The New York Mets held a seven-game lead in August and were the favorites to represent the National League in the World Series. They maintain by far the highest payroll in the National League at over $116 million in 2007. And now, with the playoffs a day away, the Mets' season is over. What happened? The Mets collapsed, in typical 21st-century New York baseball style, losing 12 of their last 17 games. They made things interesting Sunday, as a win would have given them a shot at reaching the postseason. We all know what happened, the Mets were blown out by the Florida Marlins, a team tied for the second-worst record in the NL. So to celebrate the Mets' epic nosedive, we give you the top 10 chokes in sports history.
10. Phil Mickelson, 2006 U.S. Open. Lefty could have been grouped with the likes of Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods if he had managed to win his third straight major at Winged Foot, but instead, his performance went down in infamy. Up by a stroke going into the final hole of the tournament, Mickelson hit his drive off a corporate tent and into the rough. He then attempted to go for the green and instead ended up hitting a tree, and then plugging into the sand for a double bogey on the hole. That ended in a second-place finish in the tournament. Tiger Woods he ain't.
9. New Jersey Nets, Game 3, 2002 Eastern Conference Finals. The Nets were up 74-53 entering the fourth quarter of Game 3 with the Boston Celtics. Led by Paul Pierce, who single-handedly outscored the Nets in the fourth quarter with 19 points, the Celtics won the game 94-90 in the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history. (Of course, the Nets won the series, but that's beside the point.)
8. LSU Tigers vs. Kentucky Wildcats, 1994. LSU had a 31-point lead in the second half over Rick Pitino's Wildcats with 15 minutes left to play. Led by the immortal duo of Tony Delk and Walter McCarty, the No. 11 Wildcats staged a comeback for the ages, winning 99-95 in the "Mardi Gras Miracle." No beads were thrown in celebration.
7. Minnesota Vikings, 1998 NFC Championship. After an NFL-best 15-1 season, the Vikings seemed like a shoo-in to make the Super Bowl, especially when they were up by seven and about to attempt a 38-yard Gary Anderson field goal late in the fourth quarter. After Anderson's botched kick, the Atlanta Falcons tied it up and then won with a 38-yarder in overtime by Morten Andersen.
6. Portland Trailblazers, 2000 Western Conference Finals. The Trailblazers were up by a convincing 15 points in the fourth quarter of Game 7, and a spot in the NBA Finals looked imminent. That was, of course, before the L.A. Lakers went on a 15-0 run to win by a fairly comfortable margin, 89-84. Shaq pulled his best "Kazaam," granting L.A.'s wish of another Lakers Finals appearance.
5. AC Milan, 2005 Champions League Final. In one of the most epic moments in soccer history, AC Milan blew a comfortable 3-0 halftime lead against Liverpool, coming one goal short, 3-2, on the deciding penalty kicks.
4. Boston Red Sox, 1978 AL East race. In an episode startlingly similar to 2007, the Sox held a 14.5-game division lead into mid-July. On Sept. 10, the Yankees completed a four-game sweep and forced a tie atop the standings, and we all know what happened next. The Yankees won the ensuing one-game playoff thanks to Ron Guidry, Reggie Jackson and one Bucky "Bleeping" Dent.
3. Houston Oilers, 1993 AFC playoffs. Maybe this is why they no longer exist? The Oilers were up 35-3 in the third quarter of their second-round game with Buffalo when they allowed a jaw-dropping comeback. Buffalo was playing without starting quarterback Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas, but quarterback Frank Reich managed to lead his team to seven unanswered touchdowns to take a 38-35 lead. Houston tied it up as time expired, but Buffalo wrote the last page to the sob story as Steve Christie nailed a field goal for a 41-38 Buffalo victory.
2. New York Yankees, 2004 ALCS. But of course: the only team in baseball history ever to blow a three-game lead in a best-of-seven playoff series. If the Boston Red Sox were going to win their first World Series in 86 years, they were going to do so in mind-blowing fashion, and they did not disappoint, embarrassing the Yankees in four straight games and crushing the Curse of the Bambino.
1. Jean Van de Velde, 1999 British Open. This French golfer fared as poorly on the 72nd hole as his country's army did in World War II. He went in three strokes ahead, and even a double bogey six would have won him the tournament. He went on to hit the ball off the grandstand, then into the water canal, then into a bunker en route to a seven on the hole. Van de Velde's name can be faintly made out under Paul Lawrie's on the Open trophy, as even the etcher could never have foreseen his monumental collapse.
-by Tim Judson and Ethan Landy
