10. Ford 400-Miami, November 21
In a tight race with the Breeder's Cup Classic, Zenyatta is edged out by a nose once again. Carl Edwards won NASCAR's season finale, but that had nothing to do with why the race was so great. Denny Hamlin entered the race leading the points standings by 15 points over four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, with Kevin Harvick still in contention for the title. The points lead went back-and-forth between the three throughout the race, with Johnson eventually finishing second to earn his fifth straight Sprint Cup championship, 39 points ahead of Hamlin and 41 in front of Harvick, who finished third in the race.
9. Nevada 34, Boise State 31 (OT)-Reno, Nev., November 26
As I've told you before, I don't watch college football. But my dad is a Boise State fan, so this game was on when I got home that night. And from what I understand, it was a pretty good game. Boise State led 24-7 at halftime, but Nevada came storming back and tied the score at 31-31 with 13 seconds left. Amazingly, Boise State got to the Nevada nine with two seconds left, but missed the winning field goal. Boise State got the ball first in overtime and missed another field goal attempt before Nevada kicker Anthony Martinez nailed a 33-yarder to end the Broncos' 24-game winning streak.
8. Phillies 4, Reds 0-Philadelphia, October 6 (National League Division Series, Game 1)
In his first career postseason start, Roy Halladay threw the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history (and the first since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series). The only Cincinnati baserunner was Jay Bruce, who walked in the fifth inning. It was also Halladay's second no-hitter of the year, following a perfect game against the Marlins on May 29.
7. Connecticut 65, Baylor 64-Hartford, Conn., November 16
UConn's winning streak was stopped at 90 by Stanford, but it probably should've been halted at 79 by Baylor. In a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2, Maya Moore had 30 points to lead UConn to its 80th straight victory. With UConn up one with seven seconds left, Moore missed a jumper and Baylor grabbed the rebound. However, the Bears couldn't get a shot off and UConn held on.
6. Lakers 83, Celtics 79-Los Angeles, June 17 (NBA Finals, Game 7)
Again, I didn't watch it. But from what I understand, it was a pretty great game. The Celtics led at halftime and led by as many as 13 in the second half, but the Lakers went on a fourth-quarter run to take the lead, then used good free throw shooting to pull away down the stretch and win their second straight NBA title. 28.2 million people watched this game. I was not one of them.
5. USA 1, Algeria 0-Pretoria, South Africa, June 23 (World Cup, Group C)
In a World Cup that could've produced a Top 10 list all its own, the top choice is the USA-Algeria classic. We all know the story. The USA tied England and Slovenia, and just needed a win to advance to the second round. After a scoreless 90 minutes, it looked like the USA would go home empty-handed and incredibly disappointed. Then Landon Donovan scored one of the most exhilirating goals I've ever seen (I seriously didn't think there'd ever be a point in my life where I got this excited while watching a soccer game), and the Americans went from eliminated to group winners. Honorable mention goes to the tremendous Spain-Netherlands final.
4. Duke 61, Butler 59-Indianapolis, April 5 (NCAA Championship Game)
Little mid-major Butler had been adopted by everybody in America, and almost pulled off the most unlikeliest of NCAA titles. Butler had the ball down one with 36 seconds left, but had to use both of its remaining timeouts before Gordon Hayward missed a jumper. Brian Zoubek hit a free throw for Duke, then missed the second on purpose with 3.6 seconds left. Hayward was forced to take a half-court heave, which clanged off the backboard, then the rim, giving Duke its fourth National Championship.
3. Saints 31, Colts 17-Miami, February 7 (Super Bowl XLIV)
The Colts led 10-6 at halftime, but the Saints successfully executed an onsides kick to start the second half, completely changing the momentum of the game. New Orleans scored to take the lead, but Indy came right back and led 17-16 after three. The Saints went in front 24-17 with 5:42 left, but Peyton had the Colts marching down the field for the tying score. However, he threw a pass that was intercepted by Tracy Porter, and 74 yards later, New Orleans sealed the first Super Bowl title in franchise history.
2. Canada 3, USA 2 (OT)-Vancouver, February 28 (Olympic Gold Medal Game)
This doubles as both our hockey game and our Olympic event. The USA won the group play game against its archrivals, but Canada wouldn't be denied the only gold medal it wanted at the Vancouver Games. The Canadians led 2-1 after two, but Zach Parise scored with 25 seconds left to tie the game. Then, 7:40 into sudden death overtime, Sidney Crosby scored, sending the sellout crowd into delerium and igniting a national celebration north of the border. It was the most-watched television broadcast in Canadian history, and 27.6 million people watched it on NBC on a Sunday afternoon.
1. John Isner def. Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68-Wimbledon, England, June 22-24 (Wimbledon First Round)
I know what you're thinking. "Tennis is his No. 1? Really?" But the sheer novelty of this match made it a classic. It took three days to complete this first round match, which isn't unusual at Wimbledon, but this time there wasn't a drop of rain. Isner was seeded 27th and Mahut was a qualifier, but their names are forever bound because of this historic match. They played four sets on June 22 before the match was suspended due to darkness. They played another seven hours the next day, but neither man could break serve (Wimbledon doesn't use a tiebreak in the deciding set), and it was suspended again at 59-59. Finally, on the third day of the match, Isner hit a backhand winner to finally break Mahut's serve and end the match. The match time was a record 11 hours, 5 minutes (the fifth set alone took 8:11, 90 minutes longer than the previous longest match). Both players also shattered the old record for service aces (Isner had 113, Mahut 103), and they combined to hold serve 168 straight times. Mahut also held serve to stay in the match 63 consecutive times before Isner finally broke on the 64th. Predictibly, Isner had nothing left, and he lost in straight sets the next day in the second round. But the match that wouldn't end will forever define both of their careers, as well as Wimbledon 2010. And that's why it was the greatest game of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment