1990 NFL Draft
The Dallas Cowboys would have had the #1 overall pick in the draft for the second consecutive year by virtue of their league-worst 1–15 record in 1989. However, the Cowboys forfeited their first-round pick by selecting quarterback Steve Walsh in the first round of the previous year's supplemental draft. The first pick instead went to the Atlanta Falcons, who traded it to the Indianapolis Colts.


1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league, for the first time since 1966, reinstated bye weeks, so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 10 teams to 12 teams by adding another wild card from each conference, thus adding two more contests to the postseason schedule; this format remained in use until 2019 (there were four division spots and two wild card spots available with realignment in 2002).


1990 NFL season
During four out of the five previous seasons, at least one team with a 10–6 record missed the playoffs, including the 11–5 Denver Broncos in 1985; meanwhile, the 10–6 San Francisco 49ers won Super Bowl XXIII, leading for calls to expand the playoff format to ensure that 10–6 teams could compete for a Super Bowl win. Ironically, the first sixth-seeded playoff team would not have a 10–6 record, but instead, the New Orleans Saints, with an 8–8 record, took the new playoff spot.


1990 NFL season
This was also the first full season for Paul Tagliabue as the league's Commissioner, after taking over from Pete Rozelle midway through the previous season.


1990 NFL season
ABC was given the rights to televise the two additional playoff games. Meanwhile, Turner's TNT network started to broadcast Sunday night games for the first half of the season.


1990 NFL season
On October 8, the league announced that the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award would be named the Pete Rozelle Trophy. The season ended with Super Bowl XXV when the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills 20–19 at Tampa Stadium. This would be the first Super Bowl appearance for Buffalo, who would represent the AFC in the next three Super Bowls.


1990 NFL season
Late in the season, with the Gulf War looming closer, the NFL announced that starting in Week 16 (and continuing until Super Bowl XXV), the league would add American flag decals to the back of the helmet. The flag would return on a permanent basis in 2001 following the September 11 attacks.


1990 NFL season, Player movement, Draft
The 1990 NFL Draft was held from April 22 to 23, 1990 at New York City's Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback Jeff George from the University of Illinois. Selecting seventeenth overall, the Dallas Cowboys would draft Emmitt Smith, who would retire as the NFL's all-time leading rusher.


1990 NFL season, Officiating changes
Dick Jorgensen, who had been the referee in the previous season's Super Bowl XXIV, was diagnosed in May during the offseason with a rare blood disorder. He died five months later on October 10. For the remainder of the 1990 season, NFL officials wore a black armband on their left sleeve with the white number 60 to honor Jorgensen.


1990 NFL season, Officiating changes
Ben Dreith (a referee in the AFL from 1966-69, and the NFL since the merger) and Fred Wyant (a referee since 1971), were demoted to line judge. Dreith later filed a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the league fired him after the 1990 season, citing age discrimination as the reason for both his demotion to line judge and his dismissal. Dreith and the NFL would later agree in 1993 to a $165,000 settlement, plus court costs and attorney fees.


1990 NFL season, Officiating changes
Gerald Austin, the side judge for Super Bowl XXIV, and Tom White, were promoted to referee. White became the first official to be promoted to referee after only one season of NFL experience since Jerry Markbreit in 1977 (Tommy Bell (1962) and Brad Allen (2014) were hired straight into the NFL as referees). After one season with having 16 officiating crews in 1989, it was reduced back to 15 crews in 1990 to handle the weekly workload of 14 games (if there were no teams with a bye week).


1990 NFL season, Officiating changes
Ed Hochuli was hired as a back judge (now field judge) and assigned to Howard Roe's crew. Hochuli was promoted to referee two years later.


1990 NFL season, Preseason, American Bowl
A series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States, a total of four games were held in 1990.


1990 NFL season, Regular season, Scheduling formula
Inter-conferenceAFC East vs NFC EastAFC Central vs NFC WestAFC West vs NFC Central


1990 NFL season, Stadium changes
With New England Patriots founder Billy Sullivan no longer owning the team, having it sold to Victor Kiam in 1988 and Sullivan Stadium being taken over by Robert Kraft, the venue was renamed Foxboro Stadium.


1990 NHK Trophy
The 1990 NHK Trophy was held in Asahikawa on November 20–25. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


1990 NHL Entry Draft
The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 16, 1990. It is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with 14 of the 21 first round picks going on to careers of at least 500 NHL games.


1990 NHL Entry Draft
Nine of the twenty-one players drafted in the first round played 1,000 NHL games in their career.


1990 NHL Entry Draft, Venue
The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was originally scheduled to be held at the Pacific Coliseum, the home arena of the host Vancouver Canucks located on the site of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees union representing the PNE employees—CUPE Local 1004—threatened to strike June 15, one day before the draft. Consequently, the NHL and the Canucks decided to move the draft to BC Place in order to avoid the potential strike and issues of public access to the venue. In addition to BC Place, the University of British Columbia, the Vancouver Convention Centre and the Hyatt Regency Vancouver were also considered as replacement venues.


1990 NHL Entry Draft, Venue
The Canucks had estimated that 10,000 spectators would attend the draft, which had free admission. However, holding the venue in a higher capacity venue allowed for that estimate to nearly double, with 19,127 spectators—a then record for attendance at an NHL Entry Draft—attending the draft.


1990 NHL Entry Draft, Top prospects
Heading into the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Mike Ricci had spent the entire 1989–90 season ranked as the top prospect by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Prior to the release of the final rankings of North American skaters and goaltenders, it was speculated Owen Nolan, Keith Primeau and Petr Nedved would surpass Ricci; however, when the final rankings were released, Ricci remained as the top prospect. Jaromir Jagr was also considered to be one of the top prospects, but Central Scouting did not rank European players. Petr Nedved was an exception to that, as he played in North America after he defected his native Czechoslovakia.


1990 NHL Supplemental Draft
The 1990 NHL Supplemental Draft took place on June 15, 1990.


1990 NSL First Division
The 1991 National Soccer League First Division was the sixth edition of the NSL First Division in South Africa. It was won by Mamelodi Sundowns.


1990 NSWRL season
The 1990 New South Wales Rugby League season was the eighty-third season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the premiership season, which culminated in a grand final between the previous season's premiers, the Canberra Raiders and the Penrith Panthers, who were making their grand final debut.


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary
For the 1990 season, the salary cap was introduced in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top six of Canberra, Brisbane, Penrith, Manly, Balmain and Newcastle.


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary
Parramatta's halfback Peter Sterling won the official player of the year award, the Rothmans Medal. The Dally M Medal was awarded to Manly's five-eighth Cliff Lyons. Rugby League Week gave their player of the year award to Canberra Raiders centre and captain, Mal Meninga.


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary, Teams
The number of teams competing remained unchanged for the second consecutive year, with sixteen clubs contesting the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one from the Australian Capital Territory


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary, Teams
83rd seasonGround: Sydney Football StadiumCoach: Russell Fairfax→Hugh McGahanCaptain: Hugh McGahan


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary, Teams
83rd seasonGround: Sydney Football StadiumCoach: George Piggins → Frank CurryCaptain: Mario Fenech


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary, Advertising
1990 saw the NSWRL's advertising shift to a new level of sophistication, marking the first use of Tina Turner's 1989 hit "The Best". The league and its Sydney advertising agency Hertz Walpole struck gold in forging a link between the game and the song, which would become the soundtrack to a marketing success story that skyrocketed right up to a point of self-implosion in the Super League war of 1996-1997.


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary, Advertising
Tina Turner's manager Roger Davies contacted agency chief Jim Walpole in 1989 to advise that Turner's upcoming album Foreign Affair was to contain a rendition of a Mike Chapman and Holly Knight song which might possibly be of interest to Walpole's NSWRL client. The track, which had been previously released by Bonnie Tyler with modest results, would prove to be one of Turner's most successful singles. After hearing demo tracks, Walpole and the NSWRL General Manager John Quayle and his marketing staff sensed the linkage could be perfect.


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary, Advertising
Turner was brought to Australia amid much public interest for a massive film shoot where enough footage was secured for advertisements for both the 1990 and 1991 seasons.


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary, Advertising
The finished 1990 advertisement, in its full two-minute version, tells the story of Turner's touchdown at Sydney Airport and a scurry through paparazzi; she then finds herself in a warehouse training scene that's more glamour than grit where players from a number of clubs are working out on weights and climbing vertical chains. She plays touch footy on a beach, attends a lunch where she cheekily surprises Gavin Miller, whom she had met at the 1989 UK shoot, and later arrives by helicopter to a black-tie dinner with Andrew Ettingshausen and Gene Miles. Throughout are the de rigueur big hits and action shots, with Turner cheering in a replica grand final crowd, and finally congratulating the 1989 premiership captain, Mal Meninga.


1990 NSWRL season, Season summary, Ladder
South Sydney went from minor premiers in 1989 to wooden spooners in 1990, becoming the third club to suffer this ignominy after Canterbury from 1942 to 1943 and Western Suburbs from 1952 to 1953 – however, the Rabbitohs’ decline of sixteen and a half wins is easily the most severe in league history. It would mark the beginning of a 22-year barren wilderness for the Rabbitohs spanning 1990-2011 (which included two seasons excluded from the competition in 2000-01), during which they would only record a solitary finals appearance in 2007. Canberra won their first and to date only minor premiership.


