The Year In Sports 1991

**The Year In Sports 1991** is the first video of the "Year In Sports" video series.

Narrators: Dan Dierdorf, Jim Lampley, Pat O'Brien, and Tim Ryan

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> ― Bret Saberhagen
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## Narrator's Opening Dialogue

> "*1991 was a special year in sports. A year we'll remember for its triumphs and tragedies. A year when records were set and hearts were broken. A year when old became young, and last became first. A year in which old champions rose again, and new champions confirm to their greatness. Sports Illustrated presents, "The Year In Sports 1991". Beginning with the pro football championships in January.*"
> ― Jim Lampley
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## Table of Contents

### NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl XXV

* AFC Championship - Buffalo Bills 51, Los Angeles Raiders 3
* NFC Championship - New York Giants 15, San Francisco 49ers 13
	+ Leonard Marshall's hit on Joe Montana
	+ Matt Bahr's 42-yard FG as time expired
* Super Bowl XXV - New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19
	+ MVP: Ottis Anderson
	+ Scott Norwood's 47-yard FG sailed wide right with four seconds left

#### Interviewees

* Leonard Marshall
* Gary Reasons
* Matt Bahr
* Jeff Hostetler
* Ottis Anderson

#### Calls

> "*There's a snap. There's a kick. It's wide up! And it is...GOOD! And the Giants have gone to the Super Bowl!*"
> ― CBS Radio announcer Jack Buck on Matt Bahr's game-winning kick in the 1990 NFC Championship
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> "*There's a snap. There's a kick. It is up! It is...NO GOOD! Norwood missed! Four seconds left! The Giants have won Super Bowl XXV!*"
> ― CBS Radio announcer Jack Buck on Scott Norwood's missed FG attempt in Super Bowl XXV
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### NCAA Basketball

* AP's College Player of the Year - Shaquille O'Neal
* National Semifinal #1 - Kansas Jayhawks 79, North Carolina Tar Heels 73
* National Semifinal #2 - Duke Blue Devils 79, UNLV Runnin' Rebels 77
	+ Christian Laettner's two free throws with 12 seconds remaining
	+ Anderson Hunt's game-winning three-point attempt bounced off the glass and off the rim
* National Championship - Duke Blue Devils 72, Kansas Jayhawks 65
	+ Bobby Hurley's unbelievable alley-oop pass to Grant Hill

#### Interviewees

* Mike Krzyzewski
* Christian Laettner
* Bobby Hurley

#### Calls

> "*Now to Johnson. They can bring it up with nine seconds left. Johnson, to the right side. Johnson fakes. Looking. Five seconds. To Hunt. Anderson Hunt stops, fires a three...NO! It's off the mark! IT'S OVER! THE BLUE DEVILS HAVE PULLED OFF THE BIGGEST UPSET IN THE HISTORY OF DUKE BASKETBALL! The biggest upset in the history of Duke Basketball! They have beaten the No. 1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels, 79-77!*"
> ― Duke Radio announcer Bob Harris on Duke's upset over UNLV
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> "*Five seconds. Four seconds. Three. Two. Jordan lets it fly. It is over! The destiny darlings have done it! The Duke Blue Devils have won their first ever national basketball championship! 72-65 over the Kansas Jayhawks.*"
> ― Duke Radio announcer Bob Harris on Duke's championship
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### Golf

* The four majors were won by four different golfers
* Masters - Ian Woosnam
* U.S. Open - Payne Stewart (beat Scott Simpson in an 18-hole playoff)
* U.S. Senior Open - Jack Nicklaus (beat Chi Chi Rodriguez in an 18-hole playoff)
* LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open - Meg Mallon
* Ryder Cup - United States (Europe's Bernhard Langer's missed putt at the final hole)
* PGA Championship - John Daly (became the first rookie to win a major title since 1976 which was won by Jerry Pate at the U.S. Open)

### NHL

* Brett Hull's 86 goals scored in a season, giving him his first goal scoring title
	+ He also became the fifth player in NHL history to score 50 goals in 50 games
* Minnesota North Stars - Clarence Campbell Conference Champions
* Pittsburgh Penguins - Prince of Wales Conference Champions
* Stanley Cup Finals - Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Minnesota North Stars 2 (MVP: Mario Lemieux)

