By Jeremy Walsh
The Butler University Bulldogs seemed poised to complete an amazing championship run going into Monday night”s National Championship Game.
Almost nobody had high expectations for Butler going into the 2011 NCAA Tournament, even though many of its players were part of the 2010 national runner-up team.
Then, the Bulldogs picked up momentum by winning so many close games in the tournament and suddenly became the team to beat going into Championship Monday.
But decent opponent defense coupled with awful shooting stopped Butler”s pumpkin carriage in its tracks. The Bulldogs shot a record-worst 18.8 percent from the field and lost 53-41 to the University of Connecticut.
A Butler National Championship would have capped the greatest underdog story in college basketball history, but its Cinderella run to the title game still ranks up there.
In the past five years, there were five runners-up whose surprising near-title runs were more impressive than Butler”s.
5. Justine Henin, 2010 Australian Open
The seven-time Grand Slam champion retired abruptly in 2008, but announced almost as suddenly in late 2009 that she”d be coming back onto the court.
Henin made her return to tennis early in 2010, beating a few ranked players in an Australian Open warm-up event in Brisbane.
She was then given a wild-card entry into the Aussie Open, but few could have seen a deep run coming in her second event back (even though fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters won the 2009 U.S. Open soon after coming out of retirement).
Then Henin got on a roll, defeating three ranked Russians on her way to the finals, where American Serena Williams awaited.
Williams won the first set; Henin battled back to win the second, but poor serving cost the Belgian in the third. Henin”s unlikely run ended with a respectable runner-up finish – unfortunately her return didn”t last long as injuries forced a re-retirement earlier this year.
4. Philadelphia Flyers, 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Flyers barely even qualified for the playoffs, earning a berth after winning a shootout during the final regular season game.
But the No. 7 seed soon became an unstoppable force, gliding through the first round and then overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the second round to beat the Boston Bruins.
After destroying the No. 8-seed Montreal Canadiens in the conference finals, the Flyers met the Western champion Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Each team won on its home ice in the first five games of the finals, but the Blackhawks nipped the Flyers in overtime in Game 6 in Philadelphia, ending the Flyers” improbable run (and completing an impressive one of their own).
3. Colorado Rockies, 2007 MLB Playoffs
The Rockies went 13-1 at the end of the regular season to force a one-game wild-card tiebreaker with the San Diego Padres. The extra game went into the 13th inning, ending on a controversial safe call at home plate.
After earning the playoff berth, Colorado swept its two National League opponents and seemingly had all the late season momentum needed to complete the championship run.
Unfortunately, the American League Championship Series went seven games, with the Boston Red Sox overcoming a 3-1 deficit.
When Colorado finally stepped onto the field in the World Series more than a week later, its players were as cold as the team”s namesake, and the Red Sox swept the series.
2. Arizona Cardinals, 2008-09 NFL Playoffs
The woeful franchise hardly seemed destined for its first Super Bowl appearance when the playoffs began.
The Cardinals got into the playoffs by winning the weak West division with a 9-7 record (most wins came against sub-.500 teams).
But two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner led Arizona”s potent offense to three impressive postseason wins and a spot in Super Bowl XLIII against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In probably the most exciting Super Bowl ever, the Cardinals battled hard and took a late-game lead with fewer than three minutes left.
Then Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger clipped the Cardinals” wings by driving his team down the field and throwing the most memorable touchdown pass in Super Bowl history – and giving Arizona a truly tough loss.
1. Tom Watson, 2009 British Open
Oh what a story it would have been. Watson, 59, entered the final round of The Open Championship at Turnberry tied for the lead.
As that Sunday”s back nine winded down, Watson steadily maintained a lead and appeared ready to become the oldest major champion ever (and earn his sixth British Open, and first since 1983).
On the 72nd hole and leading by one stroke, Watson put his drive in the fairway. His 8-iron approach shot hit the center of the green but rolled past the flag and off the putting surface.
Watson went with putter from off the green and rolled his approach putt eight feet past the hole. And the hearts of almost everyone in the golfing world sunk when Watson meagerly missed his par attempt and tapped in for a bogey.
That is, everyone except Stewart Cink, who found himself in a playoff with the golf legend. Cink dominated the four-hole playoff and earned his first major championship, but few remember his victory.
What we do remember is Watson having a smile on his face that whole week, even as he missed that infamous par putt, and those fleeting visions of what could have been.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
