Top 11 Games of 2011

Last year at this time, I unveiled my list of the Top 10 Games of 2010.  Well, with 2011 coming to an end, I figured it was a good time to once again do that list.  However, since it's the top games of 2011, there's 11 on the list instead of just 10.  As for the selection rules, the same ones used last year still apply.  The games have to have taken place during the calendar year, and only one per sport.  With all that in mind, here we go:

11. Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez-November 12, Las Vegas
This one probably would've made its way onto the list even if I hadn't added a game.  It was voted "Event of the Year" by the boxing magazine Ring.  The first time they fought, in 2004, it was a draw.  Four years later, Manny Pacquiao won a split decision.  The third part of the trilogy was for the WBO welterweight title.  It sold out the MGM Grand and drew a record number of pay-per-view buys on HBO.  It was a great fight.  Very close and evenly-matched throughout.  In the end, many experts thought Marquez had won.  However, it was a majority decision for Pacquiao, who kept his belt.

10. Indianapolis 500-May 29, Indianapolis
The Indy 500 celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, and fans were treated to a classic.  There were 23 lead changes among 10 different drivers.  With three laps to go, rookie J.R. Hildebrand moved into the lead with 2005 winner Dan Wheldon in second.  As the white flag came out, it looked like Hildebrand would cruise to the victory.  However, as he was rounding the final turn, he moved to get around another car and ended up slamming into the wall.  Wheldon passed Hildebrand just as the yellow flag came out, giving him his second Indy 500 title.  Sadly, it was the final victory of Wheldon's career, as he died tragically in a horiffic crash during the season finale in Las Vegas five months later.

9. Giants 37, Cowboys 34-December 11, Arlington, TX
I'm aware of the fact that this game was less than a month ago.  I'm also aware that it's nowhere near as significant as the rematch on Sunday night.  But, what a game!  There were nine lead changes, but Dallas appeared to be sitting pretty when Tony Romo hit Dez Bryant for a 50-yard touchdown pass that gave the Cowboys a 34-22 lead with 5:41 left.  That's when Eli Manning took over.  First there was an eight-yard TD pass to Jake Ballard at the 3:14 mark that cut the deficit to five, 34-29.  After a Cowboys three-and-out, Eli led another touchdown drive that was capped by Brandon Jacobs' one-yard run.  The two-point conversion was good, putting the Giants up 37-34.  Dallas drove into field goal range and made the game-tying 47-yarder with six seconds left, but the Giants used their final timeout just before the kick, so it didn't count.  Pro Bowler Jason Pierre-Paul, who already had a safety in the game, blocked the second attempt, sealing the comeback win.

8. Bruins 4, Canadiens 3 (OT) (Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 7)-April 27, Boston
The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs were phenomenal.  Overtimes and Game 7's abounded.  This matchup between longtime rivals had both.  The Bruins lost the first two games of the series on home ice before winning three straight.  The Canadiens then tied the series with a 2-1 win in Montreal in Game 6.  One night later, this epic series ended with a classic Game 7.  The Bruins led 2-0 after just 5:33, but Montreal came back to tie it at 2-2.  Chris Kelly gave Boston a 3-2 lead midway through the third before P.K. Subban's power play goal with less than two minutes remaining sent it into overtime.  5:43 into the extra session, Nathan Horton found the back of the net to end the series.  The Bruins would go on to win two more Game 7's, including one in the Finals, to win the Stanley Cup.

7. Butler 71, Pittsburgh 70 (NCAA Tournament, "Third" Round)-March 19, Washington
In a crazy NCAA Tournament, this game might've been the craziest.  After a last-second win over Old Dominion, 2010 Tournament darling Butler was at it again against top-seeded Pitt in the "third" round.  Butler took a 70-69 lead on Andrew Smith's layup with three seconds left, then Shelvin Mack inexplicably fouled Gilbert Brown.  Brown made the first free throw to tie the game, then missed the second.  Matt Howard grabbed the rebound and it looked like the game was going to overtime, but Pitt's Nasir Robinson committed one of the stupidest fouls I've ever seen in my life, sending Howard to the line.  He made the first one, then missed the second on purpose to run out the clock.  Butler eventually made it to the National Championship Game for the second straight year.

6. Auburn 22, Oregon 19 (BCS "National Championship" Game)-January 10, Glendale, AZ
As you know, I don't watch college football, so I'm basing this selection mainly on the suggestion of others.  Both teams came into the game undefeated, so, in this case, the BCS was less of a sham than it normally is.  They both scored a lot of points, so people expected the game to be high-scoring.  Instead, the first quarter was scoreless.  There was plenty of scoring in the second quarter, though, and Auburn led 16-11 at halftime.  Auburn kicked a field goal in the third quarter before Oregon tied it on a LeMichael James touchdown and successful two-point conversion with 2:33 left.  Auburn drove 73 yards on the final drive and appeared to score the winning touchdown, but replay showed that the runner's knee was down before the goal line.  The ball was placed at the one-yard line and two seconds were put on the clock, and Auburn kicked a field goal as time expired to win the "National Championship."

