No New Years toast, or midnights kiss.
No trip to Times Square, or party of friends.
No Cristal or Scotch or Slow Gin Fizz.
Just my laptop, my Sports Blog, and the ten best Games or Sports Events of 2008.
In chronological order:
1) Super Bowl XLII
Late in quarter number four.
The drive for New York started out exactly as predicted. The Giants were desperate, and struggling to drive the ball thru the New England territory. They even had to convert a huge fourth down with less then three minutes left in the game.
Then Manning at his own 43-yard line began a sequence of plays that will never be forgotten. First down produced nothing. Second down was more of the same. Finally it was third and five, the game on the line. Manning called for the ball and while looking down field, he quickly began to feel the pocket cave in around him. Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour of the Patriot defensive line tried a total of four times to sac Manning. Yet somehow someway the Giant Quarterback remained on his feet, dashing and slithering his way in and out of pressure.
As if Manning’s resilient scramble wasn’t amazing enough, what happened next was truly unbelievable! Manning threw the ball 30 yards down the field into a four-man defensive cover. Four different New England Patriots surround just one New York Giant.
That Giant was tight end David Tyree.
In an effort of desperation, Tyree leapt into the air and pulled down the Manning pass. The ball was well over Tyree’s head as he began to fall to the ground. Patriot safety Rodney Harrison was also trying to catch the ball. As both men hit the turf, the ball had settled in-between Tyree’s hands, directly on top of his helmet. Somehow someway Tyree held on to the ball and completed the catch. The Giants were alive and the momentum of Super Bowl XLII had taken a shocking dramatic shift.
Thirty seconds later Manning found Plexico Burress in the end zone for a touchdown.
Giants 17 Patriots 14
There was 35 seconds left in the game. The Giants defense that had been so dominate for 59 minutes 25 seconds never let up. Strahan, Umenyiora, Pierce, and Tuck all contributing heavily to stopping Tom Brady and the Patriots. With just one second left the Giants took over on downs. Eli took a knee and New York Giants had shocked the world.
Super Bowl XLII the Arizona Upset!
2) Red Wings Stanley Cup Champions
With under a minute to play the Wings held a 3-2 lead. It was a final save by old hand goalie Dominick Hasek in the closing seconds that propelled the Wings to the cup. The Detroit Red Wings made short work of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup. Four games to two, was all they needed to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins. Detroit winger Henrik Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, the Final MVP. Detroit, one of the original six, had re-emerged as the NHL’s very best in 2008.
3) Tiger and Rocco battle to exhaustion
Coming off one of the last tee-boxes, late in the day on Saturday, Tiger turned to his caddy and told him, “This is it for a while”. Tiger was positive he would have to shut his game down immediately following the US Open. Woods, having just had his third knee surgery, was still experiences a great deal of pain, and the pain was vastly affecting his game. Tiger figured he was within a few dozen holes of being done for 2008. Little did he know he would need 20 extra holes to finish out the Tournament.
Enter Rocco Mediate.
Rocco the 45-year-old veteran of the PGA was ranked 156th at the US Open, and had never won a Major. Mediate emerged on Saturday as a leader and a possible favorite, with Woods, to win the event. As the match played out on Sunday, Rocco and Tiger were tied thru the 18th, and were still tied after a 1-hole shootout. The PGA rules indicate the event goes into overtime tournament one on one match Monday.
Once again thru 18 holes Tiger and Rocco were tied.
Finally after yet another 1-hole shootout, Tiger found himself ahead one stroke. And then after Rocco failed to make a long putt, Tiger emerged victorious. By far the most exciting episode on the PGA tour in 2008. A very memorable US Open.
4) Celtic Pride
In the late summer months of 2007 Celtics head coach Doc Rivers took his Boston team on a road trip. The road trip was not to a foreign country or even to a neighboring Boston city. Rather, the road trip was around the streets of Boston. The trip was the victory parade route used for the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox in earlier championship seasons. Doc wanted his team to see the final goal, where the season’s journey would end. A man of vision, Doc got his team back to the victory parade path just months after their initial visit. But the second time, was for a parade of their own. The Celtics put together one of the best regular seasons in the history of the NBA, and defeated the Lakers in six games. Lead by the “Boston Three-Party” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, the Celtics were the toast of the NBA in 2008, and could be well on their way to a continued dynasty in 2009.
5) Josh Hamilton Wins The Homerun derby.
He hit 28 homers in the first round !!! Thirteen in a row!!!
And not one of Josh’s 34 total homeruns was a cheep shot. Josh hit one two thirds of the way up the black bleachers in centerfield, (an area that has one been hit by a handful of players in major league history). He hit several into the tier reserve sections of the right field upper deck (the only seats I can afford anymore at Yankee Stadium). He hit one into the old Yankee Bullpen in right, which bounced to the back outer wall of the house that Ruth built. He hit one into the last row of the right field bleachers!
Now I realize that the whole thing is an exhibition. Josh was hitting essentially batting practice homers. No one pitch that he launched was thrown faster then 65 miles and hour. However the display Josh put on in the final All-Star game at Yankee Stadium was a very special moment in his career and in the 2008.
Having shared many of the same demons in my own life that Josh has battled, I find both his comebacks so completely improbable and so remarkable that there is no way that my own words will ever do it the justice that it deserves. To me what makes Josh’s journey great is his ability to overcome the extreme challenges of sobriety and addiction, where most people die long before they can even assume normal lives and then once accomplishing that phenomenal feat, Josh climbed the minor league ladder alas reaching the majors. He overcame the skeptics, the minor leagues, and achieved the almost impossible dream to become a professional ball player. Other players have overcome injury, and substances to make MLB comebacks (Strawberry and Gooden are just a few). But Josh’s story is unique because he was at rock bottom both personally and professionally. A baseball player can’t be any lower then being banded from Single A. Josh is not just a comeback ball player, he is a comeback human being. And so his display in the homerun derby in 2008 was certainly in the top ten moments of the year.
6) Phelps cleans house at the summer Olympics
I pretend to be a sports expert and I do try to throw my knowledge and opinions around this sports blog. That being said, I am not a fan of the Olympics, nor am I a fan of competitive swimming. However what Michael Phelps this summer in Beijing was absolutely phenomenal! The man won 14 gold metals an all time record. Who can forget that picture of Phelps on the front cover of Sports Illustrated wearing all 14 metals in early autumn? Or the image of Phelps pumping of his arms, just outside the pool, after his final victory? The athletic accomplishment is something even a non-fan of swimming can admire. It was truly a top moment in 2008.
7) Yankees Stadium closes its doors forever
The House That Ruth Built, as it has been commonly called, closed its doors forever on Sunday night September 21st. For me Yankees Stadium has been like a home, and a place I will never forget.
Yankee Stadium has been my home away from home. A place that I knew vast comfort and entertainment in the city that never sleeps. I experienced great friendships and family moments over hundreds of games and thousands of innings. I went to games with girl friends, and after college visitations. I went on school nights and stayed up way past bedtime. I went to games on my own, and even took a British friend to his first ever American baseball game. (He tried to equate it to Cricket.) I went to playoff games and two World Series games, Game 2 of the 1996 World Series, and Game 1 of the 1998 World Series. I even took my dad to his first ever playoff game, last season against the Indians in the division series.
Since 2004 plans to build a new Yankees Stadium have been looming. At first those of us with fond feelings for the current Stadium denied that the day would ever come. Then there was a groundbreaking ceremony. Then over the last two seasons strong visual evidence began growing every day. Now the New Yankee Stadium is almost complete just beyond the third base side of the current Stadium. As the 2008 season began, the theme of endings had also begun. Last opening day, last season series, and last All-Star game.
In conclusion, a very special place that has been very important to my life will soon be destroyed and gone forever. What remains are photographs, videotape and a mind bursting with memories. Like so many other things in life, we can’t stop the clock. We cant stop the change, all we can do is accept the things beyond our control remember the past with a sense of fondness, and look to the future with a sense of hope.
8) The last place Rays win the Pennant
In early May, I remember thinking, “how cute.”
“The Rays are in first place. Enjoy it while it lasts guys. Cause in the Al East, this will never hold up!”
How could it possibly last?
A team with a 44 million dollar payroll ( fifth to last in all of baseball). An organization that has a ten-year tradition of mediocrity. A team that plays in the same division as the powerhouse Yankees and Red Sox. Besides, there was almost five months of baseball left to play. I just laughed off the Tampa Bay Rays, and continued to laugh the rest of the summer.
But in October, the laughing had stopped.
The Rays held the best record in baseball. They defeated the Chicago White Sox in the division series. The defeated the Boston Red Sox in seven games in the ALCS and fell just short of winning everything.
The Rays are for real.
9) The Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series.
For the first time since game one, Brad Lidge entered the game in a save situation. Chase Utley gather up the first out on a pop up to second base. After a Dioner Navarro base hit, and a Perez pinch running stolen base, Jayson Werth caught a Ben Zobrist line drive for the second out. Eric Hinski came up representing the last hope for the Tampa Bay Rays. On a 1-2 pitch Hinski weakly swung over the top of a slider from Brad Lidge.
Lidge fell to his knees. Catcher Carlos Ruiz ran out to hug him. Ryan Howard and members for the Phillies dugout ran the battery over. 46,000 Phillies fans went insane!
The call from Joe Buck was “The Phillies are World Champions”.
I could hear other apartments in my complex going crazy. Shortly after, I heard fireworks going off in the distance. An hour later Broad Street looked like Times Square on New Years Eve. The World Series was over. Almost entirely dominated by the Phillies. The World Series MVP award was given to Cole Hamels.
Philadelphia Phillies win game five 4-3. Phillies win World Series 4-1.
10) Texas Stadium closes its doors on a somber note.
Although I don’t share the same fondness for Texas Stadium that I do for Yankee Stadium, I still recognize the building as a holy shrine of football history. Everyone over the age of 25 remembers the opening credits of the show Dallas, and the aerial shot of Texas Stadium. It was the first building of its kind, with it’s partially closed roof. The concept would lead to the retractable domes that are very so popular in MLB in recent years. Unfortunately the final game at Texas Stadium was a devastating loss for the Cowboys. They were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, 33-24 . The loss made it difficult for Dallas to make the playoffs and marked for a very somber closing ceremony after the game.
These are my top ten sports moments of 2008. Now I am going to bed...alone!
