Your Daily Dose: 6 comebacks to come back to

Just because the sports world has stopped doesn't mean your sports consumption has to. In this Daily Dose series, assistant sports editor Lin Xinyi looks at great comebacks.

The Boston Red Sox celebrate winning the American League Championship Series after defeating the New York Yankees 10-3 in Game 7 at the Yankee Stadium in 2004. They went on to thrash the St Louis Cardinals 4-0 to win the World Series for the first ti
The Boston Red Sox celebrate winning the American League Championship Series after defeating the New York Yankees 10-3 in Game 7 at the Yankee Stadium in 2004. They went on to thrash the St Louis Cardinals 4-0 to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

1. BOSTON RED SOX: AMERICAN LEAGUE TITLE SERIES, 2004

Down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Red Sox were three outs away from being eliminated by their bitter rivals, the New York Yankees. But they rallied to win Game 4 in 12 innings before becoming the only Major League Baseball team to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

The Red Sox went on to win their first World Series since 1918, when they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees, ending an 86-year drought dubbed the Curse of the Bambino.

Watch: youtu.be/C_KNW6IFupY

2. REGGIE MILLER: NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS, 1995

The New York Knicks know all about "Miller time" - a phrase coined to describe the Indiana Pacers guard's clutch performances.

With New York up 105-99 in Game 1 with 16.4 seconds left, Miller drained a three-pointer. A steal, a stepback trey and two free throws later, he had eight points in nine seconds to single-handedly win the game.

Indiana won the National Basketball Association series 4-3.

Watch: youtu.be/YoCpMguR4cQ

3. MONICA SELES: AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL, 1996

One thousand and two days after she was stabbed in the back with a 23cm knife during a quarter-final match in Germany, Seles was a Grand Slam champion again. The on-court attack when she was 19 saw her miss over two seasons at the prime of her career. "Even 10 minutes of walking was torture," she wrote in her autobiography Getting A Grip. "What was wrong with me? There was a problem that no CAT scan or MRI readout could diagnose. Darkness had descended into my head." But she rose above it to capture her ninth - and last - Major title by defeating Anke Huber.

Watch: youtu.be/Ay3m9bGOJBQ

4. DARA TORRES: OLYMPIC SWIMMING, 2008

In 2007, she came out of retirement for the second time - at the age of 40, with a 16-month-old daughter. The American won three silvers at the Beijing Games to become the oldest Olympic swimming medallist. In her final race at the Water Cube, she clocked 52.27sec in her leg of the 4x100m medley - the fastest 100m free split in the women's relay.

Just minutes before, she missed out on the 50m free title by 0.01sec. Her response was, however, gold in more ways than one. "I guess I shouldn't have filed my nails last night," she quipped.

Watch: youtu.be/JdKzDA5kIEc

5. MANCHESTER CITY: ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, 2012

An entire season was condensed into two tense stoppage-time minutes. City trailed 10-man Queens Park Rangers 2-1 at home on the final day of the season while neighbours and title rivals Manchester United led 1-0 at Sunderland.

Roberto Mancini's men needed two goals to win their first Premier League title, which also ended up becoming the first decided on goal difference. City got them through Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero, ending a 44-year wait for the top-flight title.

Watch: youtu.be/4XSo5Z0hEAs

6. KARRIE WEBB: KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP, 2006

She started the final round seven strokes behind leader Lorena Ochoa. At the par-five 18th hole, the Australian holed a pitching wedge from 116 yards for an eagle and a seven-under 65. Ochoa also eagled that hole for a 72 to join Webb on a total of 279. They returned to the 485-yard hole in the play-off, with Webb sinking a seven-foot birdie putt to equal the greatest comeback in LPGA Major championship history - Patty Sheehan's win at the 1983 Women's PGA Championship.

Watch: youtu.be/TOmpsdTOBmw

TOMORROW: Creative workouts

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 03, 2020, with the headline Your Daily Dose: 6 comebacks to come back to. Subscribe