Today in Sports History: April 4th

4/04/2003 - Sosa joins 500 club

Sammy Sosa waited a long time to hit his 500th home run. He ended the 2002 season with 499 homers and waited 187 days to knock #500, which he did on the road against the Reds' Scott Sullivan. Sosa, who was a beloved figure before the steroid allegations and corked bat incident, received a standing ovation from the Cincinnati crowd. He became the first player to hit his first homer of the season for his 500th, a feat that outfielder Gary Sheffield would answer in 2009.

4/04/2007 - Imus offends Rutgers women

Don Imus, the 66 year-old host of the Imus in the Morning radio program, was discussing the Rutgers women basketball team that had just made it to the national championship. It was then, after a comment made by guest Sid Rosenberg, that Imus referred to the predominantly black team as "nappy headed-hos."

Imus' apology was not swift, and in the two days it took him to produce one, outrage from African American and women groups thrust the issue into the national spotlight. Imus had been broadcasting on the airwaves for over 35 years and had built up one of the ten largest radio audiences in America. He had crossed over into the political field, but maintained the shock jock humor, and frequently found himself tight-roping the decency line.

At first it appeared that Imus wasn't going to get much of a punishment. However, the persistent complaints from public figures such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson forced CBS (who nationally carried the show) and MSNBC (who simulcasted it) to make a move. Five days after the his soundbite on the Rutgers' basketball team, NBC and CBS announced a two-week suspension for Imus in the Morning. Many blasted the penalty for being too lenient, and suddenly, the issue became front page news. For one week, Don Imus was the most talked about man in the country.

From there, the show quickly began to lose its sponsors. And after one week of dominating the headlines, and getting talked about endlessly on the news channels, MSNBC canceled Imus in the Morning, a move that CBS and WFAN copied the next day. The firing came one day before WFAN's radiothon, which Imus annually hosted to help fight Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Imus' firing led to a discussion, or a discussion about having a discussion, about freedom of speech and how far it should extend. The radio host sued CBS Radio for wrongful termination and walked away with a hefty settlement. Just six months after getting terminated, Imus and his crew were hired by New York affiliate WABC.