Today in Sports, May 10 – Steph Curry becomes 1st unanimous NBA MVP, earning award for 2nd straight season
May 10
1913 — Donerail, ridden by Roscoe Goose, comes from fifth place in the stretch to upset Ten Point by one-half length and win the Kentucky Derby, paying a record $184.90.
1919 — Sir Barton, ridden by Johnny Loftus, leads the whole way to win the Kentucky Derby by five lengths over Billy Kelly. Sir Barton, the first to capture the Triple Crown, is one of three maidens to win the Derby.
1929 — British Open Men’s Golf, Muirfield: Walter Hagen wins 4th Open title, by 6 strokes from fellow American Johnny Farrell.
1941 — Whirlaway, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Preakness Stakes by 5½ lengths over King Cole.
1967 — Hank Aaron hits his only inside the park HR off of Phillies’ Jim Bunning, in Philadelphia.
1969 — The plans for the NFL-AFL merger are completed. The NFL will consist of two conferences of 13 teams, the AFC and NFC. The NFL will move three franchises, Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, to the AFC.
1970 — Bobby Orr’s goal gives Boston its first Stanley Cup in 29 years. The Bruins beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 for a four-game sweep.
1973 — The New York Knicks win the NBA title in five games with a 102-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
1973 — Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Yvan Cournoyer has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 6-4 to take title, 4 games to 2.
1974 — 7th ABA championship: NY Nets beats Utah Stars, 4 games to 1.
1978 — 22nd European Cup: Liverpool beats Club Brugge 1-0 at London.
1989 — FC Barcelona of Spain win 29th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Sampdoria of Italy 1-0 in Bern.
1993 — Bill Walton is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
1995 — Real Zaragoza of Spain win 35th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Arsenal of England 2-1 in Paris.
1997 — Ato Boldon speeds to a mark of 9.89 seconds in the 100 meters at the Modesto Relays, becoming the sixth man in history to go faster than 9.90 seconds.
2001 — The XFL folds after one season. The football league, founded by the World Wrestling Federation and jointly owned by NBC, was a TV ratings disappointment.
2002 — Boston and Detroit play the lowest-scoring game in the NBA playoffs since the shot clock was introduced in the 1954-55 season. The Celtics edge the Pistons 66-64; the 130-point total is far below the previous low of 142 registered three times.
2005 — Miami’s Dwyane Wade becomes the fifth player in NBA history with at least 30 points, 15 assists and five rebounds in a playoff game, joining Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Walt Frazier and Oscar Robertson. Wade’s 31 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds lead the Heat to a 108-102 victory over Washington.
2006 — Cam Ward makes 28 saves in Carolina’s 3-2 win over New Jersey to become the second NHL goalie to win his first seven postseason starts. The 22-year-old rookie joins Tiny Thompson, who did it for Boston in 1929-30.
2009 — Russia defends its gold medal at the world ice hockey championship, beating Canada 2-1 on in a rematch of last year’s final.
2009 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Henrik Stenson of Sweden shoots a bogey-free final round 66 to win by 4 strokes from Englishman Ian Poulter.
2013 — Joe Sakic is hired by his former team, the Colorado Avalanche, as Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.
2014 — Michael Sam is picked by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the NFL draft, becoming the first openly gay player drafted by a pro football team. Sam, who played at Missouri and was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year, is taken with the 249th overall pick out of 256.
2015 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Rickie Fowler wins beating Kevin Kisner and Sergio García by 1 stroke in a playoff.
2016 — Stephen Curry becomes the first unanimous NBA MVP, earning the award for the second straight season after leading the defending champion Warriors to a record-setting season. Curry is the 11th player in league history to be voted MVP in consecutive seasons and the first guard to do so since Steve Nash in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Curry received 1,310 points from the 131 media voters.
2018 — Rafael Nadal breaks John McEnroe’s record of 49 straight sets won on the same surface after beating Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the Madrid Open. Nadal extends his winning streak to 50 consecutive sets on clay, eclipsing the mark McEnroe established on carpet in 1984.
2018 — The Winnipeg Jets advance to the first Western Conference final in their short history after knocking off the NHL’s best team in the regular season. Tyler Myers and Paul Stastny score 2:06 apart in the first period, and the Jets stun the Nashville Predators 5-1 in their first Game 7.
2022 — Tom Brady agrees to record 10-year, $375m deal to be Fox Sports’ lead analyst when he decides to finally retire; surpasses $303m the quarterback earned in salary during his NFL career.