Now, lets
move on to the 5 Most Important Sports Events of 2013:
4. Aaron
Hernandez Killed a Guy! - On Jan. 20, New England Patriots tight end Aaron
Hernandez had nine catches for 83 yards in an AFC championship game loss to Baltimore.
Just more than five months later, he was charged with murder. Prosecutors
accuse him of shooting a friend to death on a secluded gravel road for talking
to the wrong people at a nightclub. Hernandez awaits trial amid revelations of
a history of violence by the player.
He's under investigation (and being sued) for allegedly shooting some
guy in Miami too back in his
college days. What a guy...
3. Lance
Armstrong Admits to Doping - In 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped
him of his record seven Tour de France titles, releasing mounds of evidence
that he used PEDs to win them. In January, after years of defiant denials,
Armstrong finally admitted it, telling Oprah Winfrey: "It's this myth,
this perfect story, and it wasn't true."
The confession was a stunning reversal, after years of public
statements, interviews and court battles in which he denied doping and
zealously protected his reputation. The cyclist was stripped of his Tour de
France titles, lost most of his endorsements and was forced to leave his
Livestrong foundation last year after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency issued a
damning, 1,000-page report that accused him of masterminding a long-running
doping scheme.
2. Peyton
Manning Breaks TD Record - So, Peyton Manning is kinda good. This season, Mr. Manning broke the evil Tom
Brady's record! In Week 1, Manning got
off to a great start, throwing for 7 TDs (tying an NFL record). And he never stopped throwing them! He broke the record in Week 16 with 4 TD
passes bringing him to 51...and followed that up with 4 more in the first half
of their Week 17 game to finish with 55...and the record. S. T. U. D.
1. Andy
Murray Wins Wimbledon
- Andy Murray became the first British man to win the Wimbledon
championship in 77 years. He defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Britain
has been DYING for a Wimbledon Champion for decades now...and Murray
has had the most pressure on him to be the guy for a while now. Last year he became the first British Man to
win a Grand Slam event when he captured the U.S. Open...and he also won the
singles Gold Medal at the Olympics at Wimbledon...but had yet to capture the
Wimbledon event itself...until this year...by defeating the best player in
tennis. Impressive.
After the
jump (click “Read More” below to see everything else in this article), I’ve
gone through and discussed the best of the year in the world of Baseball,
Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, Cycling, Boxing, and
Wrestling!
Baseball
2013 World Series Champion: Boston
Red Sox
2013 NCAA College World Series Champions: UCLA
Bruins
Baseball Player of the Year: Josh Donaldson. The Oakland
A's had, yet again, a magical season that led them to the AL West title. Unlike last season, when they had to win the
West on the final day of the season (my 29th birthday), this year the A's
wrapped up the division a week before the season ended...super clutch! They also won two more games than the
previous season. A big reason for their
success was Josh Donaldson, who broke out in a big way to become an MVP
candidate at 3rd base! He ended up
finishing 2nd in the AL in WAR
(to Mike Trout), and 4th in the AL MVP Voting (behind Miguel Cabrera, Mike
Trout, and Chris Davis). He was an
offensive dynamo, creating a slash line of .301/.384/.499 making
for a .883 OPS. That is excellent. Add to that his phenomenal defense, and you
have a very amazing baseball player who broke out in a big way in 2013. For that reasn, and because I am a huge
homer, Josh Donaldson is my player of the year!
Baseball Game of the Year: Miami
Marlins v Detroit Tigers, Sept. 29, 2013: Henderson Alvarez pitched one of baseball's
most bizarre no-hitters, celebrating in the on-deck circle when the Miami
Marlins scored on a two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to
beat the AL Central champion Detroit Tigers 1-0. After Alvarez finished off the ninth with the
game scoreless, he had to wait to see if it would become an official no-hitter.
A Major League Baseball ruling in 1991 said only complete games of nine or more
innings with no hits would count. The
Marlins loaded the bases and with pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs at bat, Luke Putkonen
threw a wild pitch that let Giancarlo Stanton score. Alvarez was on deck, and
he took off his batting helmet and started to celebrate while still wearing his
batting gloves.
When was the
last time you saw a pitcher relish a no-no with a batter's helmet on?
