Warriors join 2001 Mariners as regular-season record setters who came up short

The 2001 Mariners have something in common with the Golden State Warriors team that lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals Sunday night. So do the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2007 New England Patriots.

As noted by Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead and others, those teams all set their respective leagues’ record for regular-season wins yet came up short in the postseason.

The ’01 Mariners went 116-46 – setting the American League record and tying the MLB mark set by the 1906 Cubs – before losing in the ALCS. The Cubs lost in the World Series.

The ’95-96 Red Wings went 62–13–7 but lost in the NHL’s Western Conference Finals.

The ’07 Patriots lost in the Super Bowl after becoming the first NFL team to complete a perfect 16-0 regular season.

And the Warriors continued that trend Sunday night, losing for the ninth time in the postseason to match the number of games they lost during a record-setting 73-9 regular season.

Is it merely a coincidence that the record holders for regular-season wins in all four of the country’s major sports leagues failed to win a title? “Brock and Salk” discussed that question Monday morning. You can listen here.

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