Top 10 Sports Stories in 2010

As presented on Wednesday, December 29th’s edition of “Section 26 Sports,” this is the top ten sports stories in the calendar year, 2010.  Once again, this is purely the opinion of the “Section 26” hosts.  Others may have the stories in a different order, some might have different stories, others may have a different ranking.

Here they are:

10.  Isner-Mahut never ending battle at Wimbledon.

It was an early match, but it went on forever, literally.  France’s Nicolas Mahut and the United States’ John Isner battled for eleven hours and five minutes.  The fifth set alone was eight hours and eleven minutes.

Neither player could break the other’s serve, until Isner finally did.  Isner won three sets to two.  Isner beat Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68.

9.  Who wants to be number one?

For three straight weeks, no team in college football wanted to claim the title as the number one team in the country.

First, it was South Carolina beating Alabama on October 9th, 35-21, with ESPN’s College GameDay set-up in the University of South Carolina’s Horseshoe.

Then, for consecutive weeks on ABC’s Saturday Night Football, the number one team went down.  It was Wisconsin defeating Ohio State, 31-18, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Finally, on October 23rd, Missouri upset Oklahoma, 36-27.

In all three occassions, the number-one team, was beat easily by teams that may or may not have been better.

8.  Baseball says good-bye to two of its greatest managers.

Bobby Cox and Lou Piniella have seen a lot in their baseball careers.  Neither the best player, both became pretty good managers (sarcasm).

Cox, led the Atlanta Braves to the 1995 World Series Championship and 14 consecutive divisional titles.  Cox retired at the end of the season, winning 2,504 games, which is 4th all-time.  Cox also holds the record for most ejections at 158.

Piniella probably had many more exciting ejections compared to Cox.  Piniella might be for famous for tossing first base as he was tossed by random umpires.

Piniella finished 14th all time in managerial wins with 1,835.  He won the 1990 World Series with the Cincinnati Reds.  He also managed the Cubs, Rays, Mariners, and Yankees.

7.  Butler’s Gordon Hayward almost beats Duke.

The 2010 NCAA Men’s Division I Tournament featured the “Cinderalla-story” Butler Bulldogs and the love-or-hate Duke Blue Devils.

It was a desperation shot by Butler’s Hayward to attempt to beat the Blue Devils.  The shot, which no one thought had a shot, bounces off the rim.  Duke becomes National Champions again, beating Butler 61-59.

6.  a) Pitching Perfection in 2010

It was an unprecedented season for pitching in Major League Baseball.  There were six no-hitters, two of which were perfect games.  Oakland’s Dallas Braden (on Mother’s Day) and Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay each threw perfect games in the month of May.

Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez, Arizona’s Edwin Jackson, and Tampa’s Matt Garza all threw no-hitters this season.  Halladay also threw a no-hitter in the National League Division Series against Cincinnati.  This game was pitched better than his perfect game.

6.  b)  The Perfect Game that was not.

How would you like to get 26 consecutive outs, just one away from getting perfection as a major league pitcher.  It was done twice, and a young Detroit Tigers’ pitcher was about to have one of the most economic perfect games in history.

On June 2nd, Armando Galarraga got those 26 consecutive outs.  He only had to get Cleveland’s Jason Donald out to finish the job.  A ground ball in which Galarraga had to cover first base.  It was a close play and Donald is called safe by first base umpire Jim Joyce.  Galarraga appeared destined to end up with guys like Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling, who came oh-so-close, but not perfect.

And then the replay.  It showed that Galarraga’s foot touched the bag prior to Donald’s foot.  He should have been called safe by Jim Joyce.  However, after the game Joyce apologized, admitting that he took a perfect game away from Galarraga.  Galarraga responded with “nobody’s perfect.”

5.  Jimmie Johnson becomes 5-time consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.

Many people thought entering the year that this would be the year Johnson doesn’t win.  Not so fast.

Denny Hamlin appeared in control of the points heading to Homestead.  However, the pressure appeared to get to Hamlin, and the guy who had been there the last 4 years, made it number five.  A feat that no driver has ever accomplished, five consecutive championships.

4.  Brett Favre.

Whenever you think you can make it a week without Brett Favre being mentioned, there he is.  The media darling created by ESPN didn’t fail us again this year.

Once again, it was whether he would come back.  Then when he came back, would the ankle and shoulder hold-up.  Next came the Jenn Sterger controversy, of whether or not he sent suggestive photos to the former New York Jets’ employee.

Then, he was not as invincable as thought.  After 297 consecutive starts, a shoulder injury forced Favre to be inactive.  After that week, he couldn’t resist the idea of being announced out, and then suddenly hours before the game, he can suddenly play.  Followed by another game, he couldn’t play because of a concussion.

3.  Tiger Woods.

Not a whole lot to be said here, other than Woods went through with the advances Favre did not.  He made his return to golf, and did not win one tournament.

He was semi-competitive in the major tournaments, but a non-factor in all of the others.  It was not until some of the off-the-course problems resolved themselves (divorce becoming final), that he began to look a little better.

