Sports is at its best when scores are tight, competition is fierce and even the losers can hold their heads proud. Then there are the blowouts, like Tuesday's 46-0 soccer result at the Pacific Games, where even the winners look down in shame.
ONE GOAL EVERY TWO MINUTES
Micronesia is not one of the big players in the international sporting world. But its men's national soccer team is making headlines, having lost 46-0 to another small island nation of Vanuatu on Tuesday. The match was part of the Pacific Games, a multi-event competition taking place in Papua New Guinea. Earlier in the tournament Micronesia also suffered blowout losses to Fiji (38-0) and Tahiti (30-0). That's 114 goals in three games, for those keeping score at home.
BONJOUR, AU REVOIR
Natasha Zvereva of Belarus had her best showing as a professional singles tennis player in the 1988 French Open, earning a spot in the finals against defending champion Steffi Graf of Germany.
But she had little time to savor the moment. Graf won in straight sets (6-0, 6-0). Not only that, but the German secured the Grand Slam victory, her third, in just 32 minutes! Zvereva only managed 13 points. Graf finished her career with 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second all-time behind Margaret Court.
KNOCKED OUT COLD
The Bulgarian women's hockey team knew the odds were against them as they tried to qualify in 2008 for the next Winter Olympic Games, to be held in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. Little did they know, however, just how poorly they'd fare.
The team played qualifying matches against Croatia, Italy, Latvia and Slovakia, losing all four by huge margins. The Bulgarians lost 30-1 to Croatia, 41-0 to Italy, 39-0 to Italy, and a staggering 82-0 to Slovakia.
STRIKING OUT
The Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team had good reason to feel confident going into the 1966 World Series. They were the defending champions, had two of the games best pitchers in Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, and were facing a Baltimore Orioles team that had never won a championship.
The mighty Dodgers cobbled together a pair of runs in the first three innings of the first game, but then went cold. Very cold. The Orioles ended up winning the game 5-2, then held the defending champions scoreless for the next three games, wining 6-0, 1-0 ad 1-0 to complete a four-game sweep in the best-of-seven series.
BRAZIL'S HOMETOWN SHAME
The Brazilian soccer team was not only the pride of the nation in the futebol-mad nation, but long considered the best in the world. Victory at the 2014 World Cup would be even sweeter because Brazil was the host nation. But it was not to be—in a major way. The Brazilians lost in the semifinals to Germany by a staggering 7-1 score, which included four German goals in one six-minute span in the first half. Yes, in the end, Micronesia's 46-0 loss Tuesday pales in comparison.
