May 7
1938 — Lawrin, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Kentucky Derby by one length over Dauber.
1955 — Swaps, ridden by Willie Shoemaker, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Nashua.
1972 — The Los Angeles Lakers win their first NBA championship with a 114-100 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 5.
1977 — Heavily favored Seattle Slew, ridden by Jean Cruguet, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 3/4 lengths over Run Dusty Run.
1982 — A federal jury rules the NFL violated antitrust laws when it unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the Oakland Raiders from moving to Los Angeles.
1988 — Winning Colors, ridden by Gary Stevens, leads from start to finish to win the Kentucky Derby by a neck, becoming the first roan and the third filly to win the race.
1989 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan hits an 18-foot shot over the outstretched fingertips of Craig Ehlo to give the Bulls a 101-100 victory in the deciding Game 5 of their 1989 Eastern Conference first round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
1993 — Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings scores his 100th and 101st playoff goals in a 7-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
1994 — The Denver Nuggets, with a 98-94 overtime win against the No. 1-seeded Seattle SuperSonics, become the first eighth-seeded playoff team to win a series. The Nuggets come back from an 0-2 deficit in the best-of-5 series.
1995 — Reggie Miller scores eight points in the last 16 seconds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 107-105 win over the New York Knicks in the second-round opener of the NBA playoffs.
2005 — Giacomo, a 50-1 shot, wins the Kentucky Derby, running down a game Afleet Alex in the final strides and generating a huge payoff. Closing Argument, a 70-1 shot, finishes second with Afleet Alex third.
2005 — Dallas’ 116-76 victory over Houston is the most lopsided Game 7 score in NBA history. The Mavericks are the third team in playoff history to win a seven-game series after losing the first two games at home.
2010 — Before a record hockey crowd of 77,803, the U.S. loses to Germany 2-1 in the opening game of the world hockey championships. Felix Schutz scores the winning goal 21 seconds into overtime at Veltins Arena, ordinarily the home of the Schalke soccer team.
2014 — Russell Westbrook has a triple-double, Kevin Durant falls one assist short and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-101 to tie their Western Conference semifinal series at one win apiece. Westbrook has 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Durant has 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists before leaving the game with 1:21 remaining.
2016 — Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/4 lengths, improving to 8-0 in his career as the fourth consecutive favorite to win the race. Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Nyquist finished in 2:01.31. The 3-year-old colt became the eighth unbeaten winner in the race’s 142-year history.
2017 — Bradley Beal scores 29 points and Washington Wizards used a 26-0 third-quarter run to beat the Boston Celtics 121-102 to tie the second-round series at two games apiece. John Wall, who adds 27 points and 12 assists, has seven points, three assists and two steals during the third-quarter spree.
May 8
1915 — Regret, ridden by Joe Notter, becomes the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, with a 2-length wire-to-wire victory over Pebbles.
1937 — War Admiral, the favorite ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 3/4 lengths over Pompoon.
1943 — Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, wins the Preakness Stakes by 8 lengths over Blue Swords.
1954 — World record holder William Parry O’Brien becomes the first man to throw the shot put more than 60 feet with a 60-5¼ toss at a meet in Los Angeles.
1968 — Jim “Catfish” Hunter of the Oakland A’s pitches a perfect game, beating the Minnesota Twins 4-0. It is the first perfect game in the American League regular season in 46 seasons.
1970 — Walt Frazier scores 36 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 113-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA championship in seven games.
1984 — On the day the Olympic torch relay begins, the Soviet Union announces it will not take part in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The Soviet National Olympic Committee Union said the participation of Soviet athletes would be impossible because of “the gross flouting” of Olympic ideals by U.S. authorities.
1993 — Lennox Lewis of Britain scores a unanimous 12-round decision over Tony Tucker in his first defense of the WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
1995 — New Zealand’s Black Magic 1 takes a 2-0 lead, defeating Young America by the widest margin for a challenger since the 1871 America’s Cup.
2001 — Randy Johnson becomes the third pitcher to strike out 20 in nine innings. He doesn’t finish the game as the Arizona Diamondbacks go on to beat Cincinnati 4-3 in 11 innings.
2003 — Minnesota becomes the first team in NHL history to rebound from two 3-1 series deficits to win in one postseason with a 4-2 victory at Vancouver.
2011 — University of Georgia senior Russell Henley becomes the second amateur winner in PGA Nationwide Tour history, shooting a 3-under 68 for a two-stroke victory in the Stadion Classic.
2012 — Josh Hamilton becomes the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Texas Rangers to a 10-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
2014 — The Houston Texans takes South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney with the first pick in the NFL draft. The draft’s other big name, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, sits until Cleveland makes its third trade of the round and grabs the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner at No. 22.
May 9
1930 — Gallant Fox, ridden by Earl Sande, wins the Preakness Stakes by three-quarters of a length over Crack Brigade. Gallant Fox becomes the only Triple Crown winner to win the Preakness a week before the Kentucky Derby.
1932 — Burgoo King, ridden by Eugene James, withstands a strong drive by Tick On to win the Preakness Stakes by a head.
1942 — Alsab, ridden by Basil James, wins the Preakness Stakes by one length over Requested.
