Sydney FC theme by Stephenvz
Download: SydneyFC.p3t
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| Full name | Sydney Football Club[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Sky Blues | |||
| Founded | 1 November 2004 | |||
| Ground | Allianz Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 42,500 | |||
| Chairman | Scott Barlow | |||
| Manager | Ufuk Talay | |||
| League | A-League Men | |||
| 2023–24 | 4th of 12 | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL).[3] The club was founded in 2004 and entered the A-League as one of the eight original teams for the inaugural 2005–06 season.
Sydney FC is the most successful professional soccer club in Australia. The Sky Blues have won five A-League Men Championships, four A-League Men Premierships, two Australia Cup titles and one OFC Champions League title. The club has also appeared in the AFC Champions League on seven occasions, making the Round of 16 in 2016. The club experienced its most successful period from 2016 to 2020, when Graham Arnold and Steve Corica led the club to a combined three Championships and three Premierships, as well as an Australia Cup.
Before the 2018–19 season, the club's home ground was Allianz Stadium in Moore Park. When the NSW Government announced that the stadium would be redeveloped in the lead up to the 2019 New South Wales state election, Sydney FC played its home matches at the neighbouring Sydney Cricket Ground, along with the suburban Jubilee Oval and Leichhardt Oval grounds. In October 2022, the club returned to the newly built Allianz Stadium in Moore Park.[4] The clubs training and administration facility in North Ryde, known as Sky Park, was completed in 2023.[5][6]
As the only A-League team in the city for the first seven years of its existence, the club's fans hail from all across the Sydney Metropolitan Area.[7] Sydney's main supporter group is known as 'The Cove', named after the original title given to the colonial settlement of Sydney, Sydney Cove. The club has rivalries with Melbourne Victory, known as The Big Blue, and the Western Sydney Wanderers, named the Sydney Derby. Alex Brosque is the club's all time top goal scorer, having scored 83 goals. Rhyan Grant has the most appearances for the club, having played 339 games.
History[edit]
2004–2009: early years[edit]
The first steps towards the foundation of Sydney FC were taken in April 2004 when Soccer New South Wales (now Football NSW) announced its intention to bid for a licence in the new A-League competition.[8] The bid was lodged with the Australian Soccer Association (now Football Australia) on 19 July, challenged only by a consortium headed by Nick Politis, known as the "Sydney Blues",[9] for Sydney's place in the 'one team per city' competition.[10] A public row broke out between the two bidders after reports that the ASA were set to vote in favour of Sydney FC,[11] causing Politis to withdraw his support for a team,[12] and leaving Sydney FC as the only candidate remaining.
Sydney FC was officially launched as a member of the new 8-team A-League on 1 November 2004, with a 25% stake in the club held by Soccer NSW, the remainder privately owned.[13] Walter Bugno was announced as the inaugural chairman of the club. On 11 December 2004, Soccer NSW announced that it would pull out of its involvement with Sydney FC amid concerns over part owner Frank Lowy's autocratic style in establishing the club and lack of consultation with Soccer NSW on key Sydney FC issues. These included the choice of the Sydney Football Stadium over Parramatta Stadium as the team's home ground, and the erosion of Soccer NSW's initial 100 per cent involvement to just 25 per cent.[14]
By February 2005, Sydney FC had filled 16 of its allowed 20 squad positions—attracting Socceroos Alvin Ceccoli, Clint Bolton, Steve Corica and David Zdrilic as well as youth internationals Justin Pasfield, Mark Milligan, Wade Oostendorp, Iain Fyfe and Jacob Timpano.[15] German Pierre Littbarski was signed as head coach, assisted by former Norwich City player Ian Crook. Sydney FC played its first ever match against Manly United on 25 March 2005, winning 6–1.[16] Shortly after, Sydney FC set off on a tour to the United Arab Emirates to play against local teams FC Hatta, Al Ain and Al Jazira, winning all three.[17][18][19] While in Dubai, Sydney FC announced that it had agreed to terms with former Manchester United player Dwight Yorke as the club's "marquee player"– one paid outside of the $1.5million salary cap— for two seasons.[20]
Sydney FC's first competitive match was against Queensland Roar at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford as part of the 2005 Australian Club World Championship Qualifying Tournament. After winning 3–0, Sydney went on to defeat Perth Glory and Central Coast Mariners to qualify for the 2005 Oceania Club Championship, held in Tahiti. Despite an early scare against New Zealand club Auckland City,[21] Sydney FC won all of its matches and qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. The start of the 2005 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup marked Sydney FC's first match at Allianz Stadium, as well as Dwight Yorke's first appearance for the club. Yorke scored the first goal of Sydney FC's 3–1 win which stretched its unbeaten run to 9 competitive matches (15 including friendlies). Upon reaching the semi-finals, Sydney's unbeaten run finally ended at 11 with Perth Glory midfielder Nick Ward scoring in injury time to inflict the new club's first ever loss.[22]
Sydney FC's first season was ultimately a success. Finishing second behind Adelaide United they went on to defeat Central Coast Mariners 1–0 in the 2006 A-League Grand Final with Steve Corica scoring in the second half of the game. However, the club's success wouldn't last long, with German manager Pierre Littbarski leaving the club after refusing to accept a lower salary[23] and inaugural marquee player Dwight Yorke being signed by Premier League club Sunderland.[24] Former English international Terry Butcher was signed as Sydney FC's new coach for 2006–07.[25] However it was regarded as an overall failure, with Sydney playing poorly despite the signing of Alex Brosque and Benito Carbone as a Guest player. Sydney also had 3 points deducted during the season, after it was found that they had breached the Salary cap, involving player David Zdrillic.[26] Despite the off field problems, Sydney managed to scrape into the finals series, however they lost in the semi-final to Newcastle Jets. Although Butcher led the club into the finals, Sydney fans were unhappy with his tactics. In the end Butcher and Sydney FC went their separate ways at the end of the season.[27] Sydney FC would go on to sign Branko Čulina for its 2007 AFC Champions League campaign, where they finished second in the group, one point behind ultimate champions and J-League heavyweights Urawa Red Diamonds. Despite the ACL success, Sydney FC's start to the 2007–08 season was poor, and the club sacked him, replacing him with former Adelaide United manager John Kosmina.[28] Sydney FC played well for the rest of the season but were knocked out in the finals by Brisbane Roar. Kosmina couldn't repeat the success of the previous season, replacing Brazilian international Juninho with Socceroos hero John Aloisi on a million dollar contract.[29] The club also unveiled Newcastle Jets championship winners Mark Bridge and Stuart Musialik as well as Socceroo Simon Colosimo for the 2008–09 season.[29][30] The season did not live up to expectations even with these key signings. Aloisi didn't perform very well during the season and came under heavy fire. So too did manager Kosmina, whose tactics were seen as controversial. His relationship with the media often became angry and frustrated which didn't help causes. Many players fell out of favour with the coach, including Steve Corica and Clint Bolton.[31] For the first time in the club's history, they failed to make the Finals. As a result Kosmina was fired when Russian billionaire David Traktovenko became owner in March 2009.
2009–2012: Lavicka tenure[edit]
The fresh change at the club was about to bear fruit, when Sydney announced they had signed Czech Republic manager Vítězslav Lavička.[32] Lavicka completely changed the structure of the club, and for its first time turning it into a serious, European style soccer club. He kept faith in Steve Corica and John Aloisi and several others who had threatened to walk out, and as a result, Sydney FC won its first premiership. Sydney made it to the Grand Final of the fifth season of the A-League after defeating Wellington Phoenix in the preliminary final. The Grand Final was played against Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. Sydney took the lead after 61 minutes through a Mark Bridge header, just seconds after Melbourne had a goal disallowed for offside. Melbourne equalised through Adrian Leijer in the 81st minute, and the game went to a penalty shootout with no goals scored in extra time. Melbourne skipper Kevin Muscat missed his penalty, with his shot hitting the post. Sydney FC won the Grand Final 4–2 on penalties which handed the club its second Hyundai A-League Championship.
Sydney FC's title defence did not go smoothly. The club lost key players from its championship-winning side including Steve Corica (retired),[33] Karol Kisel (return to Europe),[34] Simon Colosimo,[35] John Aloisi,[36] and Clint Bolton[37] (all Melbourne Heart). The club however picked up the services of former Socceroo Nick Carle from his stint in England with Crystal Palace. This wasn't enough to steer the team in the right direction. The club was winless for the first ten rounds of the competition. Sydney FC managed to pick up a few points over the next few rounds but another five-game losing streak ensured they would not qualify for the finals competition, finishing ninth. The third season under Lavicka began with the major signing of Blackburn Rovers player Brett Emerton on a three-year deal.[38] The signing was significant in that Emerton became the first player to directly exchange the FA Premier League for the A-League by terminating his Rovers contract one year early.[39] The season however, only provided minimal success as the club scraped through to the finals series with a 3–2 win over Newcastle Jets in the final round of the regular season. Before the end of the season the club announced that head coach Lavicka's contract would not be renewed for the following season.[40][41]
2012–2014: Farina reign[edit]
"This is huge for Sydney FC, huge for the A-League and huge for Australian football [sic]. We feel honoured that Alessandro has decided to play for Sydney FC and we share his excitement that a move to Sydney FC will create a lasting legacy for football in this country."
—Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow, The Sydney Morning Herald
The 2012–13 season was one of high drama. There was a new head coach Ian Crook[42] and a high turnover of players in the off season. The expectations changed from a year of rebuilding to title contenders when the club acquired the services of international superstar Alessandro Del Piero.[43][44] He signed on for $2 million per year and became the highest-paid player ever in the A-League.[45]
After only six weeks into the regular season Sydney were forced to find a new coach with the shock resignation of Crook. He cited the role was "a constant burden" and was adversely affecting his health.[46][47] Frank Farina was confirmed as Crook's successor for the season two games into Steve Corica's interim spell.[48] During the January transfer window, Farina bolstered his defensive stocks with Socceroos captain Lucas Neill[49][50] and Brazilian Tiago Calvano[51] joining the team. The pair made nil significant impact and with a 3–1 loss away from home to Brisbane Roar, Sydney were unable to pick up a vital point that would have seen them play in the finals, finishing seventh.
For the 2013–14 pre season, the club became the first club in A-League history to tour in Europe, as Sydney toured in Venice, Italy, where the club played against Del Piero's first professional club, Padova, Udinese Calcio, Vicenza Calcio, A.S. Cittadella, Venezia and Reggiana.[52][53] Sydney won half of these six games however upon returning home lost five consecutive friendly games in the lead up to the season proper. Two-thirds of the way into the season and with Sydney FC only accumulating 4 points from 8 games, fans began to express concerns over the vision for the club. Banners at the club's home game against Adelaide included sentiments like "We want Farina gone."[54] There was also a mass exodus from the club's active supporter group, The Cove.[55] The club then held a fan forum to receive questions and communicate the direction of the club.[56] During the last nine rounds, Sydney FC only lost two games making the finals. The club lost to Melbourne Victory in the first week of the finals. This marked the end of the Frank Farina reign.[57][58]
2014–2018: Arnold era[edit]
D-Generation X
D-Generation X theme by LoneStarTX
Download: D-GenerationX.p3t
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 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2021) |
| D-Generation X | |
|---|---|
 D-Generation X logo in the 1990s | |
| Stable | |
| Leader(s) | Shawn Michaels Triple H |
| Members | X-Pac Road Dogg |
| Name(s) | D-Generation X DX Degeneration X DX Army |
| Former member(s) | Billy Gunn Rick Rude Chyna Mike Tyson Stephanie McMahon Tori Hornswoggle |
| Debut | August 11, 1997 |
| Years active | 1997–2000 2006–2010 2010–present (non-wrestling reunions) 2018[1] |
D-Generation X (DX) is an American professional wrestling stable, and later a tag team, that consisted of various members, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna, X-Pac, and the New Age Outlaws.
