Thursday 29 December 2011

Top 10 moments of 2011

  As 2012 knocks on the door, here are the top 10 sports moments of 2011

10) Derek Jeter accomplishing what no other Yankee has: Believe it or not, the most decorated franchise in the Major's did not have someone who had 3000 hits for one team. That all changed back in July when Derek Jeter hit a home run off Rays pitcher David Price that ended up being his 3000 career hit.
 
  9) Sid the Kid's injury saga: Sidney Crosby was going through an amazing 2010-2011 season in which he had 66 points in 41 games. It all came to an end unfortunately. After being hit twice in two seperate occasions, he suffered a concussion. It was only suppose to be for a couple of days. It eventually became weeks and then months. In total, Crosby missed 60 games playoffs included until he returned on November 21st.
  8) The improbable happens: Both the St.Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays overcame deficits of 10 and 9 games respectively to make the postseason as the wild card. While Tampa was eliminated by the Rangers in the ALDS, St Louis went all the way to the fall classic where there were more dramatics. In Game 6 they were down to their final at bat when David Freese hit a two run triple to tie the game. Not done there, he hit a walk-off homerun in the 11th which forced a Game 7 and an 11th World Series Championship. His performance helped him win the World Series MVP.
  7) Nowitzki finally gets over the hump: After years of playing on a championship team that always chocked, Dirk Nowitzki and company finally helped the Mavs win the Championship over the much hyped Miami Heat. Not to mention it, he was also the finals MVP and played while suffering from numerous ailments. 
 
  6) Rodgers lead the Pack on top: Favre who? His successor Aaron Rodgers helped lead his team to victory defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV. His performance in the big game helped him be the Super Bowl MVP. This season alone, him and his team were 10-0 for the first time in almost 50 years. Is another Super Bowl on the horizon?

  5) Hockey tragedies: I really did not want to put this but I had no choice. During the offseason, three well known enforcers died. They were Derek Boogard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak. To add to that, on September 7th, flight RA-42434 which was carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL crashed shortly after take off. The result was that 44 of the 45 people on the plane were killed. Among the dead were Brad McCrimmon, Igor Korolev, Alexander Karpovtsev, Josef Vasicek, Pavol Demitra, Karel Rachunek, Ruslan Salei and Karlis Skrastins who all had ties to the NHL.
 
  4) Anthony Calvillo is the CFL's and Pro Football's leading passer: After going through Thyroid Cancer the year before, Anthony Calvillo accomplished what no one thought he do. In three seperate games this past season, he passed Damon Allen for most Touchdown Passes thrown, most completions and yardage leader. All three games happened to be vs the Toronto Argonauts.

  3) BC Lions going from cellar dwellers to the top: After starting 0-5 with many questions, the BC Lions rallied winning 11 of their final 13 games and finishing first in the West Division. After a dominant performance in the West Finals, the BC Lions capped off their season by winning their 6th Grey Cup in front of their home town fans at BC Place Stadium. To add to that QB Travis Lulay was the MOP and the Grey Cup MVP while RB Andrew Harris was the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.
  2)  Boston Bruins journey to their first cup in 39 years: Their journey to the cup was simply remarkable. They won 3 Game 7's which was never done before and rallied twice from 0-2 deficits on their way to their 6th Cup in franchise history.
 1) Thrashers fly to Winnipeg: It was only a matter of time but one NHL franchise that was down south had to move. It ended up being the Atlanta Thrashers after being purchased by True North Sports and Entertainment and moved to Winnipeg. After 15 years, hockey is back where it belongs.
 

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