Profile: Dallas Cowboys: 1996 Playoffs

The last time the Cowboys won a playoff game was in 1996 when they won a home game over the Minnesota Vikings, 40-15. Since then it has been all down hill, as the Cowboys have failed to win 6 straight playoff games in what has now become an 11 season span without a postseason win. The Cowboys had their best chance of ending this terrible streak when they hosted the NY Giants in the NFC Divisional in January of 2008, but they choked and became the first NFC #1 seed to ever lose a divisional playoff game in the history of the NFC playoffs. What is even worse though is that the NY Giants, a team that the Cowboys had beaten twice in the regular season already, went on to beat the undefeated Patriots in Superbowl XLII.

The last time the Cowboys won a playoff game came at age 11 for me, so I basically have gone more than half my life now without seeing a Cowboys playoff victory. That is just wonderful, Dallas Cowboys, but hey...at least we have those three Superbowls in the mid 90's right? That's always great to fall back on, isn't it?? Actually, those dynasty years are far in the past, and I want some success again. This really is getting ridiculous, especially the 2008 season since the Cowboys set an NFL record by sending 13 players to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Hope you enjoyed the trip guys, but I'm sure a playoff win would have felt a lot sweeter.

Will the Cowboys end their winless streak in 2008 or faulter and not even make the playoffs in this next upcoming season?? Only time will tell, but I'm pretty sure that whatever happens will be disappointing. Also, for all those Cowboys fans crying for another Superbowl appearance, or saying that "Superbowl or bust" bs, how about you ask for a simple playoff win?? That is the first step to a Superbowl, actually winning in the playoffs, so we should really try to focus on that goal.

Profile: Los Angeles Dodgers- The Mike Piazza Trade (1998)

I actually remember a time when the Dodgers were semi-decent: when they had Mike Piazza. We all know that when the Dodgers have a good thing going they trade it (Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields anyone?), and since that horrible Piazza trade in 1998 the Dodgers have been on a downward spiral of mediocrity. This trend still continues today, with 1 playoff win in the last 10 seasons.

Trading Mike Piazza to the Florida Marlins was the exact point where the Dodgers "Jumped the Shark," and they've been bad ever since. Here's an in-depth analysis of how dumb this decision was:

Before the Dodgers traded Piazza at the age of 29, they had won a division title in 1995 and got the wild-card in 1996. But of course, the Dodgers were swept in both of those playoff appearances. Seeing that this problem was obviously Piazza's fault, even though in his brief 6.25 year career with the Dodgers he hit 177 HR's and had 563 RBI with a .328 avg, they shipped him off to Florida where he had a brief stint before joining the New York Mets and remaining with them for 8 seasons. While with the Mets, Piazza helped them reach the World Series in 2000 with 38 HR, 113 RBI, and a .324 avg. In his career with the Mets, Piazza ended up hitting 220 more HR's and had 655 RBI. I guess the Dodgers felt his best years were behind him, wrong again.

So to sum it up, the Dodgers ended up trading the greatest hitting catcher of all time and have suffered for it greatly. I can't tell you how disenchanted this made many Dodgers fans, all because the Dodgers didn't want to pay Piazza the money he wanted. The Dodgers loved to low-ball players back then, but now I guess they've learned from their bad negotiating habits: giving Juan Pierre and Jason Schmidt $92 million combined. Those 2 sure have helped the Dodgers suck. Imagine what the Dodgers could have accomplished if they paid Piazza the money he deserved.

Not to mention, it has now been 19 years since the Dodgers have appeared in the World Series, and trading Piazza has been a wonderful contribution to this disastrous streak. The Dodgers are easily the most frustrating team to discuss on this website, and the Piazza trade of 1998 shows that.