Thomas & Mack 25th Anniversary

No. 1: A sky hook for the history books: Friday, November 21, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25: Abdul-Jabbar sets NBA career scoring record in Mack's first year; By Rob Miech; Improbably, the Los Angeles Lakers and Abdul-Jabbar were playing against Utah in a Las Vegas “home” game for the Jazz. The Jazz weren’t faring so well in Salt Lake City, so its brass decided to play 11 games in Las Vegas during the 1983-84 season. A crowd of 18,389 – mostly Lakers fans – gathered to witness history.

No. 2: Capping off a dream season: Thursday, November 20, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25: Win over Louisville springboards Rebels to NCAA title; By Rob Miech; They were 16-0 in their building when Louisville visited Las Vegas, so a victory over the Cardinals would give UNLV its best home season in its 7-year-old arena. It was the only season in which more than 300,000 fans packed the Mack, and they saw history in the making.

No. 3: NFR is Thomas & Mack's cash cow: Wednesday, November 19, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25:; By Ron Kantowski; To say that the National Finals Rodeo has become the Thomas & Mack Center's cash cow is putting it literally, not mildly. There's nothing mild about the NFR.

No. 4: U2 plays tribute show after 9/11: Tuesday, November 18, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25:; By John Katsilometes; The audience swayed to the classic-rock house music, and when the familiar guitar intro to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” kicked in, whoever was manning the volume jacked it up past nine, to 11, and out marched the band whose soaring live performance would certainly pay tribute to the still-wrenching tragedy. As the band charged into “Elevation,” the lights stayed up, almost to the song’s end as fans bounced and roared. Maybe America wasn’t quite “back,” but U2 was.

No. 5: Rebels ship Robinson, Navy home: Monday, November 17, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25:; By Rob Miech; An audience of 20,321, described as a “fire-hazard crowd” by the Sun in a building that seats 18,500, still stands as the seam-busting record.

No. 6: Team USA calls Las Vegas home: Sunday, November 16, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25:; By Rob Miech; When the U.S. national basketball team won gold in Beijing in August, it owed plenty to Las Vegas.

No. 7: NBA playoffs shift to the Mack amidst L.A. riots: Saturday, November 15, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25:; By Ryan Greene; Emotions were mixed for the Los Angeles Lakers as they headed east for a 'home' playoff game on May 3, 1992. Trailing 2-1 in a best-of-five first round series with the top-seeded Portland Trailblazers, Game Four was moved from riot-riddled L.A. to Las Vegas. Both teams sat around between games Three and Four while Los Angeles burned in the wake of the verdict from the Rodney King beating trial.

No. 8: Tark bids farewell to UNLV faithful: Friday, November 14, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25:; By Ron Kantowski; The night of March 3, 1992 produced a strange confluence of emotions. A capacity crowd was on hand to say goodbye to Tark after 19 legendary years on the job. But it was Dr. Bob Maxson, the university president, who most in the packed house wanted to bid farewell -- and a not so fond one at that.

No. 9: Thunder shakes the Mack: Thursday, November 13, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25: Minor league hockey franchise upstages UNLV in its own building; By Ron Kantowski; It's hard to believe the UNLV basketball team once was upstaged by a minor league hockey franchise in it's own building, but it's true.

No. 10: Holyfield, Lewis set gate record: Wednesday, November 12, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25: Heavyweights put fans in the T&M seats, leave them wanting more; By Andy Samuelson; Evander Holyfield’s biggest storyline obviously came at the hands (make that mouth) of Mike Tyson, but the “The Real Deal” Holyfield had several other interesting bouts that didn’t require plastic surgery on his ear.

No. 11: NBA All-Star Game full of glitz, glamour and grime: Tuesday, November 11, 2008; By Rob Miech; Kobe Bryant led everyone with 31 points, earning him MVP honors, in the West’s 153-132 victory over the East.

No. 12: Brooks' friends fill Mack four straight nights: Monday, November 10, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25: Country singer sets arena record with more than 72,000 fans; By John Katsilometes; It was the summer of that year, a scorching mid-August week in Vegas, but no ticket was hotter than a ducat for Brooks’ electrifying shows at the Thomas & Mack Center.

No. 13: NBA finds a summer home in Vegas: Sunday, November 9, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25:; By Ryan Greene; While the potential existence of an NBA franchise in Las Vegas someday is a complete mystery, the league over the past five years has established unique roots in Sin City. Each July dating back to 2004, the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion have played home to one of the NBA's three summer leagues. There, the most loyal of die-hard fans go to watch stars in the making, plus some guys you may never hear from again ... at least not on this side of the Atlantic.

No. 14: Legendary fighters highlight first UFC show: Saturday, November 8, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25: Couture, Liddell along with PRIDE's U.S. debut top Mack's MMA list; By Andy Samuelson; There might have been only one major UFC card held in the Thomas & Mack Center, but it was an event of epic proportions. On June 6, 2003, two of the sport's legendary stars met for their first of three battles when Randy Couture squared off against Chuck Liddell inside the Octagon in front of a crowd of nearly 10,000.

No. 15: Ol’ Blue Eyes plays the Mack: Friday, November 7, 2008; Thomas & Mack Turns 25:; By Rob Miech; Who else would roll into the Thomas & Mack Center to entertain at one of its inaugural events but the Chairman of the Board?