1990 NSWRL season, Finals
Balmain and Newcastle both finished on equal competition points in fifth position at the end of the regular season, so had to play off for the chance to advance through the finals.


1990 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
The 1990 season's grand final was played on the afternoon of Sunday, 23 September at the Sydney Football Stadium before a crowd of 41,535. Penrith were attempting to become the first team to win a grand final in their first attempt, but were coming up against an experienced  Canberra team.


1990 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
Extra time in the reserve grade grand final followed by the pre-match entertainment (including a performance by John Farnham) running late meant that referee Bill Harrigan blew time on for the kick-off half an hour behind schedule. This may have worked to the advantage of the more experienced Raiders and served to rattle the young Panthers. Canberra jumped to a 12-nil lead in the opening minutes after their half-back Ricky Stuart laid on tries for winger John Ferguson and Laurie Daley and the match appeared as good as over despite a strengthening of Penrith's defence as they recovered.


1990 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
The Panthers came back to trail 12-10 after Greg Alexander put Brad Fittler in for a try just before half-time and Paul Smith in for another seven minutes into the second half. Canberra moved to 18-10 in the second half when replacement winger Matthew Wood scored. A late try from Alexander still left Penrith trailing 18-14 at the full-time siren. Both sides finished with three tries each but the wizardry of Stuart and the kicking boot of Meninga were the difference that saw the Raiders with their second consecutive premiership.


1990 NSWRL season, Finals, Grand Final
Canberra's Ricky Stuart was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match.


1990 NSWRL season, Player statistics
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.


1990 Nabisco Dinah Shore
The 1990 Nabisco Dinah Shore was a women's professional golf tournament, held March 29 to April 1 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. This was the 19th edition of the Nabisco Dinah Shore, and the eighth as a major championship.


1990 Nabisco Dinah Shore
Betsy King won the second of her three Dinah Shores, two strokes ahead of runners-up Shirley Furlong and Kathy Postlewait. She began the final round with a five-shot lead, then carded a 75 (+3), with four bogeys on the last seven holes. It was the third of King's six major titles; she was the reigning U.S. Women's Open champion and repeated in July.


1990 NatWest Trophy
The 1990 NatWest Trophy was the 10th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 27 June and 1 September 1990. The tournament was won by Lancashire who defeated Northamptonshire by 7 wickets in the final at Lord's.


1990 NatWest Trophy, Format
The seventeen first-class counties, were joined by thirteen Minor Counties: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk and Wiltshire. The Ireland and Scotland teams also participated. Teams who won in the first round progressed to the second round. The winners in the second round then progressed to the quarter-final stage. Winners from the quarter-finals then progressed to the semi-finals from which the winners then went on to the final at Lord's which was held on 1 September 1990.


1990 National Camogie League
The 1990 National Camogie League, the second most important elite level inter-county competition in the women's team field sport of camogie was won by Kilkenny, who defeated Wexford in the final, played at Enniscorthy.


1990 National Camogie League, Arrangements
Kilkenny lost to Cork (who scored 4-11 against them) but defeated Dublin in an evening semi-final fixture at Danesboro. The team had put in very little by way of preparation for the final.


1990 National Camogie League, The Final
Kilkenny led by 0-5 to 0-3 at half-time in the final and won by just three points. Siobhan Dunne availed of a mistake in the Kilkenny defence to put Wexfrod in front five minutes into the second half, Ann Donwey and Bridie McGarry inspired Kilkenny to hold out for victory despite another Wexford goal in the last minute by Angie Hearne.


1990 National Camogie League, Division 2
The Junior National League, known since 2006 as Division Two, was won by Kildare who defeated Kilkenny intermediates in the final. Kildare beat Roscommon and Kilkenny beat Antrim in the semi-final.


1990 National Invitation Tournament
The 1990 National Invitation Tournament was the 1990 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. This tournament adopted the tenths-second game clock in the final minute of every period when played in NBA arenas, unlike whole seconds as in past years.


1990 National Invitation Tournament, Selected teams
Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.


1990 National Invitation Tournament, Bracket
Below are the four first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.


1990 National League Championship Series
The 1990 National League Championship Series was played between the Cincinnati Reds (91–71) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (95–67). It was the first playoff appearance for both teams since 1979 and the fifth NLCS meeting overall with Cincinnati winning the pennant over Pittsburgh in 1970, 1972, and 1975 while Pittsburgh won over Cincinnati in 1979.


1990 National League Championship Series
The Reds won the series, 4–2, and eventually went on to sweep the defending World Champion Oakland Athletics in the World Series. This was the only NLCS during the 1990s that did not feature the Atlanta Braves and was the first of four straight to feature either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Pittsburgh Pirates.


1990 National League Championship Series
Between Game 2 (in Cincinnati) and Game 3 (in Pittsburgh), the teams took two days off instead of the usual one. That Sunday, October 7, the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to use Three Rivers Stadium for their scheduled game against the San Diego Chargers, so Game 3 (and by extension, the rest of the series) was pushed back a day.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Thursday, October 4, 1990 (8:30PM EDT) at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
The Pirates took the first game of the LCS with a 4-3 victory. The game-winning run scored in the 7th when Andy Van Slyke hit a routine inning-ending flyout that was misjudged by Eric Davis in left-field, scoring Gary Redus.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Bob Walk was the starting pitcher for Pittsburgh and José Rijo was on the mound for the Reds. The Reds had two doubles in the bottom half of the first inning and scored three runs. These would prove to be the only runs they could bring across the plate for the entire game. For Pittsburgh, Sid Bream would hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to tie the game. The key Pirate play to seal the game was throwing out pinch-runner Billy Bates, the trailing runner at the back end of a double steal in the ninth inning, to get the second out. Pittsburgh took the series lead, one game to none and claimed home field advantage.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Friday, October 5, 1990 (3:15PM EDT) at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Doug Drabek, the National League Cy Young Award winner for 1990 took the mound against Tom Browning for a weekday afternoon Game 2. Cincinnati again scored in the first inning when Barry Larkin walked, stole second, went to third on a hard single by Herm Winningham and scored on a single by Paul O'Neill. The Pirates tied it in the fifth when José Lind, better known for defense, hit a homer.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
The Pirates appeared ready to take the lead in the sixth when Andy Van Slyke singled and went to second on a single by Bobby Bonilla. With two on and nobody out, Pirates slugger Barry Bonds came up with a chance for a big inning. Bonds popped out to deep right, and Van Slyke attempted to advance. But Paul O'Neill threw a perfect strike to Chris Sabo who tagged Van Slyke for a 9–5 double play.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
The Reds regained the lead in the fifth when Winningham reached on a fielder's choice, stole second, and scored on O'Neill's drive to left center that hit the wall after barely avoiding Bonds' glove. Drabek went the distance but got the loss. Browning got the win and Randy Myers the save. Barry Larkin's stop and throw on a sharp grounder by Bonds up the middle squelched a potential rally with none out in the ninth.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Monday, October 8, 1990 (3:20PM EDT) at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
This was a weekday afternoon game, and for the first time in history, there were two scheduled off days between games. This set-up seemed to help Pittsburgh as it would allow them to have Drabek for game seven if necessary. Danny Jackson squared off against Zane Smith. But it was Mariano Duncan who stole the show.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
In the second, Joe Oliver singled and Billy Hatcher homered to give the Reds a 2–0 lead. The Pirates tied it in the fourth when Jay Bell doubled, Andy Van Slyke singled to score Bell, and Van Slyke scored on Carmelo Martínez's double. In the fifth, Billy Hatcher doubled, Larkin singled, and Duncan hit a three-run homer to give the Reds a 5–2 lead. In the bottom of eighth, the Pirates got a run back when Barry Bonds singled, went to second on a walk, and scored on Mariano Duncan's throwing error to make it 5–3.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
In the ninth, the Reds got the run back when Oliver singled and Billy Bates ran for him. Bates eventually scored on a Duncan single (his fourth RBI of the game). The game ended with a Reds victory, 6–3, allowing them to reclaim home field advantage and to take a two games to one lead in the NLCS.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Tuesday, October 9, 1990 (8:30PM EDT) at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Game 4 would be a rematch of Game 1 starters Jose Rijo and Bob Walk. The Pirates would grab the first lead of the game (for the only time in the series) in the opening frame when Wally Backman doubled to left and scored on a Van Slyke ground out. The Reds took the lead in the fourth when O'Neill belted a shot and Sabo followed up singles by Eric Davis and Hal Morris with a sac fly. Bream would hurt Rijo again (as he had in Game 1) in the bottom half of the inning when he drilled a double to left center that scored Van Slyke.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Chris Sabo untied the game in the seventh when he golfed a hanging curveball by Walk into the left field stands for a two-run homer. With no outs in the eighth, Jay Bell hit a home run that knocked Rijo out of the game and cut the lead to 4–3. Piniella called on Myers and two batters later Bonilla hammered another ball that hit high off the center-field fence and out of the reach of the leaping Billy Hatcher. As Bonilla rounded second and motored on to third, left fielder Eric Davis ran out toward center, fielded the carom and threw a one hop strike to Sabo at third; gunning down the aggressive Bobby Bonilla. The play seemed to deflate Pittsburgh.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The Nasty Boys continued their dominance through the last innings while the Reds offense tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth, making it 5–3. Dibble got the save and up until that point had pitched in all four games, tossed five innings with no hits allowed and ten strikeouts.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Wednesday, October 10, 1990 (8:25PM EDT) at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Game 5 saw the Pirates bring back their ace Doug Drabek to keep the season alive. Barry Larkin got the Reds started in the first when he doubled down the left-field line and scored on Winningham's sac fly to right. In the bottom of the first, Reds starter Tom Browning hit Jay Bell and then surrendered a gapper to right-center by Van Slyke that hopped over Paul O'Neill's glove for an RBI triple. Bonilla walked and Bonds hit into a 3–6 force play scoring Van Slyke to make it 2–1 Bucs.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
In the fourth, Pittsburgh added another run when Bonds walked, went to third on an R. J. Reynolds hit, and scored on a sac fly by Don Slaught. Drabek's gutsy outing continued into the eighth until Duncan singled and Larkin smashed a double that one-hopped the left field fence. Up 3–2 going to the ninth, the Pirates were desperately clinging to the slim lead and the season. O'Neill opened the frame with a single to center. Eric Davis then hit a ground ball to deep third that ricocheted off the third base bag for a hit. Morris bunted the runners over to second and third which made Leyland decide on intentionally walking Sabo to load the bases. Bob Patterson relieved Drabek and got Jeff Reed to hit into a 5–4–3 double play started by Bobby Bonilla to end the game.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Friday, October 12, 1990 (8:20PM EDT) at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
This game was famous for Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland starting a set-up man, Ted Power, in order to keep the Reds from employing their successful platoon. Power pitched 2+1⁄3 innings prior to giving way to lefty Zane Smith in the third inning. The strategy worked in that it held the Reds to only two runs. The game-winning RBI was hit by Luis Quiñones of the Reds in the seventh.


