BEST game you ever saw

I was at the Bernard game as well. I remember that the announcer list Bernard's score about three times during half time, at the end of the third quarter and a couple of times during the 4th.

 

Mike Lavallier, or Spanky as refferred to by Pirates fans, who almost bailed out Bonds with a great sweep tag of a ball well up the first base line. And Fuck you all for bringing up the memory!

 

Even more fantastic since UK lost?

That I covered:

2005 UK-UL game, ended when Patrick Sparks (who did walk by the way) was fouled and hit free throws to win it. Exciting game, UL lost. BOOO!

2003 or 2004 Edison High vs. Perkins High. Incredible back and forth game, kid drops pass in end zone which would have won game, but exciting to watch.

2003 Michigan vs. Ohio State in Ann Arbor. 100th meeting, largest crowd ever and largest media crowd ever at The Big House. More of a great game because I got to see the stadijm for the first time, but it was a good game either way.

Last year, team we cover blew 18-pont fourth quarter lead in state finals. Also coldest game I've ever covered.

That I saw:

1989? UK-UL game, with Cedric Jenkins' tip-in at the buzzer for Uk win. BOOO!

1991 10th Region basketball finals. Harrison Co. vs. Maysville. Awesome game, high scoring and kid from Harrison grabs a rebound, goes the length of the court and hit a floater as the buzzer goes off to give Harrison the regional title and a trip to the Sweet 16.

I'm sure there are more, but these are what sprang to mind.

 

Once, I covered a five-overtime, high school, boys basketball game.

What made it more interesting was that the hosting team was trying to give the visitors their first conference loss in eight or nine years.

The thing I distinctly remember was the the visitors were so skilled and well disciplined is that in the first two overtimes they won the tip and help the ball for the last shot. The home team never gained possession.

The visitors won the third overtime's tip, and the home coach instructed his players to foul immediately. They were forced to foul even though they were tied.

Home team lost eventually, and I got to talk to the crying coach. Good times.

 

UNC beats Duke, 1995, 2 OT -- great regular-season game with perhaps the best dunk I've ever seen in traffic (Jerry Stackhouse) and a buzzer-beater by Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel

Nigeria 4, Brazil 3, 1996 Olympics -- to see a comeback like that in soccer is rare, Nwankwo Kanu pulls it off

 

I don't, I was pretty young.

 

1980 USA-USSR Olympic hockey in Lake Placid. One of the great upsets in sports history, and the one game that I can remember that had ramnifications far beyond the sports world. What many people don't remember about that game are two things: one, it started at 5 p.m. or so Eastern time and was tape-delayed on ABC at 8 p.m. Two, it wasn't even "the" gold-medal game. The U.S. still had to beat Finland two days later to win the gold, and had to come back to win that game as well.

It's the only game I'd watch a replay of from start to finish.

 

Best I've seen in person? Without a doubt. Game 6 of the '75 Series.
Best I've seen as a member of the press? '87 Providence-Georgetown, Hoya Paranoia invades the Dunk. Muggings in the lane. Pitino and Thompson decide it's go time (would've been better than any Vinny Paz fight I saw there). Billy Donovan keeps PC ahead most of the game before G-town rallies in the final few minutes to take the lead. About four feet in front of me, Pop Lewis drills a three in the dying seconds as the Friars pull the upset and go on to the Final Four.
Last year, Pitino comes back to Providence for the first time as a visiting coach with Louisville. Goes out to dinner with his old pals, gets back to the hotel, turns on the TV, runs across Cox Sports 3, and there's the replay of a certain January '87 classic.

 

For a long time, the 1995 AFC championship game between the Colts and Steelers was my favorite. Just a great game, with the underdog Colts losing on a late TD and missing a last-second hail mary by inches.
Then last year's AFC title game between the Colts and Patriots blew it out of the water. Great story, with the Colts finally getting over the hump -- and having to face their past failures to do it -- great comeback by the Colts, and a phenomenal second half with both teams just trading touchdowns the whole way.

In person, the best may have been the 1998 Ole Miss-LSU game in Oxford. Ole Miss was ahead 31-10 with 10 minutes left, but LSU came back to tie it on the last play of the game. Then, in overtime, an Ole Miss receiver catches a touchdown pass while laying on his back to make it 37-31. They miss the extra point, so LSU can win with a TD but is stopped three times from the 5-yard line.
I was in the pressbox covering this game, and was in my first year out of school at LSU. That game made me realize that if I can make it through that without losing my composure, I can make it through anything.

 

The Panthers-Pats Super Bowl was worth it, and so were the 1986 Game Sixes, Sox-Angels and Sox-Mets. Georgetown-Nova and Georgetown-Princeton ('89) were also highlights, and I was there for that GU-PC game terrier mentioned. Does the McEnroe[Becker Davis Cupper count as a game?
But the highlight, still, was UCLA-NCSU in the 1974 national semifinals in Greensboro. Two OT's. UCLA blows a seven-point lead in regulation and an 11-point lead (!) in the second OT. Walton. David Thompson. The end of an incredible dynasty.

Three Games I Wish I saw --
1) US-USSR hockey.
2) The Henderson Canada Cup game.
3) The rugby game in which Mandela walked to midfield and put on the Springboks jersey.

 

I was sitting next to Mert at this game and I agree whole-heartedly. Great saves, hit posts and three overtimes of an inch here or there changing fate.

I'd like to add Vermont over Syracuse in overtime of the NCAA Tournament.

 

Saying any single game over the course of 20 years of following sports and among all the sports I've watched over those 20 years is damn near impossible. But I'll give it a shot:

1996 MLS Cup, Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. D.C. United overcomes a 2-0 deficit and a noreaster, nearly winning the match in regulation but for an offside call that turned out to be legit. United eventually wins the game 3-2 in overtime when defender Eddie Pope heads the ball into the net.

The best game I ever covered? I'm going to have to go with Maryland beating No. 5 North Carolina 89-87 in men's basketball this year at the Comcast Center (Feb. 25). The Terps overcame a 12-point deficit with seven minutes remaining.

My favorite game I ever saw and wrote about was D.C. United's win over Vasco da Gama in 1998 to win the InterAmerican Cup. It was the last hurrah for United stalwarts such as Coach Bruce Arena, goalkeeper Scott Garlick and others as members of the team. I still remember the headline I used: Shades of United's past make present perfect.