1944 — Jockey Walter Warren is involved in a rare feat in thoroughbred racing history, riding two horses to dead heat first-place finishes at Sportsman’s Park. In the sixth race, Warren rides Maejames to a dead heat finish with Piplad. In the eighth, Warren rides Susan Constant in another dead heat with Three Sands.
1961 — Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles hits consecutive grand slams in the first and second innings of a 13-5 rout of Minnesota.
1993 — The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-104 in overtime to become the first NBA team to lose two playoff games at home and come back to win three straight games.
1999 — Marshall McDougall hits six consecutive homers and knocks in 16 runs — both NCAA records — in Florida State’s 26-2 rout of Maryland.
2004 — Jay Bouwmeester scores the winning goal, and Canada rallies to beat Sweden for the second straight year in the gold-medal game at the world hockey championships, 5-3.
2006 — Joffrey Lupul becomes the first player in NHL playoff history to cap a four-goal game with an overtime score, netting the game-winner at 16:30 of the extra period to give Anaheim a 4-3 victory over Colorado.
2009 — LeBron James scores 47 points to lift Cleveland to a 97-82 win over Atlanta. The Cavaliers sets an NBA record with its seventh straight double-figure win to eclipse the mark set by the 2004 Indiana Pacers.
2010 — Dallas Braden pitches the 19th perfect game in major league history, a dazzling performance for the Oakland Athletics in a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
2011 — The ATP and WTA tennis rankings are released with no American man or woman in the top 10 for the first time in the 38-year history of the rankings. Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick are Nos. 11 and 12, while Serena and Venus Williams were Nos. 17 and 19, respectively.
2016 — Stephen Curry returns from a sprained right knee to score an NBA-record 17 points in overtime, finishing with 40 as the Golden State Warriors rally to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals with a 132-125 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
2018 — The Lehigh Valley Phantoms beat Charlotte Checkers 2-1 in the longest game in the 82-year history of the American Hockey League. Alex Krushelnyski’s goal at 6:48 of the fifth overtime period gives the Phantoms a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Atlantic Division Finals series.
May 10
1913 — Donerail, ridden by Roscoe Goose, comes from fifth place in the stretch to upset Ten Point by one-half length and win the Kentucky Derby, paying a record $184.90.
1919 — Sir Barton, ridden by Johnny Loftus, leads the whole way to win the Kentucky Derby by five lengths over Billy Kelly. Sir Barton, the first to capture the Triple Crown, is one of three maidens to win the Derby.
1941 — Whirlaway, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Preakness Stakes by 5½ lengths over King Cole.
1969 — The plans for the NFL-AFL merger are completed. The NFL will consist of two conferences of 13 teams, the AFC and NFC. The NFL will move three franchises, Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, to the AFC.
1970 — Bobby Orr’s goal gives Boston its first Stanley Cup in 29 years. The Bruins beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 for a four-game sweep.
1973 — The New York Knicks win the NBA title in five games with a 102-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
1997 — Ato Boldon speeds to a mark of 9.89 seconds in the 100 meters at the Modesto Relays, becoming the sixth man in history to go faster than 9.90 seconds.
2001 — The XFL folds after one season. The football league, founded by the World Wrestling Federation and jointly owned by NBC, was a TV ratings disappointment.
2002 — Boston and Detroit play the lowest-scoring game in the NBA playoffs since the shot clock was introduced in the 1954-55 season. The Celtics edge the Pistons 66-64; the 130-point total is far below the previous low of 142 registered three times.
2005 — Miami’s Dwyane Wade becomes the fifth player in NBA history with at least 30 points, 15 assists and five rebounds in a playoff game, joining Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Walt Frazier and Oscar Robertson. Wade’s 31 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds lead the Heat to a 108-102 victory over Washington.
2006 — Cam Ward makes 28 saves in Carolina’s 3-2 win over New Jersey to become the second NHL goalie to win his first seven postseason starts. The 22-year-old rookie joins Tiny Thompson, who did it for Boston in 1929-30.
2009 — Russia defends its gold medal at the world ice hockey championship, beating Canada 2-1 on in a rematch of last year’s final.
2014 — Michael Sam is picked by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the NFL draft, becoming the first openly gay player drafted by a pro football team. Sam, who played at Missouri and was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year, is taken with the 249th overall pick out of 256.
2016 — Stephen Curry becomes the first unanimous NBA MVP, earning the award for the second straight season after leading the defending champion Warriors to a record-setting season. Curry is the 11th player in league history to be voted MVP in consecutive seasons and the first guard to do so since Steve Nash in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Curry received 1,310 points from the 131 media voters.
2018 — Rafael Nadal breaks John McEnroe’s record of 49 straight sets won on the same surface after beating Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the Madrid Open. Nadal extends his winning streak to 50 consecutive sets on clay, eclipsing the mark McEnroe established on carpet in 1984.
2018 — The Winnipeg Jets advance to the first Western Conference final in their short history after knocking off the NHL’s best team in the regular season. Tyler Myers and Paul Stastny score 2:06 apart in the first period, and the Jets stun the Nashville Predators 5-1 in their first Game 7.
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