GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3. I'm up in Friday Page World Headquarters begging this week's NFL Week 9 picks. Click on Thursday Gem for my pick on tonight's Falcons-Buccaneers game. 2) Miami Herald's new book on Dolphins' first half century is now available -- just in time for the holidays! Click on Fins At 50 for more info or to order through Amazon. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Dolphins give another home game to London with poll, Andre Johnson and Canton, SOPY rankings, The List (Cubs' challenge) & more. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Periscope and Snapchat.
World Series, NFL, Jose Fernandez, Heat, Dolphins: Our most recent columns: Click on There's Hope For Us All (on Cubs' World Series win) and on A Needed Slap In Face (on NFL's declining TV ratings) for our two newest columns. Also: Jose Tragedy Couldn't Get Worse, But Then It Did. The Whiteside Project. What Took You So Long? (on Dolphins' running-game epiphany). Heat's System Reboot. And The 200-Yard Man (Jay Ajayi).
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE UNUSUAL DELIGHT OF A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 7: On sports' grand scale of so-common to way-rare, what we got last night -- a Game 7, winner-take-all for the season's championship -- was closer to rare. And one could argue that this Game 7, Cubs at Indians, was the greatest ever, considering no previous G7s in
any sport have seen anything close to one team with a 108-year championship drought and the other's at 68 years. Somebody's long suffering was going to end last night, the agony over one city's loss offset by the sheer exhale of joy in the other. I was rooting for the Cubbies to win for the first time since 1908, but imagined I'd also have felt goosebumps watching Indians fans celebrate their first World Series crown since '48. The Cubs won, of course, 8-7 in 10 innings. But for fans of neither team, it was a no-lose night. A win for baseball. A brief synopsis of the rare joy of Game 7s in the three major sports that have them:
MLB: Game 7 overall incidence: 38.3% -- Last night's was the 36th Game 7 in the 94 series since baseball began a continuous best-of-7 World Series format in 1922. The previous was in 2014 (Giants over Royals). But the incidence has declined in the modern era. Since 1990 it has been 29.4%, with last night's only the fifth Game 7 in 17 seasons.
NBA: Game 7 overall incidence: 27.1% -- Basketball has had 19 NBA Finals Game 7s in 70 years since the continuous best-of-7 format began in 1947. The most recent one was last season in 2016 (Cavaliers over Warriors). The incidence since 2000 has dropped slightly to 23.5%, four Game 7s in 17 years.
NHL: Game 7 overall incidence: 20.8% -- Hockey has had 16 Stanley Cup Finals Game 7s in 77 seasons since the best-of-7 format continuously began in 1939. The most recent one was 2011 (Bruins over Canucks). The incidence since 2000 has risen to 37.5%, with six Game 7s in 16 seasons.
Combined: Game 7 overall incidence: 29.5% -- Cubs-Indians tonight will be the 71st combined championship Game 7 in 241 seasons for the three sports. The incidence has held steady since 2000, at 30.0%, with 15 combined Game 7s in 50 seasons. So figure slightly less than one every three years on average but none, ever, quite like Cubs-Indians, with those fans' combined 176-year title drought.
South Florida's two championship Game 7s -- Florida Marlins defeat Cleveland Indians 3-2 in 11 innings, October 26, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium. Miami Heat defeat San Antonio Spurs 95-88, June 20, 2013, AmericanAirlines Arena.
D.WADE AND LEBRON'S WORLD SERIES BET: This is a good one. Can you picture Dwyane Wade in a full Cleveland Indians uniform prior to a Bulls game in Chicago? You don't have to. Instead, imagine LeBron James in a full Chicago Cubs uniform before a Cavaliers game in Cleveland. That's what you'll see. That was their bet, determined by last night's World Series Game 7 result. "I want to win," said Wade, smiling. Done.
Poll result: You hate Dolphins giving up home games to London: We asked what you think of the Dolphins in 2017 playing a "home" game in London for second time in three years, and it was a landslide 82.3 percent against it. Only 15.9% were OK with it, and the other 1.8% were undecided.
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Twitter @gregcote
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