Well hello there. Since disgraced ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy decided to remind us all of the disappointment King's fans suffered through the 2002 Western Conference Finals, I have decided to chronicle some of sports' greatest letdowns over the past decade. For every success story, there is a sad one, that leaves a bitter taste for a sports fan. Enjoy the ride...
1998
July 1: The NBA locked out its players and the season was put on hold for the next 6 1/2 months and the season began under a 50-game schedule. The league did not exactly did themselves any favors after Jordan retired. Hey, at least there was a season!
1998 Minnesota Vikings: This is a team that comprised of Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and the resurgence of Randall Cunningham. They went 15-1 and won a berth to the NFC Championship game. All they need to do was defeat the underdog Atlanta Falcons right? A missed field goal and an overtime later sent the Purple People Eaters packing and going fishing.
1998 World Series: New York Yankees won the series 4 to 0 over the San Diego Padres. I was not disappointed, but I am sure Padres fans were that their team could not even win a game.
1999
1999 NBA Finals: The San Antonio Spurs started a dynasty by defeating my New York Knicks 4 games to 1. 3 more championships would follow for the Spurs the next decade. As far as the Knicks, I shall get to that one later...
1999 World Series: The Yankees dominated the Atlanta Braves, sweeping them 4 games to 0. Poor Braves fans (NOT).
2000
2000 NBA Western Conference Finals: The Los Angeles Lakers come back after a dominating three quarters by the Trail Blazers in Game 7, to earn an NBA Finals berth. The Blazers would later on fall into obscurity and as far as the Lakers go, the rest in history.
Super Bowl XXXIV: With the Tennessee Titans trailing the St. Louis Rams 23-16 in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Steve McNair made a desperation pass that was caught by wide receiver Kevin Dyson...Only to be one yard short of a game tying touchdown at the last second.
2000 World Series: Yankees dominate the Mets 4 games to 1 to win another World Series. It would be a while before the Mets came close to contention. I was happy. Mets fans? Not so much.
2001
2001 NBA Draft: Kwame Brown.
2001 NBA Finals: Lakers make quick work of Allen Iverson's 76ers, 4 games to 1.
2001 World Series: A great series that ended sadly for me and other Yankee and other New York fans, losing 4 games to 3 against the 4-season old Arizona Diamondbacks.
Washington Wizards: Michael Jordan returns to basketball. We all know how that turned out.
2001 Stanley Cup Finals: Sigh, I remember this one. Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche killed the the New Jersey Devils' hopes and dreams for a repeat. The series went 4 games to 3: Avalanche.
Super Bowl XXXV: My New York Giants were straight up out muscled by the much more physical Baltimore Ravens in a 34-7
Today's Must Reads
2002
2002 World Series: The New York Yankees were not involved in this one. How saddening. I can see the tears flowing from Evil Empire haters right now....
2002 NBA Western Conference Finals: There were way too many fouls on the Sacramento Kings in the 4th quarter of Game 6. Thanks to 27 free throws, the Kings coughed up Game 6 and lost in overtime to the Lakers in Game 7. Soon after, the NBA's funnest team to watch never came close to reaching the NBA Finals.
2002 NBA Finals: My other favorite basketball team have a remarkable 50-32 season under MVP-runner up Jason Kidd. Their bid for a championship was cut extremely short, getting swept by Kobe and Shaq's Lakers 4-0.
2002 NFC Title Championship: This would be the first of three straight NFC Title game loses for the Philadelphia Eagles. Not that I was complaining...
2002 New England Patriots: They killed the hopes and dreams of both the Raiders and Rams in one postseason.
2003
2003 NFC Championship: The Philadelphia Eagles lose again, this time to Tampa Bay. I almost feel bad for Philly fans.
Super Bowl XXXVI: Tampa Bay Buccaneers + Rich Gannon's 5 interceptions= 48-21 Victory by Tampa Bay. I do not know about Raiders fans, but Gannon's five interceptions sure made me feel better about Kerry Collins' five two years ago!
