What Happened in Sports: December 9, 2021

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: 1 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: New England Patriots QB Tom Brady became the NFL’s all-time PASS TD leader (incl. playoffs), passing Peyton Manning with 582 touchdowns which is now close to 700 but they lost 33-32 to the Dolphins on a wild final play known as the “Miami Miracle”

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. Rodgers finished with 402 which still stands today

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: Houston Rockets SF Tracy McGrady scored 13 points in the final 35 seconds of the game during 1 of the greatest heat checks of all-time to lead Houston’s climatic comeback win over the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs 

2000: Seattle Sonics PG Gary Payton scored 35 points to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer (14,044 points). Payton finished with 18,207 before Russell Westbrook surpassed him with 18,859 PTS

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

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 (23 years) in NBA history

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 to kickstart an amazing 6-year run in Maryland that included 5 All-Star campaigns

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 stormed back to win 30-13