The group originated in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) shortly before the "Attitude Era" in 1997 as a foil to another prominent faction, The Hart Foundation and became one of the main driving forces behind the WWF competing with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the Monday Night War. In addition to two other founding members, Chyna and Rick Rude, the group later expanded with new additions X-Pac, The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn), and Tori until the group officially disbanded in August 2000. After a teased reunion in 2002, DX reformed in June 2006 as the duo of Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the remainder of the year[2] and again in August 2009 until March 2010, shortly before Michaels' retirement. This incarnation was voted the greatest WWE Tag Team Champions of all time in a 2013 WWE viewer poll.[3]
On October 8, 2018, it was announced that DX would face The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) at the Crown Jewel pay-per view. At the event, Triple H and Michaels were victorious against Undertaker and Kane. On February 18, 2019, it was announced that the group would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame later that year, with Triple H, Michaels, Chyna, The New Age Outlaws, and X-Pac as the inducted members.
Concept[edit]
The group's gimmick was best known as a gang of rebels who broke the rules, acted and spoke as they pleased, and wrestled whomever they wanted no matter how provocative and insulting. Noted for their crude, profane humor and sophomoric pranks, the stable has been dubbed multiple times as the "most controversial group in WWF/E history". Michaels' autobiography suggests that it was WWF head writer Vince Russo who first conceived the moniker for the faction, while Bret Hart claims it originated from New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick, a frequent critic of the WWF.[4] Triple H also claims that Shane McMahon coined the name of D-Generation X when responding to Bret Hart's characterization of younger wrestlers as degenerates.[5]
DX was one of the three main contributing factors,[6][better source needed] along with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, to the onset of the WWF's Attitude Era. WWF/E Chairman Vince McMahon has repeatedly denied that DX was inspired or heavily influenced by World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) New World Order (nWo), though the core members of both on-screen factions included members of The Kliq; (Sean Waltman even served as a member of both groups; as did Michaels, briefly, during the nWo's short-lived revival in the WWF/E in 2002). On October 6, 1997, in one of the earliest DX promos, Michaels alluded to this off-screen connection. After Bret Hart claimed to have destroyed the Kliq and to have "run [Scott Hall and Kevin Nash] outta town" (referring to Hall and Nash leaving the WWF and signing with WCW), Michaels declared, "The Kliq owns this [professional wrestling] business", and said that the group had simply undergone "expansion" rather than "destruction".
History[edit]
Formation and early rivalries (1997–1998)[edit]
According to Triple H, WWF management wanted to keep The Kliq apart on-screen, so they were hesitant to pair he and Michaels together at first.[7] Despite this, the group began to form during the August 11, 1997 main event of Raw Is War. During Michaels' match with Mankind, Triple H (then wrestling under the ring name of Hunter Hearst Helmsley) and Chyna both interfered as Helmsley had been recently feuding with Mankind; towards the end of the match also saw Rick Rude return to the WWF revealing himself as Michaels' "insurance policy" and helped him win the match by attacking Mankind with a chair.[8][9] The following week on Raw, Michaels and Helmsley teamed up to take on Mankind and The Undertaker in the main event, only to lose the match by disqualification after Michaels used a chair on Undertaker.[8][10] Michaels would eventually face the Undertaker at Ground Zero: In Your House on September 7 with Helmsley, Chyna and Rude all interfering on Michaels' behalf to force the match to end in a no contest.[11] During this time, the group (Michaels and Helmsley in particular) were regularly shown on television practicing sophomoric/crude humor and rebelling against authority figures in the company, primarily Vince McMahon (then primarily presented as an on-screen commentator) and then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter, the latter of which DX made a recurring habit of humiliating by giving him the nickname "Sgt. Slobber".
D-Generation X's first major feud was against the Hart Foundation, which was led by Michaels' nemesis Bret Hart. At WWF One Night Only, the rest of DX helped Michaels defeat Foundation member British Bulldog for the WWF European Championship, officially making Michaels the WWF's first Grand Slam Champion.[12][13][14] On-screen, the name was taken from comments by Hart, who on several occasions, particularly including the October 6, 1997 episode of Raw Is War, had labeled Michaels "nothing more than a degenerate".[15] The following week, on October 13, 1997, Michaels made "D-Generation X" the group's official name,[16] mockingly citing Hart's insults as his inspiration and how Generation X (with both members being part of Generation X) is always stereotyped as apathetic and cynical.
Although DX and the members of the Hart Foundation continued to battle on-screen in one fashion or another through the end of 1997, the Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels feud ended abruptly at Survivor Series when Michaels won his third WWF Championship via the Montreal Screwjob, whereby Hart was lied to about the match's pre-determined outcome after Hart had signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and refused to drop the WWF Championship to Michaels in Canada and instead agreed to drop the title one month later in Springfield, Massachusetts.[17][18][19] Rick Rude was also legitimately upset over the events of the screwjob, and subsequently left the WWF to return to WCW. On the November 24 episode of Raw Is War, DX invited Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart to join the group which he accepted prior to a match later that night between Vader and Michaels. Michaels, Chyna and Helmsley assaulted Neidhart at the end of the show after Michaels defeated Vader showing that Neidhart's invitation to the group was nothing more than a ruse.[20] The following week on the December 1 episode of Raw Is War, Helmsley defeated Neidhart.[21] After the match, DX assaulted Neidhart once again, before Michaels spray-painted "WCW" on Neidhart's back, and signifying him following Bret Hart and The British Bulldog to WCW.[21] Sgt. Slaughter and Ken Shamrock saved Neidhart, before Slaughter and Shamrock attacked DX at the end of the show.[21]
D-Generation X was used as the title for a WWF D-Generation X: In Your House pay-per-view telecast on December 7, 1997.[22] By this point, with Michaels holding both the WWF and WWF European Championships, and DX's victory in the feud with the Hart Foundation, their status as the lead stable in the company was solidified. Michaels headlined the event and was disqualified in a WWF Championship title defense against Ken Shamrock when Owen Hart interfered, having not been seen on WWF television since Survivor Series.[22] Earlier in the night, Helmsley (now primarily wrestling under the ring name of Triple H) defeated Sgt. Slaughter with the help of Chyna in a Boot Camp match.[22][23] On the December 22 episode of Raw is War however, Michaels and Triple H were forced by Slaughter to wrestle each other for the European Championship.[24] In a mock match, Michaels laid down in the middle of the ring while Triple H constantly ran the ropes.[24] Triple H would then pin Michaels and win the European Championship.[24][25]
Triple H lost the European Championship to Owen Hart in January 1998 only to regain it two months later.[26][27][28] Going into WrestleMania XIV that March, Shawn Michaels was the reigning WWF Champion and Triple H was the reigning WWF European Champion. Heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson was also involved as the "special enforcer" in the main event of the night featuring Michaels against Stone Cold Steve Austin. In the weeks leading up to the event, Tyson was revealed to have joined D-Generation X and looked as if he was going to help Michaels retain the championship.[29] However, at the end of the match, Tyson turned on DX and cost Michaels the match and the WWF Championship, allowing Austin to win the title.[30][31]
Michaels' departure and "DX Army" (1998–1999)[edit]
The night after WrestleMania, Triple H officially ejected Michaels from DX for "dropping the ball" over the Tyson incident and subsequently losing the WWF Championship.[32] In reality, Michaels had suffered a severe back injury during his Casket Match with The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble, and started what would become a four-year hiatus from wrestling to recuperate.[7] Triple H would assume full leadership of DX and recruited X-Pac, who had been recently fired from WCW, and the current WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws ("Bad Ass" Billy Gunn and "The Road Dogg" Jesse James) into the stable. Triple H would dub this his new "DX Army".[32][7] While the intent was for the stable to remain heels, they quickly became popular with audiences and were eventually pushed as faces. During this time, they feuded with The Rock and his group the Nation of Domination and then later, Vince McMahon's Corporation.[7][33] The group remained united throughout 1998 and into early 1999.[vague][citation needed]
On episodes of Raw Is War in April and May[vague] DX "went to war" with WCW, with whom the WWF were in direct competition at the time, through a series of legitimate visits to WCW headquarters and live events. On April 27, 1998, Raw Is War and Nitro both took place in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, a mere 19 miles apart. DX traveled from the WWF show in Hampton Coliseum, in Hampton to The Scope in Norfolk and shouted insults against WCW through a bullhorn, as well as accusing WCW of giving out free tickets to fill up arenas for television while sporting black armbands with the acronym "POWCW" (Prisoner of WCW), which referenced fellow Kliq members Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. They then tried to enter the arena via a loading dock in their army jeep before being stopped by someone closing the door.[34] They also attempted to forcibly secure meetings with Nitro's executive producer Eric Bischoff and WCW owner Ted Turner at WCW headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Another segment used computer graphics to make it appear as if Triple H had flown over the Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville, Indiana where WCW Nitro was taking place and wrote "WCW Sucks" and "DX Says Suck It" in the sky.[33]
The group also feuded with the new Corporate Commissioner, former DX leader Shawn Michaels, who had turned heel and betrayed the group after costing X-Pac a WWF Championship match against The Rock.[35] The faction would continue to feud with Michaels and The Corporation throughout late 1998, with Michaels reversing Billy Gunn's Intercontinental Championship victory against Ken Shamrock,[35] costing The Outlaws the Tag Team Titles and even managing to seemingly lure the New Age Outlaws to The Corporation on the December 7 episode of Raw Is War. However, the Outlaws quickly revealed this to have been a ruse, turning on The Corporation that same night.[35] When The Corporation turned on Michaels in January 1999[vague], he was taken in by DX once more. This too was short lived, as later that night DX were instrumental in Michaels being ambushed by The Corporation, with X-Pac commenting "What goes around, comes around".
Some of the group's most memorable promos were their parodies of their rivals. On July 6, 1998, DX carried out the first of these segments, where they mocked and parodied The Nation, with Triple H mocking The Rock as "The Crock"; Road Dogg playing the part of D'Lo Brown as "B'Lo"; Billy Gunn as The Godfather; X-Pac as a parody of Mark Henry, going by "Mizark"; and comedian Jason Sensation as Owen Hart. On December 14, 1998, they would turn their attention to The Corporation with Triple H again appearing as "The Crock"; Road Dogg playing Mr. McMahon (with two midgets representing Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson kissing his behind throughout); Billy Gunn, playing Shane McMahon wearing an adult diaper; X-Pac playing Ken Shamrock; Chyna as The Big Boss Man; and Sensation returning to play Michaels.[36] These parodies would also be resurrected during the fourth incarnation. X-Pac's parody of Mark Henry was seen as highly controversial due to him being in blackface (unlike the rest of DX); X-Pac would admit on his podcast in 2018 that it was one of his biggest career regrets despite having Henry's blessing to be in blackface.[37]
Throughout 1999, the members would gradually turn on one another, leading to the group officially disbanding for the first time. Initially, Chyna turned on Triple H and X-Pac and joined the Corporation on January 25.[7] At WrestleMania XV, Chyna turned on then fellow Corporation member Kane, helping Triple H to defeat him, and seemingly rejoining DX. Later that night, however, Triple H and Chyna interfered in X-Pac's European Championship match with Shane McMahon. Initially, it appeared that they were there to help X-Pac, but Triple H quickly turned on him, delivering a Pedigree to his stablemate, costing him the match. Chyna and Triple H would then join The Corporation, with Kane subsequently being ousted.[7] As a result, X-Pac began to share a bond with Kane, which resulted in Kane becoming associated with the faction and the duo holding the WWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions.[38][39][40]
Though the group maintained a united front against The Corporation, Billy Gunn would become frustrated at Kane's presence as well as The New Age Outlaws' inability to win the Tag Team Championships from X-Pac and Kane. Following one such defeat on the April 29 episode of SmackDown!, Gunn became angry at X-Pac.[41] The following week on Sunday Night Heat, he apologized to X-Pac, but attacked him when X-Pac's back was turned, citing his frustration at being "held back" and departing from D-Generation X, therefore reducing the remaining members to just Road Dogg and X-Pac.[33] Over the following weeks, Gunn would continue to attack X-Pac and Road Dogg, often being chased away by Kane.[41] In July[vague], Triple H and Chyna told Billy Gunn that Road Dogg and X-Pac were making a lot more money from DX's royalties than the other three (due to them still using the name as a tag team). This would lead to a tag match at Fully Loaded in which the winners would get the rights to use the DX name, which Road Dogg and X-Pac won. Though not officially a member, upon winning the Tag Team titles from The Acolytes on August 9, Kane, under encouragement from partner X-Pac, uttered his first on-screen words without help from a voice box, saying "suck it".[41]
Reformation and McMahon-Helmsley Era (1999–2000)[edit]
On October 25, the group reformed as villains when Triple H and X-Pac helped the New Age Outlaws – who had reunited the previous month[41] – defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.[33][42] Later that week on SmackDown!, X-Pac suggested that DX would get "bigger", hinting that Kane would finally become an official member. However, later that night, he turned on Kane following a match with The Dudley Boyz, stating there would be no additional members and starting a feud between the two.[43] That same night, D-X were "hunted" by Austin, with Stone Cold catching Road Dogg in a bear trap, Billy Gunn in a snare trap, having a portion of the backstage ceiling fall on X-Pac and finally catching the whole group in a net.[43] Despite this, The Outlaws won their fifth Tag Team Championship soon afterward, defeating Mankind and Al Snow on the November 8 edition of Raw.[44] Not participating in the reunited DX were Chyna who was in a feud with Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship, Shawn Michaels who was in the middle of a four-year hiatus from wrestling, and Rick Rude who died back in April of a drug overdose.
