Best in Sports (2008)

January 1st: Capital One Bowl -- Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and the heavily favored Florida Gators were upended 41-35 by a Michigan Wolverine squad highly motivated in coach Lloyd Carr's final game on the sidelines. Chad Henne and Mike Hart both had big games for the Maize and Gold who forced four consecutive incomplete passes from Tebow on Florida's final possession to sew up the victory. A huge Michigan fan, by buddy Deez Nutz was in attendance in Orlando surrounded by thousands of Gator fans...

February 3rd: SuperBowl XLII -- In what might have been the most exciting SuperBowl ever, the New York Giants stunned the undefeated New England Patriots 17-14 in a game watched by a record 148.3 million viewers. In the final minutes with the G-Men trailing by four points, Eli Manning faced immense pressure from the Patriots defensive line and appeared to be in the grasp. But the whistle never blew and Eli pulled a Houdini act before launching a Hail Mary 30 yards down the field that David Tyree amazingly caught against the side of his helmet. Four plays later, Manning threw a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress and the rest is NFL history...

March: NCAA Tournament -- This year's Big Dance featured one of the most marketable Final Fours ever which included perennial powerhouses North Carolina, UCLA, Memphis and eventual champion Kansas. The Jayhawks overcame a nine point deficit with just two minutes remaining and sent the game to overtime in the final seconds when Mario Chalmers sank a miracle three pointer from the top of the key. Memphis had nothing left in the tank in OT and Rock,Chalk, Jayhawk became National Champs. The tourney also marked the national arrival of Davidson guard Stephen Curry, who's sharp shooting led the Wildcats to an improbable run before losing to Kansas by just two points in the Elite Eight...

April 19th: UFC 83 -- Matt Serra never stood a chance in this rematch after pulling off the shocking TKO of Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69. GSP came out on fire in front of his home crowd in Montreal, Quebec knocking Serra silly in the second round with an array of knees and elbows to the defenseless title holder. This victory re-established St. Pierre as one of the top two pound for pound fighters in the world alongside Anderson Silva who had disposed of multiple Pride Champion Dan Henderson by submission just one month earlier...

May 3rd: 134th Kentucky Derby -- Although the event was marred by the tragic death of the valiant filly Eight Belles who had to be euthanized after finishing a surprising second place, the impressive victory by Big Brown set the stage for a run at the Triple Crown that captivated the nation for nearly two months. Unfortunately, after dominating the field at the Preakness, Big Brown suffered a hoof injury that might have had something to do with a last place finish in Belmont...

June 16th: US Open Golf -- Just another amazing feat to add to the vault that is Tiger Woods' illustrious career. Tiger entered the fourth day with a lead, having never lost a tournament when he did so in his career, yet fell behind early on Sunday with poor play on the front nine. Playing in obvious pain due to a knee injury that would cause him to end his season just two days later, Tiger would hit a twelve foot putt on the 18th to tie fan favorite Rocco Mediate and create a next day playoff. Monday's playoff proved even more improbable when Woods built a three stroke lead, only to have Rocco battle back on the back nine and force a one hole sudden death playoff. Tiger would secure the title on the first sudden death hole in what was an instant classic...

June: NBA Finals -- David Stern wound up with the ultimate dream match-up as Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers took on the re-emergent Boston Celtics. Danny Ainge made two tremendous trades which brought in veterans Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to play alongside Paul Pierce. Chemistry never came into question as the big three immediately gelled and the Celtics became the best defensive team in the league. In a good (not gr8) NBA Finals which featured both teams putting up humongous first half leads, only to inevitably fail to hold on to then in the later stages of the games, the Celtics would eventually capture the title in six games, drubbing the Lake Show by 39 in the deciding game...

July 6th: Wimbledon -- In an epic showdown that lasted over four hours of play and two extended rain delays on Independence Day Weekend, Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in a fifth set tiebreaker to capture his first ever Wimbledon title. Federer displayed the heart of a true champion rallying from two sets down to force the final set despite having been swept by the younger Nadal on clay just one month earlier at the French Open. In the end, this historic championship match proved to be the passing of the torch as Nadal is now the top ranked player in the world...

July 15th: MLB All-Star Game -- The final season at Yankee Stadium didn't turn out the way most Yankee fans would have hoped for, but the All-Star festivities certainly didn't fail to bring excitement to the Bronx. In a fifteen inning classic, the American League won on a sacrifice fly by Michael Young scoring Justin Morneau. The game featured several plays at the plate and countless escape jobs by both team's relief staffs who were forced to pitch their way out of jams. The All-Star game will also be remembered for the Home Run Derby the night before in which Josh Hamilton put on a show for the ages knocking out 28 homers in the first round and 35 total...

August: XXIX Olympiad -- I used to truly enjoy the Olympics when I was a kid, but the growth of ESPN and the internet seem to have taken some of the luster off of the event. That is, of course, until this year when Michael Phelps captured the hearts and minds of the nation, shattering multiple records in the most exciting manner possible. While Phelps' eight gold medals shined brightest, the US Men's Basketball Team embraced the Redeem Team moniker and put American Basketball back where it belongs on the pecking order. Finally, Jamaican sprinter Usain 'Lightning' Bolt's jaw dropping finishes in the 100m & 200m dash were the stuff of world record and legendary status...

September 6th : UFC 88 -- Rashad Evans collected the knockout of the year and the biggest victory of his lifetime all in one fell swoop. His overhand right in the second round against Chuck Liddell catapulted the former Ultimate Fighter winner to the number one contender in the light heavyweight division, setting up a battle with champion Forrest Griffin this coming weekend. The undercard also featured a second straight victory by former Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin who is attempting to revitalize his career in the light heavyweight division...

October: World Series -- The Philadelphia Phillies rode the left arm of Cole Hamels all the way to a World Championship against the upstart Tampa Bay Rays. Hamels was virtually unhittable throughout the postseason and became the logical pick for MVP after the Fightin Phils won in five games. The series will be remembered for the controversial final game which was suspended in the sixth inning due to rain and then completed two nights later in front of a raucous crowd at Citizen's Bank Park. The Phillies win only slightly overshadows the fact that the Rays came out of nowhere to capture the AL East and won a stunning seven game AL Championship series against the Red Sox despite blowing a seven run lead in the seventh inning of game five...

November: NFL Regular Season -- Donovan McNabb learns the hard way that a game can indeed end in a tie...Cheddar Plax shoots himself in the foot, literally...The Detroit Lions get blown out on Thanksgiving, showing the nation just how terrible they are...Gamblers and bookies everywhere are effected by the strange outcome of the Steelers 11-10 victory over the San Diego Chargers in which shady referee decisions cost someone millions of dollars...

December: NFL Regular Season cont.'d -- The Cowboys fall apart at the seams when T.O. accuses Tony Romo & Jason Whitten of being a lil too buddy-duddy...Carolina emerges as a threat to the NFC throne behind their two-headed running back monster and Steve Smith...Denver blows a three game lead in the AFC and now faces elimination in San Diego on Sunday Night...The Miami Dolphins win three straight to set up a showdown between Chad Pennington and Brett Favre on Sunday afternoon in the Meadowlands with the AFC Division title on the line...