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Vern Gagne

ESPN's 25 greatest single season teams...

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I suppose this is a *SPOILER* but I believe ESPN has already picked the 25 teams on the list as they have a poll on their site that let's you rank those 25 teams yourself.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnatio...stranker?id=103

 

I know I'm biased but come on the '89 A's aren't on the list but the '91 Miami Hurricans are? They lucked out against Florida State to stay undefeated. That was hardly a dominant team and many felt the Washington Huskies were the best team in the country that year.

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If there were a few more than 25 teams, I think '99 Duke and Connecticut could be included, only three losses between them the entire season and a very good Finals game between them. And possibly '01 Duke with the big five being there and winning the championship.

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The 1998 Yankees aren't even the best team in the history of the Yankees. I'm sure alkeiper will back me up on that one. Both the McCarthy & Stengel eras were better, as well the 1927 team and I would probably even argue the 1961 team.

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1998 Yankees are the best team in the history of sports and I will just leave it at that.

Thanks.

No, they aren't in the top 5, imo

How about the 1927 Yankees? I think they have a shot at being number 1 or the 1961 Yankees they where unbelievable. Oh and as I look the guy above me just said the same thing.

Thanks.

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1998 Yankees are the best team in the history of sports and I will just leave it at that.

Thanks.

What? '96 Bulls?

 

Yeah, thanks.

I think the 1998 Yankees where more historical and they kind of dominated a little bit more in the post season besides the slight stumble against Cleveland. The Knicks actually gave the 1996 Bulls a tough 5 games and the Bulls battled with the Sonics for 6 games but I actually think the 1927 Yankees will be number 1.

Thanks.

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The 1998 Yankees aren't even the best team in the history of the Yankees. I'm sure alkeiper will back me up on that one. Both the McCarthy & Stengel eras were better, as well the 1927 team and I would probably even argue the 1961 team.

How about the 1927 Yankees? I think they have a shot at being number 1 or the 1961 Yankees they where unbelievable.

 

In my opinion, the 1936-39 Yankees are easily the best Yankees team ever, and the best baseball franchise ever. First off, they were one of only two teams to win four consecutive World Championships. Not only did they win four World Series, but they completely dominated the regular season. They led the league in runs scored AND runs allowed for four consecutive years. No other team has ever come close. The closest any team came to beating them were the Red Sox, who finished only 9.5 games back in 1938.

 

Great teams need great players. The Yanks featured Hall of Famers Joe Dimaggio, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzeri, Lefty Gomez, Red Ruffing. Joe Gordon is HOF caliber. George Selkirk, Tommy Henrich, and Red Rolfe were quality regulars as well.

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Drury (and I have no idea why I'm arguing with YOU of all people), the Bulls went 72-10. That's a winning percentage that's unmatched in any sport that plays as many games a season as they do or more. The '98 Yankees won what, 127(?) out of 162? Yes, that's extremely good, but not the near-statistical certainty you had of a Bulls win during the 1996 season.

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Drury (and I have no idea why I'm arguing with YOU of all people), the Bulls went 72-10. That's a winning percentage that's unmatched in any sport that plays as many games a season as they do or more. The '98 Yankees won what, 127(?) out of 162? Yes, that's extremely good, but not the near-statistical certainty you had of a Bulls win during the 1996 season.

 

Its also easier to dominate in the NBA than in MLB, due to a number of factors. In MLB, 100 wins is considered outstanding. That's a .617 Win %. In the NBA, seven teams topped .617 this season alone. Thus, high win percentages are more impressive in baseball than in basketball.

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Drury (and I have no idea why I'm arguing with YOU of all people), the Bulls went 72-10. That's a winning percentage that's unmatched in any sport that plays as many games a season as they do or more. The '98 Yankees won what, 127(?) out of 162? Yes, that's extremely good, but not the near-statistical certainty you had of a Bulls win during the 1996 season.

Oh no doubt I am saying that 1996 Bulls weren't probably one of if not the greatest sports teams of all time I am just saying that the 1998 Yankees should be up near number 1. Hell I always say one of my favorite sports moments is when the Knicks beat the Bulls by 32 point in the regular season in 1996 because they beat one of if not THE greatest SPORTS teams of all time.

Thanks.

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1998 Yankees are the best team in the history of sports and I will just leave it at that.

Thanks.

I agree 100%. I love that 1998 Yankee team. The key word is team. I've never seen anyone play so well has a team in my life.

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Its also easier to dominate in the NBA than in MLB, due to a number of factors. In MLB, 100 wins is considered outstanding. That's a .617 Win %. In the NBA, seven teams topped .617 this season alone. Thus, high win percentages are more impressive in baseball than in basketball.

Look at the 2003 Detroit Tigers. They had a winning % of .265. In the NBA that would be the equivilent of a 22-60 record. That's a bad season, but most years the worst teams have close too that record.

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Guest D'Lo White

How about the 1996 Packers. They had all kind of injuries in their offense and still went 13-3 and most of those wins were by huge margins. They rolled through the playoffs winning each game by at least 2 touchdowns.

 

I believe they had the #1 ranked offense and defense. Even their special teams with Desmond Howard was brillant that season.

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The 1980 USA Olympic hockey team will be #1.

They might be, but they shouldn't be. The rest of the list are teams that dominated their sport that season. The 80 Olympic team pulled one of the biggest upsets in sports history. The Soviets were the better team. They honestly don't belong in the discussion of greatest single season teams.

