Fansided

Columbus-Tampa NHL playoff series joins list of 20 greatest sports upsets

By Brad Berreman

Lake Placid, NY - 1980: United States team vs Russian team, competing in the Men's ice hockey tournament, the 'Miracle on Ice', at the 1980 Winter Olympics / XIII Olympic Winter Games, Olympic Fieldhouse. (Photo by ABC via Getty Images)
Lake Placid, NY - 1980: United States team vs Russian team, competing in the Men's ice hockey tournament, the 'Miracle on Ice', at the 1980 Winter Olympics / XIII Olympic Winter Games, Olympic Fieldhouse. (Photo by ABC via Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Jay Drowns/Sporting News via Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Jay Drowns/Sporting News via Getty Images /

12. New York Giants over Cleveland Indians-1954 World Series

The Indians won a then-AL record 111 games in 1954, with a bunch of Hall of Famers in their prime (Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Larry Doby). The National League champion New York Giants seemingly had no prayer.

Game 1 was the turning point. Indians’ hitter Vic Wertz, 3-for-3 at that point in the game, sent a fly ball to deep into the outfield at the Polo Grounds. Giants center fielder Willie Mays announced his arrival as a start, and authored an iconic World Series moment, with an over the shoulder catch.

The Giants would go on to sweep the series 4-0, by a combined score of 21-9.

11. Florida Marlins over Atlanta Braves-1997 NLCS

The Braves were nearing the end of their peak run with a loaded starting rotation (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz), as they’d won four of the previous five National League pennants. They also won 101 games during the 1997 regular season.

The Marlins, only in existence since 1993, had their first winning season in franchise history in 1997 (92-70). In a pivotal Game 5, subbing for Kevin Brown (stomach virus), rookie Livan Hernandez set an NLCS record with 15 strikeouts. Brown would return to take the bump for Game 6, and pitch a complete game.

The Marlins went on to win the World Series, in seven games over the Cleveland Indians on shortstop Edgar Renteria’s game-winning hit.

10. New York Giants over New England Patriots-Super Bowl XLII

The New England Patriots made it to Super Bowl XLII unbeaten, obviously including the NFL’s first unbeaten regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The New York Giants won three straight road games to make it to the Super Bowl, so the Patriots were easy 12-point favorites.

The Giants had to put some pressure on Tom Brady, and they had the pieces, led by Michael Strahan, to get it done. If the score was low and Eli Manning could come up with a big throw or two, New York had a chance.

After David Tyree’s famous catch, Manning’s touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress gave the Giants a 17-14 win.

9. Los Angeles Kings over Edmonton Oilers-1982

The Edmonton Oilers were quite simply a juggernaut in the 1980s. with five Stanley Cups. They hadn’t won a Cup yet in 1981-82, but with 111 regular season points and a high-octane offense Wayne Gretzky-212 points, Glenn Anderson-105 points) it was easy to see the future.

The Kings snuck into the 1982 playoffs with 63 points during the regular season (24-41-15 record). They would win the best of five series over the Oilers 3-2, and a 10-8 Game 1 victory stands out as kind of absurdly high-scoring game the Oilers would be more comfortable playing.

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