Show Sports thoughts IT It seems that some professional teams are jinxed when it comes to winning the Super Bowl National Basketball Association crown or the World Series of baseball Some teams such as the New NewYork NewYork NewYork York Yankees of baseball Boston Celtics of basketball and the Green flay Day Packers in n the sixties seem to win crowns with ease case but some squads such as the Oakland Raiders Minnesota Vikings of football Los Angeles Lakers of basketball and the Boston Doston Red Hed Sox of baseball have problems in the winning of the highest honor in their league TH TILE THE E OAKLAND Raiders battled the Green Bay Packers in the second Super Bowl in 1968 The Raiders played quite well in the first half but in the third and fourth quarters the Packers of Green Bay destroyed the Raiders to win their second Super Bowl Oakland has been trying for years to return to the Super Bowl The Raiders made the playoffs quite often However there were always the Kansas City Chiefs the New York Jets Miami Dolphins or the Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pitt Pitt- blocking a return to the Super Bowl for the Raiders The Raiders had to come from behind to defeat a new hopeful Super Bowl road road- blocker the New England Patriots in order to advance to the American Football Conference Conference Con Con- ference champion contest Oaklands Oakland's opponent nt for the championship contest was another old Super Bowl road- road blocker in past years the Pittsburgh The Raiders gained revenge for those earlier playoff defeats by smashing the and thus capturing a spot in the 1977 Super BowlIN Bowl IN Till THE SUPER Bowl the Oakland Raiders met a three three- time Super Bowl loser the Minnesota Vikings Oakland finally achieved its first Super Bowl win when they easily thumped the Minnesota Vikings last January The Minnesota Vikings became the all time Super Bowl loser with four losses in the championship contest in the sport of football The Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl both times they were in the grand battle The Packers had two shots at the Super Bowl crown and both times they came up as the winner However the Minnesota Vikings case is different The Vikings ha have e been in the Super Bowl four times limes and could have been the only team to have won four Super Bowls but instead they are the only team to lose four BASEBALLS BASEBALL'S Boston Red Sox of the American League as of late have become a loser of the big game The Red Sox in inthe inthe inthe the early years of baseball did extremely well in the annual fall classic The Red Sox won five World Series from 1903 to 1918 However nowadays the Red Sox are not as fortunate Boston after winning in 1918 was absent from the World Series for 28 years The Red Hed Sox returned to the World Series in 1946 but they were handed a 4 game to 3 game loss in the battle with the St St. Louis Cardinals Car Car- Th The Red Sox went on a 20 year vacation from the World Series after their visit in 1946 Boston returned to the annual fall classic in 1967 but again they were defeated by the St. St Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3 3 In 1975 the Red Hed Sox competed with the Cincinnati Reds Heds in the World Series but again they ended up upon upon upon on the losing l ing side In the National Basketball Association the time all-time loser of championship contests is the Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers takers not counting the years they were in Minneapolis have lost eight of nine N A championship championship cham sham games from 1962 to 1973 THE TILE lI lost seven titles in a row t 1962 63 65 66 68 69 and 70 before they gained their first championship title in 1972 For or some professional teams the winning of championship titles comes easy The New NewYork NewYork Newyork York Yankees have won 20 of 30 World Series and the Boston Celtics have won 13 of 14 championship contests However some teams such as the Ix los s Angeles Lakers tone one win in nine tries and the Minnesota Vikings 0 to wins in four tries have a tough time in winning championships |