Super at the right time

The message may be: Never give up.

Or perhaps it’s: We live in an age where mediocrity is good enough.

Over the past year in sports:
{exp:list_maker}The New York Giants won the Super Bowl after barely making the playoffs with a 9-7 regular-season record.
Alabama won the college football championship, such as it is, after not even qualifying for the Southeastern Conference championship game.
The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA championship after finishing second in their division.
Connecticut won the NCAA basketball tournament after going 9-9 in the Big East.
And finally, getting to our sport, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series after barely making the postseason, not winning their division and having only the eighth-best regular season record in the majors. {/exp:list_maker}You want purity or parity? You decide.


Joe Distelheim is a retired newspaper editor whose career included stints as sports editor of The Charlotte Observer and Detroit Free Press. He co-authored Cubs: From Tinker to Banks to Sandberg to Today.
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Alex Trinh
12 years ago

I agree wholeheartedly. The current trend of including more teams in playoffs will just dilute the significance of future champions even more as well as diminish the importance of regular seasons. Were the Cardinals and the Giants truly the best teams in their respective leagues? Or were they just the hottest? Seems unjust to me. On the other hand, everybody loves more playoff games nobody seems to mind. Sigh.

Todd
12 years ago

In 2006, the Cardinals won the WS with the 13th best record. At least 8th best should be playoff-qualifying under the current system.

Cheap Fake Yeezys
6 years ago

We’re back with a selection of highlights from our series showcasing some of the best sneaker photos we came across on Instagram this week. By now, “floating” kicks and shots of shoes precariously dangling off buildings have become commonplace, but remain worth a look when done right.