The eventual 1977 NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers did not have the home advantage in both the semi-finals nor finals.
They were a truly great team, even better the year after, but injuries especially to their great center, Bill Walton cost them a chance to repeat as NBA champions.
Some memories of that championship season follow.
In 1977, Portland went (10-0) at home in the playoffs.
Herman Gilliam was a big factor in their win at L.A. vs the Jerry West coached Lakers in game 2 of their semi-final series.
Recently fired as Brooklyn Nets coach, a fine player, Lionel Hollins can take solace in his big game vs the Chicago Bulls, in the decisive game of the 1977 preliminary series vs the Chicago Bulls.
Maurice Lucas, pictured above, was a truly great player on those Portland teams.
The Denver Broncos and New England Patriots (then known as the Boston Patriots), met in the first AFL game ever played back in 1960.
The teams have clashed five times in the NFL playoffs, (they never met in the AFL playoffs), with Denver holding a (4-1) edge.
All five games have been won by the home team which is also the case in playoff tilts involving the great quarterbacks, Tom Brady of New England and Peyton Manning currently with the Broncos, but also in three playoff games vs Brady and New England, as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.
Two of the 5 home team wins in the Denver/New England playoff annals were games in which Manning and Denver prevailed vs Brady and New England.
With Brady as quarterback New England won a home divisional round game vs Denver and its quarterback, Tim Tebow in 2012.
Denver with Jake Plummer as its “Q.B.” ended a run of 10 consecutive New England playoff wins (before that loss Brady was (10-0) in the playoffs, as a starting “Q.B.” having been relieved in one of those wins, the 2001 AFC title tilt, by Drew Bledsoe) in a 2005 divisional round game.
That game marked the end of New England invincibility.
Denver also won a divisional round game vs New England in 1986, a game remembered by bettors for the fact a late safety, scored by Denver, covered the point spread.
Jake Plummer, pictured above was the Denver Broncos quarterback in the 2005 divisional round game in which the Broncos handed Tom Brady his first post-season defeat.
In reviewing the New England Patriots’ season, the failure to gain the AFC top seed is what stands out as despite another excellent season, the Pats were stopped short of their ultimate goal (win the Super Bowl), for the 10th time in 11 seasons.
Of course the team had won three Super Bowl titles in four seasons before the current 11 year period.
Losing road games at the New York Jets, a game in which a depleted “N.E.” team battled and a loss at Miami, as huge favorites, in the season’s finale cost New England the top seed.
They made little effort as a depleted team in Miami and eventually had to play in Denver, where the team suffered a third playoffs game defeat, in the aforementioned 11 year period.
I really enjoyed watching the 1967 film, “The Comedians” which starred Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor with a cast that included film greats past and future. Of course it was on the fabulous TCM (Turner Classic Movies), sans commercials.
Sir Alec Guinness and Lillian Gish to name two, who had already accomplished so much.
James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson and Georg Sanford Brown as three, who would have great futures.
Mr. Jones and Ms. Tyson recently worked together these 49 or so years later, on Broadway, in “The Gin Game.”
Jones character in “The Comedians” is named Magiot, spelled differently, but pronounced the same as a character (Maggio) portrayed by Frank Sinatra in his Academy Award winning role, in “From Here To Eternity.”
Only four of the NFL’s 32 teams have failed to make a Super Bowl appearance.
The Detroit Lions, who last played for the NFL title in 1957 (they won routing the original Cleveland Browns and rookie Jim Brown) are the only non expansion team in that group.
Three expansion teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and expansion/new Cleveland Browns round out the group.
Two other teams, the third and fourth Super Bowl winners, the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs respectively have failed to make a Super Bowl appearance since the AFC/NFC configuration began with the 1970 season.
Tobin Rote pictured above and the father of one time New York area T.V. sports reporter Rock Rote, was the quarterback on the last Detroit Lions’ title team in 1957.
Both the Denver Broncos, who will be making their 8th Super Bowl appearance and the Carolina Panthers, making their second have been to the Supe before.
This keeps a streak going of no first time finalist in a major North American sports league since the Texas Rangers made their first World Series appearance in 2010.
Thus with this Super Bowl matching two teams that have been finalists before, there have been 21 major North American sports league finals sans a first time finalist.
If one considers the decade starting in the zero year, in this case 2010, there have been no first time Super Bowl entrants.
The last first time Super Bowl entrant, the 2009 New Orleans Saints defeated the Peyton Manning quarterbacked Indianapolis Colts.
In the previous decade (2000-2009), 6 NFL franchises made their first Supe appearance during that period.
The 2000 Baltimore Ravens, 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and aforementioned Saints won while the 2003 Carolina Panthers, 2005 Seattle Seahawks and 2008 Arizona Cardinals lost in the “big game.”
The current NBA and NHL runners up, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tampa Bay Lightning were the last first time finalists in their respective leagues.
The Cavaliers in 2007 and the Lightning in 2004. While the Lightning (1-1) in finals won, the Cavaliers (0-2) in finals lost.
The baseball Texas Rangers lost not only as the last first time World Series participant in 2010 but again in excruciating fashion in the following year’s Fall Classic/baseball final.
Summer (The First Time) – Bobby Goldsboro
Click above for Mr. Goldsboro’s beautiful song, recalling another kind of “first time.”
Bobby Goldsboro pictured above.
The N.H.L. Montreal Canadiens were once the dominant team in the sport and along with the New York Yankees and Boston Celtiics considered the greatest of all North American major sports league teams.
They are still the greatest hockey franchise in history and their incredible 15 titles in a 24 year period from (1956-1979) will long remain among the greatest sports success periods of all time.
Yet their recent slump which has manifested in the team failing to get a win in 20 of 26 games and leaves them out of playoff position at the upcoming NHL All Star break, brings into focus that the Habs have not won a Stanley Cup since 1993 and have but two in the 35 completed NHL seasons since the Canadiens’ aforementioned great run (1980-2015).
Even with significant injuries and this horrible slump, I predict the Canadiens will make a strong run when their season resumes.
The Canadiens, whose emblem is pictured above, won 5 straight Stanley Cups (1956-1960) an NHL record and 4 straight (1976-1979).
However they have not won it all since 1993 and are struggling mightily thus far this season.
The Denver Broncos (20-18) home win vs the New England Patriots in the AFC title game denied the Pats a chance to match the 15 year period greatness of the San Francisco 49ers in a San Francisco area Super Bowl.
Instead it is the 49ers from (1981-1995) that have the most Super Bowl crowns in a 15 year period (5) while the Patriots must settle for four.
It is noteworthy that the Pittsburgh Steelers under coach Chuck Noll and with Terry Bradshaw at quarterback, won an incredible 4 Supe crowns in 6 seasons from (1974-1979) but not another before or until 2005.
The Green Bay Packers coached by Vince Lombardi and with Bart Starr at the quarterback position, won 5 NFL crowns in 7 seasons from (1961-1967), the last two, in the first two Supes, following the 1966 and 1967 seasons.
The Patriots’ 15 year run produced a (4-2) Super Bowl record. Additionally they hosted a divisional round game, meaning they were at least a conference two seed with a first round bye, 10 times in the 15 year period.
However as the festivities begin in the San Francisco Bay Area leading up to the 50th Super Bowl, it is the hometown 49ers with a (5-0) Super Bowl record (1981-1995) and eleven home divisional round games who lead the way, not that the Pats’ 15 year run is “chopped liver”–which tastes great by the way.
Carl Monroe, number 32 pictured above, scored the first touchdown in the only other San Francisco area Super Bowl which resulted in an easy 49ers win vs the Miami Dolphins, who were coached by Don Shula.
Shula’s son Mike will be a part of the second S.F. area Supe, as the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers.
It truly is a great experience to again watch the one and only Johnny Carson at almost the same time as the “days of yore” as one hour shows are being aired each night at 11 P.M. Eastern time on Antenna Television.
Carson was the master, funny, insightful and so far ahead of the game.
One show that aired last week featured Elizabeth (do not call her Liz was ascertained from that lone appearance with Mr. Carson) Taylor.
Ms. Taylor gave insight into one of the reasons why she was close with Michael Jackson. Of course both Ms. Taylor as an actress and Michael Jackson as a singer/entertainer gained enormous stardom and all that comes with it, good and bad.
She cited the fact they both started in show business so early and had no real childhood.
I love the Tonight Show Theme, I believe written by Paul Anka, and it is a great trip back in time to watch the show again.
No this is not a “pitch” to buy dvd’s of the great Carson Tonight shows, but I would and certainly recommend watching this treat while it airs again.
The great Johnny Carson pictured above.
The upcoming Super Bowl will be the eighth in Denver Broncos’ franchise history.
Starting (0-4), all games lost by at least 17 points, Denver is (2-5) in Super Bowl action.
After winning successive Super Bowl crowns in 1997 and 1998, Denver went back to its losing Super Bowl ways just two years ago, losing (43-8) to the Seattle Seahawks.
This will be just the second time that the Broncos will be playing in a Super Bowl telecast by (its) AFC network. Denver won its first “Supe” crown in that game, which was the last Super Bowl televised by NBC as the AFC network, and for that matter in that network’s last year televising a full slate of games each Sunday.
Five times Denver played in Super Bowl games telecast by the NFC network, compiling a (1-4) record.
They also lost in their only neutral network appearance.
This game is on CBS which once was the NFC network and was the network that telecast Denver Super Bowl losses after the 1977, 1986 and 1989 seasons.
