What Happened in Sports: December 9, 2020

2019: Washington Nationals SP Stephen Strasburg signed the largest contract ever for a pitcher in MLB history ($245M) which would be surpassed within a month by Gerrit Cole with his $324M deal from NYY

2019: One of the greatest Kickers of all-time Adam Vinatieri suffered a season-ending injury that placed him on the IR at 46 years old which ultimately ended his HOF career 

2018: In a 33-32 loss to the Dolphins (the “Miami Miracle”), Patriots QB Tom Brady threw 3 TD passes to become the NFL’s all-time career leader, passing Peyton Manning with 582 touchdowns

2018: Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers broke Tom Brady’s record with his 359th consecutive pass attempt without an interception and would finish the game at 368 consecutive attempts

2018: Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes whipped out a no-look pass for the 1st time in his career against the Baltimore Ravens that came down to a 4th & 9 with a minute left where Mahomes miraculously found Tyreek Hill to set up the game-tying score before winning it in OT

2004: In iconic fashion, Houston Rockets SG Tracy McGrady scored 13 points in the final 33 seconds of the game to lead a comeback over the Spurs 

2000: In a loss to the Houston Rockets, Seattle SuperSonics PG Gary Payton scored 35 points to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer (14,044 points)

2000: Desperate to jump-start their rebuild, the Colorado Rockies signed SP Mike Hampton to a massive 8-year, $121 million deal, making him the highest-paid player in baseball (for a day, until Alex Rodriguez); he would last only two seasons with a 5.27 ERA

1997: With a 29-point performance against the Knicks, Chicago Bulls SG Michael Jordan moved into 3rd-place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Moses Malone

1988: In the wake of HC Frank Layden’s resigning, the Utah Jazz named Jerry Sloan interim HC to begin one of the longest coaching tenures in NBA history

1984: Los Angeles Rams RB Eric Dickerson ran for 215 yards in a win over the Houston Oilers and became just the 2nd player in NFL history to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a season (OJ Simpson, 1973)

1970: Cleveland Cavaliers PG John Warren accidentally shot in the wrong hoop, giving C Leroy Ellis and the Portland Trail Blazers 2 extra points

1965: HOF OF Frank Robinson was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Baltimore Orioles and would win MVP in his very 1st season

1949: After the All-America Football Conference’s folding, the NFL officially admitted 3 of its former franchises — the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts

1934: “Sneakers Game”: trailing the Chicago Bears 13-3 in the 3rd quarter of the NFL Championship, New York Giants HC Steve Owen made his players switch from cleats to basketball shoes in order to grip the frozen field better; they would storm back to win 30-13