Michael T. Mondak Speaks: 40 til 40 day 22

It’s day 22 of 40 in the 40 til 40 blog entry series about anything and everything relevant to the number 40.

In the last entry I posted about the 40 best Penn State non-football sports moments.  Today I will talk about the 40 greatest sports moments I have borne witness to whether in person or tuned in on the radio or television.

40. December 29, 2006:  My father and I joined his aunt Rita and friend Bob Bierce for a trip to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse to see the Orangemen play basketball against St. Bonaventure.  The Orangemen won the game 78-59 thanks to the efforts of Matt Gorman, but what I did not know until 2015 was this particular win was vacated along with 100 others due to a scandal involving improper benefits.

39. July 12, 1997:  My father and I were tuned in on the radio when the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincón combined for the first extra innings no-hitter in Major League Baseball history with a 3-0 win over the Houston Astros at Three Rivers Stadium.

38. June 11, 2017:  I was tuned in to WFMJ with a group of neighbors to watch game six of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators.  The goal that won the Stanley Cup was scored by Patric Hornqvist with 95 seconds remaining in regulation.

37. April 13, 2025:  I was tuned in for the final round of the Masters on CBS when Rory McIlroy defeated Justin Rose in a sudden death playoff to win the green jacket and complete the career grand slam.

36. December 22, 2003:  I was tuned in on WYTV for Monday Night Football between the Oakland Raiders and the Green Bay Packers where Brett Favre threw for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns the day after the tragic death of his father Irvin.

35. July 12, 1998:  I was tuned into the final round of the Isuzu Celebrity Golf Classic on NBC.  On the final hole, Mario Lemieux sank a 12 foot birdie putt to win the tournament.

34. December 27, 2000:  I was tuned in on ESPN2 from the Circuit City at the Crossroads at Chesapeake Square to see the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs from the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh where Mario Lemieux played his first game after he purchased the team and scored a goal and added a pair of assists in a 5-0 Penguins victory.

33. February 5, 2006:  I was tuned in on WYTV for Super Bowl XL between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks from Ford Field in Detroit, about which I had posted a previous entry.  While the Steelers won 21-10, the game was marred with some very controversial calls during the game, but even before the game there were plenty of powers that wanted the Steelers to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

32. September 8, 1998:  I was tuned in on Fox for a nationally televised game between the NL Central division rivals St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.  The big story was the possibility of Roger Maris’ single season home run record being broken that evening.  Mark McGwire broke the record in the bottom of the second inning when he parked the first pitch off of Cubs starter Steve Traschel into the Cardinals’ bullpen for his record 62nd home run of the season.  McGwire had tied the record the night before when he hit his 61st home run on his father’s 61st birthday.

31. August 18, 2013:  I was in attendance at PNC Park with the Knights of Columbus for a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Despite the Pirates losing 4-2 in 16 innings, the Pirates would eventually break the Curse of Barry Bonds and clinch their first winning season since 1992 and advance to the National League Division Series.

30. July 15, 2023:  It was Super Saturday in West Middlesex, and the finale of the Lawrence/Mercer County Church Softball League tournament.  The Covenant Speed/Power and the Family Life Falcons were deadlocked at 15 apiece after seven innings, thus requiring an eighth inning played under the lights.  Under the international rule, Covenant put a runner on second base, and in the top of the eighth inning, they scored ten runs, forcing Family Life to score eleven to win the Chet Cameron Memorial Trophy.  But their runner on second base was forced out, and Lily Slater made the dumbest move of the tournament when she left the batter’s box prematurely and was called out by the umpire.  Family Life did put runners on first and second, but a ground ball fielded by Corey Sternthal to Tyler Allen retained the Chet Cameron Memorial Trophy for the Covenant Speed/Power.

29. October 1, 2013:  I was tuned in on TBS for the National League Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds played at PNC Park.  It was the first ever home playoff game at PNC Park and the first home playoff baseball game in Pittsburgh since 1992.  Following a home run by the Pirates’ Marlon Byrd, 40,000 Pirates fans dressed in black mockingly chanted “CUE-TO, CUE-TO, CUE-TO”, causing Reds starter Johnny Cueto to drop the ball from the pitcher’s mound.  Moments later, Russell Martin parked one into the left field bleachers on the way to a 6-2 Pirates victory.

28. May 25, 1991:  I was an almost 6-year-old watching Home Team Sports and game six of the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota North Stars.  The Penguins defeated the North Stars 8-0 to win their first Stanley Cup.