1990 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
The close, defensive game ended with a 2–1 score, accentuated by an over-the-fence catch by right fielder Glenn Braggs, robbing Carmelo Martínez of a two-run homer, to preserve the win in the ninth. The Reds won the series, 4–2 and their first pennant since 1976. To date, this is the Reds most recent pennant.


1990 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
Starting in the 1994 season, Major League Baseball realigned by creating a third division in each both leagues. The Pirates and Reds would respectively end their 24-year stays in the National League East and National League West and join each other in the newly created National League Central, continuing their rivalry that started in the 1970s.


1990 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
The Pirates and Reds sixth postseason meeting came 23 years later in the 2013 National League Wild Card game, which the Pirates won 6-2. 2013 was the Pirates first winning season since 1992, ending the longest stretch of losing seasons (20 seasons) in North American professional sports history.


1990 National League season
The 1990 National League was the 16th since its establishment as a second tier in 1975, a renamed British League Division Two, and the last before it was again renamed British League Division Two.


1990 National League season, Summary
The league was initially supposed to run with 18 teams - however, Mildenhall Fen Tigers were unable to form a team to the 42-point minimum average limit, and were expelled on March 22, 1990. Matches were once again run over a 16-heat formula, with seven riders per team.


1990 National League season, Summary
Poole Pirates were again champions, and stepped up into British League Division One for the 1991 season.


1990 National League season, League table
M = Meetings; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; F = Race points for; A = Race points against; Pts = Total Points


1990 National League season, Averages
The top ten rider averages in the National League as of October 31, 1990:


1990 National League season, National League Knockout Cup
The 1990 National League Knockout Cup was the 23rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Poole Pirates were the winners of the competition.


1990 National League season, National League Knockout Cup, Final
Poole were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 107–85.


1990 National Soccer League season
The 1990 National Soccer League season was the sixty seventh season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season concluded on September 12, 1990 with Toronto First Portuguese claiming their third NSL Championship by finishing first in the First Division. First Portuguese would also secure the NSL Canadian Championship by defeating St. Leonard of the Quebec National Soccer League on September 29, 1990 in Toronto, Ontario. The NSL Cup was won by St. Catharines Roma, and North York Strikers secured the Second Division championship.


1990 National Soccer League season, Overview
The league increased in membership and retained the majority of teams from the previous season. The league was structurally divided into two divisions the First and Second divisions. Potential plans for a promotion and relegation system were revealed. The First Division increased to nine members while the Second Division had seven clubs. The new entry to the First Division was former NSL franchise London City which acquired London Marconi's franchise rights. London City previously participated in the league until the 1983 season. Toronto Macedonia Stars was the lone departing club.


1990 National Soccer League season, Overview
In early May, league commissioner Rocco Lofranco announced the league's decision to begin discussions with the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) about a potential merger. The NSL continued to serve as a player conduit for the CSL player draft. Once the season concluded two new additions North York Strikers and Toronto International to the First Division were announced at the annual general meeting held in Toronto on December 2, 1990. Topics discussed at the general meeting were placing restrictions on any future expansion into the city of Toronto in the top division and continuing negotiations with the CSL.


1990 National Soccer League season, Cup
The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all sixteen teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season, and the teams were grouped into four separate divisions. The NSL Cup was won by St. Catharines Roma.


1990 National Soccer League season, NSL Canadian Championship
Since the 1986 season a joint effort was conducted between the Pacific Rim Soccer League of British Columbia, National Soccer League and the Quebec National Soccer League in order to provide a national champion. Their regional champions would face each other in a single match for the championship. The Pacific Rim Soccer League participated in the first tournament, but ceased operations in 1987. While their league cup champions would compete for the NSL Canada Cup.


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The 25th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 6 January 1991, honored the best filmmaking of 1990.


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Director
1. Martin Scorsese – Goodfellas2. Stephen Frears – The Grifters3. Jane Campion – Sweetie


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actor
1. Jeremy Irons – Reversal of Fortune2. Danny Glover – To Sleep with Anger3. Robert De Niro – Goodfellas and Awakenings


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actress
1. Anjelica Huston – The Grifters and The Witches2. Joanne Woodward – Mr. & Mrs. Bridge3. Jessica Lange – Men Don't Leave3. Debra Winger – The Sheltering Sky and Everybody Wins


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actor
1. Bruce Davison – Longtime Companion2. Joe Pesci – Goodfellas3. Al Pacino – Dick Tracy3. John Turturro – Miller's Crossing


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actress
1. Annette Bening – The Grifters2. Uma Thurman – Henry & June and Where the Heart Is3. Dianne Wiest – Edward Scissorhands


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Screenplay
1. Charles Burnett – To Sleep with Anger2. Tom Stoppard – The Russia House3. Donald E. Westlake – The Grifters


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Cinematography
1. Peter Suschitzky – Where the Heart Is2. Ian Baker – The Russia House3. Philippe Rousselot – Henry & June


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Foreign Language Film
1. Ariel2. Life and Nothing But (La vie et rien d'autre)3. May Fools (Milou en mai)


1990 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Documentary
1. Berkeley in the Sixties2. For All Mankind3. The Big Bang


1990 Nations Cup
The 1990 Nations Cup was held in Gelsenkirchen on November 15–17. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


1990 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1990 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 1990 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 18–20 May 1990 at the Misano circuit.


1990 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix, 500 cc race report
In practice Christian Sarron falls in front of Wayne Gardner, bringing him down and causing Gardner to race with broken ribs.


1990 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix, 500 cc race report
At the first turn, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz go first, but Pierfrancesco Chili gets knocked off by Gardner, who came across the racing line. Chili kicks furiously at the gravel as he's escorted off the track.


1990 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix, 500 cc race report
A trio forms at the front: Rainey, Schwantz and Mick Doohan. Alex Barros crashes out for a second race in a row.


1990 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix, 500 cc race report
Drops of rain bring out the red flag and memories of Spa ’89, when 3 races were run; a second race on aggregate time will follow. New start in the dry and Doohan gets the first turn, followed by Rainey and Mamola. It soon turns into Rainey, Doohan, Gardner and Schwantz at the front. It’s a very aggressive group of four, who pass each other two at a time.


1990 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix, 500 cc race report
Schwantz takes the lead, and can’t suppress his tic of looking back while exiting on the throttle, a habit that caused him a crash last season.


1990 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix, 500 cc race report
Though the order crossing the line is Schwantz, Gardner, Rainey and Doohan, Rainey takes the win based on aggregate time.


1990 Navy Midshipmen football team
The 1990 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by first-year head coach George Chaump.


1990 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1990 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.


