Friday, June 13, 2008

Random Thoughts, Sights, and Sounds - A Potpourri of Knowledge

The weekly Random Thoughts posting isn't going to be so Random today, as there will be a thread that binds all the thoughts together. That thread is memorable playoff performances.

Spurred on by the momentous comeback of the Boston Celtics over the Lakers on Thursday, and the constant beating over the head by Messrs Ryan, Shaughnessy and Massarotti about how fortunate we are in being Boston sports fans right now (by the way guys, we get it, we know how lucky we are, so stop telling us), I've decided to list some of the more memorable playoff performances we've seen over the past few years.

Any discussion of memorable Boston playoff performances in the 21st century will begin with this one.

The Snow Bowl game: Adam Vinateri's 46-yard field goal to send the game against Oakland into overtime, and his subsequent game winner, with Lonnie Paxton's snow angel performance on of the memorable images.

Super Bowl 36: Tom Brady's version of 'The Drive' in the final 1:21 led to Vinateri's 49-yard game winner as time expired. Lasting image of this game: Brady slapping Drew Bledsoe on the shoulder pads and screaming 'We Did It'.

2004 ALCS Game 6: The Bloody Sock game. Curt Schilling battles through a right ankle injury so bad his tendons were held together with super glue and duct tape to pitch 7 strong innings. Alex Rodriguez takes a girly slap at Bronson Arroyo in the eighth inning and the Red Sox hold on to force Game 7.

2004 ALCS Game 4: Schilling's heroics in Game 6 wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for 'The Steal' by Dave Roberts in the ninth inning and scoring the tying run off Mariano Rivera and Big Papi's walkoff homer in extra innings.

2008 NBA Finals Game 4: The Boston Celtics pull off the greatest comeback in NBA finals history (no team had ever trailed by as much, 21 points, at the end of the first quarter, as they did) against Los Angeles. They added to their degree of difficulty by doing it on the road. The funny thing is, as I was watching the game, I wasn't anxious or nervous about the Celtics' ability to be able to come back and win the game.

2004 ALCS Game 5: Pedro's last start at Fenway in a Red Sox uniform was a win turned into a win for Boston, as they overcame a 5-3, 8th inning deficit to win the game in extra innings on a walk off single by Big Papi.

2007 ALCS Game 5: Josh Beckett proves again how clutch he is in the postseason by dominating the Cleveland Indians, and overcoming the distraction of his ex-girlfriend signing the National Anthem (nice try, Cleveland) to keep the Red Sox alive in the series.

2004 World Series Game 4: I don't know if you've heard but the Red Sox win in Game 4 gave them their first World Series title in 86 years.

Super Bowl 38: Another Patriots Super Bowl win on a last-second field goal by Vinateri. Ho-Hum.

2007 World Series Game 4: For the second time in three years the Red Sox sweep the World Series from an inferior National League foe. They are the first team to win more than one world title in the 21st century. H0-Hum.

Honorable Mention: Pats win Super Bowl 39 (third title in four years). The Celtics win in Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals against New Jersey (overcame a 24-point fourth quarter deficit). Pedro shuts down Cleveland in Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS. as the Sox overcame a 2-0 series deficit to win 3 games to 2 (Yes, I know it happened in the 20th century, but Pedro was so dominate it had to be included).

And there are plenty of other Red Sox and Patriots performances that can be included in this list. The Pats-Colts playoff games, The Red Sox series against Oakland in 2003 and 2004. Pedro throwing Zimmer to the ground.

What are some of your memorable playoff contests in the past few years?

Also, Happy Father's day to all the Dad's (including me) out there.

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