References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1998 January 1 Death of Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (31 Grand Slams), at age 92 (born 1905). [1] [19] January 6 Barry Switzer resigns as Dallas Cowboy coach. [1] Don Sutton selected to Baseball Hall of Fame. [1] January 8 New York Giants' general manager George Young resigns to accept NFL position. [1] January 9 Boston Red Sox player Mo Vaughn pleads not guilty to drunken driving. [1] Hockey News selects Wayne Gretzky best NHL player ever. [1] January 11 AFC Championship: Denver Broncos beat Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21. [1] NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers beat San Francisco 49ers 23-10. [1] US female Figure Skating championship won by Michelle Kwan. [1] US male Figure Skating championship won by Todd Eldredge. [1] January 13 CBS pays US$4 billion to televise AFC games for eight years. [1] January 18 48th NHL All-Star Game: North America beats World 8-7 at Vancouver, BC, Canada. [1] ABL All-Star Game at Disney complex in Orlando, Florida (West beats East 102-73). [1] Boston Celtics retire Robert Parrish's #00. [1] Kelly Robbins wins Healthsouth Golf Inaugural. [1] January 22 NHL's Minnesota franchise selects the nickname Wild. [1] Rickey Henderson rejoins Oakland Athletics for fourth time. [1] World League of American Football becomes NFL East. [1] January 25 Helen Alfredsson wins Office Depot LPGA tournament. [1] Super Bowl XXXII: The Denver Broncos become the first AFC team in 14 years to win the Super Bowl, as they defeat the Green Bay Packers, 31-24. [1] [19] January 27 WNBA begins filling rosters of Washington Mystics and Detroit Shock. [1] January 30 All-Star Florida Marlins' catcher Darren Daulton, retires. [1] January 31 72nd Australian Women's Tennis: Martina Hingis beats C Martinez (6-3 6-3). [1] February 1 86th Australian Mens Tennis: Petr Korda beats Marcelo Rios (6-2 6-2 6-2). [1] Australian Mixed Doubles Tennis: J Gimelstob and V Williams beat Suk and Sukova (6-2 6-1). [1] NFL Pro Bowl Game, AFC beats NFC 29-24. [1] February 3 Florida Panthers player Dino Ciccarelli's is 9th NHL player to score 600 career goals. [1] New York Yankees replace general manager Bob Watson with Brian Cashman. [1] February 5 Author Tom Clancy confirms he signed agreement to purchase Minnesota Vikings for slightly more than $200 million, an NFL franchise record. [1] Figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding talk on FOX (Taped December 22nd). [1] February 6 Minnesota Twins trade Chuck Knoblauch to New York Yankees for $3 million and four minor league players. [1] February 7 (to February 22) The 18th Olympic Winter Games are held in Nagano, Japan. [1] [7] [19] NHL's Dallas Stars retire Neal Broten's #7. [1] February 8 First female ice hockey game in Olympics history: Finland beats Sweden 6-0. [1] 48th NBA All-Star Game East beats West 135-114 at New York City. [1] NHL stops season until February 24th to accommodate the Olympics. [1] February 10 Olympics figure skater Peggy Fleming undergoes breast cancer surgery. [1] February 12 Dallas Cowboys sign Chan Gailey as their fourth head coach. [1] February 15 Dale Eggeling wins Los Angeles Women's Golf Championship. [1] In Dayton Beach, Florida, Dale Earnhardt wins the Daytona 500 in his 20th try, after many unsuccessful attempts. [1] [19] February 18 Death of Harry Caray, American television and radio broadcaster (Chicago Cubs), at age 77 (born 1917). [1] [19] New York Rangers fire head coach Colin Campbell. [1] February 19 US hockey team destroys their rooms at Olympics village in Japan. [1] February 20 Tara Lipinski wins Olympics figure skating gold medal. [1] February 21 Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Golf Open. [1] February 22 18th Winter Olympics games close at Nagano, Japan. [1] February 24 NHL resumes season since February 8th to accommodate the Olympics. [1] February 26 Steven M Gluckstern completes sale of New York Islanders. [1] February 28 Vancouver Canucks Mark Messier is fourth NHL player to get 1,600 points. [1] March 1 Australian Ladies Masters Golf. [1] March 8 Death of Ray Nitschke, American football player (born 1936). [19] March 13 Death of Risen Star, American racehorse (born 1985). [19] March 15 Welch's/Circle K Golf Championship. [1] Death of Benjamin Spock, American athlete, pediatrician, and author (born 1903). [19] March 17 USA Women's Hockey Team beats Canada for first Olympics Gold medal. [1] March 22 Liselotte Neumann wins Standard Register PING Golf Tournament. [1] March 29 17th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Tennessee beats Louisiana Tech 93-75. [1] 27th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship. [1] March 30 60th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, at Alamodome, San Antonio. Kentucky beats Utah 78-69. [1] March 31 Tampa Bay Devil Rays' first game; they host