1990 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, NFL and pro players
The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1990 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election
In the 1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic challenger Ben Nelson narrowly defeated first-term Republican incumbent Kay Orr for the governorship of the state of Nebraska.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election
Orr's popularity had suffered due to changes in the state's income-tax structure enacted in 1987, which were seen as a violation of her pledge not to increase taxes. The impending construction of a low-level radioactive-waste repository in north central Nebraska also occasioned discontent with her administration. In the Republican primary, she easily defeated "perennial candidate" Mort Sullivan, but her winning margin was significantly smaller than expected.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election
Seven Democrats, four of them regarded as serious contenders, vied for their party's gubernatorial nomination. School funding, abortion, and the question of whether to establish a state lottery were among the issues that figured in the campaign. The primary election was so close that it took 48 days to declare Nelson the winner, by a margin of 41 votes.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election
The contest between Orr and Nelson was generally seen as an unusually negative one. Orr accused Nelson of questionable business dealings; Nelson accused Orr of violating the public trust. Each accused the other of negative campaigning. Salient issues included the 1987 tax changes; the radioactive-waste site; and a bill shifting a large portion of school funding from local property taxes to the state general fund, which included increases in the sales and income taxes, and which had passed over Orr's veto.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election
When the election was held, Nelson defeated Orr by a margin of 4030 votes, with 49.91% of the vote to her 49.23%. It was suggested that a winter storm on the day of the election might have contributed to Orr's defeat, by reducing turnout among elderly and rural voters. As of 2021, this is the most recent election in which an incumbent Nebraska Governor lost reelection.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Background
In 1986, Republican Kay Orr, who had been Nebraska's state treasurer for five years, defeated Democrat Helen Boosalis for the governorship. During the campaign, Orr pledged not to increase taxes.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Background
In 1987, at Orr's urging, the state legislature passed LB773, which changed Nebraska's method of calculating its personal income tax. Up to that time, the state's income tax had been a percentage of the taxpayer's federal liability. Under the new system, Nebraska would base its tax on federal adjusted gross income, with the state establishing its own system of exemptions and deductions.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Background
Proponents argued that such a measure was necessary to produce stability and give Nebraska greater control over its state revenues; opponents objected to the fact that the measure would increase taxes on  lower- and middle-income taxpayers, while decreasing them for upper-income Nebraskans. The plan as proposed by Orr would have been revenue-neutral, neither increasing nor decreasing state revenue. The final version, however, as passed by the legislature and signed by Orr, increased receipts by an estimated $11–14 million.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Background
The increase in revenues was seen as a breach of Orr's pledge concerning taxes, and her popularity fell as the new system went into effect. In December 1987, a poll indicated that 60% of Nebraskans approved of her performance and 25% disapproved; by March 1988, her approval rating had dropped to 48%, while those disapproving had increased to 38%. In December 1989, the numbers stood at 47% approval and 46% disapproval.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Background
Orr's popularity was further damaged by the proposed siting of a low-level nuclear waste disposal facility in the state. In 1983, during the tenure of governor Bob Kerrey, Nebraska had joined Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma to form the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact, under which a single disposal site would be constructed for all five states. In 1987, the members of the compact voted 4–1 to place the facility in Nebraska. At that time, Orr declared that she was not pleased with the choice, but had to acquiesce in the other states' decision.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Background
U.S. Ecology, the company chosen to construct and operate the facility, considered a variety of sites in the state. In January 1989, they announced that they had narrowed their choices to sites in Boyd, Nemaha, and Nuckolls counties; in January 1990, they declared that they had chosen the Boyd County location.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Candidates
Seven candidates ran in the Democratic primary. Four of them were regarded as serious contenders for the nomination.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Candidates
The other three candidates in the Democratic primary were regarded as unlikely to win; when the election was held, the three combined drew less than 3% of the vote.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Issues, Taxes and school funding
One of the foremost issues in the Democratic primary concerned school funding. In April 1990, the legislature passed LB1059, which made major changes to the financing of public education in the state. Prior to its passage, roughly 70% of the money for primary and secondary schools came from property taxes and other local sources. The expressed goal of the bill's supporters was to increase the state's contribution to school districts from 25% of operational costs to 45%; this would be funded through a 25% increase in the sales tax and a 17.5% increase in the personal income tax.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Issues, Taxes and school funding
Proponents maintained that the measure would lessen inequality among school districts and would avert a significant increase in property taxes; they also noted that courts in several other states had struck down locally-financed educational systems such as Nebraska's. Opponents argued that the increased taxes would prove burdensome to Nebraskans, particularly the poor, and expressed doubt that the measure would prevent substantial property-tax increases. The bill passed; Orr vetoed it, but was overridden.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Issues, Taxes and school funding
Of the four leading Democratic candidates, Boyle, Harris, and Nelson declared that they would have vetoed the bill, arguing that it would not in fact lead to long-term property-tax relief. Hoppner expressed enthusiastic support for the measure, "because it's at the heart of the traditional Democratic message of this state, because the people of this state care about our children".


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Issues, Other issues
Another issue raised in the Democratic primary was the question of whether a state lottery should be established in Nebraska; and, if established, what use should be made of the revenues generated thereby. Of the four major candidates, Harris indicated that he was generally opposed to a lottery. Boyle proposed that proceeds be used for property-tax relief; Hoppner declared that they should be used for special one-time expenses, and not for routine spending; and Nelson maintained that they should be used to augment basic spending on education.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Issues, Other issues
Harris and Hoppner both declared themselves supporters of abortion rights, and were endorsed by the pro-choice organization Nebraska Voters for Choice. Boyle expressed opposition to abortion, and received the endorsement of pro-life organizations Metro Omaha Right to Life and the Nebraska Coalition for Life. Nelson also declared himself an opponent of abortion, but said that if the legislature passed abortion-rights legislation, he would neither veto nor sign it, allowing it to become law without his signature.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Issues, Other issues
All four of the major Democratic candidates asserted that illegal drug use was one of the critical issues in the campaign; Harris stated that it was the number-one issue facing Nebraska and the nation. All four were opposed to drug abuse and crime.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Issues, Nelson and junk bonds
In the final two weeks before the primary election, Nelson came under attack from Harris and Hoppner for his involvement with life-insurance holding company First Executive, for which he had acted as a consultant and director; he and his law firm had collected over $1.8 million in fees from the company. First Executive had large holdings in junk bonds, which had recently received a great deal of unfavorable attention related to investment banking firm Drexel Burnham Lambert's February 1990 declaration of bankruptcy, and to Drexel employee Michael Milken's April 1990 conviction for securities fraud. Nelson maintained that he had played no part in the junk-bond investment decisions of First Executive, having only joined the company's board in 1988.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Strategy and spending
Nelson led the field in campaign contributions and spending; by the end of April, his campaign had spent $593,000. In the same time period, Hoppner had spent $326,000; Harris, $156,000; and Boyle, less than $60,000. Nelson was criticized for accepting large contributions from insurance companies in Chicago and California;  he had also loaned his campaign over $360,000, a sum far greater than that borrowed by any of the other candidates.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Strategy and spending
The number of viable candidates complicated the devising of campaign strategies. Under more ordinary circumstances, a candidate could win a statewide Nebraska Democratic primary by winning heavily in five eastern counties, containing just over half of the state's registered Democrats: Douglas and Sarpy counties, which include the Omaha metro area; Lancaster County, including Lincoln; and Dodge and Saunders counties. In this election, however, every Democratic vote had to be sought, which made it necessary to direct campaign efforts to the Third Congressional District, consisting of the western three-quarters of the state. Although the Third District was one of the most Republican congressional districts in the nation, its small population of Democrats might prove crucial in the final vote count.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Strategy and spending
The four candidates had four different strategies. Boyle's was based on securing a strong lead in Omaha, from voters who had supported him as mayor, and on doing well among conservative Democrats in the Third District, attracted by his pro-life stance and endorsements. Harris expected to win heavily in Lancaster County, and to draw votes from more socially-liberal Democrats throughout the state because of his pro-choice position; he had secured the endorsement of Democratic former governor  Frank Morrison, who campaigned with him throughout Nebraska.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Strategy and spending
Hoppner depended on the support of activist and party-line Democrats, drawn by his pro-choice stance, his support for LB1059, and his association with Exon and Kerrey; four days before the election, he received a formal endorsement from Kerrey, and began broadcasting a television commercial in which the senator declared his support for Hoppner.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Strategy and spending
Nelson's strategy was the most focused on the Third District: his campaign's goal was to minimize his losing margin in Omaha and Lincoln, while winning heavily in rural Nebraska. His advantage in funding proved important in this. While Hoppner relied on television advertising on stations in Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, and North Platte, Nelson bought advertising in all of those markets and also on Sioux City, Iowa television, which reached northeastern Nebraska, and on radio station KRVN in Lexington, Nebraska, with a large listenership in rural central and western Nebraska. To reach more voters who were outside of the areas covered by the eastern and central television stations, he staged a direct-mail campaign, sending up to three letters to registered Democrats in rural areas near the state's northern, southern, and western borders.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Newspaper endorsements
There was no consensus among the daily newspapers of the state regarding the Democratic candidates. The state's largest newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, which then circulated throughout Nebraska, endorsed Harris, noting in particular his opposition to gambling. The Grand Island Independent also endorsed Harris alone. The Lincoln Journal found Harris, Hoppner, and Nelson all worthy candidates. The Lincoln Star and the Fremont Tribune endorsed Hoppner; the Kearney Hub, Boyle; and the North Platte Telegraph, both Boyle and Hoppner.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Results
Polls conducted days before the May 15 election showed no clear winner in the Democratic primary: any of the four major candidates might have won. Further polling showed no clear outcome in hypothetical matchups between any of the four and Orr.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Results
Of the 363,778 registered Democrats in the state, 172,812, or 47.5%, voted in the primary; 166,744 of them cast ballots in the gubernatorial race. As the ballots were counted, Harris quickly fell behind the other three major candidates; in Lancaster County, on which he had counted heavily, he ran in third place, behind Hoppner and Nelson. Harris attributed his poor showing to the fact that he and Hoppner had split the pro-choice vote, and to Kerrey's late endorsement of Hoppner. Boyle led Hoppner in Douglas County by 11,000 votes, and until about midnight he held the lead; however, his support outside of the Omaha area was not strong, and he was forced to admit defeat soon thereafter.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Results
On the morning of May 16, Hoppner and Nelson were virtually tied, with only a few hundred votes between them, absentee ballots still to be counted, and a recount almost certain to be held, as required by state law for cases when two leading candidates were within one percentage point of one another. The recount in fact proved necessary; and so close was the contest that only on July 3, some 48 days after the election, was Nelson certified the winner, by a margin of 41 votes: 44,556 to Hoppner's 44,515.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Lieutenant governor
Under the state constitution as it existed in 1990, parties chose their nominees for governor and lieutenant governor in separate votes in the primary; the two nominees from each party then ran as a ticket in the general election. In the Democratic lieutenant-gubernatorial race, five candidates ran; the winner was Maxine Moul, a resident of Syracuse, who with her husband had owned Maverick Media, which published five newspapers and several shoppers. Moul received 29.9% of the vote cast; her closest competitor was Steve Wiitala of Omaha, formerly the Douglas County Election Commissioner and before that a member of the state legislature, who garnered 26.8% of the vote.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Republican primary, Candidates
Orr faced only nominal opposition in the Republican primary, which drew little media attention. Only two names appeared on the Republican ballot.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Republican primary, Results
In the Republican primary, Orr had been expected to win easily, and did. However, Sullivan received about 31% of the vote, unpleasantly surprising Orr, who had expected him to win from 15% to 25%. Orr attributed this to Republican dissatisfaction with some of her decisions as governor, including the tax changes of 1987.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Republican primary, Results
Sullivan's unexpectedly high percentage was also attributed in part to Orr's failure to oppose the proposed radioactive-waste repository: he defeated her in Boyd County, chosen for the site; in Nuckolls County, which had been one of the three finalists considered by U.S. Ecology; and in Webster County, which borders Nuckolls County and which had been among the locations initially considered for the disposal site.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, Republican primary, Lieutenant governor
Orr's incumbent lieutenant governor, Bill Nichol, did not run for re-election. Jack Maddux, a cattleman from Wauneta, ran against Omahan Roy Brettman. Maddux, backed by much of the state's Republican establishment, won with 67.2% of the vote to Brettman's 32.5%; 0.3% of the vote went to write-in candidates.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election
The campaign leading up to the general election was regarded as an unusually negative one; an Omaha World-Herald editorial described it as a "long, cruel, issue-less campaign". Nelson's campaign manager accused Orr's campaign of "negative cheap shots"; Orr's campaign manager accused Nelson of "stridently negative attacks". Nelson's campaign declared that Orr had "no credibility because she has violated the public trust"; Orr's accused Nelson of "vicious attacks". In an October debate, Nelson accused Orr of "constant attacks on my character, constant attacks on my family relations", while Orr accused Nelson of "the worst type of negative campaigning this state has ever seen".


