I have been writing my sports column off and on for five years now on this website. In those five years, I have NEVER experienced a sports weekend like this as a Wisconsin sports fan. It’s one of those weekends that I will look back on years from now and think to myself, did I truly enjoy it!
Let’s start the recap of the weekend with the unlikeliest of teams to be talked about in the month of October, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are making their fourth playoff appearance not this decade, but in my lifetime (or another words four decades). In my opinion, they are one of the worst professional sports franchises in the history of American professional sports.
So here are the Brewers in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and the second time since 1982. And unlike three years ago, they are actually winning. Saturday they got an incredible outing from Yovanni Gallardo in a 4-1 win. And then Sunday, the offense took over in a 9-4 victory. And suddenly the Brewers are one win away from their first trip to the League Championship Series in 29 years.
But as we all know, football is the #1 sport in this country now. So even though the Brewer post-season victories are nice and refreshing, we are mainly concerned with our football teams. And boy, did they come through this past weekend.
The Wisconsin Badgers were 4-0 and playing incredible football but even I would admit that they hadn’t really played anyone yet. That all changed Saturday night when Nebraska came to town in the Huskers‘ first ever Big Ten game. With Wisconsin #7 and Nebraska #8, the nation was awaiting which team was the real deal. After toying with the Huskers for most of the first half, Heisman Trophy candidate Russell Wilson and the rest of the Badgers took control and demolished Nebraska 48-17.
The Badgers rose to #4 in the poll on Sunday placing them in National Championship contention. That same day, the world champion Packers took the field and did to Denver the same thing Wisconsin did to Nebraska. After a slow start, the Packers completely dominated the second half in a 49-23 victory. Aaron Rodgers threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more. The other touchdown was just your standard Charles Woodson pick six. The Packers remained one of two undefeated teams in the NFL.
All in all, an incredible weekend. And although the Brewers, Badgers and Packers still have a ways to go this season, this will be a weekend we will never forget as Wisconsin sports fans.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Please Fix The NBA!
David Stern has been commissioner of the NBA now for almost 30 years. During his tenure, I have learned to despise his leadership. Despite the public image he has as the person who saved the league and brought it to all time heights in the 1980’s and 1990’s, I think he is power and money hungry. He does not care about the players. He does not care about competitive balance. He definitely does not care about the fans. He wants money, power and respect and will do just about anything to achieve all of the above.
Of course the thing that bothers me most as a small market sports fan is competitive balance of which the NBA has absolutely none. Since Mr. Stern has taken office, there have been a mere eight teams in the NBA that have won a championship.
Eight!
Out of 30.
And of course those eight do not include Sacramento, Utah and New Orleans. No. Those eight include Chicago, the second biggest city in the U.S.; Los Angeles, the third largest city in the country; Houston, San Antonio and Dallas which all place in the top ten. And then there is Boston, Detroit and Miami which are all in the top half of the thirty NBA teams in city size. That means that the bottom half of the league in market size has zero championships since David Stern took charge.
Zero!
Can you imagine what the odds of that are? I wish I could have placed all I owned on that bet 30 years ago. Of course I was eight years old, so that would not have been much. But my goodness. Now, I am not convinced necessarily that David Stern is rigging draft lotteries and has all NBA referees throwing games, but he has definitely stacked the deck against the small market teams. And he has made no effort to help these teams.
Why? Simple. Money.
That is why I am extremely excited that the NBA has gone into lock out mode. Initially, I was hoping that they would not only miss this season but 2012-13 as well. But the more I thought about it, that’s not what I’m hoping for. I’m hoping that this competitive balance problem can be fixed. Can the fifteen owners of these teams step up to the plate and stand up to Mr. Stern and do something about this please? The only other shot we have is that Stern steps down from the position. And he won’t do that until he is exposed as the terrible commissioner that he has been the past 30 years.
