1998 NFL season
1998 was the last hurrah for the great quarterbacks who came into the league in the 1980s. The top four QBs [statistically] were all over 35: Vinny Testaverde, Randall Cunningham, Steve Young, and John Elway. Troy Aikman, age 32, was fifth. Dan Marino was 11th in his last good year.


1998 NFL season, Draft
The 1998 NFL Draft was held from April 17 to 18, 1998 at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback Peyton Manning from the University of Tennessee.


1998 NFL season, Referee changes
Dale Hamer and Gary Lane returned to head linesman and side judge, respectively. Tony Corrente and Ron Winter were promoted to referee.


1998 NFL season, Referee changes
Mike Pereira left the field after two seasons as a side judge to become an assistant supervisor of officials. He succeeded Jerry Seeman as Vice President of Officiating in 2001. Pereira's replacement, Terry McAulay, assumed Pereira's old position and uniform number (77). McAulay was promoted to referee in 2001 and was crew chief for three Super Bowls (XXXIX, XLIII and XLVIII).


1998 NFL season, Preseason, Hall of Fame Game
The 1998 Hall of Fame Class included Paul Krause, Tommy McDonald, Anthony Muñoz, an offensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals, Mike Singletary, a member of the Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX championship team, and Dwight Stephenson, a Pro Bowl offensive lineman with the Miami Dolphins.


1998 NFL season, Regular season, Scheduling formula
Inter-conferenceAFC East vs NFC WestAFC Central vs NFC CentralAFC West vs NFC East


1998 NFL season, Television
This was the first season that CBS held the rights to televise American Football Conference games, taking over the package from NBC. Meanwhile, this was the first time that ESPN broadcast all of the Sunday night games throughout the season (this was also the first season in which ESPN's coverage used the Monday Night Football themes, before reverting to using an original theme in 2001). This was also the first season where the late games kicked off at 4:05pm ET & 4:15pm ET (replacing the original 4:00pm ET start time), to give more time to finish the early games before the start of the late games. The 4:15 start time would last until 2011.


1998 NHK Trophy
The 1998 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 1998–99 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. It was held at the Makomanai Ice Arena in Sapporo on December 2–6. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 1998–99 Grand Prix Final.


1998 NHL Entry Draft
The 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the 36th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 27 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. A total of 258 players were drafted.


1998 NHL Entry Draft, Selections by round
Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.


1998 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1998 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 1998–99 season, the Nashville Predators. The draft took place on June 26, 1998, in Buffalo, New York, U.S.


1998 NHL Expansion Draft, Rules
The Predators were to select 26 players, one from each of the 26 existing franchises at the time of the draft.


1998 NHL Expansion Draft, Rules
First- and second-year pros were exempt from being selected in the draft. Each of the 26 franchises in the league were allowed to protect either one goaltender, five defensemen and nine forwards or two goaltenders, three defensemen and seven forwards.


1998 NHL Expansion Draft, Rules
Of the unprotected players, each franchise had to include at least one forward and one defenseman who appeared in 40 games in the 1997–98 season. Each franchise also had to include at least one goaltender who appeared in 10 games in the 1997–98 season, and a minimum of 25 games since the 1995–96 season. These minimums for goaltenders were put into place in order to avoid manipulation of rosters, such as what occurred before the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft, which weakened the talent pool available in the draft.


1998 NHL Expansion Draft, Rules
This draft was interesting in that some of the players the Predators chose (e.g. Mike Richter and Uwe Krupp) were set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, just days after the draft. The Predators knew they would have little chance to sign these players; however, they received a compensatory pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft for each player they "lost".


1998 NHL Expansion Draft, Draft results
These results are numbered 1–26 for aesthetic purposes, but the players were not necessarily chosen in this order. As the Predators were the only team participating in the draft, the order is inconsequential.


1998 NHL Expansion Draft, Deals
In return for agreeing not to select certain unprotected players, the Predators were granted concessions by other franchises. The trades not involving Nashville draft picks all officially were booked as being for "future considerations":


1998 NHL Expansion Draft, Post-draft
Several of the players selected by the Predators in the Expansion Draft did not stay with the team long after the draft. Among those moved before the start of the 1998–99 season were the following:


1998 NLL season
Before the 1998 season, the Major Indoor Lacrosse League was renamed to be the National Lacrosse League, in the process increasing the length of the regular season from ten to twelve games. The first season as the NLL and the 12th season overall, began on January 3, 1998, and concluded with the second championship game on April 28. The championship was decided by a best-two-of-three series, with the Philadelphia Wings defeating the Baltimore Thunder 16-12 in the first game and 17-12 in the second.


1998 NLL season, Team movement
The 1998 season featured the debut of two new teams, and the removal of one. The Boston Blazers folded after nine seasons in Boston and New England, while the Ontario Raiders and Syracuse Smash began play.


1998 NLL season, Regular season
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


1998 NLL season, Awards, Weekly awards
Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.


1998 NLL season, Awards, Monthly awards
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie. The 1998 season was the first season that the Rookie of the Month award was given out.


1998 NLL season, Statistics leaders
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.


1998 NRL Grand Final
The 1998 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1998 NRL season. It was the first grand final of the re-unified National Rugby League and featured minor premiers and the previous year's Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos against the Canterbury Bulldogs, who had finished the regular season 9th (out of 20) to make a top-ten play-off grouping. It was to be the first grand final under the National Rugby League partnership's administration and the last to be played at the Sydney Football Stadium.


1998 NRL Grand Final
It was also the first time these two sides had met in a grand final. Brisbane scored first but by half time trailed the Bulldogs 10–12. However, the Broncos scored 28 unanswered points in the second half, winning 12–38 and equaling the second highest score for a team in grand final history.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Background
The 1998 NRL season was the 91st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League (NRL). The 1998 Grand final's teams had played each other twice during the regular season, the Broncos winning both times. Also having won three of the past six grand finals compared with Canterbury's one meant Brisbane went into the match as unbackable favourites.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Background, Brisbane Broncos
The 1998 Brisbane Broncos season was the eleventh in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Allan Langer, they started the season as defending Super League (Australia) premiers and posted their three biggest-ever wins in Rounds 5, 7 and 15 before finishing the regular season as minor premiers. After losing their first finals match, the Broncos won the next two to qualify for the grand final.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Background, Canterbury Bulldogs
The 1998 Canterbury Bulldogs season was the 64th in the club's history. Coached by Steve Folkes and captained by Darren Britt, they finished the regular season 9th (out of 20) before winning all four of their finals matches to reach the grand final.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details
With the Bulldogs having last won a premiership in 1995 and the Broncos in 1997, most players in both sides had grand final experience. Despite good weather, the attendance of 40,857 was the lowest seen at the Sydney Football Stadium for a grand final since 1989.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, First half
The Broncos kicked off and in only the third minute of the match, a tackle on Willie Talau twenty metres out from Canterbury's line saw the ball come loose. It was kicked ahead by Brisbane winger and last-minute inclusion (due to Michael Hancock's finger injury) Michael De Vere, who won the chase into the left side of the in-goal where he dived on it for the game's first points. Darren Lockyer converted to give Brisbane a 6–0 lead.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, First half
A few minutes later the Broncos were denied a try in the same corner when Renouf caught a stray Kevin Walters pass to dive over, with video re-plays showing that the ball only appeared to travel forward because it was struck by a Canterbury defender. By the eleventh minute, the Bulldogs had made it down to Brisbane's line and got a penalty in front of the goal posts. They opted to go for the kick and Daryl Halligan brought the score back to 6–2.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, First half
The Broncos withstood further pressure on their line until Tony Grimaldi forced his way over under the posts in the twenty-second minute. Daryl Halligan converted Grimaldi's try to give Canterbury an 8–6 lead. Bulldogs prop Troy Stone had to leave the field at this point with a broken arm, but would return ten minutes later with a guard on it to play the rest of the match.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, First half
Five minutes later, the Broncos had the ball down at the other end of the field and after moving it quickly through the hands from the left hand side of the field out to the right, Kevin Campion forced his way over in the corner. Lockyer's attempted conversion from the sideline missed but the Broncos were back in front 10–8. Canterbury struck back a few minutes later when Steve Price stepped through an opening twenty-five metres out and gave the ball to Willie Talau to dive over on the right side, regaining the lead. Halligan missed his kick so the score was 10–12 in favour of the Bulldogs. No more points were scored before the break.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Second half
Less than two minutes into the second half, Brisbane's Tonie Carroll crossed under the posts for Brisbane's third try, with Darren Lockyer converting to give Brisbane back the lead at 16–12. Eight minutes later Brisbane were in the centre of the field when Allan Langer threw a short pass inside to Steve Renouf who raced through into open space. He was tackled on the twenty-metre line but as the Bulldogs defence scrambled to get back, the Broncos kept it moving, the ball going out to Wendell Sailor who dived over in the right corner.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Second half
Lockyer's kick from the sideline missed so Brisbane led 20–12. In the fifty-seventh minute, Allan Langer put a kick down field and Daryl Halligan picked the ball up in his own in-goal and he made it five metres into the field of play only to be forced back into goal by the Broncos chasers. Shortly after that, Brisbane seemed to have the game wrapped up when Gorden Tallis at dummy-half feigned passing and from close range forced his way over the try line under the posts.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Second half
With Darren Lockyer converting, this gave Brisbane a 26–12 lead with twenty minutes of the match remaining. The Broncos' next try came in the sixty-ninthth minute after getting a penalty down close to the Bulldogs' line near the left corner, taking the tap and passing it quickly through the hands out to the right side where Phillip Lee, the only Bronco to be playing in his first Grand Final, ran through a gap to crash over. Lockyer kicked the extras so Brisbane led 32–12.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Second half
In the seventy-fifth minute Brisbane, after playing the ball on their own twenty-metre line, got the ball to Langer who put a charging Tonie Carroll through a gap and into open space. Carroll ran forty metres before passing back in for Darren Smith, bound for Canterbury the following season, to run the remaining thirty-five to the try-line. Lockyer converted so the final score was 38–12.


1998 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Second half
The Clive Churchill Medal for man-of-the-match was awarded to Gorden Tallis. The victory also kept intact Brisbane's winning record in Grand Finals with four from four. It was the second time that the Broncos had won back-to-back premierships, having done so in 1992–93 as well. No World Club Challenge was played between the 1998 NRL and Super League champions.


1998 NRL season
The 1998 NRL season was the 91st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League (NRL). After the 1997 season, in which the Australian Rugby League and Super League organisations ran separate competitions parallel to each other, they joined to create a reunited competition in the NRL.


1998 NRL season
The first professional rugby league club to be based in Victoria, the Melbourne Storm was introduced into the League, and with the closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western Reds and South Queensland Crushers, twenty teams competed for the premiership, which culminated in the 1998 NRL grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury Bulldogs.


1998 NRL season, Pre-season
The National Rugby League was formed after an agreement was reached between the two rivaling competitions from 1997, the Australian Rugby League and the Super League. In December 1997, the two parties formed a joint board to run the new Australian rugby league club competition. The vast majority of the 22 clubs that contested in 1997 across the split competitions also contested the first season of the National Rugby League, with the exception of the Hunter Mariners, the Western Reds and South Queensland.


1998 NRL season, Pre-season
The National Rugby League imposed a $3M salary cap on each of the clubs.


1998 NRL season, Pre-season, Advertising
Super League's ad agency VCD in Sydney successfully kept the account post-reunification. The 1998 ad featured the song "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba with its theme of rising against adversity:


1998 NRL season, Pre-season, Advertising
There was no visual performance of the song in the ad which returned to the standard rugby league imagery of big hits and crunching tackles to accompany the track.


1998 NRL season, Teams
The closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western Reds and South Queensland Crushers, and the introduction of the Melbourne Storm meant that a total of twenty clubs contested the 1998 Premiership. Eleven of these clubs were from Sydney, but an agreement between the Australian Rugby League and Super League meant that many of these clubs were in danger of being cut from the competition by the 2000 season when, it was decided, only 14 clubs would be invited to contest the premiership.


1998 NRL season, Teams
2nd seasonGround: Adelaide Oval → Hindmarsh StadiumCoach: Rod Reddy → Dean LanceCaptain: Kerrod Walters


1998 NRL season, Teams
4th seasonGround: Stockland StadiumCoach: Tim SheensCaptain: Ian Roberts & John Lomax


1998 NRL season, Teams
91st seasonGround: Sydney Football StadiumCoach: Steve Martin → Craig ColemanCaptain: Sean Garlick


1998 NRL season, Regular season
Rounds 5 and 7: Brisbane Broncos set a new record for their biggest win, firstly 58-4 against North Queensland Cowboys, then 60-6 against North Sydney Bears, both games being played at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre. Round 8: 1997 ARL premiers, the Newcastle Knights played the 1997 Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane won 26-6 in Newcastle before a crowd of 27,119, cementing their position at the top of the ladder.


1998 NRL season, Regular season
Round 12: The record for the biggest comeback in premiership history was re-set by the North Queensland Cowboys who trailed 26–0 at half-time and came back to beat the Penrith Panthers 36–28. Round 24: Ivan Cleary's tally of 284 points set a new individual record for most points scored in a season in Australian club rugby league history; it has since been beaten.


1998 NRL season, Finals series
The biggest surprise of the season was when the Melbourne Storm finished 3rd after the regular season in their first ever year, only to be knocked out by the Brisbane Broncos in the Semi Final. The Canterbury Bulldogs became the lowest placed team ever to make the Grand Final, after finishing 9th after the regular season. Canterbury-Bankstown did it tough though, coming from 16 points down twice in as many weeks. They came from 16-0 down to win 28-16 against the Newcastle Knights in the Semi Final, then 18-2 down with 11 minutes to go to make it 18-18 after regulation time, then going on to win 32-20 in extra time against arch-rivals the Parramatta Eels in the Preliminary Final.


1998 NRL season, Finals series, Grand final
The 1998 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1998 NRL season. It was the first grand final of the re-unified National Rugby League and featured minor premiers and the previous year's Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos against the Canterbury Bulldogs, who had finished the regular season 9th (out of 20) to make a top-ten play-off grouping.


1998 NRL season, Finals series, Grand final
It was to be the first grand final under the National Rugby League partnership's administration and the last to be played at the Sydney Football Stadium. It was also the first time these two sides had met in a grand final. Brisbane scored first but by half time trailed the Canterbury club 10–12. However, Brisbane scored 28 unanswered points in the second half, winning 12–38 and equaling the second highest score for a team in grand final history.


1998 NRL season, Finals series, Grand final
Wendell Sailor, Gorden Tallis, Phil Lee, Darren Smith5 Goals:Darren Lockyer (5/7)


1998 NRL season, Post season
Brisbane's consistent dominance over other teams at this period of time contributed to the National Rugby League's plans to cut the number of teams down to 14 in order to ensure competitiveness and the long-term financial success of the game.


1998 NRL season, Post season
Despite the inclusion of "national" in the new competition's name, both the Gold Coast and Adelaide clubs folded at the end of the 1998 season. A new Gold Coast side re-entered the competition nine years later in 2007.


1998 NRL season, Post season
1998 was the last season for the seventy-eight-year-old St. George Dragons and seventeen-year-old Illawarra Steelers clubs, which merged to form the NRL's first joint-venture team at the conclusion of the season, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, for inclusion in the 1999 Premiership.


1998 Nabisco Dinah Shore
The 1998 Nabisco Dinah Shore was a women's professional golf tournament, held March 26–29 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. This was the 27th edition of the Nabisco Dinah Shore, and the sixteenth as a major championship.


1998 Nabisco Dinah Shore
Pat Hurst won her only major title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Helen Dobson. At the final green, she sank a 5-foot (1.5 m) putt for par and gained her second tour victory.


1998 Nabisco Dinah Shore
At 6,460 yards (5,907 m), the course was the longest on the LPGA Tour in 1998.


1998 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
Elections to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly were held in February 1998 to elect members of the 60 constituencies in Nagaland, India. The Indian National Congress won a majority of the seats and S. C. Jamir was re-appointed as the Chief Minister of Nagaland. The number of constituencies was set as 60 by the recommendation of the Delimitation Commission of India.


1998 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
Regional parties like the Naga People's Front did not contest these elections, and they were joined by the Bharatiya Janata Party in this action. In 43 of the constituencies, the INC candidate was the sole candidate and hence was declared the winner without a poll. In the other 17 constituencies, the INC candidate had to compete with one or more Independents. The Independents managed to win 7 of these seats.


1998 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election, Background
In 1997, the NSCN(I-M) signed a ceasefire agreement with the government. The agreement ensured that while the government would not push for counter-insurgency operations against the NSCN (I-M) cadre and its leadership, the rebels on their part would not target armed forces. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland and the Naga Hoho, (a tribal body), then demanded that upcoming elections should be postponed till the conclusion of the peace talks. Since the Election Commission wasn't amenable to their arguments, they called for a boycott of the polls even issuing threats to the various political parties where necessary.


1998 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election, Government Formation
On 5 March, S. C. Jamir was sworn in as the Chief Minister, by the Governor Om Prakash Sharma, for his second successive term. In addition, 11 other members of the Legislative assembly were sworn in as ministers in the cabinet. These included the future Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio, who was made the Home minister.


1998 Namibian local and regional elections
Namibia held two subnational elections in 1998. Local Authority Council elections were held on 16 February 1998. Regional Council elections were held from 30 November to 1 December 1998.


1998 Namibian local and regional elections, Results, Regional Councils
A total of 738,870 voters were registered, but 204,592 were in uncontested constituencies.


1998 NatWest Trophy
The 1998 NatWest Trophy was the 18th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 24 June and 5 September 1998. The tournament was won by Lancashire County Cricket Club who defeated Derbyshire County Cricket Club by 9 wickets in the final at Lord's. This was the final version of the tournament to be played with 60 overs per side.


1998 NatWest Trophy, Format
The 18 first-class counties, were joined by eleven Minor Counties:  Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Devon, Dorset, Herefordshire, Norfolk, Staffordshire and Wales Minor Counties. The Ireland national cricket team, Scotland national cricket team and the Netherlands national cricket team 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 5 September 1998. The opening round of fixtures saw Scotland beat Worcestershire.


1998 National Camogie League
The 1998 National Camogie League, the second most important elite level inter-county competition in the women's team field sport of camogie was won by Cork, who defeated Galway in the final, played at Ballinasloe. It was the last National League to be played with 12-a-side.


1998 National Camogie League, Arrangements
Galway beat Kilkenny 3-10 to 1-13 in the semi-final on May 24. They fell behind 1-1 to nil before two goals from Sharon Glynn and a third by Ann Forde after Glynn's pass Helped them to a first-ever victory over Kilkenny in camogie at Nowlan Park.


1998 National Camogie League, The Final
Cork's victory in the final was largely due to the accuracy of veteran Lynn Dunlea who scored 12-12 in what was an outstanding individual performance. > Galway took the lead with ten minutes to go for the first time from a Sharon Glynn pointed thirty, but it did not last long as Cork's Fiona O'Driscoll equalised before Lynn Dunlea scored a well worked goal after a pass from substitute Caoimhe Harrington. Galway lost midfielder Carmel Hannon during the first half when she injured her leg in a fall. Sharon Glynn and Vivienne Harris became the first camogie players to be sent off in a National League final when they were red carded following a tussle.


1998 National Camogie League, Division 2
The Junior National League, known since 2006 as Division Two, was won by Down who defeated Cork intermediates in the final at Ballincollig on June 1. Down beat Tipperary 4-12 to 1-10 and Cork beat Galway 3-10 to 1-9 in the semi-finals.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game took place at General Motors Place in Vancouver, home to the Vancouver Canucks, on January 18, 1998.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game, The International Showdown
The 48th game was held in the very same year as the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, providing the NHL to show its players from all over the world. To this extent, the NHL had the all-star teams consist of a team of North Americans playing against a team of stars from the rest of the world. These provisions only applied to the players – coaches were still be selected based on which teams were the best from each conference at the time of the break. This was the last All-Star Game to feature Honorary Captains and Commissioner's Selections system that began in the 1985 and 1991 games respectively.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game, The International Showdown
The Canadian Hockey Association took the all-star weekend as a way of assembling their team as a tuneup for the Olympics by inviting all 23 of its players and immersing them in what they would see at the Olympics. As the 1998 Olympics also featured the first-ever Olympic women's hockey tournament, an exhibition game between the Canadian national women's hockey team and the American national women's hockey team was also scheduled as part of the all-star festivities. 14,000 people watched the game, making it the highest attended women's hockey game in the sport's history to that time.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game, The International Showdown
The weekend also saw its usual share of radical ideas and for various hockey persons to vent out their frustrations: most notably, Bob Clarke used it as a way of trying to convince others not to use the neutral zone trap, a system of defensive play. As the NHL was being outclassed in terms of revenue by other major sports, some such as Bob Gainey also proposed to change the rules so that a game consisted of four 15-minute quarters rather than three 20-minute periods, an idea that proved unpopular. Others vented their frustrations about the poor ice quality found in certain arenas, especially in the South, where the ice could melt easily.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Super Skills Competition
The World All-Stars won the first Super Skills Competition in the new International All-Star format. In the individual events Ray Bourque, Peter Forsberg and Brendan Shanahan would share the victory in the Accuracy Shooting event. Al MacInnis won his second-straight and fourth all-time Hardest Shot event, while Dominik Hasek won his second Goaltenders Competition.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Uniforms
Prior to the start of the 1997–98 season, the NHL changed its conference logos, replacing the teal and purple previously used by the Eastern and Western Conferences with burgundy and dark blue. Although the All-Star Game would not use a conference format, the uniform colors reflected the updated conference colors - which were similar to the changes in colors made by the host Canucks. The North American team wore burgundy uniforms with white and silver trim, while the World team wore white uniforms with blue and silver trim.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Uniforms
Both jerseys featured diagonal striping on the body and sleeves, resembling a stylized spotlight design. The NHL shield featured on the front of the jerseys was rendered in black with silver accents instead of the usual orange, the beginning of a trend that would culminate in the redesign of the shield in 2005.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Uniforms
Following from the previous uniform design, players wore the All-Star Game patch on their right shoulder, and their team logo on their left shoulder. In addition, to mark the new international format of the game, players wore the flag of their country of origin on their right upper chest. The uniform design would be used again in the next All-Star Game in Tampa.


1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game, The game
The North America All-Stars overcame a 3–0 deficit to the World All-Stars, setting the stage for the largest comeback victory in All-Star Game history in the first International showdown. Prior to the 1998 Game, no team had come back from a three-goal deficit to win. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim right winger Teemu Selanne recorded a hat-trick to become the first European player to be named All-Star MVP. Selanne also became the first player from a losing squad to receive the honour since Grant Fuhr accomplished that feat at the 1986 NHL All-Star Game.


1998 National Hurling League
The 1998 National Hurling League (known as the Church & General National Hurling League) was the 66th season of the National Hurling League.


1998 National Hurling League, Division 1
The league saw a major restructuring of the usual four divisions of eight teams. Division 1 was split into Group 1A and Group 1B with each group consisting of six teams. The top two teams in each group qualified for the knock-out stage.


1998 National Hurling League, Division 1
Limerick came into the season as defending champions of the 1997 season. Antrim, Cork, Dublin and Waterford all entered Division 1 as part of the restructuring.


1998 National Hurling League, Division 1
On 17 May 1998, Cork won the title after a 2-14 to 0-13 win over Waterford in the final. It was their 14th league title overall and their first since 1992-93.


1998 National Hurling League, Division 1
Cork's Joe Deane was the Division 1 top scorer with 3-30.


1998 National Hurling League, Division 2
The league saw a major restructuring of the usual four divisions of eight teams. Division 2 was split into Group 2A and Group 2B with each group consisting of seven teams. The top two teams in each group qualified for the knock-out stage.


1998 National Hurling League, Division 2
Armagh, Carlow, Derry, Down, Kildare, Louth, Monaghan, Roscommon, Tyrone and Wicklow all entered Division 1 as part of the restructuring.


1998 National Hurling League, Division 2
On 25 July 1998, Kerry won the title after a 1-11 to 2-6 win over Westmeath in a replay of the final. It was their 5th Division 2 league title overall and their first since 1967-68.


1998 National Invitation Tournament
The 1998 National Invitation Tournament was the 1997 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Minnesota's tournament victory was vacated as a result of numerous NCAA violations, including academic fraud, that took place under coach Clem Haskins. Kevin Clark also vacated his tournament Most Valuable Player award.


1998 National Invitation Tournament, Selected teams
Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.


1998 National Invitation Tournament, Bracket
Below are the four first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.


1998 National Invitation Tournament, Bracket, Semifinals & Finals
Minnesota later forfeited its entire 1997–98 schedule due to an  academic fraud scandal.


1998 National League Championship Series
The 1998 National League Championship Series (NLCS), to determine the champion of Major League Baseball's National League, was played from October 7 to 14 between the East Division champion Atlanta Braves and the West Division champion San Diego Padres.


1998 National League Championship Series
The Braves entered the playoffs for the seventh straight season with a franchise-record 106 regular season wins, an offense that hit 215 home runs, and a pitching staff made up of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle, and Kevin Millwood to the playoffs. The lowest win total for any of these five pitchers was Neagle at 16-11, with the other four winning 17, 17, 18, and 20 respectively. However, they also carried the baggage of their embarrassing NLCS loss to the Florida Marlins the previous season. In the NLDS, the Braves swept Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs.


1998 National League Championship Series
After a 76–86 season in 1997, San Diego stormed out and took control of their division, finishing with a 98–64 record, their best in team history. The offense was led by the 50 home run club's newest member, Greg Vaughn, and by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. The San Diego rotation was anchored by 18-game winner Kevin Brown, who helped Florida defeat Atlanta in the 1997 NLCS, along with All-Star Andy Ashby and the series MVP Sterling Hitchcock. Closer Trevor Hoffman saved an astounding 53 games in the regular season. The Padres defeated the favored Houston Astros in four games in the NLDS.


1998 National League Championship Series
It was the seventh-consecutive NLCS appearance for the Braves and they would be heavily favored against the Padres, though their edge in the season series between the two teams was modest, having won 5 of 9.


1998 National League Championship Series
The Padres would go on to the lose in a sweep to the New York Yankees in the World Series in four games.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Wednesday, October 7, 1998, at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
With John Smoltz on the mound, the Braves struck first when Andruw Jones hit a home run to lead off the third inning off Andy Ashby. The Padres tied the game in the fifth when Tony Gwynn, appearing in his first NLCS since 1984, hit an RBI single with two on. Ruben Rivera doubled to lead off the eighth, then an error by first baseman Andrés Galarraga on Jim Leyritz's ground ball off of Dennis Martinez helped San Diego take a 2–1 lead.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
In the bottom half of the inning, closer Trevor Hoffman came into the game early to end a Braves' scoring threat. However, in the ninth, the Braves got the tying run off him when Ryan Klesko, walked, moved to third on a single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jones. In the tenth, Ken Caminiti belted a home run off reliever Kerry Ligtenberg to give San Diego their winning margin. The Braves put two men on via walks in the bottom of the inning, but Galarraga flew out to end the game.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Thursday, October 8, 1998, at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
After the tightly-contested Game 1, Kevin Brown, who was developing a reputation as a "Brave killer" pitched a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts. Tom Glavine matched Brown until the sixth, when San Diego hit three straight two-out singles, the last of which by Quilvio Veras brought in a run. San Diego added two insurance runs in the ninth off of Odalis Perez. Back-to-back leadoff singles and an error by catcher Javy Lopez put runners on first and third. Steve Finley's RBI single scored a run. Then one out later with the bases loaded, Wally Joyner's RBI single scored another before Brown pitched a perfect ninth and put the Braves down two games to none.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Saturday, October 10, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
The Braves offense was held quiet again as San Diego won Game 3 and took a commanding 3–0 series lead. This was the only game won by the home team. Atlanta sent Greg Maddux to the hill and the Braves struck first in the third when Tony Graffanino drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on Maddux's sacrifice bunt and scored on Walt Weiss's single, but in the fifth, Sterling Hitchcock singled with one out, then one out later, scored on Steve Finley's double to tie the game.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
After an intentional walk, Ken Caminiti's RBI single put the Padres up 2–1. The Braves loaded the bases in the sixth with one out, but Donne Wall struck out Michael Tucker and Greg Colbrunn to end the threat. The Braves also loaded the bases in the eighth with one out, but again failed to score. In the bottom of the inning, Wally Joyner walked with two outs off of Rudy Seanez, then scored on Carlos Hernández's double. Hernandez advanced to third on an error and scored on passed ball that padded the Padres' lead to 4–1.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Trevor Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth and San Diego took Game 3 by a score of 4–1. Starter Sterling Hitchcock got the win with five innings pitched and one run allowed. Atlanta now appeared to be in an insurmountable hole—no team had ever come back from a three games to none deficit in baseball history. This was the last home postseason victory for the Padres until Game 2 of the 2020 National League Wild Card Series.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Sunday, October 11, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
San Diego was looking for a sweep and took the first step by taking a 2–0 lead in the third. Quilvio Veras walked with one out off of Denny Neagle, then scored on Tony Gwynn's double. After a single, Gwynn scored on Jim Leyritz's single.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The Braves cut the lead to 2–1 when Keith Lockhart hit a leadoff triple and scored on Chipper Jones's single, then tied it in sixth on when Jones doubled with two outs and after a walk, scored on a Ryan Klesko RBI single, but San Diego retook the lead in the bottom of the inning when Jim Leyritz, two years removed from his crucial home run against the Braves in the 1996 World Series, hit a shot off Neagle. The Braves would refuse to go quietly, exploding for six runs in the seventh inning.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Javy López led off with a home run, followed by an Andruw Jones single that ended the night for Padres starter Joey Hamilton. Jones moved to second on Randy Myers's wild pitch, then to third on a groundout before scoring on Ozzie Guillén's single to put the Braves up 4–3. A single and walk loaded the bases Dan Miceli relieved Myers and Andrés Galarraga launched a prodigious grand slam that left Atlanta ahead 8–3. The Braves, who used six pitchers in the win, avoided the sweep.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
They also became the first team since the 1970 Cincinnati Reds to win a post-season game after being down 3 games to none in the series, and the first to do it in a League Championship Series. It had been done three previous times in a World Series (1910, 1937, and 1970), and all of those teams had subsequently lost Game 5.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Monday, October 12, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
After Atlanta's offensive outburst in Game 4 to stay alive, the Padres hoped to close out the Braves in front of their home fans in Game 5. They sent Andy Ashby to the hill against Atlanta starter John Smoltz. Ken Caminiti got things started with a two-run homer off Smoltz to give San Diego a first inning lead. Three consecutive one-out singles in the fourth cut the lead to 2–1.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Andruw Jones, who was caught stealing home in the fourth, stole second base in the fifth after singling with two outs, allowing himself to score on a Michael Tucker single to tie the game 2–2. However, John Vander Wal, who had five home runs all year, hit a two-run home run off Smoltz in the bottom of the inning after a two-out single that put San Diego back on top 4–2. After a single by Ozzie Guillén to start the seventh, manager Bruce Bochy brought starter Kevin Brown into the game. Brown retired the first three Braves he faced.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
The Padres threatened in the bottom of the seventh, but John Rocker came in for Smoltz and retired Tony Gwynn. Still holding a 4–2 lead, Brown was set to pitch the eighth for San Diego. He allowed the first two batters to reach but got Andruw Jones to pop out, bringing the Padres five outs away from a championship. Then Michael Tucker got a hold of a Brown fastball and launched a flyball to deep right center field that left the park and put Atlanta ahead 5–4.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Bochy got Brown out of the game, replacing him with Donne Wall, who walked Rocker, then one out later, Tony Graffanino doubled, scoring another run, then crossed home himself when Chris Gomez committed a throwing error on the relay. Behind 7–4 and stunned, the Padres attempted to rally in the ninth. Greg Myers belted a pinch-hit two-run homer with no one out off of Kerry Ligtenberg to make it 7–6, prompting Bobby Cox to bring in Greg Maddux in relief.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Maddux retired the side, with nemesis Tony Gwynn grounding out to finish the game, and earned his first ever career save. The save would be the only save in Maddux's career. This wild game cut San Diego's series lead to one game, and with the series returning to Atlanta with Tom Glavine set to pitch, many believed that the Braves had a serious chance of coming back. This Braves win marked the first time in baseball history that a team had come back from a three games to none (in a best of seven series) deficit to reach a Game 6.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Wednesday, October 14, 1998, at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
After Kevin Brown's disastrous outing in Game 5, he was unable to come back for Game 6, forcing the Padres to instead start Sterling Hitchcock. The Braves had become the first team to force a Game 6 after dropping the first three games, and now had only to do what had been done many times before--win the final two at home. They had the right pitchers to accomplish this, giving themselves the best shot any team could have, but Hitchcock pitched five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Glavine looked good as well, matching Hitchcock zero for zero through that point, but ran into trouble in the sixth (the same inning that had doomed him in Game 6 exactly a year to the day prior against the Florida Marlins). After back-to-back one-out singles put runners on first and third, Jim Leyritz had an RBI groundout that scored the first run before Wally Joyner added a single that made it 2–0. A single and walk loaded the bases before Sterling Hitchcock reached on a costly error by left fielder Danny Bautista that scored two more runs.


1998 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Glavine left the game and John Rocker promptly gave up an RBI single to Quilvio Veras. The unearned runs made it 5–0 and the San Diego bullpen would pitch a hitless final four innings. The Braves only managed two hits the entire game. Hitchcock, who won two games, was named the series MVP. It was their first pennant since 1984. To date, this is the Padres' most recent pennant.


1998 National League Division Series
The 1998 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 1998 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 29, and ended on Sunday, October 4, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were:


1998 National League Division Series
The Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres went on to meet in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Padres defeated the Braves four games to two to become the National League champion, and lost to the American League champion New York Yankees in the 1998 World Series.


1998 National League Division Series, Atlanta vs. Chicago, Game 1
The Braves faced the Chicago Cubs, who made it into the playoffs by beating the San Francisco Giants in a tiebreaker for the Wild Card spot and though the Cubs won the season series 6-3 including a three game sweep in Wrigley Field without NL MVP Sammy Sosa, and a two game sweep in Turner Field, the Braves proved that the post season would be different. John Smoltz pitched masterfully and Michael Tucker started the scoring with a two-run home run off Chicago starter Mark Clark. Then an Andruw Jones sacrifice fly with two on made it 3–0.


1998 National League Division Series, Atlanta vs. Chicago, Game 1
In the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Klesko put the game away with a grand slam into right field off of Matt Karchner after three walks off of Clark (one) and Felix Heredia (two walks). Clark allowed four runs, but two were unearned. The Cubs would score in the eighth off Smoltz on Tyler Houston's lead off home run. This ended Smoltz's night, but John Rocker and Kerry Ligtenberg slammed the door on Game 1.


1998 National League Division Series, Atlanta vs. Chicago, Game 2
Game 2 was a pitchers' duel. Kevin Tapani faced Tom Glavine; the two had previously faced each other in the 1991 World Series. Lance Johnson drove in the lone Chicago run in the top of the sixth on a groundout. However, leaving Tapani in to pitch the ninth ultimately cost the Cubs the game. Javy López hit the game-tying home run and Chipper Jones drove in the winning run in the tenth off Terry Mulholland with an RBI single.


1998 National League Division Series, Atlanta vs. Chicago, Game 3
Game 3 was another pitchers' duel. Greg Maddux faced Rookie of the Year Kerry Wood, hoping to keep the ship afloat for the Cubs. The Braves scored first in the top of the third when Maddux doubled and later scored on a passed ball with two outs. Wood pitched five innings and that was the only run he would allow. Maddux was masterful, carrying a shutout into the bottom of the eighth. In the top of the eighth, Gerald Williams drove in another run with an RBI single off Rod Beck after Terry Mulholland allowed a single and walk.


