The Top 10 Sports Moments of 2008

Posted by Cody Dalton on 01.02.2009

Now that 2008 is over, 411’s Cody Dalton has decided to take a look back at the year’s best moments sports! From the Giants defeating the Perfect Patriots to the Celtics winning their 17th Championship, Phelps winning eight gold medals and even Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open on one leg! What moment is at the top of the list? What moments will be remembered for lifetimes to come? Check out the full column for all the details!

Thanks for joining me on this very special column entitled "Top 10 Sports Moments of 2008". My name is Cody Dalton, a 411mania regular sports writer. I am going to go through the list of the Top 10 moments of 2008, as well as look at those who just missed the list. With that said, let's see our honorable mentions….

HONORABLE MENTION

The following stories just couldn't make it to the exclusive list. For these moments, I will still honor, but will not give the distinction as being a Top 10 moment. Here they are…

Red Wings top Penguins, Sid to win Stanley Cup



Although I am a big fan of these guys, this moment wasn't able to get into my personal ten. It was a great Stanley Cup Finals with the dominant Red Wings facing off with the young and talented Sidney Crosby. It was a knockdown, drag out fight between the two teams before Detroit finally captured Lord Stanley's Cup in Game 6. Henrik Zetterberg won MVP honors for the Finals.

Kansas wins NCAA Final Four



Another championship team and another miss on the Top 10. Kansas had a great NCAA Tournament and upset the team that everyone thought would win it all – Memphis. The Jayhawks trailed most of the game, but mounted a comeback late to win the title, 75-68. Mario Chalmers, now with the Miami Heat, was named Final Four MVP.

LSU tops Ohio State, wins BCS Championship



In last year's BCS National Championship Game, it was LSU making an emphatic statement by beating Ohio State, 38-24, in the Allstate BCS National Championship game. The Tigers took a 24-10 halftime lead behind quarterback Matt Flynn's two touchdown passes. The second half saw an even match up between the two teams, as the Tigers earned their second BCS Championship in five seasons.

Norman shines in British Open



In a golf tournament that didn't draw a lot of ire from golf enthusiasts, Greg Norman made people watch the 2008 British Open at Royal Birkdale. After being a past winner and earning a lifetime exemption from the event, Norman decided to enter. His entry wouldn't go unnoticed, as "The Shark" would lead going into the back nine holes. However, he would falter and Padraig Harrington would win the coveted Claret Jug. A great story though for the 53-year old.


And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. Here are the Top 10 Sports Moments of 2008….






#10 – Danica picks up first Indy Car win



While this may not be a big moment for a lot of people, it was a big one historically. Patrick becomes the first woman ever to win an Indy Car event. She also becomes the first one in recent memory to win an auto race. Although she has underachieved in the Indy Car Series in her career, this is certainly the highlight of her career. This may be the beginning of things to come in her career, especially with all the Indy Car drivers leaving for NASCAR. It certainly was a historic win for her and for racing in general.



#9 – Lesnar KOs Couture to win UFC Heavyweight crown



This was by far one of the most anticipated matches in UFC history. It did get a lot of slack because of Brock's MMA record (2-1), but the fight lived up to the hype. After a rough first round with Lesnar, Lesnar, followed by a round of hammer fists to end the fight, hit Couture on the crown of the head. He will now wait to fight Frank Mir to crown an Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.



#8 – Falcons, Dolphins experience HUGE turnarounds



A year ago, things looked dismal for both the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons. The Dolphins were 1-15 and searching for any sign of hope, while the Falcons had coach issues with Bobby Petrino and backlash from the Michael Vick dog fighting case. Now, both teams are experience amazing comeback seasons. Under new rookie sensation Matt Ryan (above) and breakout running back Michael Turner, the Falcons rocketed to an 11-5 record and nearly won the NFC South.

The Dolphins on the other hand had the greatest turnaround in the history of the league, going from 1-15 a year ago to an 11-5 record. That 10 win difference helped the Dolphins win their division and oust both the New York Jets and New England Patriots out of the playoffs.



#7 – Nadal ousts Federer in "One of Greatest Matches Ever"



Everyone knew that Federer was "The Master of the Grass". Nadal was unbeatable on clay courts. So going into the Wimbledon finale, experts figured that Federer would easily capture his sixth Wimbledon championship and 14th Grand Slam title. However, the experts couldn't have predicted that fantastic match that would take place in July.

Both tennis warriors would embark on the impossible. Nadal searched for his record setting sixth straight Wimbledon. Nadal wanted to prove to the world that he wasn't just a clay court champion. Nadal would do just that, in a hard fought 4 hour and 48 minute barrage of power, accuracy, and intensity. Many consider it to be one of the greatest tennis matches of all time and there is no doubting that many tennis fans will never forget this 2008 epic for a long time to come.



#6 – Jimmie Johnson wins third straight NASCAR championship



Jimmie Johnson embarked into the 2008 NASCAR season as a two-time champion. He'll enter the 2009 season as a three-time champion. Johnson, who drives the #48 Lowes Chevrolet, won his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in November. The win allowed him to join Cale Yarborough as the only man to ever win three consecutive championships. Now I know many people consider NASCAR to be a "redneck sport", but the achievement by this guy certainly deserves to be on this list. He has done something that great champions like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt failed to achieve. We'll see if he can repeat as champion yet again in 2009.



#5 – Phillies beat Rays in World Series, Tampa has turnaround season



I tied these two stories together because they paralleled one another, but they both deserved to be recognized. First off, the Tampa Bay Rays experienced an amazing season in which they won the American League East over heavyweights Boston and New York. They did the honorable way (not buying the best players) and used their farm system to win the American League pennant.

