Best of 2021

In 2021, the sports world began to get back to "normal."  We still aren't there yet since everything is still screwed up because of 2020.  But we at least had some semblance of normalcy in that games were played and fans were in attendance (for the most part, anyway).  So, with hopes that "normal" returns in 2022, I mark the return of my "Games of the Year" countdown after a two-year absence (first because I did a "Teams of Decade" instead, then because last year was, well, you know).

15. Indianapolis 500: May 30, Indianapolis-It was actually one of the cleanest Indy 500s in history.  Of the 33 cars that started, 30 of them finished.  It was also the fastest Indy 500 in history.  And, at the end, more history was made, as Helio Castroneves took the checkered flag for the fourth time...12 years after his third win.  With that, Helio completed his place on Indy's Mount Rushmore as the fourth four-time winner of the race.

14. NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe (Avalanche 3, Golden Knights 2): February 20, Lake Tahoe-So what if there was an eight-hour sun delay after the first period?  The setting was absolutely incredible!  An ice rink on the 18th green of a golf course with Lake Tahoe in the background!  The NHL did it right, even if Mother Nature caused some issues.  It's also worth noting that the Avalanche and Golden Knights finished 1-2 in the NHL in points last season, so they even ended up nailing it with the teams they selected!

13. NCAA Women's College World Series, Game 1 (James Madison 4, Oklahoma 3-8 innings): June 3, Oklahoma City-Odicci sure is the right name for her, alright!  Because it was definitely quite an Odyssey that Ms. Alexander took the James Madison softball team on in the NCAA Softball Tournament!  They were unseeded, yet made it all the way to the College World Series, where they played No. 1 Oklahoma in the first game.  That game was 3-3 until the top of the eighth, when James Madison leadoff hitter Kate Gordon hit a home run.  Alexander then finished it off, and the Dukes had pulled the upset against the eventual National Champions.

12. Ryder Cup: September 24-26, Whistling Straits, WI-Was it the most competitive Ryder Cup in history?  Absolutely not!  But you won't find an American fan who didn't love what happened over that weekend in Wisconsin.  It was a dominant effort by a team that had nine of the top 11 players in the world.  The U.S. won going away, 19-9, the largest margin of victory in a Ryder Cup in more than 50 years.

11. WNBA Semifinals, Game 5 (Mercury 87, Aces 84): October 8, Las Vegas-Phoenix and Las Vegas played a highly entertaining series that, fittingly, went the distance.  And Game 5 went back-and-forth, too.  The Mercury led by two at halftime only to have the Aces come storming back in the third and take an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.  Phoenix outscored Las Vegas 29-18 the rest of the way, though, to win by three and advance to the WNBA Finals.

10. French Open Men's Final (Novak Djokovic 3, Stefanos Tsitsipas 2): June 13, Paris-He ultimately didn't do it, but the thought of Novak Djokovic's potential Golden Slam was the dominant story in tennis all summer.  And to think, it all could've been derailed in Paris.  Djokovic beat Nadal in a four-hour semifinal, but dropped the first two sets in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas.  However, just like in his fourth-round match, the Djoker rallied.  He came all the way back, in fact, winning 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for his second French Open title and 19th career Grand Slam.

9. National League Wild Card Game (Dodgers 3, Cardinals 1): October 6, Los Angeles-Because the Giants came out of nowhere to win 107 games this season, the 106-win defending champion Dodgers had to play a winner-take-all Wild Card Game.  And their season almost ended there against a Cardinals team that only made the playoffs thanks to a 22-3 record in their final 25 games.  It was 1-1 until the bottom of the ninth, when Chris Taylor crushed a two-run walk-off homer to send the Dodgers to the Division Series.

8. NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship (Stanford 54, Arizona 53): April 4, San Antonio-Arizona upset UConn in one semifinal, while Stanford grinded out a one-point win over South Carolina in the other, setting up the two Pac-12 teams to face each other for the National Championship.  It looked like Stanford might run away with it early, but Arizona slowly chipped away, eventually pulling within one.  Arizona had a chance to win after a Stanford shot clock violation with six seconds left, but couldn't get a shot off and Stanford clinched its first National title in 29 years.

