2011--The Year In Sports

It's hard to believe that 2011 is almost over.  When looking back at the last 12 months in sports, it's certainly safe to say that it was a weird year.  There were great moments, of course, but the bad news that came out on seemingly a weekly basis overshadowed all the wonderful things that took place this year.  One thing is certain: 2011--The Year In Sports will be remembered.  Sadly, it'll probably be for all the wrong reasons.

The negative stories seemed to take over everything because there were way too many of them.  Most notably, there was that horrible sex abuse scandal at Penn State, a scandal so bad that it brought down the legendary Joe Paterno.  Then a few weeks later, similar allegations came to light at Syracuse.  Those are clearly the two worst stories to come out in a scandal-plagued year in college sports.  And let's not forget about Nevin Shapiro and all the trouble that he's gotten the University of Miami's football program into.  Or Terrelle Pryor and his friends at Ohio State.  Although, it seems to me the Buckeyes got off easy from the NCAA (they deserved at least the same penalty as USC, probably worse).

In a year when the BCS was exposed as the complete fraud that I've known it is all along, that stupid system led to an almost complete restructuring of the college sports landscape for the second straight year.  Texas A&M got it all started when it decided it didn't want to be in the Big 12 anymore, then Missouri followed suit.  Then out of nowhere, Syracuse and Pitt decided to join the ACC.  The Big East was almost obliterated for the second straight year before Big "East" became a strictly relative term with the additions of Boise State and San Diego State.  But conference restructuring (which probably isn't over yet) was just the tip of the iceberg.  The NCAA passed a resolution allowing for student-athletes to receive $2,000 stipends starting in September, only to have it tabled because enough schools opposed it.

This was also the year of the lockout.  There was a point this summer where half of North America's major sports leagues were involved in a work stoppage.  Of course, we all knew the NFL was going to get a deal done in time for the season to start.  I have to say, it was a surprise to see the NBA's owners and players come to an agreement, though.  But that's what happens when you have a commissioner who's obsessed with playing on Christmas.  Heaven forbid you not have any Christmas games!  Let's force both sides to sign a bad deal and put ourselves right back into this same situation a couple years from now.  Meanwhile, the league with the most famous work stoppage of all (the 1994-95 MLB strike) agreed on a new CBA with weeks to spare.

Death is a part of life, so, naturally, there are a number of notable sports deaths each year.  2011 was no exception.  We lost the great Joe Frazier.  And Al Davis.  And Grete Waitz.  And Harmon Killebrew.  But the tragic deaths the sports world suffered in 2011 were almost unbearable.  The entire Russian hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl perished in a plane crash.  When it seemed like that wasn't enough, Oklahoma State, which had to deal with a plane crash that killed members of its men's basketball team 10 years ago, had it happen again.  Women's coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna were lost when their plane went down in Arkansas on the way back from a November recruiting trip.  What are the chances it would happen to the same school twice?  It just doesn't seem fair.  Then there's the shocking death of Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon on the race track in a horrific accident during the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas.

I'm going to choose to remember Wheldon for a happier moment, one of the best of the year--when J.R. Hildebrand hit the wall on the final turn of the Indy 500, giving Wheldon the victory.  That was just one of many great moments from 2011.  It was the year hockey returned to Winnipeg, with the Jets relocating from Atlanta.  It was a year of milestones, as Derek Jeter got his 3,000th hit, Mariano Rivera set the all-time saves record, Albert Pujols hit three home runs in a World Series game and Drew Brees set the single-season record for passing yards.  It was a year of magical moments like Abby Wambach's last-second goal against Brazil in the Women's World Cup and Novak Djokovic's complete domination of the men's tennis tour.  Djokovic's domination could only be matched by that of the Green Bay Packers, who lost only once this year.  On December 18!

The sensational final day of the baseball season was just a prelude to a tremendous postseason.  And what better way to cap that phenomenal postseason than the first seven-game World Series in nine years?  Of course, that World Series gave us plenty of moments to savor, including a game for the ages.  Game 6 will be remembered for a long time.  The Rangers were twice a strike away from winning their first title, only to have the Cardinals remarkably come back and win the game to even the series.  One night later, St. Louis completed its march to an unlikely championship.

But the Cardinals weren't the only unlikely champs of 2011.  UConn went into the Big East Tournament as the No. 9 seed.  Eleven wins later, the Huskies weren't just Big East champs, they were National Champions, too.  Among the teams that joined them in the Final Four: VCU and Butler, which reached the Championship Game for the second straight year.  On the women's side, it was all about UConn and Stanford.  Well, Texas A&M had something to say about that.  After the thrilling win over Brazil, it seemed like the U.S. was destined to win the Women's World Cup.  But it was Japan that upset the Americans in penalty kicks in the final, winning the title for its tsunami-ravaged country.  And while Novak Djokovic was dominating men's tennis, the Grand Slam champions on the women's side included Li Na (China's first Grand Slam champion), Petra Kvitova and Samantha Stosur, whose US Open win was her third career title.

Most importantly, congratulations to all the champions of 2011.  The Dallas Mavericks won their first NBA title, while the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972.  South Carolina defended its College World Series title, Auburn was crowned "National Champions" in college football and Minnesota-Duluth earned its first championship in NCAA men's hockey.  Maya Moore led another Minnesota team, the Lynx, to its first WNBA title, and Tony Stewart broke Jimmie Johnson's five-year run of NASCAR Sprint Cup championships.  In addition, numerous athletes won World Championships in track & field, swimming and other Olympic sports, as the London Games quickly approach.

The London Olympics will obviously be the most significant sporting event of 2012.  But I have no doubt that we'll be provided with plenty of memories across the entire sporting landscape over the next 12 months.  Even if they aren't all good, that was definitely the case in 2011.  It's safe to say that, without question, 2011 was a year in sports that will never be forgotten.