Game 6

I'd be remiss if I didn't write at least a few words on the horror movie that played itself out in Busch Stadium last night.

I've said this before, but not all losses are created equal. You're never happy when your team loses a game, but every now and then - it's inevitable, if you're a big sports fan - you're faced with a loss so abrupt and so painful that it sticks with you. Sometimes, for the rest of your life. Sure, the pain fades after a while, but the memories never do.

For me, the games that would fall into that category are "the immaculate reception," Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, and most of all, Game 4 of the 2002 NBA Western Conference Finals between the Kings and the Lakers - the "Robert Horry dagger through the heart" game. I dreamed about that one for months, seeing the shot, over and over again, hoping against hope that this time, it would bounce out.

If the Rangers lose tonight, last night's Game 6 will become that kind of game for Texas Rangers fans. Blowing a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, when you're one strike away from victory, is bad enough. Doing that again in the bottom of the tenth is cruel and unusual punishment.

And yes, Texas could win. There is precedent for that; after all, the Big Red Machine did bounce back after what may have been the most famous Game 6 of all back in 1975. More likely, I think, is what happened in 1986 after Boston ("the Buckner game") allowed the Mets to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Try as they might, those Rangers players are going to have a tough time forgetting about last night, and I think it will effect them out on the field tonight. That's not what I want to happen, but that is what I think will happen.