Sports are here to interrupt
our daily headaches of life right? This
year we were witness to some horrible travesties (Hurricane Sandy, the shooting
at Sandy Hook, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado) so I turned to sports to take
my heartaches away from it all. This
year sports have brought us some exciting highs and some unexpected lows. With a New Year just up the block I looked
back at the year it was in sports...achievements and misfortunes.
National
Basketball Association:
LeBron James can finally
call himself “King” and have true meaning behind it. Winning the National
Basketball Association title was all it took. After all the Player Association and the NBA
Owners labor negotiations, which carried on for 149-days, we finally had
basketball. James and (Dwyane) Wade
along with the rest of the Miami Heat players made it a season to remember. Not only did James win the NBA title but along
the way he managed to grab the MVP Award, A Finals MVP Award and an Olympic
Gold Medal. Now he has just a few more
NBA Titles to get...not just one, not two, not three...
Harvard graduates often go
on to do noteworthy things in life. Athletics making a splash in professional
sports hasn't been one of those things that often. So when Jeremy Lin made a splash in the NBA
it was a major story. Not because he was
solely from Harvard but, his performance spoke volumes. Lin put up at least 20-points in eight straight
games, including a 38-point outburst against Kobe and the Lakers. Lin now playing for the Houston Rockets will
forever be the guy who created insanity (“Linsanity” that is).
College
Football:
The glory days of college
football returned this year. Remember when
Notre Dame ruled the world of college football? Well the legendary program made
a supreme comeback this year. Going
undefeated and now playing for their first National Title in over two decades. The Fighting Irish haven’t won a National
Title since 1988. Win or Lose the
Fighting Irish has fought their way back to being relevant in college football.
Penn State and the scandal,
Need I say more.
National
Football League:
This year the season kicked
off with a lockout of a different fashion.
The NFL referees held out over labor dispute. While the regular referees were in the
boardrooms the “Replacement referees” couldn’t be replaced fast enough. It appeared that the NFL and the Referees
were nowhere near reaching a new labor agreement. However, when the Monday Night game in Week 3
where the Packers vs. the Seahawks last second Hail Mary called was miscalled they
reached a new collective bargaining agreement in a few days.
I can’t forget about the “bounty program” where the New Orleans
Saints players were awarded cash for taking certain opponent key players out. Several suspensions were handed out. Sean Payton, head coach, suspended for the
entire season, Defensive coach Gregg Williams out indefinitely from
professional football, and Saints General Manager, Mickey Loomis, suspended for
half of the season. A host of Saints
players were give suspensions also.
Olympics:
Gabby Douglas, Missy
Franklin, and Michael Phelps enough said. GO USA!
Major
League Baseball:
San Francisco Giants are
giants once again after winning the World Series for the second time in three
years. Having superstar closer Brian
Wilson gone for the season, and key slugger Melky Cabrera suspended for
performance enhancing drugs no one had the Giants winning it all.
Cycling:
Some would say the greatest
professional cyclist in the world, while others might call him the biggest lair
in the universal. Beating his only
personal battle with Cancer while raising millions Lance Armstrong became the
face of cycling. After winning a record seven Tour de France titles Armstrong
was banned from the world of Cycling and stripped of those titles by the U.S.
Anti-Doping Agency. They found him guilty
for using a banned substance which 12 witnesses provide evidence against Armstrong. One of the most touching and inspirational
sports stories reached the finish line when it broke back in August.
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