THIS DATE IN SPORTS

January 8

1944 — Toronto’s Babe Pratt becomes the first NHL defenseman to get six assists in a game as the Maple Leafs pound the Boston Bruins 12-3 at the Maple Leaf Gardens.

1947 — Howie Meeker sets an NHL single-game record for goals by a rookie when he scores five times in Toronto’s 10-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Maple Leaf Gardens.

1955 — Georgia Tech ends Kentucky’s 129-game home basketball winning streak with a 59-58 win at Memorial Coliseum. 1972 — The NCAA announces freshmen will be eligible to play on varsity football and basketball teams starting in the fall. 1973 — David Vaughn of Oral Roberts grabs 34 rebounds in a 123-95 win over Brandeis.

1984 — Mark Moseley’s 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining gives the Washington Redskins a 24-21 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

1984 — The Executive Committee of the NCAA votes to expand the championship basketball field to 64 teams starting in 1985.

1994 — Dino Ciccarelli becomes the 19th NHL player to score 500 career goals in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

2003 — Utah guard Mark Jackson becomes the third NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists in the Jazz’s 99-93 win over the Phoenix Suns. Jackson joins career assists leader and teammate John Stockton (15,425) and Magic Johnson (10,141).

2007 — Second-ranked Florida dominates Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and No. 1 Ohio State for a 41-14 in the BCS National Championship Bowl. The Gators become the first Division I school to hold football and basketball titles at the same time.

2009 — Tim Tebow wins the matchup of Heisman winners as No. 1 Florida beats No. 2 Oklahoma and this year’s Heisman winner Sam Bradford, 24-14, in the BCS National Championship Bowl.

2011 — The Seattle Seahawks stun the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints 41-36 to open the NFL playoffs. Seattle, the first division winner with a losing record at 7-9, advances behind four touchdown passes by Matt Hasselbeck and a brilliant 67-yard run by Marshawn Lynch.

2012 — Denver’s Tim Tebow connects with Demaryius Thomas on an electrifying 80yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime and the Broncos stun the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in a AFC wild-card game. The play, the longest to end a playoff game in overtime, takes 11 seconds and is the quickest ending to an overtime in NFL history.