Red Sox Finish Dodgers in Game 5

You knew it was over when the Dodgers blew a four run lead late in Game 4. You could just feel the air ease out of the Dodgers. They were done and the soon to be world champions from Boston would only need one more game. The same Boston team which won three of their post-season games on the road in Houston to defeat the world champion Astros. These Red Sox are a tough group to deal with on a baseball diamond.

These Red Sox will go down in history as special because of their toughness and all the runs they scored in post season play with two outs. Plus, the manner in which David Price changed the narrative on his post season pitching career. It’s a happy ending in New England as they now get a winter of Tom Brady, Brad Stevens’s Celtics, and a Boston Bruins team which could all conceivably make their league finals. Best sports town in America is easily Boston in 2018.

I felt bad for Clayton Kershaw at the end. His legacy as a post season pitcher will still be questioned even if he is one of the greatest regular season pitchers of all-time. You wonder what’s going through his mind right now other than disappointment. David Price’s gain was his loss on the biggest stage of their sport.

I could only half-heartedly watch the Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns even though there were some bright spots like Nerlens Noel, Pat Patterson, and the fact Russell Westbrook didn’t attempt a three point shot the entire game given he could shoot a layup against the lowly Suns whenever he wanted to do the work.

There is a sad irony however when you look at the current NBA standings and see both Oklahoma City and Houston near the bottom of the West at 1-4 currently. Sad for Westbrook and Paul George, and equally sad for Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and James Harden as all five of them are still searching for an NBA championship.

When I looked at Kershaw I thought of Russell Westbrook and what might be his legacy at the end of his career. Kershaw is at least on a team which is getting to the World Series, while Westbrook hasn’t been able to get out of the first round since Kevin Durant departed Oklahoma City. Sports legacies are a funny thing. They really are. Barry Sanders never won a post season game in his glorious NFL career with the Detroit Lions, but he’s still regarded as perhaps right there with Jim Brown as the greatest running back of all-time. While Dolphin QB Dan Marino never won a championship as well yet is never mentioned much as one of the game’s greatest QB’s despite his regular season stats. Funny how the narrative on legacies can go at times.

But for me, this Boston team won’t be remembered for individual feats but rather how as a team their collective will and resolve never waivered from the first day of the season until the very last out of the World Series.

If you love baseball this is a team you’ll remember for the right reasons.

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