In honor of Groundhog Day, I decided to blog a list of the
10 sporting events I could watch over and over again. It was hard enough to cut
the list to 10 and ranking them would have been even harder. So in
chronological order, with no specific rank, here they are.
2006 Rose Bowl- Texas
vs. USC: This game had it all. Reggie Bush was the reigning Heisman Trophy
winner and Vince Young was the runner-up. Matt Leinart won the Heisman the year
before. The Trojans were a perennial powerhouse in college football having
entered on a 34-game winning streak. USC held a 38-26 with less than seven
minutes remaining in the game. Texas climbed all the way back on the heels of
two rushing touchdowns from Young and a stop from its defense on a critical
fourth down for the USC. The final score was 41-38. Young finished with 467
total yards and the Longhorns were national champions. The Trojans’ reign at
the top was over.
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Steve Grayson/WireImage
Johnson crosses the goal line on the winning two-point conversion.
Johnson's girlfriend was a cheerleader at Boise State. He proposed
to her on the field following the game.
|
2007 Fiesta Bowl-
Boise State vs. Oklahoma: There’s no doubt Texas defeating Southern
California was one of college football’s greatest upsets. But this was truly
David vs. Goliath. The same lines were uttered over and over again about Boise
State. They had an undefeated season, but this was where the road would end.
They couldn’t compete with the big boys of the major power conferences. But Boise State played with the lead for
almost the entire game. The finish was nothing short of chaotic. Oklahoma tied
the score at 28 with 1:26 remaining, and on the next play from scrimmage the
Sooners took the lead for the first time on an interception returned for a
touchdown by Marcus Walker. Facing a fourth and 18 with 18 seconds remaining,
Boise State first-year head coach Chris Petersen called for a hook and lateral
that went for a touchdown and sent the game to overtime. The first play in overtime was a 25-yard
rushing touchdown by Adrian Peterson that put Oklahoma back in front 42-35.
Boise State had some more trickery in store for its possession in overtime. The
game came down to a fourth and two on the Oklahoma five. Wide receiver Vinny
Perretta took a direct snap and tossed a touchdown pass to tight end Derek
Schouman. Petersen opted for a two-point conversion for the win. Sure enough,
it was another trick play. Running back Ian Johnson took the handoff on the
infamous statue of liberty play and the conversion was successful. Boise State
won 43-42. Does it get any crazier?
2008 US Open Final
Round- Tiger Woods’ putt: It’s the last time Tiger Woods won a major. To do
so he needed to make a birdie putt on the 18th green to force a playoff
with Rocco Mediate. Woods drained it and the crowd at Torrey Pines erupted. Dan
Hicks put it best on NBC when he simply said, “Expect anything different?” The
US Open is the one major that requires a full round playoff. Woods came back the next day and shot an even
par round of 74, defeating Mediate by one stroke to win the US Open
championship. There are many vintage Tiger Woods moments that stand out, and
this was certainly one of them.
2008 Wimbledon Final-
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal: Some say this is the greatest tennis match
of all time. It was the third year in a row that Federer and Nadal met in the
Wimbledon Final. Nadal was looking to break through and win for the first time
on the lawns of the All England Club while Federer was going for his sixth
consecutive Wimbledon title. Nadal outplayed Federer for the better part of the
first two sets, winning each set 6-4 and moving within a set of the title. It
appeared as if a changing of the guard was taking place. After Nadal
embarrassed Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in the French Open Final one month earlier,
the Spaniard was transferring his dominance to the grass. But then came the
first rain delay of the match with Federer leading 5-4 in the third set. This
was the final year without a roof on Centre Court. The delay seemed to help
Federer, who won the third set in a tiebreak. The fourth set also went to a
tiebreak where Nadal tightened up and lost two championship points as Federer
stole the set to level the match and force a final set. With the score tied at
two games a piece in the fifth, the rains came again. There wasn’t much
daylight left in London and there is no final set tiebreak at Wimbledon. But
the players were able to return to the court and finish the match. Nadal
managed not to crack after blowing the fourth set tiebreak and won the set 9-7
to win the title. He did not lose his serve the entire match.
Game 5 2008 World
Series- Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies: I had to include a
Philadelphia sports moment on here and it had to be this one. Rain added to the
drama of this sporting event too. The Phillies held a 2-1 lead in the top of
the sixth and Tampa Bay had no one on base with two outs. It looked like a
pretty routine inning for Cole Hamels. The rain was intensifying and with five
innings in the books, the game was technically considered official. But a
single by B.J. Upton kept the inning alive. Upton then stole second base and
came around to score on a single by Carlos Pena. The top of the sixth would end
with the score tied 2-2. The game was immediately stopped and did not resume
until two nights later. There were some unsung heroes for the Phillies once it
did. Geoff Jenkins led off with a pinch-hit double in the bottom of the sixth
and was later knocked in on a Jayson Werth single. Rocco Baldeli would even
things up in the top of the seventh with a solo home run. Later in the inning
Chase Utley made a huge play in the field to gun down Jason Bartlett at home
trying to score the go-ahead run. Pat Burrell then picked a perfect time for
his only hit of the World Series with a double to open the bottom of the
seventh. Eric Bruntlett came in to run for Burrell and Pedro Feliz came up with
the big single to put the Phillies back ahead 4-3. This one-run lead would hold
up as Brad Lidge completed his perfect season striking out Eric Hinske to give
Philadelphia its first major sports championship in 25 years. To this day, I
still wonder what would have happened if Hamels got out of that sixth inning in
the pouring rain and the Phillies held the lead.