7. CONCACAF Nations League Final (United States 3, Mexico 2): June 6, Denver-There were four USA-Mexico games this year and this one, while it was the stupidest of the four (the Nations League is dumb, sorry!), was also the most entertaining.  Mexico scored just over a minute in, but the US tied it before halftime.  After Mexico scored in the 79th minute, Weston McKennie responded three minutes later.  The game ended up going to extra time, where Christian Pulisic converted a penalty kick in the 114th minute.  The U.S. didn't seal the victory until the 120th minute, though, when Ethan Horvath stopped a Mexico PK on the final play of the game.

6. NCAA Men's Final Four, Semifinal (Gonzaga 93, UCLA 90-OT): April 3, Indianapolis-Gonzaga was the unanimous No. 1 overall seed, looking to become the first undefeated National Champion since 1975-76.  UCLA was the No. 11 seed that went from First Four to Final Four.  What looked like a mismatch in the National Semifinal ended up being the game of the tournament!  There were 15 ties and 19 lead changes, and neither team led by more than seven all night!  Gonzaga missed a three that would've won it in regulation, then hit one at the buzzer in OT (after UCLA had tied it with three seconds left).  An outstanding show put on by two outstanding teams!

5. NCAA Women's Volleyball National Championship (Wisconsin 3, Nebraska 2): December 18, Columbus, OH-I'll admit it, recency bias may be part of the reason why I have this match so high.  (It was only two weeks ago, after all.)  But anybody who watched it will agree it was spectacular!  The overall score of the match was Wisconsin 116, Nebraska 114.  Three sets went the distance, including an incredible second set that had more set points than I can count before Wisconsin finally won, 31-29!  It ended up going five, and Wisconsin scored the first seven points of the fifth set.  So, naturally, Nebraska came nearly all the way back, fighting off three match points before the Badgers closed out their first National Championship, 15-12 in the fifth.

4. Raiders 36, Cowboys 33-OT: November 25, Arlington, TX-We got a good, old fashioned shootout on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas!  The Raiders led 14-6 after the first quarter were in front for most of the game until a 100-yard kickoff return got the Cowboys going.  Dallas tied it at 30-30 with three minutes left, then the Raiders went back in front on a 56-yard field goal with two minutes left.  That was plenty of time for Dak Prescott, as Dallas drove down and Greg Zuerlien kicked a 45-yard field goal to send the game to OT.  Las Vegas had the last laugh, though, forcing a punt then driving down for the game-winning field goal.

3. MLB at Field of Dreams (White Sox 9, Yankees 8): August 12, Dyersville, IA-Everything about it was perfect.  From the throwback uniforms to the players emerging from the corn to Kevin Costner's pregame introduction.  Then there was the game itself!  And boy did it deliver!  The White Sox took a 7-3 lead only for the Yankees to put up a four-spot in the top of the ninth on absolute bombs by (who else?) Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.  Not to be outdone, Tim Anderson hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth.  Was it Heaven?  No, it was Iowa!  Which, on this night, was pretty damn close!

2. NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 7 (Bucks 115, Nets 111-OT): June 19, Brooklyn-The Bucks' run to the title would not have been had Kevin Durant's foot been entirely behind the three-point line at the end of regulation!  Instead, the game went to overtime tied at 109.  The Nets had a chance to win it again, but Durant's three-pointer.  So, despite Durant's 48! points, it was Milwaukee who advanced.

1. Olympic Men's 400 Meter Hurdles Final: August 3, Tokyo-One of the most anticipated events of the Olympics was the men's 400 meter hurdles final and the expected duel between Norway's Karsten Warholm and American Rai Benjamin.  It did not disappoint!  It was one of the greatest races ever!  They were separated by inches both broke the world record, which Warholm had only just set a few weeks earlier (after the old one had stood for 29 years!), and bronze medalist Alison Dos Santos also ran faster than the Olympic record (which had been the world record until Warholm's first one).  Honorable mention goes to Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and Femke Bol, who did the same thing the following morning in the women's 400 hurdles final!