- 7 weeks ago
Almost
IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:06Welcome in to another edition of Who's Number One, I'm Trey Wingo.
00:09Look, it's a fact.
00:10Sometimes the team that can't lose does.
00:13Sometimes the sure thing falters.
00:15Something happens.
00:16Fate, choke.
00:17Who said that?
00:18Injury.
00:20The team that does everything ends up missing the one thing that's so important, a championship.
00:24So to celebrate, or mourn what might have been, here is ESPN Classics ranking of the 20 best teams never
00:33to win it all.
00:39The 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team featured Doug Collins and Tom McMillan,
00:44extended America's unbeaten streak in the games to 63 and was expected to take an eighth gold medal.
00:50But in a controversial finish, the clock was repeatedly reset and the Soviet Union claimed a 51-50 upset.
00:59The United States...
01:00They had to screw them out of that.
01:01The Olympic team has won every gold medal since 1936.
01:05You might think that we felt a lot of pressure regarding the record, but we didn't.
01:09I was 100% sure that we're going to win this thing.
01:12We didn't play well.
01:14Now, there's no question that we did not play well in the game.
01:17This is the youngest group ever to represent the United States.
01:22Now they find themselves with their backs totally to the wall.
01:26We were very methodical.
01:28We were running plays.
01:29Plays that just didn't work against their defense.
01:31Back to Tommy Anderson.
01:33The softest shot.
01:34Got a good shot.
01:35The Russians handled the rebound.
01:36We played into their game.
01:38The slowdown game.
01:39We only scored 50 points.
01:42I mean, that's not American basketball.
01:43They were ahead and came from behind.
01:45We won the basketball game.
01:46But that caller has perhaps won the game.
01:49That's how it should have ended.
01:52Two seconds.
01:54The Russian coach and Hank Ivor are yelling at each other.
01:58And Bedlam has taken over here at the basketball hall.
02:01They're changing the clock.
02:03Three seconds is what the PA announcer said.
02:05So they'll have to speculate that it's all over.
02:08Wow, what a finish.
02:09The United States winning their eighth consecutive gold medal.
02:13We didn't get beat.
02:13We got cheated.
02:14Now we're being told the scoreboard is not correct.
02:19It could have been okay if we just got beat.
02:23There is time for the Russians to go to their big man, Alexander Belov.
02:27They're going to try.
02:28Alexander Belov!
02:30The scorekeeper did not sign the book.
02:32The game is still unofficial because he felt the United States won.
02:35And this time it is over.
02:42The 2001 Mariners blitzed the American League, setting a record for wins with 116.
02:48Brett Boone posted the best numbers ever by an AL second baseman.
02:52And Ichiro Suzuki finessed 242 hits.
02:56But though Seattle had beaten the Yankees six of nine in the regular season, it lost to
03:01New York in five games in the ALCS.
03:05The best team that never got to a World Series simply by the sheer amount of victories they
03:10had during the course of the regular season.
03:12Something that we've seen in the wild card era, you see these teams that are sort of,
03:15quote unquote, built to win in the regular season, don't really get it done in the short
03:19series format.
03:20But what they didn't have was the dominant starting pitching.
03:26And if you don't have dominant starting pitching, it's very difficult to translate 116 wins.
03:36Most of us thought they were underdogs going into the playoffs when they had to play the
03:40Yankees because they were playing the Yankees.
03:46Seattle was unstoppable during the regular season.
03:50But like most sportswriters, we have to see them do it during the playoffs.
03:56They had the misfortune of running into a Yankee team that was seasoned.
04:01Swing and a high fly ball in deep to right field.
04:05Ichiro goes.
04:06Look at that's their reason.
04:07In particular, Ichiro.
04:09Give the Yankees scouts credit.
04:10They did a great job at figuring out a way to get them out.
04:13Flitter is in the dirt.
04:15Ichiro was the guy that made the Mariners go.
04:17And against the Yankees, he didn't do anything.
04:21They barely got out of the first round against the Indians.
04:24They were down 2-1 in the five-game series.
04:32Sooner or later, there's going to be a bad break or a team's going to get lucky or you run
04:37into a hot team.
04:38And you're going to lose a game.
04:39I mean, that's just the way it is.
04:41Led by the LCB line of Reggie Leach, Bobby Clark, and Bill Barber, the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers stitched together
04:50an incendiary stretch of 35 straight games without a loss.
04:54Despite that record 25-0-10 run, they lost to the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games.
05:01I consider that streak one of the truly great accomplishments of hockey that did not come with a trophy.
05:10If you say the name Bob Nystrom to any longtime Flyers fan, the word association is going to be offside.
05:22I don't think anything but a 4-by-6 piece of lumber would have stopped that puck.
05:30It's the collision of this Flyers team, which had this unbelievable regular season, that was looking to change its image
05:38from the Broad Street Bullies.
05:39Dirtiest team I ever saw.
05:41They brought hockey into the dark ages.
05:43They hurt its reputation in ways that still plagued the sport.
05:47They had talent.
05:49They had goal scorers.
05:51They had a rock-solid defense.
05:53And they happened to run into an Islanders team that was just starting its ascendancy.
05:57I don't know if they could beat you any way, though.
06:00And that's what they ran into.
06:01They ran into a team that could beat you any way.
06:0617.
06:0717.
06:09In the Fiesta Bowl in a showdown for the 1986.