Triple H, meanwhile, would escalate an ongoing feud with Vince McMahon on the November 29 episode of Raw, when he interrupted the wedding of Stephanie McMahon and Test to reveal that he had already married Stephanie at a Las Vegas drive-through wedding chapel while she was supposedly drugged unconscious. Triple H would then defeat Vince in a street fight at Armageddon after Stephanie turned on her father and embraced her then-storyline husband, with the two revealing the next night on Raw that the ceremony, as well as Stephanie being under the influence, was a ruse as part of a revenge plot for Vince orchestrating Stephanie's abduction by the Ministry. This officially marked the beginning of the McMahon-Helmsley Era, with Stephanie becoming an official member of DX through her ties to Triple H.[45]
When Kane's storyline girlfriend Tori began to get involved in the feud between Kane and X-Pac, Triple H and Stephanie punished her by scheduling her in a match with X-Pac on the December 16 episode of SmackDown!, after which they would grant Kane a WWF Championship match against The Big Show on the December 20 episode of Raw where if he lost, Tori would have to spend Christmas with X-Pac. The New Age Outlaws distracted Kane, costing him the match, and when Tori returned, she insisted the X-Pac had been a perfect gentleman.
By January 2000, Triple H had dubbed himself "The Game", after stating he was above the top of the wrestling world (as in not merely the "best in the game", but in fact "the game" itself) and was nicknamed "The Cerebral Assassin" by Jim Ross. On the January 3 episode of Raw Is War, Triple H defeated Big Show to win his third WWF Championship.[46] Meanwhile, storylines implied that X-Pac had truly done something harmful to Tori when she started appearing as neurotic and paranoid, with many WWF superstars using Tori's mental state to provoke Kane into attacking their enemies over the ensuing month. X-Pac also gave Tori an apparently forced kiss during his match with Kane on the January 24 episode of Raw. This storyline culminated on the January 27 episode of SmackDown!, when DX jumped Kane during another match against Big Show, leading to a promo where X-Pac recounted his Christmas rendez-vous with Tori; Tori then passionately kissed X-Pac, turning on Kane and joining D-X in the process.[47] Throughout this period, D-X would feud with the likes of The Rock, Mankind/Cactus Jack, Chris Jericho, Kane and the other McMahons,[41] primarily securing and protecting Triple H's WWF Championship[48] as well as The Outlaws' WWF Tag Team Championship. They would also arrive at arenas in a tour bus called "The D-X Express".[49]
During a match at No Way Out where The Outlaws lost the Tag Team Championship to The Dudley Boyz, Gunn suffered a torn rotator cuff which would place him out of action for several months.[50] On-screen, to explain his impending absence to recover from his injury, Gunn's storyline involved him getting thrown out of D-X because "he lost his cool" when Triple H had X-Pac take his place in the rematch.[33] X-Pac teamed with Road Dogg once again but the two never reached the heights the New Age Outlaws had. On March 30, X-Pac and Tori assisted Stephanie McMahon in winning the Women's Championship from Jacqueline.[51] At WrestleMania 2000, Triple H defended his title in a fatal four-way match against The Rock, Mick Foley, and Big Show, with a separate McMahon appearing in every superstar's corner. Vince McMahon turned on The Rock and aided Triple H in retaining his title.[52] D-X would then unite with Vince and Shane's Corporation stable, and the resulting group was officially dubbed The McMahon-Helmsley Regime. On April 27, Stone Cold Steve Austin used a crane to drop a steel beam on the DX Express tour bus, causing the bus to explode in the parking lot.[53]
The Rock defeated Triple H for the WWF Championship at Backlash in a match which featured Stone Cold Steve Austin's brief return to the WWF.[54] Though Triple H regained the title the following month at Judgment Day,[55] the group gradually broke apart. Road Dogg and X-Pac became frustrated by their lack of success as a tag team and turned on each other, culminating in a match at SummerSlam, which X-Pac won.[56] By late 2000, Triple H had become a solo star, and even briefly turned face during a love triangle storyline involving Stephanie and Kurt Angle. Billy Gunn, meanwhile, had returned to action and struck a partnership with Chyna following the dissolution of her storyline relationship with Eddie Guerrero.
On the November 6, 2000 episode of Raw Is War, Chyna, Dogg, Gunn, and Triple H reunited to take on The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn) in an eight-person tag team match, which they won.[57] The match included the group doing their old D-X entrance, as well as telling the crowd to "suck it!" This reunion would be short-lived however, as on that very same episode, Triple H turned heel when he attacked Stone Cold Steve Austin and revealed himself as the mastermind behind Austin's hit and run assault at the Survivor Series the year before. Chyna and Gunn, along with Road Dogg and his new tag team partner K-Kwik, continued to feud with The Radicalz that month, leading to a match at
Toronto FC
Toronto FC theme by Raymond Regina
Download: TorontoFC.p3t
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| Full name | Toronto Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Reds | |||
| Short name | TFC | |||
| Founded | October 27, 2005 | |||
| Stadium | BMO Field Toronto, Ontario | |||
| Capacity | 30,000[1] | |||
| Investor-operator[a] | Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment | |||
| President | Bill Manning | |||
| General Manager | Jason Hernandez | |||
| Coach | John Herdman | |||
| League | Major League Soccer | |||
| 2023 | Eastern Conference: 15th Overall: 29th Playoffs: Did not qualify | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO Field, located at Exhibition Place on Toronto's shoreline west of Downtown Toronto. Toronto FC joined MLS in 2007 as an expansion team and was the first Canadian-based franchise in the league.
The first team is operated by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), which also operates the MLS Next Pro affiliate team Toronto FC II and most other professional sports franchises in the city, like the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL), Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
In 2017, Toronto FC won a domestic treble with the MLS Cup, Supporters' Shield and Canadian Championship, making them the first and only MLS club to ever do so. They are eight-time winners of the Canadian Championship and were runners-up of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League and the MLS Cup in 2016 and 2019.
As of 2023,[update] the club has an estimated value of US$690 million, making them the sixth most valuable club behind Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy, Atlanta United FC, New York City FC, and D.C. United, and have the highest player payroll in Major League Soccer.[3][4][5]
History[edit]
Expansion[edit]
MLS awarded Toronto a team in 2005. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) paid US$10 million for the franchise.[6] The name of the team was announced on May 11, 2006.[7]
The announcement followed an online consultation in which the public was invited to vote on the name for a limited period. The voting options were "Toronto Northmen", "Inter Toronto FC", "Toronto Reds", and "Toronto FC". MLSE's strategy in choosing "Toronto FC" following this process was based on two reasons. Firstly, over 40 percent of the online vote supported the simple Toronto FC name during the consultation; secondly, MLSE hoped that the fairly generic name would help the new club earn a more organic nickname from the Toronto fans rather than having one imposed upon the team.[8] The team has been called "TFC" and "the Reds" by the media, the team, and the fans. The "FC" ("Football Club") in the club's name is the conventional initialism for association football teams across Europe and is commonly used among MLS teams to present a more authentic soccer brand.[9]
Formative years (2007–2010)[edit]
Despite a long scoreless streak to start the club's history, Toronto FC quickly began to establish itself as a club with significant fan support. The club's first win came on May 12, 2007, at BMO Field as Danny Dichio scored the team's first goal in the 24th minute of a 3–1 home win over the Chicago Fire.[10] Though TFC slipped to the bottom of the MLS standings with a record of 6–17–7, the team built a foundation as the first Canadian team in MLS. In the club's second season in 2008, Toronto hosted the 2008 MLS All-Star Game. The club finished last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 9–13–8, but the enthusiastic fan base continued to fill BMO Field to capacity.[11] To determine the Canadian Soccer Association's representative in the CONCACAF Champions League, Toronto FC played in the inaugural Canadian Championship in 2008 competing for the Voyageurs Cup. TFC were the favourites to win the championship in its first year, but the Montreal Impact prevailed.
The last-place New York Red Bulls defeated Toronto FC 5–0 in the final 2009 regular season game, leaving TFC one point out of the playoffs.[12] Despite bringing in some high-profile talent, the Reds could not seem to field a consistent side. Dwayne De Rosario became an immediate scoring influence and Amado Guevara was a strong playmaker and established MLS veteran, but the Honduran's future at the Canadian team seemed murky with looming 2010 FIFA World Cup duties. Rookie goalkeeper Stefan Frei quickly replaced Greg Sutton as a regular starter and immediately became a fan favourite. TFC only scored two goals in the final 15 minutes of games all season (last in MLS). During the same 15-minute period, they gave up 16 goals (most in MLS), thus creating a −14 goal differential during the final 15 minutes.[13]
In the 2009 Canadian Championship, Toronto FC required a four-goal victory over the Montreal Impact in the final game of the competition to nullify the Vancouver Whitecaps' +4 goal differential. Anything less would result in Vancouver winning the championship. Toronto FC went down 1–0 early but overwhelmed an under-strength Impact side 6–1 on the back of a hat-trick by De Rosario. Guevara added two, scoring in the 69th and 92nd minute. Chad Barrett scored the decisive goal in the 82nd minute, which gave TFC the lead over Vancouver. The unlikely victory was dubbed by fans and media as the "Miracle in Montreal".[14] Toronto FC subsequently participated in the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League, but lost 1–0 on aggregate to the Puerto Rico Islanders in the preliminary round of the tournament.[15]
After failing to qualify on the final day of the 2009 campaign, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment said anything short of a playoff spot in 2010 would be unacceptable. With that directive, former director of soccer Mo Johnston hired Preki[16] and made wholesale changes to the roster to reflect the U.S. Hall of Fame's plan to play a tough, defensive style. Despite scoring troubles, TFC played well at the start, going undefeated in seven games at one time. The team struggled following the World Cup break. Sensing problems in the locker room and to try to salvage the season, MLSE dismissed both Johnston and Preki on September 14, naming Earl Cochrane interim director of soccer and Nick Dasovic interim coach.[17] The players responded to Dasovic's more open flexible style, but it was not enough as the club was eliminated from playoff contention with three games left in the season. Off-field issues with season-seat holders over the 2011 season ticket package added to the fans' frustrations, forcing MLSE to hold a series of town hall meetings.[18]
Toronto FC played Honduran side C.D. Motagua in the preliminary round of the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League. TFC won 1–0 in the first leg on a goal by Chad Barrett, and tied 2–2 in the second leg on goals by De Rosario and Barrett, qualifying for the group stage. Toronto FC won their first group stage match 2–1 against Mexican side Cruz Azul on August 17, 2010.[19] However, the team failed to qualify for the championship round after finishing in third place behind group winners Real Salt Lake and second place Cruz Azul.
