May 1, 2011: Osama bin Laden Is Killed

May 1, 2011, 10 years ago today: U.S. Navy SEALs conduct a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of terrorist organization al-Qaeda.

It had been 9 years, 7 months and 21 days since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, destroying the World Trade Center in New York, and attacking the Pentagon outside Washington, killing nearly 3,000 people.

President George W. Bush promised to get justice for the victims. But he took his eyes off the prize, and turned them toward his invasion of Iraq.

When Senator Barack Obama ran for President in 2008, he made finding and killing bin Laden a priority. He won the election. It took another 2 1/2 years for America's national security apparatus to find bin Laden. It did.

President Obama was given the details of a plan that would kill bin Laden. He knew that if it failed, and any of the SEALs were killed, it would feel like the 1980 "Desert One" operation that not only failed to rescue the American citizens held hostage in Iran, but led to the accidental deaths of 8 American soldiers. It pretty much ended President Jimmy Carter's chances of re-election.

Obama knew that his re-election in 2012 could very well hang on the result of his decision. If the mission failed, he would get blamed. If he said don't do it, and the fact that there was such an idea and he turned it down reached the public, it would be a public relations nightmare.

Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said he should go for it. He went for it. It worked. bin Laden was dead, and every American who participated got out alive.

The raid happened at about 1:00 AM, local time, on May 2. But Obama announced it to America at 11:35 PM, U.S. Eastern Time, on May 1.

Earlier, during the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, word filtered through social media to reach the crowd at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and the fans began to chant, "U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!"

There was a full slate of MLB games that day:

* In that ESPN Sunday night game, the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1. Ronny Paulino won it with an RBI double in the top of the 14th inning.

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at the new Yankee Stadium. Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson hit home runs, and Ivan Nova was the winning pitcher.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-2 at Fenway Park In Boston.

* The Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-2 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Turner Field in Atlanta.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-5 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-4 at what's now named Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 10-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 7-2 at the Oakland Coliseum.

There were 2 NBA Playoff games played on that day:

* The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics, 99-90 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. Dwyane Wade scored 38 points.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 114-101 at what's now named the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. Zach Randolph scored 34 for Memphis, Kevin Durant 33 for OKC.

There were 2 Stanley Cup Playoff games played on that day:

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at what's now named the Capital One Arena in Washington. Vincent Lecavalier scores the winning goal, 6:19 into overtime.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at what's now named the SAP Center in San Jose.

Also, Arsenal beat Manchester United, 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium in North London, on a 56th minute goal by Aaron Ramsey. This was part of a pattern: When Ramsey scored, famous people died within a day or two. Some could be explained by already being sick, as with Ted Kennedy, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, David Bowie and Roger Moore. But that didn't cover Whitney Houston, Paul Walker and Robin Williams.