06:12The Hurricanes.
06:14But they eventually won this.
06:17Sixth National Championship.
06:18Number one Miami was upset by number two Penn State.
06:22Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde was intercepted five times
06:25as Jimmy Johnson's unbeaten Hurricanes were held 28 points below their average in a 14-10 loss.
06:33All I can remember is the screw-ups.
06:35Testaverde, far side, Irvin, juggles it.
06:38And it is incomplete.
06:39Mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake.
06:42And you just figured, well, eventually, they'll turn it on.
06:46As time slips a bit, throws it's intercepted.
06:49Testaverde could do anything.
06:50At that time, he had fast legs.
06:53Testaverde steps away, steps away.
06:54He gets cut out of the arms of two rushers.
06:57And finally, the third man gets it.
06:58Great arm.
06:59He had great people to throw to.
07:01And then he decided to throw to the other team.
07:03Testaverde with a porcelain of Shane Conley.
07:08Yeah, they said Pro Scouts saw this and said, let's draft him number one.
07:15And he did some of that in the NFL.
07:19And it's hard to feel bad for this team because they won the next year.
07:22So really shouldn't be on the list.
07:26He was open.
07:27It made Joe Paterno look like a genius.
07:30Penn State defense did a tremendous job.
07:34As good as that Miami team was, the better team won that night.
07:37People perceive things to be flukish.
07:40I don't believe in that.
07:41I think if you won, you won.
07:44Intercepted, Giftopolis!
07:46The Penn State Nittany Lions are the national champions.
07:50Miami threw that game away.
07:52And it has probably haunted the program even with all its successes ever since.
08:02Another in Krzyzewski's long line of great teams.
08:05But they didn't get it done that night.
08:08Led by Elton Brand and Trajan Langdon,
08:10the 98-99 Duke team won 37 of its first 38 games,
08:15equaling the NCAA record for wins.
08:18But in the national title game,
08:20the Blue Devils were toppled by UConn 77-74.
08:25Langdon with three.
08:26Langdon's going to lose the dribble.
08:29It's over! It's all over!
08:32It didn't even feel like an upset as I watched it.
08:35There weren't outrageous breaks that UConn got.
08:39Hipped by Elton Brand.
08:40But yet he gets it back.
08:41He's hurt.
08:42It's stolen by Elton Brand.
08:44UConn looked like the superior team on the floor.
08:47That team went all the way through the ACC unbeaten.
08:50And just otherworldly.
08:53The Duke basketball team, 98-99,
08:57you know, loses to UConn in the final
08:58because they can't do anything about Richard Hamilton.
09:04The whole game had a...
09:06I knew that guy looked familiar.
09:08I just didn't recognize him without his cornrows.
09:11Different feel from the entire season.
09:13There is no Final Four without Duke.
09:15And so with Trajan Langdon there,
09:18you know, it looked like one more time for Duke.
09:21Instead, it was the first time for UConn.
09:23UConn, you bet!
09:2715, 15, 15.
09:30Back in those days,
09:32if you had a tie ball game with Notre Dame,
09:35you were going to lose the vote.
09:37Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis
09:38were expected to lead Army
09:40to its third straight national title in 1946.
09:43But the cadets,
09:44who had pummeled Notre Dame the previous two years,
09:46were held to a scoreless tie by the Irish
09:49and finished runner-up to them in the AP poll
09:51due to only beating their rival Navy by three
09:54in the season's final year.
09:59What a team.
10:00I mean, you know,
10:01they had two Heisman Trophy winners in the backfield.
10:04They had the cream of the American athlete at that time
10:07because guys had gone to West Point.
10:10They had come back there after the war.
10:13Once someone asked me,
10:15what is your claim to fame?
10:16And I said,
10:16that's the easiest question I ever had asked.
10:18I played on the football team
10:19with Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis.
10:21That's my claim to fame.
10:22The whole club
10:24was a pretty mature football team.
10:27Earl Blake, no question,
10:29a great coach.
10:30You could take that football team
10:32and put them out there today.
10:34And I would wager a small amount
10:37that they would run all over everything,
10:41regardless of size today.
10:44I know we had a lot of respect for the Army team.
10:48They came in.
10:49They were not going to go that far.
10:51Uh,
10:53but they were pretty great
10:55in their day.
10:58Only played 10 games that year.
11:01The whole schedule
11:02used to be a little bit shorter
11:04than it is today.
11:09After he had,
11:10but it was clean.
11:1914-14.
11:20The 1988 A's rode the muscle
11:23of the Bash Brothers,
11:24Jose Canseco and Mark McGuire,
11:26to 104 wins.
11:28But in the World Series
11:29made memorable by Kirk Gibson's
11:31gimpy-legged Game 1 homer
11:33off Dennis Eckersley,
11:34the Dodgers handled Oakland in 5.
11:37High fly ball into right field.
11:40She is gone!
11:43They had a powerful club.
11:45They were so much better
11:46than everybody else.
11:49They won 104 games.
11:51I think that may have set them up
11:53for failure in the World Series
11:55because they were not tested.
11:59Dave Stewart was the, uh,
12:01you know,
12:01the ace of that staff
12:02at 120 games.
12:03They rang the opening bell
12:04and it was like
12:05a Buffalo stampede.
12:06I mean,
12:06they just ran over everybody.
