2011 Sports Year in Review

   I wrote this article on new years day, but forgot to post it. Here it is, 2 weeks late -

 Plain and simple, 2011 was one of the greatest years in sports history. So many incredible moments made this year special, unforgettable, and historic. From the Mavs incredible playoff run, to the greatest day in baseball history, this year will never be forgotten. 


     Lets start out with baseball. Coming off of the year of the pitcher 2.0, MLB needed something very special to top 2010. They got just what they needed, plus more. The Red Sox mega-team started off terrible, then put together an incredible rest of the year before...September. The Milwaukee Brewers hovered around .500 for a few months, than put together perhaps the greatest month in MLB history in August. T-Plush entertained (and enraged) fans across the nation, and the milestones of Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter added to the rich history of the NYY. But on September 28, baseball was at it's best. The 2 wild card spots had ties going into the day. In the NL, it was the surging Cards and the collapsing Braves. In the AL, it was the red-hot Rays and the ice-cold Red Sox. In the NL, the Cardinals easily defeated the Astros, so the Braves had to win to force a tie breaker. They ended up losing a nail-biter in extra innings. While this was happening, the Rays fell behind to the Yankees 7-0, and the Red Sox were leading the Orioles by a slim margin. The Orioles had just made the comeback, meaning there would be a tie-breaker between the AL teams after the Yankees crush the Rays, right? No, very wrong.The Rays did the impossible and scored 6 runs in the 8th, then, down to their last strike, tied it up. It was Dan Johnson, the benchwarmer, who hit the HR off the greatest closer in the history of the league. After some thrilling extra innings, Evan Longoria won it all for the Rays. The Red Sox had collapsed on an incredible scale, same with the Braves. This all was within about 45 minutes. My opinion? The greatest 45 minutes in sports history. This may seem like an exaggeration, if you weren't watching the games that night. If you were, you know how special this night was.
     And how could we forget the World Series? Every game was close, intense, and full of incredible plays, pain, and historic performances. Pujols' 3 home runs, Carpenter throwing his body at first base to get the out, the incredible fielding by Elvis Andrus. But game 6 is what will be remembered. Twice the Cardinals were down to their last strike, twice they came back. David Freese hit the walk off homer, and the Cardinals were able to win Game 7.


      The Packers barely clinched the last wild card spot. Half their team was on IR. Rodgers had a concussion. Things seemed very hopeless for the pack. But, after some dominating playoff wins and a historic NFC championship, the Packers were able to make the super bowl. In the season we're currently in, Tim Tebow dominated headlines and, whether you love him or hate him, was a winner. And who could forget about Jerome Simpson's touchdown flip, which could be one of the greatest plays in the history of football. Drew Bree's yards record, the Lions resurgence, and the Colts awful play without Manning are some other stories from a good year in football.


    The NHL. Fun year...probably. Im not really sure, though. Who really cares? (just kidding, Quinn)
    
    There is a Lids at a mall in Chicago that I go whenever i'm there, and because of that I know the guys who work there pretty well. We've had some pretty good sports debates, including the one where one of them said Devin Hester is better than anyone on the Packers! But the best was in July, when one of them asked me about the best player in the NBA. D-I-R-K spelled one of them, and the arguments began.
    But how could you disagree? While injured and sick, he led the complete Mavs over mega-favorites (the Heat) and embarrassed LBJ forever. The NBA had a great season to cap off a pretty good decade of basketball, with young stars like Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, and Brian Scalabrine (just kidding) electrifying the basketball world. But the lockout took a significant toll against the NBA, shortening the season and angering fans. At least college basketball was good, with upsets all over this year and last year.
The top sports in 2011 was baseball, hands down. You might be hard pressed to find a better regular season finale or world series for decades to come. But other sports also had their moments, making 2011 an absolutely incredible sports year.