1998 National League Division Series, Atlanta vs. Chicago, Game 3
When Andruw Jones was intentionally walked to load the bases, Eddie Pérez belted a grand slam into left field to put the game and the series away. Maddux was lifted after giving up three straight singles in favor in Ligtenberg. Mickey Morandini's sacrifice fly and Mark Graces RBI single made it 6–2 Braves, but Ligtenberg retired the Cubs in order in the ninth. José Hernández flied to center for the final out of the series as the Braves won their first game at Wrigley Field of the season.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 1
The Astros entered the playoffs with the league's best offense and red-hot pitcher Randy Johnson, who had gone 10–1 since being traded to the Astros in a mid-season deadline deal, well rested for Game 1. However, Padres ace Kevin Brown was more than up for the challenge as he set an LDS record striking out 16 Astros in eight innings before turning the game over to all-star closer Trevor Hoffman for the save. The Padres only managed two runs, including a home run by slugger Greg Vaughn.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 1
Despite Brown's dominant performance, the game was not without its tense moments thanks to a less than perfect ninth inning. Hoffman, who had tied the NL record for saves with 53, did allow an unearned run on two hits thanks to a throwing error by third baseman Ken Caminiti. The error by the former Astro brought Houston to within one run before Hoffman slammed the door ending the game at 2–1. This was the first road postseason victory for the Padres.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 2
Shane Reynolds pitched a strong seven innings for Houston yielding only two runs and the Astros' offense showed some of its regular season league-leading form by tagging Padres' starter Andy Ashby for three runs and chasing him out of the game after only four innings. Leading 3–2 and looking to give closer Billy Wagner a little more room to work with, the Astros scored again off former Astro Donnie Wall in the bottom of the eighth inning sending Wagner to the hill with 4–2 lead.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 2
Armed with a 100 mph fastball, Wagner was 30 for 35 in save opportunities and now had a complement to his fastball in the form of a newly learned slider courtesy of teammate Randy Johnson. Nonetheless, Wagner surrendered a single to 1996 MVP Ken Caminiti, and then a pinch-hit game-tying home run to Jim Leyritz, who had done the same thing as a member of the New York Yankees to Mark Wohlers of the Braves in the 1996 World Series. Unfazed, the Astros led off the bottom of the inning with an infield single by Ricky Gutierrez off Dan Miceli.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 2
The Padres countered by bringing in closer Trevor Hoffman. After a sacrifice by catcher Brad Ausmus moved him to second base, Gutierrez stole third uncontested setting up pinch-hitter Bill Spiers to be the game's hero. Spiers delivered with a single off Hoffman and the Astros had their first postseason victory since 1986.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 3
With their Game 1 victory, the Padres had taken home-field advantage away from the favored Astros and San Diego manager Bruce Bochy was determined not to let the momentum turn in Houston's favor after Game 2, so he decided to gamble and started Game 1 starter Kevin Brown on short rest instead of lefty Sterling Hitchcock. The explosive Astros offense, being predominantly right-handed, was especially brutal on left-handed pitchers and a Game 3 win by Houston would have left the Padres facing elimination in Game 4 against Randy Johnson.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 3
Brown was opposed by fellow sinkerballer Mike Hampton of the Astros who proved to be Brown's equal. Not nearly the same unhittable master of Game 1, Brown's control was shaky from the beginning as he walked five Astros in seven innings. Still, the Astros were never able to deliver the knock-out blow and managed only one run against Brown, but were still tied going into the bottom of the seventh thanks to a solid six innings of one-run two-hit ball by Mike Hampton.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 3
In the bottom of the seventh, Jim Leyritz added yet another chapter to his resume of clutch October heroics with a go-ahead home run off Astros reliever Scott Elarton that gave the Padres a 2–1 lead. Neither team scored again and Trevor Hoffman struck out the side in the top of the ninth for the save.


1998 National League Division Series, Houston vs. San Diego, Game 4
The only game of the series that wasn't decided by one run began with veteran former Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson squaring off against 27-year-old Sterling Hitchcock who was making his first postseason start. It was Hitchcock, however, that proved dominant by striking out 11 Astros in only six innings of work while Leyritz hit his third home run in as many games to help the Padres to a 2–1 lead. With the Astros' highly touted offense rendered almost completely silent, the bullpen finally collapsed in the eighth inning as Houston pitchers surrendered four runs to the Padres leading to a 6–1 series-clinching victory for San Diego.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game
The 1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 regular season, played between the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants to determine the winner of the National League (NL) wild card. The game took place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, on September 28, 1998. The Cubs won the game 5–3, holding the Giants scoreless for the majority of the game until the Giants threatened heavily in the ninth inning and scored all three runs. As a result of the game, the Cubs qualified for the postseason and the Giants did not.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game
The game was necessary after both teams finished the season with identical win–loss records of 89–73. The Cubs won a coin flip late in the season which, by rule at the time, awarded them home field for the game. This victory advanced the Cubs to the 1998 NL Division Series (NLDS) where they were swept by the Atlanta Braves, ending the Cubs' season. Michael Jordan, a popular Chicago sportsman then ending his career with the Chicago Bulls, threw the game's ceremonial first pitch. In baseball statistics, the tie-breaker counted as the 163rd regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Background
The Cubs finished the previous season at the bottom of the NL Central division with a 68–94 record while the Giants won the NL West at 90–72, though were defeated by the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins in the NLDS. The Giants' Barry Bonds drew criticism for his postseason performance, which had been a recurring criticism dating back to his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs made several offseason acquisitions following the 1997 season including trading Doug Glanville for second baseman Mickey Morandini along with signing Jeff Blauser and Henry Rodríguez as free agents.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Background
One notable event of the 1998 season was the race for the home run title and Roger Maris' single-season record of 61 home runs between the Cubs' Sammy Sosa and the St. Louis Cardinals' Mark McGwire. McGwire ultimately won, setting a new record of 70 while Sosa closed the season with 66. Additionally, three teams finished the 1998 season within one game of one another in the race for the National League wild card: the Cubs, Giants, and New York Mets. This late-season race included a dramatic Cubs loss to the Brewers on September 23.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Background
The Cubs led 7–5 with two outs and the bases loaded for the Brewers in the bottom of the ninth inning when Brant Brown dropped a fly ball, allowing three unearned runs to score on his error and losing the Cubs the game. This loss gained notoriety for announcer and former-Cub Ron Santo's call of the final play, yelling "Oh, no!" as the final runs scored.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Background
The Mets were tied with the Cubs and Giants in the wild-card race as late in the season as September 25 at 88–72. However, the Mets lost their remaining two games and finished their season one game back of the Cubs and Giants who ended tied at 89–73. This record was also the best non-division-winning record and as such a tie-breaker was necessary to determine the wild-card winner. A coin flip on September 14 gave the Cubs home field advantage, setting Wrigley Field as the location for the game.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Background
In the event of a three-way tie the Cubs were presented with the choice to either host two home games or receive a bye and play the winner of a Mets-Giants game on the road because they had the best combined record against the Mets and Giants. Cubs' general manager Ed Lynch decided on the second option, though the choice was moot as the Mets fell out of the race. The Cubs' Steve Trachsel and the Giants' Mark Gardner were slated to start the tie-breaker on the September 28.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Game summary
The game remained scoreless in the early innings, with only two baserunners apiece for each team through the first three innings. The Giants loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the 4th inning, but Brian Johnson struck out to end the inning. The first runs of the game came in the bottom of the 5th as Henry Rodriguez singled to lead off the inning and scored on a home run by Gary Gaetti to give the Cubs a 2–0 lead. The Cubs threatened again in the next inning with singles by Lance Johnson and Sammy Sosa. Rich Rodriguez relieved Gardner, but loaded the bases with a walk to Mark Grace and allowed a single to Matt Mieske which scored two more runs and extended the Cubs' lead to 4–0. John Johnstone relieved Rodriguez and closed the inning without further scoring.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Game summary
After getting one out in the top of the 7th, Steve Trachsel allowed a single and a walk to pinch hitters Brent Mayne and Armando Ríos respectively. The Cubs double switched, bringing in Matt Karchner to relieve Trachsel and Orlando Merced to play left field. Karchner induced another out before loading the bases on a single by Shawon Dunston. Félix Heredia entered in relief of Karchner and got Barry Bonds to ground out to first base to end the inning. The Cubs further extended their lead in the bottom of the 8th inning.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Game summary
After Alvin Morman got Morandini to strike out to open the inning the Giants double switched to bring in José Mesa to pitch and Bill Mueller at third base. Mesa allowed a single to Sammy Sosa and a double to Mark Grace which advanced Sosa to third. Following a ground out Mesa threw a wild pitch while facing Gaetti and Sosa scored to make the game 5–0.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Game summary
The Giants responded in the top of the 9th, scoring their only runs of the game. Kevin Tapani allowed successive singles to Brent Mayne and Mueller to open the inning before Terry Mulholland relieved him. Stan Javier singled to score Mayne and Ellis Burks then walked to load the bases. Bonds came to bat with the bases loaded for the second time in the game and lined out to deep right field, scoring Mueller on a sacrifice fly and Javier advanced to third base. Rod Beck entered and got successive outs by Jeff Kent, which scored Javier, and Joe Carter to end the game 5–3 for the Cubs.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Aftermath
Chicago's win clinched the team's 15th postseason berth in franchise history and their first since 1989. The Cubs' presence in the postseason led several sportswriters to reference the Curse of the Billy Goat and the difficulties the Cubs' had faced since 1945. The Billy Goat story suggests that Billy Sianis cursed the Cubs after he and his goat were asked to leave game four of the 1945 World Series. The playoff berth matched the Cubs with the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, where the Cubs were swept 3 games to 0. The Cubs would have to wait another 18 years to win the National League pennant and World Series in 2016, their first NL pennant since 1945, and their first title since 1908.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Aftermath
In baseball statistics tie-breakers count as regular season games, with all events in them added to regular season statistics. For example, the Chicago Sun-Times noted that Sammy Sosa could have added to his notable home run total in the game. Sosa did add to his league-leading strikeout total with one in the 4th inning. Beck also added to his league-leading total in games played and earned his 51st save of the season which finished 2nd to Trevor Hoffman's 53 but is tied for the 9th highest single-season save total in MLB history.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Aftermath
Several Cubs and Giants won awards for their regular season performances including Rookie of the Year honors for Kerry Wood, a Silver Slugger Award for Sosa, and a Rawlings Gold Glove Award for J. T. Snow. Sosa also won the Most Valuable Player award, earning 30 out of 32 first place votes (with McGwire taking the remaining 2).


