Olympians with Ohio ties suffer heartbreaking finishes

Off the post of an empty net with a gold medal little more than a minute away. 

That close.

Pull out all those cliches about sports being a game of inches or decided by the narrowest of margins and they're all too fitting to describe the U.S. women's hockey team's anguishing 3-2 loss to Canada in Thursday's Olympic final.

Heartbreak probably puts this too mildly for the Americans, like Brooklyn Heights' Kelli Stack and Sheffield's Brianne McLaughlin, who spent four years training for that day, that rematch.

Canada is the women's hockey behemoth, now winners of the last four Olympic gold medals. That's a dynasty.

Yet, the U.S. knew how close they were to halting the Canadian reign.

"We go up two goals and we're just counting down the minutes," Stack told WKYC's Sara Shookman after the game.

It was the Ohioan Stack who flung that ill-fated puck down the ice, just shy of Canada's wide-open net.

Amazingly, that wasn't a first, she told SI's Richard Deitsch: "I did that once before in college, and it's the worst feeling in the world." Stack said she thought it had a chance at first but even though it narrowly missed, the U.S. was still on top.

Seconds later, Canada tied it, then won in overtime.

An inch the other way and Stack seals the deal for the Americans.

Another Olympian with ties to the Buckeye State experienced similar heartbreak in her 
event. Katie Uhlaender, whose father Ted played for the Indians and Reds, fell just .04 shy of a bronze medal in the skeleton.

"I just felt the support of America behind me," Uhlaender told the Denver Post, "and I'm just heartbroken that I lost it by four-hundredths for them."

Adversity pushed Uhlaender, who lost her dad in 2009. She disappointed in the Vancouver 
games but wrought strength from his spirit in competing the past few years.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke of just how close she was to the podium.

They flowed from the eyes of the American women who again settled for a color other than gold, watching their rival Canada revel in glory.

All that's left now is to wait.

That's what's crazy about the Olympics: in seconds - or Uhleander's case hundredths of a single one - a dream can slip away, but years it takes to get another shot at capturing it.

Glory and cruelty both equally immeasurable.

Former Xavier player becoming half-court shot legend

Half-court heaves are propelling former Xavier guard Brad Redford to an iconic status in the electrifying world of media timeout contests. 

"Shooting a half-court shot without any practice shots in a shirt and tie with penny loafers on puts me in a level with few others," Redford said (tongue-in-cheek). 

Few can master the art the way Redford has, hitting half-court shots during two straight Xavier home games. 

"I would say other than myself I could only see a couple other people achieving such a feat. Possibly Chris Mullens or Rik Smits. That's probably about it," he continued.

As a senior, Redford averaged 7.6 ppg, shooting 44.6 percent from three. This season, he serves as the MC of all Xavier home contests, running events during media timeouts. 

His now infamous one is the Penn Station Hot Shot Contest, in which Redford grabs a student from the stands to take a half-court shot. If the student misses, Redford said he usually gives it a shot. 

After missing on his first two tries of the season, Redford is finding his groove.

 

So, what is the key? Practice?

"I don't really practice shooting from half court," Redford said.

Nix that idea - just messing around is about as much as he has done.

But there has to be some strategy, a secret to this awe-inspiring success.

"Visualize yourself making the shot before. Lean with whatever shoulder you shoot with and try to work it in a straight line," Redford advised. "Toss that thing up there, put a little spin on it, and say a little prayer beforehand."

Boy, he makes it sound so easy.

Maybe it's because he has been in the pressure cooker before. Last year against a ranked Memphis team, Redford nailed a three with about a minute to go to give Xavier a one-point lead. Back in high school, he remembers catching fire from three to open his senior season, hitting 11 of 13 attempts in a game.

"The half-court shots are right there with those," Redford joked.

Legends come and go. Their fame and prominence can be fleeting.

Has Redford reached his zenith? Will he ride into the sunset or go for an unheard of three straight makes?

"That decision has yet to be made."

Authentic suspense, folks. Xavier's next home game is Wednesday against DePaul.

