The Fumble

In American football, The Fumble refers to a play in the AFC Championship Game between the Browns and Broncos on January 17, 1988 at Mile High Stadium. With 1:12 left in the game, Browns running back Earnest Byner fumbled on the Broncos 1 yard line while trying to score a game-tying touchdown. The Broncos went on to win 38–33 after taking an intentional safety.

Background

The same two teams had met in the previous AFC Championship Game. That game also ended in victory for the Broncos and featured a famous five-minute, 98-yard touchdown drive led by quarterback John Elway, known simply as The Drive, to take the game into overtime.

During the game, the Broncos jumped to a 21–3 halftime lead, but Browns' quarterback Bernie Kosar led them back with four second-half touchdowns. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 31. The Broncos then took the lead on a long drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Elway to running back Sammy Winder, making it 38–31 with 6 minutes left. Cleveland responded by advancing the ball to Denver's 8-yard line with 1:12 left, setting the stage for the play that made this game one of the most famous in NFL lore.

Isaiah Thomas

Isaiah Thomas (January 30, 1749 – April 4, 1831) was an American newspaper publisher and author. He performed the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Worcester, Massachusetts, and reported the first account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. He was the founder of the American Antiquarian Society.

Biography

Early life and career

Thomas was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was apprenticed on July 7, 1756 to Zechariah Fowle, a Boston printer, with whom, after working as a printer in Halifax, Portsmouth (New Hampshire) and Charleston (South Carolina), he formed a partnership in 1770.

The Massachusetts Spy

The partnership was formed to publish the Massachusetts Spy, and lasted for three months, after which Thomas continued publication alone. For the paper's motto, he chose “Open to all parties, but influenced by none.” Initially it came out three times each week, then (under his sole ownership) as a semi-weekly, and beginning in 1771, as a weekly. The paper soon espoused the Whig cause and was the object of government efforts to suppress it. In 1771 Gov. Thomas Hutchinson ordered the attorney general to prosecute Thomas, but the grand jury failed to find cause for indictment.

Fumble

A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled) or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful handing that results in loss of player possession. A fumble may be forced by a defensive player who either grabs or punches the ball or butts the ball with his helmet (a move called "tackling the ball"). A fumbled ball may be recovered and advanced by either team (except, in American football, after the two-minute warning in either half or 4th down, when the fumbling player is the only offensive player allowed to advance the ball, otherwise the ball is ruled dead at the spot of recovery if the ball bounces backwards or spotted at the point of the fumble if the ball travels forward). It is one of three events that can cause a turnover (the other two being an interception or on downs, though the latter does not count toward the team's total turnovers), where possession of the ball can change during play.

LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has started at the small forward and power forward positions. James has won two NBA championships (2012, 2013), four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013), two NBA Finals MVP Awards (2012, 2013), two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), an NBA scoring title (2008), and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award (2004). He has also been selected to 12 NBA All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams, and six All-Defensive teams, and is the Cavaliers' all-time leading scorer.

James played high school basketball at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar. After graduating, he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cavaliers. James led Cleveland to the franchise's first Finals appearance in 2007, losing to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2010, he left the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in a highly publicized ESPN special titled The Decision. James played four seasons for the Heat, reaching the Finals all four years and winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he led Miami on a 27-game winning streak, the third longest in league history. Following his final season with the Heat, James opted out of his contract and re-joined the Cavaliers. Behind his leadership, Cleveland advanced to the Finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors.

Klay Thompson

Klay Alexander Thompson (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson, he played college basketball for three seasons at Washington State University, where he was a two-time first-team all-conference selection in the Pac-10. Thompson was selected in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft by Golden State with the 11th overall pick. In 2014, he and teammate Stephen Curry set an NBA record with 484 combined three-pointers in a season, as the pair were given the nickname the "Splash Brothers". Thompson was named an NBA All-Star and selected to the All-NBA Team in 2015, and helped lead the Warriors win their first NBA championship since 1975.

High school career

Thompson was born in Los Angeles. At age 2, his family moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he was childhood friends and Little League teammates with fellow future NBA star Kevin Love. At age 14, Thompson moved with his family to Ladera Ranch, California, and graduated from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita in 2008. In his junior season he was named to the All-Area second team and to the Orange County third team. As a senior Thompson averaged 21 points per game and led SMCHS to a 30–5 record and a Division III State Championship appearance. During the state championship, Thompson set a state finals record with seven 3-pointers in a game. He was named Division III State player of the year, League MVP, first-team Best in the West, and an EA Sports Second Team All American.