It's looking to be another bleak year for Cleveland sports teams: the Indians are again floundering with limited pitching and no hitting, the Browns don't seem to have capable receivers/running backs/defensive backs (you name it, and they are missing it), and of course the Cavs were sent packing by the grandpa-aged Celtics. Not to mention that the city is sitting on the collective edge (and ready to jump) in regards to the LeBron situation.
The Cavs, with the best team-player in the game today, much improved outside shooting, and none other than the Diesel in the middle to stop Dwight Howard, were stopped dead in their tracks by a team that may have a quarter of the roster who usually hits the early-bird buffet at the Golden Corral flashing their AARP cards. As a matter of fact, the Cavs were lucky to even make it to the Eastern conference quarterfinals after making Joakim Noah look like the second coming of Bill Russell (which should be the only time ever those two are mentioned in the same breath). It was a disappointment that only Cleveland fans know how to handle.
Which got me thinking.....as we stand here today (July 1), what are all time kick-in-the-groin moments of Cleveland sports? Quite unbelievable that there were so many "honorable" moments to choose from. The above date is important because this list is subject to change if LBJ spurns the Cavs (because really, when is a quarter of a billion dollars not enough??). I listed them in descending order; feel free to disagree/agree/share your thoughts. First you'll see the "honorable mentions" - tough moments, but not quite gut-wrenching enough to make the top 10.
Just missed the cut:
-2010 Cavs playoff loss (tough moment, but not all that surprising once you saw them perform in the playoffs).
-2007 NBA Finals: Cavs get swept by Spurs (not the greatest Cavs team, and lost to a great Spurs team).
-1990 AFC Championship game: Broncos roll Browns 37-21 (always bad losing to Broncos one game away from the Super Bowl, but this one was a stroll in the park compared to the other two).
#10: The Comeback
One of the most underrated moments, as you don't hear about it all that often. Just two days after Ohio State won the national title in football, the Browns were in the playoffs for the first time since coming back in '99. Playing the Steelers on the road, the Browns built leads of 17-7 at the half, 24-7 in the third, and 33-21 with 10 minutes to go. Kelly Holcombe threw for 429 yards; unfortunately, the Browns had no running game to help grind the clock (William Green led them with 30 yards on 25 carries). Regardless, the Browns had a chance to close the door with less than 2 mninutes to go and leading 33-28. On 3rd and 12, and with Pittsburgh out of timeouts, Holcomb put the ball in stride to Dennis Northcutt, which, if caught, would have allowed the Browns to kneel the ball to run the clock out. Unfortunately, Northcutt "just dropped it" (his words) and Pittsburgh scored with 54 seconds left to win the game. Too bad we didn't have Roethlisberger to kick around after this one.
#9: 2007 ALCS
The Indians entered this series as huge underdogs to the Red Sox, who were in the midst of their great run of this decade. After the Red Sox cruised in the opener, the Indians shocked everyone by winning the next 3 to take a 3-1 series lead with game 5 in Cleveland, one win away from facing the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. Lady luck was not on the Indians side, however, and the Indians would lose the next 3 games by a combined score of 30-5. (Funny side note, though: with a chance to clinch the series in game 5 in Cleveland and Josh Beckett pitching for the Red Sox that night, the Indians brought in Danielle Peck to sing the national anthem. Peck dated Beckett the previous summer, and the Red Sox accused the Indians of trying to distract their pitcher with this stunt. If you're going to go down, might as well go swinging, right??)
#8: Offensive Futility in the 1995 World Series
Playing in the World Series for the first time since 1954, the Indians ran into the pitching buzzsaw that was the Atlanta Braves rotation (Maddux, Glavine, Avery, and Smoltz). The Indians had the best record in baseball and a record-setting offensive season (lineup featured Lofton, Belle, Ramirez, and Thome to name a few), but were not able to produce enough in this series. While the Braves won the Series 4 games to 2, 5 of the 6 games were decided by one run. This was supposed to be the culmination of the baseball renaissance in Cleveland, but alas, the city was left on the outside once more.
#7: Red Right 88
The 1980 season was one of the most memorable for the city of Cleveland, as Sam Rutigliano's Kardiac Kids played in 10 regular season games settled by 7 points or less. On January 4, 1981, the Browns clashed with the Raiders at the old stadium in the first round of the playoofs. Fast forward to late in the final quarter, when the Browns trailed 14-12 but were knocking on the door at the Raiders' 14 yard line. With less than a minute left, Rutigliano decided to gamble and go for a touchdown instead of running down the clock and attempting a field goal (in his defense, Don Cockroft had already missed two kicks in the swirling lakefront winds). Red Right 88 was the play, which called for quarterback Brian Sipe to get the ball to Dave Logan. When the ball was snapped, tight end Ozzie Newsome broke free in the end zone, and Sipe launched the ball Newsome's way. Unfortunately, Raiders cornerback Mike Davis was in between the two and picked the ball off to clinch the victory for Oakland.