Detroit Tigers. [1] April 1 World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze win. [1] April 2 World Mens Figure Skating Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Russian Alexei Yagudin wins. [1] April 3 World Ice Dance Figure Skating Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Russians Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov win. [1] April 4 NFL Europe (formerly WLAF), kicks off season. [1] April 12 62nd Golf Masters Championship: Mark O'Meara wins. [1] April 22 Death of Kitch Christie, South African rugby coach (born 1940). [19] May 2 Death of Justin Fashanu, British footballer (born 1961). [19] 124th Kentucky Derby: Kent Desormeaux aboard Real Quiet wins in 2:02.4. [1] May 15 Death of Earl Manigault, American basketball player (born 1944). [19] May 16 124th Preakness: Kent Desormeaux on Real Quiet wins in 1:54.8. [1] May 17 44th McDonald's LPGA Championship. [1] May 24 In Indianapolis, Indiana, the Indianapolis 500 race is held. Eddie Cheever Jr. wins with an average speed of 145.155 mph. A 1998 Corvette is official pace car, driven by Parnelli Jones. [1] [8] June 10 The 1998 FIFA World Cup begins in France. [19] June 13 Death of Birger Ruud, Norwegian athlete (born 1911). [19] June 14 The Chicago Bulls win their 6th NBA title in 8 years when they beat the Utah Jazz, 87-86 in Game Six. This is also Michael Jordan's last game as a Chicago Bulls player. [19] June 16 The Detroit Red Wings sweep the Washington Capitals in four games in the 1998 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. [19] July 12 France defeats Brazil 3-0 to win the 1998 FIFA World Cup. [19] July 19 Death of Elmer Valo, Slovak Major League Baseball player (born 1921). [19] September 2 Death of Jackie Blanchflower, Irish footballer (born 1933). [19] September 8 Saint Louis Cardinals' first baseman Mark McGwire breaks Major League Baseball's single-season home-run record, formerly held by Roger Maris. McGwire hits number 62 at Busch Stadium in the fourth inning off of Chicago Cubs' pitcher Steve Trachsel. [19] [56] September 9 A coroner records a verdict of suicide on former footballer Justin Fashanu, who was found hanged in a London lock-up garage four months ago. [19] September 17 Death of Chet Hoff at the age of 107 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Hoff played for the New York Highlanders in 1911-13 and St. Louis Browns in 1915. [56] September 21 Death of Florence "Flo-Jo" Griffith-Joyner, American runner (born 1959). [19] September 25 Sammy Sosa hits homerun number 66 to take the lead in the Major League Baseball homerun race. Less than an hour later Mark McGwire also hits his 66th. [56] September 26 The Adelaide Crows defeat the North Melbourne Kangaroos in the AFL Grand Final to become the first club to win back-to-back premierships since the VFL became the AFL in 1990. [19] September 27 In the season finale, Mark McGwire ends the historic Major League Baseball season hitting his 69th and 70th home runs in the Saint Louis Cardinals' 6-3 win over the Montreal Expos. [56] September 30 Death of Dan Quisenberry, baseball player (born 1953). [19] October 2 Death of Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and sports team owner (born 1907). [19] Death of Olivier Gendebien, Belgian race car driver (born 1924). [19] October 6 Death of Mark Belanger, baseball player (born 1944). [19] October 14 Eric Robert Rudolph is charged with six bombings (including the 1996 Olympic bombing) in Atlanta, Georgia. [19] October 21 The New York Yankees defeat the San Diego Padres to sweep them in the baseball World Series. The Yankees had a magical season with 114 regular-season wins and 11 postseason victories (125 total - the most by any team in 123 years of Major League Baseball). [19] [56] October 26 Catcher Mike Piazza signs the most lucrative contract in Major League Baseball history: over US$91 million for a seven-year deal. [56] November 3 Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler, is elected Governor of Minnesota. [19] November 10 Death of Hal Newhouser, baseball player (born 1921). [19] November 13 The ball hit by Babe Ruth for his first home run hit in Yankee Stadium is sold at an auction for US126,500 (US$110,000 bid + 15% commission). [56] November 29 Death of Martin Ruane, British wrestler best known as Giant Haystacks and later, The Loch Ness Monster (born 1947). [19] December 1 Rafael Palmeiro signs a five-year US$45 million contract with the Texas Rangers. [56] December 5 D.C. United defeats Vasco da Gama 2 - 1 on aggregate to win the Interamerican Cup (one of the greatest triumphs in the history of U.S. club soccer). [19] December 6 JC Penney Golf Classic. [1] December 12 Pitcher Kevin Brown becomes baseball's first US$100+ million dollar man as he signs a seven-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for US$105 million. [56] December 20 Wendy's Three-Tour Golf Challenge. [1]