Oracle completes astonishing comeback to defend America's Cup

SAN FRANCISCO -- The big black cat almost used up its last life at the start, burying its bows in a wave and falling behind a boatload of Kiwis.

Of course, it was only fitting in this America's Cup that Oracle Team USA would need to survive near-defeat again.

With one last spectacular push in a winner-take-all finale Wednesday, the United States team managed to hang onto the Auld Mug in closing out the longest, fastest and, by far, wildest America's Cup ever with one of the greatest comebacks in sports.

Skipper Jimmy Spithill steered Oracle's space-age 72-foot catamaran to its eighth straight victory, speeding past Dean Barker and Team New Zealand in Race 19 on San Francisco Bay.

New Zealand had held match point since last Wednesday. But Spithill and his international crew twice rallied from seven-point deficits to win 9-8. Owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, Oracle Team USA was docked two points for illegally modifying boats in warmup regattas and had to win 11 races to keep the trophy.

"It really is about the team, man," Spithill said. "On your own you're nothing, but when you've got a team like this around you, they can make you look great. They did all of that today and the whole series. I'm so proud of the boys . . . They didn't flinch."

It could have been over shortly after the start just inside the Golden Gate Bridge.

Oracle's hulking black catamaran buried its twin bows in a wave approaching the first mark and Barker turned his red-and-black cat around the buoy with a 7-second lead. Oracle narrowed Team New Zealand's lead to 3 seconds turning onto the third leg, the only time the boats sail into the wind.

New Zealand had the lead the first time the boats crossed on opposite tacks. By the time they crossed again, the American boat -- with only one American on its 11-man crew -- had the lead and went on to win by 44 seconds.

"We knew we had a fight on our hands," Barker said. "It's really frustrating. The gains that they made were just phenomenal. They did just an amazing job of sorting out their boat."