The Year In Sports 1997

**The Year In Sports 1997** is the seventh and final video of the "Year In Sports" video series.

Narrated by Keith Olbermann

## Narrator's Opening Dialogue

> "*When has a year in sports ever paid such homage to tradition even as it ushered in explosive change? 1997 was a year like no other. Sports Illustrated presents "The Year In Sports 1997"*"
> ― Keith Olbermann
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## Table of Contents

### NCAA Football

* 1997 Rose Bowl - Ohio State Buckeyes 20, Arizona State Sun Devils 17
* 1997 Sugar Bowl - Florida Gators 52, Florida State Seminoles 20 (National Championship Game)

#### Interviewees

* Tim Layden - S.I. Senior Writer
* Steve Spurrier - Gators Head Coach
* Bobby Bowden - Seminoles Head Coach

### NFL

* The Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars made the playoffs in each of their second year in the league and they each reached the conference championship. But Jacksonville would lose to New England while the Panthers were trounced by the Packers.
* Super Bowl XXXI - Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21
	+ MVP: Desmond Howard (Ran a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD)

#### Interviewees

* Reggie White - Packers
* Peter King - S.I. Senior Writer
* Dom Capers - Panthers Head Coach
* Brett Favre - Packers
* Drew Bledsoe - Patriots
* Mike Holmgren - Packers Head Coach

### NCAA Basketball

* National Championship - Arizona Wildcats 84, Kentucky Wildcats 79 (OT)

#### Interviewees

* Tim Duncan - College Player Of The Year
* Dean Smith - Tar Heels Head Coach
* Lute Olson - Wildcats Head Coach
* Miles Simon - Wildcats
* Mike Bibby - Wildcats

### Horse Racing

* Belmont Stakes - Touch Gold ended Silver Charm's hopes for a Triple Crown.

#### Interviewees

* William Nack - S.I. Senior Writer
* Bob Baffert - Trainer

### Boxing

* Riddick Bowe left boxing to join the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
* Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear in a title bout.
* Oliver McCall had a mental breakdown in a fight against Lennox Lewis

### Track and Field

* Michael Johnson lost the 150 meter race to Donovan Bailey when he pulled a hamstring.

### Retirements

* Carl Lewis
* Jim Kelly
* Dean Smith
* Mario Lemieux

### NHL

* Stanley Cup Finals - Detroit Red Wings 4, Philadelphia Flyers 0
	+ Game 1 - Red Wings 4, Flyers 2
	+ Game 2 - Red Wings 4, Flyers 2
	+ Game 3 - Red Wings 6, Flyers 1
	+ Game 4 - Red Wings 2, Flyers 1
* The Red Wings' championship celebration was tragically cut short when teammates Slava Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov, and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were seriously injured when their limousine crashed into a tree. Fetisov was released from the hospital, while Konstantinov and Mnatsakanov were permanently paralyzed.

#### Interviewees

* Brendan Shanahan - Red Wings
* Kris Draper - Red Wings
* Scotty Bowman - Red Wings Head Coach
* Slava Fetisov - Red Wings

### Passages

* Ben Hogan - 1912-1997
* Richie Ashburn - 1927-1997
* Jack Kent Cooke - 1912-1997
* Curt Flood - 1938-1997

### Pro Basketball

#### WNBA

* The WNBA began its inaugural season.
* WNBA Championship - Houston Comets 65, New York Liberty 51

#### NBA

* The league celebrated its 50th anniversary with the 50 Greatest Players.
* In the offseason, Shaquille O'Neal traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
* Young Stars include Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant.
* The Chicago Bulls posted the league's best record.
* Even without Charles Barkley who traded to Houston, the Phoenix Suns recovered from a 0-13 start to clinch a playoff berth
	+ The Suns had the Seattle Supersonics on the brink of elimination in Game 4 and forced overtime thanks to Rex Champman's game-tying three-pointer. It was all for naught as Seattle won in overtime and eliminated Phoenix in Game 5.
* Regular Season MVP: Karl Malone
* NBA Finals - Chicago Bulls 4, Utah Jazz 2 (MVP: Michael Jordan)
	+ Game 1 - Bulls 84, Jazz 82 (Michael Jordan hit a game-winning buzzer-beater)
	+ Game 2 - Bulls 97, Jazz 85
	+ Game 3 - Jazz 104, Bulls 93
	+ Game 4 - Jazz 78, Bulls 73
	+ Game 5 - Bulls 90, Jazz 88 (The Flu Game)
	+ Game 6 - Bulls 90, Jazz 86 (Steve Kerr hit a championship-winning shot; Scottie Pippen stole an inbound pass an passed it to Toni Kukoc who sealed the championship victory with a dunk)

#### Interviewees

* Cynthia Cooper - Comets
* Sheryl Swoopes - Comets
* Jackie MacMullan - S.I. Senior Writer
* Phil Jackson - Bulls Head Coach
* Michael Jordan - Bulls
* Kevin Johnson - Suns
* Karl Malone - Jazz
* Steve Kerr - Bulls

### Tennis

* Wimbledon Women's Singles - Martina Hingis
* Wimbledon Men's Singles - Pete Sampras
* U.S. Open Women's Singles - Martina Hingis

#### Interviewees

* Monica Seles
* Pete Sampras

### Tribute to Jackie Robinson

#### People Giving Speeches

* Bill Clinton
* Rachel Robinson - Jackie's Widow
* Bug Selig - MLB Acting Commissioner: "Number 42, from this day forward, will never again be issued by a major league club."

### Major League Baseball

* In the mid-season, Mark McGwire left the Oakland A's to play for the St. Louis Cardinals
* World Series - Florida Marlins 4, Cleveland Indians 3
	+ Game 1 - Marlins 7, Indians 4
	+ Game 2 - Indians 6, Marlins 1
	+ Game 3 - Marlins 14, Indians 11
	+ Game 4 - Indians 10, Marlins 3
	+ Game 5 - Marlins 8, Indians 7
	+ Game 6 - Indians 4, Marlins 1
	+ Game 7 - Marlins 3, Indians 2 (11 innings; Édgar Rentería hit a series-winning RBI)

#### Interviewees

* Leigh Montville - S.I. Senior Writer
* Gerry Callahan - S.I. Senior Writer
* Jim Leyland - Marlins Manager

#### Calls

> "*The 0-1 pitch. A liner...off Nagy's glove...into center field! The Florida Marlins have won the World Series*"
> ― NBC TV announcer Bob Costas calling on Edgar Renteria's series-winning RBI
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