The 100 Greatest Games of My Life: 100-91

For no particular reason, the 100 greatest games that I have witnessed in my lifetime. Clearly, a large bias is placed on New England sports teams and, more recently, Syracuse University games.

An asterisk (**) indicates that I was in attendance.

#100 Flutie is Perfect
Bills 42, Seahawks 23 (12/23/00)

A meaningless regular season game on the Saturday night before Christmas Eve. Neither team was heading to the playoffs. However, this game that me and probably 6 other people watched gave us one of the greatest performances by a quarterback of all time. Only 32 (and counting) QBs have achieved a perfect quarterback rating. Playing in his last game as a Bill in moribound Husky Stadium, the Magic Man left his mark. It was the end of an era in Buffalo. John Butler was out already. Wade Phillips knew he was out (we may never know who was pulling the strings during the QB controversy but it is interesting to note that Phillips started Flutie in this final game). Doug Flutie was certainly out, his contract ready to expire. Antowain Smith (17 car, 147 yds, 3 TD) was also being shoved out the door. Flutie finished 20-25 for 366 yards and 3 scores and reached the unbeatable rating of 158.3. Soon, he'd be gone from Buffalo, but never forgotten.

#99 Baseball At 3 AM
Athletics 5, Red Sox 4 (12 innings) (10/01/03-10/02/03)
A rare loss on the list but too good of a game to ignore. The beginning of an incredible 5 game Divisional Series. The first October game (of many) for the Idiots. The game, which started after 10 PM eastern, was expected to be a great pitching duel. Pedro Martinez and Tim Hudson weren't great, but they were good, each allowing 3 runs and pitching into the seventh inning. Todd Walker provided much of the Sox' offense with two homeruns, including a clutch 7th inning shot off Ricardo Rincon that gave them the lead. After Mike Timlin pitched a scoreless inning in the 8th, Byung-Hyun Kim predictably couldn't hold the lead in the ninth and extra frames were needed. Keith Foulke, in a foreshadowing of events to come, was lights out, tossing three no-hit innings for the A's. The Red Sox kept pace until the 12th when an epic game ended on a measly little bunt by Ramon Hernandez. The game ended at almost 3 AM, with Game 2 just twelve hours away. It was a crushing loss at the time especially considering the blown save. But it was the first taste of postseason baseball we had had in four years and it provided all the drama you look for in a baseball game.

#98 Escape from the RAC
Syracuse 86, Rutgers 84 (01/24/05)

Everyone knows that Rutgers is one of the most difficult places in the Big East to play basketball. If any Syracuse fans doubted it, they didn't after this game. We came in with a 19-1 record, the best in the country, and a #4 ranking, the highest it has been in my three years here. Rutgers came in looking like Rutgers at 7-8. They looked alot different when they cruised to an 18-point halftime lead. It was hard to imagine coming back from that sort of defecit on the road. Somehow, they pulled it off. Using the most stifling defense I have seen Boeheim employ (a man-to-man press, which must have been retired by the time Vermont came knocking), the 'Cuse outscored RU 50-30 in the second half capped by a ridiculous Terrence Roberts three point play. Quincy Douby's last second three rolled around the rim and out and we had survived. Looking back, this night may have been as good as I have ever felt about a Syracuse team. We had just come back from 20 points down on the road. At the RAC. We had 20 wins and an unbelievable amount of talent. The season would slowly unravel from this point on and instead of having much better memories from this season, a win over Rutgers may have been as good as it gets.

#97 Penn's Prayer is Answered**
Boston College 73, Rutgers 72 (03/03/96)

The first of many must-win games I had to experience as a BC fan. The '96 team was firmly on the bubble entering their final regular season contest with Rutgers. Rutgers was having their typically bad season at 9-17. But they showed up to play on this day, even on the road in the "hostile" confines of Conte Forum (I remember distinctly my Dad, brother and I having our own section). BC seemed in control all day until Rutgers went on an unexpected late run. A free throw put them up by one with three seconds left. Inbounding from the far end of the floor Mickey "Rock Hands" Curley did his best Grant Hill impression and got the ball to Scoonie who hit a near-half-courter at the buzzer to send the Eagles to the dance. BC would go on to upset Bob Knight in the first round (a gratifying feeling) before bowing out. They never would have got the chance to had Penn, just a freshman, come up big when they needed him most.

