(Kevin Durant's Nike "Creamsicles." Photo by Larry W. Smith, Getty Images)

1/25/1964 - Happy birthday Nike

On this day in 1964, Nike -- then known as Blue Ribbon Sports -- was launched. The sports world would never be the same. Nike, named after the Greek goddess of victory, made history by paying unprecedented endorsement deals to professional athletes such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James -- establishing themselves as the national leader in athletic footwear. Perhaps Nike's greatest legacy is in its iconic swoosh logo, which was small enough that it could be placed on just about anything.

1/25/2001 - Nuggets lose on Van Exel timeout

Rarely has there been a more improbable two-point loss.

With only 5.2 seconds left in the game, the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz were tied at 96 in Salt Lake City. Nuggets guard Nick Van Exel had just tied the game with a driving layup, and was now sitting on bench as the Jazz drew up a final play. As the teams walked back onto the court, Van Exel glanced up at the scoreboard, which showed that the Nuggets still had a timeout remaining.

That observation turned out to be the turning point in the game. On Utah's seemingly-final possession, John Stockton missed a critical layup; Van Exel came down with the ball and immediatley signalled timeout to the officials -- stopping the clock with only 1.3 seconds remaining. The problem, however, was that the Nuggets were out of timeouts. The scoreboard had gotten it wrong.

A technical foul was assessed on the Nuggets. Stockton went to the line and sank the go-ahead freebie, making it 97-96. Van Exel pleaded with the officials to change their call and received a personal technical foul, which again sent Stockton to the line. Again Stockton hit it, making it 98-96. Utah got the ball back on the violation, Donyell Marshall was fouled and missed both free throws, and an Antonio McDyess full-court heave was no good. The Nuggets had lost, absurdedly, after forgoing a chance to win the game.

"I came out of the huddle and saw on the scoreboard we had a timeout," Van Exel lamented. "I thought we had a timeout, but, oh well."

"Everybody was calling timeout -- everyone on the court, the bench, even their coaches were calling timeout," said Jazz guard John Starks. "But Van Exel had the ball and was right up in the ref's face signaling for a timeout so I guess he was the logical one to blame."

"That was a coaching error that happened at the end," said Nuggets assistant coach John Lucas, who was filling in for coach Dan Issel, who was attending a funeral. "Nick thought we had one more timeout, we didn't and probably should have informed him that we didn't. That's on me."

"We stole this one," said Jazz guard Bryon Russell. "We definitely stole it, but it's good to be a thief ssometimes."

1/25/2006 - Kings trade for the Tru Warrior

At long last, the Indiana Pacers finalize the trade sending Ron Artest to the Sacramento Kings. The Pacers essentially gave him away, as the man they got in return, Peja Stojakovic, left after half a season. Artest on the other hand led the Kings to the postseason, where they grappled with the defending champion Spurs.

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