Some of these sports stories transcended the game and became national, front page news. The NBA fixing scandal, The Mitchell Report, Barry Bonds overtakes Hank Aaron, to name a few. 2007 was an interesting, exciting year.
Before we get to the finalists in our final sports Poll, #3, here are some stories that almost made the cut:
For the first time ever 2 colleges, Florida and Ohio State met in the NCAA football and basketball finals – Florida won both. David Beckham traded football for soccer. The Red Sox won it again. A-Rod quit the Yankees, won the MVP and then resigned at $275 million or so. Dale Jr. left his Dad’s race team and signed with rival Hendrick Motor Sports. Fan favorite horse Barbaro died. Tiger Woods kept winning, so did Roger Federer. Olympic and Nike star Marion Jones finally admitted to using steroids. The Colts finally won a Super Bowl. Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed in a drive by shooting while Redskins player Sean Taylor was murdered in a home invasion. And Barry Bonds hit number 756 and then was indicted.
But of all the stories in sports this year, these are our top 5. You can see my picks after the jump.
My top sports stories of 2007
5. The Mitchell Report: It came out in December and it got a lot of press. Certainly calling out new abusers like Clemens, Pettitte, Gagne and others, was big news but it didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t know. Baseball’s juiced and maybe still is. If Mitchell’s Report came out during the season or in spring training it would rate higher.
4. The New England Patriots. First they get caught cheating against the Jets. Come on Belichek, the Jets suck. Then they run off 16 in a row. Possibly on their way to 19-0. A great story, even if you hate Boston sports fans.
3. Michael Vick: High profile football player gets caught doing something illegal and inhumane. Exhausts his fortune defending himself, then pleads guilty. Enough said….until he attempts a comeback.
2. Tim Donaghy NBA fixing scandal: Anytime anyone that can affect the outcome of a game is caught doing so, it’s big, big news. As if the NBA needed another blemish on it’s tarnished image.
For the number 1 story of the year, I'm choosing a feel-good story....
1. Boise State shocks the world: The best story of the year happened right at the beginning of it. Boise State, whom many believed was over matched against Oklahoma, blows an 18 point lead in the Fiesta Bowl. Then they rally with a bunch of trick plays to tie the game, only to fall behind in OT. But they come back to win on, get this, a Statue of Liberty play. (I thought that one only existed in backyard football!) See a 1 minute version of the highlights here. It's worth a look.
And if that remarkable finish wasn’t enough, after scoring the winning touchdown, tailback Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend right in the end zone. Awe-yeah.
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Love the Boise State story.
As a long suffering Chicago Blackhawk fan, I voted other, as I think the death of Bill Wirtz and the immediate resurrection of the Chicago Blackhawks franchise isn't just the story of the year, it is the story of the decade.