NEW YORK, NY – With Angry Ward taking a well-deserved holiday respite, we tried channeling our Inner Ward – feebly – to come up with something he might consider doing today. We collectively failed; he’s so [bleeping] good, he can’t be channeled. Management then stepped in and mandated that today’s post be something non-Ward… 
Something simple, yet thought-provoking. With no luck in that realm either, here are some of Meet The Matts’ Favorite Christmas Sports Moments:
1st Woman in Division I-A Football: Okay, so maybe there aren’t a lot of you that remember Katie Hnida. Quite possibly you missed the 2002 SEGA Sports Las Vegas Bowl, the one in which she became the first woman to play in an NCAA DI-A game. Sure, her extra-point attempt got blocked by UCLA but how many of you out there would have made that kick?! That qualifies as memorable.
Detroit Red Wings vs Brooklyn Americans: The NHL used to play on Christmas Day. They stopped in the 70’s and the MTM Conspiracy Department thinks it was because the Rangers were flogging great on Xmas, going 24-11-2. Not cool! But that pending report aside, do you know which of those games was the longest in NHL Christmas Day history? 
If you guessed that epic battle between the Red Wings and Americans, you’d be right. A 3-2 score, just 18 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Overtime was nixed in 1942 because of wartime restrictions and didn’t get reinstated until the 1983-84 season. Bet you didn’t know that! And for extra Holiday Cocktail Party Fodder, the 1941-42 season was the last for the Americans franchise. Want more? Note that the NHL operated with its Original Six teams until 1967.
Dolphins vs Chefs, er Chiefs: This 1971 battle went down as the longest game in NFL history. Garo Yepremian ended it with a 37-yard field goal in double overtime to give the Fish a 27-24 victory. But how about Ed Podolak?! He racked up 350 all-purpose yards – and his team lost! But his musstache is what gets him on this VERY SHORT list!
And on that note, we leave you wanting more. You’ll get plenty tomorrow, with DJ Eberle’s last piece of 2018.
Happy Boxing Day!