12:08Now they face
12:09a Los Angeles Dodger team
12:10that is the worst team
12:12to have won a World Series.
12:14And there's a drive to center.
12:16Back goes Shelby
12:17to the wall.
12:19The irony is,
12:20like,
12:21the next year
12:21after this came out,
12:23the 06 Cardinals
12:24became the worst team
12:25to win the World Series.
12:26They won 83 games
12:28that season.
12:29It is gone!
12:326-4,
12:33245.
12:34And he's running down
12:35balls in the outfit.
12:37And I thought,
12:37boy,
12:37this must be Roy Hobbs.
12:40If you
12:41went right through the lineup,
12:43certainly they were
12:44of a size
12:45more commensurate
12:46with a football team.
12:47We had some big boys.
12:48I mean,
12:49they were intimidating anyway
12:50because they had so much power,
12:51but, you know,
12:51nobody was going to fight us.
12:54It created, uh,
12:55sort of a swagger
12:56among the team
12:57that was something
12:58that people enjoyed,
12:58not only in Oakland,
12:59but, uh,
13:00they were a great road draw
13:01that year, too.
13:03The A's
13:04almost looked superhuman.
13:06When you face
13:07three or four of these guys
13:08and they were all
13:09huge men
13:10taking savage swings,
13:11this really looked
13:13like a murderous road.
13:1713-13.
13:19Randall Cunningham
13:20did the passing
13:20and Randy Moss
13:21the catching
13:21as the 98 fights
13:23Yeah, those guys.
13:24went 15-1
13:25in the regular season.
13:27But in the
13:27don't forget Chris Carter.
13:28The NFC Championship game,
13:30Gary Anderson,
13:32who had made his last
13:3346 field goal attempts,
13:35missed a crucial kick
13:36late in the fourth quarter
13:37and Atlanta won
13:38in overtime
13:3930-27.
13:4113-13.
13:44It was tough to take
13:45if you were a Vikings fan.
13:46I was stunned
13:47when they lost the game.
13:48That defense
13:49had a pass rush
13:51that was as good
13:52as the old
13:53purple people
13:53either days.
13:54And it just looked like
13:55everything was in place.
13:58It was like
13:58this whole package
13:59was put together
13:59and then there was
14:00this bonus
14:00of this young skinny
14:016'4 kid.
14:03We've got a star
14:04on our hands
14:05in the NFL.
14:06Randy Moss.
14:07I would roll to the left
14:08and be looking
14:08and looking at the last second
14:09and I'd say
14:10I'm willing to take a hit
14:10because I know
14:11once I throw this ball down
14:12that that man's going to
14:13catch him
14:13and put it in the end zone.
14:14Coming in under pressure.
14:15Tennessee throws.
14:16Moss.
14:17He believed so much
14:18in himself.
14:19He would tell me
14:20throw it out there
14:21and I'll go get it.
14:23He started out strong
14:24and then you could just see
14:25the necks get
14:26a little bit tighter
14:27and tighter
14:27and Cunningham
14:28missing passes
14:29as he had completed
14:30all season.
14:32Atlanta playing
14:33free-willing football
14:34and that was
14:34for disaster.
14:40The pitching rich
14:411969 Orioles
14:43had 20 game winners
14:44in Mike Cuellar
14:45and Dave McNally
14:46and Jim Palmer
14:47went 16-4
14:48for first year manager
14:49Earl Weaver
14:50but after
14:50but again
14:51they won the next year
14:52so
14:53really can't be on the list.
14:55Racking up
14:56109 wins
14:57in the regular season
14:58Baltimore succumbed
14:59to the miracle Mets
15:00in the World Series
15:01in five games.
15:03I don't think anybody
15:05I don't think anybody
15:06can ever fully explain
15:08how the Mets
15:09beat the Orioles
15:10that year.
15:10Frank Robinson
15:12Brooks Robinson
15:13Jim Palmer
15:13Mike Cuellar
15:15Dave McNally
15:16Paul Blair
15:17Boog Powell
15:18at first base.
15:19We won 109 ballgames
15:21that year
15:21and I guess
15:23that qualifies us
15:24for being one of the best.
15:25Well ladies
15:26on a perfect run
15:27here comes Blanchett
15:28to score
15:29the winning run
15:29the Orioles
15:30win the next two
15:31and sweep the Twins
15:32to become
15:33the American League champ.
15:36There's no way
15:37the Mets
15:37with that weak lineup
15:39that they threw out there
15:40could ever beat the Orioles.
15:42The Mets
15:42were terrible
15:43the year before.
15:44If you were gambling on it
15:45you'd have to be stupid.
15:47to bet the Mets.
15:49We had a pretty good ball club
15:50and you know
15:51we excelled
15:53in all phases
15:53of the game.
15:56It was a team
15:57without a weakness.
15:59It was a great Oriole team
16:01but with great pitching.
16:03It was so overpowering
16:05and October
16:05is power pitching month.
16:07Now you gotta remember
16:08that they had
16:08Nolan Ryan
16:09and Tom Seaver
16:10on that ball club
16:11who eventually
16:12went to the Hall of Fame.
16:14I think we were
16:15over anxious
16:16to show
16:16the rest of the world
16:17just how good we were
16:19and as a result
16:20we were too anxious
16:21and didn't do the things
16:22that we did
16:22during the course
16:23of the regular season.
