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This list shows notable sports-related deaths, events, and outcomes that occurred in November of 2004. Deaths
26 Tom Haller 26 Bill Alley 17 Mikael Ljungberg 17 Alexander Ragulin 12 Mike Smith 9 Emlyn Hughes 8 Eddie Charlton 6 Johnny Warren 3 Sergei Zholtok 2 Gerrie Knetemann
November 30, 2004 (Tuesday) College football: Notre Dame fires head coach Tyrone Willingham in the third year of a five-year contract. He becomes the first Notre Dame coach to be fired before the end of his contract. The leading candidate to succeed Willingham is reportedly Utah head coach Urban Meyer, a former Notre Dame assistant. (ESPN) NFL: Cleveland Browns head coach Butch Davis resigns after his team loses their fifth straight game. Offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie has been named interim coach. (AP) Rowing: Four-times Olympic gold medallist, Matthew Pinsent, announces his retirement. (BBC) Cricket: Australia beat New Zealand by 213 runs to win their 2 test series 2–0. (Cricinfo)
November 29, 2004 (Monday) Baseball: Toronto Blue Jays parent company, Rogers Communications, agrees to purchase SkyDome, the Blue Jays' home stadium, from investment group Sportsco International, LP, for $25 million CAD (about $21.24 million USD). (TSN) (ESPN) NBA: Army sergeant James R. Jordan, Jr., brother of Michael Jordan, announces he plans to stay in the military beyond the mandatory retirement after 30 years of service. (AOL news) Boxing: Former four-time world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield announces that he will join ESPN2's broadcast group for at least one fight. (Boxing Central) College football: The Atlantic Coast Conference suspends six Clemson University football players and the Southeastern Conference the same number of players from the University of South Carolina for their part in the November 20 brawl during their game at Clemson. The suspensions will take effect on the first game of the 2005 season. (SportsTicker) NFL Week 12, Monday Night Football: In his 200th consecutive regular-season start, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre throws for three touchdowns and 215 yards passing in a 45–17 win over the St. Louis Rams. (ESPN)
November 28, 2004 (Sunday) Sports television: NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol survived a charter plane crash in Montrose County, Colorado. The pilot and co-pilot of the chartered jet died and Ebersol's son, Teddy Ebersol, was declared missing at the time of the crash. (ESPN) Snooker: Stephen Maguire beats David Gray in the UK Championship 10 frames to 1 (BBC) Cricket: England beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets in Harare, Zimbabwe in the first One Day International to lead the 4 match series 1–0. (Cricinfo) Baseball: The entire Boston Red Sox team is named Sports Illustrated's Sportsmen of the Year for their 2004 World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. It is the first time that an entire professional sports team was bestowed with that honor. (ESPN) NFL, Week 12: The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals combine for 106 points, the most in an NFL game since 1966, as the Bengals beat the Browns 58–48. (ESPN) The Philadelphia Eagles clinch the NFC East division title with a 27–6 victory over the New York Giants. Eli Manning, in his second start with the Giants, throws a meager 6/21 for 148 yards with two interceptions. (ESPN) The Pittsburgh Steelers extend their winning streak to 10 games with a 16–7 victory over the Washington Redskins. The streak is the team's longest since 1976. (ESPN) The San Diego Chargers rally to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 34–31, with a game-winning field goal with less than 2:30 remaining in the game. (ESPN) In a driving rain and on a muddy field, the New England Patriots defeat the Baltimore Ravens, 24–3. Corey Dillon rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown. (ESPN) The Buffalo Bills upset the Seattle Seahawks, 38–9. Willis McGahee rushed for four of the Bills' five touchdowns. (ESPN) In a driving snow, the Oakland Raiders defeat the Denver Broncos, 25–24 on a last-minute blocked field goal attempt. (ESPN) Golf: Fred Couples wins his fifth Skins Game, picking up US$640,000 from 11 skins. (ESPN) Cross-country skiing: In the weekend's World Cup event in Ruka-Kuusamo, Finland, Kristina Šmigun (EST) wins the Ladies' 10 km classic technique race, followed by Kateřina Neumannová (CZE) and Marit Bjørgen (NOR) at the next two places. (FIS-Ski Results) The men's 15 km race is won by Axel Teichmann (GER), with the 2nd and 3rd skiers to finish being Vasily Rochev (RUS) and René Sommerfeldt (GER), respectively. (FIS-Ski Results) NBA: Larry Hughes ties the game making two free throws with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation, scores a triple-double and helps his team, the Washington Wizards, beat the Toronto Raptors, 114–109, in overtime.(NBA) Christian Laettner makes a free throw with 3 seconds to go, and Ricky Davis misses a shot with less than one second to go, as the Miami Heat hold off the Boston Celtics, 106–104. Paul Pierce had missed a free throw that could have tied the game with five seconds to go. (NBA) The Minnesota Timberwolves stop the Sacramento Kings' winning streak at seven, defeating them 121–110 in Sacramento.(NBA)
