Weekly Flashback: 1999

Weekly Flashback: 1999

Last week, we took a look back almost 19 years to the glory days of the New York Rangers. We rehashed what made 1994 a good year and then were quickly reminded how god awful it really was [cough Justin Bieber cough cough].

This week, we travel back to 1999 and remember the last time the Buffalo Sabres reached the Stanley Cup Finals. That year, any hockey fan outside of the Dallas Stars’ fan base would be able to tell you the NHL chose selective enforcement with in the crease rule and were pretty much screwed out of their chance for their first Cup.

The last time the Sabres reached the Stanley Cup Finals:

-The Denver Broncos beat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII

-The Yankees beat the Braves in the World Series

-The Spurs beat the Knicks in the NBA Finals

-Manchester United beat Bayern Munich after coming back from being down 1-0 late in the 2^nd half at the UEFA Champions League.

-USA Women beat China at the Women’s World Cup after Brandi Chastain scored the winner on penalty kicks.

The Good Stuff:

-The Euro is established

-The Sopranos, Family Guy, Futurama, Spongebob Square Pants, Law & Order: SVU all made their debuts on TV.

-Dow Jones Industrial Average first eclipsed 10,000 then a few months later cracked 11,000 for the first time ever.

-Canada creates Nunavut as another province.

-Bill Gates becomes worth more than $100 Billion.

-Napster is created.

Mercury 7 is recovered from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean

The Bad Stuff:

-Half dozen avalanches happen around the world, killing over 100

-An F-117 Stealth Bomber is shot down over Kosovo, being one of the very few aircraft lost during the conflict.

-Columbine massacre

-Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is released, exposing the world to Jar Jar Binx. No one has forgiven George Lucas since.

-JFK Jr realizes he’s not as good of a pilot as he claimed to be and crashed off the coast of Massachusetts.

-Sega Dreamcast is released

-‘Doug’ is cancelled

Deaths: Gene Siskel, Richard Kiley, Stanley Kubrick, Joe DiMaggio, Shel Silverstein, Owen Heart, DeForest Kelly, George C. Scott, Wilt Chamberlain.

Of course, the biggest disappointment in the hockey world of 1999 was ‘No Goal,’ but 1999 was the final time we were able to see Wayne Gretzky lace up the skates and take the ice. He amassed 62 points in his final season with the New York Rangers.

Next Week: Islanders or Sharks will be under the microscope as do another flashback.