Heavy Rockets talk in minute 41. Oilers-Bills does get mentioned, but not nearly given the billing it is due as an all-time choke job (mentioned only in minute 12 under the "oddity" bracket).
The 73-win Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead against Cleveland was a bigger choke job. Finals > first round.
least they made the finals. Bruins got bounced out of the first round with the winningest record in nhl history.
That one has got to hurt. Defending champ Aves going out in first round too. I was pulling for an Avalanche v Bruins finals.
I can see it on both sides. Feels like the stakes in the Finals are higher whereas the Bruins will be an interesting footnote in history.
The winning-est team in NBA history blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals to a 57 win Cavs team that probably would've struggled to be a top 4 seed in the West that year is absolutely the #1 all-time greatest series choke.
I completely disagree. The team with the best record in the regular season generally does not win the Stanley Cup...they have a long history of super disappointing playoff appearances. The team that the Bruins took the "best record ever" from was the 95/96 Red Wings who lost in the playoffs before getting to the Stanley Cup Finals. Teams in the NHL do this all the time. It's a running joke that the team that wins the regular season never wins the Cup. I knew full well going into the playoffs that the Bruins were likelier to get beat early than they were to win the whole thing, given the history of the NHL playoffs over the last 25 years or so. Baseball and hockey are sports where the lesser team wins in the playoffs more frequently than in any other sport. The best regular season of all time in MLB was the 2001 Seattle Mariners who won freaking 116 games but have still never won a pennant to advance to a WS. Biggest upset to me is still Buster Douglas over Tyson. That was incredibly shocking to watch happen live. Felt like the world was a different place after seeing Tyson on the mat. Vegas stopped taking bets before the fight.
I know this has been primarily a pro sports discussion...but to me, a 16 seed over a 1 seed in the men's NCAA basketball tournament is something that should never happen. Never. Ever. Never.
Eh, it's one game and they're still immature kids. It could be a weak, overachieving #1 team with an injury vs a #16 team that had injuries and got it's players back in time for the tourney. I know it would be stupid long (which advertisers would love) but I wish March Madness had best of 5 or 3 game playoffs for each round. This would really give us a good sample of the best team.
one of the most unlikely upsets in NCAA tournament history, Phi Slama Jama (with Hakeem/Drexler) lost a close game against the lowly-ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack 54–52, with the final margin decided on the last second; Whittenberg's desperation 30-footer was short by more than a foot, but Wolfpack forward Lorenzo Charles caught the missed shot below the rim and then dunk it just before the buzzer sounded. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...houston-nc-state-1983-ncaa-final-17867526.php
No, I didn't think they would...but I hold out the possibility of that happening in hockey more than any other sport in the playoffs. Like as they were finishing up the year setting the record I was thinking that it won't mean a thing in the playoffs. This year alone, both 1 seeds were eliminated in the first round. Same thing happened in 2019, too. Tampa tied the NHL record for most regular season wins in 2019...they didn't win one game in the playoffs!! They were swept by the freaking Blue Jackets!
I think chokes and upsets can sometimes be 2 totally different things. Oiler/Bills was the biggest choke job....but it wasn't really an upset. I know Kelly and Thomas were both injured, but no one was expecting the Oilers to go in and win that game.
Just looked it up, because I wondered what the line was in that game. It was Bills -3...which given that they were at home pretty much means it's a pick 'em on a neutral field. Ironically, despite all the chaos of that game...Buffalo won...by 3 lol https://www.sportsoddshistory.com/nfl-playoffs/
From my personal perspective, the worst was when Bayern conceded two goals to Manchester United in the Champions League Final in the last few minutes.
Interesting. I'm not a gambling addict or anything, but I think 3 points is pretty close to a pick 'em. So this was definitely a choke job but not necessarily an upset. UH/NCState was both I think. Coogs were definitely supposed to win that game. Everyone was saying the Louisville game was the real NC. And it was also a choke because of all those missed free throws and the inability of Guy V to make adjustments to the slow pace.
