2001 at a glance

January February March

April May June

July August September

October November December

January

 Jan. 2 -- Jose Theodore became the sixth NHL goalie to score a goal in a regular-season game and stopped 32 shots as Montreal blanked the Islanders 3-0. Theodore lifted a backhander that landed at center ice and slid into the middle of the vacated New York goal with nine seconds left.

 Jan. 2 -- Tony Delk of the Phoenix Suns scored 53 points on 20-of-27 shooting in a 121-117 overtime loss to Sacramento. His previous high was 26 points.

 Jan. 3 -- A smothering defense shut down Florida State and Josh Heupel generated enough offense to give No. 1 Oklahoma a startling 13-2 victory in the Orange Bowl and its first national title in 15 years.

 Jan. 4 -- Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was fined $250,000 after his latest taunting of NBA officials.

 Jan. 4 -- Radek Bonk had his first hat trick and added three assists for a career-high six points as Ottawa routed Tampa Bay 8-3. Bonk tied Dan Quinn's team record for points in a game.

 Jan. 4 -- Phoenix's Brad May, suspended 20 games for slashing Columbus' Steve Heinze on Nov. 11, returned to the lineup and made an immediate impact in a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers. May drew fighting and instigating penalties, as well as a 10-minute misconduct, 3:56 into the first period.

 Jan. 5 -- Chris Webber of Sacramento had career highs of 51 points and 26 rebounds in a 93-91 overtime loss to Indiana.

 Jan. 5 -- Tim Thomas scored a career-high 39 points and hit an NBA record eight 3-pointers in a half in Milwaukee's 119-115 loss to Portland.

 Jan. 6 -- Allen Iverson scored a career-high 54 points as Philadelphia beat Cleveland 107-103.

 Jan. 6 -- Three-time Olympian Nina Kemppel set a record with her 15th U.S. cross-country skiing title, winning the 15-kilometer to sweep the national competition in McCall, Idaho. Kemppel shared the record with Nancy Fiddler and Martha Rockwell.

 Jan. 9 -- Hossam Hassam broke Lothar Matthaeus' world record, making his 151st international appearance as Egypt beat Zambia 3-1 in an exhibition game. Hassan, a midfielder, made his international debut in 1985 against Norway. Matthaeus played his 150th game for Germany at last summer's European Championship, then retired from international soccer.

 Jan. 11 -- Houston snapped New York's seven-game winning streak with a 76-75 victory over the Knicks. The Knicks held their 29th consecutive opponent under 100 points breaking the sub-100 record set by the Fort Wayne Pistons at the start of the 1954-55 season when the NBA had just introduced the 24-second shot clock.

 Jan. 11 -- The Seattle SuperSonics and their WNBA sister, the Storm, was sold for $200 million to a local investment group headed by Starbucks founder Howard Schultz. The Ackerley Group bought the Sonics for $22 million in 1983.

 Jan. 12 -- Snow and rain forced the suspension of play in the second round of the Tucson Open, the first time snow has fallen during a PGA Tour event in 14 years. It was the first snowfall during a tournament since the 1987 Greater Greensboro Open.

 Jan. 12 -- The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors played the lowest-scoring third quarter in NBA history, combining for just 18 points as Toronto beat Boston 93-72 behind 25 points from Vince Carter. The 18 third-quarter points -- nine by each team -- also tied the record set by Syracuse and Fort Wayne on Nov. 29, 1956, for fewest combined points in any quarter.

 Jan. 12 -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined again by the NBA, this time $100,000 for sitting on the baseline during a Dallas game at Minnesota. It was the fifth time this season that commissioner David Stern has fined Cuban.

 Jan. 12 -- Minnesota defenseman J.J. Daigneault tied an NHL record by playing for his 10th team when he appeared in a 5-0 loss to the Avalanche.

 Jan. 14 -- Led by Kerry Collins' five touchdown passes, the New York Giants reached their first Super Bowl in a decade with a 41-0 romp past the hapless Minnesota Vikings -- the biggest rout in NFC championship history.

 Jan. 14 -- The Baltimore Ravens shut down the Oakland Raiders to win the AFC championship 16-3. Baltimore tight end Shannon Sharpe scored the game's only touchdown on a 96-yard connection from Trent Dilfer, the longest pass play in postseason history.

 Jan. 14 -- Franck Esposito of France set a short-course world record in the 200-meter butterfly in Antibes, France. He was timed in 1 minute, 51.58 seconds, breaking the mark of 1:51.76 set by Britain's James Hickman in March 1998.