Football
2013 Super Bowl Champion: Baltimore Ravens (yes, for the second year in
a row, the team that knocked the 49ers out of the playoffs has won the Super
Bowl. Of course, this year was IN the
Super Bowl. Sigh)
2013 BCS Champions: Alabama
Crimson Tide (yes, again…)
Football Player of the Year: Josh Gordon. Seriously, this dude has been LEGIT! For a terrible Cleveland Browns team, Josh
Gordon has put up 80 catches for 1564 hards and 9 TDs through 15 games of the
season. However, its only been 13 games
for Gordon, because he was suspended for the first two games of they year. He's been THAT good. He's also the first reciever in history to go
over 200 yards receiving in back to back games...when he went for 237 in week
12 and 261 in week 13. Amazing. If he can stay out of trouble, he has a
chance to challenge Calvin Johnson for best receiver in football next
year. Pretty awesome.
Football Game of the Year: Stanford 26 Oregon 20, Nov 7, 2013:
OK, maybe I'm biased because I was there...but this game was
awesome. The heavily favored and BCS
Championship Bound Oregon forgot about Stanford. They came to The Farm, and the Cardinal
whooped the shit out of them! Don't let
the 26-20 score fool you...this was a beatdown.
The Cardinal ran on 66 of 79 plays, amassing 274 yards on the ground and
holding onto the ball for over 42 minutes.
Oregon got some fluky
plays late to make the score close, but Stanford was in control from the
beginning and Oregon had no
answer. Due in part to this epic
victory, Stanford will be playing in back to back Rose Bowls for the first time
since 1970-71!
Basketball
2013 NBA Champions: Miami
Heat
2013 NCAA Men’s Champions: Louisville Cardinals
2013 NCAA Women’s Champions: Connecticut Huskies
Basketball Player of the Year: LeBron James. In astreak of both pure dominance and
efficiency, LeBron James set an NBA record by recording his sixth straight game
with at least 30 points and 60-percent shooting, scoring 30 points on 11-of-15
shooting in a 117-104 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The performance
against the Trail Blazers pushed LeBron's streak one game farther than Adrian
Dantley's and Moses Malone's. The record-breaking streak was part of an
incredible February for the defending MVP. James averaged 29.7 points, 7.5
rebounds and 7.8 assists with a 64.1 percent field goal percentage in the month. He basically carried the Heat through much of
this season...a season which ended with another MVP Award and another NBA
Championship. LeBron James is clearly
head and tails better than anyone else lacing up a pair of shoes on the
basketball court these days...and he seems to get better and better each year.
Basketball Game of the Year: Miami
103 San Antonio 100.
Game 6 NBA Finals. Game 6 was
as exciting a game as there has ever been in sports history. The Spurs were 28
seconds away from winning a championship, leading 93-89 with Manu Ginobli on
the foul line shooting two free throws. They seemed to be on their way to
winning their fifth NBA championship when everything fell apart. Miami
fans began exiting the stadium (Miami
has the worst fans in all of sports) and the NBA staffers had brought the
championship trophy out on the floor. But then something happened. Ginobli
missed one of two free throws, and Lebron James made a 25-foot three-point jump
shot to make the score 94-92. The Spurs' Kawhi Leonard missed one of two free
throws and then Ray Allen hit a three-pointer with five seconds remaining to
send the game into overtime. Fans scrambled to try to re-enter the stadium but
were refused re-entry. Overtime was incredible in and of itself...and the Heat
ended up on top...setting the stage for Game 7, and LeBron's latest, and
greatest, championship.
Hockey
2013 Stanley Cup Champions: Chicago
Blackhawks
2013 NCAA Men’s Champions: Yale Bulldogs
2013 NCAA Women’s Champions: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Hockey Player of the Year: Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin has become kind of an afterthought
in the "best player in the world' conversation...but he has been lights
out over the last year. Last hockey
season, Ovechkin captured his 3rd career Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals
scored in a season) and his 3rd career Hart Trophy (League MVP). He had an incredible season. He's kept it up so far this season, scoring
his 400th career goal on October 20th. He
became the 6th fastest player to ever reach that mark, getting it in 634 games,
1 less than Pavel Bure.
Hockey Game of the Year: USA vs Canada, Women's exhibition, Dec 20,
2013: So this was just
supposed to be a friendly exhibition between the two top Women's hockey teams
in the world. A tune up before the
approaching Sochi Olympics. Don't tell
that to the women playing! In a game
controlled by the Americans, things got a bit chippy towards the end! Here...take a look!
