Of course, great trilogies do occasionally sprout up outside of the ring. We here at Top of the Second pay tribute to other great 3s in history.

Famous Trios

The Warriors' Run TMC (Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin); Georgia Tech's Lethal Weapon III (Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott, Brian Oliver); the Cubs' (Joe) Tinker to (Johnny) Evers to (Frank) Chance; the Reds' Nasty Boys (Randy Myers, Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton); the Redskins' Posse (Art Monk, Gary Clark, Ricky Sanders); Arkansas' Triplets (Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer, Marvin Delph); the Astros' Killer B's (Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Derek Bell); golf's Big Three (Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player); the Prostars cartoon (Wayne Gretzky, Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan); the Mavericks' Three J's (Jim Jackson, Jason Kidd, Jamal Mashburn).

3-pointers

Larry Bird's final money ball (1986 3-Point Shootout); Larry Johnson's four-point play (1999 Eastern Conference finals); Bryce Drew's leaning game-winner (1998 NCAA Tournament, first round); Tony Delk's back-breaker in a four-point play (1996 NCAA final); Reggie Miller capping his eight-points-in-eight-seconds performance (1995 Playoffs); Maryland's Drew Nicholas (2003 NCAA first round).

Three-peats

Minneapolis Lakers (1952-54); Chicago Bulls (1991-93, 1996-98), Los Angeles Lakers (2000-02); Oakland A's (1972-74); New York Yankees (1998-2000); Toronto Maple Leafs (1947-49, 1962-64). Other teams have won three straight titles, then gone on to add to the total. For example: the Boston Celtics' "eight-peat" of the 1950s and '60s.

Trilogies

Magic's Lakers vs. Bird's Celtics (1984-85, 1987 NBA Finals), Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova in the French Open (1984-86); The Karate Kid (I, II, III); Alydar vs. Affirmed Triple Crown races (1978); Ivan Lendl vs. John McEnroe in Grand Slam finals (1984-85 U.S. Open, 1984 French Open).

No. 3s

Babe Ruth, Dale Earnhardt, Alex

Rodriguez, Harmon Killebrew, Dale Murphy, Allen Iverson, Dennis Johnson, Jan Stenerud, Bronko Nagurski.

No. 3 Seeds

Michigan (1989 NCAA Basketball Tournament); Indiana (1981 NCAA).

Game 3s

Knicks 111 Lakers 108, OT (1970 NBA Finals). Game 3s tend to be blowouts. The drama is reserved for Games 6 and 7. It's better that way.

Triple Crown winners

(ballplayers and horses)

Paul Hines (1878), Hugh Duffy (1894), Nap Lajoie (1901), Ty Cobb (1909), Heinie Zimmerman (1912), Sir Barton (1919), Rogers Hornsby (1922, 1925), Gallant Fox (1930), Jimmy Foxx (1933), Chuck Klein (1933), Lou Gehrig (1934), Omaha (1935), Joe Medwick (1937), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Ted Williams (1942, 1947), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Mickey Mantle (1956), Frank Robinson (1966), Carl Yastrzemski (1967), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978).

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