Lesser Known Records

    Many times when we attend a sporting event, especially one involving teams new records are set. Alot of times you tell that a new record has been set or tied simply by looking at the scoreboard. Some records are a little harder to see. These records are set very quietly. Today we are looking at three basketball games where records or near records were quietly set.

   On February 10, 1982 at Reunion Arena in Dallas, the Washington Bullets defeated the Mavericks by a score of 119-102. In this case the scoreboard seemed to show that the game was nothing more then an average basketball game. A very close look at the scoresheets showed that neither team had a single player credited with a blocked shot. That was no ordinary part of a basketball game.

  Moving ahead to February 10, 2006 we find a special game that was played at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  In this very special game the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets scored a 111- 100 win over the New York Knicks. Again this looked like an average game, a detailed look at the scoresheets showed the Hornets with only 2 steals in the game. Another look showed the Knicks with no steals.

   Just one year later on February 10, 2007 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas Rafer Alston of the Rockets had 8 steals in one half. The eight steals helped the Rockets score a 104-83 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

   I find all of this very interesting in that geographically all three game were played fairly close together. Two of the games were played in Texas and one in Oklahoma. One of the reasons I enjoy putting single game lists together is to see if doing these great feats really helps win games. It really helps one to get the full picture of a record when you take into consideration if it was a home game or not. It is hard for a team member to enjoy a great record if their team does not win the game. A player could have a 102 yard fumble return, score 50 points in a basketball game, have 5 assists in one period of hockey or even hit 5 home runs in a baseball game and it means nothing when the team loses. Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched 12 perfect innings in a 1959 game at Milwaukee and still took the loss home with him. Reading the recordbook can be a lot of fun, trust me researching it is just as much fun.

    Tomorrow we will look at two of the greatest minor league baseball leagues. On Saturday we will go back to hockey for a look at an Olympic sized record.