I believe that if we win the first two games, the Cavs will fold.

[Beat LA]

If the Celts had that attitude, nothing could stop 'em.

except lack of talent, that stops a lot of teams in the end.   There are less miracles than not.

Even during our prior Big 3 era, had series going a full 7 games, as in Philly during '12, a team, clearly not as talented as the Celts. Was it not conceivable, that Philly could have advanced, and not Boston?

You know, if Turner plays like he did in the 2012 postseason in this series against the Cavs, things could at least become slightly competitive, imo.  He killed us and Chicago, iirc.

[TitleMaster]

The actual *Miracle* were two games. The second was with Finland, a team, also considered to be greater than Team USA.

Without that 2nd win, the Soviets get Gold, and the USA, Bronze, as these weren't elimination rounds but highest wins polling.

I know, but beating the Soviets had to feel like winning the gold medal, lol. They really had an incredible hockey team for a very long time.  When even Canada can't beat you, you know you're on to something, eh, lol?

I guess it's like the Red Sox beating the Yankees in 2004.

Yes and No. That miracle in '04 against the NYY was definitely a miracle, however, St Louis was not up to snuff, against the Red Sox.

In contrast, there was no reason for the USA to beat Finland, aside from having pure heart and tenacity. And that's what had occurred on that fateful day. There is no event in modern American sports history, which compares to the 1980 US Olympic hockey team at Lake Placid.

I wasn't arguing with you, lol. The Red Sox comeback just seemed to be the closest thing to the US beating the USSR.

In all honesty, I disagree. The Red Sox were always better than that Yankees squad. The difference is that we simply didn't believe in our own talents. It took a few knockings, for the Sox to get their act together.

And then, when push come to shove, our men stepped up, and lived up to their potential. Sure. it's a miracle but it's not like the Sox lacked the talent and capability.

In contrast, that '80 hockey team simply gave it their all, not realizing what their potential really was. And that giving it their all, is what beat both the Soviets and Finland, two teams, clearly dubbed as greater than team USA.

[Beat LA]

The actual *Miracle* were two games. The second was with Finland, a team, also considered to be greater than Team USA.

Without that 2nd win, the Soviets get Gold, and the USA, Bronze, as these weren't elimination rounds but highest wins polling.

I know, but beating the Soviets had to feel like winning the gold medal, lol. They really had an incredible hockey team for a very long time.  When even Canada can't beat you, you know you're on to something, eh, lol?

I guess it's like the Red Sox beating the Yankees in 2004.

Yes and No. That miracle in '04 against the NYY was definitely a miracle, however, St Louis was not up to snuff, against the Red Sox.

In contrast, there was no reason for the USA to beat Finland, aside from having pure heart and tenacity. And that's what had occurred on that fateful day. There is no event in modern American sports history, which compares to the 1980 US Olympic hockey team at Lake Placid.

I wasn't arguing with you, lol. The Red Sox comeback just seemed to be the closest thing to the US beating the USSR.

In all honesty, I disagree. The Red Sox were always better than that Yankees squad. The difference is that we simply didn't believe in our own talents. It took a few knockings, for the Sox to get their act together.

And then, when push come to shove, our men stepped up, and lived up to their potential. Sure. it's a miracle but it's not like the Sox lacked the talent and capability.

In contrast, that '80 hockey team simply gave it their all, not realizing what their potential really was. And that giving it their all, is what beat both the Soviets and Finland, two teams, clearly dubbed as greater than team USA.

As a Yankees fan, I completely agree and believed this at the time.  Well, I used to be a Yankees fan, anyway, but I don't follow baseball anymore because a lot of the guys I liked, like Clemens, used steroids, and it pretty much ruined the sport and tainted the memories of a lot of those teams that I loved growing up.

I know that I'm going off topic here, but I will never forgive Cashman for trading Soriano for A-Rod.  I hated it at the time and hate it even more now, lol.  The Yankees also made a huge mistake by not resigning Andy Pettitte, and once that happened, combined with Boston's acquisition of Schilling, I knew that we wouldn't win.  Even after game 3, when the Yankees won 19-8, iirc, I wasn't happy - I was thinking, "what's going on here?  Something's wrong," and I knew that if they didn't finish Boston off in game 4 that the Sox could get on a roll.  Did I think that they could come back from 0-3?  Well, to be honest, I never put it past them, lol .  Not that group.  I've seen way too many games over the years to ever underestimate the Red Sox, as they have always been the classic come-from-behind type of team.  I'm also a pessimist who never believes in the teams I support, lol , so there's that. 

To me, once the Yankees started made offense a priority instead of pitching and defense, it was over.  Plus, they brought in a bunch of front-runners, like Sheffield and A-Rod (god do I hate that guy, lol. What a fraud.) and jettisoned the guys who had made that dynasty, like Tino Martinez, Orlando Hernandez, and Jeff Nelson, and it cost them.  You cannot replace Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte with Javier Vasquez and Kevin Brown and expect to win.  Torre, too, also ticked me off in how he always burned out the guys in the bullpen, and he used Rivera way too much that year, as he did in 2001, and the results showed down the stretch, especially when your set up man is Tom Gordon, lol , and the middle relief guy is Paul Quantrill.  I loved Gordon - in the regular season, haha, but he was atrocious in October and Quantrill was worn out.  You can't keep using the same three guys every day and expect them not to eventually break down, and that's what happened.  Sorry for the tangent, lol. I wonder, though - do you (I'm assuming that you're a Red Sox fan) look at that 04 team as tainted, seeing as how Manny and Ortiz, and possibly Schilling, iirc, tested positive for steroids?  I know that Giambi, A-Rod, and Sheffield were users, too, so it's not like this is one sided, lol. Sigh.  I used to love baseball.

Btw, most of my friends are Red Sox fans, and I went to Fenway once with one of them, and I have to say - I really think that it's much better than Yankee Stadium.  At least, the old one.  That place felt like the death star, lol. I haven't been to the new one, but I hope that they've returned to how the original Yankee Stadium was, because, iirc, it was a lot like Fenway.  Tickets are so expensive, anyway, and I only got to go because someone gave tickets to my dad and I also went with cub scouts, haha. Good times.  I hated the drunken Boston fans, though, and I really felt bad for the guy who was just trying to give people their Fenway Franks.  I'll never forget that.  They treated that guy like crap.  Ugh.

[TitleMaster]

I wonder, though - do you (I'm assuming that you're a Red Sox fan) look at that 04 team as tainted, seeing as how Manny and Ortiz, and possibly Schilling, iirc, tested positive for steroids?  I know that Giambi, A-Rod, and Sheffield were users, too, so it's not like this is one sided, lol. Sigh.  I used to love baseball.

I'm lucky, in the sense that I was always more a basketball fan than a baseball one. The problem is that the entire MLB is tainted, it's no longer a series of isolated incidents. Barry Bonds had gone global. So with that in mind, assuming that 75% of the players are juiced at any time, the PED advantage should even out.

In the future, we may see a similar scandal in the NBA, as players seem to have great athleticism but appear to be missing their fundamentals.