Talking Points: Never forget

What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:

1

Two examples from the past two days remind us that sports fans never ever ever forget. Never.

First, upon the election of a new Pope, Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper ran a photo of Pope Francis and the headline, “Argentinian elected Pope: The New Hand of God.” They also included a small inset photo of Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal for Argentina against England in the 1986 World Cup, scoring on a hand ball that the referee failed to see.

Clever. But c’mon, Britain. The goal was 27 years ago. Let it go.

Not to be outdone, the Oakland Raiders’ official Twitter account on Thursday celebrated the possible demise of the NFL’s “tuck rule.” That’s the obscure rule that helped turn a 2001 playoff game against the Raiders and in favor of the New England Patriots. The Raiders’ tweet: “Tuck Rule? It’s been 11 years, 1 month and 23 days…but who’s counting?”

If only the Raiders had more victories to count in the intervening years, perhaps they would have gotten over the Tuck Rule Game. Then again, sports fans never forget.

2

Grambling State is well-known for the historic success of its football program, but the basketball team has taken center stage this year. And not in a good way.

The Tigers wrapped up an 0-28 season with a loss in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament. Not only that, their first 27 losses were by double-digits before a 59-51 defeat in the season finale.

For the season, Grambling was outscored by an average of 26.7 points a game.

3

The Broncos’ signing of Wes Welker just gives Peyton Manning one more target for a soul-crushing interception in the playoffs. See? We told you sports fans never forget.

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