March 24 (Reuters) - ON THIS DAY -- March 25
March 25, 1990
SOCCER - England football team players make their World Cup song 'World in Motion' with English rock band New Order.
Four years after England's controversial World Cup exit to Argentina -- after Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal -- they qualified for the 1990 World Cup and, as was custom, a song was produced for their campaign.
The song featured six England players, including Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne and John Barnes -- who rapped towards the end of the song that ultimately hit No. 1 on the UK charts.
March 25, 1997
ATHLETICS - Controversial sprinter Ben Johnson tries his hand at pitching a baseball while attending the Canadian Sports Awards in Toronto.
Johnson won the 1988 Olympics 100 metres gold medal with a world record time of 9.79 seconds, only to be disqualified three days later when he tested positive for steroid use.
The Canadian admitted he was on steroids in 1987 too when he set the record, which led to the record being rescinded.
A repeat doping offence in 1993 led to a lifetime-ban by the sport's governing body, the IAAF (now World Athletics).
March 25, 1998
RALLY - Scottish driver Colin McRae and Welshman Nicky Grist cross a watercourse in their Subaru Impreza during the fourth round of the Rally of Portugal.
After a closely-fought battle over 23 stages and nearly 359 km, McRae and Grist finished barely two seconds ahead of the Spanish duo Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya in their Toyota.
McRae, the youngest driver to win the World Rally Championship title in 1995, died in a helicopter crash that also killed his five-year-old son and two family friends in 2007.
March 25, 1998
SOCCER - Besiktas fans cheer for their team as one of them sports an eagle head in the Turkish Cup final first leg match against Galatasaray in Istanbul. Besiktas won the cup in a penalty shootout after the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.
The two clubs and Fenerbahce -- all based in Istanbul -- form the 'Big Three' in Turkey, winning 56 of the 63 league titles between them.
Matches involving these teams generally have crowds raising the roof while flares are constantly lit, contributing to an intimidating atmosphere at the stadiums.
March 25, 1999
NBA - Indiana Pacers' Al Harrington grabs a rebound under his own basket away from the Atlanta Hawks' Mark West in second quarter action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Harrington was one of three high school draftees in the 1998 NBA draft that also included future All-Stars Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce.
A handy sixth man who helped the Pacers reach the Eastern Conference finals in 2000, Harrington played for six other NBA teams before finishing his career in China and Australia.
March 25, 2000
MLB - Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs arrives at New Tokyo International Airport to play Major League Baseball's opening game of the 2000 season against the New York Mets at the Tokyo Dome.
The Cubs won 5-3 in a game that marked the first year MLB played regular season games outside North America. MLB had previously played games in Monterrey, Mexico in 1996 and 1999.
Sosa is regarded as one of the greatest hitters in the sport and is one of nine players to hit more than 600 home runs (609).
March 25, 2000
HORSE RACING - Jockey Frankie Dettori and Sheikh Mohammed, the brains behind the Godolphin stable, celebrate after being awarded the Dubai World Cup following Dubai Millennium's victory.
Godolphin is the Thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by the Maktoum family, the ruling royal family of Dubai.
At the time, the race was the world's richest, with a total purse of $6 million and the winner taking home $3.6 million, the equivalent of $30,000 per second.
March 25, 2000
GOLF - Kris Tschetter is silhouetted at the Nabisco Championship at Mission Hills Country Club -- one of five major championships of professional women's golf.
The 2000 edition was won by Australia's Karrie Webb who carded 14-under overall and beat holder Dottie Pepper by 10 strokes -- the largest margin in the event's history.
As was tradition, Webb celebrated by jumping into the water at the 18th where she was joined by her caddie.
March 25, 2000
FORMULA ONE - Ferrari (NYSE:RACE)'s Michael Schumacher during the post-qualifying press conference of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Back when Formula One used spare cars, Schumacher was forced to use the spare Ferrari when he damaged his car in qualifying after mounting a kerb, finishing third behind McLaren-Mercedes' Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.
However, Schumacher overtook both drivers within the first two laps of the race and, once Hakkinen retired from the race due to car trouble, the German was barely challenged as he cruised to victory despite oil pressure problems.
March 25, 1996
FIGURE SKATING - World champion Michelle Kwan of the United States performs during the parade of champions following the World Figure Skating Championships in Edmonton.
Kwan won the first of her five world championships aged only 15, beating Chinese defending champion Chen Lu in the process.
Kwan would become one of America's greatest figure skaters, wowing crowds with her finesse and expressive flair, and one of the highest-paid Winter Olympic athletes in endorsements according to Forbes.