Nineteen years separate two bizarre incidents that have since resulted in two integral rule changes in the NBA and the NHL.
January 15, 1990. Madison Square Garden. Bulls and Knicks. Score knotted at 106. 0.1 seconds left in regulation. Knicks with possession. Having discerned that a tap-in was his only feasible option, Knickerbocker coach Rick Pitino drew up an in-bounds play for Mark Jac
kson to lob the ball into Patrick Ewing for an alley-oop. Instead, Jackson inbounds the ball to three-point assassin Trent Tucker, who, in the space of 0.1 seconds, caught the ball beyond the arc, faced the basket, set his feet for release, and hoisted a three-point bucket....to win the game! Knicks win, 109 -106! Through the Garden's frenetic state of hysteria, Bulls coach Phil Jackson approaches the referees on-hand to protest, but to no avail. At the end of the contest, the Bulls file an additional protest, only to be rejected by le
ague officials (including scorekeeper Bob Billings and referee Robbie Nunn), who claimed everything went 'perfectly fine.' At season's end, in lieu of the sheer impossibility of the Knicks' heroics, the league adopts the 'Trent Tucker Rule,' thereby denying a team the opportunity to score on the last possession with less than 0.3 seconds on the clock (that is, unless, a team can tip the ball into the basket).
(The only team to score under the 0.3 second window to win a contest was, ironically, the New York Knicks; on December 20, 2006, David Lee deflected home the in-bounds pass to deliver the victory).
April 13, 2008. Back at the Garden. Devils and Rangers. Teams knotted at two goals a piece. Rangers left-wing Sean Avery wildly flails his stick at goaltender Martin Brodeur, so as to distract the perennial Vezina winner from stopping the puck. Officials on the ice had no idea how to handle Avery's fractious display, so the behavior went unpenalized. Regardless of Avery's attempts to, under bizarre circumstances, thwart the Devils' defense from halting a Rangers' scoring chance, New York lost in overtime 4-3. The very next day, after roughly 100 years of minimal rule changes, the NHL re-examined the interference/unsportsmanlike rule (aptly changed to the 'Sean Avery Rule') to compensate for Avery's un
orthodox practice the night before, much to the delight of ESPN analyst Barry Melrose (a man bringing back the mullet in the worst way), who was clearly scrounging for a highlight to finally take precedence over sports coverage that actually matters (at this rate, Major League Soccer will draw higher ratings with a full season of David Beckham at the helm for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Question for our readers: can you find the Versus Channel on your cable line-up?).
ague officials (including scorekeeper Bob Billings and referee Robbie Nunn), who claimed everything went 'perfectly fine.' At season's end, in lieu of the sheer impossibility of the Knicks' heroics, the league adopts the 'Trent Tucker Rule,' thereby denying a team the opportunity to score on the last possession with less than 0.3 seconds on the clock (that is, unless, a team can tip the ball into the basket).(The only team to score under the 0.3 second window to win a contest was, ironically, the New York Knicks; on December 20, 2006, David Lee deflected home the in-bounds pass to deliver the victory).
April 13, 2008. Back at the Garden. Devils and Rangers. Teams knotted at two goals a piece. Rangers left-wing Sean Avery wildly flails his stick at goaltender Martin Brodeur, so as to distract the perennial Vezina winner from stopping the puck. Officials on the ice had no idea how to handle Avery's fractious display, so the behavior went unpenalized. Regardless of Avery's attempts to, under bizarre circumstances, thwart the Devils' defense from halting a Rangers' scoring chance, New York lost in overtime 4-3. The very next day, after roughly 100 years of minimal rule changes, the NHL re-examined the interference/unsportsmanlike rule (aptly changed to the 'Sean Avery Rule') to compensate for Avery's un
orthodox practice the night before, much to the delight of ESPN analyst Barry Melrose (a man bringing back the mullet in the worst way), who was clearly scrounging for a highlight to finally take precedence over sports coverage that actually matters (at this rate, Major League Soccer will draw higher ratings with a full season of David Beckham at the helm for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Question for our readers: can you find the Versus Channel on your cable line-up?). Needless to stay, the controversy surrounding Tucker's unlikely three-point field goal effectively triggered the Knicks/Bulls rivalry in the 1990's (sadly, nearly any contest Michael Jordan was a part of resulted in a resounding Chicago win). Furthermore, Sean Avery singlehandedly resuscitated a rivalry that was near defunct status (considering the Rangers took 9 out of 10 from the Devils in 2007 - 2008 prior to Sunday's loss). And to think, all it took was some rule-altering controversy! Bravo, Trent and Sean: the city of New York commends you!
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