Cup success and league failure (2011–2014)[edit]
On November 3, 2010, MLSE announced the hiring of former German international and coach Jürgen Klinsmann, and his California-based company, SoccerSolutions, to fix the team's game.[20] Over the next six months, Klinsmann assessed the team, identifying a playing style, and recommended a candidate for the director of soccer position.[21] On January 6, 2011, the new management team for Toronto FC was announced. Aron Winter was hired as head coach with his compatriot Bob de Klerk named first assistant coach.[22] Paul Mariner was named as director of soccer. Winter was selected to bring the Ajax culture, possession and 4–3–3 system to Toronto FC. Management made wholesale changes to the roster before and during the 2011 season, trading numerous players and eventually their captain and Toronto native De Rosario.[23]
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Toronto FC used its remaining two designated player slots on two notable European players, signing Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans to 2.5-year contracts. The team went on to set a record for most players used in a MLS season with 39. Despite a strong finish to the season with only two losses in their last 12 games, TFC missed the MLS playoffs for a fifth straight year. Nonetheless, they earned a win in their final group stage match of 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League visiting the FC Dallas, securing a berth in the knockout stage versus LA Galaxy. After a 2–2 draw in Toronto before 47,658 fans at the Rogers Centre,[24] Toronto FC defeated the Galaxy 2–1 in Los Angeles to reach the CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals, the first Canadian team to do so.[25] They were defeated by Mexican side Santos Laguna in the semi-finals 7–3 on aggregate.[26][27]
On June 7, 2012, Aron Winter resigned from the team upon refusing to be reassigned from his head coaching role after the team started the season with a nine-game losing streak, setting an MLS record for the worst start to a season.[28] Under Winter in 2012, the team's league record was 1–9–0 and in all other competitions was 3–1–4, including a fourth-straight Canadian Championship. He was replaced by Paul Mariner, but TFC continued to struggle finishing with a 4–12–8 record in league play under him.[29] Toronto FC also failed to advance in the CONCACAF Champions League, finishing second in its group with a 2–2–0 record. Overall, they finished the MLS season on a 14-game winless streak and ended up in last place, with five wins and 23 points.
It was announced Kevin Payne would be leaving D.C. United for the general manager position at Toronto FC on November 27, 2012.[30] First-time coach Ryan Nelsen replaced Mariner as of January 7, 2013.[31] On April 25, 2013, Payne signed the first young designated player in MLS, Matías Laba.[32] On July 9, Payne controversially traded Luis Silva to D.C. United for an undisclosed amount of allocation money.[33] The team fired Payne on September 4.[34][35] Following the removal of Payne, recently appointed MLSE president Tim Leiweke[36] reasoned that there were philosophical differences between them as to how Toronto FC should move forward.[37] Leiweke, who brought David Beckham to the LA Galaxy in early 2007, quickly revealed that he intended to make TFC more competitive with similarly ambitious, blockbuster signings.[38] On September 20, Toronto FC announced that the vacant general manager position had been filled by Tim Bezbatchenko.[39]
Under Bezbatchenko, Toronto FC made several high-profile moves during the 2013–14 off season. Among the transfers were MLS veterans Justin Morrow and Jackson; Brasileiro star Gilberto, United States international Michael Bradley of A.S. Roma, and the return of Toronto FC leading goal scorer De Rosario.[40][41] On January 10, 2014, Tottenham Hotspur announced they had agreed a deal with the team over the transfer of England international Jermain Defoe for a reported fee of £6 million, and an Advertising Rights Agreement with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.[42] Defoe would earn a reported £90,000 a week, making him the highest earner in MLS.[43] These moves required the trade of Matias Laba to Vancouver to comply with MLS's maximum of three designated players per team. On February 7, 2014, Brazil national team keeper Júlio César joined on loan from Queens Park Rangers.[44] The team started the year with promise, but much like 2010, they floundered after the World Cup break. On August 31, Nelsen was fired by Bezbatchenko a day after a 0–3 defeat to the New England Revolution at BMO field, where Nelsen criticized Bezbatchenko in his post-match press conference for putting the players under needless pressure in the media. The head coaching position was filled by former American international and
Manchester United FC theme by Green Monkey Download: ManchesterUnitedFC.p3t Redirect to: All Caps theme by DriveForSix Download: AllCaps.p3t Redirect to: LeBron James theme by Trevor Download: LeBronJames.p3t
LeBron Raymone James Sr. (/ləˈbrɒn/ lə-BRON; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely recognized as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport and is often compared to Michael Jordan in debates regarding who is the greatest basketball player of all time.[a] He has competed in 10 NBA Finals (with eight consecutive appearances from 2011 to 2018), winning four NBA championships.[1] He also won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023 with the Lakers, and two Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. men's national team.
Individually, James is the all-time leading scorer in NBA history and ranks fourth in career assists, has won four Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, four Finals MVP Awards, three All-Star Game MVP Awards, and was named the inaugural NBA Cup MVP. He has been named an All-Star a record 20 times, selected to the All-NBA Team 20 times (including 13 First Team selections)[2][3] and the All-Defensive Team six times, and was a runner-up for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice in his career.[4][5] Noted for his longevity, James is currently the oldest player in the NBA.[6] After his son Bronny was drafted in 2024, he became part of the first active father-son duo in NBA history.
James grew up playing basketball for St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He was heavily touted by the national media as a future NBA superstar for his all-around scoring, passing, athleticism and playmaking abilities.[7] A prep-to-pro, he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft. Named the 2004 NBA Rookie of the Year,[8] he soon established himself as one of the league's premier players, leading the Cavaliers to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and winning the NBA MVP award in 2009 and 2010.[4] After failing to win a championship with Cleveland, James left in 2010 as a free agent to join the Miami Heat;[9] this was announced in a nationally televised special titled The Decision and is among the most controversial free agency moves in sports history.[10]
James won his first two NBA championships while playing for the Heat in 2012 and 2013; in both of these years, he also earned the league's MVP and Finals MVP awards. After his fourth season with the Heat in 2014, James opted out of his contract and re-signed with the Cavaliers. In 2016, he led the Cavaliers to victory over the Golden State Warriors in the Finals by coming back from a 3–1 deficit, delivering the team's first championship and ending the Cleveland sports curse.[11] In 2018, James exercised his contract option to leave the Cavaliers and signed with the Lakers, where he won the 2020 NBA championship and his fourth Finals MVP.[12] On February 7, 2023, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the leading scorer in league history.
Off the court, James has earned more wealth and fame from numerous endorsement contracts. He is the first player in NBA history to accumulate $1 billion in earnings as an active player.[13] He has been featured in books, documentaries (including winning three Sports Emmy Awards as an executive producer), and television commercials. James was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2005, 2013, 2017, and 2019, the most selections by a professional athlete. He has won 20 ESPY Awards, hosted Saturday Night Live, and starred in the sports film Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021). James has been a part-owner of Liverpool F.C. since 2011 and leads the LeBron James Family Foundation, which has opened an elementary school, housing complex, retail plaza, and medical center in Akron.[14][15]
James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio, to Gloria Marie James, who was 16 at the time of his birth.[16]: 22 His father, Anthony McClelland, has an extensive criminal record and was not involved in his life.[17][18][19] When James was growing up, life was often a struggle for the family, as they moved from apartment to apartment in the seedier neighborhoods of Akron while Gloria struggled to find steady work.[20] Realizing that her son would be better off in a more stable family environment, Gloria allowed him to move in with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach who introduced James to basketball when he was nine years old.[16]: 23
James began playing organized basketball in the fifth grade.[21] He later played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars.[20] The team enjoyed success on a local and national level, led by James and his friends Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee.[16]: 24 The group dubbed themselves the "Fab Four" and promised each other that they would attend high school together.[16]: 27 In a move that stirred local controversy, they chose to attend St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, a private Catholic school with predominantly white students.[22]
As a 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m) tall freshman, James averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds per game for the St. Vincent–St. Mary varsity basketball team.[23] The Fighting Irish went 27–0 en route to the Division III state title, making them the only boys high school team in Ohio to finish the season undefeated.[24] As a sophomore, James averaged 25.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, along with 5.8 assists and 3.8 steals per game.[25] For some home games during the season, St. Vincent–St. Mary played at the University of Akron's 5,492-seat Rhodes Arena to satisfy ticket demand from alumni, fans, as well as college and NBA scouts who wanted to see James play.[26] The Fighting Irish finished the season 26–1 and repeated as state champions.[23] For his outstanding play, James was named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team, becoming the first sophomore to do either.[23]
In 2001, during the summer before his junior year, James was the subject of a feature article in Slam magazine in which writer Ryan Jones lauded the 16-year-old James, who had grown to 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m), as "[possibly] the best high school basketball player in America right now".[27] During the season, James also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, becoming the first high school basketball underclassman to do so.[16]: 104 With averages of 29 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 3.3 steals per game, he was again named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team,[23] and became the first junior to be named male basketball Gatorade National Player of the Year.[16]: 117 St. Vincent–St. Mary finished the year with a 23–4 record, ending their season with a loss in the Division II championship game.[16]: 114 Following the loss, James unsuccessfully petitioned for a change to the NBA's draft eligibility rules in an attempt to enter the 2002 NBA draft.[28][29] During this time, he used marijuana, which he said was to help cope with the stress that resulted from the constant media attention he was receiving.[30]
Throughout his senior year, James and the Fighting Irish traveled across the country to play a number of nationally ranked teams, including a game on December 12, 2002, against Oak Hill Academy that was nationally televised on ESPN2.[16]: 142 Time Warner Cable, looking to capitalize on James's popularity, offered St. Vincent–St. Mary's games to Ohio-based subscribers for $7.95 per game on a pay-per-view basis throughout the season, but ended up not being profitable.[16]: 143 [31] For the year, James averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.4 steals per game,[23] was named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team for an unprecedented third consecutive year,[16]: 178 and was named Gatorade National Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.[23] He participated in three year-end high school basketball all-star games—the EA Sports Roundball Classic, the Jordan Brand Capital Classic, and the McDonald's All-American Game—losing his National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility and making it official that he would enter the 2003 NBA draft.[32]
Also during his senior year, James was the centerpiece of several controversies. For his 18th birthday, he skirted state amateur bylaws by accepting a Hummer H2 as a gift from his mother, who had secured a loan for the vehicle by utilizing James's future earning power as an NBA player.[33] This prompted an investigation by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) because its guidelines stated that no amateur may accept any gift valued over $100 as a reward for athletic performance. James was cleared of any wrongdoing because he had accepted the luxury vehicle from a family member and not from an agent or any outside source.[32] Later in the season, James accepted two throwback jerseys worth $845 from an urban clothing store in exchange for posing for pictures, officially violating OHSAA rules and resulting in his being stripped of his high school sports eligibility.[32] James appealed the ruling and his penalty was eventually dropped to a two-game suspension, allowing him to play the remainder of the year. The Irish were also forced to forfeit one of their wins, their only official loss that season.[34] In his first game back after the suspension, James scored a career-high 52 points.[35] St. Vincent–St. Mary went on to win the Division II championship, marking their third division title in four years.[36]
As an underclassman, James played wide receiver for St. Vincent–St. Mary's football team.[16]: 51 He was recruited by some Division I programs, including Notre Dame.[37] At the conclusion of his second year, he was named first team all-state, and as a junior, he helped lead the Fighting Irish to the state semifinals.[25] He did not play during his senior year because of a wrist injury that he sustained in an AAU basketball game.[38] Some sports analysts, football critics, high school coaches, former and current players have speculated that James could have played in the National Football League.[b]
James was selected by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft.[43] In his first regular season game, he scored 25 points in a 106–92 loss to the Sacramento Kings, setting an NBA record for the most points scored by a prep-to-pro player in his debut performance.[44] At the conclusion of the 2003–2004 season, he became the first Cavalier to receive the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.[8] With final averages of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game,[45] he also became the third player in league history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game as a rookie.[46] Cleveland ultimately finished the season 35–47, failing to make the playoffs despite an 18-game improvement over the previous year.[47]
In the 2004–2005 season, James earned his first NBA All-Star Game selection, contributing 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in a winning effort for the Eastern Conference.[48] Around the league, teams took note of his rapid development, and Denver Nuggets coach George Karl told Sports Illustrated: "It's weird talking about a 20-year-old kid being a great player, but he is a great player ... He's the exception to almost every rule."[49] On March 20, James scored 56 points against the Toronto Raptors, setting Cleveland's new single-game points record.[50] With final averages of 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, he was named to his first All-NBA Team.[25] Despite a 30–20 record to start the year,[50] the Cavaliers again failed to make the playoffs, finishing the season 42–40.[51]
At the
Scottie Pippen theme by Logic Download: ScottiePippen.p3t
Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr.[3][4] (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Considered one of the greatest small forwards of all time, Pippen played an important role in transforming the Bulls into a championship team and popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1990s.[5]
Pippen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight consecutive times and the All-NBA First Team three times. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star and was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1994. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the 1996–97 season, and is one of four players to have his jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls (the others being Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, and Michael Jordan). He played a main role on both the 1992 Chicago Bulls Championship team and the 1996 Chicago Bulls Championship team, which were selected as two of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History. His biography on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame's website states that "the multidimensional Pippen ran the court like a point guard, attacked the boards like a power forward, and swished the nets like a shooting guard."[6] During his 17-year career, he played 12 seasons with the Bulls, one with the Houston Rockets and four with the Portland Trail Blazers, making the postseason 16 consecutive times. In October 2021, Pippen was again honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[7]
Pippen is the only NBA player to have won an NBA title and Olympic gold medal in the same year twice, having done so in both 1992 and 1996.[8] He was a part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic "Dream Team" which beat its opponents by an average of 44 points.[9] He was also a key figure in the 1996 Olympic team, alongside former "Dream Team" members Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, and David Robinson, as well as newer faces such as Shaquille O'Neal, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway and Grant Hill. He wore the number 8 during both years.