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Aftermath
Barry Bonds drew criticism after the game for his poor performance, including twice making an out with the bases loaded, with some suggesting that Bonds often played poorly in "big games". Bonds' 0–4 performance with an RBI and a strikeout earned him a −.186 win probability added (WPA), the lowest figure for any player in the game. WPA is a statistic which takes the game situation into account to quantify how a player altered his team's chances of winning. Bonds' figure translates into decreasing the Giants' chances of success by 18.6%.


1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game, Aftermath
The book Game of Shadows, which details Bonds' suggested use of performance-enhancing drugs (PED), argues that Bonds grew jealous and resentful of the attention Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were given during their record chase. As a result, according to Game of Shadows, Bonds turned to weight training under Greg Anderson who began providing him with steroids and other PEDs following the 1998 season.


1998 National Soccer League Grand Final
The 1998 National Soccer League Grand Final was held on 16 May 1998 between South Melbourne and Carlton SC at Olympic Park Stadium. South Melbourne gained home advantage as they won the major semi-final against them two weeks prior. John Anastasiadis scored in the ninth minute for South Melbourne as they went up 1–0 at the half time break. In the 78th minute, Marcus Stergiopoulos netted a goal for Carlton to equalise, however, an 87th minute winner from Con Boutsianis clinched the victory for South Melbourne, gifting them their third NSL championship. Fausto De Amicis won the Joe Marston Medal.


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The 33rd National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 3 January 1999, honored the best filmmaking of 1998.


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Director
1. Steven Soderbergh – Out of Sight2. Terrence Malick – The Thin Red Line2. Steven Spielberg – Saving Private Ryan


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actor
1. Nick Nolte – Affliction2. Ian McKellen – Gods and Monsters3. Brendan Gleeson – The General and I Went Down


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actress
1. Ally Sheedy – High Art2. Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth3. Fernanda Montenegro – Central Station (Central do Brasil)


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actor
1. Bill Murray – Rushmore2. Donald Sutherland – Without Limits3. Billy Bob Thornton – A Simple Plan


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actress
1. Judi Dench – Shakespeare in Love2. Patricia Clarkson – High Art3. Lisa Kudrow – The Opposite of Sex


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Screenplay
1. Scott Frank – Out of Sight2. Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard – Shakespeare in Love3. Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson – Rushmore


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Cinematography
1. John Toll – The Thin Red Line2. Janusz Kamiński – Saving Private Ryan3. Seamus Deasy – The General


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Foreign Language Film
1. Taste of Cherry (Ta'm e guilass)2. Fireworks (Hana-bi)3. The Celebration (Festen)


1998 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Non-Fiction Film
1. The Farm: Angola, USA2. Public Housing3. Little Dieter Needs to Fly


1998 Navy Midshipmen football team
The 1998 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent  during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Charlie Weatherbie.


1998 Nebelhorn Trophy
The 1998 Nebelhorn Trophy took place between August 25 and 28, 1998 at the Bundesleistungszentrum Oberstdorf. It is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain.


1998 Nebelhorn Trophy
Skaters were entered by their respective national federations, rather than receiving individual invitations as in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, and competed in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The Fritz-Geiger-Memorial Trophy was presented to the country with the highest placements across all disciplines.


1998 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1998 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Frank Solich and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.


1998 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, After the season
First-year Head Coach Solich was new to the job title but still in his element, after having served as an assistant in varying capacities with Nebraska since 1975. Solich completed his inaugural season with a final record of 9–4 (5–3), after having lost much of the 1997 national championship team's talent to graduation. Nonetheless, Nebraska finished tied for 2nd place in the Big 12 North Division, and tied for 4th conference-wide.


1998 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, After the season
The season was concluded by #14 Nebraska falling to #5 Arizona 20–23 at the Holiday Bowl.


1998 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, After the season, NFL and pro players
The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1998 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.


1998 Nebraska gubernatorial election
The 1998 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Term limits prevented incumbent Governor Ben Nelson, a Democrat, from seeking a third term in office. Republican nominee Mike Johanns , Mayor of Lincoln, defeated Democratic nominee, attorney Bill Hoppner, an advisor to James Exon and Bob Kerrey. Johanns' margin of victory was eight points. As of 2021, this is the last gubernatorial election in Nebraska in which the margin of victory was within single digits.


1998 Nevada Wolf Pack football team
The 1998 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Nevada competed as a member of the Big West Conference (BWC). The Wolf Pack were led by third–year head coach Jeff Tisdel and played their home games at Mackay Stadium.


1998 Nevada Wolf Pack football team, Previous season
The Wolf Pack finished the 1997 season 5–6 and 4–1 in BWC play to finish tied in first place and did not qualify for a bowl game.


1998 Nevada gubernatorial election
The 1998 Nevada gubernatorial election occurred on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democrat Bob Miller was term limited. Republican nominee Kenny Guinn defeated Democratic nominee Jan Laverty Jones to become Governor of Nevada. This is the 1st open seat election since 1978.


1998 Nevis independence referendum
An independence referendum was held in Nevis on 10 August 1998. Although it was approved by 62% of voters, a two-thirds majority was necessary for the referendum to succeed. If it had passed, Nevis would have seceded from the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.


1998 New Brunswick Liberal Association leadership election
The New Brunswick Liberal Association held a leadership election in 1998 to replace former leader and premier Frank McKenna, the elected leader would become Premier of New Brunswick replacing the interim leader of the Liberals Ray Frenette. Camille Thériault defeated rivals Greg Byrne and Bernard Richard on the first ballot of the convention held in Saint John.


1998 New Brunswick Liberal Association leadership election, Candidates, Non candidates
The following candidates were rumoured to be considering runs but did not enter the race.


1998 New Caledonian Nouméa Accord referendum
A referendum on the Nouméa Accord was held in New Caledonia on 8 November 1998. It was approved by 71.85% of voters. The proportion of voters in favour was highest in the Loyalty Islands (where turnout was lowest) and lowest in the South Province (where turnout was highest).


1998 New Caledonian Nouméa Accord referendum, Background
After the rejection of independence in the 1987 referendum and the subsequent Ouvéa cave hostage taking in April and May 1988, the Matignon Agreements signed in June 1988 (and approved in a France-wide referendum) provided for another referendum in the territory in 1998. The Nouméa Accord was subsequently agreed on 5 May 1998, and provided for a gradual transfer of powers to the New Caledonian authorities.


1998 New Caledonian Nouméa Accord referendum, Results
Do you approve the Accord on New Caledonia signed in Nouméa on 5 May 1998?


1998 New England 200
The 1998 New England 200 was the fifth round of the 1998 Indy Racing League. The race was held on June 28, 1998, at the 1.058 mi (1.703 km) New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. It would be the last Indy car race held at this track until the 2011 MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225.


1998 New England 200, Report, Qualifying
Two laps qualifying. The worst lap from any of the drivers were not published, and therefore are unknown.


1998 New England 200, Report, Race
A NASCAR Modified race preceding the IRL race left a very slippery type of marbles in the surface. After Jeff Ward had jumped polesitter Billy Boat on the start, Kenny Bräck spun in turn 3 on the first lap and collected John Paul, Jr. Bräck was able to continue after repairs, but Paul was out. Immediately after that incident, Jack Hewitt lost the back end exiting turn 4 and backed into the front stretch wall. Scott Sharp jumped Ward on the restart until he chose to pit under caution (caused by J. J. Yeley's crash) on lap 27, handing the lead back to Ward.


1998 New England 200, Report, Race
This series of closely spaced yellows continued when Boat, who had been falling back, spun into the infield in turn 2. After the green on lap 32, Ward continued to lead until he was black flagged with fire coming out from under the car on lap 55. Scott Goodyear inherited the lead and looked very strong, pursued by Buddy Lazier and Davey Hamilton, who had set the fast lap of the race, but his chances were hurt when he was penalised for speeding in the pits during a caution on lap 77. Pit stops jumbled the running order and left Tony Stewart, Sharp, Arie Luyendyk and Eliseo Salazar pursuing Goodyear.


1998 New England 200, Report, Race
On lap 92, Stewart caught and passed Goodyear, just before a big crash in turn 2 on lap 95. Yeley, just returned to the track after extensive repairs, spun and contacted Donnie Beechler, who had been moving up through the field. Boat spun to avoid the wreck, but his car spun unexpectedly towards the inside, and he was hit by Raul Boesel. All four were out and Boat suffered a broken thigh, an injury that would force him to miss some races and end his championship hopes.


