ity. That excitement of getting a fresh game plan? Thats for the playoff teams, the contenders. Ive experienced that excitement. And its great.But we didnt have that anymore. It was gone. Just like the energy in the building. That stuff quickly evaporated over the last month and a

CLEVELAND -- When the epic, drama-drenched Game 7 was briefly delayed by rain, Indians players returned to their clubhouse, where chairs had been removed and plastic sheets hung in anticipation for a party waiting to pop since 1948.Later, unopened bottles of Dom Perignon were wheeled out of a luxury suite. An ice sculpture of the World Series trophy was cloaked by a black cloth, soon to melt away.It wasnt meant to be.An amazing, unforeseen season had a familiar ending.Unable to stop Chicagos curse-slaying run, the Indians, a team that perhaps embodied Clevelands blue-collar, get-off-the-mat ethos more than any other, finally succumbed in the 10th inning, losing 8-7 early Thursday before a downpour soaked thousands of Cubs fans who stood in the rain savoring the end of their 108-year championship wait.Heartbreak still resides in Cleveland.Only this time, the hurt isnt as deep.The Indians werent expected to be playing in October, never mind November, and they took some solace in pushing the Cubs to the limit.We shocked the world, said shortstop Francisco Lindor, the 22-year-old who blossomed on baseballs biggest stage. No one had us here. Of course, we didnt finish the way we wanted to finish. We were going to do whatever it took to win, grind at-bats, pitch after pitch, work hard. Thats our mojo. We battled day in and day out.The Indians had hoped to duplicate what the Cavs, their neighbors on the other side of Gateway Plaza, had done in June by winning a championship and ending the citys 52-year title drought. They managed to sidestep adversity for months, but couldnt overcome losing two starting pitchers and simply didnt have enough to put away the Cubs and became the first team since the 1979 Baltimore Orioles to squander a 3-1 lead in the Series by losing Games 6 and 7 at home.They went down -- swinging.Nobody gave up, said reliever Andrew Miller, who was virtually unhittable during the postseason before the Cubs figured him out in Game 7. It was fighting like hell. It was unfortunate that we didnt quite get there.The fact that they got so close is worth a trophy presentation and parade.The Indians were short-handed from almost the first day of spring training in Arizona.All-Star left fielder Michael Brantley, their No. 3 hitter and probably the best all-around player on the roster, was unable to get fully healthy and played only 11 games. Without Brantley, manager Terry Francona had to be creative to find production and fortunately the Indians got huge contributions from sluggers Carlos Santana (34 homers) and Mike Napoli (101 RBI).Jose Ramirez played four positions, started in all nine spots in the batting order and didnt miss a beat, batting .312 and was perhaps the teams MVP.The Indians survived despite losing starting catcher Yan Gomes for long stretches -- the club tried to trade for All-Star Jonathan Lucroy in July -- and the outfield was an almost daily patchwork effort because of Brantley and two PED suspensions.If all that wasnt enough to stop them, the Indians closed out their division and beat Boston and Toronto in the postseason despite not having injured starters Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar or losing starter Trevor Bauer after he sliced his pinkie playing with a drone -- an odd accident that somehow seemed fitting for this resilient group.The Indians were stitched together from the start.Francona conjured magic from his bullpen as Miller, Bryan Shaw and closer Cody Allen combined to protect leads and stifle rallies all the way to the Series.But in the end, the injuries caught them.A handcuffed Francona was forced to ride ace Corey Kluber for three starts in nine days against the heavily favored Cubs; Josh Tomlin, who had dealt with his fathers illness during a dreary August, just didnt have it in Game 6; and Miller, acquired from the New York Yankees in July for these kind of moments, didnt have the usual bite on his nasty slider in a finale that rates with any Game 7 in history.In the quiet of Clevelands clubhouse afterward, second baseman Jason Kipnis, a Chicago kid who has grown into Clevelands leader, put a season hell never forget in perspective. Kipnis was hurting, but knew he -- and the Indians -- will soon heal.We will be back, he said. Were pretty confident in this group we got here. There are a lot of people who probably dont even know who Carlos Carrasco is or Michael Brantley. Those guys have huge roles for us. We kind of followed Kansas Citys lead a little bit to get here. They lost before they won, so I wouldnt mind if we follow their lead the whole way through. That would be nice. Cheap Asics Australia Online . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Clearance Asics Shoes Australia .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. http://www.saleasicsaustralia.com/ . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. Cheap Asics Australia . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale Asics Australia . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. When a season starts to slip away, as it has for many teams around the league right now, it breaks your soul as a player. The energy level in the building dips, the attention to detail falls off, the game prep starts to feel like homework. You start looking toward the offseason, just hoping to make it through the rest of the games healthy.I experienced it firsthand back in 2003 as a member of Steve Spurriers Washington Redskins. After a 3-1 start that included a win over Tom Brady and the Patriots, we were talking big at the beginning of October: playoffs, Super Bowl, Pro Bowls. Hey, everyone wanted in on this thing. Jump on the train.But success in the NFL can be so fleeting. We lost the next four games and never recovered. From 3-1 to 5-11. Brutal.Theres a reason coach Hue Jackson got visibly emotional while trying to describe how the Browns still havent won a game this season. Remember, these dudes on bad football teams -- coaches, players, executives -- theyre all human. And when the wheels start to loosen on a season and eventually fall off, theres nowhere to hide.I still remember a Sunday night game down in Miami when we blew a big lead. It was our sixth loss in seven games. The winning touchdown? The Dolphins caught us in a blitz, and I was left to make the tackle on Ricky Williams. But that didnt happen. Nope. Instead, I took a stiff-arm to the face as Williams walked in for the score. Good-bye.I still remember traveling to Chicago in Week 16, with Spurrier promising us an extended Victory Monday if we won that game -- three days off heading into the final week of the season. He threw a carrot out there for us, doing anything to buy a win. Didnt work. Paul Edinger kicked a game-winning field goal with five seconds left to beat us.I still remember Week 17, when we got shredded in our final home game by the Eagles. 31-7. In my opinion, Andy Reid called off the dogs in that one. He took it easy on us. Philly couldve scored 40 or maybe even 50 if they wanted to.That Eagles team went to the NFC Championship Game. Our squad? We went home.Yeah, we had some injuries. But so did everyone else. Thats life in the league. Talent? There was enough in our locker rroom to win.ddddddddddddCoaching? I loved the defensive staff. And while Spurriers stock as an NFL coach never recovered, Im not going to blame him. No way. Sure, I didnt agree with some of the structure of his program or the style of practices we had late in the season, but Spurrier didnt get stiff-armed by Ricky or smoked by Keyshawn Johnson on a post route in a blowout loss to the Bucs. Nope. That was me.A lot of us had an idea that Spurrier wouldnt be back the next season once the calendar flipped to December. And a lot of us were right. Owner Dan Snyder replaced Spurrier with Joe Gibbs in the offseason. And I would say uncertainty surrounding the head coach had an impact on the locker room, practice and our overall game prep as we finished out the year.Things just started to drag a bit. The pace of practice slowed down, the film study slipped and the game plans got lighter. We became that team sleepwalking through the daily routine. It was now work at the facility. That excitement of getting a fresh game plan? Thats for the playoff teams, the contenders. Ive experienced that excitement. And its great.But we didnt have that anymore. It was gone. Just like the energy in the building. That stuff quickly evaporated over the last month and a half of the season. Now we were just football zombies throughout the week. Clock in and clock out. Take some notes, and head home.Game day? Yeah, we still played hard because you have to in order to survive an NFL Sunday. You go out there soft, and youll probably end up on the cart with an injury. This game is too fast and too physical to walk around on that field like you dont care. Plus, we all knew we were basically auditioning for next season and the next head coach in Washington. Better put something good on tape, right?I often say that NFL seasons are fragile. And when the team breaks -- or shatters into a thousand little pieces like it did in 2003 -- you dont recover as a player. You just try to survive.ESPN.com NFL analyst Matt Bowen played seven seasons as a defensive back in the NFL. ' ' '