16:30The 1954 Indians
16:32appeared to be
16:33without flaw.
16:34They had a pair
16:34of 23 game winners
16:35in early win
16:36in Bob Lennon,
16:37batting champ
16:38Bobby Avila
16:39and home run
16:42in RBI leader
16:43Larry Doby.
16:44Cleveland won
16:45111 games
16:47at the time
16:48an AL record
16:49but in the world series
16:50the tribe crumbled
16:51swept by the
16:52Willie Mays
16:53lead Giants.
16:55There goes the catch.
16:57We were always
16:58the bridesmaid
16:59never the bride.
17:00In 1954
17:02everything came together
17:03for our ball club.
17:05We then became
17:06a team of destiny.
17:09Nobody after that period
17:11would recognize
17:12what a great team
17:14we had in 54.
17:15The Indians
17:16were prohibitive favorites.
17:18They had four
17:18Hall of Fame pitches
17:19on that staff.
17:20Never mind
17:20the Indians
17:21didn't have
17:23our little brother
17:24anymore.
17:26And yet
17:26they wind up
17:27getting swept.
17:30Vic Wirtz
17:31a good Cleveland hitter
17:32had a monstrous drive
17:33in the Polo Grouse
17:35and Willie ran back
17:37and back
17:37and back
17:38and that is maybe
17:38the most famous picture
17:39ever taken
17:40of an outfield catch.
17:41He caught the ball
17:42on the way to Queens
17:43as he caught it
17:44he whirled
17:45and he threw it back
17:46into the infield
17:47so there was no
17:47significant advance
17:49by Major Hunter.
17:51After that first game
17:53the Indians
17:53probably said to themselves
17:54what do we have to do
17:55to beat this team?
17:56The single biggest reason
17:57why the New York Giants
17:58upset the Indians
17:59was Dusty Rhodes.
18:01Rhodes cuts
18:02at the first pitch
18:02and there goes the ball
18:04down the right field line
18:05a home run
18:07and the ball game's over.
18:09It wound up
18:09that this unknown guy
18:11made a shambles
18:12of this great
18:13vaunted pitching staff
18:14of Cleveland's.
18:21In 1969
18:22for the second straight year
18:24under Joe Paterno
18:25Penn State
18:26went 11-0
18:27and for the second
18:28straight year
18:29the Nittany Lions
18:30led by All-Americans
18:31Mike Reed
18:32and Dennis Onkots
18:33won the Orange Bowl
18:34yet they were voted
18:35number two
18:36in the polls
18:36behind Texas.
18:38The 1969
18:39Penn State team
18:41lost the championship
18:42when President Nixon
18:43injected himself
18:45into the argument.
18:45The AP and the OPI
18:48will name Texas
18:49number one.
18:50I think that turned
18:51Joe Paterno
18:52into a huge Democrat
18:54there for a while.
18:55They didn't win
18:56the national championship
18:58because it was
18:59a ballot box gig
19:00back in those days.
19:01The Midwest
19:02and the South
19:04didn't support Penn State.
19:06I think Joe
19:06had every right
19:07to be upset
19:08about that
19:09because you know
19:09we played
19:10I think
19:11a tougher schedule
19:12and we came down
19:13to the wire
19:14and played
19:14a tougher team
19:15in the
19:17absolute troglodytes.
19:24Very simple.
19:26He
19:26Richard Nixon
19:27was a West Coast guy
19:28so he didn't want
19:29anybody running
19:30that was from
19:32Pennsylvania.
19:35The Orange Bowl.
19:37They were probably
19:38the first team
19:39in modern college football
19:41to lose
19:41a national championship
19:42based on strength
19:43of schedule.
19:44Eventually
19:45it led to Penn State
19:46joining the Big Ten.
19:51Nine
19:51nine
19:52nine
19:54The 74-75
19:56Indiana team
19:57was one of
19:57Bob Knight's powerhouses
19:59led by future
20:00NBA players
20:01Scott May
20:01Quinn Buckner
20:02and Kent Benson.
20:04In an NCAA
20:05regional final
20:06the 29-0
20:07Hoosiers face
20:08Kentucky
20:08a team they had
20:09crushed earlier
20:10by 24.
20:12This time
20:12Indiana went
20:13belly up
20:1392-90.
20:17That team
20:18Knight has always
20:19insisted
20:19was a better team
20:20than the 76 team
20:21and it probably was.
20:23Quinn Buckner
20:24was a terrific
20:25point guard
20:25Kent Benson
20:26was the center
20:27they built
20:28around them
20:29the loss
20:30of junior year
20:31made us
20:32the team
20:32that we were
20:33my senior year
20:33that went undefeated
20:34because it gave us
20:35more resolve.
20:35It taught you
20:36about taking things
20:37for granted.
20:39To go in
20:40unbeaten
20:40to go in
20:42with national
20:42championship hopes
20:43and to lose
20:44the way we did
20:45and for me
20:46personally
20:46to not play
20:48you know
20:48and be 100%
20:49I think I played
20:50maybe a minute or so
20:51but to be 100%
20:52was really tough.
20:54To lose that game
20:54was certainly
20:56a devastating event.
20:58I ended up
20:58trying to figure out
20:59what to do
21:00on spring break
21:02because I had not
21:02been on spring break
21:03before
21:04and I was
21:05miserable
21:06and I said
21:07this isn't
21:07happening again.