Pippen is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once for his individual career and once as a member of the "Dream Team", having been simultaneously inducted for both on August 13, 2010.[10] The Bulls retired his number 33 on December 8, 2005. The University of Central Arkansas retired his number 33 on January 21, 2010.[11]
He was formerly married to television personality Larsa Pippen, and is the father of basketball player Scotty Pippen Jr.
Pippen was born in Hamburg, Arkansas, to Ethel (1923–2016)[12] and Preston Pippen (1920–1990).[13] He has 11 older siblings. His mother was 6 ft (180 cm) tall and his father was 6 ft 1 in (185 cm), and all of their children were tall, with Scottie Pippen being the tallest. His parents could not afford to send their other children to college. His father worked in a paper mill until suffering from a stroke that paralyzed his right side, prevented him from walking, and affected his speech.[14] Pippen attended Hamburg High School. Playing point guard, he led his team to the state playoffs and earned all-conference honors as a senior, but was not offered any college scholarships.
Pippen began his college playing career at the University of Central Arkansas after being discovered by the school's head basketball coach, Don Dyer, as a walk-on. He did not receive much media coverage because Central Arkansas played in the NAIA, while the media focused on the more prestigious NCAA. Pippen stood only 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall when he graduated from high school, but experienced a growth spurt while at Central Arkansas and grew to 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m).[15] As a senior, his per game averages of 23.6 points, 10 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and near 60 percent field goal shooting earned him consensus NAIA All-American honors in 1986 and 1987, making him a dominant player in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference, drawing the attention of NBA scouts.[11][16]
Having eyed Pippen before the 1987 NBA draft,[17] the Chicago Bulls manufactured a trade with the Seattle SuperSonics that sent Pippen, selected fifth overall, to the Bulls in exchange for the eighth pick, Olden Polynice, and future draft pick options.[18] Pippen became part of Chicago's young forward duo with 6-foot-10-inch (208 cm) power forward Horace Grant (the 10th overall pick in 1987), although both came off the bench during their rookie seasons. Pippen made his NBA debut on November 7, 1987, when the Chicago Bulls opened against the Philadelphia 76ers. He finished with 10 points, two steals, four assists, and one rebound in 23 minutes of play, and the Bulls won 104–94.[19]
With teammate Michael Jordan as a motivational and instructional mentor, Pippen refined his skills and slowly developed many new ones over his career. Jordan and Pippen frequently played one-on-one outside of team practices, simply to hone each other's skills on offense and defense. Pippen claimed the starting small forward position during the 1988 NBA Playoffs, helping the Jordan-led Bulls to reach the conference semifinals for the first time in over a decade. Pippen emerged as one of the league's premier young forwards at the turn of the decade,[20][failed verification] recording then-career highs in points (16.5 points per game), rebounds (6.7 rebounds per game), and field goal shooting (48.9%), as well as finishing third in the league in steals with 211 during the 1989-1990 season.[1] These feats earned Pippen his debut NBA All-Star selection in 1990.[21]
Pippen continued to improve[citation needed] as the Bulls reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989 and 1990. In each season, the Bulls were eliminated by the Detroit Pistons.[22] In the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals, Pippen suffered a severe migraine headache at the start of Game Seven that impacted his play, and he made only one of his ten field goal attempts as the Bulls lost 93–74.[23]
In the 1990–91 NBA season, Pippen emerged as the Bulls' primary defensive stopper and a versatile scoring threat in Phil Jackson's triangle offense. Alongside the help of Jordan, Pippen continued to improve his game, especially in shooting from the field.[24][better source needed] He had his first triple-double on November 23 when the Bulls faced the Los Angeles Clippers as he had 13 points, 12 assists and 13 rebounds in 30 minutes in a 105–97 win.[25] The Bulls finished the season with a record of 61–21. They were first in the Central Division, first in the Eastern Conference and second overall, as the Portland Trail Blazers clinched the first spot. Pippen was second on the team in points per game with 17.8 and steals with 2.4 next to Jordan and he was also second in rebounds per game with 7.3 next to Horace Grant. Pippen led the team in blocks per game with 1.1 and assists per game with 6.2.[26] He ranked fifth overall in the NBA in steals, both for total steals and steals per game.[27] For his efforts in the 1990–91 NBA season Pippen was awarded NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors.[26] The Bulls went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals.
Pippen helped lead the Bulls to their first three-peat, as they won the following two years in 1992 and 1993.
Michael Jordan retired before the 1993–94 season and in his absence Pippen emerged from Jordan's shadow. That year, he earned All-Star Game MVP honors and led the Bulls in scoring, assists, and blocks, and was second in the NBA in steals per game, averaging 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 49.1% from the field and a career-best 32% from the 3-point line. For his efforts, he earned the first of three straight All-NBA First Team selections, and he finished third in MVP voting. The Bulls (with key additions of Toni Kukoč, Steve Kerr and Luc Longley) finished the season with 55 wins, only two fewer than the year before.
However, one of the most controversial moments of Pippen's career came in his first year without Jordan. In the 1994 NBA Playoffs, the Eastern Conference Semifinals pitted the Bulls against the New York Knicks, whom the Bulls had dispatched en route to a championship each of the previous three seasons. On May 13, 1994, down 2–0 in the series in Game 3, Bulls coach Phil Jackson needed a big play from his team to have any chance of going on to the conference finals. With 1.8 seconds left and the score tied at 102, Jackson designed the last play for Toni Kukoč, with Pippen instructed to inbound the basketball. Pippen, who had been the Bulls' leader all season long in Jordan's absence, was so angered by Jackson's decision to not let him take the potential game-winner that he refused to leave the bench and re-enter the game when the timeout was over.[28] Although Kukoč did hit the game-winner, a 23-foot (7 m) fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, there was little celebrating by the Bulls, as television cameras caught an unsmiling Phil Jackson storming off the court.[29] "Scottie asked out of the play," Jackson told reporters moments later in the post-game interview.[30]
A key play occurred in Game 5 which changed the outcome of the series. With 2.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Knicks' Hubert Davis attempted a 23-foot (7 m) shot which was defended by Pippen, who was called for a personal foul by referee Hue Hollins, who determined that Pippen made contact with Davis.[31] Television replays indicated that contact was made after Davis had released the ball.[31] Davis successfully made both free throw attempts to assist in the Knicks victory, 87–86, and gave the Knicks a three games to two advantage in the series.[31] The resulting incident was described as the most controversial moment of Hollins' career by Referee magazine.[32] Hollins defended the call after the game saying, "I saw Scottie make contact with his shooting motion. I'm positive there was contact on the shot."[31] Darell Garretson, the league's supervisor of officials and who also officiated in the league, agreed with Hollins and issued a statement, "The perception is that referees should put their whistles in their pockets in the last minutes. But it all comes down to what is sufficient contact. There's an old, old adage that refs don't make those calls in the last seconds. Obviously, you hope you don't make a call that will decide a game. But the call was within the context of how we had been calling them all game."[31] Garretson later changed his stance of the call the next season. Speaking to a Chicago Tribune reporter, Garretson described Hollins' call as "terrible".[32] Chicago head coach Phil Jackson, upset over the outcome of the game, was fined $10,000 for comparing the loss to the gold medal game controversy at the 1972 Summer Olympics.[33]
In Game 6, Pippen made the signature play of his career. Midway in the third quarter, Pippen received the ball during a Bulls fast break, charging toward the basket. As center Patrick Ewing jumped up to defend the shot, Pippen fully extended the ball out, absorbing body contact and a foul from Ewing, and slammed the ball through the hoop with Ewing's hand in his face. Pippen landed several feet away from the basket along the baseline, incidentally walking over a fallen Ewing. He then made taunting remarks to both Ewing and then Spike Lee, who was standing courtside supporting the Knicks, thus receiving a technical foul. This extended the Bulls' lead to 17; they won 93–79.
In Game 7, Pippen scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but the Bulls still lost 87–77.[34] The Knicks then proceeded to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Houston Rockets, also in seven games.