### NBA

* Regular Season Champions - Portland Trail Blazers (63-19)
* Western Conference Champions - Los Angeles Lakers
* Eastern Conference Champions - Chicago Bulls
* NBA Finals - Chicago Bulls 4, Los Angeles Lakers 1 (MVP: Michael Jordan)
	+ Game 1 - Lakers 93, Bulls 91 (Sam Perkins' game-winning three-pointer; Jordan's last-second jumper rattles in and out)
	+ Game 2 - Bulls 107, Lakers 86 (Michael Jordan's switch-hands play)
	+ Game 3 - Bulls 104, Lakers 96 (OT) (Jordan's game-tying jumper with 3 seconds left)
	+ Game 4 - Bulls 97, Lakers 82
	+ Game 5 - Bulls 108, Lakers 101 (Bulls win first title)

#### Calls

> "*The Bulls have won it! And the celebrations begin in Chicago! The Bulls are the world champions!*"
> ― NBA Radio announcer Joe McConnell on the Bulls winning their first NBA championship.
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### Tennis

* Monica Seles dominating the WTA Tour
	+ Prize money leader: $2,457,758
	+ No. 1 ranked player with 277.5000 points
	+ Despite withdrawing in Wimbledon, she won three of the Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open, and U.S. Open)
* France winning Davis Cup ending a 59-year drought
* Jimmy Connors' U.S. Open run

### Player Comebacks

* Mark Spitz (failed to swim well due to his age)
* Jim Palmer (failed an attempt to become baseball's first active Hall of Famer after performing terribly at spring training)
* Bjorn Borg (lost first round of the Monte Carlo open)
* Jimmy Connors (played really well at the U.S. Open before losing to Jim Courier in the semifinals)
* George Foreman (fought really well before his title bout against Evander Holyfield)

#### Interviewees

* Bjorn Borg
* George Foreman

### Boxing

* Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman (Winner: Holyfield)
* Mike Tyson facing rape charges and calling off his match-up against Holyfield due to rib injury
* Evander Holyfield vs. Bert Cooper (Winner: Holyfield)

#### Interviewees

* George Foreman
* Evander Holyfield

### Major League Baseball

* Eight managers have lost their jobs
* May 1
	+ Ricky Henderson becomes all-time stolen base leader
	+ Nolan Ryan records 7th no-hitter
* Dennis Martinez's perfect game
* Cecil Fielder led the league in RBIs and tied Oakland's Jose Canseco with 44 homers.
* Cal Ripken Jr. - AL MVP; Home Run Derby Champion; All-Star MVP
* American League Championship Series - Minnesota Twins 4, Toronto Blue Jays 1
	+ Mike Pagliarulo clinching Game 3 for the Twins with a go-ahead home run
* National League Championship Series - Atlanta Braves 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 3
* World Series - Minnesota Twins 4, Atlanta Braves 3 (MVP: Jack Morris) (The Twins and the Braves went from last to first in their divisions)
	+ Game 1 - Twins 5, Braves 2 (Greg Gagne's three-run homer; Dan Gladden's home plate collision with Greg Olson)
	+ Game 2 - Twins 3, Braves 2 (Kent Hrbek tags out Ron Gant at first base)
	+ Game 3 - Braves 5, Twins 4 (12 innings; Mark Lemke's game-winning RBI)
	+ Game 4 - Braves 3, Twins 2 (Mark Lemke scores on sacrifice fly)
	+ Game 5 - Braves 14, Twins 5
	+ Game 6 - Twins 4, Braves 3 (11 innings; Kirby Puckett's spectacular catch in the 3rd; Puckett's walk-off home run)
	+ Game 7 - Twins 1, Braves 0 (10 innings; Jack Morris' spectacular pitching performance; Lonnie Smith's base-running blunder in the 8th; Gene Larkin's series-winning RBI)

#### Interviewees

* Greg Olson
* Kent Hrbek
* Kirby Puckett
* Jack Morris
* Gene Larkin

#### Calls

> "*And the 2-1 pitch to the Minnesota center fielder, it's driven to deep left center field! Back goes Keith Mitchell. It is gone! Home run target.*"
> ― CBS Radio announcer Vin Scully on Kirby Puckett's walk-off home run in Game 6.
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> "*And a pitch to Larkin. Swung on, a high fly ball into left center. The run will score, the ball will bounce for a single, and the Minnesota Twins are the champions of the world!*"
> ― CBS Radio announcer Vin Scully on Gene Larkin's RBI in Game 7 to clinch the World Series.
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### Horse Racing, Indianapolis 500, Track & Field

