What Happened in Sports: December 17, 2021

2008: New Orleans Hornets PG Chris Paul recorded a steal in his 106th consecutive game, setting a new NBA record. CP3 extended his record to 108 straight games which still stands as the record

2006: San Diego Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson broke the record for RUSH TD (28) during 1 season in NFL history, surpassing Shaun Alexander’s record (27) set the previous season. LT’s 28 RUSH TD remains the NFL season record 

2006: Washington Wizards PG Gilbert Arenas set the franchise record with 60 points, scoring a NBA record 16 PTS in Overtime. Gilbert’s 16 OT PTS still stand as the NBA record while Bradley Beal tied his DC record

2004: New Jersey Nets acquired SG Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors for C Alonzo Mourning, PF Aaron Williams, SF Eric Williams, and 2 1st Rd picks. Carter made 3 All-Star teams in 5 years with NJ before being traded to Orlando in 2009

2000: San Francisco 49ers WR Terrell Owens set an NFL record at the time with 20 receptions for 283 yards and a TD in a 17-0 win over the Chicago Bears. TO’s record lasted 9 years until Brandon Marshall racked up 21 REC in 1 game

1991: Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Miami Heat in the most lopsided game in NBA history with a final score of 148-80. Miami’s 68-point win stood as the record for 30 years until Memphis beat OKC by 73 points in 2021

1988: Washington’s RB Jamie Morris recorded the most Rushing Attempts (45) during 1 game in NFL history but they lost to Cincinnati 20-17. Morris’ 45 RUSH ATT still stand as the NFL record

1984: Miami Dolphins QB Dan Marino set NFL single-season records in PASS YARDS (5,084), PASS TD (48), & CMP (362). All 3 records have since been surpassed multiple times but established Marino as the NFL’s best QB at the time

1966: New York Jets QB Joe Namath broke the record for most career PASS YDS (5,399) in franchise history during the last GP of his 2nd career season. Namath played 10 more seasons with the Jets and recorded a total of 27,057 PASS YDS which still stands as the franchise record today

1944: Green Bay Packers defeated the New York Giants for their 6th and final NFL Championship under founder and longtime HC Curly Lambeau

1933: Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 in the NFL’s very 1st Championship game that turned into 1 of the most entertaining games in league history. NFL championships took place for 33 more years until the Super Bowl began in 1967

1920: MLB outlawed the “spitball” (where a pitcher spit on the ball to gain an unfair advantage), with the AL and eventually the NL allowing a provision that grandfathered in current spitballers, allowing only them to utilize the pitch (17 players total)