Birthday shoutout to former Notre Dame Safety Pat Terrell. He broke the hearts of Miami Hurricane fans everywhere when he broke up the 2pt conversion attempt during the infamous ‘Catholics vs. Convicts’ game in 1988. The stop preserved a 31-30 Irish victory during their run to a National Championship season. Pat also returned an Interception 60 yards for a Touchdown earlier in the contest.
Strange Days - Covid Lockdown
S
Ozzie Newsome
Week 2 World League Defensive Player Of The Week Louis Riddick
Wishing a Happy Birthday to our guy Louis Riddick! Louis roamed the secondary for the Sacramento Surge of the WLAF back in 1992. In a Week Two 17-6 Surge victory over the Ohio Glory, Louis had a sack/ forced fumble, 5 solo tackles and a pass defensed earning himself Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Surge went on to win World Bowl II over the Orlando Thunder that season. The championship clash would be the last game played by either franchise.
I’ve got a FREE Issue of Blaze going to the first person who sends over the name of the Glory Quarterback who Louis rocked that day. Another FREE issue is available if you can name the Sacramento teammate who picked up the fumble for a Surge TD? Hint: He was the 1st overall pick in the 1992 WLAF Draft.
Sunday Random
Burn of The Week - Larry Bird Torches Hawks
Our newest installment of the Blaze ‘Burn of the Week’ honors one of the best; Mr. Larry Legend. It was back on March 12th, 1985 when Bird torched the Atlanta Hawks for a career high 60 points!! He went 22 of 36 from the field and 15 of 16 from the line while scoring a Celtics record 37 points in the 2nd half. If you come across videos of this game, it’s so funny to watch the Hawks bench going nuts while Larry was knocking down jumpers left and right.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Shoots 96% From The Free-Throw Line
Happy Belated Bday to our dude Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf who during the 1993-94 season recorded the 3rd highest Free Throw percentage in NBA History. He went 219 of 229 from the charity stripe for a .956 percentage. Anybody know who had the highest % of all time?
Benny Santiago
Blaze at St. Printersburg!!
Baseball
Kevin Johnson
Point Guard Kevin Johnson earned the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award for the 1988-89 season. It was KJ’s first full season in Phoenix after being traded there mid-way through his Rookie year from Cleveland. Johnson averaged 20 points per game along with 12 assists that year putting him alongside Magic Johnson & Isiah Thomas as the only other players to average those kinda numbers. Happy Birthday KJ!!
Ron Francis
Remember when the Hartford Whalers wore pants? Our birthday boy Ron Francis and the Whale only wore the ‘Cooperalls’ as they were called for the 1982-’83 season before they were banned by the NHL. Apparently the players slid too much when they fell to the ice. Who can name the only other NHL team to don the Cooperalls? Free Issue of Blaze to the first person who send over a DM with the answer & a mailing address. Happy Sunday Dudes!
R.I.P - Bubba Smith
It's NFL Combine Time - Show Us What Ya Got!
Happy Birthday Rolando Blackman!
Birthday shout out to our dude Rolando Blackman!. The 4X All-Star became the first Panamanian born player to be drafted into the NBA when the Dallas Mavericks picked him 9th overall in the 1981 draft. Cheers!
Happy Birthday Bobby Bonilla!
Man I still get chills when I think about Bobby Bonilla hitting that homer in Game 7 back in the ‘97 Series. Previously struggling at the plate, Bobby Bo led off the bottom of the 7th for the Marlins and crushed the first pitch from Indians pitcher Jared Wright into the right centerfield bleachers of Pro Player Stadium. Boom!! Happy Birthday Bobby!
Charles O'Bannon Was The Coolest!
Jose Ortiz - First Puerto Rican Player Drafted In The NBA
Jose Ortiz became the first Puerto Rican born player to be drafted into the NBA when the Utah Jazz selected him 15th overall in the 1987 draft. Considered by many to be one of the top Puerto Rican players ever, his NBA career was rather lackluster. He played in only 64 games over two seasons with the Jazz averaging just 2.9 points & 1.2 rebounds per game.
Dave 'Smoke' Stewart
The Popcorn Chronicles - Constantin Popa
Birthday shoutout to our dude Constantin Popa. The tallest player in University of Miami history. He is also the Canes leader in both Blocked Shots (263) & Personal Fouls (375). I wrote about him back in Blaze # 5. Be sure to get your copy!!