27. June 11, 2000:  My father was serving as a volunteer at the Mellon Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational at the Club at Nevillewood, and I mingled with the celebrities.  It was in this tournament where Dan Quinn set a tournament record for lowest score in relation to par with a 54 hole total of 14 under par.  This was also the only time in tournament history that host Mario Lemieux played in the final group.

26. September 13, 1992:  I was tuned in on WAVY TV 10 for the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills.  This was the very first NFL game where neither team punted the ball.  The Bills won the game 34-31.

25. October 21, 2000:  My father and I were in attendance at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh to see the Penguins play host to the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets for team calendar night.  This was the game where we started the tradition of switching shirts after each Penguins goal.  By the time the final horn had sounded in a 5-2 Penguins victory, I was wearing his crew neck sweatshirt and he was wearing my Penguins jersey.

24. June 12, 2016:  It was my father’s 61st birthday and I was in the Pittsburgh area to serve as a volunteer for the U.S. Open at historic Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh.  I was tuned in to WPXI for game six of the 2016 Stanley Cup finals between  the Penguins and the San Jose Sharks.  Kris Letang scored the goal that won the Stanley Cup, and with the Penguins 3-1 victory, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup.

23. March 7, 2010:  My father and I were tuned in on News/Talk 790 WPIC AM for a Penguins game against the Boston Bruins so I could spend a part of my spring break in Canonsburg.  With the Penguins ahead 2-1 in one of the last regular season games played at the Mellon Arena, and less than 6 minutes remaining in regulation, the Penguins’ Matt Cooke laid a shoulder blow to the head of the Bruins’ Marc Savard, knocking him out with a concussion.  Cooke was neither penalized nor punished by Colin Campbell for the hit, which led to a wider crackdown on headshots in the National Hockey League starting the next season.

22. February 16, 2020:  My father and I were in attendance at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh for a Penguins game against the Detroit Red Wings.  This trip was made possible after I earned a bonus as a co-recipient of my then-employer’s Service Excellence Award.  The game was part of the festivities of Hockey Weekend Across America.  The Penguins won the game 5-1, but little did I know that it would be the last professional sporting event I would attend before the Covid pandemic.

21. January 19, 2002:  I was tuned in on CBS for the AFC divisional round game between the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders, with the winner playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship at Heinz Field.  In the final game ever played at Foxborough Stadium, in a heavy snowfall, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady appeared to fumble the ball after his former college teammate Charles Woodson hit him, leading to a Raiders recovery.  But then someone in the booth initiated a review (the play occurred after the two minute warning) and thanks to the so-called “Tuck Rule”, the play was ruled an incomplete pass.  The Patriots won 16-13 in overtime.

20. July 10, 1993:  It was my 8th birthday, and my father and I were in attendance for the third round of the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic at Kingsmill in Williamsburg.  On the par 4 16th hole of the River course, Fred Funk chipped in for a birdie.  (That was the same round where I dissed my father in front of past tournament champion Fuzzy Zoeller.)

19. June 14, 1998:  I was tuned in on WFMJ for game six of the NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.  Michael Jordan’s jump shot from behind the charity stripe won the Bulls their sixth NBA championship in the 1990s.

18. June 17, 2016:  I was serving as a volunteer for the U.S. Open at historic Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, and while I was walking along the par 4 3rd hole with the infamous Church Pews bunker, I overheard the folks in the hospitality tents singing Happy Birthday to Phil Mickelson, who was celebrating his birthday that particular day.

17. July 16, 2000:  I was tuned in on WYTV for final round coverage of the British Open from the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, where Tiger Woods completed the career grand slam.

16. June 12, 2009:  It was my father’s 54th birthday and he and I were tuned in to WFMJ to watch game seven of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings.  A last second save by Marc-Andre Fleury on Niklas Lidstrom won the Stanley Cup for the Penguins, after which I went to bed still wearing my Penguins jersey.

15. June 13, 2015:  My father and I were in attendance at PNC Park for a Pirates game against the Philadelphia Phillies.  The Phillies had the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, but the Pirates escaped the jam by forcing out three runners at home plate on their way to a win.

14. November 14, 2015:  I was the studio producer for News/Talk 790 WPIC AM for the Mercer County Cup game between the Thiel Tomcats and the Grove City Wolverines.  The Tomcats retained the Mercer County Cup with a win over Grove City, which was part of Grove City College football’s infamous losing skid that did not end until the 2018 season.

