Okay, so I made sure to add two full posts about sports yesterday to break the streak of serious, and perhaps seriously depressing, posts that I have focused on. Ironically enough, both were related to Miami teams.
So now, let me get back to depressing topics, posthaste.
Kidding, of course.
Actually, I want to keep it light for a little while longer. Within the next few days, there should be some posts on book reviews, as I am finishing "Pearl Jam Twenty", as well as "Soundgarden: Heavy Metal Crown". Both are good reads, and they have taken me quite a bit of time to finish, particularly the Soundgarden book, for whatever the reason. Not sure why, because I have enjoyed reading it. Yet, it just took some time.
For today, though, I wanted to talk a little bit about the Miami Heat.
Again, I must say that the Heat earned my respect with this winning streak. I will admit to thinking this team was more than a little contrived, when Lebron James famously (or infamously) announced that he would be bringing his talents to South Beach, while Bosh also joined. With Wade in place (and with a ring to boot), this team seemed set to take over basketball domination. I will also admit to being very happy when they had done to them by Dallas in 2011 what they had done to Dallas in 2006.
But inevitably, this team was just too good to be shut out from a championship. Last regular season, they looked good. But in the postseason, they played great, making it all the way to the NBA Finals. I was hoping that OKC would win, but they didn't. Not even close.
The Heat looked good early this season, as well. At some point in January, the Heat had a 29-14 record, and were among the leaders in the East. Then, of course, came this streak. 27 games later, they had a 56-14 record, which was tops in the league. The Bulls ended the streak a couple of nights ago (you know that already), but Miami still appears to be the strongest team in the league at the moment. Who else? San Antonio? They keep pulling a disappearing act in the playoffs. OKC? They may or may not be better than they were last season, and they lost - badly - to this Heat team. A Heat team that was not as good then as they seem to be now. Who else? The Lakers? I don't think this is as laughable as some suggest, but at least for now, the Lakers have their hands full just trying to qualify for the playoffs. The Clippers? Denver? Can someone in the East perhaps surprise Miami?
Truth is, I cannot see anyone beating them in the East. Coming close, perhaps. Stretching a tough series to six, or maybe, possibly, even seven? Sure. Beating them? No. Not anyone in the East. The West, maybe. But that already means a third straight trip to the Finals, if this proves right. And Miami would have a strong chance at repeating, for that matter. Thinking in the abstract about "the West" and the seemingly superior teams there, it seemed that it could happen. But the Heat, if they indeed make it to the NBA Finals, would only have to face one team from the West. And looking at them individually, it seems like the Heat actually match up fairly well against every team out there. That makes it hard to pick against the Miami Heat winning a second consecutive title.
Here is an interesting article ("What does the end of the Heat’s winning streak mean for Miami’s future?") by Jay Busbee of The Turnstile that actually seems to point to the end of the streak perhaps being a good thing since, surprisingly, teams in numerous sports who have enjoyed similar kinds of epic winning streaks often seem to fall short of the mark in terms of winning the championship:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/the-turnstile/does-end-heat-winning-streak-mean-miami-future-155405613.html
Well, here are some other examples that I thought of off the top of my head. Maybe not strictly winning streaks, but highly successful teams that enjoyed historical levels of success, and how they fared:
2001 Seattle Mariners - Might as well get my weakest sport out of the way first, right? I can remember some details about the other sports performances without looking them up, but for this one, I had to cheat and look online strictly. The Seattle Mariners dominated the regular season with a 116-46 record, the most single-season wins in American League history, and it tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the most wins in a single season ever. They then defeated the Cleveland Indians in the first round, but then were themselves beaten down by the Yankees in the ALCS, losing four games to one. The Mariners are one of eight baseball teams never to have won the World Series, and are one of only two remaining never to have even qualified for a single World Series. Despite a tremendous season in 2001, that team is remembered strictly for their regular season greatness, which was not followed up with similar success in the postseason.