21:13Joe Montana
21:14and Jerry Rice
21:15spun their
21:15pitch and catch
21:16for the 90
21:19San Francisco
21:2049ers.
21:21Montana threw
21:22for 26 scores
21:23Rice
21:25nagging 13
21:26and the Niners
21:27under coach
21:27George Seifert
21:28went 14-2
21:29but in the
21:31NFC title game
21:31they went down.
21:33They didn't give up
21:34a touchdown
21:34but still
21:35lost to the
21:35Giants
21:3615-13.
21:38Jeff Hostetler
21:39Joe Montana
21:41you've got to
21:41be kidding me.
21:43I mean
21:43there's no way
21:44that Jeff Hostetler
21:44is going to be
21:45Joe Montana
21:45in San Francisco.
21:47No way.
21:49Joe Montana
21:50had to be
21:51without a doubt
21:52one of the greatest
21:53quarterbacks
21:53to ever play the game.
21:55I think the guy
21:56had unbelievable
21:58vision and the
21:59ability to know
22:01where all his
22:02personnel is
22:02every time the
22:03ball is snapped
22:06and know where
22:07he's supposed to
22:08go with the
22:09football.
22:10A slippery style
22:13laid back
22:14lazy
22:15flow
22:15very proficient
22:16within his
22:17offense.
22:18He's very much
22:18not the kind of
22:19guy to make
22:20a lot of
22:20mistakes.
22:26Well
22:27until he got
22:28split in half.
22:34Unfortunately
22:35it was
22:35Joe Montana
22:36getting hurt
22:37and then
22:38Roger Craig's
22:38fumble.
22:3949ers were
22:40going to be
22:40the three-peat
22:41team and it
22:42looked like
22:42they might
22:43have the
22:43game in hand.
22:49That's how
22:50the Giants
22:50beat them
22:51without ever
22:52scoring a
22:52touchdown.
23:04Coach Tom
23:05Osborne elected
23:05to go for the
23:06win and
23:07gambled the
23:071983 National
23:09Championship on
23:10that decision
23:11in the Orange
23:11Bowl.
23:12With 48 seconds
23:14left, unbeaten
23:15number one
23:15Nebraska scored
23:16a touchdown to
23:17pull within
23:1731-30 of
23:19Miami.
23:20Osborne ordered
23:20up the two-point
23:21conversion.
23:22It faked.
23:24They scored
23:25more than 40
23:28points in
23:28games that
23:29season.
23:30It's easy to
23:30understand how
23:31they can score
23:32so many points
23:33when you have
23:33an offense that
23:34has Mike
23:34Rozier,
23:35Turner Gill.
23:36Turner Gill is in
23:37front,
23:37Husker,
23:38touchdown.
23:40The team was
23:41basically unstoppable.
23:43I know they
23:43didn't win.
23:44That was the best
23:44team I ever saw,
23:45by far.
23:48Somehow I wasn't
23:49quite measuring up
23:51and it would have
23:51made life a lot
23:52easier, I think,
23:53had we completed
23:54that two-point
23:55play.
23:55I think in a way
23:57categorizing Nebraska
23:57as this particular
23:58edition of the
23:59Cornhuskers as a big
24:00loser is a little
24:00unfair.
24:03If we had kicked
24:04extra point, we
24:05would have won the
24:06national championship,
24:07but it's kind of
24:07like backing in.
24:09Everybody can
24:09second-guess it
24:10after it happens,
24:11and if it was
24:11negative, you did
24:12the wrong thing.
24:13If you would have
24:13done it, if you
24:14would have went for
24:14two and it would
24:15want you to have
24:15been the hero.
24:16I know for a fact
24:17that Coach Osborne
24:18does not regret,
24:19ever, not for a
24:20moment.
24:20He didn't regret it
24:21then, and he
24:22doesn't regret it
24:22now.
24:25He scored 50 or
24:26more points seven
24:27times in 13 games
24:29in average 50
24:30points.
24:33Average 50
24:33points.
24:36Six, six, six.
24:39The intergalactic
24:40Bills, nobody's
24:41going to stop them
24:41with that offense.
24:42The 1990 Buffalo
24:43Bills were
24:44loaded, including
24:45quarterback Jim
24:46Kelly, running
24:47back Thurman
24:47Thomas, and
24:48sackmaster Bruce
24:49Smith.
24:50They went 13-3 and
24:51averaged an NFL
24:52best 27 points a
24:54game, but in
24:55Super Bowl 25,
24:56they were held
24:56to 19 and lost
24:58by one to the
24:59Giants when
25:00Scott Norwood
25:01went wide
25:02right.
25:04Six.
25:05I just remember
25:06that game that
25:07we didn't see
25:08that much of the
25:08Buffalo Bills.
25:11Exciting
25:12offensive team
25:13with all the
25:14great weapons
25:14with the running
25:15gun, it was
25:16such an open
25:18offense.
25:19You're coming
25:20off a 48-point
25:22win in the AFC
25:23championship game.
25:24You had scored
25:2644 points the week
25:27before.
25:29This Bills team
25:30scored a lot of
25:31points, and the
25:31feeling was that
25:32there wasn't
25:32another team that
25:34could keep pace
25:34with this offense.
25:35Thomas again!
25:37Thurman does it
25:38all.
25:41So the 1990
25:42Giants beat two
25:43teams on this
25:44list.
