The Bad, the ugly, and the Juice

Reviewing the top sports stories of 2007

Ajitpaul Mangat, Staff

Steroids. Gambling. Dogfighting. That is regrettably what the 2007 sports year will be most remembered for. But it was never supposed to be like that. In fact, January 2007 saw a string of memorable matches that seemed to prophesy a year that sports fans would cherish.

The opening day of the year featured Boise State’s improbable 43-42 overtime victory over heavy favourites Oklahoma in NCAA football, two days later the World Junior Hockey Championships semi-finals produced a memorable 2-1 overtime victory by eventual champions Canada over the United States when Jonathan Toews scored on the 13th penalty shot of the shootout, and finally, Jan. 21 saw the Indianapolis Colts exercise their demons in the most thrilling fashion, as they came back from an 18-point second-quarter deficit to defeat their rivals, the New England Patriots, 38-34, en route to winning Super Bowl XLI.

But those exhilarating moments became a distant memory, as the following months ignited a firestorm of controversy that never relented.

No sport was hit harder this past year than Major League Baseball. The most hated player in the sport, Barry Bonds, captured its most hallowed of records, Hank Aaron’s career homerun mark. The Mitchell Report shined a spotlight on the game’s biggest shame — steroids — and implicated some of its most beloved players, including pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Even the once-galvanizing and adored Boston Red Sox could not cure baseball’s ails, as their second championship bought with an excessive payroll made them less loveable and more Yankee-like. With bumbling commissioner Bud Selig running things and the fallout from the Mitchell Report impending, 2007 could spark a post-1994 “strike-esque” demise for a league that seems hell-bent on ruin.

The 2007 NBA season should be remembered for what was one of the most exciting playoffs in recent memory, featuring the ascension of Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James to pantheon status, the Golden State Warriors improbable, enthralling run, and the memorable San Antonio Spurs-Phoenix Suns series. It would have been, if not for a massive, sport-altering betting scandal that exposed corrupt referee Tim Donaghy, who, it was revealed, fixed games during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. With the entire credibility of the league in question, evil genius commissioner David Stern and his minions did a marvellous job of dampening the controversy, but 2007 left an indelible black mark on the NBA that even a resurgent Boston Celtics franchise cannot immediately wash away.

Even the juggernaut NFL had its share of troubles this season. Michael Vick. Pacman Jones. Tank Johnson. And, lest we forget, O.J. Simpson .who was back in the news for all the wrong reasons. They collectively left the NFL with serious PR and image concerns. New England Patriots quarterback, and NFL poster boy, Tom Brady did his best to shift the focus, by breaking all sorts of passing records and leading his team to a perfect 16-0 regular season record, but even his exploits were tainted by Bill Belichick’s spy-gate escapades. When the NFL has a down year you know things were bad.

Other scandal-free sports gave little solace to the beleaguered sports fan. The NHL produced dull playoffs, with no thrilling seven-game series and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks easily dispatching of the Ottawa Senators in a one-sided finals. Tiger Woods and Roger Federer continued to predictably dominate their respective sports, golf and tennis. When you add the tragic death of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor and the sad loss of one of football’s great coaches, Bill Walsh, 2007 truly was a year sports fans are happy to be rid of.

Now excuse me while I try to remember the few sports moments that brought me joy in 2007 (see: The Best of 2007 in Sports).