April 25

1950 — Charles Cooper, an All-American from Duquesne playing with the Harlem Globetrotters, becomes the first black to be picked in the NBA draft when he's taken by the Boston Celtics.

1952 — The Minneapolis Lakers, led by George Mikan's 22 points, beat the New York Knicks 82-65 to win the NBA title in seven games.

1964 — The Toronto Maple Leafs win their third straight Stanley Cup with a 4-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in the seventh game.

1965 — The Boston Celtics score 42 points on a record 21 field goals in the final quarter of Game 5 to post a 129-96 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers and win their seventh consecutive NBA championship.

1974 — The NFL adopts the 15-minute, sudden-death overtime to avoid ties. The league also moves the goal posts to the back of the end zones.

1989 — Mario Lemieux ties NHL playoff records with four first-period goals, five overall and eight points as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Philadelphia 10-7 to take a 3-2 lead in the Patrick Division finals.

1993 — Micheal Williams sets an NBA record for consecutive free throws with 84. He made 10 straight as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat Utah 113-111. Calvin Murphy held the previous mark of 78 for Houston in 1981.

1993 — Pittsburgh's NHL-record 14-game playoff winning streak and its overall 21-game unbeaten string are snapped as the New Jersey Devils beat the Penguins 4-1.

1995 — Major League Baseball returns after a 257-day players' strike with the Los Angeles Dodgers beating the Florida Marlins 8-7.

1997 — Phoenix's Rex Chapman makes a playoff-record nine 3-pointers en route to career-high 42 points in a 106-101 win at Seattle. Chapman broke the old playoff mark of eight 3s set by Dan Majerle of Phoenix against Seattle on June 1, 1993.

2000 — The San Jose Sharks, the Western Conference's No. 8 seed, eliminate the NHL's regular-season champions, the St. Louis Blues, with a 3-1 victory in Game 7. The Blues are the second NHL regular-season champion to get knocked out in the first round, joining the 1991 Chicago Blackhawks.

2006 — Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams is suspended for the 2006 season by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy for the fourth time.