The 7 worst 21st century Cincinnati sports moments

March 9, 2000: Kenyon Martin’s broken leg 

You think the hopes were high for Xavier and Cincinnati to do big things in the NCAA tournament this season?

You should have been around at the turn of the century.

Coach Bob Huggins’ Bearcats were ranked No. 1 after a dominant regular season keyed by Martin, their multi-talented senior center.

That all changed when he suffered a broken leg in the Conference USA tournament, though, knocking the Bearcats down to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

They lost in the second round to Tulsa.

Jan. 8, 2006: Carson Palmer’s shredded knee

This wasn’t intended to be so gruesome. That’s just the way it’s starting out…

The Cincinnati Bengals today are known for being unable to win playoff games under Marvin Lewis. This was his first shot and still arguably their best… at least at the time the game started.

Carson Palmer connected with Chris Henry on a 66-yard pass on the second play of the Bengals’ first drive, but that was it for the budding star quarterback. He left the game after former Bengal Kimo von Oelhoffen hit him low.

Jon Kitna threw two interceptions in relief of Palmer, and the Steelers won 31-17 — en route to a surprising Super Bowl victory.

Credit: Andy Lyons

Credit: Andy Lyons

Oct. 6, 2010: Roy Halladay’s no-hitter

The Reds went into the 2010 postseason without great expectations but managed to disappoint anyway.

A three-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies started with Halladay allowing only a walk to Jay Bruce during a 4-0 win. It was only the second no-hitter in postseason history.

Not satisfied with having made that bit of dubious history, the Reds committed four errors and blew a four-run lead in Game 2 before getting shut out 2-0 in Game 3 to complete a disastrous series.

Dec. 11, 2011: The Crosstown Shootout brawl 

The game that is supposed to show off the best basketball the city has to offer ended in ugliness.

After inciting the fight with relentless trash talk during their blowout win, Xavier players further disgraced themselves and the city with an embarrassing postgame comments that left the impression they had done nothing wrong.

Numerous suspensions were handed out and the game had to be played on a neutral court for two years.

Oct. 5, 2012: Giants complete NLDS comeback

After outscoring San Francisco 14-2 in the first two games of the series, the Reds needed to win just one of three games at Great American Ball Park to advance in the postseason for the first time since 1995.

They dropped the first back home but had Mat Latos set to start Game 5. He was acquired to win this type of game but got shelled instead, giving up five runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The Reds put the tying runs on base with only one out in the ninth inning, but Bruce flew out and Scott Rolen struck out to end the game.

Jan. 9, 2016: The Meltdown 

Like Homer Simpson having the Stone Of Shame removed from his neck only to then be shackled to the Stone of Triumph, the Bengals may have traded one tribulation for another.

After 14 years without making the playoffs (see above), the Bengals have more often than not been contenders… but they are 0-7 in the postseason.

This night’s 18-16 loss to the Steelers stands as the closest they have come to a win and the most painful loss.

A thrilling fourth-quarter comeback fell by the wayside when Jeremy Hill fumbled and 15-yard penalties on Adam Jones and Vontaze Burfict led to an easy game-winning field goal for Pittsburgh.

March 19, 2018: Double disaster in the Music City

Dreams of a Crosstown Shootout rematch in the Final Four died hard on a Sunday night in Nashville, where No. 1 seed Xavier and No. 2 seed Cincinnati both blew big leads en route to humiliating defeats on the same floor within hours of each other.

The games inspired numerous tweets about the city’s sports being cursed as well as silly lists like this to help pass the time until the next heartbreak — or triumph?