Greatness: A sports collaborative timeline

[OldNavy1988]

Current NFL TV Contract
Runs from 1990 thru 1994

AFC Package: NBC
NFC Package: CBS
Sunday Nights: TNT (1st Half), ESPN (2nd Half)
Monday Night Football: ABC

Super Bowl rotation, based on previous years:
Super Bowl XXV: ABC
Super Bowl XXVI: NBC
Super Bowl XXVII: CBS
Super Bowl XXVIII: ABC

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 16, 1990: The newly-named soccer league of the United States has named its own first team in New York City, the New York Guardians.

June 26, 1990: The NFL is adding two more expansion teams for 1993, namely St. Louis and Charlotte.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

St. Louis and Charlotte.

Hold up - it was my understanding that Baltimore, not St. Louis, got a team.

 

[OldNavy1988]

Hold up - it was my understanding that Baltimore, not St. Louis, got a team.

Yes, it was Baltimore. Charlotte too.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

May 19, 1990: The Big Ten formally extends an invitation to the University of Notre Dame for all sports, including football. The proposal includes a record-setting television deal with longtime Notre Dame partner NBC for far more money than the school was making as an independent.

May 21, 1990: The Big Ten also extends an invitation to Iowa State at the behest of Iowa.

May 24, 1990: Fearing the loss of a member, the Big 8 extends an invitation to Colorado State.

 

[WB18]

1990 NBA Playoffs second Round

Detroit Pistons vs New York Knicks
G1: New York 98 @ Detroit 102
G2: New York 105 @ Detroit 96
G3: Detroit 102 @ New York 104 (Patrick Ewing hits the game winner with 3 seconds left)
G4: Detroit 112 @ New York 106
G5: New York 94 @ Detroit 93 (Charles Oakley makes the game winning dunk with 9.5 seconds left, Joe Dumars misses a three at the buzzer)
G6: Detroit 87 @ New York 81
G7: New York 77 @ Detroit 114 (Ewing punches Isiah Thomas in the throat late in the fourth, leading to a brawl involving both teams and some Piston fans. For their roles in the fight, Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson are suspended for round 3)
Pistons win series 4-3

Chicago Bulls vs Indiana Pacers
G1: Indiana 83 @ Chicago 105
G2: Indiana 90 Chicago 96
G3: Chicago 112 @ Indiana 98
G4: Chicago 94 @ Indiana 89
Bulls win series 4-0

Utah Jazz vs Houston Rockets
G1: Houston 99 @ Utah 93
G2: Houston 91 @ Utah 108
G3: Utah 93 @ Houston 111
G4: Utah 80 @ Houston 95
G5: Houston 96 @ Utah 98
G6: Utah 87 @ Houston 94
Rockets win series 4-2

Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks
G1: Dallas 105 @ Portland 110 (OT) (Clyde Drexler makes the clutch three with 23.7 seconds left in OT)
G2: Dallas 78 @ Portland 91
G3: Portland 81 @ Dallas 77
G4: Portland 92 @ Dallas 100
G5: Dallas 88 @ Portland 98
Blazers win series 4-1

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

May 25, 1990: “Tom Sawyer” sends more information to the Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN, indicating that Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was aware of ongoing and repeated sexual assaults against preteen boys committed on Penn State property. The coach in question is identified only as Coach X. “Tom Sawyer” also produces a document that backs up this claim against Paterno - indicating that Paterno failed to report the incident to authorities, as did Paterno’s superiors, who were aware as well - but with Coach X’a name redacted.

 

[WB18]

May 25, 1990: The MLB announces five finalists for the White Sox ownership bid

Jerry Colangeo, 50, Phoenix Suns owner and GM. Would move the team to Phoenix.
COMSAT, Denver Nuggets principal owner. Would move the team to Denver.
Frank and Arthur Griffiths, 73 & 33, Vancouver Canucks owners. Would move the team to Vancouver, BC.
Bill Marriot, 58, founder of Marriott Hotels. Would move the team to Washington, DC.
W. Clement Stone, 88, businessman. Would keep the team in Chicago.

NHL Conference Finals
Whales Conference Finals: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals
G1: Washington 3 @ Montreal 5
G2: Washington 2 @ Montreal 5
G3: Montreal 1 @ Washington 4
G4: Montreal 2 @ Washington 3
G5: Washington 4 @ Montreal 3 (OT) (Dale Hunter scores the OT winner)
G6: Montreal 2 @ Washington 4
Capitals win series 4-2

1990 Whales Conference Champions: Washington Capitals

Campbell Conference Finals: Winnipeg Jets vs St. Louis Blues
G1: St. Louis 0 @ Winnipeg 3
G2: St. Louis 2 @ Winnipeg 3 (OT) (Dave Ellet scores the OT winner)
G3: Winnipeg 5 @ St. Louis 4 (OT) (Dale Hawerchuk scores the OT winner)
G4: Winnipeg 4 @ St. Louis 3 (2OT) (Fredrick Olausson scores the OT and series winner)
Jets win series 4-0

1990 Campbell Conference Champions: Winnipeg Jets

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 30, 1990: A new Denver team was announced for a newly-named North American soccer league.

 

[Looper]

June 1, 1990: Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg hits 4 home runs in 5 at-bats against the rival Saint Louis Cardinals as Chicago wins 11-3.

June 1, 1990: The NASL announces that they will put a team in Los Angeles and a team in Boston. They announce the names will be Mustangs and Rebels, respectively.

 

[WB18]

NBA Conference Finals
Detroit Pistons vs Chicago Bulls
G1: Chicago 100 @ Detroit 106
G2: Chicago 84 @ Detroit 93
G3: Detroit 92 @ Chicago 105
G4: Detroit 107 @ Chicago 94 (Michael Jordon tears his ankle in the third quarter and doesn’t return)
G5: Chicago 83 @ Detroit 116 (Jordon doesn’t play again and Detroit wins easily)
Pistons win series 4-1

1990 Eastern Conference Champions: Detroit Pistons

Portland Trail Blazers vs Houston Rockets
G1: Houston 85 @ Portland 98
G2: Houston 78 @ Portland 84
G3: Portland 91 @ Houston 99
G4: Portland 90 @ Houston 93 (Hakeem Olajuwon blocks Terry Porters potential tying three at the buzzer)
G5: Houston 80 @ Portland 86
G6: Portland 94 @ Houston 98
G7: Houston 102 @ Portland 104 (OT) (Kevin Duckworth hits the series winner with 11 seconds left in OT)
Blazers win series 4-3

1990 Western Conference Champions: Portland Trial Blazers

 

[WB18]

June 2, 1990: The NASL announced will have 12 teams for its 1992 debut.

Alignment
East
New York Guardians
Boston Rebels
2 spots left

Central
Detroit Roadsters
Atlanta Peaches
2 spots left

West
Los Angeles Surfers (changed name from Mustangs)
Colorado Rapids
2 spots left

Cities interested
East Citi
Philadelphia, PA
Washington, DC
Buffalo, NY
Pittsburgh, PA

Central Cities
Chicago, IL
Houston, TX
Dallas, TX
Miami, FL

West Cities
Seattle, WA
Portland, OR
Bay Area, CA
Phoenix, AZ

 

[Looper]

June 4, 1990: The NASL announces they will announce the next two teams the day before the FIFA World Cup Finals (July 7)

June 5,1990: Following a 13-9 win, Mariners star Ken Griffey Jr states in an interview that he wishes the Sox to stay in Chicago.

 

[stratonapba]

This Just In: The NASL will revive the San Jose Earthquakes for the inaugural season.

 

[Looper]

June 8, 1990: In the very first game of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Cameroon defeats Argentina 2-0 behind 2 goals from Francois Omam. Cameroon players and fans storm the pitch after the win.

June 8, 1990: The NASL announces they have struck a TV deal with ESPN and NBC for primetime matches.

 

[WB18]

1990 Stanley Cup Finals: Winnipeg Jets vs Washington Capitals

G1: Washington 2 @ Winnipeg 4
G2: Washington 2 @ Winnipeg 1 (OT) (John Druce scores the OT winner)
G3: Winnipeg 3 @ Washington 2
G4: Winnipeg 1 @ Washington 4
G5: Washington 2 @ Winnipeg 5
G6: Winnipeg 1 @ Washington 0 (OT) (Thomas Steen scores the Stanley Cup winning goal on a breakaway in OT)

1990 Stanley Cup Champions: Winnipeg Jets

After the series, the city of Winnipeg would have a wild celebration that would last 3 days, highlighted by drunk people running onto the stage during the player speeches during a rally for the team and that would be parodied in an SNL skit.

 

[London Eye 62]

WLAF Logos (as of June 10, 1990):

Los Angeles Avengers:

Orlando Thunder:

London Monarchs:

Frankfurt Galaxy:

Birmingham Fire:

NYC Knights:

Amsterdam Admirals:

Paris Phantoms:

Mexico City Jaguars:

Las Vegas Posse:

As for Toronto and St. Louis, they have yet to announce logos. The Clydesdales on the 29th and the Towers have not officially announced a date (many speculate early July)

June 11, 1990: The NFL announces that (partially to solve the new Sunday Night Football situation) ESPN and TNT will each respectively broadcast 3 WLAF Games through the year (2 Regular, 1 Postseason). The World Bowl, however, is to be similar to SNF (TNT first half, ESPN second half).

 

[Duel]

June 11, 1990: England dominate rival Ireland 4-0 in the FIFA World Cup.

June 12. 1990: The Pistons complete a sweep of the Trail Blazers with a 100-91 win. as Isiah Thomas wins Finals MVP. Clyde Drexler is picked up by cameras saying "I can't do this sh*t anymore."

 

[DucNguyen0131]

June 17, 1990: The NASL is working on a new Philadelphia team.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

June 14, 1990: After a rough start against Czechoslovakia, Team USA rides a stellar performance by Tony Meola to a 1-0 upset of host Italy.

June 15, 1990: “Tom Sawyer” sends five pictures to the Philadelphia Inquirer of “Coach X” caught in the act of sexually assaulting a boy in the Penn State locker room. All five pictures are of the same boy and same coach; when the Inquirer publishes the photos, both faces are blurred out.

June 16, 1990: The Philadelphia Inquirer publishes an editorial at the top of the Sports page with the headline: “Why Penn State Must Cancel Football This Year.” Calls to Penn State go unanswered.