Trade rumors involving Pippen escalated during the 1994 off-season. Jerry Krause, the Bulls' general manager, was reportedly looking to ship Pippen off to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for all-star forward Shawn Kemp, moving Toni Kukoč into Pippen's position as starting small forward with Kemp filling in the vacant starting power forward position in place of Horace Grant, a free agent who left the Bulls for the up-and-coming Orlando Magic during the off-season. In January, when asked by Craig Sager as to whether he thought that he would be traded, Pippen replied, "I hope I am".[35] However, Pippen would remain a Bull and those rumors were put to rest once it was announced that Michael Jordan would be returning to the Bulls, late in the 1994–95 season. Badly lacking interior defense and rebounding due to Grant's departure, the Pippen-led Bulls did not play as well in the 1994 season as they had in the season before. For the first time in years, they were in danger of missing the playoffs. The Bulls were just 34–31, prior to Jordan's return for the final 17 games, and Jordan led them to a 13–4 record to close the regular season. Still, Pippen finished the 1994 season leading the Bulls in every major statistical category—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks—joining Dave Cowens (1977–78) as the only players in NBA history to accomplish the feat; Kevin Garnett (2002–03), LeBron James (2008–09), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2016–17) and Nikola Jokić (2021–22) have since matched it.[5][36]
With the return of Michael Jordan and the addition of multiple-time NBA rebound leader Dennis Rodman, the Bulls posted the best regular-season record in NBA history at the time (72–10) in 1995–96 (later surpassed in 2015–16 by the Golden State Warriors) en route to winning their fourth title against the Seattle SuperSonics. Later that year, Pippen became the first person to win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year twice, playing for Team USA at the Atlanta Olympics.[8]
The Bulls opened the 1996–97 NBA season with a 17–1 record and had a league-best record of 42–6 when entering the All-Star break.[37] In November 1996, Pippen set the NBA single-month plus-minus record of 272.[38] Both Pippen and Jordan were selected among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as part of the league celebrating its 50th season. The ceremony was held at half-time of the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, which took place on February 9, 1997. Phil Jackson, the Bulls' head coach, was honored as one of the 10 greatest coaches in NBA history, while the 1992 Chicago Bulls Championship team and the 1996 Chicago Bulls Championship team, on which Pippen had played a key role, were selected as two of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History.[39] In the All-Star game itself, Pippen was 4–9 from the field, finishing with 8 points as well as 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 25 minutes of play. The East defeat the West 132–120 and Glen Rice was crowned the All-Star Game MVP.[40]
Pippen scored a career high of 47 points in a 134–123 win over the Denver Nuggets on February 18, going 19–27 from the field and adding 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 41 minutes of play.[41] On February 23 Pippen was voted "Player of The Week" for the week of February 17,[42] his fifth and final time to receive that honor. As the league entered its final weeks the Bulls lost several of their key players, including Bill Wennington (ruptured tendon in his foot),[43] Dennis Rodman (injured knee),[44] and Toni Kukoč (inflamed sole on his foot).[45] Pippen and Jordan were forced to shoulder a greater load while keeping the team headed towards a playoff appearance.[37] Even with this challenge Chicago finished a league-best 69–13 record. In the final game of the regular season, Pippen missed a game-winning 3-pointer, leaving the Bulls just short of having an NBA record-setting back-to-back 70-win seasons.[46] For his efforts in the 1996–97 NBA season, Pippen earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors for the seventh consecutive time as well as All-NBA Second Team honors.[47]
Frank Lampard theme by Adam Taylor Download: FrankLampard.p3t
Frank James Lampard OBE (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently caretaker manager of Premier League club Chelsea. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea's greatest players ever, and one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. He has the record of the most goals by a midfielder in the Premier League and of scoring the most goals from outside the box (41).[4][5][6] He ranked highly on a number of statistics for Premier League players for the ten years from 1 December 2000, including most games and most wins.[7][8]
A box-to-box midfielder, Lampard began his career in 1995 at West Ham United, the club where his father, Frank Lampard Sr., also played. He is best known for his time at London rivals Chelsea, for whom he signed in 2001 for £11 million. In his thirteen years with the club, Lampard established himself as a prolific scorer from midfield, becoming Chelsea's all-time leading goalscorer, with 211 goals scored in all competitions.[9][10] Lampard won three Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, four FA Cups, and two League Cups. In 2005, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year, and finished runner-up for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year. After leaving Chelsea, Lampard played for league rivals Manchester City[11][12] and Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City FC before retiring in 2017.[10][13]
Lampard is one of 11 players, and the only midfielder, to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League. He is fourth in the Premier League's all-time assists ranking, with 102 assists.[14][15] Lampard holds a number of additional Chelsea and Premier League records, and has won PFA Fans' Player of the Year and the FWA Tribute Award. During his career, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year three times, Premier League Player of the Month four times, Premier League Player of the Season once and finished as the Premier League's top assist provider three times, and was named in the FIFPro World XI and a MLS All-Star. After departing, Lampard was named in the Chelsea Team of the Decade as voted for by Chelsea fans,[16][17] and into the Premier League Hall of Fame.[18]
Lampard played 106 matches for the England national team, after making his debut in 1999. He represented his country at three FIFA World Cups – in 2006, 2010 and 2014 – and in UEFA Euro 2004, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament. Lampard scored 29 goals for England, and was voted England Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005. After retiring from international football, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2015 for services to football.[19] After retiring, Lampard served as a team captain on the ITV sport panel show Play to the Whistle from 2015 until 2017. He has also written a number of children's books.[20]
Lampard began his managerial career with Derby County in 2018, leading the club to the final of that season's Championship play-offs. He was appointed as Chelsea's head coach a year later, guiding them to fourth place and the FA Cup Final in his first season. However, after a poor run of results, Lampard was dismissed in 2021. Following a spell with Everton, he was re-appointed Chelsea manager on a caretaker basis in 2023.
Lampard began his career at West Ham United, his father's former club, joining the youth team in 1994, his schoolboy hero being West Ham striker, Frank McAvennie.[21] Lampard joined West Ham when his father was the assistant coach, entering as an apprentice in the youth team in 1994 and signing a professional contract the following year. He went on loan to Second Division club Swansea City in October 1995, debuting in his team's victory 2–0 over Bradford City and scoring his first career goal in a match against Brighton & Hove Albion. Lampard played nine times for Swansea before returning to West Ham in January 1996.[citation needed]
Lampard made his debut for West Ham on 31 January 1996 against Coventry City coming on as a substitute for John Moncur.[22] His only other game of the season was the season's last, on 5 May 1996, a 1–1 home draw with Sheffield Wednesday when Lampard was used as a substitute for Keith Rowland.[23]
The following season Lampard made his first start for West Ham, on 17 August 1996, in a 2–0 away defeat to Arsenal before being substituted for Robbie Slater.[23][24] Lampard's season ended on 15 March 1997 when he sustained a broken leg during an away, 0–0 draw, against Aston Villa. Carried from the pitch on a stretcher, his 31st-minute substitute was Rio Ferdinand. The game also saw his first booking as a West Ham player.[23][25][26] Lampard claims to have been jeered from the pitch by West Ham United supporters, an action which made him consider leaving football.[26] He had made 16 appearances in all competitions for The Hammers.[23]
From this season Lampard took the number 18 squad number having previously held the number 26 spot.[23] On the first day of the 1997–98 season, West Ham opened their fixtures with an away game against Barnsley who were playing in the top tier of English football for the first time in 110 years. Lampard came on as a 76th-minute substitute for Eyal Berkovic. Barely a minute later he scored what was the winning goal in a 2–1 win for The Hammers having received the ball from Michael Hughes and flicking it past Barnsley goalkeeper David Watson.[27] The season also saw his first hat-trick. On 19 November 1997, West Ham played Walsall in a League Cup, fourth-round game. Lampard's three goals plus another from John Hartson were enough to beat Walsall who responded via a goal from Andy Watson.[28] Lampard made 42 appearances for the 1997–98 season in all competitions scoring nine goals.[23]
Lampard was an ever-present for West Ham in the 1998–99 season, helping his team to fifth place in the 1998–99 Premier League and qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup. This is the highest West Ham have ever come in the league.[23][29][30]
Before the start of the 1999–2000 FA Premier League season, Lampard signed an extension to his contract which would have kept him with the club until 2005.[31] Having qualified for the Intertoto Cup, West Ham's season started early, in July 1999. On 24 July 1999, Lampard scored his first goal in European football in a 1–1 away draw with Finnish side Jokerit.[32] Another goal in the semi-final against Heerenveen[31] put West Ham into the final against Metz.[23] Despite losing the first leg 1–0 in London, West Ham won 3–1 in France on 24 August 1999 with goals from Trevor Sinclair, Paulo Wanchope and Lampard.[33] Winning the competition saw West Ham in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup. Lampard scored his first goal in this competition on 16 September 1999, in a 3–0 home win against Osijek, a tie which they won 6–1 on aggregate.[34]
This season also saw West Ham beat Bradford City 5–4 at Upton Park in February 2000. The game received notoriety for Lampard's fight over the ball with Paolo Di Canio. With West Ham 4–2 down they gained a penalty. Lampard was West Ham's regular penalty taker. Di Canio, however, wanted to take the kick and the two tussled over the ball with Di Canio winning and scoring to make the game 4–3 to West Ham.[35][36] In the 1999–2000, season he finished as the club's third top scorer, behind Di Canio and Paulo Wanchope, with a total of 14 goals.[37]
In the 2000–01 season, West Ham's form suffered. They spent most of the season in the bottom half of the Premier League table.[38] From fifth place the previous season they finished 15th. Despite this Lampard scored 9 goals in 37 games, behind only Frédéric Kanouté and Di Canio.[38] In May 2001, his uncle Harry Redknapp left the club by mutual consent after seven years in the role.[39] His father Frank also left the club and Lampard, under the pressure of being known as "Frank Lampard's son" and the poor treatment of his father by West Ham, decided to move to another club.[40] He left West Ham for Chelsea for £11 million in June 2001, the Hammers having previously declined a £15 million joint bid from Aston Villa for Lampard and Frédéric Kanouté.[41]
Lampard's Premier League debut with Chelsea came on 19 August 2001 in a 1–1 draw with Newcastle United on the opening day of the 2001-02 season, while his first red card came in a match against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 September 2001.[citation needed] He appeared in all of Chelsea's league matches and scored eight goals in the 2001–02 season. He netted the match-winner in Chelsea's 2002–03 season-opener against Charlton Athletic.[citation needed]
The following season, he was selected as the Premier League Player of the Month in September 2003, and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month in October. Chelsea finished second in the 2003–04 Premier League behind unbeaten Arsenal and he was named in the 2004 PFA Team of the Year as he reached double figures in league goals (10) for the first time in his career, in addition to four goals in fourteen UEFA Champions League matches, as Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals. In the semi-final against Monaco he scored, but Chelsea lost 5–3 on aggregate.[42] At the end of the season, he came second behind Thierry Henry for the 2004 FWA Footballer of the Year award.[43][better source needed]
Lampard played in all 38 Premier League matches for the third consecutive season in 2004–05. He finished with 13 goals (19 in all competitions), in addition to leading the league in assists with 18.[44]
In August 2004, he scored the winning goal against Southampton in the Premier League,[45] and continued scoring important goals as he scored both in a 2–0 win against Tottenham.[46] In March 2005 he scored a long-range goal from 30 yards against Crystal Palace in the Premier League which Chelsea won 4–1. Lampard continued his season strongly, and his brilliant performances for Chelsea in the Premier League and Champions League further increased his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world. In the 2004–05 Champions League, he scored one of the goals in Chelsea's famous 4–2 win over Barcelona, helping Chelsea to progress to the quarter-finals.[47] In the quarter-finals, he scored three goals in two legs against Bayern Munich as Chelsea won 6–5 on aggregate. His second goal in the first leg was a spectacular one; he controlled Claude Makélélé's cross with his chest then turned and swivelled and sent the ball inside the far post with a left-foot half volley.[48]
In April 2005, Lampard scored both goals against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–0 win which was the Premier League title-winning match for Chelsea, which also won the first major trophy of his career as Chelsea bagged their first top-flight title in 50 years, by a 12-point margin. He was named as Barclays Player of the Season for 2004–05.[49] Though Chelsea were eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals by league rivals Liverpool, they took home the Football League Cup, in which Lampard scored twice in six matches, which included the opening goal against Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final, which Chelsea won 2–1. He landed his first personal award by being named the 2005 Footballer of the Year.[50]
Lampard netted a career-high 16 league goals in 2005–06. In September 2005 he was selected as a member of the inaugural World XI.[51] He finished as runner-up to Ronaldinho for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.[52][53] His record of consecutive Premier League appearances ended at 164 (five better than previous record-holder David James) on 28 December 2005, when he sat out a match against Manchester City due to illness.[54] Lampard scored 12 goals in his first four months of the 2005–06 season. He scored twice in three separate matches from August to November, including both in a 2–1 win over Aston Villa, making Chelsea the first team to win their first seven matches in the Premier League.[55] He scored twice again, this time against Blackburn Rovers in a 4–2 win, which included a free-kick from 25 yards. After the match, manager José Mourinho hailed Lampard as the "best player in the world". Chelsea eventually won the Premier League for the second time, in which Lampard was Chelsea's topscorer with 16 league goals. In the Champions League group stage, he scored a free-kick against Anderlecht. Chelsea progressed to the first knock-out round to face Barcelona, with Lampard scoring a goal in the second leg, but Chelsea were eliminated 3–2 on aggregate.[citation needed]
Due to a back injury sustained by John Terry, Lampard spent much of the 2006–07 campaign as team captain in his absence. He enjoyed a streak of seven goals in eight games. He scored both goals in a 2–0 win over Fulham and scored his 77th goal for Chelsea from a long range strike in a 3–2 win over Everton on 17 December, overtaking Dennis Wise as Chelsea's highest scoring midfielder.[56] Then in the UEFA Champions League group stage he scored a goal from an extremely tight angle against Barcelona, at the Camp Nou, the match ended 2–2. Lampard finished with 21 goals in all competitions, including a career-high six FA Cup goals. He scored his first Chelsea hat-trick in the third-round tie against Macclesfield Town on 6 January 2007. He scored two goals to help Chelsea to a quarter-final draw with Tottenham Hotspur after having trailed 3–1, and he was named the FA Cup player-of-the-round for his performance.[57] He gave the assist to Didier Drogba in the 2007 FA Cup Final which was the winning goal in extra-time, as Chelsea won it 1–0. In a post-match interview following Chelsea's FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United, Lampard said he wanted to stay at the club "forever".[58]
Lampard's 2007–08 season was hampered by injury. He managed to play 40 matches, 24 of them in the Premier League. This was the fewest league games he had played in a season since 1996–97. On 16 February 2008, Lampard became the eighth Chelsea player to score 100 goals for the club in a 3–1 FA Cup fifth-round win over Huddersfield Town.[59] After the final whistle, Lampard removed his jersey and flashed a T-shirt to the Chelsea fans with "100 Not Out, They Are All For You, Thanks" printed across the front.[60] On 12 March 2008, Lampard scored four goals in a 6–1 rout of Derby County. Then in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final, he scored the winning goal against Fenerbahçe in the 87th minute as Chelsea won 3–2 on aggregate.[citation needed]
On 30 April, Lampard, grieving the loss of his mother a week earlier, decided to play in the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final against Liverpool, who were eliminated on 4–3 aggregate as he took an emotional penalty in the 98th minute of extra-time, which he scored confidently. In the final against Manchester United, he scored an equalising goal in the 45th minute, as Michael Essien's deflected shot found him as he went to the box with his trade-mark late run, and he scored with a left foot finish. The match ended 1–1 after extra-time and Chelsea eventually lost 6–5 on penalties. He was later named UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year.[citation needed]
On 13 August 2008, Lampard signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea worth £39.2 million, making him the highest-paid Premier League player.[61] He started the 2008–09 season by scoring five goals in his first eleven league matches. He scored the 150th goal of his club career with a goal against Manchester City in the Premier League. In October 2008, in the Premier League he scored a chipped goal against Hull City with his left foot; he unleashed a chip from 20 yards that curled and swerved and fooled the goalkeeper as it went into the net. FIFA World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said after the game, "It was the best goal I have seen, my vote for World Player of the year award will go to him, only a player with his intelligence could have done that."[62] Lampard scored his hundredth career Premier League goal in a 5–0 victory Dallas Stars theme by cod4_head Download: DallasStars.p3t
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Stars played in Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas from 1993 to 2001, when they moved into the American Airlines Center in Dallas's nearby Victory Park neighborhood, an arena they share with the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association.