Of course the thing that bothers me most as a small market sports fan is competitive balance of which the NBA has absolutely none. Since Mr. Stern has taken office, there have been a mere eight teams in the NBA that have won a championship.
Eight!
Out of 30.
And of course those eight do not include Sacramento, Utah and New Orleans. No. Those eight include Chicago, the second biggest city in the U.S.; Los Angeles, the third largest city in the country; Houston, San Antonio and Dallas which all place in the top ten. And then there is Boston, Detroit and Miami which are all in the top half of the thirty NBA teams in city size. That means that the bottom half of the league in market size has zero championships since David Stern took charge.
Zero!
Can you imagine what the odds of that are? I wish I could have placed all I owned on that bet 30 years ago. Of course I was eight years old, so that would not have been much. But my goodness. Now, I am not convinced necessarily that David Stern is rigging draft lotteries and has all NBA referees throwing games, but he has definitely stacked the deck against the small market teams. And he has made no effort to help these teams.
Why? Simple. Money.
That is why I am extremely excited that the NBA has gone into lock out mode. Initially, I was hoping that they would not only miss this season but 2012-13 as well. But the more I thought about it, that’s not what I’m hoping for. I’m hoping that this competitive balance problem can be fixed. Can the fifteen owners of these teams step up to the plate and stand up to Mr. Stern and do something about this please? The only other shot we have is that Stern steps down from the position. And he won’t do that until he is exposed as the terrible commissioner that he has been the past 30 years.
Monday, February 7, 2011
We Are The Champions!
It still does not seem real that the Green Bay Packers have just won Super Bowl XLV. When I think back to the Super Bowl win and loss of 13 and 14 years ago, it was no surprise that the green and gold were in the big game. They finished 13-3 both years. They had relatively no injuries except a rash of receiver injuries during the middle of the 1996 season.
This season was a roller coaster ride. The Packers were picked by many to make a championship run but found themselves losing player after player early on including starters Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley, Mark Tauscher, Morgan Burnett, Justin Harrell and Nick Barnett. A minor leg injury to Clay Matthews was the straw that broke the camel’s back early and led to bad losses to Washington and Miami. But with Matthews back the next week and young players like Brandon Jackson, Desmond Bishop. Charlie Pepprah, and Tremon Williams stepping in for these injured stars, the Packers regained their swagger with a breakthrough win over the Vikings, a shutout victory over the Jets, and a destruction of the Cowboys and Vikings. The second swoon of the season came late though when Aaron Rodgers suffered a concussion which forced him to miss nearly two games. The games were both losses, an embarrassment against the Lions and a hard fought heartbreaker to the Patriots.
At 8-6, Green Bay was left in a spot where they had to win their final two regular season games in order to salvage the NFC six seed and squeak in as the last playoff qualifier which would require three road playoff wins to get to the Super Bowl.
And that’s where the magical run began as the Packers would not lose another game. Aaron Rodgers returned to tear up the New York Giants. And then the defense completely shut down the Chicago Bears creating a spot for the Packers in the playoffs. The Packers opened with a bang in Philadelphia and then had to hold on for dear life against the Eagles. A week later, the Packers went in and defeated the NFC number one seed, Atlanta Falcons by scoring 35 consecutive points en route to a 48-21 win. Then the Packers replicated a 7-point win over the Bears in the NFC Championship Game to earn a spot in Super Bowl XLV.
The Super Bowl against Pittsburgh was a microcosm of the season. The Packers jumped out to a lead early but then suffered injuries to stars Donald Driver and Charles Woodson. The Packers struggled as they tried to find a way to compensate and let the Steelers back into the game as a 21-3 lead was cut to 21-17 and later 28-25. But the Packers found a way late to save their season as Aaron Rodgers led the offense on a scoring drive at ate up clock and then the defense shut the door with big plays in the final two minutes.