#1 vs. #1: Why Super Bowl XLVIII is so hard to predict

A battle of colossal league powers.

Peyton Manning and his prolific offense vs. the "Legion of Boom."

Top offense vs. top defense.

Super Bowl XLVIII offers plenty of intrigue solely based on that matchup. One of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time taking on one of the greatest pass defenses in league history.

But which will win out?

Taking a look back at past Super Bowls, you can make a case for both.

Only once before has the NFL's top offense and defense squared off, back in Super Bowl XLVII between Tampa Bay and Oakland.

The Bucs dominated and stifled the Raiders that night, Jon Gruden easily conquering his ex-team to hoist the Lombardi.

But that game presented an interesting set of circumtances.

1. Gruden had coached that Oakland team just a year prior and had to know the pieces extremely well.

2. Many credited Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin for putting together that Tampa team, and particularly the defense which so excelled.

3. Rich Gannon was a good quarterback in his heyday but he's nowhere near the echelon on which Manning resides.

This week, the AP chronicled how top units fared in the big game.

Eleven times top defensive leaders went into the Super Bowl, nine of those times they won.
Offensive leaders went into the Super Bowl a dozen times and won seven of those times, barely more than half.

Interesting.

For as much as everyone talks about how the NFL is a passing league and all about offense now, the most recent example of a top offense falling wasn't too long ago, Super Bowl XLII, when the Giants thwarted New England's perfect season.

In that game, the Giants' pass rush flustered Tom Brady and held the Pats' dynamic offense to only 14 points.

Brady's a legend whose Super Bowl lore is well-documented and a strong defense took him down.

So, that's a nod in Seattle's favor.

But what about the case for offense and the Broncos' record-setting group?

The rationale I would use is not so much about Manning's past Super Bowl experience. I don't think that matters as much as some may think.

Instead, I think a lot of how this game goes will hinge on the arm of Russell Wilson. If he can play a good enough game to support the Seattle defense, the Seahawks have a very good shot of winning.

That doesn't mean being perfect or throwing for 400 yards. Eli Manning was 19 of 34 for 255 yards, 2 TDs and an INT in the infamous big game in Glendale. But he made one of the greatest throws in Super Bowl history, escaping pressure and connecting with David Tyree to set up the game-winning touchdown to Plaxico Burress. 

Two weeks ago in the NFC Championship Game, Wilson made his own big throw, hitting Jermaine Kearse for a touchdown on a 4th and 7 in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks took the lead and would not surrender it again.

Wilson threw the ball only 25 times but that was all Seattle needed. He fumbled in the first half but didn't turn it over again. His counterpart on the other side, Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick, fumbled and threw two interceptions.

Turnovers will be key to the outcome, as is typical. Peyton surely has to know that from his second Super Bowl with Indy, Super Bowl XLIV, as the pick six he threw to Terry Porter sealed the deal for New Orleans. Last year, in his first season in Denver, Baltimore's 2OT INT off Manning set up the game-winning field goal.

While legendary or top-notch quarterbacks don't always win the Super Bowl, they have more often then not in the past decade or so.

Sometimes winning the Super Bowl fuels the perception that inconsistent quarterbacks are elite (Eli, Joe Flacco).

A good portion of the rest of the championship quarterbacks are perennial Pro Bowlers, signal-callers in the top 5-10 of the NFL.

That list goes, starting with Super Bowl XXXVII to now: Brad Johnson, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco.

Johnson is an exception, as his defense was exceptional (defensive back Dexter Jackson was the MVP of his win). The better quarterback typically prevails, as when
Manning won his last Super Bowl over the Rex Grossman-led Bears.

Sunday, we find out if the young Wilson will go down as a Grossman-esque quarterback who couldn't play well enough to defeat a legend or if he can slay a quarterbacking Goliath, as Peyton's brother did twice.

Seattle has to have good defense to win, just as Denver has to have good offense. Those are basics for both. But without a poised performance from Wilson, maybe even one with a defining moment, it will be difficult for Seattle to earn the victory.