#6: The Shot
The deciding game 5 (this was back when the first round was best-of-5, not 7) of the first round of the 1989 NBA playoffs between the Cavs and the Bulls took place at the Richfield Coliseum. This game launched Michael Jordan from star to legend, which is also why it's not higher on this list (as Jordan did this multiple times in the playoffs against multiple teams; hard to fault the Cavs for this). Regardless, it was still a blow to Cleveland. The Cavs had beaten the Bulls in all 6 regular-season meetings, and were clear favorites heading into this series. At the end of game 5, Jordan hit a jumper with 6 seconds left to give the Bulls their first lead. Craig Ehlo followed with a shot of his own with 3 seconds, returning the lead to Cleveland. The rest is legend: Jordan took the ball from left to right, pulled up around the free throw line, and nailed The Shot at the buzzer to give the Bulls the series upset.
#5: The Drive
This may have been the official start of Cleveland's inferiority complex. Some may put this higher on the list, but similar to The Shot with Jordan, very few NFL defenders could figure out John Elway, so that knocked it down a peg or two for me. The AFC Championship Game was played on January 11, 1987, at Municipal Stadium. The Browns led 20-13 with just over 5 minutes left and John Elway taking over from their own 2 yard line. Elway led a drive that needed only two third down conversions, and with 39 seconds left, hit a slanting Mark Jackson in the end zone to tie the game. Rich Karlis would kick the winning field goal in overtime to win the game for Denver, and break the hearts of Cleveland fans everywhere.
#4: 1954 Series Sweep
The Indians won a then-American League record 111 games, but managed to get swept by the Giants in the World Series. Of note is the fact that this series produced the most famous catch ever: Willie Mays' over-the-head basket catch (although I would argue that Jim Edmonds' diving overhead catch was significantly harder), robbing Vic Wertz and the Indians' chances of scoring that inning. This would be the last World Series for the Indians until 1995, starting years upon years of futility for the Tribe.
#3: Late Pitching Dooms Cleveland
This version of the Tribe was good, but not nearly as potent as the '95 squad. Many were surprised the Indians made it to the Series, but they actually found themselves in the role of favorites against the Florida Marlins. Great series that went 7 games, with the final played in Miami. The Indians led 2-0 early and 2-1 entering the bottom of th 9th, half-an-inning from a championship. However, Jose Mesa gave up the tying run to send it to extra innings, and Charlie Nagy give up the winning run to Edgar Renteria in the bottom of the 11th. Still trying to figure out how a team with "star" players such as Bobby Bonilla, Edgar Renteria, and Craig Counsell beat them in the Series. I remember watching this game when I was in high school, and at this point I began seriously thinking a Cleveland team might never win a championship; how much closer can you get actually get?
#2: The Fumble
AFC Championship Game, 2 yard-line, 1:12 left. Unfortunately, Earnest Byner found Broncos cornerback Jeremiah Castille before he found the goal line and fumbled the win away. This one is tough, particularly because the Browns controlled their destiny and were just over a minute away from winning this game. As Cleveland luck would have it, the Browns would trade Byner two years later, where he would win a Super Bowl with the Redskins. Meanwhile, the Browns would fire Marty Schottenheimer after this loss and hire Bud Carson, the most indifferent man in the world.
#1: Nov. 6, 1995
The one true day of pure hatred in Cleveland: Satan Modell announces the Browns are leaving Cleveland to play in Baltimore. There is no need to expand on this too much; many sides (the governor, mayor, city and county councils, and the Browns) shoulder the blame for this one. But essentially, it came down to Moddell being greedy. He would never publicly appear in Cleveland again, and Cleveland was without a franchise for three seasons. Luckily, after the Browns came back in '99, they started a string of fantastic draft choices (Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, Gerrard Warren, William Green, Kellen Winslow, Braylon Edwards, and Brady Quinn), quality coaching hires (Chris Palmer, Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel, etc...), and well-developed quarterbacks (Kelly Holcomb, Spurgeon Wynn, Luke McCown, and Doug Pederson). Meanwhile, the "Ravens" signed a murderous linebacker, an aging quaterback, and a drug-dealing running back and win the Super Bowl within 5 years. This sets the record for the longest hangover ever, which the city is still experiencing.
So that's what I have. LeBron's ordeal can certainly alter this list, but I still don't seem him surpassing the Browns leaving town if he chooses to sign elsewhere. The reason he has all this pressure in Cleveland is because of all the above events; he's carrying all three franchises with him at the moment. Regardless, is there any city more cursed in sports than Cleveland? Very doubtful.