So here we are, the Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl Champions for the fourth time and NFL Champions for the record 13th time. Aaron Rodgers has matched Brett Favre’s Super Bowl victory total and road playoff victories in a career. The Packers became the first team since 1962 to never trail in a game by more than 7 points. The best part is that this team is young and could easily return to the big dance in the near future. When you consider all the players on IR who could be back on this team next year, it is scary how good this team could be even if they suffer half the injuries they went through this year.
What a great time to be a Wisconsin sports fan. Go Packers! 2011 Super Bowl Champions!
This season was a roller coaster ride. The Packers were picked by many to make a championship run but found themselves losing player after player early on including starters Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley, Mark Tauscher, Morgan Burnett, Justin Harrell and Nick Barnett. A minor leg injury to Clay Matthews was the straw that broke the camel’s back early and led to bad losses to Washington and Miami. But with Matthews back the next week and young players like Brandon Jackson, Desmond Bishop. Charlie Pepprah, and Tremon Williams stepping in for these injured stars, the Packers regained their swagger with a breakthrough win over the Vikings, a shutout victory over the Jets, and a destruction of the Cowboys and Vikings. The second swoon of the season came late though when Aaron Rodgers suffered a concussion which forced him to miss nearly two games. The games were both losses, an embarrassment against the Lions and a hard fought heartbreaker to the Patriots.
At 8-6, Green Bay was left in a spot where they had to win their final two regular season games in order to salvage the NFC six seed and squeak in as the last playoff qualifier which would require three road playoff wins to get to the Super Bowl.
And that’s where the magical run began as the Packers would not lose another game. Aaron Rodgers returned to tear up the New York Giants. And then the defense completely shut down the Chicago Bears creating a spot for the Packers in the playoffs. The Packers opened with a bang in Philadelphia and then had to hold on for dear life against the Eagles. A week later, the Packers went in and defeated the NFC number one seed, Atlanta Falcons by scoring 35 consecutive points en route to a 48-21 win. Then the Packers replicated a 7-point win over the Bears in the NFC Championship Game to earn a spot in Super Bowl XLV.
The Super Bowl against Pittsburgh was a microcosm of the season. The Packers jumped out to a lead early but then suffered injuries to stars Donald Driver and Charles Woodson. The Packers struggled as they tried to find a way to compensate and let the Steelers back into the game as a 21-3 lead was cut to 21-17 and later 28-25. But the Packers found a way late to save their season as Aaron Rodgers led the offense on a scoring drive at ate up clock and then the defense shut the door with big plays in the final two minutes.
So here we are, the Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl Champions for the fourth time and NFL Champions for the record 13th time. Aaron Rodgers has matched Brett Favre’s Super Bowl victory total and road playoff victories in a career. The Packers became the first team since 1962 to never trail in a game by more than 7 points. The best part is that this team is young and could easily return to the big dance in the near future. When you consider all the players on IR who could be back on this team next year, it is scary how good this team could be even if they suffer half the injuries they went through this year.
What a great time to be a Wisconsin sports fan. Go Packers! 2011 Super Bowl Champions!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Packers Bears History Lesson
It has been an amazing 2010 NFL season filled with the usual ups and downs. But what is about to occur on
Sunday, January 23 is an “up” that could only have been dreamed about before as a Packer fan. The Green Bay Packers will meet the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game for the right to go to the Super Bowl.
Amazing!
The NFL’s oldest rivalry on the biggest stage it can be on. Being an NFL historian, I like to look back at these two storied franchises to show just how big this game will be next Sunday. The two teams first met in 1921 when the Bears were in Decatur and called the Staleys. They prevailed with a 20-0 victory on their way to the first NFL title. For the Packers, it was one of only two losses that year. From 1928-1933, the two teams actually played against each other three times each season. In 1929, the Packers swept all three games shutting out the Bears all three times by a combined score of 62-0. The Packers went undefeated that season in route to their first NFL Championship. The Packers won two of three against the Bears the following two seasons, both of which the Packers won the NFL Championship. It was the second three-peat in NFL history following the Canton Bulldogs run in 1922-1924.
