The Ones That Got Away: Sport's Biggest Chokes

It is said that for every great comeback victory there is an equal or greater choke. And as great as Miami’s comeback was in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, San Antonio sure blew it. I don’t know that a team has ever been so close to winning an NBA title, only to let it slip away like that. The crowd was being cordoned off; the trophy was being readied for presentation; Commissioner David Stern was probably preparing his speech. But missed free throws, missed rebounds and curious substitutions came back to hurt the Spurs. This was not like any other defeat they will have suffered before. This was crushing. Devastating. You just don’t recover from a loss like that, not ever, least of all not in two days’ time for a Game 7. A game like that can haunts you with a lifetime of regret, of bitterness. In some ways, the narrow losses mean more than the victories. Like a tattoo you wished you never got, it both scars you and it defines you. The San Antonio Spurs are not alone.

Here are five of the biggest chokes of all time:

Today In History: Dock Ellis Throws a No-Hitter On LSD

There is a major investigation going on into drugs in baseball right now. But instead of another preachy article, here's a video that some talented folks put together about the good old days before compulsory PED testing, before the steroid age, although after Aldous Huxley and The Doors of Perception.

For the uninitiated, a no hitter is a very big deal. There have only been 279 since 1885. Many would have been thrown on steroids. Only one was ever thrown on acid.

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The Blueprint

Pro Sports' New Super Agent: Jay Z. Yes, THAT Jay Z

Occasionally, I find myself feeling worried about the encroaching commercialism in sports. Then a story such as this one comes along and suddenly it doesn’t seem so bad. Like when New York Yankees second baseman and perennial all-star Robinson Cano dumped revered uber-agent Scott Boras and signed instead with none other than Mr Shawn Carter: Jay Z himself.

This is a huge deal, with wide ranging effects for both men, and indeed the future of sports agency. Cano is not just some ballplayer. He’s the best hitter on the biggest team: a serious MVP candidate and one of the very best in his position. Signing him is a clear statement of intent for Jay Z and his ever expanding entertainment empire. It’s also great news for Yankees fans, as I’ll come to soon...