1 – The Pistons take out the Pacers and their former coach, Rick Carlisle in Game 6 of the Eastern Confernece finals. It is no surprise that a turning point of the game is a flagrant foul called on Pacer Ron Artest with the score tied at 59.

5 – In less than an hour Anastasia Myskina destroys fellow Russian Elena Dementieva to become the first woman from her nation to win a Grand Slam tennis event.

5 – A record crowd of more than 120,000 descends on Belmont in anticipation of watching Smarty Jones become just the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown. Smarty Jones is a 2-5 favorite to win, but local product Birdstone, a 36-1 underdog, overtakes the favorite 50 yards from the finish and goes on to win.

6 - Gaston Gaudio becomes the first Argentinian to win the French Open since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. Gaudio confesses he felt like quitting after dropping the first two sets, 0-6, 3-6 to Guillermo Coria, but was rewarded for staying at it when Coria cramped up, blew two match points, and lost the final three sets.

7 – After 22 seasons and more than 1,900 games, Dave Andreychuck finally wins a Stanley Cup as his Tampa Bay Lightning beat Calgary, 2-1, in Game 7 of the finals. The teams leave the ice not knowing when and if they will ever play again, as hockey hunkers down for a protracted battle over the expired collective bargaining agreement.

13 – Annika Sorenstam wins the McDonald’s LPGA Championships at Dupont Country Club in Delaware by three strokes over Shi Hyun Ahn.

15 – The Pistons complete a stunning demolition of the Lakers in the NBA Finals with a 100-87 victory in Game 5 in Auburn Hills. The Lakers, heavily favored to win their third title in the Shaq and Kobe Era, instead win only one game – the second of the series – and are thoroughly outplayed by Larry Brown’s warriors, who are led by Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and Rip Hamilton.

19 – Less than a week after the Lakers fall to the Pistons in the NBA Finals, Phil Jackson takes his eight rings and goes home to Montana when the Lakers choose not to renew his contract.

Shaun Best / Reuters Retief Goosen won his second U.S. Open title, holding off Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els on the final day.

20 – Playing on a Shinnecock Hills course whose greens are slicker than linoleum, South African Retief Goosen somehow finishes 4-under to win the U.S. Open by two strokes over Masters champion Phil Mickelson.

21 – Already playing mixed doubles, 47-year-old Martina Navratilova takes a shot at singles at Wimbledon and beats Catalina Castano in straight sets, losing just one game. The fantasy ends in her next match, as Navratilova falls three days later to Gisela Dulko in three sets.

24 – Orlando makes 6-11 Dwight Howard, who has just graduated high school, the first pick in the NBA draft. With the second pick, the expansion Charlotte franchise takes UConn star Emeka Okafor, whose teammate, guard Ben Gordon, goes third to the Bulls. Seven prep players, three Russians, two Slovenians and one Latvian are also taken in the first round. Jameer Nelson, the Wooden Award winner and star guard of the upstart St. Joe’s team that was the darling of the NCAA tournament, is taken 20^th by Denver, which trades his rights to Orlando.

24 – The chair umpire incorrectly awards a point in a second-set tiebreaker to Karolina Sprem, who goes on to beat Venus Williams in three sets in Wimbledon’s second round.

24 – The struggling Astros, a pre-season favorite to make the playoffs, make the first big mid-season trade, sending closer Octavio Dotel to Oakland and getting centerfielder Carlos Beltran for the Royals.

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