It's been an eventful 12 months. It always is. The annual "Games of the Year" post is coming up to officially close out 2014 for Joe Brackets, but so much has happened this year that it's worth looking at 2014 as a whole. And with that I present, 2014, the year in sports.
Where do I begin? Peyton Manning got back to the Super Bowl, only to get thoroughly manhandled by the Seahawks defense. The UConn women put together another historic season, perhaps their best ever, going 40-0 and destroying undefeated Notre Dame in the National Championship Game. The UConn men's team won the title, too, giving them a double 10 years after doing it the first time. And the men went via the untraditional route, riding a 7-seed all the way to an unexpected championship. The Kings proved their on their way to becoming an NHL dynasty, coming back from 3-0 down against San Jose, beating the Blackhawks in seven, then knocking off the Rangers for their second Stanley Cup in three years. The San Francisco Giants trumped that, though, riding Madison Bumgarner's left arm to their third World Series crown since 2010. And lest we forget the Spurs, avenging their 2013 Finals loss and ending the LeBron era in Miami.
Sochi hosted an Olympics that was more well-known for its $51 billion price tag and concerns about Russia's anti-gay propaganda laws. Well, they delivered. Just like we knew they would. And once again there were plenty of memorable Olympic moments. Like Vladislav Tretiak lighting the cauldron, Russia's gold medal in the inaugural team figure skating event, former Korean Victor Ahn dominating the short track speed skating competition for the home team, Sage Kotsenburg and Jamie Anderson in the new snowboarding events, 18-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin winning gold in the slalom in what could be the sign of bigger things to come in Pyeongchang. And who's ever going to forget T.J. Oshie in that shootout to decide the USA-Russia hockey game?
During the summer, everyone was transfixed by the World Cup in Brazil. The Americans gave their fans a memorable ride starting with Clint Dempsey's goal in the first minute of the first game and ending with Tim Howard standing on his head in a round of 16 loss to Belgium. The USA got out of the "Group of Death," an achievement that will only help the growth of soccer in this country. Defending champion Spain stumbled, and host Brazil eventually did, also. Germany, though, proved to be the best team and was a deserving champion. The real winner was Brazil, though. They delivered a first-rate World Cup and eased some concerns about their preparedness for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
For all the good in sports over the past year, there was unfortunately a whole mess of negative news, too. Adam Silver's first act as NBA Commissioner was dealing with the Donald Sterling mess. And he handled it with flying colors, banning the Clippers owner for life and forcing him to sell the team. That's more than I can say for Roger Goddell and the NFL's domestic violence problem. From Ray Rice to Adrian Peterson, it kept getting worse, and so did Goddell's handling of everything. A revised personal conduct policy might not be enough to undo the damage that has been done. The NCAA took a hit, too. The Ed O'Bannon and full-cost-of-attendance rulings could greatly alter the landscape of college sports. So might the long-sought-after Power 5 autonomy that will be granted in some form soon.
Then there were the allegations of corruption and vote-buying surrounding the selection of Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. FIFA cleared Qatar of any wrongdoing, paving the way for preparations to continue, but not doing anything to settle concerns that won't stop lingering anytime soon. One of those concerns regards the schedule, which could see the World Cup and Winter Olympics overlap in 2022. Those 2022 Winter Olympics that nobody wants to host. They started with six bidders. They're down to two. That black mark led to some long-awaited IOC reforms, including a revamped bidding process.
Don't worry. It wasn't all bad. We had plenty of inspirational stories, too. From Mone Davis kicking the boys' asses at the Little League World Series to Lauren Davis inspiring is all with her determination to play college basketball despite an inoperable brain tumor. Michael Sam came out, got drafted, and embraced the man he loved for all the world to see. The fact that he didn't make the Rams' roster isn't even relevant. And, on the 75th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's historic speech, the Ice Bucket Challenge, which was started by a former Boston College outfielder, did more for ALS awareness and fundraising than anyone could've possibly imagined.
The Derek Jeter Retirement Tour gave America a chance to say goodbye to the Face of Baseball, and Derek himself authored the most memorable of farewells with a walk-off single in his final game at Yankee Stadium. Another sporting icon, Roger Federer, was named Switzerland's Male Athlete of the Year despite not winning a Grand Slam title. He did, however, claim the only thing missing from his resume when Switzerland won the Davis Cup for the first time. Serena Williams, meanwhile, continued to defy the odds, cruising to the US Open title after losing early at the other three Grand Slams.
Jeter's on-field goodbye came in the same year that his friend and longtime coach Don Zimmer passed away. So did Tony Gwynn, in a much more unexpected fashion. No loss was more unexpected than that of Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras during the World Series, though. We also lost the likes of Ralph Kiner, Chuck Noll, Bills owner Ralph Wilson, Soviet hockey coach Viktor Tikhonov, and the great Jean Beliveau, among others, in 2014. Louis Zamperini died at 97 months before Unbroken, the movie about his incredible life came out.
And lest I forget LeBron's Cleveland homecoming after four years in Miami that yielded two championships and two other trips to the Finals. In baseball, Clayton Kershaw had a regular season for the ages, but it was Madison Bumgarner who became a World Series legend. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals ended 29 years of frustration with a thrilling run to Game 7 of the World Series. The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl and Vanderbilt finally won the College World Series after years of coming so close.
NASCAR changed its championship format to wonderful results, with Kevin Harvick clinching the title by winning the final race. We also came close to finally getting another Triple Crown winner after 36 years, but California Chrome couldn't get it done in the Belmont.
All of that's just a sampling of the wonderful year in sports that was 2014. There's plenty more that I could've mentioned but didn't. And we've got plenty in store for 2015, too, starting with the long-awaited College Football Playoff. Another long-awaited event is also on the 2015 sports calendar, as Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are finally going to fight. The Women's World Cup is on tap, too. If it's anything like the 2011 event, we're in store for something pretty special.
There were some lows, but mostly highs in an eventual and exciting 2014. What's ahead in 2015? I can't wait to find out.
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