Well, another year, amazingly has passed, and before we head to 2011, here's a quick rundown of the biggest sports stories of 2010. And despite all four Houston franchises missing the playoffs :(, it has been a great year in the world's sports scene.
NFL
Behind MVP quarterback Drew Brees and Tracy Porter's game clinching interception (below), the Saints boost up New Orleans and beat the Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV.
College Football
Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton leads undefeated #1 Auburn to BCS Championship Game, as they will play #2 Oregon and LaMichael James in Glendale on January 10. Boise State was looking to jump into title miss, but suffered a heartbreaking loss to Nevada in overtime, while undefeated TCU misses out because of it's soft schedule. Still no playoff.
MLB
It was the year of the pitcher, six no-hitters were thrown (Ubaldo Jimenez, Dallas Braden, Edwin Jackson, Matt Garza, Roy Halladay X 2) including two (should have been 3, Armando Gallaraga) perfect games (Halladay, Braden). In the end, the San Francisco Giants rode their pitching and clutch hitting to win their first World Series since moving to the Bay Area, beating the Texas Rangers in five games.
NBA
The Celtics and Lakers played another epic 7-game NBA Final, with Kobe and LA winning the title for the second straight year. In the world championships, Kevin Durant led team USA to a gold medal. But the story of year was the most active free agency period in NBA history, with LeBron James making his decision to sign with the Heat, joining Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade to make an instant title contender in Miami.
College Basketball
It was another great NCAA tournament, with Duke and cinderella Butler playing a classic championship game. (final 2 minutes of game below)
Hockey
The Chicago Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup since 1961, but the play of the year had to be Sidney Crosby's golden goal for team Canada (below) in the Vancouver Olympics. It came in sudden death overtime after the United States had tied it with 24 seconds to go in regulation with a goal from Zach Parise.
Soccer
Colorado Rapids won their first ever MLS Cup, but the biggest story was the World Cup obviously. Landon Donovan rescued U.S. with an epic goal against Algeria in stoppage time to send the U.S. to the knockout stage, but in the end, it was Spain which reigned supreme, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final (highlights below)
Golf
It was a wild year in golf. Tiger Woods goes winless for the season, while the relative four different countries were represented as major champions: Martin Kaymer (Germany), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland), Phil Mickelson (United States).
Tennis
Rafael Nadal returned from a tough 2009 and dominated, winning Wimbledon, the French Open, and the U.S. Open, while John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest tennis match in history (11 hours, 5 min)
NASCAR
Jimmie Johnson won his fifth straight Sprint Cup title, in the closest Chase ever.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas 2010!
Merry Christmas to all my readers! Hope you guys enjoy your day with friends and family. After you're done celebrating, dig in with a NBA Christmas Day Quintuple header as well as an NFL special tonight.
Bulls @ Knicks 12 PM ET on ESPN
Nothing better to kick off a great slate of action than with D-Rose against Amare at the Garden.
Celtics @ Magic 2:30 PM ET on ABC
It's an Eastern Conference showdown in Orlando, with Dwight and his new look team against the powerhouse Celtics.
Heat @ Lakers 5 PM ET on ABC
LeBron vs. Kobe in Hollywood. The New Big 3 against the two-time defending champs. Not to mention the fact that this is a potential NBA Finals preview and Miami is red-hot after a rough start. You have NO excuse not to watch this.
Nuggets @ Thunder 8 PM ET on ESPN
Should be shootout from OKC, as Durant, Westbrook get first Christmas day game against Denver.
Trailblazers @ Warriors 10:30 PM ET on ESPN
LaMarcus Aldridge and banged up Blazers in Oakland to take on Ellis, Curry, Lee and high-flying Warriors.
Cowboys @ Cardinals 7:30 PM ET on NFL Network
No playoff implications in this game, just old fashion play-for-pride game. The Cardinals have been terrible this year without Kurt Warner, while Cowboys have played better since the firing of Wade Phillips. DeMarcus Ware and the Dallas D should dominate the punch-less Cards' offense and 'Boys should dispose of Arizona easily.
Bulls @ Knicks 12 PM ET on ESPN
Nothing better to kick off a great slate of action than with D-Rose against Amare at the Garden.
Celtics @ Magic 2:30 PM ET on ABC
It's an Eastern Conference showdown in Orlando, with Dwight and his new look team against the powerhouse Celtics.
Heat @ Lakers 5 PM ET on ABC
LeBron vs. Kobe in Hollywood. The New Big 3 against the two-time defending champs. Not to mention the fact that this is a potential NBA Finals preview and Miami is red-hot after a rough start. You have NO excuse not to watch this.
Nuggets @ Thunder 8 PM ET on ESPN
Should be shootout from OKC, as Durant, Westbrook get first Christmas day game against Denver.
Trailblazers @ Warriors 10:30 PM ET on ESPN
LaMarcus Aldridge and banged up Blazers in Oakland to take on Ellis, Curry, Lee and high-flying Warriors.
Cowboys @ Cardinals 7:30 PM ET on NFL Network
No playoff implications in this game, just old fashion play-for-pride game. The Cardinals have been terrible this year without Kurt Warner, while Cowboys have played better since the firing of Wade Phillips. DeMarcus Ware and the Dallas D should dominate the punch-less Cards' offense and 'Boys should dispose of Arizona easily.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Magic Remake Roster
Wow, blockbuster in the NBA today involving the Orlando Magic.
In the first of two trades, the Orlando Magic acquired guard Gilbert Arenas (above) from the Washington Wizards in exchange for forward Rashard Lewis. I like this trade for the Wizards as they officially hand the reigns of their team to rookie John Wall now, and get an outstanding outside shooter, which they lacked. For Orlando, although Lewis was under performing, and Arenas should play well with Dwight Howard, this leaves Jameer Nelson, an all-star caliber guard, as the odd man out.
In the second trade, the Magic get Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark from the Phoenix Suns for Vince Carter, Mikael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, and a 2011 1st round pick. I like this deal much better, as Turkoglu led Orlando to NBA Finals in 2008 and Richardson is having a great season, upgrading the SG position from an under performing Vince Carter. For Phoenix, it will be interesting to see how well Carter fits in with Steve Nash and their fast-moving offense. Gortat should also add size down low, while Pietrus gives an above average perimeter defender.
All in all, the Magic did get better talent wise with their deals today, as Lewis and Carter both failed to live up to expectations in their time there. However, Orlando's perimeter defense should be horrible now, as Arenas, Richardson, and Turkoglu play little to no D.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Yao Ming
You can't say it wasn't expected, but Yao Ming's career is at its end.
After undergoing an MRI today in Houston, it was discovered that Yao had suffered another stress fracture, this time to his left ankle. This comes after Yao missed all of last year with a broken left foot due to a stress fracture. He had looked to comeback this season, but lasted just five games before going out with what was originally diagnosed as a sprain. That was upgraded to a bone bruise a week later, before today's devastating news came out.
For Yao, who has always been a class act and has been the ambassador of the NBA as it has gone global to China and around the world, it has been a bittersweet career. Expected to be the heir to Moses Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon and continue the line of dominant Houston centers and lead a championship-starved city back to prominence, Yao played nearly four injury-free seasons before getting ravaged by injuries, causing him to miss all or parts of every year from 2005-2010. In total, Yao made seven all-star teams, and has career averages of 19 points, 9 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks. Perhaps his finest moment occurred when he refused to come out of a game because of an injury in Game 1 of the 2009 Western Conference Semifinal series against the Lakers and helped the Rockets to victory. Other playoff appearances included first round losses to the Lakers in 2004, Mavericks in 2005, and Jazz in 2007. (He missed 2008 series against Jazz)
Below is a video tribute to a man that worked so hard to try to comeback for both his team and his country (whom he represented at the 2008 Olympics). He deserved better, but in the end, his 7-6, 310 lb frame just couldn't hold up.
After undergoing an MRI today in Houston, it was discovered that Yao had suffered another stress fracture, this time to his left ankle. This comes after Yao missed all of last year with a broken left foot due to a stress fracture. He had looked to comeback this season, but lasted just five games before going out with what was originally diagnosed as a sprain. That was upgraded to a bone bruise a week later, before today's devastating news came out.
For Yao, who has always been a class act and has been the ambassador of the NBA as it has gone global to China and around the world, it has been a bittersweet career. Expected to be the heir to Moses Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon and continue the line of dominant Houston centers and lead a championship-starved city back to prominence, Yao played nearly four injury-free seasons before getting ravaged by injuries, causing him to miss all or parts of every year from 2005-2010. In total, Yao made seven all-star teams, and has career averages of 19 points, 9 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks. Perhaps his finest moment occurred when he refused to come out of a game because of an injury in Game 1 of the 2009 Western Conference Semifinal series against the Lakers and helped the Rockets to victory. Other playoff appearances included first round losses to the Lakers in 2004, Mavericks in 2005, and Jazz in 2007. (He missed 2008 series against Jazz)
Below is a video tribute to a man that worked so hard to try to comeback for both his team and his country (whom he represented at the 2008 Olympics). He deserved better, but in the end, his 7-6, 310 lb frame just couldn't hold up.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Cliff Lee Picks Phillies
In an absolute stunner, last night, Cliff Lee, the most sought after free agent this offseason, decided to return to the Phillies. Although the Texas Rangers, who he helped pitch into the World Series last year, and the New York Yankees offered him more money (as much as $150 million), Lee turned them down to return to Philadelphia, where he pitched at the end of the 2009 season. The deal is reported to be 5 year, $120 million, and Lee will join Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in what will be the best rotation in baseball. This is a complete shock to me, but in a way, it gives me a smile to know that the Yankees were foiled in both their attempts to purchase high-end free agents this year (the other being Carl Crawford)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
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