13. March 10, 2001:  My father and I were in attendance at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh for a Penguins game against the Calgary Flames on hat night.  Although the Penguins trailed 2-1 after one period of play, Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens and Jaromir Jagr went to work starting in the second period.  Jagr wound up with a hat trick in that game, won by the Penguins 6-3, but little did we know that it would be his last one in a Penguins uniform.

12. August 5, 2015:  I was in attendance at PNC Park in Pittsburgh for Penn State night and a Pirates game against the Chicago Cubs.  The tone was set in the bottom of the first inning when Andrew McCutchen hit a home run, leading to a Pirates win.

11. November 15, 2014:  I was in attendance at Beaver Stadium for a Penn State football game against Temple as part of Military Appreciation Day.  Penn State defeated Temple 30-13 to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2011.  It was my first Penn State football game.

10. April 14, 2017:  My father and I were in attendance at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh for game two of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs between the Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The game winning goal was scored by a rookie named Jake Guentzel, which was his first career playoff goal.  The final score was 4-1 Penguins, although the end of the game was marred by a Matt Calvert cross check on Tom Kuhnhackl that led to Calvert being suspended for game three at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

9. November 28, 1995:  My father and I were in attendance at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena to see the Penguins play the Ottawa Senators for Mario Lemieux 500th goal coin night.  We saw Markus Naslund score his first career hat trick in a 7-2 Penguins victory.  This was my very first Penguins game.

8. February 1, 2009:  My mother and I were tuned in to WFMJ for Super Bowl XLIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals.  As time expired before halftime, James Harrison dropped back into coverage and intercepted a Kurt Warner pass at the goal line which he returned for a pick six, the longest interception return in Super Bowl history.  It’s known in Pittsburgh sports lore as the Immaculate Interception.

7. July 25, 1998:  My father and I were in attendance at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh as the Pirates played the Atlanta Braves on golf umbrella night.  The Pirates won the game 4-1 with starting pitcher Francisco Cordova getting the win, and Jason Christensen picking up his fourth save by striking out the side in the ninth inning.

6. July 10, 2018:  It was my 33rd birthday, and I was calling a doubleheader for the Covenant Speed/Power against the St. John’s Rams.  While Tyler Allen set the tone for the night by parking the first pitch over the left field fence, Bobby Mort wound up stealing the show with a pair of home runs, on the way to a sweep of the Rams and me leaving with two birthday balloons from Julie MacKenzie.

5. February 1, 2009:  After the Arizona Cardinals took their only lead of Super Bowl XLIII, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ offense answered right back when Santonio Holmes made what is known in Pittsburgh sports lore as The Tampa Toe-chdown, where he caught a touchdown pass from Roethlisberger and kept his toes in bounds.  The score proved to be the difference as the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII 27-23 and Holmes (who my mother and I once mistook for a cousin) was named the MVP.

4. April 13, 1997:  I was tuned into the final round coverage of the Masters on CBS, and I knew going in that a 21-year-old phenom named Tiger Woods was going to win his first major, but the question was, how much would he win by?  It turned out that his margin of victory was by 12 strokes.  And Jim Nantz put it best, that this was truly a win for the ages.

3. March 18, 1995:  My father and I were in attendance at the Scope in Norfolk where we witnessed East Coast Hockey League history as goaltender Corwin Saurdiff of the Hampton Roads Admirals became the first goaltender in league history to score a goal by shooting the puck into an empty Charlotte Checkers net.

2. July 15, 2017:  It was Super Saturday in West Middlesex.  The Covenant Speed/Power were trailing 13-12 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning in the finale against the New Life Saints.  I said that if Covenant could get a bloop and a blast, they would be crowned the new champions of the Lawrence/Mercer County Church Softball League.  And they actually had the advantage of having the heart of their batting order due up.  Yes, Jeff Newell got the bloop.  And on a two ball and one strike pitch, rookie sensation Corey Sternthal hit the walk-off home run of his life.  The final score was Covenant 14, New Life Saints 13, and Covenant was crowned the new champions of the Lawrence/Mercer County Church Softball League.

1. April 23, 1997:  My father and I were in attendance at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena for a crucial game four of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the rival Philadelphia Flyers.  The game winner was scored by Chris Tamer, but the big moment came with 64 seconds remaining when Mario Lemieux scored his last goal at home before what he thought was retirement.  The 4-1 win sent the series back to the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia.