Moments In Sport

  In 1967 the then heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused enlistment into the U.S. Army siting it to be against the teachings if Islam. This led to Ali being expelled from professional boxing and also facing the threat of actual prison time. While this was occurring, Joe Frazier cemented his position as the consensus heavyweight champion of the world, like Ali before him he was also an Olympic Gold medalist, and his sledgehammer of a left hook left little room for doubt of his credentials to hold onto the title. Finally, in 1970 the path back into boxing opened up for Ali when he was granted a license to fight in Georgia. Following that Ali beat top contenders Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena and earned a title fight with Frazier. The date was March 8th 1971, and the venue Madison Square Garden, the crowd of 20,000 spectators erupted when Ali took to the ring followed by another for his opponent Joe Frazier. The fight started with a fast, almost frantic pace with both fighters

  The Soviet team had won the last gold medals the last four years, since 1964 and had not lost an Olympic ice hockey game since 1968. Just three days before the Lake Placid games began, the Soviet Union had beaten the US Team 10-3 in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. Americans seemed to looked unorganized and outmatched, but few blamed them. With a median age of only 22 the team was made up of college players, they were the youngest US Olympic squad ever. The team captain Mike Ergioni was found in the Toledo Blades who played in the International League. The Soviets were the No.1 Seed and went undefeated, winning five games in the first round. The US team in comparison was the No.7 seed, but the team also went undefeated in the first round albeit with one draw. The team's coach Brook had given up on the traditional North American style of playing hockey. Instead, his layers quickly crossed the ice. The young Americans did not hesitate to give up their traditional positi

  Public opinion was, at 32 years of age, Ali was well past his prime. He was well beaten by Joe Frazier just 3 years prior. But Ali persevered and eventually regained a semblance of his old form. Even still Foreman was in his prime, an absolute powerhouse. There were genuine concerns that Ali would suffer serious injuries if he lost. In Zaire, the location of the bout, a distinct narrative started to build. Ali had submerged himself in the culture and the people, painting himself as the hometown hero and Foreman and the intruder. Ali: "I will feel as though he is the stranger coming to our home, to fight me in our country." After plenty of delays due to a cut Foreman received from a sparring session, fight night finally came. It was the third round of the bout in the heavyweight championship against the mountain of a man George Foreman. Foreman, moving every bit as robotically as a true machine, stalked Ali with cold eyes. Much the same way Ali had laughingly jeered he would

  The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the best young NBA teams in the late 1980s. Under Lenny Wilkens, the Cavaliers competed for the title with a league-leading record of 57 wins and 25 losses. Their obstacle was the Michael Jordan's Bulls, who finished fifth in the Central Division at 47-35. The Bulls had home advantage and would have won the series without a win from Cleveland in Game 4. There were more famous shots that caused wars and revolutions. Michael Jordan's ended just one game. But what a game! The Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers exchanged leads nine times during the last three minutes of the game. The game was decided when Jordan hit an incredible 15-foot jumper from just outside the foul line. With a few seconds left, Jordan started from the right, dribbled to the key, and pulled up from inside the circle in search of a winner. Ehlo jumped to contest the shot, but Jordan almost levitated in the air until Ehlo returned to the ground and then fired the shot. As th

Shane Long's Historic Goal Ireland entered the game as massive underdogs to the footballing giants that were Germany in 2015 fresh off winning the World Cup just a the year prior. Few predicted a result for Ireland against a German side full of players the likes of Muller, Schweinsteiger and Schurrle to name a few and for most of the match it wasn't much of a contest. The German side dominated possession , scoring opportunities and the likes,  most would have had them winning the game by a margin of at minimum a goal or two. Former Arsenal star Mesut Ozil had a goal disallowed as the Irish spent most of their time inside their own half. Yet for all their efforts, the star-studded German side failed to register a shot on target till after the half. The Boy's in green chances weren't helped when starting keeper Shay Given was forced off the pitch due to a twisted knee. However, it was to be the Republic's night as in the 70th minute substitute keeper Randolph fired a