The Bears put an end to the Packers run in 1932 by winning the title. In three games between the teams that year, they went 1-1-1. The Packers won 2-0 in Chicago. The Bears won 9-0 in Chicago. And the teams finished in a scoreless tie in their one game in Green Bay. A year later, the Bears won the first NFL Championship game 23-21 over the New York Giants. They swept the Packers in the three games between the teams that season. In 1934, the Bears completed the first NFL regular season ever with no losses or ties but lost in the championship game to the 8-5 New York Giants 30-13 (so the Giants 2008 Super Bowl victory over the Patriots wasn’t the first time New York beat an undefeated team for the title).
Between 1936 and 1944, the Packers and Bears finished 1-2 in the old NFL Western Division every year except once. (The Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals and Cleveland Rams were the other teams in that division). Either the Packers or Bears went to the championship game every year during that nine-year span. Green Bay won titles in 1936, 1939 and 1944. Chicago won it in 1940 (73-0 over Washington), 1941 and 1943. 1941 was the last time the Bears and Packers met three times in a season and the only time they have had a postseason meeting. After splitting their regular season meetings and both finishing 10-1, they played in the first ever division playoff game with the Bears winning 33-14. A year later, the Bears completed another undefeated regular season only to lose to Washington 14-6 in the championship game. During this nine-year span, the Packers and Bears split their head to head matches six times.
The Bears and Packers occasionally challenged for division titles in the 1950s but were shut out by the new powers of the league such as the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions (yes, I said Detroit Lions) and the Cleveland Browns who hold the record to this day for making six straight NFL Championship game appearances between 1950-1955.
With the arrival of Vince Lombardi, the Packers returned to glory in the 1960s winning NFL championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967 which included the first two Super Bowls victories. The Bears were no slouches during this time winning the championship in 1963. However, the Packers dominated the Bears head to head outside of 1963 winning 15 of the 20 matchups in the 1960’s.
After both teams struggled in the 1970’s, they were both at it in the 1980’s with the Packers making a playoff appearance in the strike shortened year of 1982. Due to seven games being cancelled, it marked the first time since 1922 that the Bears and Packers did not play each other. In 1985, the Bears has their famous 15-1 season and shuffled to their first Super Bowl victory. In 1989, the Packers and Bears were involved in the first NFL game to have its outcome reversed by a reviewed play that was overturned.
The Bears and Packers continued to make many playoff appearances in the 1990’s with the Packers winning the Super Bowl in 1996 and losing it in 1997. The Packers strung together a streak of 12 consecutive victories at Soldier Field which is the second longest streak ever for a visiting team.
The Packers continued to be regular playoff invitees this past decade but it is the Bears who have the Super Bowl appearance which came after the 2006 season, a loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Now the two teams clash to see which legendary franchise will make its next championship game trip. The Green Bay Packers have more championships than any other NFL team with 12. The Chicago Bears are next with 9. The Packers have played in the NFL/NFC Championship Game 15 times. The Bears have appeared in the NFL/NFC Championship Game 14 times. The Bears hold a 92-83-6 all time edge in meetings between the two teams. And of course they have the one playoff win between the two. Almost 70 years later comes the second meeting between the two most successful storied franchises in NFL history.
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Sunday, January 23 is an “up” that could only have been dreamed about before as a Packer fan. The Green Bay Packers will meet the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game for the right to go to the Super Bowl.
Amazing!
The NFL’s oldest rivalry on the biggest stage it can be on. Being an NFL historian, I like to look back at these two storied franchises to show just how big this game will be next Sunday. The two teams first met in 1921 when the Bears were in Decatur and called the Staleys. They prevailed with a 20-0 victory on their way to the first NFL title. For the Packers, it was one of only two losses that year. From 1928-1933, the two teams actually played against each other three times each season. In 1929, the Packers swept all three games shutting out the Bears all three times by a combined score of 62-0. The Packers went undefeated that season in route to their first NFL Championship. The Packers won two of three against the Bears the following two seasons, both of which the Packers won the NFL Championship. It was the second three-peat in NFL history following the Canton Bulldogs run in 1922-1924.
