The Year In Sports 1995

**The Year In Sports 1995** is the fifth video of the "Year In Sports" video series.

Narrated by Marv Albert

## Marv's Opening Speech

> "*Hi, everybody. I'm Marv Albert, and welcome to Sports Illustrated's Year In Sports, while 1995 was a year of an impossible streak and two improbable sweeps. It was a year pro football turned Los Angeles back into a desert, only to have the Bruins restore the bloom. And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, here comes Mr. Jordan. It was a year that pose the question, "Suppose they played a baseball game and nobody came?". It was another bad year for boxing's image, while a bicycle race in France had them singing in the rain. It was a year of rising stars and fallen angels. A year of lions and tigers and raptors? Oh my! In short, it was a year, well, just like this.*"
> ― Marv Albert
>
>

## Table of Contents

### NCAA Football

> "*Under a perfect South Florida sky, in a stadium where he'd lost five straight bowl games, Tom Osborne finally caught history.*"
> ― S.L. Price, SI Senior Writer
>
>

* Orange Bowl - Nebraska Cornhuskers 24, Miami Hurricanes 17 (National Championship Game)

#### Interviewees

* Sandy Bailey - SI Senior Writer
* Joe Paterno - Penn State
* Ki-Jana Carter - Penn State
* Tom Osborne - Nebraska
* Tommie Frazier - Nebraska

### NFL

> "*Perhaps more than any other champion, Steve Young has been defined by the past--by what Montana did that Young had not been able to do.*"
> ― Michael Silver, SI Senior Writer
>
>

* Steve Young of the 49ers and Joe Montana of the Chiefs faced off against each other in Week 2.
* Drew Bledsoe and Dan Mariano had a QB duel on opening week with the Dolphins beating the Patriots 35-31.
	+ Combined Statistics
		- 55 of 93
		- 894 yards
		- 9 TDs
* Joe Montana and Dan Marino duel for the final time in the AFC Wild Card Game, with Chiefs losing 27-17, in what would turn out to be Joe Montana's final game of his career.
* AFC Championship - San Diego Chargers 17, Pittsburgh Steelers 13
	+ Junior Seau recorded 16 tackles while playing on a pinched nerve in his neck
	+ Dennis Gibson deflected Neil O'Donnell's pass attempt in the end zone on fourth down
* NFC Championship - San Francisco 49ers 38, Dallas Cowboys 28
	+ The 49ers finally defeated the Cowboys after two consecutive NFC championship losses, ending Dallas' bid for a three-peat due to Emmitt Smith's hamstring injury
* Super Bowl XXIX - San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 27
	+ MVP: Steve Young
	+ Young set a Super Bowl record with 6 touchdown passes, finally emerging from the shadow of Joe Montana

#### Interviewees

* Peter King - SI Senior Writer
* Junior Seau - Chargers
* Bill Cowher - Steelers
* Steve Young - 49ers
* Brent Jones - 49ers
* Bobby Ross - Chargers

### '95 Champions

* Undefeated Huskies win the NCAA Women's Title
* Ben Crenshaw wins the Masters (It was an emotional victory for Crenshaw as it came after the death of his mentor, Harvey Penick)
* Mary Pierce wins the Australian Open
* Michael Johnson wins 400-meter World Championship
* Roy Jones Jr. knocks out Vinnie Pazienza (He retains his IBF Super Middleweight title)
* Miguel Induráin wins 5th straight Tour De France (In spite of finishing in 56th in the tour overall, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov came in 1st in the final stage)
* Europe wins back the Ryder Cup
* Andre Agassi wins the Australian Open

### NCAA Basketball

> "*Strapped to Tyus Edney's narrow back was the gravity of the last 20 years, of the 20 national titles not won by UCLA*"
> ― Kelli Anderson, SI Staff Writer
>
>

* Tyus Edney makes a buzzer-beating layup against Missouri after dribbling down the court
* National Championship Game - UCLA 89, Arkansas 78

#### Interviewees

* Jack McCallum - SI Senior Writer
* Jim Harrick - UCLA
* Nolan Richardson - Arkansas

### '95 Returns

* Mario Lemieux (He took a leave of absence due to the fatigue of the radiation treatment for Hodgkin's disease)
* Michael Jordan (He retired in '93 after his father's death and played one year for Minor League Baseball)
* Monica Seles (She took a leave of absence to recover from her injuries due to being stabbed by a crazed fan)
* Mike Tyson (He spent three years in prison after being charged for rape)

#### Interviewees

* Leigh Montville - SI Senior Writer
* Bill Nack - SI Senior Writer
* Sandy Bailey - SI Senior Writer
* Peter King - SI Senior Writer
* Jack McCallum - SI Senior Writer

### NHL

> "*What inquiring minds want to know is: Can this 48-game ugly duckling of a season grow into something that flies?*"
> ― E.M. Swift, SI Senior Writer
>
>