#96 Pierce Becomes Superman
Celtics 116, Wizards 115 (OT) (03/07/06)

This game might not belong on this list. In a year, I may have already forgotten this game. For now, though, it is firmly in my memory. Paul Pierce has been the best Celtics player in my lifetime (at least the lifetime that I can remember). He's hit big shots, won big games, been an All Star. But he was never any more than that until a stretch a couple months back when he took his game (and his leadership) to the next level. He scored 30 points or more in 13 of 14 games. Playing with teammates that were either hurt (Szczerbiak), young (West) or horrific (Scalabrine), Pierce kept the Celtics competitive. This game in Washington was critical for any sort of playoff hopes. Washington had burned us twice this season on Gilbert Arenas FTs in the waning seconds. This time, the Wizards controlled the game leading by 13 in the 4th quarter. Slowly the Celts crept back into it, lead by Pierce who was beginning to set his teammates up. Raefer made two big free throws to tie and shockingly Arenas misses a jumper that would have won it in regulation. The Wiz lead for most of overtime but Pierce hits a ridiculous fade-away contested jumper as time expires to give the Celtics the game. I didn't get to watch this game live (needing, as usual, to follow gamecasts and get play-by-play over the phone), but it was exemplary of the type of season that #34 had this past year.

#95 Fax Comes Out Of Nowhere
Brad Faxon wins 2005 Buick Championship (8/25/05-8/28/05)

Not the Masters. Not the Players. Not the British. The Buick Championship is barely even a tournament anymore (it's on a temporary PGA tour reprieve). Still, watching an 44-year-old pro's pro come from nowhere to win a PGA tournament is something special. Brad Faxon is my favorite golfer, always has been, most likely because of the New England ties. I always see how he's doing. Over the last few years, he'd rarely threaten and when he did, it wouldn't end well (an unfortunate 8 in the final round at Augusta). Things looked to be status quo when he made the cut on the number in Hartford that weekend. He shot a 65 Saturday to move towards the leaderboard, but I barely noticed. The next day, I began to get calls asking me if I was watching the golf. I wasn't because it wasn't a good field, there wasn't much reason to. I turned it on and sure enough, Faxon was playing the round of his life. He was getting all the breaks (including a 50 yard bouncing down a cart path) and playing as well as I had ever seen. He carded a 61 (61!) but still had to go to a playoff with some guy named van der Walt. I figured it was going to be another disappointment, especially when van der Walt doinked the flagstick on his approach. Somehow, Faxon put it inside him and, always a solid putter, made the put for the win. With all the talk of the Big 5 and the young guns of golf, I doubted an older, shorter guy like Faxon could ever win again on tour. The Buick wasn't a great field by any means, but a win is a win and it will always be remembered.

#94 The Champs Come to Town and Catch a Break**
North Carolina 67, Villanova 66 (3/25/05)

There's really no atmosphere that compares to that of a building where the NCAA tournament takes place. I've been to NCAA tournament games twice. Once, in 1999 to watch nondescript teams like Purdue and Temple play in the first two rounds. Then, last year, at the Carrier Dome for the regionals. It was Easter weekend and, instead of everyone fleeing for home, the campus was abuzz. People from UNC, NC St., Wisconsin and Villanova had all converged for the right to go to the final four. The Dome was buzzing. Wisconsin and NC St. was the first game and it wa fairly competitive until late. But the main evevnt for the weekend was Villanova/North Carolina. The schools had the most representation. The game tipped off after 10 PM. The crowd was pretty split with the addition of bandwagon NC fans and Big East supporters from here. As the game raged on though, the 31,000 grew more and more partial to the underdog Wildcats. Down by only three (thanks largely to Raymond Felton's foul trouble and a barrage of 3's), Allan Ray drove to the basket and appeared to be fouled by Melvin Scott with a chance for a 3 point play. Somehow, it was called a travel. With the naked eye, the use of replay, a suspension of belief. . . nothing makes this look like a good call. UNC survived, beat Wisconsin on Easter and the rest is history. The blown call brings a slight damper, but it was a competitve game in a special environment.

#93 Things Come Full Circle**
Patriots 31, Bills 0 (12/27/2003)

16 weeks earlier, I had spent nearly 200 dollars, snuck on a train and traveled 5 hours to see the Patriots' opener in Buffalo. It was one of the worst experiences of my life at a sporting event. The Bills fans were incredibly obnoxious. The Patriots looked god-awful. The Bills looked like Super Bowl Champions (there's a novel thought). Final score: Bills 31, Pats 0. Never could have I envisioned that the next time I saw the Patriots and Bills, we'd be 13-2 and they'd be 6-9. But somehow, that's what happened. The Patriots were playing for home field advantage. The Bills were playing out the string. I wish the game could have been at Ralph Wilson so we could have rubbed it into the faces of all those Buffalonians. As it was, Gilette was a fine setting to watch the eventual Champs stomp all over the Bills. Watching Drew Bledsoe get knocked around is always enjoyable, even though he's a good guy. The Patriots offense was just on cruise control at this point. 4 possessions in the first half. 4 touchdowns. In 16 minutes. Everything was just so easy. The game's defining moment occured at the end, with many fans already headed back to Route 1. Travis Brown led the Bills on a ridiculously meaningless drive trailing 31-0. They reached the goal line with under a minute to go. Wanting to preserve the score, the Patriots tightened. Larry Izzo intercepted the last pass and the scoreboard stood: 31-0. Full circle.

#92 The Red Sox Win A Playoff Game!
Red Sox 11, Indians 3 (9/29/98)

This one I didn't even get to watch. I was in school while it went on. We spent the entire afternoon alternating trips to the bathroom to get updates from a radio. Luckily, it wasn't even close. Big Mo Vaughn, in what would be his last win as a Red Sox, hit a 3 run homer off "promising" Jaret Wright in the top of the 1st and Pedro never looked back. It was really the only positive thing Mo did in this or any postseason. He was horrific in 1995 (a 3-0 sweep to the Indians) and was bad in the rest of this series. The optimism of that afternoon wouldn't last long. Mike Benjamin, Darren Lewis, Darren Bragg and co. would lose the next one in Cleveland and the first one in Fenway. Pedro Martinez, who was unhittable in '98, said he was ready for Game 4. Seemed pretty obvious. Send it back to Cleveland, see what happens. That was too simple for simpleton Jimy Williams. He went with Pete Schourek. Shockingly, Schourek, sporting bleached blonde hair, pitched a gem. 2 hits, no runs and the Red Sox took a 1-0 lead into the 8th, but Flash Gordon blew his first save in about 50 chances that year and another season was over. Still, the Sox hadn't won a playoff game since Game 5 of the '86 series. At least they won one, even if I didn't get to see it. This game also set up a decade of Jaret Wright blowing big games and the series set up the 1999 rematch with the Tribe.

#91 Antoine Shuts Hollywood Up
Celtics 119, Lakers 118 (2/19/02)

The 2002 Celtics had come from out of nowhere to have a respectable record in the 2001-2002 season. They had a six game winning streak in December. They had basically beat up on the weak Eastern Conference and no one though much of them. That changed a little bit on a late night in Los Angeles. The Celts were on their usual February Circus road trip. They were a respectable 2-2 heading into Staples to play the defending champs. I was in Fort Myers so I didn't get to watch it, but when I woke up and my brother told me about it, I think I watched Sportscenter 6 times. Shaq and Kobe both played 40 minutes. It was an intense regular season NBA basketball game. Shaq finished with 25 and 17, but the Lake-show was only up 2 with seconds remaining. Antoine Walker (30, 14, 10 - arguably the defining game of his career) got the ball on the left wing and heaved a 28 footer off the glass and in and shimmied in front of the stunned celebrities. The Celtics would beat the Lakers again in April (this time no Shaq) amidst "Beat LA" chants in the Fleet. They would come within 2 games of meeting them again in the NBA finals. They probably would have been swept just like the Nets were. But they were 2-0 against them. If Pierce makes those free throws in Game 4 of the ECF, who knows?