The Bears put an end to the Packers run in 1932 by winning the title. In three games between the teams that year, they went 1-1-1. The Packers won 2-0 in Chicago. The Bears won 9-0 in Chicago. And the teams finished in a scoreless tie in their one game in Green Bay. A year later, the Bears won the first NFL Championship game 23-21 over the New York Giants. They swept the Packers in the three games between the teams that season. In 1934, the Bears completed the first NFL regular season ever with no losses or ties but lost in the championship game to the 8-5 New York Giants 30-13 (so the Giants 2008 Super Bowl victory over the Patriots wasn’t the first time New York beat an undefeated team for the title).
Between 1936 and 1944, the Packers and Bears finished 1-2 in the old NFL Western Division every year except once. (The Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals and Cleveland Rams were the other teams in that division). Either the Packers or Bears went to the championship game every year during that nine-year span. Green Bay won titles in 1936, 1939 and 1944. Chicago won it in 1940 (73-0 over Washington), 1941 and 1943. 1941 was the last time the Bears and Packers met three times in a season and the only time they have had a postseason meeting. After splitting their regular season meetings and both finishing 10-1, they played in the first ever division playoff game with the Bears winning 33-14. A year later, the Bears completed another undefeated regular season only to lose to Washington 14-6 in the championship game. During this nine-year span, the Packers and Bears split their head to head matches six times.
The Bears and Packers occasionally challenged for division titles in the 1950s but were shut out by the new powers of the league such as the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions (yes, I said Detroit Lions) and the Cleveland Browns who hold the record to this day for making six straight NFL Championship game appearances between 1950-1955.
With the arrival of Vince Lombardi, the Packers returned to glory in the 1960s winning NFL championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967 which included the first two Super Bowls victories. The Bears were no slouches during this time winning the championship in 1963. However, the Packers dominated the Bears head to head outside of 1963 winning 15 of the 20 matchups in the 1960’s.
After both teams struggled in the 1970’s, they were both at it in the 1980’s with the Packers making a playoff appearance in the strike shortened year of 1982. Due to seven games being cancelled, it marked the first time since 1922 that the Bears and Packers did not play each other. In 1985, the Bears has their famous 15-1 season and shuffled to their first Super Bowl victory. In 1989, the Packers and Bears were involved in the first NFL game to have its outcome reversed by a reviewed play that was overturned.
The Bears and Packers continued to make many playoff appearances in the 1990’s with the Packers winning the Super Bowl in 1996 and losing it in 1997. The Packers strung together a streak of 12 consecutive victories at Soldier Field which is the second longest streak ever for a visiting team.
The Packers continued to be regular playoff invitees this past decade but it is the Bears who have the Super Bowl appearance which came after the 2006 season, a loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Now the two teams clash to see which legendary franchise will make its next championship game trip. The Green Bay Packers have more championships than any other NFL team with 12. The Chicago Bears are next with 9. The Packers have played in the NFL/NFC Championship Game 15 times. The Bears have appeared in the NFL/NFC Championship Game 14 times. The Bears hold a 92-83-6 all time edge in meetings between the two teams. And of course they have the one playoff win between the two. Almost 70 years later comes the second meeting between the two most successful storied franchises in NFL history.
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Saturday, January 1, 2011
Top 10 Sports Memories of 2010
2010 was a great year to be a sports fan. As far as a Wisconsin sports fan, the highlight was definitely the Badgers making a run to the Rose Bowl. But there were many other highlights and lowlights that made for a memorable year. In no way is this list what I consider to be the top ten sports events of the year. These are MY most memorable sports events of the year.
10. I can’t remember the last time a tennis match made my year-end Top 10. But the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon was amazing. Isner ended up winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. That’s right: 70-68. The match lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes and totaled 183 games. The final set alone was 8 hours, 11 minutes. It spanned three days. Isner still had to play a doubles match the same day (June 24) of the last day of this match. He also had to play the next round in singles the following day.
9.March 19 will go down as the day we moved and spent the first night in our new home. But during that move, I listened to one of the most entertaining college basketball games in recent memory. Northern Iowa held on to beat the number one overall seed in the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament 69-67. The end of the game featured all sorts of drama with Northern Iowa trying to hold on by hitting free throws and Kansas trying to hit threes to get back into the game. The highlight was Ali Farokhmanesh of Northern Iowa pulling up to hit an ill-advised three point shot to ice the game.
8. In another game I was unable to watch but makes my list is the Wisconsin Badgers defeating then #1-Ohio State 31-18 at Camp Randall Stadium on October 16. David Gilreath got the game started by returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. The Badgers jumped out to a big lead and then held on. It was the turning point in the season which started slow and finished huge.
7. Four weeks later, the Badgers who had already established themselves as one of the top teams in the country dropped a Big Ten record 83 points on Indiana in an amazing 83-20 win.
6. The Milwaukee Bucks shocked all of us this year by making a big trade for John Salmons. Combined with the breakout year from Andrew Bogut and the rookie sensation Brandon Jennings, the Bucks made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They were big underdogs to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round mainly due to the season-ending injury to Andrew Bogut. But the Bucks came back from a 2 games to none deficit to tie the series. Then on April 29, the Bucks went into Atlanta and won game 5, 91-87. Unfortunately, the Bucks could not close the deal two nights later at home and wound up losing the series in seven.
5. We had some good friends over to watch the Viking-Saints NFC Championship Game on January 24. It was the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings looking for their first Super Bowl appearance in over 30 years against the New Orleans Saints. The game was a barn burner and was going long. Our friends had to leave, and it was Caleb’s bedtime which left me to watch the unimaginable. The Vikings tied the game at 28 with less than five minutes left. And after a defensive stop, Minnesota got the ball back. Favre drove the Purple into field goal range when the Viking curse took hold. They were called for 12 men in the huddle which backed them into what would be a 50-plus yard field goal. With time for one more play before bringing on the field goal unit, Brett Favre rolled out and could have run for the additional yardage which would have set up a very makable field goal. Instead, he threw across the field and Tracy Porter made the interception which took the game into overtime. The Saints then won it on the first possession of OT when Garrett Hartley nailed a 40-yard field goal. I could not believe that Brett threw that pass. It was so ironic that just two years earlier, Brett threw an ill-advised interception for the Packers which also cost them the NFC Championship Game.
4.A week after the Ohio State-Wisconsin game, the Badgers went into Iowa to face the #13 Hawkeyes. We watched the game from our hospital room the day after Abby was born. And what a great game it was. The Badgers were not going to have a let down after defeating Ohio State. Trailing 30-24, the Badgers drove down the field taking almost the last seven minutes off the clock. The drive included a successful fake punt, a fourth down conversion and a terrific touchdown run by Monte Ball which put the Badgers up 31-30. They had to hang on after Iowa had a nice kick return. As they were closing in on field goal range, they were unable to stop the clock on the final play of the game and the Badgers held on. The season which featured three games where the Badgers scored 70 or more concluded with a trip to the Rose Bowl against TCU. The Badgers finished the year ranked #4 in the country.
3. The playoff game on December 10 won’t go down as a great memory, but it will be one of the best games I’ve ever seen. The Packers making their first playoff appearance with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, went into Arizona to play Kurt Warner and the defending NFC champion Cardinals. Arizona jumped out to a huge lead, but the Packers fought back valiantly in the second half. Aaron Rodgers threw for over 400 yards and four touchdowns including a game tying score with under two minutes left to make it 45-45. The Packers got the ball to start the overtime period. On the first play from scrimmage, Rodgers just missed a wide open Greg Jennings which would have ended the game. Two plays later, Rodgers was sacked and fumbled. Arizona returned the loose ball for a touchdown to win the game 51-45. An amazing second half of the season and a very memorable playoff game resulted in heartbreak.
2. We brought home our new baby girl on October 24. A few hours later we were watching the big Minnesota-Green Bay Sunday night game. Would this be the night that the Packers finally exercised the demons and beat Brett Favre? The answer didn’t come until the very end. Both Favre and Rodgers were playing very well in the first half. Then Favre threw a couple picks which gave the Packers a 11-point second half lead. But Brett and the Vikings stormed back and nearly pulled out the victory in the closing seconds when Favre threw to Percy Harvin in the back of the end zone. Initially ruled a touchdown, replay officials noticed that Percy had one foot out of bounds which reversed the call. The Packer defense held and Green Bay emerged with a 28-24 victory. The Viking ship sunk quickly after the loss with Brad Childress getting fired, Randy Moss being released, Brett Favre’s streak ending and the Metrodome roof collapsing. Meanwhile, the Packers continued to battle against a slew of injuries to stay in the playoff race throughout the season.
1. My number one memory might make a lot of you question the validity of my list, but I thought long and hard about this and it truly was an incredible moment. I really got into the World Cup this past summer. It was great to have a U.S. team with an incredible goalie and some big time play makers. Their group play started with an upset draw with England and then a disappointing draw with Slovenia. The Americans were faced with a situation where they needed to win against Algeria on June 23 in order to advance. The game was scoreless until the 92nd minute when Landon Donovan put in a rebound shot to win the game 1-0 for the United States. The drama, the call, the reaction of fans across the country and the understanding that this is the world’s number one sporting event made this moment my top sports memory of 2010.
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10. I can’t remember the last time a tennis match made my year-end Top 10. But the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon was amazing. Isner ended up winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. That’s right: 70-68. The match lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes and totaled 183 games. The final set alone was 8 hours, 11 minutes. It spanned three days. Isner still had to play a doubles match the same day (June 24) of the last day of this match. He also had to play the next round in singles the following day.
9.March 19 will go down as the day we moved and spent the first night in our new home. But during that move, I listened to one of the most entertaining college basketball games in recent memory. Northern Iowa held on to beat the number one overall seed in the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament 69-67. The end of the game featured all sorts of drama with Northern Iowa trying to hold on by hitting free throws and Kansas trying to hit threes to get back into the game. The highlight was Ali Farokhmanesh of Northern Iowa pulling up to hit an ill-advised three point shot to ice the game.
8. In another game I was unable to watch but makes my list is the Wisconsin Badgers defeating then #1-Ohio State 31-18 at Camp Randall Stadium on October 16. David Gilreath got the game started by returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. The Badgers jumped out to a big lead and then held on. It was the turning point in the season which started slow and finished huge.
7. Four weeks later, the Badgers who had already established themselves as one of the top teams in the country dropped a Big Ten record 83 points on Indiana in an amazing 83-20 win.
6. The Milwaukee Bucks shocked all of us this year by making a big trade for John Salmons. Combined with the breakout year from Andrew Bogut and the rookie sensation Brandon Jennings, the Bucks made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They were big underdogs to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round mainly due to the season-ending injury to Andrew Bogut. But the Bucks came back from a 2 games to none deficit to tie the series. Then on April 29, the Bucks went into Atlanta and won game 5, 91-87. Unfortunately, the Bucks could not close the deal two nights later at home and wound up losing the series in seven.