2.  The Decision – LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh.

While figuring it was the best way to announce the rest of his life, LeBron James felt that a one-hour infomercial would improve his image.

All it led to was public ridicule and embarassment as James announced that he would be going to the Miami Heat.  Wade and Bosh just went along for the ride.

At first the ‘big three’ did not produce.  It was a disastrous start for the Heat.  However, in the last month, the play has picked up and the Heat are beginning to look like the team everyone predicted them to be.

1.  The New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV.

The lovable losers that once were the ‘New Orleans Aints’ finally broke through to win Super Bowl XLIV against the mighty Indianapolis Colts.

However, the story is about what the Saints went through to get there.  A hurricane that knocked a city off of their feet and a team out of their stadium gave the people of New Orleans a bright spot in their eyes.

Any NFL fan and any person who likes a heart-warming story could not be disappointed by the Saints and the city of New Orleans winning the Super Bowl.

There you have it, the Top 10 Stories, according to “Section 26 Sports.”  Happy New Year everyone!

Braves’ Bobby Cox Says Good-Bye

Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox closed the book on a baseball career that spanned nearly half a decade Tuesday night as the Atlanta Braves were eliminated from the postseason by the San Francisco Giants.

It closed the book on the most respected and perhaps the best manager of this era, Bobby Cox.  Cox led the Braves to one World Series championship, 14 consecutive division titles, and 5 National League pennants.

Cox, as Braves General Manager, brought in the face of the franchise in Chipper Jones, drafting him first overall in the 1990 MLB draft.

The long-time Braves manager was also known for his numerous ejections.  Cox leads all of MLB with 158 ejections, but most of them were defending his players, keeping them in the game.

Cox was known as a players’ manager.  Cox was very humble, never taking any credit for himself.  It was always the players that made him such a successful manager.

For young Atlanta Braves’ fans and baseball fans in general, Bobby Cox has been the only manager of the team.  He is the guy who still yells out to his players like they were on a little league team, and still wears those metal spikes like he was getting ready to play.

It was sad to see the available players, largely due to injury, that Cox had to put on the field.  This is meant as no disrespect to the players who participated in the postseason for the players.

Of the eight position players who were in the Braves’ 2010 Opening Day lineup, only two (Jason Heyward and Brian McCann) were in the same position on Tuesday night.  (A third, Troy Glaus started Game 4 of the NLDS at third base.  He was in the opening day lineup as the starting first baseman.)

However, Cox never once doubted that his team could win.  He never has.  Cox always believed in his players, and believed every game that they could win it for him.

Now, an era in baseball has ended.  Bobby Cox is no longer the Braves’ manager.  Future and current managers try to emulate his style, but no one will ever be able to replicate or replace a legend.

Looking forward, the favorite to try to fill his shoes is former Florida Marlins’ manager Fredi Gonzalez.  Gonzalez served as the Braves’ third base coach from 2003-2006.  Cox was very supportive of Gonzalez and criticized the Marlins for firing him earlier this season.

Bobby Cox will be missed, but never remembered.  All that is known will be that it will be weird to hear that the manager of the Atlanta Braves is not followed with Bobby Cox.

Another way that the world sometimes is a cruel place, an upcoming press conference announcement referred to Cox as the team’s former manager.

Braves’ New Task: Win One for Chipper and the Skipper

For the Atlanta Braves, the goal has always been to win a World Series for retiring manager Bobby Cox.  Now its not just to win one for Cox, but now for ailing star Chipper Jones.

Jones will undergo surgery on Saturday (August 14th) to repair a torn ACL he suffered while fielding a ball in Houston earlier this week.  He will miss the remainder of the season while he recovers.

After a dismal start to the 2010 season, Jones had picked up his production in the last two months, prompting manager Bobby Cox to say that Chipper was swinging the bat the best he had seen in two years.

The poor start prompted Jones to contemplate retirement.  After a week long ordeal, he announced that he would wait until the end of the season.

Now Chipper, is relegated to lead team cheerleader, as he will not be able to contribute on the field as the Braves have their first real shot at making the playoffs in nearly five years.

As the Braves make the playoff push, some combination of Omar Infante and Brooks “Clutch” Conrad will replace Jones in the lineup.  Currently, both are in the lineup as All-Star Martin Prado recovers from a broken pinkie.

How often though, can you replace a legend with an All-Star.  Omar Infante made it to the 2010 All-Star Game as a utility player.  Now he will get to prove his worth as he will likely continue to be in the starting lineup as the season winds down.

Now Chipper has a big decision to make, will his career be bookended by torn left ACLs (Jones tore the same ligament in 1994)?  Or will he give it one year, just to prove to himself that he can come back?

Once a believer that with the success of the Braves this season that Jones would end his career after this season, I now expect Jones to return next season more than anything to prove that he can come back from such a devastating injury at this point in his career.

But as the second best hitter in Braves’ history Chipper Jones prepares to go under the knife, the team’s new 2010 goal is now clear.

Win one for Chipper (Jones), and win one for the skipper (manager Bobby Cox).