Unlike the real world this year, the sports world was very interesting and entertaining this year. Loads happened, and there were some international events to boot! So, here's my list of the top 10 events to happen in the sports world in 2010!
10. Giants win the World Series
Yawn. Who cares. Whatever. Moving on.
9. Europe wins the 2010 Ryder Cup 14.5 - 13.5
Now we’re talking. This year’s Ryder Cup had a lot on the line. The U.S. had won the last Ryder Cup, the first time we had won it since 1999. Both of our last two wins, though, were done on U.S. soil. The U.S. had not won in Europe since 1993. So the U.S. was looking to hold onto the Cup, while Europe was hoping to use home course advantage to win it back. The U.S. was down big going into the last day of single matches…but stormed back to make it close. A tie would have meant the U.S. kept the cup (as defending champions). However, Hunter Mahan fell apart down the stretch, and lost to Graeme McDowell on the final hole, and Europe secured victory in one of the closest Ryder Cups in History.
8. Longest Tennis Match Ever
On June 24, American John Isner defeated Frances Nicholas Mahut 70-68 in an 11 hour, and five minute tennis match, which spanned three days. The Wimbledon match was the longest match in history. I couldn’t imagine the stamina it took for both of these men to keep going. The winners’ second round match was actually supposed to start the day after the end of this match, but they pushed it back a day so Isner could rest. Just an incredible display…and probably the only tennis match I had any interest in all year.
7. Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup
You know, had the Sharks beaten the Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals, they would have most likely been the Cup winners…being as the Flyers (who won the Eastern Conference) have not beaten the Sharks in like 10 years (no joke). Alas, it was, once again, not meant to be. The Blackhawks hadn’t won the cup in like 50 years, though…so there’s always that.
6. The Decision
This was, basically, when LeBron James publicly told Cleveland to go fuck itself, figuratively speaking. James was Cleveland’s icon. The homegrown star of their own. The city of Cleveland has been shit on, sports-wise, pretty much forever. The Indians haven’t won a World Series since like 1941. The Browns left town. The new Browns are god-awful. The old Browns had some of the wackiest things ever happen to it (The Drive, The Fumble). Cleveland is snake bitten. But at least they had LeBron. That was until LeBron put together a 1-hour, national TV event to tell the entire world that he was leaving Cleveland for Miami. This not only was a gut punch to Cleveland sports yet again…but also a shockingly egotistical thing to do. LeBron showed his true colors as a huge, egotistical jackass…all in a one hour special. How nice.
5. Lakers win the NBA Championship (Team of the Year)
Usually, I could give a shit about basketball. The NBA lost me years ago. However, I’ve still always had a soft spot for the Lakers, my childhood team. And have been following them more lately. And last season they won their second NBA Championship in a row, and 16th in franchise history. And they defeated the hated Boston Celtics to do so. In 7 games, with a dramatic comeback in the 7th game at home to seal the deal. This was Kobe’s 5th Championship, and Ron Artest’s first…and he was very, very happy about that. For the story, the badass final series, and for making me interested, somewhat, in the NBA again…the Los Angeles Lakers are my Team of the Year!
4. Saints win the Super Bowl (Drew Brees, Athlete of the Year)
This was, without a doubt, one of the most awesome Super Bowl wins of all time. The Saints were the doormat of the league for so long. They were an embarrassment to the NFL and their fans. They were nicknamed the Aint’s. And then Hurricane Katrina hit, and Drew Brees came to town, and the city rallied around the team…and the team rallied around the city. And this national love affair with the Saints began. And this season, Drew Brees and coach Sean Peyton lead the Saints to New Orleans’ first ever Super Bowl championship. Peyton coached the game brilliantly. Kicked an onside kick to start the second half; went for it on 4th down on occasions. The defense buckled down and returned a Peyton Manning interception for a TD. One of the most iconic sports images of the year was the one of Drew Brees, on stage at the awards ceremony, confetti flying around him, holding his son up in the air. Amazing.
And for bringing the Saints from doormat to champion, for being the face of a franchise that helped New Orleans get on its feet after the Hurricane, and for being the Super Bowl’s MVP…Drew Brees is the no-brainer choice for Athlete of the Year!
