Winning streak ups playoff pressure on Indians
Of all the bewildering, maddening, disappointing and ultimately expected Flyers failures in the Stanley Cup playoffs since 1975, none was as deflating as the crash of 1980.
Still loosely connected to the 1974-1975 dynasty, the 1979-80 Flyers would accumulate an NHL-best 116 regular-season points before falling in the final round to the Islanders. Though most conveniently remembered as the year official Leon Stickle missed a New York offside infraction in the deciding Game 6, the season by then had a greater definition. That’s because in it, the there was an indication that the Flyers would not, could not be beaten.
From Oct. 14 through Jan. 6, the Flyers went 35 games without losing. The record remains, and since NHL games no longer end in ties, it may last forever. As if it matters.
The Cleveland Indians have become the Flyers of 2017, generating the longest winning streak in American League history and baseball’s longest since the New York Giants won 26 consecutively in 1916.
For pure, in-the-moment joy, the Indians have the right to bask in their achievement. But that streak has only increased the pressure on them to show as much excellence in October.
“In a way I’d rather be doing what the Dodgers are doing right now,” said Pete Mackanin the other day, in a reasonable conversation about baseball momentum. And he might be right; it could be better to struggle through the final weeks of the season, to brush some losses out of the way, to absorb the worst of baseball luck early, not late. “That sounds stupid but…” But it isn’t. Cleveland has not won a world championship since 1948. It must have caused their fans much torment. But if that streak continues this October, the torment will double. Once a team hints that it is unbeatable, it cannot fail when it most matters. If so, the best it can do is run behind the cover of another Leon Stickle.
Here’s to boxing for spending the last three months counter-punching the attack that it rarely provides matches craved by fans.
The summer of satisfaction began in June with the second fight between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward, who threw enough low punches to win an entertaining bout.
That was followed by the August showdown of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and MMA legend Conor McGregor in the richest fight of all time. Because McGregor oddly chose to be more conservative than aggressive, the fight rolled into the 10th round, all of them gripping. Mayweather, as special as any boxer in history, improved to 50-0.
Saturday, Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez will fight in Vegas. Not only will the winner emerge with the middleweight championship but with status as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter.
So throw shade at boxing for many things. But the wail that the best fights never happen must be bottled for a while. For not only are they happening, they have provided (pay) television’s most captivating summertime series.
The McGregor-Mayweather carry-on was easily handicapped. Mayweather was going to win by a TKO when the MMA hero, out of his comfort zone, grew exhausted. McGregor hung on longer than expected. But a Mayweather TKO it was.
GGG and Alvarez? They’ll provide headaches … and not just each to other, but to the handicappers.
Golovkin is the slight betting favorite for a reason: He’s more proven in the division.
Alvarez will land slightly more punches. But the prop-bet board reveals that GGG is more likely to record a knock-down. If so, then in a tight fight, any 10-8 round will define the scorecards.
It will be Golovkin by a split decision.
The Eagles won by 13, on the road, against a division opponent that for them had been tough to beat. Their quarterback made mystical escapes and impressive throws and decisions. They were strong on third down. They defended with passion.
Thus, the standard sports question: Believe what happened in Washington … or consider it a one-day exception?
Sunday, the Birds will be in Kansas City, where Andy Reid will have had 10 days to savor a victory over New England and obsess over ways to outperform Doug Pederson, his former assistant. Yet the Birds opened at just 4.5-point underdogs. And that says that the know-italls have made the proper call: The Eagles have a good chance to be real this season. If so, it will show Sunday.
Eagles 28, Chiefs 27.
The Sixers hired a new director of athlete care Friday. Oh, brother.