2003 NBA Finals: My New Jersey Nets were in the NBA Finals for the second straight year!!! And LOST. 4 games to 2: San Antonio. Very painful.
2003 World Series: This was a bad year for my teams. The Yankees lost 4 games to 2 against the Florida Marlins. You know, that team that gets rid of their players every year, as if they were being sold at Walmart.
2003 New York Giants: 4-12. Worst. Record. In. Franchise. History.
Isiah Thomas: The multimillion contracts to Eddy Curry, Malik Rose and Jerome James only scratch the surface.
2004
2004 MLB Postseason: A very exciting postseason. The Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, and Cardinals were playing great baseball. Sadly for me, I witnessed the biggest collapse in MLB and probably sports history. The Yankees up 3 games to 0 in the NCLS against the rival Sox, blew that lead and lost 4 straight games. The Red Sox went on to sweep the Cardinals to their first World Series in 86 years. The Yankees have been bounced out of the first round ever since.
Pistons/Nets Conference Semis, Game 7: The Nets get blown out 90-69, with Jason Kidd scoring 0 POINTS.
2004 NBA Finals: This was supposed to be the year the dream team of Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal won the NBA Championship. It was until the Detroit Pistons physically and emotionally dismantled the Lakers in five games, on route to an NBA title. Gary Payton eventually won a ring with the 2006 Miami Heat. Malone decided to retire. Phil Jackson stepped down as head coach for a season and the Kobe-Shaq era was officially over.
2004 NFC Championship: See Above.
NHL Lockout: A miserable time for hockey fans, indeed.
2004 New York Giants: 6-10. 'Nuff said.
2005
Latrell Sprewell: He could not feed his family with the $21 Million contract extension the Minnesota Timberwolves offered him. Today, Mr. Sprewell resides in a homeless shelter near you.
2006
2006 NBA Finals: Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks were up 2-0 against the Shaq-Wade combo and the Miami Heat. They responded by losing four straight and have not recovered ever since.
2007
2007 NBA Postseason: This was such an amazing postseason...for the right and wrong reasons. The Golden State Warriors who secured a playoff berth their last game, defeated the heavily-favored Dallas Mavericks in five games.
In the Western Conference Semi Finals, the Robert Horry hip checked Steve Nash into a scorer's table during Game 4. This led to not only Big Shot Rob being suspended, but also Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns after leaving the bench, despite not getting physically involved. The Spurs went on to win Game 5 and the series, en route to their fourth championship in 9 seasons. The Suns, who i personally loved watching, were dismantled the season after, making many wonder what could have been....And the NBA says they do not have a refereeing problem....
2007 World Series: The annoyingly dominant Boston Red Sox sweep the Colorado Rockies to win their second World Series title in three years. Yes, I was rooting for the Rockies.
Michael Vick: Admitted to funding dogfighting rings and was allegedly involved in killing dogs, as well. A sad story. Vick is now currently serving a 23 month prison sentence. And we thought Marcus was the bad one...
2007 Atlanta Falcons: From Michael Vick to a losing season to Bobby Petrino ditching them before season ended(!), the Falcons sure had nothing to hang their hat on in 2007.
Spygate: Thanks, New England. Jeopardizing football's integrity is what everybody wanted.
2007 Boston Celtics: 24-58. We knew the Celtics were bad, but we did not know they were that bad.
2008
Tim Donaghy: The ex-ref alleges that he not only fixed regular season games he officiated, but two postseason series in 2002 and 2005, as well. Not a good time for the league.
Yankee Stadium: Baseball's shrine is sadly closing. Well, sad for me at least.
2008 Phoenix Suns: Got bounced out of the first round by San Antonio, after a controversial trade sending Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O'Neal.
2008 New England Patriots: 17-1! I certainly was not disappointed. New England fans? They are another story. I had to end this on a good note!
So what do my fellow readers think? If there is anything you believe I should have chronicled, please feel free to leave some feedback!
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2 months ago
what about the Dallas Stars vs Buffalo Sabres stanley cup finals?
2 months ago
lol @ 2005
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