25:46The Bills had
25:46the ball for 19
25:47minutes and
25:48changed and scored
25:4819 points.
25:49The Giants had
25:50the ball for 40
25:52plus minutes and
25:52scored 20 points.
25:54In that Super
25:55Bowl, what the
25:56Bills did best
25:57worked to a
25:58certain degree,
25:58but the Giants
25:59came up with some
26:00incredible strategy
26:01to frustrate them.
26:02Bill Parcells and
26:03his team relished
26:05the role that
26:06they were going
26:07to play.
26:07They don't do it
26:08the conventional
26:08way.
26:09No, they sure
26:09don't.
26:10The Buffalo Bills
26:10were in this game
26:11and were in
26:12position to win
26:13this game at the
26:14very end, so by
26:15no means do I
26:16think the Bills
26:17were overwhelmed.
26:19It shouldn't
26:20have come down
26:21to that.
26:23Now Norwood
26:23tries to kick
26:24his longest ever
26:25on grass.
26:26When you're
26:27talking about a
26:2747-yard field
26:28goal on grass to
26:29win the Super
26:30Bowl, you're not
26:31talking about
26:31something that's
26:32very easy to
26:32do.
26:33If Norwood had
26:34made that field
26:35goal, I think
26:36Kelly would have
26:38received as much
26:39credit.
26:40I wouldn't have
26:41made it to that
26:41point if it wasn't
26:42for number 11.
26:44And to see it
26:45come down to one
26:46kick, you know,
26:47being the difference
26:48between somebody
26:49looking at somebody
26:49as a champion to
26:51somebody looking at
26:52somebody saying,
26:52oh, they lost the
26:53Super Bowl, it's
26:54devastating.
27:01Even without the
27:03legendary Johnny
27:03Unitas, sidelined
27:05with injury and
27:05replaced by Earl
27:06Morrill, the 1960s
27:08Incredible.
27:10Who beat them?
27:11The Colts went
27:1213-1.
27:13Wasn't in 07
27:14Patriots yet.
27:16I'm going to see
27:17the four teams that
27:18are higher.
27:19Coach Don Shula's
27:21machine was a
27:2119-point favorite
27:23over the upstart
27:24Jets in Super Bowl
27:253.
27:26But Joe Namath
27:27delivered on his
27:28brash will-win
27:29guarantee.
27:30Jets 16, Colts 7.
27:34We didn't know how
27:34tough they were.
27:35We had heard a lot
27:36about them.
27:36But after that first
27:37play broke clean
27:38and I got up and
27:39walked away, I came
27:40like, oh, I said,
27:41these guys are not
27:41so tough.
27:42And everybody sort
27:43of laughed and that
27:43sort of relaxed us,
27:44you know.
27:45And we went on
27:45and played the game.
27:47It was just shocking.
27:49Even Jets fans,
27:50who by the hope
27:50that they would make
27:51a game of it,
27:52didn't think they
27:53had much of a chance
27:53to win the game.
27:55We were confusing
27:57everybody that year.
27:59And Namath was able
28:00to handle our blitz
28:01and that was one
28:02of the big reasons
28:02in the Super Bowl
28:03that they upset us
28:05because he had
28:06nobody else
28:07was able to handle
28:08that.
28:08Now, I understand
28:09that you came in
28:10as a Baltimore supporter.
28:11Are you changing
28:11your mind?
28:12Well, actually,
28:13I think that the Jets
28:15forgot to read the papers.
28:17As much as Coach Shula
28:19and his coaches
28:20tried to get those guys
28:21to believe they were
28:22going to have a tough
28:22game, it was hard
28:23to believe.
28:24You know, you just
28:25win your championship
28:2634-0
28:28against the Cleveland
28:29Browns.
28:29Shut them out.
28:30Beat them up.
28:31The other best team
28:32in the league.
28:33You beat 34-0.
28:35Now you're going to
28:35worry about the AFL.
28:38things went the wrong
28:41way for us during the game.
28:42Things went the wrong
28:44way because you're,
28:46you have low football
28:47IQ.
28:52All he has to do is
28:53throw at Jimmy Orr
28:55and they win that game
28:56probably.
28:57Most likely.
29:02We moved the football,
29:03but we didn't put points
29:04on the board.
29:05That's the biggest thing.
29:06We got down there
29:06three times and
29:07didn't score.
29:08When the ball hit
29:09the shoulder pad
29:10and went into Randy
29:11Beverly's hands in the
29:12end zone in the first
29:13half,
29:15it's not going to happen.
29:16It was too much magic
29:17the other way for
29:19United to sap all the
29:20magic away from the
29:21Jets.
29:22It's 1969.
29:24The Rebels were
29:25supposed to beat
29:26the establishment.
29:32The 1984-85 Georgetown
29:35team anchored by
29:36Patrick Ewing and
29:37coached by John Thompson
29:38was a nine and a
29:39half point.
29:40College team
29:40in front of the
29:4268 Colts.
29:44Favorite over
29:45Villanova,
29:46a team the Hoyas
29:47had beaten twice to
29:48win a second straight
29:49national championship.
29:50But Nova played a
29:51practically perfect game.
29:53shot 79% from the
29:55floor and pulled off
29:56a 66-64 upset.
29:59Four.
30:00Patrick Ewing
30:01that year scared
30:03people.