1998 New England 200, Report, Race
There were no further cautions in the second half of the race, which was dominated by Stewart. His biggest threats suffered misfortune: Sharp's engine stalled during a pit stop on lap 147, while Goodyear suffered a gearbox failure and was forced to run in fourth gear. Despite concern about the engine blowing (it could be heard hitting the rev limiter quite notably on the onboards), it held through the end of the race, and even the Canadian was able to reel in Stewart in traffic, but could not follow him in clear runs. Stewart led the final 36 laps to win over Goodyear, Sharp, Hamilton, and Luyendyk. Salazar's sixth-place finish was the best to date for the Riley & Scott chassis. Poor attendance at the event for the fifth year in a row led to the contract not being renewed for 1999.


1998 New England Patriots season
The 1998 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League and the 39th overall. They finished with a 9–7 record, good for fourth place in the division but also a playoff berth; they lost in the first round to the Jacksonville Jaguars.


1998 New England Patriots season
In the offseason, the Patriots tendered restricted free agent running back Curtis Martin with the highest possible tender, which would return the Patriots first- and third-round draft picks if any team were to sign him and the Patriots were to decide not to match the offer.


1998 New England Patriots season
Fueling the rivalry between the two teams, the New York Jets and head coach Bill Parcells, who had resigned from the Patriots two years earlier, signed Martin, the 1995 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and per restricted free agency rules ceded their first- and third-round picks in the 1998 NFL Draft to the Patriots. With the first-round pick the Patriots selected another running back Robert Edwards, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign.


1998 New England Patriots season
Suffering a broken finger in November, veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe was unable to start the team's final two regular season games and was replaced by Scott Zolak. With a 9–7 record the Patriots finished fourth in the AFC East but earned a sixth seed in the AFC playoffs. With Zolak still at the helm, the Patriots were defeated on the road by the Jacksonville Jaguars, the second straight playoff defeat for second-year head coach Pete Carroll, and is one of only two games the Patriots have ever lost to the Jaguars, the second being in 2018.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
The Peyton Manning/New England Patriots rivalry kicked off with a 29–6 rout of Manning's Colts. Ty Law ran back a first-quarter interception 59 yards for the game's first touchdown, while Terry Glenn's three-yard catch and Robert Edwards' one-yard run went with three field goals by future Colt Adam Vinatieri for the Pats. Torrance Small caught a touchdown from Manning in the final five minutes for the only score by the Colts. Manning ended the day with three picks returned for 71 yards.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
In their final season using the team nickname "Oilers", the future Tennessee Titans put on a hard challenge for the Patriots, as Eddie George rushed for 100 yards and caught a 22-yard touchdown from Steve McNair. Al Del Greco and Adam Vinatieri exchanged field goals in the first half and the game lead tied or changed seven times before Lawyer Milloy picked off McNair for a 30-yard fourth-quarter touchdown sealing a 27–16 Patriots win.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
Two seasons since losing Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans the Patriots made their first trip to the Louisiana Superdome; coincidentally, the coach they were facing was the one who'd crushed them in Super Bowl XX in that same building – Mike Ditka. Drew Bledsoe overcame three interceptions and led the Patriots to a 27–24 lead in the game's final four minutes.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
On a Patriots punt Tebucky Jones of the Patriots tried to down the ball before it went into the endzone; Earl Little of the Saints grabbed it in the endzone but as he went to his knees his teammate Andre Hastings yanked it out of his hands and returned the kick 76 yards, setting up the tying field goal with 1:29 left in regulation. Bledsoe then led the Patriots downfield and Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal with three seconds left in a 30–27 Patriots win.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
Several days before this Monday Night Football matchup came word that team owner Robert Kraft had secured a stadium deal in Hartford, Connecticut for 2001 (a deal subsequently aborted when a deal to build Gillette Stadium was completed). Though the fanbase was displeased, their support for the team didn't waver even as the Patriots fell behind 23–19 with 3:22 left in the fourth after a Karim Abdul-Jabbar rushing touchdown.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
On the ensuing Patriots possession, Bledsoe completed a first-down pass on fourth and ten, but later broke the index finger on his throwing hand after striking Todd Rucci's helmet; on another fourth-and-ten on the Dolphins 35-yard-line coach Pete Carroll tried to call timeout, but the Patriots didn't see him and Bledsoe completed the first-down throw to Ben Coates. He then found Shawn Jefferson for the game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds remaining, in a 26–23 Patriots final score.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
Local hero Doug Flutie made his first visit to Foxboro Stadium since his days as Patriots quarterback, where he'd won all five starts there. Directing the Bills he threw for 339 yards and rushed for 30 more, leading the Bills to a 21–17 lead in the game's final minute. From there, and despite still nursing a broken finger on his throwing hand, Drew Bledsoe led the Patriots downfield and completed a fourth-down throw to the Bills 26 to Shawn Jefferson with six seconds remaining.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
There was a referee conference after the play regarding the spot of the ball, at which point one of the referees was heard to say "just give it to them", in reference to the first down. Bledsoe threw for the endzone on the next play but the ball fell incomplete; the Bills were flagged for pass interference, extending the game by one untimed down, and from the one-yard line Bledsoe lofted a play-action pass to Ben Coates for the winning touchdown.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
The disgusted Bills (who felt Jefferson was out of bounds on the catch at the 26) went to the locker room even though the extra point still had to be kicked; Adam Vinatieri thus ran in an unopposed two-point conversion for a 25–21 Patriots win, the first career loss in Foxboro for Flutie. The NFL later stated that the game-extending pass interference call was an erroneous decision by the referees.


1998 New England Patriots season, Notable games
Drew Bledsoe's season ended in a 32–18 loss at St. Louis. Bledsoe played the entire game other than several series to get the splint on his broken finger replaced; he completed only 11 of 35 passes; a pass in the first quarter bounced off Lovett Purnell and was intercepted by Todd Lyght. Scott Zolak was sacked and fumbled to former Patriot Ray Agnew. The game was costly for both teams as Terry Glenn and Rams quarterback Tony Banks were lost to injuries.


1998 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
The 1998 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of New England Division of the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In its 27th and final year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled a 4–7 record (3–5 against conference opponents) and finished in a tie for third place in the New England Division.


1998 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
The 1998 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Governor Jeanne Shaheen won re-election.


1998 New Mexico Lobos football team
The 1998 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 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Rocky Long, the Lobos compiled a 3–9 record (1–7 against WAC opponents) and were outscored by a total of 397 to 274.


1998 New Mexico Lobos football team
The team's statistical leaders included Graham Leigh with 2,608 passing yards, Lennox Gordon with 571 rushing yards, and Martinez Williams with 760 receiving yards and 42 points scored.


1998 New Mexico State Aggies football team
The 1998 New Mexico State Aggies football team was an American football team that represented New Mexico State University in the Big West Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Tony Samuel, the Aggies compiled a 3–8 record. The team played its home games at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.


1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election
The 1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election was a contest to elect the next Governor of New Mexico. The winner of the election would serve a term from January 1, 1999 until January 1, 2003. Incumbent Republican (now Libertarian) Governor Gary Johnson was re-elected to a second term. As of 2019, this is the last time a non-Hispanic was elected Governor of New Mexico.


1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election
In his campaign, Johnson promised to continue the policies of his first term: improving schools; cutting state spending, taxes, and bureaucracy; and frequent use of his veto and line-item veto power. Fielding a strong Hispanic candidate in a 40% Hispanic state, the Democrats were expected to oust Johnson, but Johnson won by a margin of 55% to 45%. This made him the first governor of New Mexico to serve two successive four-year terms after term limits were expanded to two terms in 1991. Johnson made the promotion of a school voucher system a "hallmark issue" of his second term.


1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election, Campaign
In his campaign, Johnson promised to continue the policies of his first term: improving schools; cutting state spending, taxes, and bureaucracy; and frequent use of his veto and line-item veto power. Fielding a strong Hispanic candidate in a 40% Hispanic state, the Democrats were expected to oust Johnson, but Johnson won by a margin of 55% to 45%. This made him the first governor of New Mexico to serve two successive four-year terms after term limits were expanded to two terms in 1991. Johnson made the promotion of a school voucher system a "hallmark issue" of his second term.


1998 New Orleans Saints season
The 1998 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 32nd as a member of the National Football League (NFL).


1998 New Orleans Saints season
The Saints failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, and after a promising start of 3–0 only equalled their 6–10 record of the previous season. In the process the Saints lost to the 0–7 Carolina Panthers and were to follow this up the following season against the expansion Browns to become the only team since the NFL/AFL merger to lose to the last winless team in successive seasons.


1998 New Orleans mayoral election
The New Orleans mayoral election of 1998 was held on February 7, 1998, and resulted in the reelection of incumbent Marc Morial to a second term as Mayor of New Orleans.


1998 New Orleans mayoral election
Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential 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, no run-off was needed as Morial won over 50% of the vote in the first round.


1998 New Orleans mayoral election
Marc Morial won an easy re-election, with the widest margin of victory in a New Orleans election in several decades. Neither of his opponents - lawyer Kathleen Cresson and arts store manager Paul Borrello - were particularly well-known. With the re-election of the popular Morial widely seen as a foregone conclusion months before election day, the race met with unusual apathy among the city's media and electorate. Debates were not televised, no polls were commissioned, and only 41% of New Orleans electors bothered to vote.


