March 23

1939 — Long Island University finishes the season undefeated after a 44-32 victory over Loyola of Chicago in the NIT championship.

1948 — Alex Groza and Ralph Beard combine for 26 points to lead Kentucky to a 58-42 win over Baylor in the NCAA basketball championship.

1956 — Bill Russell led San Francisco to an 83-71 victory over Iowa in the NCAA basketball championship.

1968 — Lew Alcindor scores 34 points to lead UCLA to a 78-55 win over North Carolina in the NCAA basketball championship.

1979 — Larry Holmes knocks out Osvaldo Ocasio in the seventh round in Las Vegas to retain his WBC heavyweight title.

1991 — London beats Frankfurt 24-11 in the first World League of American Football game.

1993 — Winnipeg's Teemu Selanne sets an NHL rookie points record in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Selanne scores two goals and an assist to give him 111 points, surpassing the 109 that Peter Statsny got with the Quebec Nordiques in 1980-81.

1994 — Wayne Gretzky scores his 802nd goal, passing Gordie Howe as the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history. The Los Angeles Kings center scores in the second period for his 62nd NHL record.

1996 — Michelle Kwan caps a near-perfect season by winning the women's title in the World Figure Skating Championships for the United States' first singles sweep since 1986.

1997 — Laura Davies becomes the first LPGA player to win the same tournament four consecutive years, holing a 3-foot par putt on the first hole of a playoff with Kelly Robbins in the Standard Register Ping.

2002 — Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings scores his 500th career goal, breaking a scoreless tie at 7:48 of the third period in Detroit's 2-0 win over Colorado.

2002 — Iowa State's Cael Sanderson becomes the first undefeated four-time NCAA wrestling champion at the NCAA Championships. Sanderson beats Lehigh's Jon Trenge, 12-4, to win at 197 pounds and finish his career with a perfect 159-0 record.

2003 — Tiger Woods closes with a 4-under 68 to win the Bay Hill Invitational four straight times. Woods becomes the first player since Gene Sarazen in the Miami Open (1926-30) to win the same event four straight times.

2005 — Indiana's Reggie Miller becomes the 13th NBA player to score 25,000 career points during the Pacers' 100-93 win over San Antonio.

2007 — Kobe Bryant becomes the second player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in four straight games when he scores 50 in the Lakers' 111-105 win at New Orleans. Only Wilt Chamberlain has more, scoring at least 50 points in seven consecutive games during the 1961-62 season.