* Stanley Cup Finals - New Jersey Devils 4, Detroit Red Wings 0
	+ Game 1 - Devils 2, Red Wings 1
	+ Game 2 - Devils 4, Red Wings 2
	+ Game 3 - Devils 5, Red Wings 2
	+ Game 4 - Devils 5, Red Wings 2

#### Interviewees

* Eric Lindros - Flyers
* Martin Brodeur - Devils
* Michael Farber - SI Senior Writer
* Claude Lemieux - Devils

### NBA

> "*The time has come for everyone to stare in amazement at this seven-foot gentleman from Lagos, Nigeria. This is his moment. This is his show.*"
> ― Leigh Montville, SI Senior Writer
>
>

* The Rockets stumble after a 9-0 start
* Michael Jordan returns to the NBA (He scored 55 points at Madison Square Garden)
* Clyde Drexler traded from Portland to Houston rejoining his old college teammate, Hakeem Olajuwon
	+ Drexler's arrival allowed the Rockets to overcome their slump early in the season.
* Eastern Conference Playoffs
	+ Reggie Miller scored 8 points in 18 seconds of Game 1 of the Semifinals against the Knicks (He hits a three-pointer to cut the lead to three then stole an inbound pass and hit another three-pointer to tie the game)
	+ The Pacers advanced to the Conference Finals as Patrick Ewing missed a potential game-tying layup in Game 7 of the Semifinals
	+ The Magic eliminated the Bulls in the Semifinals with Horace Grant as their new teammate
	+ The Pacers defeated the Magic in a Game 4 shootout
		- Brian Shaw hit a three-pointer with 13.3 seconds remaining (Magic 90, Pacers 89)
		- Reggie Miller hit a three-pointer with 05.2 seconds remaining (Pacers 92, Magic 90)
		- Penny Hardaway hit a three-pointer with 01.3 seconds remaining (Magic 93, Pacers 92)
		- Rik Smits hit a short-range buzzer-beater to tie the series at 2 (Pacers 94, Magic 93)
* Western Conference Playoffs
	+ Nick Van Exel nails a game-winning three-pointer in Game 5 of the Semifinals against the Spurs
	+ The Rockets upset the Spurs in the Conference Finals
		- Hakeem made a bamboozling move on David Robinson in Game 2
* NBA Finals - Houston Rockets 4, Orlando Magic 0 (MVP: Hakeem Olajuwon)
	+ Game 1 - Rockets 120, Magic 118 (OT; Nick Anderson missed four consecutive free throws with seconds remaining in the 4th quarter; Kenny Smith forcing overtime with a record breaking 7th three-pointer; Hakeem tips in Clyde Drexler's miss with 0.3 remaining)
	+ Game 2 - Rockets 117, Magic 106
	+ Game 3 - Rockets 106, Magic 103
	+ Game 4 - Rockets 113, Magic 101

#### Interviewees

* Phil Taylor - SI Senior Writer
* David Robinson - Spurs
* Rudy Tomjanovich - Rockets
* Hakeem Olajuwon - Rockets

### '95 Passages

* The Closing of Boston Garden
* Joe Montana Retires
* Howard Cosell dies
* Mickey Mantle dies
	+ "I just hope God has a place for him where he can run again. Where he can play practical jokes on his teammates and smile that boyish smile, ’cause God knows, no one’s perfect. And God knows there’s something special about heroes. So long, Mick." - Bob Costas at Mantle's funeral service

### Major League Baseball

> "*What could be worth turning off a generation of fans and sinking the game's popularity below that of lawn bowling?"*"
> ― Tim Kurkjian, SI Senior Writer
>
>

* Cal Ripken, Jr. surpasses Lou Gehrig for the most consecutive games played
* Albert Belle hit 50 home runs and 50 doubles in the same season
* Edgar Martinez's single drove in Ken Griffey Jr. to win the ALDS.
* World Series - Atlanta Braves 4, Cleveland Indians 2
	+ Game 1 - Braves 3, Indians 2
	+ Game 2 - Braves 4, Indians 3
	+ Game 3 - Indians 7, Braves 6 (11 innings)
	+ Game 4 - Braves 5, Indians 2
	+ Game 5 - Indians 5, Braves 4
	+ Game 6 - Braves 1, Indians 0 (David Justice hit a go-ahead home run)

#### Interviewees

* Tom Verducci - SI Senior Writer
* Orel Hershiser - Indians
* Ken Griffey, Jr. - Mariners
* Kenny Lofton - Indians
* David Justice - Braves

### '95 Moments

* Steffi Graff defeats Monica Seles at the U.S. Open
* Georgetown beats Weber State at the buzzer
* Constantino Rocca forces British Open playoff
* Eddie Murray's 3000th career hit
* Mario Lemieux scores 500th career goal
* Riddick Bowe knocks out Evander Holyfield
* Ana Quirot wins 800-meter World Championship
* Pete Sampras wins third straight Wimbledon
* Cal Ripken's streak