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Junk bonds redux
In July, Nelson announced that he would not seek re-election to First Executive's board when his term expired at the end of the month, stating that his campaign would not leave him time to fulfill his duties as a director, and that his resignation had nothing to do with the company's history of junk-bond dealings. In September, Orr's campaign ran a commercial stating that Nelson, as a consultant and director of the company, must have been involved in its decisions to invest in junk bonds. In an October radio interview, she said "My opponent owns a company with Mike Milken"; she subsequently issued a partial retraction, calling Nelson "a business associate with Mike Milken". Nelson declared that Orr had "resorted to negative campaigning in order to save her job", and denied any relationship with Milken.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Junk bonds redux
Orr called for Nelson to make his income-tax return public, providing her own to the Omaha World-Herald in a sealed envelope, to be opened if Nelson's were also made available. Nelson declined to do so, for reasons of "privacy and security", declaring that he had provided all the records required by the law, and accusing Orr of demanding them as a diversionary tactic.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Taxes and spending
Nelson pressed the issue of taxes, maintaining that the 1987 restructuring had increased taxes on lower- and middle-class taxpayers, while decreasing them for the wealthy. Orr responded by citing a Deloitte and Touche study finding that taxes on most low and middle incomes were lower in 1989 than they had been in 1986; state senator Don Wesely, a Nelson consultant, denounced the study as "political propaganda to mislead the public".


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Taxes and spending
Nelson accused Orr of profligate spending, noting that the state budget had increased by 40% during the first three years of her governorship. Orr's campaign responded that the steep increase was partly due to essential spending deferred during the nationwide recession of the early 1980s and the farm recession of the mid-80s; partly due to the state takeover of the welfare system, which had previously received some of its funding from the counties; and partly due to a 65% increase in Medicaid costs.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Taxes and spending
A petition drive was launched to repeal school-finance bill LB1059. Orr ran radio commercials in support of the repeal, calling the bill "a record tax increase" and noting that she had vetoed it. Nelson declined to sign the petition, stating that the bill, though flawed, should be corrected by the legislature rather than repealed altogether. Orr's campaign condemned this, declaring that Nelson was "trying to get votes from people on both sides by riding the fence".


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Boyd County
In July 1990, Kerrey withdrew his support from the proposed radioactive-waste repository in Boyd County, asserting that the facility might no longer be needed and might not be economically feasible. Nelson joined Kerrey in calling for a moratorium on further work.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Boyd County
Orr declared that she would be willing to suspend the process, if Kerrey could guarantee that Nebraska taxpayers and power consumers would not suffer, but expressed concern that such a move might be a violation of federal law; an Orr staffer cited a study indicating that costs of withdrawing from the waste-disposal compact would be at least $150 million, and might be as high as $425 million.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Boyd County
Nelson declared that "[i]f I am elected governor, it is not likely that there will be a nuclear dump in Boyd County or in Nebraska". He called for a debate in Boyd County, and accused Orr of a "lack of leadership" on the matter; in mid-October, he held a rally in the county at which he chided his opponent for her unwillingness to campaign there, and declared that more forceful opposition by Orr would have prevented the decision to locate the site in Nebraska. Following the rally, the Boyd County Republican Committee announced its unanimous endorsement of Nelson over Orr.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Other issues
Orr accused Nelson of "lacking leadership" on abortion, declaring that she would veto any bill that relaxed restrictions on the procedure. The Nebraska Coalition for Life endorsed Orr, with the comment that "[Nelson's] position is no position at all".


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Other issues
The candidates differed on a measure on the ballot, promoted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, that would legalize video slot machines. Nelson supported the measure, and stated that if elected, he would propose an amendment to the Nebraska constitution that would authorize a statewide lottery. Orr opposed the video-slot measure, and any attempt to establish a state lottery.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Issues, Other issues
Orr claimed credit for the state's 2% unemployment rate. She emphasized her party affiliation, declaring "This is a Republican state." She asserted that Nebraskans knew her and her record as a public official, while Nelson was an unknown quantity.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Campaigns and spending
Orr spent twice as much as Nelson, in what the Omaha World-Herald described as "the most expensive governor's race in state history". President George H. W. Bush visited Omaha to raise funds for her and for two Republican Congressional candidates. She secured an endorsement from University of Nebraska athletic director Bob Devaney, revered in Nebraska for his success as the coach of the university football team.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Campaigns and spending
Twelve of Nebraska's daily newspapers, including the World-Herald and the Lincoln Star, endorsed Orr. Nelson garnered two endorsements, from the McCook Daily Gazette and the Fremont Tribune (the latter of which endorsed Orr as well). The Lincoln Journal declined to endorse either candidate, accusing both of negative and mean-spirited campaigning.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Campaigns and spending
Two weeks before the election, the Orr campaign discovered that Dresner Sykes, their media-consulting firm, had charged the campaign for television advertising time that was never purchased. A World-Herald analysis after the election determined that Creative Media, the firm's advertising placement agency, had charged the campaign $34,860 for October advertising on Omaha station KMTV, while actually purchasing $6,115 worth of time, or 17.5% of that ordered. A similar pattern obtained on other stations in Omaha, Lincoln, North Platte, and Sioux City, with Creative Media actually purchasing between 12% and 88% of the time ordered by the campaign.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, Campaigns and spending
Although the campaign had ordered advertisements placed on Omaha television stations every day during the period October 5–22, nothing ran on at least four days of the period. Dresner Sykes reimbursed the Orr campaign with a $50,000 check and with the cancellation of unpaid bills; but Orr could not recover the lost advertising time in the past, and found that the most desirable advertising times for the rest of the campaign's duration were already taken.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, General election results
On November 6, the day of the election, a winter storm struck central Nebraska, depositing up to 12 inches (300 mm) of snow and ice. Secretary of State Allen Beerman estimated that up to 50,000 voters might have been kept from the polls by the weather. The storm reduced turnout in the Third District and among elderly voters, who historically tended to support Republicans. Before ballot-counting was complete, Beerman suggested that the weather might have cost Orr the election.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, General election results
Unofficial results on election night gave Nelson a lead of 4,658 votes out of nearly 570,000. As absentee ballots were counted, it became clear that they would not change the outcome; Orr conceded to Nelson on November 9.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, General election results
The official results gave Nelson 292,771 votes (49.91%) to Orr's 288,741 (49.23%). Sullivan, running as a write-in, garnered 1887 votes (0.32%); other write-ins received 3143 votes (0.54%). Nelson won 19 counties that the Republicans had won in the 1986 gubernatorial election, many of them in areas that had been suggested as locations for the radioactive-waste disposal site.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, General election results, Other votes
Nebraska voted on four seats in the U.S. Congress: one in the Senate and three in the House of Representatives. All three incumbents running were re-elected. Exon, a Democrat, won re-election to the Senate, securing 59% of the vote to defeat Republican Hal Daub. Republican Doug Bereuter was re-elected to the First District House seat, with 65% of the vote to Democrat Larry Hall's 35%. In the Second District, one-term incumbent Peter Hoagland, a Democrat, received 58% of the vote to Republican Ally Milder's 42%. In a race for an open House seat in the Third District, Republican Bill Barrett defeated Democrat Sandra K. Scofield, taking 51.1% of the vote to her 48.8%.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, General election results, Other votes
The LB1059 repeal effort, which Orr had supported and Nelson opposed, failed: 44% of the votes cast supported repeal, while 56% favored keeping the measure. A World-Herald article noted that opposition to repeal was especially high in areas where rural school districts were receiving large amount of state aid, and that support for repeal was strongest in Douglas County.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, General election results, Other votes
The ballot measure to legalize and regulate video lotteries, which Nelson had supported and Orr opposed, also failed. Votes in favor of the measure amounted to only 35% of the total, while 65% were opposed.