30:04We were the Raiders
30:05of college basketball.
30:06Everybody hated us
30:07and we loved kicking
30:08everybody's butts.
30:12Ewing came out and
30:13blocked everything in
30:14sight, even if it was
30:15goaltending, trying to
30:16intimidate the Wildcats.
30:17I mean, that's what the
30:18Hoyas were about.
30:19They were an
30:19intimidating presence on
30:21the floor.
30:23I'd seen Georgetown
30:24play maybe 15 times
30:25that year, and I knew
30:27that there was always
30:28a point in time during
30:30a game where they
30:31would just overwhelm you
30:32defensively and there
30:33wasn't much you can do
30:34to stop it.
30:35Villanova always
30:36gave us trouble.
30:37Wayne McClain, the
30:38running one-hander.
30:39Oh, it's a glass and
30:40good.
30:40Villanova has played
30:42Georgetown.
30:44They're not afraid.
30:45The mystique of
30:46Georgetown doesn't exist
30:48among Big East teams
30:49because they see it all
30:51the time.
30:51They were, you know,
30:52more witty.
30:53They didn't want to
30:54tussle with us.
30:55They would have never
30:56won the game, so they
30:56used finesse.
30:57Every cylinder within
30:59our Villanova crew was
31:00operating, you know,
31:02on another level.
31:04They didn't miss any
31:05shots.
31:06One of the greatest
31:07upsets in the history of
31:08NCAA basketball.
31:09And would not have
31:10happened with a shot
31:11fire.
31:11We played a lot of
31:13games like we played
31:14that day against them
31:16where everything was
31:18going right, perfect.
31:22Patrick Ewing and
31:23Georgetown could not
31:24get into the up-tempo
31:25rhythm that they needed
31:26to pull the game out.
31:28Rowley controlled that
31:29game and controlled
31:30Georgetown.
31:31Cinderella wears the
31:32glass slipper.
31:33He really outcoached.
31:35Three, three, three.
31:40The five slamma jamma
31:41game.
31:42That was a great group
31:44for guys.
31:44Three.
31:46Five slamma jamma.
31:47You have this unique
31:48fraternity.
31:50It looked like the worst
31:52sort of mismatch.
31:53Houston's 1982-83
31:55five slamma jamma
31:56aerialists featuring
31:58Akeem Olajuwon and
31:59Clyde Drexler against
32:00Jim Valvano's North
32:01Carolina State team that
32:03dragged ten losses into
32:04the national title game.
32:06Houston lost a slowdown
32:07game 54-52 on a last
32:10second dunk.
32:11Five slamma jamma.
32:13They were outstanding.
32:14The big guy Olajuwon and
32:16you got Clyde DeBlyde
32:17Drexler.
32:18I mean they had some
32:19outstanding talent.
32:20Here comes Jim Valvano
32:22and this ragtag North
32:23Carolina State team.
32:28It still seems crazy to
32:29this day because the
32:30only thing they didn't do
32:31really well was shoot
32:32free throws.
32:33We played great defense.
32:35Everything we wanted to
32:36do we did.
32:37The guy shoots an air
32:38ball.
32:38You think perfect.
32:39The game goes in
32:40overtime.
32:41There's Lorenzo Charles
32:42down there.
32:42The Cinderella team has
32:44done it.
32:45It was showtime for
32:46Jimmy Valvano.
32:47He didn't allow them to
32:49control tempo.
32:50He didn't allow them to
32:52go up and down the floor.
32:54Houston loses.
32:55I thought sure we had it.
32:57That was the year.
32:59If we played them 20
33:00times I still don't think
33:02they'd win but one game.
33:05I took my hat to them in and
33:07I took my hat to them now.
33:12They went 31-3.
33:13I don't think that's better
33:14than 13-1 or 15-2 probably.
33:182-2-2-2-2.
33:21You think of it like it was a
33:2330 point loss and you look up
33:24at the scoreboard at the end
33:25of the game and it was 79-77.
33:27I just feel so bad for the
33:29kids because it's the greatest
33:30group of kids I've ever been
33:31around and I just hurt inside
33:35for them.
33:36The 1990-91 UNLV team featuring
33:38Larry Johnson and Stacey
33:40Audman toyed with most opponents
33:42in rolling up 34 wins.
33:44But the unbeaten runnin' Rebels
33:46who had crushed Duke by 30 in the
33:48previous national title game
33:49were upset by the avenging Blue
33:51Devils 79-77 in the final four.
33:55The year before in the championship
33:56game we played an A-plus game
33:58against a very good team.
33:59Again, the same team, but they
34:01were a year for maturation and so
34:03were we, but they may have
34:04matured a little bit more.
34:05What a great job Jerry Tarkanian
34:07did in molding that group of
34:09guys, getting them to play so
34:11hard every night.
34:12Coach Tark always talked about
34:14not so much winning games.
34:16You talk about a team three
34:17points from being 35-0.
34:19It's just playing hard and
34:21giving maximum effort and that
34:22winning would take care of
34:23itself.
34:23And that had happened the year
34:24of the four with the run we
34:25made in the NCAA tournament.
34:29103-73, the final score.
34:32UNLV wins the national
34:33championship.
34:35The fans there had come to
34:36Indianapolis and everybody was
34:38expecting to stay till Monday.
34:40We were figuring that the
34:40Saturday game against Duke was
34:42going to be a formality.
