CITY » back-to-back hitters and then surrendered a pair of

Sorry, Chicago Cubs, youre not the only team in this years baseball playoffs that gets to play the misery card.The Curse of the Billy Goat is a good one.Extra credit, for sure, for going more than a century without winning the World Series.But the Cleveland Indians know a thing or two about postseason disappointment. So do the Texas Rangers. And dont even get us started on Washington and its long-suffering fans.First in war, first in peace, last World Series title?That would be 1924, when the winning hit ricocheted off a pebble in what remains the first and only postseason break to go their way in the nations capital.So, if the Cubbies want to sulk over their two Series titles -- the last of which came in 1908, shortly before William Taft was elected to the White House -- they wont get a lot of sympathy from the city that endured two different versions of the Washington Senators (both of them terrible, for the most part) before landing the Nationals.In Cleveland, they once had a team known as the Spiders that went 20-134. The Indians last World Series championship came in 1948, with World War II still fresh in everyones minds. Theyve been back to big dance only three times since then, losing every one of `em. The last of those was especially galling. In 1997, Cleveland was three outs from the title in Game 7 but lost to the Florida Marlins in extra innings.Texas certainly deserves a mention, even though its only been a part of the big leagues since 1972. In an interesting twist, the second version of the Senators moved to the Lone Star State, but only after forfeiting its final game in Washington when outraged fans stormed the field in the ninth inning.They shouldnt have gone to all that trouble.The Rangers lost 100 games in their inaugural season, 105 in Year 2. When they finally made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1996, they squandered a 4-0 lead at home in the deciding game, losing 6-4 to the New York Yankees.But that little exercise in heartache was merely a warmup for 2011, when the Rangers made it to their second straight World Series (having lost, of course, in their first).With a three games to two lead on the St. Louis Cardinals and up 7-5 in the bottom of the ninth in Game 6, Texas was one strike from its first title when David Freese -- ugh, the mere mention of that name still turns the stomach of Rangers fans -- tripled in the tying runs.On to the 10th, where the Rangers restored their two-run cushion on Josh Hamiltons homer. The Cardinals were once again down to their final strike before Lance Berkman drove in the tying run, again denying a Texas-sized celebration that, alas, would never come.At that point, the outcome was a merely formality. The baseball gods have given the Rangers their chance -- two of them, actually -- and they had blown it both times. The Cardinals scored the winning run in the bottom of the 11th, and then won Game 7.That had to sting, but Indians fans will counter with what theyve endured over the last 68 years. After setting a then-American League record with 111 victories in 1954, Cleveland was swept by the New York Giants in a World Series best known for Willie Mays amazing over-the-shoulder catch in the deepest part of the Polo Grounds, a highlight that still taunts the Indians to this day.It would be 41 years before Cleveland made another postseason appearance, which culminated with another World Series loss, this one to Atlanta, which failed to win the Series any other season in their unprecedented run of 14 straight division titles. Thankfully for the Braves, they got one shot against the Indians.Three years later, Cleveland took a 2-1 lead to the bottom of the ninth against the Marlins, but closer Jose Mesa surrendered Craig Counsells tying sacrifice fly. In the 11th, second baseman Tony Fernandez let an easy grounder slip under his glove for an error, and Florida scored the season-ending run with two outs on Edgar Renterias soft little liner up the middle, the ball skimming off the tip of pitcher Charles Nagys glove and landing just out of the reach of Fernandez.Washington hasnt even been to the World Series since 1933 -- a longer drought than any other big league city, Chicago included. The Senators lone title came in the midst of the Roaring Twenties against the New York Giants, the winning run scoring in the bottom of the 12th of Game 7 on a routine grounder that took a bad hop.That would be the extent of Washingtons good fortune.The following year, the Senators were up three games to one in the World Series but couldnt close the deal against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Washington hasnt been that close to a title since, though their latest team added a worthy chapter to the citys hall of postseason shame in 2012.In the decisive Game 5 of the NL Division Series, at home no less, the Nationals built a 6-0 lead through three innings and were up 7-5 on St. Louis heading to the ninth.With the Cardinals down to their final out, closer Drew Storen walked back-to-back hitters and then surrendered a pair of two-run singles to send St. Louis on to the next round.For Washington, it was a familiar ending.One they know well in Cleveland and Texas, too.Take that, Curse of the Billy Goat.---Paul Newberry is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry(at)ap.org or at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Cheap Custom Yankees Jersey . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. 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GENEVA -- The fallout of Russias state-backed cheating at the Sochi Olympics could add pressure on Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who also is its top official at FIFA and head of the local organizing committee for the 2018 World Cup.His status was unclear Monday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said all officials directly implicated in a World Anti-Doping Agency inquiry report will be suspended.The alleged conspiracy to ensure doped Russian athletes helped their nation win the most medals at the 2014 Winter Games could lead to Mutko being removed from the next big sports showcase in Russia, the World Cup.The WADA inquiry published Monday confirmed claims widespread doping across Russian summer and winter sports was tied to the government ministry headed by Mutko.Mutko personally intervened to cover up a doping case of at least one foreign (soccer player) in the Russian League, according to email evidence obtained by the inquiry, led by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren.The report alleged an additional 11 positive tests of Russian soccer players were made to disappear in the state-sponsored doping program from late 2011 to 2015.WADAs executive board called on FIFAs independent ethics court to act against Mutko, who has been a member of the scandal-scarred soccer bodys ruling panel since 2009.Among seven key demands, WADA leaders urged: The FIFA ethics committee to look into allegations concerning football (soccer) and the role played by a member of its executive committee, Minister Vitaly Mutko.FIFA made no mention of Mutko in its own statement about the McLaren report and said it will ask WADA to share information about alleged cover-ups of doping in Russian soccer. FIFA said it will take the appropriate nnext steps based on feedback it gets.ddddddddddddThe Union of European Football of Associations, whose member federations have twice elected Mutko to four-year terms representing UEFA at FIFA, did not respond to a request for comment.Mutko is due to stand for re-election to his FIFA post in March and would be required to pass an integrity check.It was inconceivable that Minister Mutko was not aware of the doping cover-up scheme, the report said, citing evidence provided to the WADA inquiry from Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Moscows testing laboratory.McLaren said he did not try to speak with Mutko for this report.A previous Mutko interview -- conducted last September in Zurich for an earlier WADA report of doping cover-ups and corruption in Russian track and field -- was singularly unhelpful, McLaren said Monday.Mutkos position has seemed vulnerable after Russias 11th-place finish in the medals standings at the 2010 Olympics.However, the real catalyst to develop the Sochi scheme was the abysmal performance of the Russian delegation at the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010, the WADA report said Monday.Later in 2010, Mutko was revealed in a government audit to have charged expenses of $4,500 to Russian taxpayers for 97 breakfasts during his 20-day stay in Vancouver, British Columbia.His firing was unlikely then because it would have risked his standing at FIFA ahead of a December 2010 executive committee vote to choose the 2018 World Cup host. Russia beat three rivals, including England, and a separate contest for the 2022 tournament saw Qatar picked ahead of the United States. ' ' '