Today in Sports – Celtics win 8th straight NBA Finals
April 28
1923 — Wembley Stadium opens – Bolton Wanderers vs West Ham United (FA Cup).
1931 — Program for woman athletes approved for 1932 Olympics track & field.
1956 — Cincinnati Reds outfielder Frank Robinson hits his 1st of 586 HRs.
1957 — LPGA Western Open Women’s Golf, Montgomery CC: Patty Berg wins her 6th WO by 1 stroke from Wiffi Smith.
1961 — Milwaukee Braves’ future HOF pitcher Warren Spahn throws his second career no hitter at 41.
1966 — Boston edges the Los Angeles Lakers 95-93 in Game 7, giving the Celtics and coach Red Auerbach eight straight NBA titles. Auerbach, who announced his retirement earlier, is replaced by center Bill Russell, the first black head coach of a major U.S. sports team.
1967 — Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the U.S. Armed Forces. He is arrested and the New York State Athletic Commission suspends his boxing license and strips him of his heavyweight title.
1972 — Courts award 1968 Kentucky Derby prize money to 2nd place winner due to the winner being given drugs before the race.
1987 — The NBA awards expansion franchises to Charlotte, N.C. and Miami for 1988, and Minneapolis and Orlando, Fla., in 1989.
1987 — NFL Draft: University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
1990 — Boston set single-game NBA playoff records for scoring and shooting accuracy in a 157-128 rout of the New York Knicks to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
1992 — Video replay is used to decide a playoff game for the first time. In game six of the Detroit-Minnesota division semifinal, Sergei Fedorov of the Red Wings appears to hit the crossbar behind Minnesota goalie Jon Casey during overtime. The Stars ice the puck immediately, but referee Rob Shick calls for a video review. The replay shows the puck enters the goal just below the crossbar and caroms off the frame at the back of the net. Fedorov is awarded the goal to give the Red Wings a series-tying 1-0 victory.
1995 — Michael Jordan, in his first playoff game since his return from retirement, scored 48 points as the Chicago Bulls beat the Charlotte Hornets 108-100.
1995 — The Orlando Magic give the Boston Celtics their worst defeat in team history, 124-77, in a playoff opener.
2001 — Colorado’s Patrick Roy sets an NHL record with his 16th career playoff shutout, making 20 saves in a 2-0 win over Los Angeles.
2003 — Andre Agassi recaptures the world no. 1 ranking to become the oldest top-ranked male in the history of the ATP rankings (33 years, 13 days).
2007 — NFL Draft: LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell first pick by Oakland Raiders.
2009 — Washington edges the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference series to cap a comeback from a 3-games-to-1 deficit. It is the franchise’s first series victory since the 1997-98 season, when Washington made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.
2010 — Montreal beats Washington 2-1 to complete a come-from-behind 4-3 series victory and eliminate the NHL’s best regular-season in the first round of the playoffs. The Canadiens are the ninth No. 8-seeded team to knock off a No. 1 in 32 matchups since the NHL went to its current playoff format in 1994 — and the first to come back from a 3-1 series deficit.
2011 — Canada’s Patrick Chan wins his first world figure skating title in record fashion. Chan sets world records for the free skate and total points to claim titles at the world figure skating championships in Moscow.
2011 — NFL Draft: Auburn quarterback Cam Newton first pick by Carolina Panthers.
2016 — The Los Angeles Rams select California quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, and the No. 2 selection for the Philadelphia Eagles is North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. It’s the second straight year that two QBs went 1-2 and the seventh time in the modern era of the draft since 1967.
2018 — Shaquem Griffin is the first one-handed person to be drafted into the NFL, for the Seattle Seahawks.
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