34:44It all started pregame.
34:46We're in the locker room and
34:47we're believing that we can beat
34:49anybody anytime.
34:50Our confidence level was so high.
34:51Larry Johnson on the college
34:53level was as dominant a player
34:56as I have ever seen.
34:57I'm not sure there's ever been
34:59anyone more man among boys
35:01than he was.
35:02They could run you off the
35:03court by fast breaks.
35:04They could go beyond the
35:06perimeter and shoot.
35:07What it hurt them probably
35:07winning another one would be
35:09the fact that they really
35:11hadn't been pushed very hard.
35:12Now the Lakers, they double
35:13team, triple team, shots up
35:15and in.
35:15And who would have thought you
35:16could take it inside?
35:17Sometimes you need a loss to
35:19wake you up.
35:22I was sitting up behind the
35:23Rebel bench with about eight
35:24or nine seconds left.
35:25They had the ball.
35:26You just sort of felt that
35:27they were going to do
35:28something to at least tie the
35:29game because this team had
35:30succeeded so many times
35:31before.
35:32Now to Johnson, make him
35:33bring it up with nine
35:34seconds left.
35:35Johnson to the right side.
35:36Johnson fakes.
35:37He had an open three
35:38pointer, an open three
35:40pointer.
35:41This is your player of the
35:42year, Larry Johnson, and he
35:44passed the ball.
35:46Looking five seconds to
35:48Hunt.
35:48Anderson Hunt, Sox fires a
35:50three.
35:50No!
35:51It's off the mark.
35:52It's over!
35:53The bullet opens and
35:53pulls off the biggest
35:54offense in the history of
35:56basketball.
35:56It was like the bullies
35:58got punched in the mouth
35:59and they didn't know how
36:00to respond.
36:00We had gotten the best of
36:02Duke the year before and
36:03they're too good of a
36:03ball club for somebody to
36:04come in and beat them by
36:0530 points again.
36:06To this day, I don't think
36:08people in this town have
36:09ever gotten over that
36:10loss.
36:12Welcome back to who's
36:14number one and the 20
36:15best teams never to win
36:17at all.
36:18Here's the list so far.
36:211970.
36:24The 1980 Soviet Olympic
36:27hockey team was considered
36:28impregnable and unbeatable.
36:30In group play, odd
36:31opponents were crushed.
36:32But in the medal round, in
36:34the celebrated miracle on
36:36ice, the Soviets panicked,
36:38pulled their star goalie,
36:39Vladislav Tretiok, and were
36:41upset by the U.S.
36:42for the flu.
36:43Can you believe in miracles?
36:45Yes!
36:45American athletes were really
36:47up against a professional
36:49class of state subsidized
36:51athletes.
36:52They never smiled.
36:53They never showed any
36:54emotion whatsoever.
36:56They were machine-like.
36:57They're Soviet soldiers.
36:58They work in the army.
36:59They play together year-round.
37:00They live together year-round.
37:02The 79-80 Soviet team was
37:04believed to be, they thought,
37:06the best team ever put
37:07together.
37:07Not just the best Russian
37:08team, the best team, period.
37:10You see Petrov and Karlamov
37:12and Mikhailov, and they
37:13went, wow, those are the
37:14guys I've been watching on
37:15TV for the last 10 years.
37:17I would marvel at their
37:18passing, having played hockey
37:19as a kid and watched it my
37:21whole life.
37:21Their passing was astounding,
37:23and they had this swagger
37:24about themselves that you just
37:25couldn't help but be
37:26mesmerized by their style.
37:27They could move into the NHL
37:29and dominate the NHL.
37:32And I covered the exhibition
37:34game just a few days before
37:35the Olympics were to start.
37:36And not only were the
37:38Americans overwhelmed, they
37:39just looked completely in awe
37:41of these guys.
37:42Breaking down the right
37:43side of Malchav.
37:44Look at this fight.
37:45He scored!
37:46What a beating.
37:47You thought, there's no way
37:48in hell that these kids
37:49are going to win at Lake
37:51Placid.
37:51You just hoped it wouldn't
37:52get to double digits.
37:53We worry about only
37:55Czech Republic.
37:56Other teams are going to
37:57worry because we're a
37:58strong team.
37:58The Russians did score
37:59for us.
38:00For a minute, there was,
38:01well, here we go again.
38:02This Russian team probably
38:03would have won the Stanley
38:05Cup that year.
38:06The Russians began to get
38:08a little bit too full of
38:09themselves.
38:12David and Goliath, and why
38:14wouldn't Goliath think
38:15he's going to win?
38:16They had a crowd.
38:16They had the whole country
38:18behind them, you know,
38:18and that was huge.
38:20When their coach,
38:21Tickanoff, had pulled
38:22Trey Jack, that was his
38:23way of telling his team,
38:25hey, don't screw around
38:26with these guys.
38:27He's too cocky.
38:29That's what led to them
38:30not winning.
38:32When the camera showed
38:33the eyes of the Soviet
38:34players, there was
38:36disbelief.
38:37Who asked to the college
38:38guys, it's impossible.
38:43So that's our accounting of
38:45what never was, and for 20
38:46teams, never will be.
38:48Agree or disagree with the
38:49rankings?
38:50Well, who better to debate
38:51disappointment?
38:53Good ranking.
38:54...than our...
Comments