Super Bowl XLIII- Pittsburgh
Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals: There were so many exciting plays in this
Super Bowl. James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown as
the first half concluded was an incredible individual effort. Just when it
looked like Pittsburgh was going to win its sixth super bowl with ease, Arizona
stormed back with 16 unanswered points. The Cardinals would take the lead
thanks to a 64-yard catch and run by Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald finished the
game with seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown
set up for a memorable final drive by the Steelers. Santonio Holmes had four of
his nine catches on the drive including the game-winning catch in the right
corner of the end zone where he managed to keep both feet in bounds. The
Steelers won the game 27-23. I’m still not sure I’ve seen a better catch given
the circumstances.
2009 Big East
Tournament Quarterfinal- Syracuse vs. UConn 6OT game: It was more than just
another late night at Madison Square Garden at the Big East Tournament. It
looked like Eric Devendorf had it won at the end of regulation. He certainly
thought he won it, jumping up on the scorer’s table after his three pointer
dropped. Who knew when that shot was being reviewed that the game was going to
go on for another two hours? Of course replay showed Devendorf just barely did
not get the shot off. As the overtimes began to pile up, players began to foul
out and the benches for both teams were getting thin. Andy Rautins kept firing
away from beyond the arc. UConn had many chances at the end of several of the
overtimes to win it. Jonny Flynn played 67 out of a possible 70 minutes. Syracuse
did not lead in any of the first five overtimes. But the Orange pulled away in
the sixth overtime to win 127-117. Everyone knew both these teams were going to
make the NCAA Tournament. But that didn’t stop the two teams from laying it all
on the line. The Big East Tournament was the perfect precursor to the big
dance. This game embodied everything the old Big East was all about. It’s not
the same anymore.
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Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
Freese rounds first as the Cardinals pour out of
the dugout following his walk-off home run. |
Game 6 2011 World
Series- Texas Rangers vs. St. Louis Cardinals: You never know who’s going
to make the big play, get the big hit, drain the big shot, or score the big
goal. That’s why we love sports. In this game, David Freese was that guy.
Leading 7-5 in the bottom of the ninth, the Rangers were one strike away from
their first World Series championship. Facing Neftali Feliz, Freese came up
with a two-run triple over the head of right fielder Nelson Cruz to even the
score at seven and send the game into extra innings. In the top of the 10th,
Josh Hamilton put Texas back in front with a two-run home run. The Cardinals
were able to cut the lead to 9-8 but again the Rangers were within a strike.
Lance Berkman lined a single into center field off Scott Feldman and the game
continued. Freese led off the bottom of the 11th with a walk-off
home run and St. Louis won 10-9 to force a game seven it would go on to win.
This was the first time in World Series history a team rallied from
two
different two-run deficits in the ninth inning or later.
Game 6 2013 NBA
Finals- San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat: San Antonio held a five-point
lead with 28 seconds left and had a 3-2 series lead. The Larry O’Brien Trophy
was about to be hoisted in Miami by a visiting team for the second time in
three years. But, a three from LeBron James cut the deficit to two. Kawhi
Leonard was fouled instantly. After making the first free throw the lead was
95-92. But Leonard left the door open when he missed the second foul shot.
James had a good look at another three to tie the game but could not connect.
Gregg Popovich had a small lineup on the floor to defend the perimeter and Tim
Duncan was on the bench. This made it easier for Chris Bosh to get the rebound
after the miss from James. Bosh found Ray Allen in the corner, who backtracked
enough to catch the pass while standing behind the three-point line and tie the
game with five seconds remaining. Miami rode the momentum to a 103-100 overtime
victory and went on to repeat as NBA champions.
Super Bowl XLIX-
Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots: Say what you want about the two
teams, this was one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time facing a dominant
defense. In the end, the quarterback won. Seattle led 24-14 entering the fourth
quarter. No team in Super Bowl history had ever overcome a fourth-quarter deficit
of more than seven points. New England got a touchdown catch from Danny Amendola
early in the fourth to get within three. The Patriots would get the ball back
with 6:52 left. Brady found a way yet again. He marched the troops down the
field against the Seattle defense and hit Julian Edelman for a three-yard
touchdown with two minutes remaining to give New England a 28-24 lead. But
then, after David Tyree and Mario Manningham had memorable catches against the
Patriots in previous Super Bowls, it looked like Jermaine Kearse was next.
Kearse caught a tipped ball while lying on his back and Seattle was in business
deep in New England territory. That was until, the Seahawks decided to throw
the ball when they were just one yard away from repeating as Super Bowl
champions. Malcolm Butler made a perfect read on the slant from Russell Wilson
to Ricardo Lockette and stepped in front for the interception to seal the deal.
Now go watch the Bill Murray movie.
