The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 20

February 2, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 8 Sports THIS WEEK SPORTS IN HISTORY February 8 - NFL’s First Draft On Feb. 8, 1936, the NFL hosted the first official draft in an effort to prevent bidding wars among teams vying for amateur players. It was decided that the first pick of the draft would be granted to the last place team of the previous season and proceed in the reverse order of standings. In the 1936 draft, The Philadelphia Eagles, which finished with a 2-9 record, drafted Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago who was then traded to the Chicago Bears. February 3 - A.G. Spalding develops first official Baseball Albert Spalding invested in a sporting goods store after his baseball career with the Cincinnati Red Stockings in the 1870s, baseball’s first all- professional baseball team which inspired the origin of the Boston “Red Sox”. He played all of his games with a ball that he created in 1876. When he opened his store, he made the first “official” baseball, basketball, tennis ball, golf ball and football. February 6 - First Olympic Dogsled Race In 1932, the dogsled race was included in the Winter Olympics as a demonstration event and had 12 contestants. The rules were overseen by the New England Sled Dog Club and each sled carried six dogs. Emile St. Godard from Canada won the demonstration event. February 2 - Longest Boxing match The longest boxing match fought with modern rules lasted 77 rounds and more than five hours on Feb. 2, 1892. Harry Sharpe and Frank Crosby fought and Sharpe won with a knockout. February 5 - First African American elected to Basketball Hall of Fame Thirteen years after the Hall of Fame opened in 1959, they honored Bob Douglas. He was the first African American to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. Douglas was honored for recognizing talent and adding players to his own team, the New York Renaissance. His team won eighty-eight games in a row. February 4 - Super Bowl LII The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl 52 in 2018. Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Nick Foles was planning to retire from the NFL that season, but after the Super Bowl win, he changed his mind. Foles was awarded the most valuable player MVP award for his contribution to lead his team to Super Bowl success. February 7 - Last bare-knuckle boxing match One of the last major illegal bare-knuckle boxing matches, which involved two individuals fighting without the protection of boxing gloves or other padding on their hands, was between Ryan and Sullivan in 1882. Patrick “Paddy” Ryan was the champion of bare-knuckled boxing until John L. Sullivan came into the picture. Ryan was going to retire until Sullivan challenged him to a fight in Mississippi. Sullivan won after nine rounds in eleven minutes. A look at the Cleveland Browns-- an underdog in the NFL Coach Crutchfield has elevated NSU to title contender The Cleveland Browns originally formed in 1944 by a successful businessman named Arthur McBride. He successfully acquired a franchise in the All-American Football Conference (AAFC), where he hired Paul Brown as coach and general manager. After the formation of the team in 1946, they went on to win four straight championships before the AAFC dissolved in 1949. Within those three years, their overall record was 52 wins, four losses and three ties. When the Browns transitioned to the National Football League (NFL), they were also successful, going on to gain 10 wins and two losses during the first season. Paul Brown was a huge influence on the Browns. Throughout the 17 years he coached this football team, his overall record After several years of an underwhelming basketball program, NSU has become a title contender in three short years since Coach Jim Crutchfield’s hiring. Coming off of a 6-20 season in 2016- 2017, NSU hired coach Jim Crutchfield to revive the basketball program. This was no easy job, as NSU’s last winning season was in 2012-2013. This was nothing new to Crutchfield, though. When Crutchfield got his first job as a head coach at West Liberty University in 2004, the team was coming off a 4-23 season. Crutchfield led the Hilltoppers to a 21-10 record in his first season and would go on to never have a losing season in his time at West Liberty. Crutchfield wasn’t always a basketball coach. In fact, he was the tennis coach at was 167 wins, 53 losses and eight ties as well as four AAFC championships and three NFL championships from the years 1946 to 1955. He’s also invented innovative techniques, plays and processes that are still currently used in the League. Brown was also the first coach to give the players play books to study, watch films to scout opponents and many other things that changed the NFL to what it is today. After the significant beginning seasons, the Browns were considered an “average” team, having a decent amount of winning and losing seasons. However, in 1961, the Cleveland Browns were purchased by Art Modell for $4 million. Seemingly instantly, he quickly became a controversial and influential presence in the NFL. In 1962, Modell fired Paul Brown, which then led to Brown co-owning and coaching the Bengals. Modell also had a huge part in creating the West Liberty University before becoming the head basketball coach in 2004. During his time as the basketball coach, he had a record of 359-61 and an 85.5% win/loss ratio. Additionally, Crutchfield won seven consecutive conference championships from 2009-2016. When his contract ended in 2017, Crutchfield decided it was time for something else: rebuilding Nova Southeastern University’s basketball program. Crutchfield didn’t come to NSU alone. He brought two former players of his from West Liberty to be on staff with him: Devin Hoehn and Jordan Fee. When asked about their importance, Crutchfield said, “I was able to bring two former players with me on the staff who know exactly what I want to do. It’s a big help.” Want to read the whole story? Check out this article at nsucurrent.nova.edu .” By: Gemma Anderson Contributing Writer By: Blake Malick Contributing Writer infamous Monday Night Football. Many people agree that Modell’s most controversial moment was when he tried relocating the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore. This moment is still considered controversial as he has publicly stated numerous times that he wouldn’t move the Browns. This decision caused the people of Cleveland to protest and the city to sue Modell for breach of lease. The city claimed that Modell had many years left on the lease in the Cleveland stadium. However, the move to Baltimore seemed to not be positive for the team. At the beginning of the season, it seemed promising, but they ended the season with five wins and 11 losses. After many more protests, Modell granted the players contracts and team personnel to begin a new franchise in Baltimore, which formed the Ravens. After this, the Browns were consistently considered an average team, some seasons being decently good and others not. However, the last time they won a Super Bowl, was in 1964 and the last playoff appearance was in 1994. The 2020-2021 season was extremely promising, though. They had 12 wins and only six losses. They went on to the divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs, in Kansas City. They did lose, but they did make history, after not even making an appearance in 27 years. What does this mean for the future of the team? Well, Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, as well as many other vital players have almost perfected their teamwork and play styles. It does look promising for near future seasons, but it all depends on the coaches and general managers decisions that’ll either have greater success or failure. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY S. BIRARDI Coach Crutchfield cuts the net off the backboard after winning the 2019 NCAA DII South Regional Championship against Lynn University