Historically Speaking: 2-26-09

Good morning, wee willy wonkers. I have no idea but that means, but I'm sure you'll make more sense out of what's after the jump. Well, I hope you will anyway. Have a look.

* On this day in 1935, the New York Yankees released a guy by the name of Babe Ruth, who then signed with the Boston Braves for 20 Large and a bit of the bottom line.

*In 1981, two cats by the name of Gerald and Allan Phillips sold the Denver Broncos to a dude named Ed. Edgar F. Kaiser, Jr., to be exact. I understand the Phillips brothers were under scrutiny for their alleged orchestration of the Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy assassinations, and needed to shun their identities.

* Four years later, Julius "Dr. J" Erving slid into the third-place slot on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Legend has it that the league used to a) play defense, b) not travel, and c) wear spiffy shorts back then. Imagine...

* Four more years later, a California court threw out the majority of Margo Adams' --who, uh, you know (I kid.) -- $12 million breach-of-contract suit against Boston Red Sox third-baseman Wade Boggs.

* Finally, in 1997, the "Legion of Doom" line of the Philadelphia Flyers scored 15 points in a tilt against the Ottawa Senators. The line included Eric Lindros at center, Mikael Renberg on the right wing, and John LeClair on the left. The trio skated together as linemates for just over two seasons, yielding more than 225 goals and 260 assists during their time as a trio.

And your Sports Illustrated quote of the day came from the mouth of...



...one-time TCU basketball coach Jim Killingsworth, who, circa 1982, commented on Tulsa guard Paul Pressey, saying, "He's quick enough to play tennis by himself."