furyk in the Buick Open at Grand Blanc, Michigan
- Aug 13 Canadian Open Women's Golf, London Hunt CC: Christie Kerr wins by 1 shot from Angela Stanford
- Aug 13 Cleveland Indians first baseman Travis Hafner ties Don Mattingley's MLB mark of 6 grand slams in a season when he homers off Kansas City's Luke Hudson
- Aug 20 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Medinah CC: Tiger Woods wins his 3rd PGA C'ship by 5 strokes from Shaun Micheel
Contract of Interest
Aug 24 After signing a one-day contract with the San Francisco 49ers, Jerry Rice officially retires from the NFL
- Aug 26 New Zealand retain Tri Nations Rugby Series with 45-26 win over South Africa in Pretoria; All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter lands 4 penalties and 4 conversions
Sports History
Aug 27 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, Reserve Vineyards & GC: Eduardo Romero of Argentina wins first of 2 Champions Tour majors with birdie on 1st playoff hole against Lonnie Nielsen
Baseball Record
Aug 30 Greg Maddux wins his 330th career game
Sports History
Sep 1 Roger Goodell begins his tenure as NFL Commissioner
- Sep 1 The United States men's basketball team is upset at the World Basketball Championships in Saitama, Japan, as the hot-shooting Greece pulls off a 101-95 semi final victory
US Men's Tennis Open
Sep 3 Andre Agassi loses to 112th-ranked Benjamin Becker of Germany 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 in the 3rd round at the US Open in his final career match; 8-time Grand Slam winner finishes with record of 870-274
- Sep 3 Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie wins the WNBA's Most Valuable Player award, joining Sheryl Swoopes as the league's only three-time winners
- Sep 4 Damon Allen moves past ex-CFL & NFL star Warren Moon as pro football's all-time leading passer; throws for 207 yards & 2 scores as Toronto routs Hamilton, 40-6; Allen 70,595 career passing yards
- Sep 4 Tiger Woods matches the lowest final round of his career (8-under 63) in the Deutsche Bank C'ship at Norton, MA to win for the 5th straight time and 7th time this PGA Tour season
US Open Women's Tennis
Sep 9 US Open Women's Tennis: Maria Sharapova of Russia wins her first US title; overpowers Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-4, 6-4
- Sep 10 US Open Men's Tennis: Roger Federer wins 3rd straight US title; beats home favourite Andy Roddick 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
- Sep 17 Federation Cup Women's Tennis, Charleroi, Belgium: Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium withdraws with an injured knee with decisive doubles match level at 1-set all; Italy wins first ever title, 3-2
- Sep 24 Ryder Cup Golf, K Club, Ireland: Europe, captained by Ian Woosnam wins convincingly 18½-9½ for 3rd consecutive Cup victory
- Sep 26 Chris Sharma free solos Es Pontàs in Mallorca, Spain, the world's first-ever 9a+ (5.15a) deep-water solo route
- Sep 27 MLB Boston Red Sox honor former player Johnny Pesky by officially naming Fenway Park's right-field foul pole "Pesky's Pole"
- Oct 14 MLB American League Championship: Detroit Tigers beat Oakland Athletics, 4 games to 0
- Oct 19 MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat New York Mets, 4 games to 3
- Oct 22 Spanish Renault driver Fernando Alonso finishes 2nd in season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace to retain Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 13 points from Michael Schumacher
- Oct 27 Baseball World Series: St. Louis beats Detroit Tigers, 4-2 in Game 5 at Busch Stadium to win Cardinals' 10th title in franchise history; MVP: Cardinals infielder David Eckstein
- Nov 1 Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Evgeni Malkin (20) scores to become the first NHL player since 1917 with goals in his first 6 games (joining Joe Malone, Newsy Lalonde and Cy Denneny) in 4-3 win over the Kings in Los Angeles
- Nov 4 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Churchill Downs, winners: Invasor, Street Sense, Round Pond, Ouija Board, Dreaming of Anna, Miesque's Approval, Thor's Echo, Red Rocks
- Nov 12 Belgian tennis star Justine Hénin-Hardenne wins WTA Tour Championship title decider in Madrid, Spain; beats defending champion Amélie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-3
- Nov 18 71st Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 22-15 in Tuscaloosa
- Nov 19 CFL Grey Cup, Canad Inns Stadium, Winnipeg: BC Lions win 5th Championship; defeat Montreal Alouettes, 25-14
- Nov 19 Roger Federer captures his 3rd Tennis Masters Cup title with a comfortable 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 win over American James Blake in the final in Shanghai, China
- Nov 20 58th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Jimmie Johnson wins
- Nov 26 The last international rugby match before demolition of Dublin's famous Lansdowne Road Stadium is Ireland's 61-17 win over the Pacific Islanders
- Nov 27 Ballon d'Or: Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus/Real Madrid) is named best football player in Europe ahead of Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Arsenal forward Thierry Henry
- Dec 1 Canadian jockey Russell Baze becomes North American horse racing's all-time win leader when Butterfly Belle wins 4th race at Bay Meadows, San Mateo, California; 9,531 victories passes record of Laffit Pincay Jr
- Dec 2 11th Big 12 Championship Game: #8 Oklahoma beats #19 Nebraska, 21-7
- Dec 2 15th SEC Championship Game: #4 Florida beats #8 Arkansas, 38-28
- Dec 2 2nd ACC Championship Game: #16 Wake Forest beats #23 Georgia Tech, 9-6
Davis Cup
Dec 3 Davis Cup Tennis, Moscow: Marat Safin beats José Acasuso of Argentina 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 to clinch Russia's 3-2 victory
- Dec 5 Greg Maddux signs a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres worth $10 million
- Dec 9 72nd Heisman Trophy Award: Troy Smith, Ohio State (QB)
Borg BBC Award
Dec 10 British Broadcasting Corporation gives Swedish tennis icon Björn Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award; presented by Boris Becker
Sports History
Dec 11 Jerry Sloan achieves his 1,000th career win as a coach against the Dallas Mavericks
- Dec 26 At 40 years, 268 days, Teddy Sheringham scores for West Ham United in a 2-1 loss to Portsmouth at Upton Park, London; becomes oldest goalscorer in EPL history
Warne 1st to 700 Test Wickets
Dec 26 Spin bowling great Shane Warne becomes first bowler in Test cricket history to take 700 wickets; bowls England opener Andrew Strauss for 50 during Australia's 4th Test win in Melbourne
- Dec 31 The final contest at the old Lansdowne Road Stadium in Dublin is a rugby match with Leinster beating Ulster 20-12 in a Celtic League game
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions