June 9 in sports history: 'There won't be another one like him'

Jabbar called the win the "sweetest" of his four NBA championships so far, mainly because the Lakers won in the Boston Garden, a house of horrors for L.A. The Lakers lost Game 1 of the series there, 148-114.

"One hump I never got over was beating Boston," Abdul-Jabbar said, according to the Boston Globe. "But with K.C. (Jones) trying to play five or six guys, we definitely wore them down. When I'm retired — and it won't be too long from now — I'll know that we beat Boston in Boston, and no one has ever done that."

"He has made me a better coach, obviously, because of his greatness," Lakers coach Patrick Riley said about his 38-year-old center. "You better enjoy him now because there won't be another one like him."

So move over, MJ and LeBron. There's room for Kareem in the greatest-of-all-time convo, too.

SECRETARIAT ROLLS TO TRIPLE CROWN

1973: Speaking of the G.O.A.T, there's no doubt about the greatest racehorse of all time. That title goes to Secretariat, who, ridden by Ron Turcotte, won the Belmont Stakes in record time on this date to capture the Triple Crown. 

Secretariat ran the 1.5-mile course in 2:24, winning by a ridiculous 31 lengths. Wrote Miami Herald sports columnist Edwin Pope:

 "Anybody who held one ticket on Secretariat and cashed it Saturday had to be hard up. The $2.20 payoff was peanuts compared with the scrap of history they held in their hand. The Belmont Stakes was history all right — a compellingly emotional moment in a sport deeply in need of such a brain-reeling performance. It was the greatest race by perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time."

HIT PARADE

1901: In pounding the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Giants won by a football score: 25-12. More impressively, the Giants recorded a big league record 31 hits — six by Al Selbach (two doubles and four singles). "The crowd was the largest in years," the Dayton Daily News reported, "and very little room for fielding was left." In an 18-inning win over Philadelphia in 1932, Cleveland broke the record for hits in a game with 32.

600-HR CLUB

2008: Only about 10,000 were in the stands in Miami to watch Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. join the 600-home run club. With his historic blast in the first inning of the Reds' 9-4 win, Griffey joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa in the exclusive club. 

"It was very cool," Adam Dunn said of his teammate's achievement, "But it would have been a lot cooler if it was in front of a packed house like it should have been."

The two players who preceded Griffey in hitting 600 — Sosa and Bonds —- were both suspected of using steroids.

"There's so much difference in what he's accomplished and what he will continue to accomplish than what Barry Bonds did," Reds radio man Marty Brennaman told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Barry Bonds will forever be tainted, long after he's gone. I don't think people truly cared that he hit 756 home runs. 

"I think baseball fans will look at what Junior did and be quick to point out that he did it the right way, as opposed to some other guys who didn't."

2015: In only the 13th start of his career, 27-year-old Giants rookie Chris Heston pitched a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Mets. At the plate, he went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs. Heston struck out 11, and the Mets hit only two balls out of the infield.

HOCKEY GREATNESS

2003: Unlikely hero Mike Rupp scored the first goal and assisted on two others to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 3-0 win over the Mighty Ducks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Rupp had never played in a playoff game until he was called up by New Jersey for Game 4. It was the third championship in nine seasons for the Devils.

"Mike Rupp explains the type of a team we are," New Jersey's Jeff Friesen said. "This guy was skating on his own in the first couple of rounds and all of a sudden he comes in and scores the game-winning goal in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals. That's incredible."

2010: Patrick Kane scored 4:10 into overtime, stunning Philadelphia and lifting the Blackhawks to a 4-3 overtime win in Game 6 for their first Stanley Cup championship since 1961. "What a feeling," Kane said afterward. "I can't believe it."

MANNY'S EPIC STREAK OVER

2012: Welterweight Manny Pacquiao lost his first fight in seven years — a split decision in a title bout against Timothy Bradley. Bradley won 115-113 on two scorecards and lost by the same margin on another. "I didn't think he was good as everyone says he was," Bradley told reporters. "I didn't feel his power."

Promoter Bob Arum thought Pacquiao won: "I went over to Bradley before the decision and he said, 'I tried hard but I couldn't beat the guy.'"

MONICA A TEEN QUEEN

1990: Monica Seles became the youngest winner of the French Open with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 win over 20-year-old Steffi Graf. Seles was only 16 years, six months old. "I think I am lacking a little confidence," Graf said afterward.

Happy birthday ...

• Former MLB outfielder Dave Parker. The “Cobra” won a World Series as a member of the 1979 “Fam-a-lee” Pirates, a year after being named NL MVP. He revealed several years ago that he has Parkinson’s disease. (69)
• Bill Virdon, former MLB player and manager. Virdon was the 1955 Rookie of the Year and won a World Series with the 1960 Pirates and was the 1974 Sporting News Manager of the Year with the Yankees. (89) 
• Former NFL linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.  He works as an analyst on ESPN. (47) 
• Three-time NBA champ Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat. Haslem is the all-time rebound leader for Miami. (40)

R.I.P:

2014: Bob Welch, former MLB right-handed pitcher. Welch spent 17 years in the league with the Dodgers and A’s. He died of a broken neck after an accidental fall. He was 57.

2011: Mike Mitchell, who played 11 seasons in the NBA after starring for the Auburn Tigers. Mitchell was drafted 15th overall by the Cavaliers in 1978 and spent most of his career with San Antonio. He died of cancer at 55.

June 8: What a game by Larry Legend