L.A. sports' worst heartbreaks
In the wake of the Lakers' collapse against the Celtics Thursday night, we're making a list of the most historic cases of Southern California teams snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Send your suggestions in a comment. What's the most painful memory? Dodgers beaten by Jack Clark -- or Joe Morgan, or Reggie Jackson? Angels stunned by Dave Henderson? Rams losing the Mud Bowl game to the Vikings? Kings tripped up by Marty McSorley's illegal stick? USC falling to Vince Young and Texas? An earlier Lakers loss to the Celtics? Or something else? With your help, we'll have the definitive list in Saturday's papers and at this Web site.
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About this blog
Kevin Modesti watches sports from a new angle since his promotion from sports columnist to sports editor for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. In his new blog, Modesti not only comments on the big sports stories of the moment-- he talks about what makes them big. Think of it as a conversation with readers about how these stories should be covered.
It was the tragic motivation in the movie "The Bad Lieutenant" - the 1986 Mets vs. the Red Sox!!! Buckner should have been pulled, but I guess management assumed the game was won. I don't blame the guy, I blame management. If they knew the guy was hurting, he shouldn't have been on first in the first place.
Well, it's not exactly Los Angeles, but since there are still so many Raiders fans in Los Angeles: I'll nominate the infamous ``Tuck Rule'' loss to the Patriots. I can still remember Nevin, my boyfriend, literally laying on the ground, completely depressed for four hours after that game. And still, to this day, whenever he sees footage of that game, his face turns ashen.
I have to choose the 86 ALCS when Mr. Henderson hit the home run off Donnie (Dinty) Moore. As an unemployed publicist and then part-time quasi journalist, I had $10 on the California Angels (legally in Tahoe) at 10-1 to win the AL title. One pitch away watching the game from the Coliseum pressbox while typing the play-by-play for the Raiders. There went $100 just one pitch from being in my pocket. Time forgives all wounds - that one took many years.