By: William Burns, Chris Daniello, Noah Dombrowski, and Collin Moran
#16 Seed Beats the #1 Seed for the First Time Ever in March Madness After Going 0-135 Previously
Every year in the Big Dance since 1985, four matchups have taken place in the opening round of the tournament between the top seeded number one team and the bottom seeded No. 16 team, in each of the four regions. In total, 135 games have occurred between the best and the worst teams in the first round, and despite all of the madness that takes place every year in this famous March tournament, no team ranked 16th has ever managed to topple the No. 1 seed. In 2018, the unknown University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers upset the University of Virginia Cavaliers, the No. 1 ranked team in the entire tournament standings. With a devastating final score of 74-54, the contest between these two teams will certainly put both schools down in history for opposite reasons.
Eagles Winning their First Super Bowl
February 4th, 2018, will be a night that is remembered and reminisced by every Philadelphia Eagles fan for years to come. Not only did the Eagles win their first Super Bowl in franchise history, but they also did it without their starting quarterback. Carson Wentz suffered a season ending injury and backup quarterback Nick Foles took the reigns in stride, finishing out the season by leading the team too, and winning the biggest game of the year. To make the win even more impressive, the Eagles were facing the legendary duo of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, who are regarded as the best dynasty in NFL history. The Eagles fought through the playoffs as the underdogs, and were never favored to win against the Patriots.
The Golden Knights Historic Season
@GoldenKnights
The Vegas Golden Knights are an expansion team in the National Hockey League that came into existence for the 2017-2018 season that turned into a movie script. Historically speaking, expansion teams do not fare well during their inaugural season, but there are always exceptions to the rules, it seems. The Knights finished their first season with a record of 51-24-7 (wins/losses/overtime losses). The team broke many records for inaugural season teams, as well as becoming the first team to win their division in the teams first season. The Knights swept the first round of the playoffs, becoming the first team of their nature to do so and later won their divisional round to advance to the Western Conference finals. There they thrashed the Winnipeg Jets in five games to secure the Western Conference title, and the opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, this story didn’t have the fairy tale ending one would find in a movie, and the Knights were beaten in five games by the Washington Capitals. Still though, for their inaugural season making it to the Stanley Cup Finals is pretty decent.
Lebron James signs with The Los Angeles Lakers
The biggest offseason decision once again in the NBA is where LeBron James moved to. James is still considered by many as the best player in the game. Some even calling him the best player to ever play, better than Michael Jordan. Whenever James moves, the entire world freezes waiting for his decision. However, this time was a little different as everyone thought he was going to the Lakers. Reports of his family moving to their LA house and attending school spread and it was easy to see that the Lakers was the easy decision for him. Although many saw this move coming it is still a surprise for him to sign. After Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Paul George decided to stay put and Kawhi Leonard being traded to the Raptors it was brave of James to go to this team. This team is talented but very young and has more upside than current power. Even with James many still don’t see them beating the Warriors to get into the NBA Finals. James leads the Team in minutes with 34 and points with 27. He also brings in eight boards and seven assists per game as well. Currently James is hurt, and the Lakers are noticeably suffering with his absence. Only time will tell if this move helps or hurts his legacy.
The Warriors win back-to-back NBA finals
After blowing a 3-1 game lead in spectacular fashion in the 2016 NBA Finals to Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors (after adding superstar Kevin Durant to the roster) bounced back to win consecutive championships in 2017 and 2018. Despite the King and company’s best efforts, the Cavs were only able to top the Warriors a single time in the last four years of Finals competition, with the Dubs going an impressive 8-1 against them. With their sweep of Cleveland in 2018, they became just the seventh NBA team to ever win back-to-back titles in a row. Kevin Durant won the Finals MVP award in both of these last two matchups.
Red Sox Win World Series
@WCVB
The Boston Red Sox won their ninth title last season and sparked the notion that they might be the team of the century. Simply saying that the Red Sox won the World Series isn’t enough. This title, their fourth since 2004, was basically theirs midway through the regular season. The Red Sox began their season by blowing a game in the eighth inning sending fans into a frenzy. However, the fans were rewarded with a season containing 119 wins, the most wins in a single season since the 2001 Mariners team with 120 wins and countless highlight reel plays. Boston’s road in the playoffs seemed tough, as they had to face a 100 win New York Yankees team, and the defending champion Houston Astro team. The Red Sox cruised right past them to the World Series, and right past the Los Angeles Dodgers to the title. The Red Sox were managed by a rookie skipper by the name of Alex Cora, who became only the fifth manager in Major League Baseball history to win a World Series as a first year manager, and the first since 2001, when Arizona Diamondback manager Bob Brenly had the accomplishment.
The Minnesota Miracle
Last season saw then underdog Minnesota Vikings emerge and post an incredible 13-3 record. This team was led by Case Keenum and their top ranked defense. They secured the first round bye and played the visiting high-powered New Orleans Saints. The game ended with the Vikings winning 29-24. However, this was no ordinary ending as the Vikings capped off the win with what is now known as the Miracle in Minnesota. Keenum passed to the right to Stefon Diggs who went up in the air to catch the ball. Saints safety Marcus Williams dove at Diggs feet and missed the tackle as Diggs took it to the house to ice the game. Unfortunately, the magic ended the next week as the Vikings got crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles 38-7. The Vikings this season ended with a 8-7-1 record making for a mediocre year.