The Stars were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Before the 1978–79 NHL season, the team merged with the Cleveland Barons after the league granted them permission due to each team's respective financial struggles. The franchise relocated to Dallas for the 1993–94 NHL season and was renamed the Dallas Stars.
The Stars have won nine division titles in Dallas, two Presidents' Trophies as the top regular season team in the league, the Western Conference championship three times, and the Stanley Cup in 1999, when center Joe Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. Over the course of the franchise's history in both Minnesota and Dallas, it has appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals five times (1981, 1991, 1999, 2000, and 2020).
In 2000, Neal Broten was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2009, Brett Hull became the first Dallas Stars player inducted into the Hall of Fame, followed by Ed Belfour and Joe Nieuwendyk in 2011 and Mike Modano in 2014; Modano is the highest-scoring player in franchise history. In 2010, brothers Derian and Kevin Hatcher were also inducted.
The Minnesota North Stars began play in 1967 as part of the league's six-team expansion. Home games were played at the newly constructed Metropolitan Sports Center ("Met Center") in Bloomington, Minnesota. Initially successful both on the ice and at the gate, the North Stars fell victim to financial problems after several poor seasons in the mid-1970s.
In 1978, the North Stars merged with the Cleveland Barons (formerly the California Golden Seals), owned by George III and Gordon Gund. With both teams on the verge of folding, the league permitted the two failing franchises to merge. The merged team continued as the Minnesota North Stars, while the Seals/Barons franchise records were retired. However, the Gunds were the merged team's principal owners, and the North Stars assumed the Barons' place in the Adams Division in order to balance out the divisions. The merger brought with it a number of talented players, and the North Stars were revived—they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1981, where they lost in five games to the New York Islanders. However, by the early 1990s, declining attendance and the inability to secure a new downtown revenue-generating arena led ownership to request permission to move the team to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1990. The league rejected the request and instead agreed to award an expansion franchise, the San Jose Sharks, to the Gund brothers. The North Stars were sold to a group of investors that were originally looking to place a team in San Jose, although one of the group's members, former Calgary Flames part-owner Norman Green, would eventually gain control of the team.[4] In the following season, the North Stars made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After the 1990–91 season, the North Stars suffered through declining profits coupled with distraction and uncertainty caused by relocation attempts. The team's fortunes were further impeded by the terms of the settlement with the Gund brothers, in which they were permitted to take a number of North Stars players to San Jose. In their final two seasons in Minnesota, the team adopted a new logo which omitted any reference to the word "North" from "North Stars", leading many fans to anticipate the team heading south.[5] Green explored the possibility of moving the team to Anaheim to play at a new arena (which is now the Honda Center) under construction,[6] and intended to call the team the Los Angeles Stars. However, in 1992 the league decided to award an expansion franchise to The Walt Disney Company to play in Anaheim's new arena, this franchise eventually became the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
In 1993, amid further attendance woes and bitter personal controversy, Green obtained permission from the league to move the team to Dallas, for the 1993–94 season, with the decision announced on March 10, 1993.[7] Green was convinced by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach that Dallas would be a suitable market for an NHL team.[5] With the team's move to the Southern United States, Green decided to drop the "North" adjective but otherwise retained the "Stars" nickname, which in its shortened form quickly proved popular as it matched the state of Texas' official nickname as "The Lone Star State." An NHL franchise Dallas was an experiment for the league, as at that time the Stars would be one of the three southernmost teams in the league along with two recently created expansion teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers as the league's first real ventures into southern non-traditional hockey markets. The Stars would move into Reunion Arena, built in 1980, the downtown arena already occupied by the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks.
To quell the ensuing controversy surrounding the North Stars move to Dallas, the NHL promised that the Twin Cities would receive an expansion franchise in the near future; that promise was fulfilled in 2000 in the form of the Minnesota Wild.
With the league changing the names of the conferences and divisions that season, the newly relocated Stars were placed in the Central Division of the Western Conference, although these were essentially continuations of the Norris Division and Campbell Conference respectively, both of which the North Stars had been part of. The first NHL game in Dallas was played on October 5, 1993, and was a 6–4 win against the Detroit Red Wings.[8] Somewhat ironically, Minnesota native Neal Broten scored the first Stars goal in Dallas. Though the Stars were relatively still low on the Dallas-Fort Worth sports pecking order upon their arrival, popularity of the team grew rapidly and the immediate success of the team on the ice, as well as Mike Modano's career-best season (50 goals, 93 points) helped spur the team's popularity in North Texas. The Stars set franchise bests in wins (42) and points (97) in their first season in Dallas, qualifying for the 1994 playoffs. The Stars further shocked the hockey world by sweeping the St. Louis Blues in the first round, but lost to the eventual Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks in the second round. The Stars' success in their first season along with Modano's spectacular on-ice performances, would be an integral part of the Stars' eventual franchise success in the immediate years to come.
The almost immediate success of the Stars was also helped by the long legacy of minor-league hockey in the area. Both incarnations of the Central Hockey League had two teams in the area, the Dallas Black Hawks and the Fort Worth Texans for years before the Stars' arrival. The two teams were bitter rivals, and some of the traditions and famous rivalry incidents, including what is thought to be the first known use anywhere at an athletic event of "Rock and Roll Part 2" by the Fort Worth Texans and the famous "10 Cent Beer Night" near-riot in 1978 helped create awareness of hockey. Amateur and youth hockey in North Texas were also extremely popular because of the long presence of the minor league teams.
The 1994–95 season was shortened by an owners' lockout. The Stars traded captain Mark Tinordi along with Rick Mrozik to the Washington Capitals before the season began for Kevin Hatcher. Longtime North Stars hold-over Neal Broten was named his replacement, although he was traded too after only 17 games to the New Jersey Devils. Broten was replaced by Kevin's younger brother Derian Hatcher as team captain, a role he would serve in for the next decade. The Stars played only 48 games that season posting a record of 17–23–8. Despite the shortened season and the losing record, the Stars again made the playoffs, losing in five games to the Red Wings in the first round.[9] Green, who had run into financial problems stemming from his business ventures outside of ice hockey, was forced to sell the team to businessman Tom Hicks in December 1995.[5]
The 1995–96 season would be the first season under new owner Tom Hicks. In the off-season, the Stars traded for former Montreal Canadiens' captain and three-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner Guy Carbonneau, who was then with the St. Louis Blues. With the Stars struggling to begin the season, general manager and head coach Bob Gainey traded for center Joe Nieuwendyk from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Corey Millen and Jarome Iginla, then a Stars prospect. The Stars recorded only 11 wins in the first half of the season, and Bob Gainey relinquished his coaching duties in January to be the full-time general manager of the team. The Stars soon hired Michigan K-Wings head coach Ken Hitchcock to replace him; it would be his first NHL head coaching position. The Stars then traded for Benoit Hogue from the Toronto Maple Leafs late in the season, but ultimately finished in sixth place in the Central Division, missing the playoffs for the first time since moving to Texas.[10]
In the 1996 off-season, the Stars continued to revamp their roster, adding defensemen Darryl Sydor from the Los Angeles Kings followed by Sergei Zubov from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Kevin Hatcher. Zubov would serve as the Stars' top defenseman and powerplay quarterback until leaving the league in 2009. On the ice, Ken Hitchcock's first season proved to be a good one. The Stars bested their 1994 totals, posting 48 wins and reaching the 100-point mark for the first time in franchise history. The Stars won the Central Division, their first division title since 1983–84 (when they were still the Minnesota North Stars) and were seeded second in the playoffs.[11] Despite the regular season success, the youthful Stars were upset in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. Defenseman Grant Ledyard tripped in overtime of Game 7, allowing Todd Marchant to score the game- and series-winning goal on a breakaway against goaltender Andy Moog.
During the 1997 off-season, the Stars signed star goaltender Ed Belfour as a free agent after a well-publicized falling-out with the San Jose Sharks, which had traded a number of players to the Chicago Blackhawks to obtain him in January in the previous season.[12] Andy Moog was allowed to leave via free agency, but later returned to the Stars as an assistant coach. The 1997–98 season was another banner year for the Stars. The Stars again set franchise records in wins (49) and points (109). Dallas acquired Mike Keane at the deadline from the New York Rangers. The Stars won the franchise's first Presidents' Trophy as the league's best regular season team, as well as the Central Division title for the second season in a row. Belfour set franchise season records for goals against average (1.88), wins (37) and just missed out on the Jennings Trophy by one goal to Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. The Stars were the first overall seed for the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs and defeated the eighth-seeded San Jose Sharks in six games in the first round. Notorious enforcer Bryan Marchment injured Joe Nieuwendyk's right knee, forcing him to miss the rest of the playoffs with torn ligaments. In the second round, they again met the Edmonton Oilers, this time defeating them in five games. However, without Nieuwendyk, the Stars lacked the firepower to overcome the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals and lost in six games. The Red Wings went on to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
In the 1998 off-season, after falling just short in the Western Conference Finals, the Stars added what they believed was the final piece toward winning a championship: star goalscoring winger Brett Hull. Hull had already had a successful career with the St. Louis Blues, with three consecutive 70-goal seasons and a Hart Memorial Trophy, but a fallout with Blues management led Hull to leave St. Louis via free agency.[13] Additionally, this was the first season for the Stars in the Pacific Division after the 1998 NHL division re-alignment.
In the 1998–99 season, the Stars won 51 games, surpassing the 50-win mark for the first time in franchise history. They also recorded 114 points, which still stands today as a franchise record. They won their first Pacific Division by 24 points (their third consecutive division title), a second consecutive Presidents' Trophy, the Jennings Trophy as the league's top defensive team, and were awarded home-ice advantage throughout the 1999 playoffs. Winger Jere Lehtinen was also awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy.[14]
In the first round of the playoffs, Dallas faced the Edmonton Oilers. The Stars swept the Oilers in four close games, winning Game 4 in the third overtime on a goal by Joe Nieuwendyk. They then faced the St. Louis Blues in the second round. After taking a 2–0 series lead, the Blues came back to tie the series. The Stars then won the next two games to beat the Blues in six games. The series again ended on an overtime goal, this time in Game 6 from Mike Modano. In the Conference Finals, they faced the Colorado Avalanche for the first time in Stars playoff history. This would be the first of four playoff meetings between the Stars and Avalanche in the next seven years. After both the Stars and the Avalanche split the first four games at a 2–2 series tie, the Avalanche won Game 5 by a score of 7–5, taking a 3–2 series lead, The Stars rallied winning game six on the road, and Game 7 at home, both by 4–1 scorelines.[15]
This was the Stars' first Stanley Cup Finals appearance as the Dallas Stars, although they made the finals twice as the Minnesota North Stars. They faced the Eastern Conference champion Buffalo Sabres, who had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. After splitting the first four games, the Stars vaunted defense would hold the Sabres to only one goal in the next two, winning Game 5 2–0 and Game 6 2–1 on a triple-overtime goal by Brett Hull. Hull's goal at 14:51 of the third overtime was allowed to stand only after a lengthy official review. That season, the league still had the "crease rule" in effect, which provided that if any player of the attacking team who did not have possession of the puck entered the crease before the puck, then any resulting goal was disallowed. Hull had initially gained possession of the puck outside the crease and had made a shot that was blocked by Buffalo goaltender Dominik Hasek. One of Hull's skates entered the crease as he corralled the rebound, and Hull's second shot scored the Cup-winning goal. The goal was eventually allowed, as having simply blocked Hull's shot rather than catching it, Hasek never took possession of the puck away from Hull. Officials therefore determined that rather than calling it a loose puck, Hull would be considered to have had continuous possession of the puck from before his first shot outside the crease. The complexity of the crease rule, and the attendant difficulties in understanding its application by fans and players alike, combined with the controversy arising out of the disputed Stanley Cup-winning goal, resulted in the crease rule being repealed the following season. Hull's goal marked the 13th time a Stanley Cup-winning goal was scored in overtime, and only the fourth to be scored in multiple overtimes. This was the only time between 1995 and 2003 that a team other than the New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche or Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup.
The team added veterans Kirk Muller, Dave Manson and Sylvain Cote in an effort to defend their Stanley Cup championship in 1999–2000. On December 31, 1999, Brett Hull scored his 600 and 601st career goals in a 5–4 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Stars ultimately won the Pacific Division for the second year in a row, and were seeded second in the Western Conference. Dallas then defeated the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks in the first and second rounds, both 4–1 series victories. The Stars, for the second season in a row, defeated the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals in seven games to reach their second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, where they met the New Jersey Devils. Because the Devils finished the regular season with one more point than Dallas, the Stars had to play their first playoff series without home-ice advantage since 1995.[16] The Stars lost all three games at the Reunion Arena in the Finals, and lost the series in Game 6 on a double-overtime goal by New Jersey forward Jason Arnott.
Hoping to win back the Stanley Cup, the Stars again captured the Pacific Division, posting a solid 48–24–8–2 record in the 2000–01 season. In the playoffs, the Stars and the Edmonton Oilers met in the first round, battling back-and-forth through the first four games, with each game decided by one goal, including three going into overtime. Game 5 would also go to overtime, as the Stars took a 3–2 series lead on a goal by Kirk Muller. However, in Game 6 in Edmonton, the Stars did not need overtime, advancing to the second round with a 3–1 win. Facing the St. Louis Blues, the Stars would run out of gas, being swept in four straight games. The Game 2 loss would be the last NHL game played in Reunion Arena.
Moving into the brand new American Airlines Center for the 2001–02 season, the Stars had a slow start to the season, as goaltender Ed Belfour struggled through one of his worst seasons. Head coach Ken Hitchcock was eventually fired, being replaced by Rick Wilson. Despite the coaching change, the Stars continued to play poor hockey. With the prospect of missing the playoffs, the Stars traded 1999 Conn Smythe winner Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Randy McKay and Jason Arnott, who scored the game-winning goal in the 2000 Finals against Dallas. The Stars would eventually go on to post a respectable record of 35–28–13–5. However, it would not be enough for the playoffs, as they fell four points short of the final eighth spot in the Western Conference. Following the season, coach Rick Wilson would return to assistant coaching duties, as the Stars brought in Dave Tippett as his replacement.
As in the 2002 off-season, Ed Belfour left via free agency to the Toronto Maple Leafs. To begin the 2002–03 season, the Stars awarded the starting goaltending position to Marty Turco, who went on to have one of the best seasons in NHL history, posting the lowest goals-against average (GAA) since 1940, at 1.76. However, missing 18 games late in the season likely cost him a shot at the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's top regular season goaltender. Regardless, the Stars posted the best record in the Western Conference at 46–17–15–4, and along the way, two-way star Jere Lehtinen won his third Frank J. Selke Trophy. In the playoffs, the Stars once again met the Edmonton Oilers, and once again the Oilers would prove a contentious opponent, winning two of the first three games. However, the Stars would prove the better team again by winning the next three games to take the series in six games. The Stars' second-round series against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim got off to an unbelievable start, as the game went deep into overtime tied 3–3. However, Mighty Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 60 shots as the Ducks scored early in the fifth overtime. Game 2 would be more of the same, as the Ducks stunned the Stars in overtime. Desperately needing a win, the Stars bounced back to take Game 3 in Anaheim. However, the Ducks would take a 3–1 series lead by breaking a scoreless tie late in the third period of Game 4. In Game 5, the Stars finally solved Giguere by scoring four goals to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, the Stars' dreams of a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals would end in heartbreaking fashion as the Ducks broke a 3–3 tie with 1:06 left in Game 6 on a goal by defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh.
Coming off their disappointing playoff loss, the Stars would get off to a shaky start to the 2003–04 season, as they played mediocre hockey through the first three months of the season, posting a sub-.500 record. However, as the calendar turned to 2004, the Stars began to find their game, as they posted a 9–4–3 record in January. As the season wore on, the Stars would get stronger, climbing up the playoff ladder and eventually reaching second place in the Pacific Division, where they finished with a solid 41–26–13–2 record; Marty Turco had another outstanding season, recording a 1.98 GAA. However, the Stars could not carry their momentum into the playoffs, as they were beaten by the Colorado Avalanche in five games in the first round.
Coming out of the owners' lockout that cancelled the entire 2004–05 season, the Stars remained one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference for the start of 2005–06, as they won four of their first five games on the way to a solid October. November would be even better for Dallas, as they won 10 of 13 games and took over first place in the Pacific Division, a position they would hold most of the season, as they went on to finish with a terrific record of 53–23–6. One reason for the Stars' success was their strong play in shootouts, as forward Jussi Jokinen was nearly automatic, making 10-of-13 shot attempts. Also performing strongly in shootouts was Sergei Zubov, who used a slow-but-steady backhand to go 7-for-12, as the Stars ultimately won 12 of 13 games that were settled by a shootout. As the number two seed in the Western Conference, the Stars faced the seventh-seeded Colorado Avalanche. The Stars were favorited to win the Western Conference, and some even predicted them to win the Stanley Cup. However, the Stars would stumble right from the start, losing Game 1 by a score of 5–2 as the Avalanche scored five unanswered goals after the Stars jumped out to a promising 2–0 lead. Game 2 would see the Stars suffer another setback at home, as the Stars lost in overtime 5–4 on a goal by Joe Sakic. On the road in Game 3, the Stars led 3–2 in the final minute before the Avalanche forced overtime on a goal by Andrew Brunette, while Alex Tanguay won the game just 69 seconds into overtime to put the Stars in a 3–0 hole. The Stars would avoid the sweep with a 4–1 win in Game 4, but overtime would doom them again in Game 5, as Andrew Brunette scored the series winner at 6:05, ending the Stars' playoffs hopes after just five games.
Following the previous season's disappointing first-round playoff loss at the hands of the seventh-seeded Avalanche, the Stars made a number of changes during the 2006 off-season. Former Stars goalkeeper Andy Moog was promoted to assistant general manager for player development (he kept his job as goaltending coach) and former player Ulf Dahlen was hired as an assistant coach. The Stars allowed center Jason Arnott, defenseman Willie Mitchell and goaltender Johan Hedberg to leave as
Manchester United FC
(5 backgrounds)
All Caps
(8 backgrounds)
LeBron James
(3 backgrounds)
Early life[edit]
High school career[edit]
Basketball[edit]
Football[edit]
Professional career[edit]
Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2010)[edit]
2003–2004: Rookie of the Year[edit]
2004–2008: Rise to superstardom[edit]
Scottie Pippen
(1 background)
Personal information Born September 25, 1965
Hamburg, Arkansas, U.S.Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Listed weight 228 lb (103 kg)[1] Career information High school Hamburg (Hamburg, Arkansas) College Central Arkansas (1983–1987) NBA draft 1987: 1st round, 5th overall pick Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics Playing career 1987–2004, 2008 Position Small forward Number 33 Career history 1987–1998 Chicago Bulls 1999 Houston Rockets 1999–2003 Portland Trail Blazers 2003–2004 Chicago Bulls 2008 Torpan Pojat 2008 Sundsvall Dragons Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics Points 18,940 (16.1 ppg) Rebounds 7,494 (6.4 rpg) Assists 6,135 (5.2 apg) Stats at NBA.com Stats at Basketball-Reference.com Basketball Hall of Fame as player Early life[edit]
College career[edit]
Professional career[edit]
Chicago Bulls (1987–1998)[edit]
Early career (1987–1990)[edit]
The Bulls' first three-peat (1991–1993)[edit]
Pippen without Jordan (1993–1995)[edit]
The Bulls' second three-peat (1996–1998)[edit]
Big 3
Frank Lampard
(13 backgrounds)
OBE
Personal information Full name
Frank James Lampard[1] Date of birth
20 June 1978[2] Place of birth
Romford, London, England Height
6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[3] Position(s)
Midfielder Youth career 1994–1995
West Ham United Senior career* Years
Team
Apps
(Gls) 1995–2001
West Ham United
148
(24) 1995–1996
→ Swansea City (loan)
9
(1) 2001–2014
Chelsea
429
(147) 2014–2015
Manchester City
32
(6) 2015–2016
New York City FC
29
(15) Total
647
(193) International career 1997–2000
England U21
19
(9) 1998
England B
1
(0) 1999–2014
England
106
(29) Managerial career 2018–2019
Derby County 2019–2021
Chelsea 2022–2023
Everton 2023
Chelsea (interim)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals Club career[edit]
West Ham United[edit]
1995–97: Development[edit]
1997–99: First-team regular[edit]
1999–2001: New contract and departure[edit]
Chelsea[edit]
2001–04: Signing and first-team breakthrough[edit]
2004–06: Back-to-back Premier League wins[edit]
2006–11: Domestic and individual success[edit]
Dallas Stars
(5 backgrounds)
Dallas Stars 
2023–24 Dallas Stars season
Conference Western Division Central Founded 1967 History Minnesota North Stars
1967–1993
Dallas Stars
1993–presentHome arena American Airlines Center City Dallas, Texas 
Team colors Victory green, black, silver, skyline green, white[1][2][3]
Media Bally Sports Southwest
The Ticket (1310 AM, 96.7 FM)Owner(s) Tom Gaglardi General manager Jim Nill Head coach Peter DeBoer Captain Jamie Benn Minor league affiliates Texas Stars (AHL)
Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)Stanley Cups 1 (1998–99) Conference championships 3 (1998–99, 1999–00, 2019–20) Presidents' Trophy 2 (1997–98, 1998–99) Division championships 9 (1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2015–16, 2023–24) Official website nhl Franchise history[edit]
1967–1993: Minnesota North Stars[edit]
1993–1998: Relocation and early years in Dallas[edit]
1994–1998: Arrival of Tom Hicks and building for a championship[edit]
1998–2004: Stanley Cup contention and 1999 Stanley Cup championship[edit]
1999 Stanley Cup title and 2000 Stanley Cup Finals run[edit]
2001–2004: Continued playoff contention[edit]
2005–2011: Post-lockout era[edit]
2006–2008: Dallas hosts the 2007 All-Star Game, 2008 Western Conference Finals run[edit]
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