2007 New England Patriots - We all remember this one, right? The Patriots seemed to have everything that season. A star, stud quarterback, who enjoyed a record shattering year with 50 touchdown passes to just eight interceptions. A star wide receiver who set the record for most touchdown catches in a season. An offensive line that pummeled opponents. The most explosive and unstoppable offense that the league has ever seen, before or since, scoring significantly more points than any other team in league history. An average margin of victory that was wider than any other team in league history, also before or since. Plus, significantly, they had already enjoyed tremendous success, winning three Super Bowls in a four years span earlier in the decade, and having pretty much already clinched "Team of the Decade" honors, and giving them the benefit of plenty of valuable experience, heading into the playoffs. And, of course, the big one: they were undefeated throughout the regular season. A perfect 16-0 record. A convincing victory over the Jaguars to start, with Brady once again setting a new record, this time for efficiency in a playoff game, completing 24 of 26 passes. New England held off the chargers in the AFC title game, and became only the second team in league history to go to the Super Bowl with an undefeated record. But we all know what happened next. the dream season deteriorated to a nightmare, as the Giants defensive line ravaged New England and Brady. They got roughed up, and scored a mere 14 points total. Still, they led in the final minute, only to see the famous miracle play, with Eli Manning scrambling out of a sure sack, then completing a wobbly pass to David Tyree, who caught it with one hand. The G-Men went on to score the go ahead touchdown shortly thereafter, and then the defense pounded New England into submission of their final possession. I don't believe that I have ever seen a sports team lose in such a devastating manner, and for that matter, I'm not entirely sure the Patriots ever fully recovered from that and got back into form. They have been good since, yet something always prevents them from reaching the championship form that seemed to come so easily to them for a while there.
1995-96 Chicago Bulls - Well, I never said that all of the stories were about failures. The Bulls started the season off in incredible, historical fashion, and never seemed to let up. Well, maybe a little bit, towards the end - but only a little bit! They were actually in contention to eclipse the 1986 Boston Celtics for the best home record in NBA history. Those Celtics finished with a 40-1 home record for the regular season, while the Bulls were undefeated, with eight regular season games left. But then they lost a home game to the Miami Heat (perhaps their victory over the Heat to snap the record streak was revenge, or poetic justice?). Then, in the final home game, they lost to the Indiana Pacers by a single point, and that in a game that Jordan did not play in! So, they did not have the best home record ever. But still, they did have the best away record in history, at 33-8. Also, they famously became the first (and still only) team in NBA history to reach the 70-win plateau, finishing with a 72-10 record. Like the 2007 Patriots, they won by an average margin of victory that was greater than any other team in history! Unlike the Patriots, they followed this up accordingly in the playoffs, plowing through the Eastern Conference with only one loss, then racing out to a 3-0 series lead against the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA Finals. Seattle won the next two games, and that was the only burp in a feast of victories and successes for the Bulls that season. They went on to win Game 6 at the United Center, to clinch the historical championship, their fourth in six years. Before it was all over, Chicago would win two more championships, completely dominating the 1990's.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/532021-records-the-only-70-win-team-ever-looking-at-the-1996-bulls-10-losses
1995-96 Detroit Red Wings - Hoping to erase the scars from an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals the previous season, the 95-96 Red Wings dominated the NHL's regular season at the same time that the 95-96 Chicago Bulls were dominating the NBA. The main difference was that the Red Wings had a really strong rival - the Colorado Avalanche. But the Red Wings seemed to have it all during the regular season, winning an NHL record 62 games, and managing to collect 131 points overall (still second behind the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, who won 60 games and collected a total of 132 points and did finish the season by winning the Stanley Cup). But this team was good on a historical level, and they were the only team to not get shut out in a single regular season game that season, scoring at least one goal every game. They then dispatched the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs. But perhaps the first signs of real trouble came in the next round, when they struggled against the St. Louis Blues. they survived, but had to survive a seven-game series. But in the Western Conference Finals, they lost the first game at home to Colorado, effectively losing home ice advantage. They won game two, but lost both of the next games at Colorado. They did manage to win again in Detroit, but when the series shifted back to Colorado, the Red Wings historical season came to a close in disappointing fashion. They watched the Avalanche sweep the Panthers to hoist the Stanley Cup, although the Red Wings would go on to win the Cup two consecutive times in the seasons that followed.