November 27, 2004 (Saturday) Rugby league: The 2004 Tri-Nations ends anti-climactically at Elland Road, with Australia defeating Great Britain 44–4 in the Final, having led 38–0 at half-time. It is the biggest ever defeat suffered by GB on home soil. (BBC) Rugby union: In a pulsating game at Twickenham, the Wallabies (Australia) defeat England 21–19. (BBC) The Springboks (South Africa) convincingly defeat Scotland 45–10 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. (BBC) Ronan O'Gara scores a drop goal in the 79th minute to give Ireland a 21–19 win over Argentina at Lansdowne Road. It is the second November test in which O'Gara scored all of Ireland's points. (BBC) The All Blacks (New Zealand) destroy France 45–6 at Stade de France. (BBC) Cross-country skiing: In the weekend's World Cup event in Ruka-Kuusamo, Finland, the Men's 15 km free technique race is won by Vincent Vittoz (FRA), with the 2nd and 3rd skiers to finish being Axel Teichmann (GER) and Giorgio Di Centa (ITA), respectively. (FIS-Ski Results) NBA: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, at the age of 19 years and 333 days, becomes the youngest person to reach 2,000 points in NBA history. He breaks Kobe Bryant's record, who was 20 years, 183 days old when he had his 2,000th point. The Cavaliers defeated the Chicago Bulls, 96–74. (ESPN) NCAA football: The USC Trojans, ranked number one in the country, rout the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 41–10. USC remains a contender for the Orange Bowl national championship game, along with the Oklahoma Sooners and Auburn Tigers. (AP) The Syracuse Orange spoil the Boston College Eagles' hopes of a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) berth with a 43–17 win. (AP) The Boise State Broncos win their 22nd straight game and keep their slim BCS hopes alive with a 58–21 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack. (AP) Vanier Cup: In the lowest-scoring Vanier Cup game ever, and in the first held outside of Toronto, the Laval Rouge et Or repeat as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football championship by defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies 7–1. (TSN) Boxing: Marco Antonio Barrera defeats Erik Morales by a twelve-round majority decision to conquer the WBC's world Jr. Lightweight title, Iván Calderón retains his WBO Jr. Flyweight title with a twelve-round unanimous decision over Carlos Fajardo, Óscar Larios retains his WBC world Super Bantamweight title with a twelve-round unanimous decision over Nedal Hussein, and Rafael Márquez retains his IBF world Bantamweight title, with an eighth-round knockout of former world champion Mauricio Pastrana. (AOL)
November 26, 2004 (Friday) Rugby union: In their biggest ever winning margin, Wales defeat Japan 98–0 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. (BBC) Cricket: England arrive in Harare, Zimbabwe for their controversial One Day International series against the Zimbabwean cricket team. (Cricinfo) Cross-country skiing: Starting off the 2005 World Cup season's third weekend of competitions, in Ruka-Kuusamo, Finland, the ladies' 10 km free technique distance race is won by Kateřina Neumannová (CZE), with runners-up for 2nd and 3rd place being Kristina Šmigun (EST) and Natalia Baranova-Masolkina (RUS). (FIS-Ski Results) NCAA football: The Nebraska Cornhuskers finish with a losing record for the first time since 1961, and without a chance to play in a bowl game for the first time since 1968, after a 26–20 loss to the Colorado Buffaloes. (AP) NBA: Richard Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons hits a shot with 1.3 seconds left to give his team a 78–77 win over the Miami Heat. (NBA) Eddie Jordan, coach of the Washington Wizards, is hospitalized with a blood clot. He will miss the next two games. (ESPN) Zydrunas Ilgauskas makes a shot with 19 seconds to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 98–96 lead over the Boston Celtics, then LeBron James blocks an attempt by Paul Pierce with less than one second to go, to preserve the Cavaliers' victory over the Celtics. (AOL) Kobe Bryant scores 40 points, but Peja Stojaković makes four free throws in the game's final minute, to give the Sacramento Kings their seventh straight win, a 109–106 defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers. (NBA) Allen Iverson steals a pass, then scores with two tenths of a second left, to give the Philadelphia 76ers a 116–114 victory over the Washington Wizards in overtime. (NBA)
November 25, 2004 (Thursday) National Football League Thanksgiving Classics: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning breaks Dan Marino's NFL record for most consecutive games with at least four touchdown passes, throwing for six in his fifth game, a 41–9 win over the Detroit Lions. (AP) Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Julius Jones runs for 150 yards and two touchdowns in a 21–7 win over the Chicago Bears. (AP) Football: UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday 3 Group A: Schalke 04 2 – 0 Ferencváros Group A: FC Basel 1 – 2 Hearts Group B: Standard Liège 2 – 1 Parma Group B: Steaua Bucharest 2 – 1 Beşiktaş Group C: Club Brugge 1 – 0 FC Utrecht Group C: Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1 – 0 Austria Vienna Group D: Dinamo Tbilisi 0 – 4 Sporting Lisbon Group D: Sochaux 0 – 4 Newcastle United Group E: Lazio 2 – 2 Partizan Belgrade Group E: Villarreal 2 – 0 Middlesbrough Group F: Amica Wronki 1 – 3 AZ Alkmaar Group F: Rangers 3 – 0 Grazer AK Group G: Benfica 2 – 0 Dinamo Zagreb Group G: Heerenveen 1 – 0 VfB Stuttgart Group H: Zenit St. Petersburg 1 – 1 Sevilla Group H: AEK Athens 1 – 2 Lille NBA: Veteran basketball coach and television analyst Hubie Brown, who was coaching the Memphis Grizzlies, announces his retirement due to health concerns. (NBA) Minnesota Timberwolves center Michael Olowokandi was arrested after police had to use a stun gun to subdue him when he refused to leave an Indianapolis nightclub. He was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing, both misdemeanors. The Timberwolves subsequently suspended Olowokandi for two games for "conduct detrimental to the team." (ESPN) Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's football: McMaster Marauders tailback Jesse Lumsden, who broke the CIS single season rushing record, wins the Hec Crighton Trophy as Canadian university football's most valuable player. Other CIS football awards awarded include the J. P. Metras Trophy to Concordia Stingers defensive end Troy Cunningham, the Presidents' Trophy to teammate Mickey Donovan, and the Peter Gorman Trophy to Bishop's Gaiters quarterback Kyle Williams.(TSN) www.tsn.ca Boxing: Riddick Bowe announces that his fight with Kenny Craven, scheduled for November 28, will be cancelled due to an injury to Bowe's shoulder. (BoxingCentral)
November 24, 2004 (Wednesday)