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As the last point of the mens singles final in Rio ended with Lee Chong Weis smash landing agonizingly wide, it was impossible not to feel for the Malaysian, who had lost the gold-medal match for the third straight Olympic Games. This, after winning his semi-final against the man who had denied him gold in the two previous games, Lin Dan. The defeat in the final was another in a long list of disappointments in the biggest tournaments.Lee Chong Weis career is an unusual mix of exceptional success, consistency, and disappointment. He has held the No. 1 ranking for an incredible 307 weeks since the beginning of 2009, when BWF computer rankings were first introduced; between August 2008 and June 2012 he spent 199 consecutive weeks at the top. These numbers of long-term dominance are much like those of Roger Federer, who was No. 1 in the ATP rankings for 302 weeks, including 237 in a row.The next best in badminton among mens singles players during this period is 76 weeks, by Chen Long, who defeated Lee Chong Wei in the Olympics final. Its clear that Lee Chong Wei has been the dominant player in mens singles badminton over the last eight years. Yet, the biggest prizes have consistently eluded him.In world badminton, the two biggest tournaments are the World Championships - held every year except the Olympic year - and the Olympic Games: each fetches the winner 12,000 points, while the Super Series Premier events fetch 11,000. Lee Chong has reached seven finals in these two biggest tournaments, but hasnt won a single one. Four times he has been denied by Lin Dan, and three times by Chen Long.In the 2016 Olympics, he got past Lin Dan in a titanic battle in the semi-finals 22-20 in the third game - the players hugged and exchanged shirts after the match in what was one of the most poignant moments of the Games - but Chen Long was a bridge too far. The defeat means Lee Chong has reached the final of the biggest tournament of the year in each of the last six years... only to lose each time.It isnt as if Lee Chong hasnt beaten these players or won other big tournaments in badminton - he has three All England Open titles, 11 Super Series Premier titles and four World Super Series Finals, the year-end championship featuring the top players. On the biggest stages, though, he has inexplicably fallen short.His head-to-head rivalry against his two biggest opponents bear some resemblance to Federers as well: he is 12-25 against left-hander Lin Dan (much like Federers 11-23 against another left-hand rival), and 13-13 against a younger, right-hand opponent Chen Long (not unlike Federers 22-23 head-to-head against Novak Djokovic).Like Lee Chong, Federer has lost several times to Nadal and Djokovic on the biggest stages in the last few years; since 2008, Federer is 0-4 against Nadal and 0-3 against Djokovic in Grand Slam finals, which adds up to a similar 0-7 record at the biggest stage of the biggest tournaments (though he has beaten them in other tournaments).Federer, though, has amassed enough Grand Slam titles to feel secure about his legacy as one of the greatest - if not the greatest - mens players of all time. He has won more Grand Slam titles than anyone on the mens tour, and has beaten both Nadal and Djokovic in Grand Slam finals in the past.While Lee Chong Weis longevity and his hold over the top ranking are Federer-esque, he doesnt have the biggest titles in the sport; by comparison, Lin Dan has won five World Championships and two golds in the Olympics, apart from six All England Open titles. Those are numbers that Lee Chong Wei cant get anywhere close to.(S Rajesh is Stats Editor of ESPNcricinfo) Authentic Custom Nets Jersey . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Wholesale Custom Nets Shirts . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. 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David Price is still looking to get his first postseason win as a starter, while Corey Kluber could give the Cleveland Indians a critical 2-0 advantage over the Boston Red Sox if he proves hes healthy and ready to roll. Who has the edge in their American League Division Series Game 2 showdown?Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide tonights game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen?Price is on the mound: You cant ignore the big story here: Price is 0-7 with a 5.27 ERA in eight career postseason starts (he had two wins, both in relief). On one level, he has pitched better than that with 49 strikeouts and eight walks in 54? IP. He has, however, allowed 10 home runs. Seven of those were solo shots, so that doesnt explain the high ERA by itself. Indeed, he has allowed a .333 average with runners in scoring position.Prices game in recent years has been to pound the strike zone. That efficiency allows him to pitch deep into games -- he led the AL in innings for the second time in three years -- but also leads to hits and home runs. His season splits were odd: He had a 4.34 ERA in the first half, 3.58 in the second, even though he had a much lower strikeout rate after the All-Star break. He used to rely on a 95-plus fastball, throwing it 70 percent of the time, but added a cutter/slider hybrid this year that he threw about 20 percent of the time to go with a changeup and curveball. The cutter wasnt necessarily all that effective as batters hit .307/.349/.464, but offered a secondary pitch in the 88-mph range to counter his 92- to 94-mph fastball.Price will throw his fastball with command to both sides of the plate. Against righties, he likes to spot the changeup away, although he does pitch up in the zone, which explains the home run issues (30 this year). He used to be death on lefties, but they actually had a higher OPS against him this year. -- David SchoenfieldWhen?Kluber is on the mound: Its all about health for the 2014 Cy Young winner (and 2016 Cy Young contender) after leaving his final start on Sept. 26 with a right quad strain. Trevor Bauer drew the Game 1 start to give Kluber an additional day of rest.Klubers best pitch is one of the most dominant in baseball: A curveball (some call it a slider) that held batters to an .099 average and recorded a strikeout rate of 52.8 percent. He buries it low and away from righties, and over the past three seasons, batters have hit .106 against it with just five home runs. With two strikes, he throws it about a third of the time, so batters cant really sit. Along with his fastball he throws a cutter and an occasional changeup.One thing to watch: Kluber has always pitched much better from the windup than with runners on base. The splits werent as drastic this year, but he held batters to a .587 OPS with nobody on versus .715 with runners on and .735 with runners in scoring position. Batters also hit .339 and slugged .578 when putting the first pitch in play, so loook for the Red Sox to be aggressive on first-pitch fastballs.dddddddddddd -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightMookie Betts:?-- Speaking of fastballs, the potential AL MVP hit .328/.379/.581 against them, increasing his OPS 167 points from 2015. Betts had a big home/road split, with 49 extra-base hits at Fenway versus 29 on the road (although only three more home runs at home). Cleveland did play as a good home run park in 2016, so keep that in mind.?--?SchoenfieldWhat will decide tonights gameThe Indians success will likely hinge on one of the best pitches in baseball -- Corey Klubers curveball. Opponents hit .099 against his curve this season, the second-lowest opponents batting average against that pitch among starters who qualified for the ERA title. The pitch had the third-highest run value per 100 pitches (a stat charted on FanGraphs.com) of any pitch thrown regularly by anyone with at least 100 innings pitched last season (behind John Lackeys and Clayton Kershaws sliders).Klubers success with the pitch is predicated on getting hitters to chase it -- hes generated a 47 percent chase rate, best among starters. The two best hitters in the Red Sox lineup -- David Ortiz and Mookie Betts -- happen to be least likely among their regulars to chase a curveball from a righty. Betts fared well against Kluber this season (4-for-7 with a homer). Ortiz is 1-for-5 against Kluber this season, but does have two home runs in 16 at-bats against him.?--?ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?The Red Sox. Given David Prices postseason track record (0-7, 5.28 ERA in eight starts), Bostons starter doesnt inspire much confidence. But it was pretty clear in Game 1 that the Indians cant win if they dont use relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. After both threw 40 pitches Thursday night, its unclear how available they will be given the quick turnaround for Game 2. Short of a complete game from starter Corey Kluber, the Indians might not have the horses to get to Boston with a 2-0 series lead. -- Scott LauberThe Red Sox will take Game 2 after eventually forcing Corey Kluber to be removed and taking advantage of the Indians depleted bullpen to tie the series at one game each. The Red Sox could probably still win the series even with a loss Friday, but the Indians have been difficult to beat in three consecutive games all season; Boston would be wise to take care of business on Friday.?-- Andrew MarchandWhere the series standsTerry Francona may have used relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen for 40 pitches apiece in Game 1 -- season highs for both -- but he still has Bryan Shaw for Game 2, plus Dan Otero, who posted a 1.53 ERA this year. Even Miller should be available for a few batters, or at least to face David Ortiz in a big moment. Most importantly, the Indians are up in the series and hope to ride their ace to take the commanding lead.?--?Schoenfield ' ' '