1998 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1998 for the United Kingdom, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis were announced on 30 December 1997, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1998. The New Year Honours for New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1997.


1998 New Year Honours
The Honours list is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom. Honours are split into classes ("orders") and are graded to distinguish different degrees of achievement or service, most medals are not graded. The awards are presented to the recipient in one of several investiture ceremonies at Buckingham Palace throughout the year by the Sovereign or her designated representative. The Prince of Wales and The Princess Royal have deputised for The Queen.


1998 New Year Honours
In the United Kingdom, the orders, medals and decorations are awarded by various honours committees which meet to discuss candidates identified by public or private bodies, by government departments or who are nominated by members of the public. Depending on their roles, those people selected by committee are submitted either to the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, or Secretary of State for Defence for their approval before being sent to the Sovereign for final approval. As the "fount of honour" the monarch remains the final arbiter for awards. In the case of certain orders such as the Order of the Garter and the Royal Victorian Order they remain at the personal discretion of the Queen.


1998 New Year Honours
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.


1998 New Year Honours, United Kingdom, Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is the fourth-most senior of the British Orders of Chivalry with three classes of member.


1998 New Year Honours, United Kingdom, Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George is an order of chivalry used to honour individuals who have rendered important services in relation to Commonwealth or foreign nations.


1998 New Year Honours, United Kingdom, Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms; admission remains in the personal gift of the monarch.


1998 New Year Honours, United Kingdom, Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry comprising five classes in civil and military divisions. It is the junior of the British orders of chivalry, and the largest, with over 100,000 living members worldwide. The highest two ranks of the order, the Knight/Dame Grand Cross and Knight/Dame Commander, admit an individual into knighthood or damehood allowing the recipient to use the title Sir or Dame.


1998 New Year Honours, United Kingdom, Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry, or religion.


1998 New Year Honours, United Kingdom, Royal Red Cross
The Royal Red Cross is a military decoration awarded for exceptional services in military nursing. There are two classes of medal.


1998 New Year Honours, United Kingdom, Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal (QPM) is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for distinguished service or gallantry.


1998 New Year Honours, United Kingdom, Queen's Fire Service Medal
The Queen's Fire Service Medal is awarded to members of the fire services in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations for distinguished service.


1998 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The 1998 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders, and to celebrate the passing of 1997 and the beginning of 1998. They were announced on 31 December 1997.


1998 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


1998 New York Attorney General election
The 1998 New York Attorney General election took place on November 3, 1998 along with elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Democratic challenger Eliot Spitzer unseated one-term Republican incumbent Dennis Vacco in a major upset.


1998 New York City Marathon
The 1998 New York City Marathon was the 29th running of the annual marathon race in New York City, United States, which took place on Sunday, November 1. The men's elite race was won by Kenya's John Kagwe in a time of 2:08:45 hours while the women's race was won by Italy's Franca Fiacconi in 2:25:17.


1998 New York City Marathon
A total of 31,539 runners finished the race, 22,587 men and 8952 women.


1998 New York Film Critics Circle Awards
The 64th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 1998, were announced on 16 December 1998 and given on 10 January 1999.


1998 New York Giants season
The 1998 New York Giants season was the team's 74th season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–5–1, winning only eight games and missing the playoffs.


1998 New York Giants season
One of their wins, however, came against the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in Week 15. Trailing by three late in the fourth quarter, Amani Toomer caught a deep touchdown pass from Kent Graham to give them a 20-16 lead which held when the defense stopped the Broncos on their final drive. The Broncos had not lost a game since Week 16 of the previous season, having won their last regular season game, three playoff games, Super Bowl XXXII, and the first thirteen games of the 1998 season entering the matchup with the Giants.


1998 New York Jets season
The 1998 New York Jets season was the 39th season for the team and the 29th in the National Football League. The team improved on its previous season by three games, finishing 12–4 in their second season under head coach Bill Parcells, winning their first division title since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970; the 12–4 record was also the best in Jets history. This success came just two years after the Jets’ 1–15 record in 1996.


1998 New York Jets season
The Jets earned a first-round bye, given to the two division winners with the best records, for the first time. They defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Their attempt to reach their first Super Bowl in thirty years was halted by losing in Denver when the 14–2 Broncos scored 23 unanswered points in the second half.


1998 New York Jets season
The 1998 Jets are one of only two teams in NFL history to win seven games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs.


1998 New York Jets season
Vinny Testaverde threw for 3,256 yards, 29 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions in 421 pass attempts (1.7%).


1998 New York Jets season
The title game was the Jets’ last title game appearance until 2009, although they returned to the playoffs in 2001, and qualified for the postseason four more times that decade.


1998 New York Jets season, Offseason
In the offseason, the Jets signed New England Patriots running back Curtis Martin to an offer sheet. The Patriots had offered Martin, their star running back, a tender deal that would net them a first-round pick and a third-round pick if a team signed him. Jets coach and general manager Bill Parcells, who had left New England two years prior and still harbored some bad blood with the team, offered Martin a very large contract that the Patriots were unwilling to match, further fueling the rivalry between the teams.


1998 New York Jets season, Offseason
In addition, the Jets parted ways with veteran quarterback Neil O'Donnell after two seasons and signed another veteran, Vinny Testaverde, to serve as backup to Glenn Foley. Testaverde eventually succeeded Foley as the starter and led the Jets to their division title. On defense, New York added former Miami Dolphins linebacker Bryan Cox.


1998 New York Jets season, Offseason
The offseason also saw the first major overhaul of the Jets' uniforms and logos since 1978. The team changed its primary color from kelly green to hunter green, eliminated black which had been added in 1990 as a trim color, and abandoned the solid green helmets with the modern “JETS” wordmark in favor of white helmets with two green parallel stripes down the center, as worn from 1965-77, but with a green facemask.


1998 New York Jets season, Offseason
The new primary/helmet logo resembles the 1965-77 version but is oval rather than football-shaped and has a somewhat “cleaner” appearance, with starker lines defining the word “JETS” in thick sans-serif italics in front of the “NY” in serif outline lettering, and the miniature football at bottom center. This logo was also added to the jersey front, by the player’s left shoulder. The jerseys and pants also resemble the 1963-77 uniforms, with alternating shoulder stripes, opposite-colored sleeves and TV numerals, and two green parallel stripes from hip to knee on each side.


1998 New York Liberty season
The 1998 WNBA season was the second for the New York Liberty. The Liberty finished with an 18-12 mark, but they missed the playoffs after losing a tiebreaker to the Charlotte Sting.


1998 New York Mets season
The New York Mets' 1998 season was the 37th regular season for the Mets. Like the previous season, they finished the season with a record of 88–74. Despite placing 2nd in the National League East, the Mets fell one game short of playoff contention following a catastrophic collapse during the final week of the season. They were managed by Bobby Valentine. They played home games at Shea Stadium.


1998 New York Mets season, Offseason
November 24, 1997: John Olerud was signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets.


1998 New York Mets season, Offseason
December 18, 1997: Dennis Cook was acquired from the Florida Marlins in exchange for Fletcher Bates and Scott Comer.


1998 New York Mets season, Offseason
February 6, 1998: Al Leiter and Ralph Milliard were acquired from the Florida Marlins in exchange for A. J. Burnett, Jesus Sanchez, and Robert Stratton.


1998 New York Mets season, Regular season
Despite their collapse toward the end of the season, the 1998 season was notable for the Mets due in large part to the acquisition of All-Star catcher Mike Piazza.


1998 New York Mets season, Regular season
The Mets were in need of a catcher due to an injury suffered by their own star catcher Todd Hundley, and took advantage of both Piazza's disagreement over a new contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the ongoing salary dumping by the defending World Series champion Florida Marlins; unable to negotiate a deal, the Dodgers traded Piazza to the Marlins, who turned around several days later and dealt Piazza to the Mets for outfield prospect Preston Wilson, among others.


1998 New York Mets season, Regular season
Piazza contributed a .348 average with 23 home runs and 76 RBI during his time with the Mets and once again was voted to the National League All-Star team. Hundley, meanwhile, attempted to make a move to left field when he rejoined the team but it did not work and his tenure with the Mets was over at the end of the year when he was traded to the Dodgers.


1998 New York Mets season, Regular season
John Olerud was again the hitting star for the Mets. He recorded a .354 average, the second best in all of baseball behind Larry Walker, and once again led the team with 93 RBI to go with his 22 home runs. On the pitching side, another Marlins castoff made his presence felt as Al Leiter had his career best marks as a starter. Leiter won a career high seventeen games and added a 2.47 ERA. Rick Reed continued his career renaissance by adding sixteen wins of his own.


1998 New York Mets season, Regular season, Opening Day starters
The Mets played an unforgettable opening day game at Shea Stadium on March 31 against their division rival Philadelphia Phillies. Both of them were involved in the longest scoreless opening day game in the National League and the longest one in the MLB since 1926 when the Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics 1–0 in 15 innings. The Mets won the game 1–0 in 14 innings when backup catcher Alberto Castillo delivered a full-count, two-out, pinch-hit single to right with the bases loaded off Philadelphia closer Ricky Bottalico. This was the first regular season baseball game played in New York in March.


1998 New York Mets season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1998 New York Mets season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1998 New York Mets season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1998 New York Mets season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1998 New York Mets season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts