Since I am on the topic of looking back on things, I’ve decided to look way back. All the way back to December 31, 1991. I found a newspaper (The Washington Post) from that very important date in my house. Of course I immediately turned to the sports section. But, I did look at the other sections. Here are some interesting facts: “Cineplex Odeon Rio 8,” which is just called “Rio” now for those of you who don’t live in the area, was showing these films: Father of the Bride, Hook, My Girl, Cape Fear, and a few others. Rio was not even the biggest theater in the area in 1991. And there was a theater in Lakeforest mall!
There was a mention of competitive Wootton basketball in the Gazette. The head coach was Rhett Ross, who retired last year.
[Now as I move on to the sports section, I want to say something about Michael Wilbon taken from Norman Chad (both of whom had columns in this paper, along with Tony Kornheiser). Okay, so here is my "column intermission" (taken from Chad) on Wilbon. Wilbon just said on PTI that he was a little upset that Melissa from the Bachelor didn't win Dancing w/ the Stars. Meanwhile, Shaq was at Syracuse U. But he's gone now. Oh well, at least Paulus will be there next year. End of column intermission.]
Now, the sports section, which was huge! I mean in inches. Gi-normous. Why are papers so small now? Okay, so the Bullets beat the Spurs at the Capital Centre (they now play at Verizon Center). Mark Duffner begins coaching football at UMD. The Redskins and Joe Gibbs seek at spark at RFK Stadium in the playoffs (they now play at FedEx Field) following a 14-2 finish. UMD basketball led by Gary Williams (man he’s been there a while) lost to Evanston, also known as the ‘Purple Aces.’ The Washington Capitals, playing in a conference and a division with weird names (what happened to east, west, etc?) signed goalie Don Beaupre to a four year deal. The Houston Oilers (NFL), along with the NHL teams the Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques, and Hartford existed. Brett Hull, Mario Lemeiux, and Patrick Roy were dominating the NHL. Rookie NBAer Larry Johnson was looking bright. Ralph Sampson was possibly headed to Spain. The Nets won their fourth straight for the first time in four years (sorry, had to add that one in!). Michael Jordan scored 29 points in a win. Freshmen Chris Webber and Jalen Rose led Michigan to a win over Virginia Tech. Jerry Tarkanian filed a claim against the NCAA. Christian Laettner led Duke to a big win over William and Mary. Syracuse won a college basketball game. These future NBAers had their college gear on: Jon Barry, Allan Houston, Grant Hill, Joe Smith, plus Laettner, Webber, and Rose. The Rams played in LA. Tommy Maddox (Steelers QB who Ben Roethlisberger can thank his career for) was going for the Heisman at UCLA. Larry Bird was thinking about re-entering the three-point contest. Rod Thorn suspended Karl Malone??? Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler were leading all-star voting, while Scottie Pippen was NBA player of the month. David Robinson’s younger brother led Navy to a win. Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson were in a tiff. David Aldridge wrote for the Post instead of being a TNT sideline reporter. Whew! All done. Now I have to put the paper back together and make it look like it’s from 1991.
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