Fox: Worst Chokes - Yanks 1st, Oilers 3rd

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3096944?GT1=5377

Yankees' Collapse Ranks with the Worst

It's OK to admit it. You gave up on the Red Sox after that 19-8 loss in Game 3.
There was no way they were coming back from that. Not with Pedro Martinez looking like his best days were behind him. Not with Curt Schilling trying to go on an ankle that required surgery. Not against the Yankees.

But that's one of the things that makes sports so appealing. Until the final out, second or shot, there's always hope, even if it's slim. And conversely, that no lead is too safe, no advantage too great to guarantee.

And so with each successive Red Sox win, the natural inclination (at least mine) was to think about the possibility that the Yankees could actually blow this thing.

And now that the improbable has become reality and the Red Sox are heading to the World Series for the first time since 1986, we can look at the Yankees' monumental collapse and where it ranks among the greatest in sports history.

Here's a hint, though: You won't have to go very far down the list.

1. New York Yankees, 2004 ALCS
There's a tendency among sportswriters to put more recent events at the top of lists like these. They're fresher in the memory and they've usually been viewed through the prism of television.

That is NOT why the 2004 Yankees top our list.

For starters, as basically anyone even remotely familiar with this series is no doubt aware, this is the first time in 101 years of World Series history that a team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. And it's not like anyone else has even come close. The Red Sox were the first team in that situation to force a Game 7, and only two other teams have even made it to a Game 6.

And there were plenty of opportunities for the Red Sox to throw in the towel. Down by one in the ninth in Game 4. Down by two in the eighth in Game 5. Both times they rallied to send the games into extra innings, where they eventually won. Both times Mariano Rivera — arguably the most dominant postseason reliever of his generation — was saddled with a blown save. Or they could have become disheartened when it appeared Schilling was going to be lost for the series with an ankle injury. Instead, they kept faith long enough for Schilling to give it a shot ... and he turned in a masterful Game 6 performance.

But the most compelling aspect of the Yankees' complete and total breakdown is that it's just the type of humiliation New York is used to visiting upon Boston. Since the Red Sox last celebrated a World Series victory, the Yankees have won 26. Twice in the last five years, New York has kept Boston from advancing to the Fall Classic. In fact, probably the only reason the Yankees haven't rallied from a 3-0 deficit to break the Red Sox's hearts is that Boston has never been up 3-0 in a series against New York.

Just look at how the Red Sox won this series, though — particularly the final two games — and it looks all too similar to any number of Yankees' triumphs. Light-hitting Mark Bellhorn's is Boston's Bucky "Bleeping" Dent, a light-hitting middle infielder who hit a series-shifting home run. Johnny Damon is this year's Aaron Boone, a struggling slugger who came to life when it mattered most. And those calls going Boston's way in Game 6? Those are the little things that always seem to go in the Yankees' favor.

Only this time, they didn't. And it's as good a reason for the Yankees' downfall.

2. Jean Van de Velde, 1999 British Open
. . . .

3. Houston Oilers, 1992 AFC wild card game
Just think. The Buffalo Bills might not have become the poster child for postseason failure — a distinction earned by their four consecutive Super Bowl defeats — if the Oilers had been able to hold onto a 35-3 third quarter lead.

Led by Warren Moon, Houston appeared to have the two-time defending AFC champs on the ropes. Moon completed 19-of-22 passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns before halftime to give the Oilers a 28-3 advantage. A 58-yard interception return for a touchdown with 13:15 left in the third quarter put Houston up by 32 points.

That's when the fun (or the agony, depending on your point of view) really began.

The complete breakdown of the Oilers' breakdown:

Kenneth Davis caps a 10-play, 50-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Oilers 35, Bills 10

After kicker Steve Christie recovers his own onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, Frank Reich hits Don Beebe for a 38-yard score. Oilers 35, Bills 17

Buffalo's defense forces a three-and-out, then Reich and Andre Reed hook up for a 26-yard touchdown. Oilers 35, Bills 24

Safety Henry Jones intercepts Moon, returning it to the Houston 23. The Bills go for it on fourth-and-five and Reich makes the decision pay off, connecting with Reed on an 18-yard TD pass. Oilers 35, Bills 31

The Oilers had an opportunity to pad their lead, but fumbled the snap on a field-goal attempt and turned the ball over on downs. The Bills took advantage, going on a 74-yard scoring drive, culminated in Reich's third TD pass to Reed in little more than 16 minutes. Bills 38, Oilers 35

Houston sent the game to OT with an Al Del Greco field goal with 12 seconds left, then got the ball to start the extra period. But Nate Odomes intercepted Moon in Oilers territory to set up Christie's 32-yard game-winning field goal. Bills 41, Oilers 38
"We choked," Oilers safety Cris Dishman would say in describing the biggest collapse in NFL history. "We choked as a team. We choked as management. Everybody in this organization just choked."

We couldn't have said it better.

[A list of the remaining chokers - see article for details:]

4. Philadelphia Phillies, 1964
5. Brooklyn Dodgers, 1951
6. Jana Novotna, 1993 Wimbledon
ns.
7. Boston Red Sox, 1978
8. Greg Norman, 1996 Masters
9. Portland Trail Blazers, 2000 Western Conference finals
10. Laurent Fignon, 1989 Tour de France

Dishonorable mention
• With the 1986 California Angels one strike away from advancing to the first World Series in franchise history, Dave Henderson hit a two-run home run off Donnie Moore in Game 5 of the ALCS. The Red Sox would win that game in extra innings, then rout the Angels in Games 6 and 7 to reach the World Series.
• The 1942 Detroit Red Wings became the first team in sports history to lose a series after taking a 3-0 advantage, losing four straight to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup finals.
• Both the 2003 Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox were five outs away from the World Series, thus ensuring at least one of the longest streaks of postseason futility would end.
• LSU misses 11 of 12 free-throw attempts while blowing a 31-point second-half lead during a regular season contest against Kentucky.
• The 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins coughed up a 3-0 series lead before falling to the New York Islanders in the quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Islanders almost turned the trick again in the next round, rallying from the same deficit to force a Game 7 before falling to the eventual Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers.
• No eighth seed had ever upended a No. 1 since the NBA adopted its current playoff format in 1984. And after the 1993-94 Sonics easily won the first two games of their best-of-five series against the woeful Nuggets, it didn't appear one was going to. But Denver won three straight, including two overtime games, to spring the upset.