5. Mavericks 95, Heat 93 (NBA Finals, Game 2)-June 2, Miami
Since I don't watch the NBA either, my man Ronak Patel made this pick for me.  I've got to admit, Ronak made a pretty good call.  Miami led by 15 points midway through the fourth quarter, but Dallas came all the way back, going ahead 93-90 on a Dirk Nowitzki three-pointer with 26.7 seconds left.  Mario Chalmers, who hit the three for eventual National Champion Kansas to send the 2008 NCAA Championship Game against nobody (since, according to the NCAA, Memphis wasn't there) into overtime, then drained a trey for Miami two seconds later.  But Nowitzki wasn't done.  He drove down (with an injured hand) and sank a layup to give the Mavericks a 95-93 lead with 3.6 seconds to go.  The Heat didn't have any timeouts left, and Dwayne Wade's three-point attempt at the buzzer clanged off the back rim.  The Dallas victory evened the series at 1-1, en route to the Mavericks' first championship.

4. Texas A&M 63, Stanford 62 (Women's Final Four)-April 3, Indianapolis
After Stanford ended UConn's 90-game winning streak, the women's basketball world couldn't wait for a rematch in the National Championship Game.  Texas A&M had other ideas.  Just to get to the Final Four, Texas A&M had to play Baylor for the fourth time in the Dallas Regional final.  After losing the first three games, the Aggies finally got by Brittany Griner and Co. to advance to the Final Four.  Stanford led by 10 with six minutes left before Texas A&M gradually clawed its way back into the game.  The Aggies went up 59-58 with 53 seconds remaining, setting off a wild final minute that featured five lead changes.  Nneka Ogwumike gave Stanford a 62-61 lead with nine seconds to go, and Texas A&M didn't have any timeouts left.  It didn't matter.  Sydney Colson drove the length of the court and dished to Tyra White, who sank the winning layup with 3.3 seconds left on the clock.

3. Novak Djokovic def. Roger Federer 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 (US Open Semifinals)-September 10, New York
Novak Djokovic completely dominated men's tennis in 2011.  His rise to No. 1 might've started at the 2010 US Open, when he came back from two match points down to beat Roger Federer in the semifinals.  Twelve months later, it was rematch time, except now Novak was the favorite.  Federer had handed Djokovic his first loss of the year in the semifinals of the French Open and was looking to keep alive his streak of having won at least one Grand Slam tournament every year since his first in 2003.  Roger jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Djokovic rallied to force a fifth set.  In the fifth, Roger served for the match at 5-3, and he quickly jumped out to a 40-15 lead.  Djokovic saved the first match point with a crazy forehand winner, then got to deuce when Roger's down-the-line forehand (his bread-and-butter shot) clipped the tape.  That was the beginning of the end for Roger, who was broken, then dropped the next three games, as well to lose the match.  All the rain and the havoc it caused with the schedule didn't matter during this match.  This semifinal was tennis at its best.

2. United States 2, Brazil 2 (Penalty Kicks: 5-3) (Women's World Cup Quarterfinals)-July 10, Dresden, Germany
We all know the story of this game.  For three weeks, it seemed like nobody even knew the Women's World Cup was going on.  Then one phenomenal game later, everything changed.  The U.S. took an early lead on a Brazilian own goal less than two minutes in before the sensational Marta tied it on a penalty kick in the 68th minute.  There was an American red card on that play, meaning the U.S. was down to 10 players for the rest of the game.  Regulation ended with the score still 1-1, but Marta scored again early in overtime.  Brazil then resorted to stalling tactics trying to kill the clock.  A Brazilian defender even went down with a fake injury, only to be magically healed (and receive a yellow card) as soon as she was taken off the field.  It looked like the Americans were dead, but one final rush (during the time that was added while she was rolling around on the field) resulted in a gorgeous Megan Rapinoe cross finding the head of Abby Wambach, who found the back of the net as the game was literally seconds away from ending.  The game went into the penalty kick shootout, and, after three American goals, Hope Solo stopped Brazil's third shot.  After a goal by each team on its fourth attempt, Ali Krieger converted her opportunity.  Game USA.  This amazing game was one of the best soccer games I've ever seen, men or women, and was clearly going to be No. 1 on this countdown until...

1. Cardinals 10, Rangers 9 (11 innings) (World Series, Game 6)-October 27, St. Louis
A crazy final hour of the regular season was just the precursor to an incredible postseason that included one of the best games in the history of the sport.  Texas led the series 3-2 and took a 7-5 lead into the ninth inning of Game 6.  With closer Neftali Feliz on the mound in the bottom of the ninth, Texas was one strike away from its first World Series title.  However, David Freese tied the game at 7-7 with a two-out, two-strike, two-run triple.  Texas went back in front, 9-7, on Josh Hamilton's two-run homer in the top of the 10th.  After an RBI groundout by Ryan Theriot made it 9-8, the Rangers were again one strike away from the championship in the bottom of the 10th.  That's when Lance Berkman, who scored the tying run in the ninth, delivered a game-tying RBI single.  Texas was held scoreless in the top of the 11th, and Freese led off the bottom of the 11th with a walk-off homer to straightaway center field, sending the World Series to Game 7 for the first time in nine years.  It was the first time in World Series history that a team was down to its final strike twice, yet came back to win.  St. Louis trailed five times in the game, including two-run deficits in both the ninth and 10th.  The Cardinals also became the first team in history to score runs in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th innings in the same World Series game.  St. Louis capped its unlikely run to the championship the following night, but its Game 6 that will be remembered.  Unbelievable, amazing, incredible, memorable, all of the above.  Whatever adjective you use, there's no question that Game 6 of the World Series was far and away the Game of the Year for 2011.