- A-Rod gets his ring
It’s about time, $250 million man! I’m not a huge baseball guy, but you don’t have to be to know that the Yankees buy themselves championships. That being said, you buy talent, and talent brings home the gold. Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and the rest of the team from New York proved that they were the most talented players in the world last season. A-Rod came up big in clutch situations; he was not just an average contributor. He truly deserves to be labeled a champion (except for the whole steroids thing).
- Gilbert Arenas keeps guns in arenas!
We’ve all heard of professional athletes getting in trouble with the law for having illegal weapons on them (Plaxico Burress anyone?), but Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards has set a new standard for stupidity. Initial reports claimed that Arenas pulled a gun on teammate Jarvaris Crittenton in the locker room after he had apparently refused to settle a poker debt. Arenas denies such claims, and explained to the press that he only keeps guns in the locker room so they are safely out of the reach of his children. Such sensibility. As we move forwards, details of the story are constantly changing, but Gilbert has been suspended from the NBA indefinitely, and the United States might want to consider doing the same.
- Farewell Tim Tebow
After what many call the best career in college football of all time, Tim Tebow will finally be too old to play quarterback for the University of Florida Gators next year. Thankfully!
6.The 2010 winter Olympic Games (men’s hockey leading the way)
I know the commercials say it, and I know, the commercials are lame, but the fact remains that Canada has never won an Olympic Gold Medal on home soil. Take that into account with our shameful performance in men’s hockey in Torino in 2006, and this year’s tournament becomes, as Ron Burgundy would say, “kind of a big deal.” I was in complete awe at the attention that was given to the Canadian Junior team in Saskatchewan last week as they lost in the gold medal game to the United States, and the Olympics is simply that much bigger. Crosby, Staal, Iginla, Toews — it sounds like a team that could not fail, but if history has taught us anything it is that the team chemistry is what wins games, not individual ability. Regardless of men’s hockey however, Vancouver 2010 should be a monumental experience, especially for Canadians.
- Kobe wins without Shaq
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers finally did what the Diesel said they couldn’t do: win without him. Sorry Shaq, let’s see if you and LeBron can match.
- Chris Johnson rushes for 2,000 yards this season
Two thousand and six, to be exact. Maybe even more impressively, CJ broke the all-time yards from scrimmage record previously held by Rams runner Marshall Faulk. Only six other men in NFL history have rushed for 2,000 yards in a single season (one of them being O.J. Simpson, hmmm).
- Oh Tiger . . .
Tiger, tell me it isn’t true! You’re so wholesome, you’re so proper, you’re so — human? Unfortunately so. In what can only be called a media catastrophe, Tiger Woods has recently been busted cheating on his wife Elin with several women. Apparently he feels the city of Las Vegas is his private Augusta National where he can just let his balls do the talking. Tiger has been dropped by huge sponsors like Accenture and AT&T, and he has taken a leave of absence from professional golf, for the time being. Despite the fact that this whole scandal became public after Tiger crashed his Escalade into a tree, these are mistakes Woods can’t blame on his caddy!
- The storied comeback of the Cincinatti Bengals
What an astounding year it has been for the most endangered species in the NFL. The Bengals climbed their way back to the top of their division and are in the playoffs again for the first time since the 2005 season. They went undefeated in their division, which includes the Steelers and Ravens. But the 2009 season hasn’t been all Cincinatti sweetness. It began with heartbreak when Broncos’ receiver Brandon Stokley caught a tipped ball and took it in for a last second touchdown to beat the Bengals in week one. At the beginning of October, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmerman’s wife passed away suddenly two days before a game. And most famously, just a few weeks ago on Dec. 17, wide receiver Chris Henry got involved in a dispute with his fiancee that led to him falling off of the back of a moving pickup truck, only to hit his head and die. One word sums up this season for the nicknamed “Cardiac Cats”: resiliency. They came back to win four straight games after the deflating week-one loss, including a huge game against Baltimore after the passing of Zimmerman’s wife. In what seemed like an impossibility, the controversial Cedric Benson rushed for over 1200 yards as he, quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receiver Chad Ochocinco all enjoyed huge comeback seasons. Finally, after the tragic loss of Henry, one of the emotional pillars of the squad, Palmer, Ochocinco and the daunting defense closed out the season just as they needed to, with a divisional title. It will certainly be hard to root against the Bengals this postseason.
- Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre . . .
I hate to make him number one, but I would simply be ignoring the obvious. If 2009 belonged to one certain athlete, then his name is Brett Favre. The 40-year old QB dominated more headlines when he came out of retirement for the third time to join the Minnesota Vikings than any other athlete this year, and the attention kept pouring in as the Vikings had a great season, and Brett had one of the best years of his historical career. The Monday Night Football game between the Vikes and Packers at the beginning of October drew the largest cable audience of all time, being watched by close to 22 million people. As the Vikes gear up for the playoffs, don’t expect the Favre-a-palooza to end anytime soon.