5. We had some good friends over to watch the Viking-Saints NFC Championship Game on January 24. It was the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings looking for their first Super Bowl appearance in over 30 years against the New Orleans Saints. The game was a barn burner and was going long. Our friends had to leave, and it was Caleb’s bedtime which left me to watch the unimaginable. The Vikings tied the game at 28 with less than five minutes left. And after a defensive stop, Minnesota got the ball back. Favre drove the Purple into field goal range when the Viking curse took hold. They were called for 12 men in the huddle which backed them into what would be a 50-plus yard field goal. With time for one more play before bringing on the field goal unit, Brett Favre rolled out and could have run for the additional yardage which would have set up a very makable field goal. Instead, he threw across the field and Tracy Porter made the interception which took the game into overtime. The Saints then won it on the first possession of OT when Garrett Hartley nailed a 40-yard field goal. I could not believe that Brett threw that pass. It was so ironic that just two years earlier, Brett threw an ill-advised interception for the Packers which also cost them the NFC Championship Game.
4.A week after the Ohio State-Wisconsin game, the Badgers went into Iowa to face the #13 Hawkeyes. We watched the game from our hospital room the day after Abby was born. And what a great game it was. The Badgers were not going to have a let down after defeating Ohio State. Trailing 30-24, the Badgers drove down the field taking almost the last seven minutes off the clock. The drive included a successful fake punt, a fourth down conversion and a terrific touchdown run by Monte Ball which put the Badgers up 31-30. They had to hang on after Iowa had a nice kick return. As they were closing in on field goal range, they were unable to stop the clock on the final play of the game and the Badgers held on. The season which featured three games where the Badgers scored 70 or more concluded with a trip to the Rose Bowl against TCU. The Badgers finished the year ranked #4 in the country.
3. The playoff game on December 10 won’t go down as a great memory, but it will be one of the best games I’ve ever seen. The Packers making their first playoff appearance with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, went into Arizona to play Kurt Warner and the defending NFC champion Cardinals. Arizona jumped out to a huge lead, but the Packers fought back valiantly in the second half. Aaron Rodgers threw for over 400 yards and four touchdowns including a game tying score with under two minutes left to make it 45-45. The Packers got the ball to start the overtime period. On the first play from scrimmage, Rodgers just missed a wide open Greg Jennings which would have ended the game. Two plays later, Rodgers was sacked and fumbled. Arizona returned the loose ball for a touchdown to win the game 51-45. An amazing second half of the season and a very memorable playoff game resulted in heartbreak.
2. We brought home our new baby girl on October 24. A few hours later we were watching the big Minnesota-Green Bay Sunday night game. Would this be the night that the Packers finally exercised the demons and beat Brett Favre? The answer didn’t come until the very end. Both Favre and Rodgers were playing very well in the first half. Then Favre threw a couple picks which gave the Packers a 11-point second half lead. But Brett and the Vikings stormed back and nearly pulled out the victory in the closing seconds when Favre threw to Percy Harvin in the back of the end zone. Initially ruled a touchdown, replay officials noticed that Percy had one foot out of bounds which reversed the call. The Packer defense held and Green Bay emerged with a 28-24 victory. The Viking ship sunk quickly after the loss with Brad Childress getting fired, Randy Moss being released, Brett Favre’s streak ending and the Metrodome roof collapsing. Meanwhile, the Packers continued to battle against a slew of injuries to stay in the playoff race throughout the season.
1. My number one memory might make a lot of you question the validity of my list, but I thought long and hard about this and it truly was an incredible moment. I really got into the World Cup this past summer. It was great to have a U.S. team with an incredible goalie and some big time play makers. Their group play started with an upset draw with England and then a disappointing draw with Slovenia. The Americans were faced with a situation where they needed to win against Algeria on June 23 in order to advance. The game was scoreless until the 92nd minute when Landon Donovan put in a rebound shot to win the game 1-0 for the United States. The drama, the call, the reaction of fans across the country and the understanding that this is the world’s number one sporting event made this moment my top sports memory of 2010.
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