* Triple Crown Races
	+ Kentucky Derby - Strike the Gold
	+ Preakness - Hansel
	+ Belmont Stakes - Hansel (defeated Strike the Gold by a head)
* Indianapolis 500 - Rick Mears (becoming the third four-time winner joining A.J. Foyt and Al Unser, Sr.)
* LeRoy Burrell - 9.90 - 100 Meter - USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
* Carl Lewis - 9.86 - 100 Meter - World Championships
* USA (LeRoy Burrell and Carl Lewis) - 37.50 - 4x100 Meter Relay - World Championships
* Sergey Bubka - Pole Vault Record Holder (He broke his own record eight times in 1991 while along the way becoming the first pole-vaulter to go over 20 feet that he accomplished in San Sebastián, Spain)
* Mike Powell - 29 ft, 4.5 inches - Long Jump - World Championships

### 1991 NFL Season

* Thurman Thomas - AFC's leading rusher
* Emmitt Smith - The league's rushing champion, overtaking Barry Sanders on the last day of the season.
* Deion Sanders' 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on October 13.
* Morten Andersen became the 3rd NFL kicker to kick a 60+ yard field goal.
* Don Shula's 300th win
* Randall Cunningham suffered a season-ending injury to his knee in the first game of the season
	+ Eagles Backup QBs Jim McMahon and Jeff Kemp didn't fare much better, causing the Eagles to barely miss the playoffs
* Playing as a quarterback in the NFL wasn't fun at all.
	+ Bears QB Jim Harbaugh gets sacked by Redskins DE Charles Mann (Week 6)
	+ Bills QB Jim Kelly gets sacked by Packers DE Robert Brown (Week 11)
	+ 49ers QB Steve Bono gets sacked by Saints LB Pat Swilling (Week 11)
	+ Cowboys QB Troy Aikman gets blindsided by Eagles DE Clyde Simmons causing a fumble (Week 3)
	+ Patriots QB Tommy Hodson gets sacked by Steelers DE Keith Willis near the end zone (Week 3)
	+ Colts QB Jeff George gets pummeled by Patriots LB Vincent Brown and DE Brent Williams near the end zone as he threw (Week 1)
* Atlanta Falcons return to postseason since 1982
* Dallas Cowboys return to postseason after losing 15 games in 1989.
* NFC West Champions - New Orleans Saints (11-5)
* AFC Central Champions - Houston Oilers (11-5)
* NFC Central Champions - Detroit Lions (12-4)
* AFC West Champions - Denver Broncos (12-4; finishing ahead of the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs who also made it to postseason)
* AFC East Champions - Buffalo Bills (13-3; Best record in AFC)
* NFC East Champions - Washington Redskins (14-2; Best record in NFL)

### NCAA Football

* Jayhawks RB Tony Sands broke the record for most yards in a game (396) during the 1991 Border War against Missouri, breaking the mark that San Diego's Marshall Faulk set earlier in the year on his way to become the first freshman to lead an NCAA season in both rushing and scoring.
* November 16, 1991 - Miami Hurricanes 17, Florida St. Seminoles 16 (Gerry Thomas' 35-yard FG sailed wide right)
* Heisman Trophy Winner - Desmond Howard
* Rose Bowl - Washington Huskies 34, Michigan Wolverines 14 (Coaches' Poll National Champions)
* Orange Bowl - Miami Hurricanes 22, Nebraska Cornhuskers 0 (AP writers' Poll National Champions)

#### Interviewees

* Casey Weldon
* Desmond Howard

#### Calls

> "*Here's a snap. The kick is airborne. It is uuuuuppppp! No good! Wide to the right! Miami is going to win 17-16 with 25 seconds left.*"
> ― Seminoles radio announcer Gene Deckerhoff on Gerry Thomas' missed field goal against Miami.
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### Magic Johnson's Retirement

> "*Because of, um...the HIV virus that I have attained, I would have to retire from the Lakers today.*"
> ― Magic Johnson
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#### Interviewees

* John Papanek - Sports Illustrated Managing Editor
* Michael Jordan