This day in sports: Ducks become first California team to win the Stanley Cup

The Ducks stepped out of a decade of obscurity and ended the Stanley Cup Final in a decisive five games on this date in 2007 when they beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2 to become the first California-based hockey team to hoist the most adored trophy in professional sports.

Scott Niedermayer, the Ducks' captain, was named the Conn Smythe award winner as the most valuable player in the postseason.

“I think we have been holding back on the emotions the last couple days and it’s one of those things that’s kind of surreal,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

The team that started out as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim was also the first out of the Pacific time zone to win the Stanley Cup since the Victoria Cougars in 1925.

The 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes, scheduled for Saturday, was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic and rescheduled for June 20. This year’s race, which is normally the third leg of the Triple Crown, will be run at 1 1/8 miles (nine furlongs) instead of its usual 1½ miles.

The Dodgers were scheduled to play the Colorado Rockies in the second of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. The Angels were set to meet the Minnesota Twins in the second of three games at Minneapolis. Both games were postponed.

Here is a look at other memorable games and outstanding sports performances on this date:

1924 — English golfer Cyril Walker is champion of the U.S. Open when he finishes three shots ahead of American Bobby Jones, the defending champion, at Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit. It is Walker’s only top 10 finish in seven U.S. Open appearances.

1981 — Summing, with George Martins in the saddle, wins the 113th Belmont Stakes, spoiling the Triple Crown bid by Pleasant Colony, who finishes third behind runner-up Highland Blade. Summing runs the 1 1/2-mile third leg of the Triple Crown in 2:29.

1999 — Andre Agassi rallies to win the French Open and become the fifth male player to complete a career Grand Slam. After losing the first two sets, Agassi surges back to beat Andrei Medvedev of the Ukraine, 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Agassi won the 1992 Wimbledon, 1994 U.S. Open and 1995 Australian Open.

1999 — Juli Inkster wins the U.S. Women's Open at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., with a 16-under par 272, the lowest 72-hole score in the championship's 54-year history. Inkster finishes five strokes ahead of Sherri Turner, and at age 38 is the oldest champion since 1955. It is the fourth of her seven majors titles and the first of two U.S. Open wins.

2007 — Closer Trevor Hoffman is the first major league pitcher to record 500 career saves in the San Diego Padres' 5-2 win over the Dodgers at Petco Park. Hoffman throws 10 pitches in the ninth inning, including an 87-mph fastball past Russell Martin for the final out.

2011 — In a move that was expected, the Bowl Championship Series strips USC of its 2004 title, leaving that season without a BCS football champion. Officials vacated the championship after the Trojans were hit with heavy NCAA sanctions for rules violations committed during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

2015 — American Pharoah breaks a 37-year drought when he leads all the way to win the Belmont Stakes by 5½ lengths and becomes the first horse in that time to finish first in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont. Bob Baffert’s bay colt, with Victor Espinoza in irons, is the 12th horse and first since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown.

2015 — Serena Williams hits a lull at mid-match but overcomes it and a third-set deficit to win her third French Open championship and 20th major singles trophy when she beats Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 at Roland Garros in Paris. Williams blows a 4-1 lead in the second set and trails 2-0 in the third.

2015 — Tiger Woods hits a new low when he shoots the highest score of his career — an 85 — in The Memorial at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, the course where he has won eight previous times. Woods closes his front nine of the third round with back-to-back double bogeys and finishes with a quadruple-bogey eight. Woods needed a clutch par-saving putt on the 18th hole in the second round to make the cut.

Sources: The Times, Associated Press