(Moss motions as if mooning the crowd. Photo courtesy of Morry Gash, AP)

1/09/1963 - Modell fires Paul Brown

After 17 years as the coach of the Cleveland Browns, Paul Brown is fired from the franchise he both founded and named.

Brown had amassed an exceptional track record in Cleveland and had only experienced a single losing season thus far. His team had appeared in seven championship games during his tenure and managed to win three of them. He had even picked the name "Browns" after the organization drew a name-the-team contest in 1946. The team was originally slated to be the "Cleveland Panthers," however when the franchise learned that a semipro club of the same name existed, a new contest was drawn and the name "Brown Bombers" was selected. Brown then shortened it to match his last name.

While Paul's success was inarguable, his coaching methods -- which included directing every single offensive play -- had irked many of the people on his team, including Art Modell, the Browns' new, brash owner. Even though there was dissension on the Browns' sideline, and even though they were coming off a mediocre 7-6-1 season, the announcement of his firing was stunning news in the world of sports.

Brown was devastated by the transaction and later went on to own and coach the Cincinnati Bengals, who became the Browns' local enemies in the state of Ohio. "It was an unpleasant episode and I only regret that it did not work between us because he was truly a giant in this sport," Modell said in 1991. "There were a number of reasons it didn't work, but some had to do with the fact that I was 35 and the owner and he was 53 or 54 and had been the head coach and a legend here for many years."

Brown's firing had many Cleveland fans questioning the decision-making of Modell, who had only been on the job since 1961. With Blanton Collier as the coach, the Browns managed to win the championship in 1964 -- thanks in large part to prowess of running back Jim Brown. However, Modell struggled to win back the trust of the Browns' fans, and his fate was sealed in 1995 when he announced that he was moving the team to Baltimore, Maryland.

1/09/1972 - 33-game winning streak ends

The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, 120-104, and end the longest winning streak in professional sports history. Bucks center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar completely outplayed Lakers superstar Wilt Chamberlain, notching 39 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks in one of the best performances of his career. The Lakers, who had won their previous 33 games, hadn't lost since early November and had captivated basketball fans as they extended their streak farther and farther beyond the previous record of 20.

"We played fantastic for two-and-a-half months, and it had to end, but I hope we're smart enough to learn by our mistakes so we can play better against them next time," said Lakers coach Bill Sharman.

1972 was a phenomenal year for the Los Angeles Lakers, who won an NBA-high 69 games that year -- a record that stood until it was broken by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Lakers star Jerry West finally won an NBA title after seven previous failed attempts; he was also named the MVP of that year's All-Star Game and was even announced as the model of the new NBA logo, which commemorated the 25th anniversary of the league.

1/09/2005 - Moss pretends to moon crowd

In the wildcard round of the 2004 playoffs, the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings stun the Green Bay Packers, 31-17, at Lambeau Field. The clincher for Minnesota was a fourth quarter touchdown by star receiver Randy Moss. After crossing the end zone, Moss pretended to pull down his pants and moon the Wisconsin crowd. FOX play-by-play man Joe Buck, after watching his mock-mooning, expressed his outrage: "That is a disgusting act by Randy Moss, and it's unfortunate that we had that on our air live. That is disgusting!"

ESPN, siding with the putridity of the act, decided to omit Moss' celebration from the game highlights for an entire day. When they did show it, Moss was critcized by a litany of analysts who felt that his actions were unprofessional. Those who defended Moss pointed out that Packer fans routinely mooned the opposing team's bus as they pulled in and that Moss didn't actually moon anyone -- he pretended to.

Still, Moss was given a fine of $10,000 -- an enormous amount to most Americans. But when Randy was later interviewed in a parking lot about how he was going to pay the fine, Moss made it clear that he wasn't devastated by the 10-grand penalty:

Reporter: "Write the check yet, Randy?"

Moss: "When you're rich you don't write checks."

Reporter: "If you don't write checks, how do you pay these guys?"

Moss: "Straight cash, homey."

Reporter: "Randy, are you upset about the fine?"

Moss: "No, cause it ain't [expletive]. Ain't nothing but 10 grand. What's 10 grand to me? Ain't [expletive] … Next time I might shake my [expletive]."