Jan. 8
1944 - Toronto’s Babe Pratt becomes the first NHL defenseman with six assists in a game, helping the Maple Leafs rout the visiting Boston Bruins 12-3.
1947 - Howie Meeker sets an NHL rookie record when he scores five times in Toronto’s 10-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Maple Leaf Gardens. Don Murdoch of the New York Rangers matches the record in 1976.
1955 - Georgia Tech ends Kentucky’s 129-game home winning streak with a 59-58 win at Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky, under coach Adolph Rupp, began the record streak on Jan. 4, 1943, by beating Fort Knox. The Wildcats played 12 years without a home loss.
1972 - The NCAA announces freshmen will be eligible to play on varsity football and basketball teams starting in the fall.
1984 - Mark Moseley’s 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining gives the Washington Redskins a 24-21 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game. The 49ers rally from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit, but two disputed penalties and the late field goal help the Redskins reach a second consecutive Super Bowl.
1984 - The NCAA votes to expand the championship basketball field to 64 teams starting in 1985.
1994 - Dino Ciccarelli becomes the 19th NHL player to score 500 career goals in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
2000 - Eddie House scores 61 points to tie the Pac-10 record by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and lead the Sun Devils to 111-108 double-overtime victory over California.
2003 - Utah guard Mark Jackson becomes the third NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists in the Jazz’s 99-93 win over the Phoenix Suns. Jackson joins career assists leader and teammate John Stockton (15,425) and Magic Johnson (10,141).
2007 - No. 2 Florida dominates Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and No. 1 Ohio State for a 41-14 in the BCS National Championship Bowl. The Gators become the first Division I school to hold football and basketball titles at the same time.
2009 - In a matchup of Heisman winners, Tim Tebow and No. 1 Florida beat No. 2 Oklahoma and this year’s Heisman winner, Sam Bradford, 24-14 in the BCS National Championship Bowl.
2011 - The Seattle Seahawks stun the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints 41-36 to open the NFL playoffs. Seattle, the first division winner with a losing record at 7-9, advances behind four touchdown passes by Matt Hasselbeck and a 67-yard run by Marshawn Lynch.
2012 - Denver’s Tim Tebow connects with Demaryius Thomas on an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime and the Broncos defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in a AFC wild-card game.
2016 - Oakland’s Khalil Mack is selected at two positions on the 2015 Associated Press All-Pro Team, an NFL first. The defensive end and outside linebacker draws enough support from a panel of 50 media members to make the squad in both spots.
2018 - Alabama beats Georgia 26-23 in overtime to win its fifth national championship since 2009 under Nick Saban. Freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throws a 42-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith after getting sacked on Alabama’s opening play of the extra session.
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