Though the Rays somewhat overshadowed their win, the Phillies managed to capture their second World Series title and first since 1980. Although I personally would have liked to see the Rays win the championship, it was an enjoyable World Series for me personally.




#4 – Celtics win 17th World Championship



It was an improbable thought. No one ever could have imagined that a team would go from 24-58 to NBA Champions a year later, but that just happened. Their turnaround began when they were able to get Ray Allen and the #35 overall pick from the Seattle Supersonics in a trade in the 2007 NBA Draft for the #5 overall pick, forward Wally Szczerbiak, and guard Delonte West.

About a month later, the Celtics traded nearly all of their roster just to fill the contract of Kevin Garnett. Boston traded Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, their first round 2009 NBA Draft pick, and returned a conditional pick to Minnesota.

Both trades proved to be the right move, as the Celtics held an impressive 41-9 record going into NBA All Star Weekend. Eventually, the Celtics finished with the 66-16 record in the regular season, an amazing 42 game turnaround. Boston would hold the #1 seed going into the playoffs and struggled to win their first series again Atlanta, 4-3. They would also barely get passed Cleveland in the next round, 4-3. However, the Conference Finals didn't prove to be troublesome, as the C's defeated Detroit to become Eastern Conference Champions. They would meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, retelling an amazing rivalry that had existed for years. Despite the Lakers strong attempts to win the championship, the "Big Three" proved to be too much, as All Star's Garnett, Pierce, and Allen won their first NBA Championship and 17th overall for the franchise.




#3 – Tiger wins U.S. Open (with one leg)



From personal experience, golf is one of the hardest games to play. It's even more difficult for a one legged man. Tiger Woods, the World's best player, tried to come back from a bad knee in 2008 and had surgery to try and come back. He was 100%, but he played like he was. Tiger would trail going into the final hole, but delivered an emphatic putt to tie Rocco Mediate. It would be playoff time. It would take to the 91st hold of play for Woods to finally out duel Mediate. Finally, Woods would do so in pain, capturing his 14th major overall, getting him closer to Jack Nicklaus and his 18 Major Championships. It remains to be seen though if he can come back in 2009 with a stronger knee or if the U.S. Open was his last "hooray".




#2 – Giants top previously unbeaten Patriots



Some people call this "One of the Greatest Super Bowls of All Time". I don't think that I'd throw it up there, but certainly it was the story of the underdog. It featured the undefeated New England Patriots, who were seeking to become the first team to reach the 19-0 mark, keep their season unblemished, and join the 1972 Dolphins as the only other undefeated champion in the history of the league. On the other side were the underdog, road warriors in the New York Giants. It was a great match up on paper, but the hype had to live up to the game. It did just that.

It was a stalemate through three quarters of play with the only scores being a Giants 32-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes and a New England 1-yard rushing touchdown by Laurence Maroney. The fourth quarter would be where the action was. The Giants would drive 80 yards in 3:47 to take a 10-7 lead. However, the Patriots would answer with their own 80 yard drive. Tom Brady would end the drive, connecting on a 6-yard pass with familiar wide receiver Randy Moss. An extra point later would have the Patriots leading 14-10. It looked as if the Patriots had wrapped of their season with only 2:42 remaining on the clock.

The Giants would start their drive from the 17-yard line and it looked very bleak. Eli Manning would connect with Amani Toomer twice for 20 yards. However, the Giants would sputter and it came down to a 4th down and 1. New York would convert though, as running back Brandon Jacobs rushed 2 yards for the first down. The Giants would have trouble again, as they failed to gain yards and move the ball. On 3rd down and 5 though, magic happened. Eli Manning stepped back to throw and looked to be sacked by defensive end Jarvis Green. Manning avoided the tackle though and launched the football to the middle of the field. Receiver David Tyree was there and caught the ball with his helmet (above). The play was dubbed by some as "The Greatest Catch or Play" in the history of the Super Bowl. The play gained the Giants 32 yards, as they continued to drive. Three plays later, the Giants found themselves struggling and had to convert on 3rd down and 11. Once again, Eli Manning found his target, connecting with receiver Steve Smith for 12 yards. It set up a classic goal line stand between the two teams with perfection or destiny on the line. Giants receiver Plaxico Burress would line up on the right side of the field with his only defender being Ellis Hobbs. Burress would gain separation and caught the pass from Manning, giving the Giants the lead that they would not relinquish. Eli won the Super Bowl MVP, tying his brother Peyton with one MVP and one Super Bowl Championship.




#1 – Phelps win 8 gold medals, surpasses Spitz



Only fitting that an Olympic Games that began on 8-8-08 end with an American hero winning 8 gold medals. Michael Phelps, a 23-year-old phenom, became the winningest Olympic champion in the history of the games, winning an amazing 14 gold medals in two games and 16 medals overall. He broke American Mark Spitz's record of 7 gold medals at one games as well. I still think they should check this guy to see where his gills are because he has to be a fish. I know some people may see no originality in my #1 selection, but how can you go wrong? This guy sets an numerous medal records, as well as 7 World Records, and an Olympic record. It was honestly the only reason I even turned on the television to watch the games. I just wanted to see this guy make history for his country and he did just that.



Thanks for joining me on this very special article. It certainly was a memorable 2008 for sports moments and 2009 is sure to deliver even more great memories. Whatever your Top 10, Top 5, or Top moment is, just be sure to remember the greatness of these special moments for years to come!


Until then…



Cody Dalton's book on sale now! "Sideline Warriors: The Greatest Sports Coaches and Managers of All Time" – http://www.lulu.com/content/2003212