Another year has passed and another year of memories that the sporting world has left us. There were many moments in 2010 that could make a top ten list which is why getting the list down to ten was very difficult. I wish everyone a happy new year and hopefully another year of great sporting moments.
10. Hockey Gold Medal Game
The United States made an improbable run in the 2010 Olympics pitting them in the gold medal game against the favorites and host nation Canada. The USA tied the game late with a goal from Zach Parise sending it to overtime. Once in overtime the best hockey player in the world, who just recently finished a 25 game point scoring streak, proved why he is the best by scoring the game ending goal and giving the Canucks the gold.
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9. Walk-off Hole in One
Jonathan Byrd found himself in the fourth playoff hole at the 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. One swing of the club from the 203 yard, par three, 17th hole ends the tournament with a walk off hole in one.
8. The Decision
Two time reigning NBA MVP LeBron James and his douchbag manager Maverick Carter decided it would be a good idea to have an hour long announcement to where he will play basketball next season. That great idea included embarrassing the city of Cleveland on a national spotlight then proceeding to come up with non-sense explanations of why he did it, even pulling out the race card to try and ease all the hatred he was receiving. Epic Fail LeBron. Enjoy playing in a half empty Miami arena with old rich retired people who don’t care about sports pretending to be Heat fans.
7. Giants win their 1st World Series
In a World Series matchup that finally didn’t have the same money bought teams, the San Francisco Giants led by Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson won their first world series title since moving to California.
6. New Orleans Saints win 1st Superbowl
After the city of New Orleans was destroyed in 2005 from Hurricane Katrina, there wasn’t much to look forward to in the city. Five years removed from one of the worst disasters in history, the Saints provided the city with hope with a stunning upset of the Indianapolis Colts giving them their first ever Lombardi trophy to bring back to Who Dat nation. Check out Dubz detailed trip to ‘Nawlins when he went to see the Steelers take on the defending champs.
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5. Butlers near improbable run
One of the greatest upset runs in NCAA March Madness History was inches away from being completed at the 2010 NCAA National Title game. The Butler Bulldogs from the Horizon League upset their way through the tournament as a 5th seed and got to play in the Final Four in their home city of Indianapolis. I was in attendance at this year’s Final Four and shot the video below of the final shot that Butlers Gordon Hayward almost drained to win the title versus the Duke Blue Devils.
4. 90 and Done
In writing this article, I had to go back and edit this section. It was titled 90 wins and counting until I got the text that the UConn women had lost. Women’s basketball has always been viewed as a less than desirable sport, however, I don’t care what sport this is because winning 90 games is remarkable and something that we might never see again in our lifetimes. Kudos to the lady Huskies and coach Geno Auriemma.
3. Favre done at 297
In a streak that is comparable to the one above, this might be something that we never see again in sports. Even though Brett Favre has gone from lovable Brett to universally hated due to his retiring, the coming back, then retiring, then coming back, then retiring…well you get the point. Regardless of his junk shot scandal or his inability to make a decision, you have to respect his toughness to play 297 consecutive games in a sport that is a brutal as it gets.
2. Three Days at Wimbledon
After discussing the two prior streaks that set the bar unbelievably high, the John Isner & Nicolas Mahut match at Wimbledon takes the cake. The three day match lasting over 11 hours had a grueling back and forth 5th set tiebreaker that ended with John Isner winning 70 to 68 ending the longest match in Wimbledon history.
1. Blown Perfection
Throwing a perfect game is one of the rarest feats in baseball. In fact, it has only occurred 20 times in the long history of baseball. This June, Detroits Armando Galarraga was one out away from this perfection. After a ground ball between 1st and 2nd, Armando covered first base and clearly caught the ball before the runner reached the base. Umpire Jim Joyce felt differently and called the runner safe effectively ruining the perfect game. Replays showed that the call was wrong and should have been the 21st perfect game in league history. Joyce was devastated at costing the kid the perfect game and Armando displayed excellent sportsmanship in his handling of the situation. Even though his name will never be in the record books for this effort, Armando’s near perfect game will forever be remembered for the controversy that surrounded this game. Also, shout out to Oakland’s Dallas Braden who threw a perfect game in May of 2010 but missed this list at 11 due to the lack of controversy such as this one.