 Jan. 15 -- Garrett Willis, a 27-year-old rookie, shot a 3-under-par 69 to win the Tucson Open, his first event as a card-carrying member of the PGA Tour. Willis finished at 15-under 273 to beat Kevin Sutherland (68) by one stroke and became the third player to win in his first action as a PGA member. The others were Ben Crenshaw at the 1973 San Antonio-Texas Open, and Robert Gamez in Tucson in 1990.

 Jan. 15 -- Peace College beat Bennett College 98-3 in women's college basketball. Bennett's three points set an NCAA Division III women's record for fewest points scored. The Belles broke Bard's record of four points in its 67-4 loss to Vassar on Dec. 9, 1997. That gave Bennett the lowest scoring game in two of the NCAA's three divisions. The Belles set the Division I record of 12 in an 85-12 loss to North Carolina A&T on Nov. 21, 1990.

 Jan. 16 -- Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett were elected to the Hall of Fame on their first try. Winfield, who had 3,110 hits and 465 home runs, and Puckett, whose All-Star career was cut short by glaucoma, played together on the Minnesota Twins in 1993-94. Puckett played his entire career with the Twins and led them to unlikely World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. A career .318 hitter, he got 2,040 hits -- the most for any 20th-century player in his first 10 calendar years. Winfield, a 12-time All-Star, batted .283 with 1,833 RBIs.

 Jan. 16 -- Dajuan Wagner, considered one of the best high school players in the country, scored 100 points in Camden High School's 157-67 victory over Gloucester Township Technical School. Hours later, Heritage Christian Academy junior Cedric Hensley scored 101 in a 178-28 victory over Banff Christian School of Tomball, Texas. Hensley and Wagner were the 13th and 14th boys' basketball players to score at least 100, according to the National High School Sports Record Book. It was the first time anyone reached triple digits since 1979.

 Jan. 17 -- Britain's Mark Foster broke the short-course world record in the 50-meter butterfly, clocking 22.87 seconds at a World Cup meet in Sheffield, England. Foster eclipsed the old butterfly mark of 23.19, set by Sweden's Lars Frolander in March of 2000.

 Jan. 18 -- Derek Jeter asked for a record $18.5 million in salary arbitration. The New York Yankees offered their All-Star shortstop $14.25 million. Last year, Jeter set an arbitration record when he asked for $10.5 million.

 Jan. 19 -- Former NFL player Rae Carruth was acquitted of first-degree murder but convicted of conspiracy and two other charges in the fatal shooting of his pregnant girlfriend. Carruth was later sentenced to a minimum of 18 years, 11 months in prison and a maximum of 24 years, four months.

 Jan. 20 -- Michelle Kwan won her fourth straight U.S. Figure Skating Championships title with a strong free skate that earned two 6.0s. Timothy Goebel landed a quadruple jump, two triple axels and four other triples to win his first men's title.

 Jan. 20 -- Alan Webb of South Lakes High School in Reston, Va., became the first American prep runner to break four minutes for the indoor mile, with a time of 3:59.86 at the New Balance Games in New York. In smashing the scholastic indoor mark of 4:02.7 set by Thom Hunt in 1976, Webb was only the fourth U.S. high school runner to break four minutes. The other three -- Jim Ryun, who did it five times; Tim Danielson; and Marty Liquori -- all accomplished the feat outdoors.

 Jan. 20 -- Iowa State wrestler Cael Sanderson won his 101st straight match, breaking the record for the most consecutive victories held by former Cyclone and Olympian Dan Gable. Sanderson, a two-time All-American, scored a technical fall over Ed Aliakseyenka of Montclair State at the 6:45 mark, helping Iowa State to a 29-18 victory over the Red Hawks.

 Jan. 21 -- Allen Iverson scored 51 in Philadelphia's 110-106 overtime loss to Toronto.

 Jan. 21 -- Gordan Kozulj of Croatia tied the 200-meter backstroke world record at the Arena World Cup, a short course swimming meet in Berlin. He was timed in 1 minute, 51.62 seconds, equaling the mark set by Matt Welsh of Australia in Melbourne in October of 2000.

 Jan. 23 -- Sam Cassell had 22 points and the Bucks hit a franchise record 14 3-pointers to beat the Knicks 105-91 and snap New York's NBA-record 33-game streak of holding their opponent under 100 points.

 Jan. 24 -- Mario Lemieux's hat trick in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win over Montreal was his 40th career three-goal game and his first since Jan. 26, 1997. Only Wayne Gretzky, with 50 career hat tricks, has more. Since coming out of retirement, Lemieux scored 14 goals and 26 points in 13 games.

 Jan. 25 -- Andrew Magee made what was believed to be the first hole-in-one on a par 4 on the PGA Tour. In the first round of the Phoenix Open, Magee's shot glanced off Tom Byrum's putter 8 feet away into the cup on the 333-yard 17th hole. Magee finished with a 66.

 Jan. 25 -- Sweden's Anna-Karin Kammerling lowered her world record in the women's 50-meter butterfly short-course event at Stockholm, Sweden with a time of of 25.36 seconds. She broke her own record of 25.60 set in December, 2000.

 Jan. 26 -- Venus and Serena Williams completed a career Grand Slam in women's doubles, beating Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open. The Williams sisters won the French Open and U.S. Open in 1999. Last year they won Wimbledon and gold medals in the Sydney Olympics.

 Jan. 27 -- Jennifer Capriati upset three-time winner Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-3 to win the Australian Open title. It was Capriati's first Grand Slam tournament championship.

 Jan. 27 -- Lynn Swann and Ron Yary were both elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on in their 14th year of eligibility. Also picked were coach Marv Levy; offensive linemen Jackie Slater and Mike Munchak; defensive end Jack Youngblood; and oldtimers nominee Nick Buoniconti.

 Jan. 27 -- Mark Calcavecchia shot an 11-under 60 to tie the PGA Tour record for lowest 36-hole score (17-under 125) and take a five-stroke lead midway through the Phoenix Open. Tiger Woods' remarkable streak of 52 straight PGA Tour rounds of par or better come to an end with a 2-over 73 that left him 13 shots back. The official PGA Tour tally was 52 straight rounds of par or better, though Woods adds in 10 other competitive rounds to make it a streak of 62 rounds. Through three major championships and 14 tournaments, Woods broke par 48 times and matched it the other four rounds.

 Jan. 27 -- Two Oklahoma State basketball players, six staffers and broadcasters associated with the program were killed in a plane crash in Byers, Colo. Oklahoma State players Nate Fleming and Dan Lawson, sports information employee Will Hancock, a basketball program executive, a trainer, a broadcast engineer, Oklahoma City broadcaster Bill Teegins, and the two pilots were aboard the plane.

 Jan. 28 -- Andre Agassi, dominating from the start, won his seventh Grand Slam tournament title by beating surprise finalist Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 at the Australian Open.

 Jan. 28 -- Baltimore's brazen defense backed up its bragging beating the New York Giants 34-7 in the Super Bowl. The Ravens intercepted Kerry Collins four times, the final pick returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Duane Starks, the first of three TDs on three plays late in the third quarter. Ray Lewis, the Super Bowl MVP, and the rest of the Baltimore defense smothered the Giants holding them to 152 yards of total offense.

 Jan. 28 -- Mark Calcavecchia birdied four of the last five holes to win the Phoenix Open with a 28-under-par 256, breaking a record held for 46 years by Mike Souchak for lowest 72-hole score. Calcavecchia also set a record for most birdies in 72 holes, making 32 of them over four days on the par-71 TPC of Scottsdale course to win by eight shots over Rocco Mediate.

 Jan. 28 -- Qi Hui of China and Mark Foster of Britain set world records at a World Cup short-course swimming meet in Paris. Qi's world record-breaking time of 2 minutes, 19.25 seconds, in the women's 200-meter breaststroke improved on the previous short-course record of 2:20.22, set by Japan's Masami Tanaka at Hong Kong in April 1999. Foster set the world record in the men's 50 freestyle. His time of 21.13 broke American Anthony Ervin's record of 21.21 set last March at Minneapolis.

 Jan. 29 -- Chucky Brown signed a 10-day contract with Cleveland to set an NBA record. The Cavaliers became the 11th team for Brown.

 Jan. 30 -- Daron Rahlves won the super giant slalom, the first American to capture the event at the world championships. Rahlves surged to victory in 1 minute, 21.46 seconds, edging Stefan Eberharter by .08 seconds.

 Jan. 31 -- The Montreal Canadiens, a national treasure of Canadian sports, became an American property. Molson Inc., the team owner, sold 80 percent of the NHL club and all of the Molson Centre to Colorado businessman George Gillett for $183 million.

 Jan. 31 -- Twenty-nine years after being stripped of a gold medal for using an asthma medicine containing a banned substance, Rick DeMont was recognized for his accomplishments by the U.S. Olympic Committee. DeMont won the 400-meter freestyle as a 16-year-old at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, but his gold medal was taken away when traces of the banned substance ephedrine showed up in a routine post-race urine test. The International Olympic Committee also handed DeMont a lifelong suspension.

 Jan. 31 -- Milwaukee coach George Karl earned his 600th career win with a 116-111 victory over Denver. Karl is the 17th coach in NBA history to win 600, and he's the sixth-fastest to reach the milestone.