1990 Nebraska gubernatorial election, General election, General election results, Other votes
Nationally, the Democratic Party made small gains in the U.S. Congress, with an increase of one seat in the Senate and eight in the House of Representatives. Incumbent governors fared poorly: the incumbent party lost in 14 of the 36 contests, including two in which independent candidates won. Governors who had reneged on pledges not to allow tax increases suffered badly; beside Orr, Republicans Mike Hayden of Kansas and Bob Martinez of Florida were rejected by the voters.


1990 Nepalese revolution
The  1990 People's Movement (Nepali: २०४६ जनआन्दोलन, romanized: 2046 Jana Andolan) was a multiparty movement in Nepal that brought an end to absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional monarchy. It also eliminated the Panchayat system.


1990 Nepalese revolution
The movement was marked by the unity between the various political parties. Not only did various Communist parties group together in the United Left Front, but they also cooperated with parties such as Nepali Congress. One result of this unity was the formation of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).


1990 Nepalese revolution, History
In 1989, two groups, the Nepali Congress, a pro-democracy group and the largest illegal political party in the country, and the United Left Front, a coalition of communist and leftist parties, joined to launch a campaign to achieve a multiparty democracy in Nepal. The Jana Andolan' (People's Movement) officially started on February 18, 1990, which is Democracy day in Nepal. In order to stall the movement, the government arrested national and district-level leaders of both the NC and the ULF on February 17, 1990, and banned all opposition newspapers.


1990 Nepalese revolution, History
The king called on the nation in a radio address to stand unified with the monarchy and to pursue democratic reforms through constitutional channels. In late February, police fired on a demonstration in Bhaktapur, killing 12 people. The movement became increasingly large and dangerous as thousands of students marched against riot police and hundreds were arrested and injured. The movement called for bandhs (a kind of general strike) that quickly spread across the country.


1990 Nepalese revolution, History
Communication between opposition members faltered and palace leadership was at times absent, leaving local governments to deal with the protests as they saw fit. Some even joined the movement in absence of central government. These protests escalated from the countryside until they reached the capital, Kathmandu. After the army killed protesters in Patan in early April, the movement gathered some 2,00,000 people who marched in protest of the monarchy in the capital.


1990 Nepalese revolution, History
Over the course of several days, police shot and killed dozens as protesters blocked streets, taunted police officers and paraded flags demanding a restoration of the multiparty democracy system that the country had in the 1950s. At the climax of the protests, people surrounded government buildings, urging the king to accept their demands. By that point, many police did not engage with protesters but looked on as some protesters smashed government property, such as the prime minister's car and a statue of King Mahendra, as a result of which the leaders called off the protests. On April 8, 1990 the king removed the ban on political parties.


1990 Nepalese revolution, History
The 1990s People's Movement drafted the constitution into effect in November 1990. This constitution forced the monarchy of King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev to hand over decisions of government to the Nepali people. Through rallies and protest King Birendra was convinced to enforce a new constitution of the people, and "identifies the people as the source of political legitimacy . . . and guarantees of basic rights" (Baral). Now Nepalese citizens 18 years of age and up are eligible to vote. Due to the high illiteracy rates, nearly 40% of the population, political parties are related or associated with symbols. For instance, the Tree represents the Nepali Congress Party, and the Sun represents the Unified Marxist Party.


1990 Nepalese revolution, History
The construction of the constitution faced many difficulties because of the chasm between elites and the typical voter. The leaders of the most prominent parties are typically upper class citizens who are rarely concerned or associate with the larger section of the Nepal population, in which the typical voter had a high probability of being illiterate and high ethnic attachment. This large disparity increased the difficulty of creating a usable system that allowed electoral officials and Nepali citizens create a new system, yet still embrace traditions and beliefs about caste.


1990 Nevada Wolf Pack football team
The 1990 Nevada Wolf Pack football team was an American football team that represented the University of Nevada, Reno in the Big Sky Conference (BSC) during the 1990 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their 15th season under head coach Chris Ault, the Wolf Pack compiled a 13–2 record (7–1 against conference opponents), won the BSC championship, and lost to Georgia Southern in the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game. They played their home games at Mackay Stadium.


1990 Nevada Wolf Pack football team, Previous season
The Wolf Pack finished the 1989 season 7–4 and 5–3 in BSC play to tie for third place.


1990 Nevada gubernatorial election
The 1990 Nevada gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990, to elect the next Governor of Nevada, alongside an election to the United States House of Representatives and other state and local elections. Incumbent two-term Democratic Governor Richard Bryan resigned in 1989 after being elected to the United States Senate and under the Nevada succession law, Democrat Lieutenant Governor Bob Miller became the next governor. Miller won in a landslide victory to a full term, defeating Republican nominee Jim Gallaway.


1990 New England Patriots season
The 1990 New England Patriots season was the team's 31st, and 21st in the National Football League. It was the first and only season for head coach Rod Rust. The Patriots finished the season with a record of 1–15, the worst record in franchise history. They finished last in the AFC East Division and dead last in the NFL. The roster still had a number of All-Pros and regular contributors from their successful teams of the 1980s, but many of them were past the peak of their career, and the team lacked any young talent to replace them.


1990 New England Patriots season
After the team started 1–1, they would go on to lose their next fourteen games, many in humiliating fashion. Off the field, the team and its management were embarrassed by the harassment of a reporter during a locker room interview. 17 years later, the Patriots went 16-0, becoming the first team since the AFL-NFL merger to have both a one-win season and an undefeated season.


1990 New England Patriots season, Offseason
After several successful seasons in the mid-1980s, the 1989 season had been a disappointment, as the Patriots finished 5–11 and fired head coach Raymond Berry. To replace him, the team hired Rod Rust, a long-time defensive coach who had served as defensive coordinator for several NFL teams, including a 5-season tenure with the Patriots that included their (to that point) only Super Bowl appearance following the 1985 season. The team also traded wide receiver Stanley Morgan, at that point the best receiver in team history, to Indianapolis.