3. Dallas Braden throws a perfect game
Dallas Braden, of the Oakland A’s, was probably the least likely pitcher in the league to throw a perfect game in baseball history. He has been a decent pitcher, but never overwhelming. He had never thrown even a complete game. However, on mother’s day this year, with his grandma (who raised him after his mother died of cancer when he was in High School) in attendance, Braden shocked the world, retiring all 27 batters he faced that afternoon. After the perfect game, his grandmother was led onto the field, where the two embraced. His grandma recalls, "It's very special. Dall[as] and I are very close. He just said, 'I love you,' and I said, 'Your mom would have been so proud.' I think that's what he was thinking, too."
His perfect game was caught by catcher Landon Powell, who had only been on the major league roster for 18 days before catching the perfecto. But the two had worked together many times in the minors and were comfortable with one another. The game was the Athletics' first no-hitter since Dave Stewart threw one against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 29, 1990 and the first Athletics' perfect game since Catfish Hunter threw one on May 8, 1968, against the Minnesota Twins. Braden, who was 26 at the time, was the youngest pitcher to throw a perfect game since Mike Witt in 1984.
This season was pretty much the year of the pitcher. Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a perfect game just 20 days after Braden’s, the shortest span between perfect games in major league history. 4 days later, Armando Gallaraga of the Detroit Tigers pitched what would have been a perfect game, except the first base umpire called the 27th batter of the game (what would have been the last out of the game) safe on a play at first when he was clearly out. There were four other no-hitters in baseball this year that were not perfect games: Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies, Edwin Jackson of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays in the regular season. Finally, Roy Halladay became the first ever pitcher to throw a perfect game to also throw another no-hitter in the same season. He threw a no-hitter in the first game of the postseason against the Cincinnati Reds, becoming only the second pitcher in major league history to throw a no-hitter in the postseason. Halladay also had a hit in the game, becoming the first pitcher in postseason history to outhit his opposition.
All in all, 2010 was an amazing year for pitchers in baseball.
2. The World Cup
On June 11, South Africa welcomed soccer fans around the world as the World Cup opened for the first time on African soil. The U.S. Men's Team advanced to the knockout round after tying England and Slovenia and beating Algeria with a goal by Landon Donovan in stoppage time. That game, and that goal by Donovan, was probably the biggest moment for U.S. soccer to date. The U.S. would lose their first knockout stage game to Ghana, ending their run. Spain defeated The Netherlands in the World Cup Final 1-0, the nation's first World Cup title. Personally, this was the first World Cup I really got into, and I have to say, I started to see why the rest of the world loves this game so much. It was really a lot of fun!
1. Vancouver Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics this year were loads of fun. They were also in the same timezone as California, which you would think would be a good thing, but no. NBC, in their infinite wisdom, tape delayed everything to be live on the East Coast. Jackholes. A few Winter Olympics records were set with regards to medal counts. Canada won most Gold Medals in a Winter Olympics with 14, and the U.S. won the most overall medals with 37. The U.S. was particularly strong in some events it is historically not usually so strong in. The U.S. won their first ever Nordic combined medals at this Olympics (My blog on that is HERE). They also won a whole boatload of medals in the downhill skiing events, led by Bode Miller and Julia Mancuso, among others (My blog on Mancuso is HERE). The 4-man bobsled team won gold as well, a first for a U.S. bobsled team (My story on that is HERE).
However, the real treat of these Olympics was the hockey tournament! The games were full of talent, fast paced, and full of suspense. The favorites were expected to be the Canadians and the Russians, with the Swedes and Finns close behind, and the Czechs, Slovaks, and Americans expected to be competitive, although maybe not as close. The U.S. team, though, came out like a bat out of hell. They were led by goalie Ryan Miller, and stocked full of young talent like Zach Parise, Paul Stastny, and Joe Pavelski. And they were on a mission. They defeated the Canadians in pool play…a real shock. And won their pool. They cruised through Finland en route to the Finals, where they were met by the Canadians again. The gold medal game went into overtime, after a game tying goal by Parise with just 24 seconds left. But Ryan Miller let in a softie through the 5 hole in OT, and the U.S. had to settle for silver. But all in all, it was just a real awesome tournament…one that showed the best of what hockey can be!
My Olympic recap can be found HERE for a much more detailed view on the Olympics and what it meant for the U.S. This was an amazing two weeks for me personally, though. I enjoyed every minute of Olympic coverage!
No comments:
Post a Comment