There are losses, and then there are head-shaking, gut-wrenching, soul-crushing, losses — the kind of defeat that dooms your team and dashes your championship hopes and dreams. Yogi Berra may be famous for saying, "It ain't over till it’s over," but when he quipped that famous line, he clearly wasn’t referring to these top ten back-breaking sports moments from the past year. Because when these infamous sports plays transpired,
In the span of one day, the Red Sox and Braves completed the two worst collapses in Major League history, obliterating their playoff hopes after holding large September leads in the wild-card chase. Behind closer Mike Papelbon, the Red Sox squandered a one-run lead in the ninth and lost to the Orioles 3-2, while the Braves fell to the Phillies 7-6
The U.S. may have been favorites coming into the World Cup Final, but Japan was playing like a team of destiny, eager to deliver a little hope to their beleaguered countrymen, still reeling from the 2011 tsunami. With the Americas tantalizingly close to their first title since 1999, leading 2-1 in extra time, Japanese star forward Homare Sawa
Sure, there was a Game 7, but the Texas Rangers truly lost the 2011 World Series in the epic Game 6, after squandering a two-run lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in both the ninth and 10th innings. The death blows: Series MVP David Freese's game-tying triple in the ninth, which arguably could have been caught; Lance Berkman's score-knotting
In football, special-teams turnovers can be devastating momentum changers. That goes double for the crucial gaffes committed by San Francisco 49ers goat Kyle Williams, who fumbled away two punt returns in the NFC Championship Game, resulting in a mind-numbing 20-17 loss to the New York Giants. The latter offense happened in overtime, on the
What's worse than missing one game-winning field goal attempt? Missing two. What was supposed to be remembered as Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck's collegiate swansong turned into an unforgettable 41-38 Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State when freshman kicker Jordan Williamson missed a 35-yarder as regulation time expired, and then a 43-yarder in
The AFC title game between the Ravens and Patriots was about as close as it gets. The field goal attempt that decided its outcome, on the other hand, was nowhere close. After an impressive fourth-quarter drive by Joe Flacco put the Ravens in position to send the game into overtime, Baltimore kicker Billy Cundiff brutally shanked a chip-shot field
For the Patriots, it was like reliving a nightmare: Leading by a slim margin late in the fourth quarter, New England allows Giants quarterback Eli Manning to connect on a highly improbable pass that fuels New York to a Super Bowl triumph. Instead of connecting with David Tyree this time, the two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback found Mario Manningham, who, despite being draped by two defenders, made a dazzling, over-the-shoulder
Just when it looked like they were ready to battle their way back from a 3-1 series deficit in the Western Conference Finals, the San Jose Sharks snatched defeat from the "Jaws" of victory, losing Game 5 to the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in double-overtime. The backbreaking play: Vancouver center Ryan Kesler's game-tying goal off a one-timer with only
With the NBA Finals locked at two games apiece, LeBron James called Game 5 "now or never." Apparently, it was never. Fueled by a Dirk Nowitzki slam dunk and clutch three pointers from Jason Terry and Jason Kidd, the Dallas Mavericks went on a backbreaking 15-3 fourth-quarter run and put Miami’s so-called "Dream Team" to sleep 112-103. Unable to
Looking to solidify his reputation as golf's next elite superstar, 21-year-old Rory McIlroy was poised to capture his first Major at the Masters, entering Sunday at 12-under with a four-stroke lead against his closest competitor. Then the roof caved in: McIlroy found the rough on Hole 10 and shot a triple bogey. The blunder sent McIroy into a