1990 New England Patriots season, Offseason
Most of the team returned from the 1989 team, however many of the key starters from most of the 1980s such as future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, quarterback Steve Grogan (who would finish his career with the most games in a Patriots uniform), cornerback Ronnie Lippett, and defensive end Garin Veris were all in the twilight of their careers. Among former Pro Bowlers returning to the team were offensive lineman Bruce Armstrong and wide receiver Irving Fryar.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
The team opened with a close-played loss to Miami in week 1 in which quarterback Steve Grogan outplayed his Miami counterpart, future Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino. Marino threw three interceptions during the game, while Grogan had none, however Miami running back Sammie Smith made up the difference, rushing for 159 on the ground and a third quarter touchdown that kept Miami in the game. After harassing Marino all game, the defense gave up a crucial fourth quarter touchdown from Marino to running back Tony Paige for the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
They rebounded in week 2 with a win over the Indianapolis Colts in a defensive struggle in which the Patriots picked off Colts quarterback Jeff George four times. Kicker Jason Staurovsky was the hero of the game, hitting three field goals in a 16–14 win. After two games, the team was 1–1, and the defense had intercepted the opposing quarterbacks seven times in just two games, as well as forcing three fumbles and recovering two of these. That gave the Patriots a 9–1 turnover differential, with the offense playing well enough to keep the teams in games.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
The day after the victory over the Colts, after the conclusion of the Monday practice, tight end Zeke Mowatt, running back Robert Perryman and wide receiver Michael Timpson allegedly stood in front of Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olson semi-naked and sexually harassed her in the Patriots locker room at Foxboro Stadium. The incident proved a major embarrassment for the franchise. The media firestorm surrounding the event proved a major distraction to the team in preparation for their next game.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
Steve Grogan had been suffering nagging injuries for most of the previous several games, and with Marc Wilson, a former starter for the Oakland Raiders, healthy, Rust decided to start him. The decision proved disastrous, as the team was blown out in week 3 by the Bengals 41–7, with the defense failing to live up to the form they showed in the first two games, and the offense entirely ineffective. Wilson himself was benched late in the game for Tom Hodson, who completed four passes once the game was already out of control.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
Rust would inexplicably stay with Marc Wilson for the next three games, probably owing to Grogan's failing health and Hodson's lack of game experience, but Wilson would lose the next three games in succession, including a three-interception, zero-touchdown performance against division rival New York Jets in week 4, a 33–20 loss to the Seahawks in Week 5, and following a bye in week 6, a 17–10 loss to the Dolphins in week 7.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
In week 8, Grogan was given the starting job back, but out of rhythm and hobbled by injury, he was also ineffective, going 15-for-31 with two interceptions in a 27–10 loss against the Bills in what would be his final start as a Patriot. Wilson got the job back the following week, but he too lost to the Eagles 48–20, in which the defense was noted for its lack of effort, a stark contrast to the team which had been so defensively dominant over the first two games of the season.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
Week 10 saw what was perhaps the most unwatchable football of the season, in which neither the Patriots nor the Colts seemed to want to win the game; Wilson threw for only 87 yards in that game, and his counterpart Jeff George for only 106. Despite only mustering 155 total yards on offense, the Colts won 13–10. Wilson would keep his starting job for only one more week, a 14–0 shut-out at the hands of Buffalo, in which Wilson threw two interceptions.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
Faced with a lost season, Rust handed the reins to Tom Hodson, who would start at quarterback for the rest of the season. Hodson started promising; in his first start in week 12 against the Phoenix Cardinals, he went 17-for-29 with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but the defense could not stop the potent Cardinals rushing attack, and they ended up with 201 yards on the ground and four rushing touchdowns, including two from quarterback Timm Rosenbach, to crush the Patriots 34–14.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
A 37–7 loss to the Chiefs, in which Hodson threw an interception but no touchdowns, and in which the Patriots could only get 64 yards rushing came in week 13, and a similarly anemic Patriots offense could only muster a field goal and 182 yards in a 24–3 loss to the Steelers.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
They lost a nationally televised game in week 15 to the Washington Redskins in which they were down 9–0 before the Redskins even ran an offensive play. The Redskins' two first-quarter scores came on a Kurt Gouveia fumble return for a touchdown, and the Patriots snapping the ball out of the end zone for a safety. The announced crowd for the game, played in driving rain, was 22,286. The Patriots’ final game of the season, against the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, drew a sellout crowd to Foxboro, but over 40,000 fans were rooting for the visitors, as tickets to Giants home games were nearly impossible to come by for non-season-ticket holders.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
The Patriots’ negative-265 point-differential (181 points scored, 446 points surrendered) was the worst total of the 1990s. It is notable that like the previous season's Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots played only three teams with non-winning records – divisional rivals the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets plus one game against the Phoenix Cardinals – all season.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
The 1990 Patriots and 1981 Baltimore Colts are the only NFL teams since 1940 to have eleven losses during which they never led in one season.


1990 New England Patriots season, Regular season
The 1990 Patriots became the third team to end a season at 1–15, and were matched by the 1991 Colts the next year. They also tied the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers for most consecutive losses inside one season (the Buccaneers lost all 14 games, with the NFL only adopting a sixteen-game schedule in 1978), a record later eclipsed by the 15-straight losing 2001 Carolina Panthers. It was then topped by the 0–16 2008 Detroit Lions and 0–16 2017 Cleveland Browns.


1990 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
The 1990 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1990 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In its 19th year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled a 7–3–1 record (5–3 against conference opponents) and tied for second place out of nine teams in the Yankee Conference.


1990 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
The 1990 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Governor Judd Gregg won reelection to a second term that would be his last, as he ran for and won election to the United States Senate in 1992.


1990 New Mexico Lobos football team
The 1990 New Mexico Lobos football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Mexico in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Mike Sheppard, the Lobos compiled a 2–10 record (1–6 against WAC opponents) and were outscored by a total of 400 to 279.


1990 New Mexico Lobos football team
The team's statistical leaders included Jeremy Leach with 2,428 passing yards, Aaron Givens with 546 rushing yards, Eric Morgan with 1,043 receiving yards, and kicker David Margolis with 67 points scored.


1990 New Mexico State Aggies football team
The 1990 New Mexico State Aggies football team represented New Mexico State University in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Big West Conference. The Aggies were coached by head coach Jim Hess and played their home games at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.


1990 New Mexico gubernatorial election
The 1990 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990, in order to elect the Governor of New Mexico. Due to term limits, incumbent Republican Garrey Carruthers was ineligible to seek a second term as Governor.


1990 New Mexico gubernatorial election, Democratic primary
Former Governor Bruce King won the Democratic primary, defeating former Attorney General Paul Bardacke and 2 other candidates.


1990 New Mexico gubernatorial election, Republican primary
The Republican primary was won by Frank Bond, who defeated Les Houston, James A. Caudell, and former mayor of Albuquerque Harry E. Kinney.


1990 New Orleans Saints season
The 1990 New Orleans Saints season was the franchise’s 24th season in the National Football League, the 15th to host games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the fifth under head coach Jim Mora. The team looked to improve on its 9–7 record from 1989 and make the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. The Saints did not improve on their 9–7 record, as they finished the season 8–8. However, the Saints would unexpectedly make the postseason as the final seed in the NFC.


1990 New Orleans Saints season, The season
The Saints, with a record of eight wins and eight losses, became the second team in NFL history at or below .500 to qualify for postseason play, and the first to do so as a wild card. Since no non-playoff team in the NFC had a record at or above .500, the Saints were awarded the final Wild Card seed. In the 1990 postseason, the Saints would lose to the Chicago Bears 16–6.


1990 New Orleans Saints season, The season
Others to finish 8–8 and make the playoffs were the 1985 Cleveland Browns, the 1991 New York Jets, the 1999 Detroit Lions, the 2008 San Diego Chargers and the 2011 Denver Broncos. However, the 2010 Seahawks would break this record, as they finished the 2010 season at 7–9 and clinched their division, becoming the first team in NFL history to win their division despite having a losing record, and this would be repeated by the 2014 Carolina Panthers. Coincidentally, the Saints during that 2010 season met Seattle in that season’s NFC Wild Card game, in which they were upset 41–36.


1990 New Orleans mayoral election
The New Orleans mayoral election of 1990 resulted in the reelection of Sidney Barthelemy to a second term as mayor of New Orleans.


1990 New Orleans mayoral election, Background
Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. Presidential and Congressional elections—follow a variation of the open primary system. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party. In this election, Barthelemy won 55% of the vote in the first round of voting held on February 3, 1990, so no runoff round was needed.


1990 New Orleans mayoral election, Campaign
Sidney Barthelemy began the campaign under a cloud of declining popularity and questions surrounding his leadership. He campaigned on his record, citing his role in spurring the beginnings of an economic recovery for New Orleans. Mintz felt that Barthelemy was vulnerable enough on the issue of leadership in a city burdened by high unemployment and crime that black voters would be willing to choose a white challenger over a black incumbent. His campaign portrayed Barthelemy as an inattentive mayor better at distributing patronage than generating income.


1990 New Orleans mayoral election, Campaign
A close friend of former mayor Dutch Morial, Mintz expected to receive Morial's endorsement against Barthelemy, the former mayor's long-time political opponent. Morial's endorsement would likely have helped Mintz's support among black voters, but Morial died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve 1989, six weeks before the election, before endorsing either candidate. Barthelemy, who received most of his support from white voters in the 1986 election, began stressing his record of achievements for the black community in order to compensate for the number of white supporters he expected to lose to Mintz. His campaign featured slogans like "I'm not ready to lose the gains we've made."


1990 New Orleans mayoral election, Campaign
The election results showed votes were largely cast along racial lines. Barthelemy's victory was assured by a combination of his overwhelming 86% support of black voters (who formed 54% of the electorate) and a significant number (23%) of white voters who supported him over Mintz. Mintz was able to garner strong support among white voters who had helped elect Barthelemy in 1986, but was not able to convince enough black voters to reject Barthelemy and elect a white candidate instead. He received only 14% support among black voters; not enough to unseat the incumbent.


1990 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1990 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries. They were announced on 30 December 1989 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1990.


1990 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The 1990 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1989 and the beginning of 1990, and were announced on 30 December 1989.


1990 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


1990 New York City Marathon
The 1990 New York City Marathon was the 21st running of the annual marathon race in New York City, United States, which took place on Sunday, November 4. The men's elite race was won by Kenya's Douglas Wakiihuri in a time of 2:12:39 hours while the women's race was won by Poland's Wanda Panfil in 2:30:45.


1990 New York City Marathon
A total of 23,774 runners finished the race, 19,274 men and 4500 women.


1990 New York Film Critics Circle Awards
The 56th New York Film Critics Circle Awards honored the best filmmaking of 1990. The winners were announced on 18 December 1990 and the awards were given on 13 January 1991.


