HOCKEY
1. COLD WAR ON ICE: In not-so-placid Lake Placid, little David (that would be the U.S.) brings down mighty Goliath (a scary-good Soviet team) in a Cold War shocker at the ‘80 Olympics. Could this be the greatest upset in sports history?
2. THE GREAT ONE: Talk about irony. L.A. King Wayne Gretzky’s slapper sends him past his hero Gordie Howe in the all-time points standings in ‘89. The feat comes on the road against his old team, the Oilers.
3. MUDDY GOAL: The Detroit Red Wings top the Montreal Maroons 1-0 in ‘36 in an epic six-OT affair that ends at 2:25 a.m. and remains the longest playoff game ever. Mud Bruneteau scores after more than 116 minutes of extra time. The Wings go on to capture the Stanley Cup.
4. ‘NOW I CAN DIE IN PEACE’: Long a loser in a town that craves winners, the NY Rangers, who hadn’t won it all in eons, acquire longtime Oiler great Mark Messier. And voila, in ‘94 the Rangers win a tight seventh game over Vancouver and win the Cup for the first time in 54 years.
5. TO THE SUMMIT: Canada’s greatest sporting event of all time remains Game 8 of the so-called Summit Series between Canada and Russia in ‘72. Canada clinches the series 4-3-1 in Moscow on Paul Henderson’s last-minute score. The triumph is seen in schools by kids across Canada and salvages the nation’s hockey pride.
6. EITHER ORR: After leading the Bruins through the ‘69-’70 NHL playoffs, Bobby Orr gets airborne in scoring one of hockey’s most famous goals to give Boston its first Stanley Cup in 29 years.
7. ISLANDER COMEBACK: The ‘87 semis saw the Islanders complete a comeback from a three-games-to-one deficit to beat the Capitals in four OTs — the longest game in 44 years. NY’s Bryan Trottier sends the game into OT, and teammate Pat LaFontaine later fires a slapshot off the goalpost for the game-winner.
8: THE ROCKET RIOT: After Maurice Richard is suspended for hitting a linesman, hockey’s commissioner is hit with eggs and debris and a riot breaks out in and outside Montreal’s fabled forum.
9. WHO IS THAT MASKED MAN?: After having his nose broken by Ranger Andy Bathgate’s slapshot in ‘59, bloodied Montreal goalie Jacques Plante refuses to re-take the ice without a mask. It changes the game forever.
10. THE MIRACLE ON MANCHESTER: Game 3 of the ‘82 Smythe Division semis sees the L.A. Kings score six unanswered goals to topple the Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers 6-5 in OT. Kings rookie Daryl Evans scores the game-winner. L.A. later completes the series upset.
HORSE RACING
1. Go, Biscuit!: Seabiscuit, the gutsy West Coast rags-to-riches outsider, pulls away from the mighty Eastern aristocrat War Admiral in the stretch to win the fabled ‘38 “Match of the Century,” which drew 40,000 to Pimlico and 40 million via their radios.
2. Affirmed Affirmed: Affirmed clinches the ‘78 Triple Crown with a photo-finish Belmont win over archrival Alydar in the climactic moment of racing’s greatest rivalry.
3. ‘The Horse That God Made’: Breaking a 25-year drought of Triple Crown winners, Secretariat wins the ‘75 Belmont Stakes by an astounding 31 lengths in record time.
4. Seattle’s Best: In the first-ever meeting of Triple Crown winners, Seattle Slew comes back from illness to defeat the younger Affirmed at Belmont in ‘78.
5. A Personal Matter: In ‘88, Personal Ensign comes from far behind in the Breeder’s Cup Distaff to edge Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors and complete her career unbeaten in 13 starts.
6. Horse Of The Century: Man of War, “The Horse of the Century,” receives the most legitimate challenge of his career in ‘20, when John Grier tests him through most of the race before Big Red draws off to win.
7.BREAKING THE JINX: Beloved Kelso fights off persistent rival Gun Bow to break a three-year jinx in the great international race in Washington, D.C. to secure a fifth consecutive Horse of the Year title in ‘64.
8. Whirled-Away: The $700 bargain Alsab outduels Triple Crown winner Whirlaway to win the ‘42 Narragansett Championship by a nose in a two-horse match.
9. Just Like The Movies: As immortalized on film, Seabiscuit returns from injury and a long layoff in ‘40 to finally win the bellwether West Coast race, the Santa Anita Handicap, at the age of seven.
10. BROKEN DREAMS: In ‘06, undefeated Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro breaks his leg at the Preakness and has to be put down. In’08, Derby winner Eight Belles, a filly, sufferd the same fate after a Preakness injury.