1991 UNLV Runnin' Rebels - UNLV had beated down opponents in the previous season, en route to dominating Duke in the NCAA Final by the most lopsided margin in history. the next season, UNLV dominated everybody that they played, finishing the regular season with a perfect 30-0 mark. It seemed that they were going to be able to achieve that rarest of feats: winning the NCAA tourney with an undefeated mark. Plus, they looked like they might do it with the most dominant team of all time, to boot. They destroyed Montana in the first round of the tournament, and then beat Georgetown to make the Sweet 16. They dispatched Utah next, and got by Seton Hall convincingly enough to get back to the Final Four, which they were favored to win again. But they had a rematch against Duke, and I remember it well. UNLV were so dominant, it was hard to imagine anyone really being able to compete with them. But Duke played them hard, and more then held their own. They actually held a slim lead in the waning minutes, and there was UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian, biting his towel nervously. But that didn't help, as Duke held on for the historic win, and exacting a huge measure of revenge against the team that had bullied them in the championship game the previous season. UNLV has never been the same since.
1990 "Iron" Mike Tyson - I know that this is not a reference to team sports, but Tyson still dominated his sport in such a fashion that it reminded many of some of the most dominant performances in sports. Tyson started off his career by knocking out each of his first 17 opponents, and perhaps reached his peak in 1988, beating former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes (knocking him out cold, the only time in Holmes's career that he was knocked out like this), and . But his most famous victory was against Michael Spinks, who entered that huge match with an undefeated 31-0 mark. Many felt that he was the "real" champion, but any doubts that Tyson was as good as he seemed evaporated very quickly, as Tyson barraged Spinks in the first round, bombarding him with punches before Spinks fell to his knees for the first time in his career. He got up, but he shouldn't have, as Tyson connected to his head, which slammed onto the canvass as Spinks fell backwards. This time, he did not get up. Tyson was at his most dominant, and seemed untouchable, heading into a fight in Tokyo that was supposed to be just another easy win, as Tyson hoped for a big payday against Evander Holyfield. As it turned out, he shouldn't have looked ahead. His opponent, Buster Douglas, had the fight of his life, and was clearly outboxing Tyson in the early rounds, while many had expected him to get knocked out early. Instead, he wore Tyson down, landing storng punches that Tyson, at first, seemed immune to. But after round after round of a beating, Tyson showed signs of being wobbly. He still was standing, however, and he started to look for that one good punch that he was so famous for. In the eight round, he landed a great uppercut, putting Douglas on the mat. But Douglas got up, and perhaps was saved by the bell. Tyson went after Douglas in the ninth, but probably overestimated how much damage he had done. Neither man focused on defense in the ninth, and it was Douglas who got the better of the round. Tyson looked ready to fall as he walked to his corner after the round. Then, in the tenth, Douglas landed a monster upper cut of his own, and completed an incredible combination to make Tyson fall for the first time in his career. Tyson did not beat the count, and despite winning championship belts afterwards, he never was quite the same again.
2005 Roger Federer - Like the 1971-72 Lakers record winning streak in basketball, or the 1972 Dolphins undefeated season in football (what was it about those sports teams of 1972, anyway?), John McEnroe's record smashing single year of 1984 seemed untouchable. Yes, I know that Federer is the most accomplished men's tennis player in history, and yes, he did wind up with the top ranking, and easily, at that. But he enjoyed the most dominance of his career in 2005, and heading into the year-end Championship Final against David Nalbandian, Federer entered with an 81-3 record. He opened up like he was on a mission, too, jumping out to a two sets to none lead. But then, he broke his hand, and had to watch as Nalbandian took advantage and, ultimately, won the match, denying Federer the chance at tying John McEnroe's all time record set in 1984. Federer, despite his dominance, finished at 81-4, still an awesome record. Plus, he was number one for an eternity, and set just about every meaningful record that was there for him. Ironically, however, despite their dominant seasons, neither Mac in 1984 nor Fed in 2005 actually won more than two Grand Slams in those years, which sets them behind quite a few others (Fed won three Grand Slams in a calendar year several times). Also, Federer faced a similar disappointment just last year, when he was set to win the Gold Medal Match at the Olympics, which would have established him as the third man in history (Agassi and Nadal being the other two) to have won all four slams and an Olympic Gold Medal (that feat is known as the career "Golden Slam"), only to lose to Murray in the final. It is hard to imagine Federer getting another shot at Olympic Gold at his age, although if there is one man who could do it, it's the Fed.
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