1990 New York Giants season
The 1990 New York Giants season was the franchise's 66th season in the National Football League. The Giants, who play in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL), won their sixth championship and second Super Bowl. Led by linebacker Lawrence Taylor and quarterbacks Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler, the Giants posted a 13–3 record before defeating the Chicago Bears and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers in the NFC playoffs. In Super Bowl XXV, they defeated the Buffalo Bills 20–19 in Tampa Stadium against a patriotic backdrop inspired by the recently started Gulf War. The story of the season is the subject of a recent book, When the Cheering Stops, by defensive end Leonard Marshall and CBSsports.com co-writer William Bendetson.


1990 New York Giants season
After making the playoffs in 1989, the Giants entered the 1990 season as a Super Bowl favorite, though most believed they stood little chance of stopping the 49ers. The Giants began the season with a 27–20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, then won their next nine games before losing a rematch to Philadelphia 31–13 in Week 12. The Giants also lost close games to the 49ers on the road and to the Bills at home in the regular season before defeating both teams in playoff rematches.


1990 New York Giants season
In the Week 15 game against Buffalo, starting quarterback Phil Simms was injured and ultimately lost for the season with a broken foot. He was replaced by Hostetler, who did not lose a game. The Giants' defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed (211), and the team set an NFL record by committing only 14 turnovers in the regular season. After the season, seven Giants were selected to the Pro Bowl.


1990 New York Giants season
In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1990 Giants' defense as the sixth-greatest in NFL history, noting that the team "allowed only 13.2 points a game against a very tough schedule – they played against seven playoff teams during the regular season. Led by Hall of Fame outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor and First Team All-Pro inside linebacker Pepper Johnson, New York's defense also came through in the playoffs, holding the Bears to just three points in the divisional playoff game.


1990 New York Giants season
The Giants then held a resilient 49ers offense to just two field goals and one touchdown, and set up the game-winning score by both forcing and recovering a late Roger Craig fumble involving NT Erik Howard and OLB Lawrence Taylor to win the NFC Championship Game 15–13. In Super Bowl XXV, the Giant defense held its own against the Bills' no-huddle offense while the Giants' offense executed long methodical drives that gave the Giants a time of possession advantage of 2-to-1, and New York won 20–19."


1990 New York Giants season, Off-season, NFL Draft
The Giants had 11 selections in the 12-round 1990 NFL Draft and took running back Rodney Hampton in the first round with the #24 overall selection. They took defensive end Mike Fox from West Virginia University in the second round (#51 overall) and linebacker Greg Mark (#79 overall) of the University of Miami in the third round. Kicker Matt Stover was selected in the 12th round but spent the season on injured reserve.


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Giants started the season with a 27–20 home win over the Philadelphia Eagles ending a four game losing streak to the Eagles. Despite sitting out training camp and the preseason in a contract dispute, linebacker Lawrence Taylor recorded three sacks and a forced fumble. The Giants' defense forced three turnovers and held the Eagles to 83 rushing yards. The Giants' offense scored three touchdowns in a 13-minute span in the third and early fourth quarters, but head coach Bill Parcells felt the offensive performance was lackluster overall: "Our runners didn't run the way we wanted them to. They were a little impatient. There were five or six vivid examples of cutting back too soon. You just have to give the play a chance and let it go where it's supposed to."


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys
With temperatures reaching 122° on the artificial turf at Texas Stadium, the Giants played the Dallas Cowboys on September 16. The Giants dominated from the outset and used backup players heavily throughout the game. Lawrence Taylor batted a Troy Aikman pass high into the air, which he caught and returned for a touchdown. The Giants' defense held the Cowboys to 20 rushing yards and 156 yards of total offense, while the Giants' offense gained 369 yards. The Cowboys totaled only nine first downs, averaged 1.8 yards per rush and were dominated in time of possession, 41:40 to 18:20. Despite the 28–7 victory, Giants center Bart Oates still felt the offense could improve its play: "[w]e missed a lot of assignments. We rushed the ball O.K., but not like we did against Buffalo in preseason. Phil was pressured some. There were plenty of things we didn't do."


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 3: vs. Miami Dolphins
On September 23 at Giants Stadium, before 76,483 fans, the Giants met the Miami Dolphins for the first time since the Dolphins' undefeated 1972 season. Miami held the ball for only 19:42, and totaled only 158 yards of offense. The Giants' offense set the tone by holding the ball for 10:25 on the opening drive, leading to a field goal by Raul Allegre. Holding Dan Marino to 119 total yards, and 3.6 yards per passing attempt, the Giants prevailed by a score of 20–3. Parcells was criticized by the local media for playing Taylor in the final moments, despite the lopsided score, after he had injured his hamstring.


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Giants faced the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 before 75,923 fans at Giants Stadium. The Giants' defense held the Cowboys to 51 rushing yards on 20 attempts, and the Giants controlled the ball for 35:38. Giants quarterback Phil Simms threw three touchdowns, and backup Jeff Hostetler ran for a 12-yard score late in the fourth quarter. Although the Giants' league-leading defense gave up 284 yards, 84 came on the Cowboys' final possession when the Giants played a prevent defense. Simms threw touchdown passes to Mark Ingram and Rodney Hampton, and the Giants built a 31–10 early in the fourth quarter before pulling their starters and allowing a Dallas touchdown.


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 6: at Washington Redskins
The Giants used their bye week to allow injured players such as linebacker Carl Banks, running back Rodney Hampton, special teamer Reyna Thompson, defensive lineman Erik Howard and offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott to recover from injuries. They played the Washington Redskins on the road the following week. The Giants forced four turnovers and won despite losing the time of possession battle, 35:28 to 24:32. Defensive coordinator Bill Belichick singled out free safety Greg Jackson, who had two interceptions, after the 24–20 win: "Jackson must have had 10 interceptions in practice, and if ever the cliche held true about a player playing the way he practices, it was so this week."


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 7: Vs Phoenix Cardinals
In Week 7, the Giants faced the Phoenix Cardinals in front of 76,518 fans at Giants Stadium. They rushed for 151 yards on 31 carries, and committed only four penalties for 24 yards. Their defense held the Cardinals to 96 passing yards and 221 yards of total offense. With 5:38 left in the game, the Cardinals–13-point underdogs—extended their lead to 19–10, and had knocked Simms out of the game.


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 7: Vs Phoenix Cardinals
However, the Giants came back with a 38-yard touchdown from Jeff Hostetler to Stephen Baker, and Hostetler then led a late drive culminating in a game-winning 40-yard field goal by Matt Bahr to win 20–19. The Giants' tone was subdued in their locker room after the win. "It wasn't pretty", said Taylor. "But you don't ask how to win, you just win."


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 8: Vs Washington Redskins
At home in front of 75,321 fans, the Giants played the Washington Redskins in Week 8. Each team totaled 16 first downs, four punts and five penalties, and the difference in time of possession was less than one minute. However, the Giants committed no turnovers while coercing three from the Redskins. Giants cornerback Everson Walls intercepted two passes—including one that he returned for his first career touchdown—and free safety Greg Jackson intercepted another. Walls' interception set up a Giants touchdown and a 14–0 lead in the second quarter. Jackson then intercepted a pass in the end zone in the third quarter to preserve a 14–10 lead, and Walls returned his second interception 28 yards for a touchdown that made the score 21–10 and put the game of reach in the fourth quarter.


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 9: At Indianapolis Colts
The Giants improved to 8–0 with a 24–7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in front of 56,688 in the Hoosier Dome. The Giants' defense held the Colts to 11 first downs, 181 total yards and 55 rushing yards. Simms completed 17 of 21 passes for 172 yards, with no touchdowns and was picked once, which ended his streak of 150 passes without an interception. Defensive end Leonard Marshall sacked Colts quarterback Jeff George twice, Dave Duerson returned a fumble for a touchdown and the Giants' defense held George to 160 yards passing on 37 pass attempts. The Giants controlled the game from the start, ending the first half leading 17–0, and besting the Colts 206 to 45 in total yards, 13 to 1 in first downs and 20:57 to 9:03 in time of possession.


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 10: At Los Angeles Rams
The Giants traveled to face the Los Angeles Rams on November 11, winning 31–7 in front of 64,632 fans at Anaheim Stadium and led by Simms' efficient passing. The Rams had beaten the Giants three times in the past two years, including one win in the 1989 playoffs. Although the Giants were able to sack Rams quarterback Jim Everett just twice, they limited him to 17-of-36 passing for 186 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. "It's hard to sack him", Belichick said. "But we kept the pressure on. We had the same coverage we used the last eight years. Nothing radically different."


1990 New York Giants season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11: Vs Detroit Lions
The Giants defeated the Detroit Lions 20–0 in Week 11 to improve to 10–0, and set a franchise record for wins to start to a season. Simms threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mark Ingram in the second quarter to run the score to 17–0. After the Giants kicked a field goal to make the score 20–0, the teams played a scoreless second half. The shutout was the Giants' first of the season, and coach Parcells commented, "[t]he defense played very well. The offense played well when I let them. We played conservatively in the second half. We played pretty much error-free. We didn't do anything stupid."