It is the last day of the year and a time to briefly look back. The latest cover of Sports Illustrated calls it the best sporting year ever and frankly, hard to disagree. From the fantastic Super Bowl finish that saw the New York Giants down the 18-0 New England Patriots, the incredible Wimbledon final that saw Rafael Nadal down Roger Federer, great soccer in the English Premier League and Champions League - both won by Manchester United - and a superb Euro 2008 won by Spain, the year had no shortage of individual and team performances to remember. Usain Bolt owned the Olympics with two awesome performances, and you have to mention Michael Phelps too, though Bolt covering the 100m in four fewer strides than has ever been done before screams "special," and, well, "freak". There were great come-from-nowhere teams in baseball's Tampa Bay Rays and Turkey at the Euro's who kept pulling out last gasp miracles and there were teams that lived up to expectations like the Detroit Red Wings, Stanley Cup winners and the Boston Celtics who transformed from the depths of the NBA to league fav and champion in one season. Not sure about you, but I continually was stunned at the rising popularity of UFC this year, and the conversations you'd hear at the office and about town before and after an event were unlike anything else, it is HUGE. At the same time, some stories just refused to go away - Roger Clemens and the performance enhancing drugs stories, Brett Favre's retirement and comeback, Mats Sundin's future and of course, the Brian Burke as Leafs General Manager soap opera - these stories got old and old fast. More locally, Toronto teams were a collective disaster, but at least Toronto FC has its newness to fall back on, for now. The Maple Leafs, Raptors and Argos? Not so much. What are your fav memories? Feel free to add them to the discussion today...in the Year of the Rat, it is only fitting that the last coach axed in the NFL this calendar year could well be a total rat lookalike in Mike Shanahan in Denver. Long time coming, to be sure, but that team's kept him through worse so it is certainly surprising he gets the axe now...the International Ice Hockey Federation is contemplating expanding the World Junior Hockey Championships to 12 teams at a time when the field of 10 looks bloated. Yeah, just what the game needs - Canada and other top nations pounding weak sisters by double digits...this is the first time in NFL history that all four road teams have been favored on Wild Card weekend...the Orlando Magic are 11-1 in their last 12 against the Western Conference...since becoming the starter in San Diego, Phillip Rivers is 14-0 in the month of December...Curtis Joseph picked up his 450th win last night in the Maple Leafs overtime win over Atlanta. Now, go and retire Cujo...word is that when he passed out in the shower on Sunday post-game, Tony Romo fumbled the soap and it was returned for a touchdown...have a great New Year's Eve everyone, catch you on the other side.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
It is the last day of the year and a time to briefly look back. The latest cover of Sports Illustrated calls it the best sporting year ever and frankly, hard to disagree. From the fantastic Super Bowl finish that saw the New York Giants down the 18-0 New England Patriots, the incredible Wimbledon final that saw Rafael Nadal down Roger Federer, great soccer in the English Premier League and Champions League - both won by Manchester United - and a superb Euro 2008 won by Spain, the year had no shortage of individual and team performances to remember. Usain Bolt owned the Olympics with two awesome performances, and you have to mention Michael Phelps too, though Bolt covering the 100m in four fewer strides than has ever been done before screams "special," and, well, "freak". There were great come-from-nowhere teams in baseball's Tampa Bay Rays and Turkey at the Euro's who kept pulling out last gasp miracles and there were teams that lived up to expectations like the Detroit Red Wings, Stanley Cup winners and the Boston Celtics who transformed from the depths of the NBA to league fav and champion in one season. Not sure about you, but I continually was stunned at the rising popularity of UFC this year, and the conversations you'd hear at the office and about town before and after an event were unlike anything else, it is HUGE. At the same time, some stories just refused to go away - Roger Clemens and the performance enhancing drugs stories, Brett Favre's retirement and comeback, Mats Sundin's future and of course, the Brian Burke as Leafs General Manager soap opera - these stories got old and old fast. More locally, Toronto teams were a collective disaster, but at least Toronto FC has its newness to fall back on, for now. The Maple Leafs, Raptors and Argos? Not so much. What are your fav memories? Feel free to add them to the discussion today...in the Year of the Rat, it is only fitting that the last coach axed in the NFL this calendar year could well be a total rat lookalike in Mike Shanahan in Denver. Long time coming, to be sure, but that team's kept him through worse so it is certainly surprising he gets the axe now...the International Ice Hockey Federation is contemplating expanding the World Junior Hockey Championships to 12 teams at a time when the field of 10 looks bloated. Yeah, just what the game needs - Canada and other top nations pounding weak sisters by double digits...this is the first time in NFL history that all four road teams have been favored on Wild Card weekend...the Orlando Magic are 11-1 in their last 12 against the Western Conference...since becoming the starter in San Diego, Phillip Rivers is 14-0 in the month of December...Curtis Joseph picked up his 450th win last night in the Maple Leafs overtime win over Atlanta. Now, go and retire Cujo...word is that when he passed out in the shower on Sunday post-game, Tony Romo fumbled the soap and it was returned for a touchdown...have a great New Year's Eve everyone, catch you on the other side.
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5 comments:
Great edition possibly the best I've ever seen. Good job.
The year's favs for me:
- Sitting in Yankee stadium one last time, watching Santana and Pettitte go at it.
- Rays beating the Red Sox
- United Double
- Boston winning it (I had them on the Futures)
The bad:
- Toronto sports still suck
- Yanks not making playoffs
- Kansas beating Memphis (that still hurts my wallet)
-Patriots losing to that miracle catch
- Canada's poor performance at WC qualifying
- England not making Euros
Anyone else see Prices usain Bolt impression after his game winning save aginst Lecavalier in the shootout?
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=9UyDeXvruck
The Olympic redeem team could also be mentioned.
A sports channel over here re-showed the complete Wimbledon final (minus the rain delay of course) a few days ago. Still as exciting now as it was then, and who won the game really doesn't matter because the winner was really the audience being able to watch tennis at the absolute peak. Perhaps best tennis match in history and get my vote for sports moment of 2008. Usain Bolt's 200 meter is a undisputed second and Aksel Lund Svindal's comeback, winning downhill in Bever Creek one year after he had a season ending fall in the same hill gets third.
No doubt I could've mentioned a pile of other stuff.
YF, stayed away from Canada's performance as it was all too predictable with that clown Dale Mitchell at the helm. Again: how can a guy who can't get the U20's playing at home to score in THREE games at the U20 World Cup suddenly have a clue how to best better coaches and teams at the senior level? Not possible. Just infuriating watching the CSA make amateur mistakes and know they're coming. They make the Leafs under Ferguson look well thought out.
One other individual moment: Josh Hamilton at the HR derby was pretty wild, as lame as I find those things in general. His story got a lot of run this year, and for good reason - but if I hear him talk once again of how he wishes he didn't have his 32 tattoo's (or whatever the number is) because it is a reminder of his drug addled past, I'll puke.
Could've had a chapter on the criminals in sports: O.J., Plaxico, Pacman, and shockingly, Stevie Gerrard.
Quite the year, as much as the tendency is always to overvalue the recent past but I really think this one will stand the test of time as an outstanding year.
2009 will kick ass simply because the Yanks are going to the playoffs.
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