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In my latest column, I compile the top 10 MLB teams of the last 25 years.

I like the 92 Jays better actually. I know Olerud had a stronger year in 93, but the staff in 92 (Jack Morris, David Cone, Juan Guzman, Jimmy Key & David Wells) was better than the 93 version (Guzman, Dave Stewart, Pat Hentgen, Al Leiter & a Jack Morris that fell off the face of the earth). The 92 Braves were also a better team than the 93 Phillies.

 

I am also curious where you would place the 84 Tigers.

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I like the 92 Jays better actually. I know Olerud had a stronger year in 93, but the staff in 92 (Jack Morris, David Cone, Juan Guzman, Jimmy Key & David Wells) was better than the 93 version (Guzman, Dave Stewart, Pat Hentgen, Al Leiter & a Jack Morris that fell off the face of the earth). The 92 Braves were also a better team than the 93 Phillies.

 

Picking a team was an tough choice. I took the '93 club because they finished 5th in runs allowed. The '92 club finished eighth, which is hardly impressive for a great team. The '92 club had a horrific bullpen, with only Tom Henke and Duane Ward posting sub-4.00 ERAs. Their back end of the rotation was shaky as well, until they acquired David Cone at the trading deadline. But those runs allowed totals were the key.

 

I am also curious where you would place the 84 Tigers.

 

Eleventh or twelth. That they didn't win another division title (at least until 1987) played a big factor in their missing the cut.

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The '95-'96 Chicago Bulls are the greatest Basketball team of all time. They won 31 games in a row, now that's a feat. They only lost one game in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, they killed Miami, New York, and Orlando. Then, they only lost twice to Seattle (also a great team). Their playoff record was 15-3! Fucking amazing shit. Jordan was league MVP, All Star MVP, and Finals MVP, along with scoring champion, and was named to the All Defensive 1st Team with Pippen and Rodman. They had it all; scoring (Jordan), defense (Jordan/Pippen), rebounding (Rodman), three point shooting (Kerr), great supporting role players (Longley, Kukoc (6th Man Award winner), Kerr, and Harper. Their overall record was 87-13, a 87% winning percentage. INCREDIBLE!

 

1995-96 72 10 .878

1994-95 47 35 .573

 

What an improvement, I don't think any basketball team has ever made that big of an improvement in one year.

 

1991-92 67 15 .817

1996-97 69 13 .841

 

These two Bulls teams should be on there as well.

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Putting the '80 US Hockey team on the list at all is nonsense. Think about this, if they were the greatest Olympic hockey team of the last 25 years, why was it such a goddamned shock when they won?

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How about the 1996 Packers. They had all kind of injuries in their offense and still went 13-3 and most of those wins were by huge margins. They rolled through the playoffs winning each game by at least 2 touchdowns.

 

I believe they had the #1 ranked offense and defense. Even their special teams with Desmond Howard was brillant that season.

As much of a fudgePackerbacker as I am, the '96 team shouldn't be on a top 25 of the last 25 years list. One of the best Packer teams ever and one of the better teams of the last 25 years in the NFL sure, but not overall in all of sports.

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Some of those picks were just plain stupid. 1991 Miami wasn't even the clearcut national champion. 1982 UNC is only on there because of Jordan. There really doesn't need to be three 49'ers teams on there. Two Women's teams in the top 10 was just a total PR move. I think that the Dream Team and the 1980 USA Hockey team should have been taken off just because those are teams that either in retrospect were just huge underdogs who pulled an upset ( were not dominant) or a glorified all-star team which took the 12 best players in the world and put them on one team. The 1986 Mets were a groundball away from losing the World Series. Honestly, I think you could add the 1984 Tigers before the 1986 Mets. The Tigers went wire to wire in the AL East, started off 35-5, lost only once in the post-season. They would probably fall in the 10-15 range, imo

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The 1986 Mets were a groundball away from losing the World Series. Honestly, I think you could add the 1984 Tigers before the 1986 Mets. The Tigers went wire to wire in the AL East, started off 35-5, lost only once in the post-season. They would probably fall in the 10-15 range, imo

 

On my list, I picked the 86 Mets over the 84 Tigers. I don't think the postseason is a good indicator of the true quality of a team, and the fact is that regardless of how they won, they still won. Do we discount the Big Red Machine because the Red Sox took them to the limit?

 

I also account for the fact that the Mets won 90+ games in five consecutive years. The Tigers were a one-year wonder.

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Hey next week for ESPN: The Headlines they're doing the worst single season team of the past 25 years. I find it incredibly weird in the commercials they mention the 53-109 1996 Detroit Tigers but not the 43-119 2003 Detroit Tigers. Last year's Tigers really had no positives except for "they might be decent two or three years down the line". I'd have to put the 03 Tigers as the worst, followed by the 1993 Dallas Mavericks (11-71) and the 1990 New England Patriots (1-15).

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Guest Anglesault
1998 Yankees are the best team in the history of sports and I will just leave it at that.

Thanks.

What? '96 Bulls?

 

Yeah, thanks.

What about them?

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1998 Yankees are the best team in the history of sports and I will just leave it at that.

Thanks.

What? '96 Bulls?

 

Yeah, thanks.

What about them?

I think he's trying to say they were better than the Yankees.....or something.....even though they're different sports and I don't think you can compare.....maybe he wants to see a baseball game between the 96 Bulls and 98 Yankees?

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