Seriously...for a game that penalizes body checking, this got rather chippy! I know what I'll be watching come the 2014 Winter Olympics!
Soccer
I’m taking
the year off from soccer, as I really only watch international soccer, and
there were no big tournaments this year (yes, there was the Confederations
Cup…but that’s it). Still, players like Messi,
Cristiano Ronaldo, and others had spectacular years. Check back next year, since there’s a WORLD
CUP!!! WOOT!
Golf
2013 Masters
Champion: Adam Scott
2013 U.S.
Open Champion: Justin Rose
2013 British
Open Champion: Phil Mickelson
2013 PGA
Champion: Jason Dufner
2013 FedEx
Cup Champion: Henrik Stenson
Golfer of
the Year: Tiger Woods. He didn't win a major. And he didn't win the FedEx Cup...but he lead
the Money List this year, and won 5 events.
He won the PGA Tour Player of the Year Award (the Jack Nicklaus Trophy),
the Money winner (Arnold Palmer Award), and was the scoring leader this year. He won two WGC Championships, and won the
PLAYERS Tournament. All in all, he had a
phenomenal year. I wouldn't be surprised
to see him back in this spot next year...with a few more major wins to his
name.
Tennis
2013
Australian Open Champion: Novak Djokovic
2013 French
Open Champion: Rafael Nadal
2013 Wimbledon
Champion: Andy Murray
2013 U.S.
Open Champion: Rafael Nadal
Tennis Player of the Year: Rafael Nadal.
See below.
Tennis Match of the Year: Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1,
6-7(3), 9-7 French Open Semi-finals.
In what has become the premier rivalry in tennis today, Novak Djokovic
and Rafael Nadal entered Court Philippe Chatrier for their highly anticipated
semi-final duel at Roland Garros. One of the more immaculate days of the
tournament, the Serb and the Spaniard traded blows for four hours and 37
minutes. Both players were battling for
a shot at history, with Djokovic seeking to capture the Grand Slam trophy that
has eluded him for so long and Nadal eyeing a record eighth Roland Garros
crown. With a title, Djokovic would have become just the eighth man in history
to complete the career Grand Slam, but Nadal had other ideas in mind.
Nadal was
two points from victory when he led 6-5, 30/15 in the fourth set, but he
tightened up and Djokovic fought back into contention. The most crucial moment
of the match, and perhaps the year, came with Djokovic serving up 4-3 in the
deciding set. After saving a break point at 30/40, the Serb lost his balance on
a routine smash, falling into the net and thus forfeiting the point. Nadal
would secure the break three points later and the entire complexion of the
match would shift thereafter, with Djokovic failing to make any inroads in
Nadal’s service games before eventually succumbing 9-7.
Nadal went
on to win the French Open for a record 8th time, completing a magnificent
comeback from knee injuries that had put his pursuit of Roger Federer's record
of Men's Singles Grand Slam Championships on hold for quite a few
tournaments. He also went on to win the
U.S. Open to close out the year with 13 Singles championships...1 behind Pete
Sampras, and 4 behind Roger Federer for most all time. Impressive!
Boxing
Boxer of the Year: Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather fought twice in a year for the
first time in quite a while...and he won both of these matches easily. He routed Robert Guerrero (who really didn't
stand a chance anyways)...and wire to wire dominated Saul "Canelo"
Alvarez in the biggest PPV event since Mayweather-De La Hoya (2.2 million PPV
buys and ~250 million dollars in revenue).
And Canelo was undefeated at the time...and expected to at least have a
SHOT to beat Floyd. But it was another
dominant performance. Just incredible
longevity by a fighter who is now 36 years old.
No one can touch him, and he proved it twice this year. Now, if we could only get him in the ring
with Pacquiao.
Wrestling
Wrestler of the Year: Daniel Bryan. Entertaining matches, entertaining feuds, a
magician in the ring...Daniel Bryan was definitely the wrestler of the
year. Sorry...it hard to explain. Those that watch wrestling will know what I
mean when I say he can GO in the ring.
He's just so damn entertaining.
And now that he's starting to be featured in and near the Main Event
scene, the world is getting to see just how good he is.
Wrestling
Match of the Year: John Cena v. CM Punk,
RAW Feb 25th.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment