Mattie T’s Top 10 Sports Moments of the Decade
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on December 31, 2009
Now that we are less than 5 hours away from ringing in 2010, it is time for me to look back & give my readers The Top 10 Sports Moments of the Decade, at least in my own eyes! 🙂
#10.
Ron Artest’s Brawl at the Palace.
Before this ugly Motown melee took place, it was a rather normal evening at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, as the Pacers led 97-82 over the Pistons with under a minute remaining.
It all started when Ron Artest applied a hard foul to Ben Wallace, who retaliated with a shove.
Artest put both of his hands up as he walked over to the scorer’s table & lied down on his back, as he tried to play peacemaker with former Pacer great Reggie Miller defending him.
That role didn’t last long, as a cup of beer from the crowd hit Artest in the face, as he immediately charged the stands after the wrong fan. John Green (who admitted to throwing the cup of beer onto Artest & is now banned lifetime from attending any Pistons home games) was the first person to grab him, as Stephen Jackson also charged the stands as teammate Eddie Gill tried to restrain him.
Artest then returned to the court, where he struck a Piston fan in the face before shortly being escorted off the court by an assistant coach despite fans pelting objects in his direction.
As a result of the brawl, Artest was suspended for the remainder of the regular season plus playoffs, which turned out to be 86 games.
Stephen Jackson received a 30-game suspension for his actions, while Jermaine O’Neal got 15 games & Anthony Johnson got 5 games.
Ben Wallace had Detroit’s biggest suspension at 6 games, while 4 different players got one game each.
#9.
Michael Jordan unretires for the 2nd time.
On September 25th, 2001, Michael Jordan decided to un-retire & play for the Washington Wizards, which ended his 13 years with the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan did have some memorable moments as a Wizard, as he was selected as an 2003 NBA All-Star & surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points scored in ASG history.
In that same game, he nearly wound up as the hero after sinking a memorable jumper over Shawn Marion to give the East a 1-point lead late into the 1st overtime.
The West would rally thanks to a foul by Jermaine O’Neal in the 2nd overtime, as that would wind up being Michael’s final All-Star Game apperance.
Jordan’s final NBA Game was played on April 16th, 2003 in Philadephia as head coach Doug Collins obliged to put him back into the game despite Washington trailing in a blowout loss, as the crowd began “We Want Mike” chants for most of the 2nd half.
#8.
Phil Jackson wins an NBA-Record 10th championship.
17,461 fans at Orlando’s Amway Arena witnessed history on June 14th, 2008 as Phil Jackson became the first ever NBA coach to win ten championships following his Los Angeles Lakers’ 99-86 win over the Orlando Magic, which clinched the Lakers’ 15th title.
Los Angeles’ 100-75 rout in Game 1 gave Phil Jackson-coached teams an astonshing 44-0 record when winning the first game of a playoff series, which dates all the way back to 1989 with the Chicago Bulls.
Jackson has amazingly also never missed the playoffs in each of the 18 seasons he’s coached, while their current 25-6 record is the best in the NBA for the 2009-10 season.
#7.
George Mason’s improbable run to the Final Four.
The George Mason Colonials’ winningiest season in school history took them on a magical ride during the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, as they stunned national powerhouses such as Michigan State, North Carolina & Connecticut on the way to their first ever Final Four appearence.
Their Cinderella run ended after their 73-58 loss to eventual National Championship winner Florida, but their journey will be remembered forever as the most successful by a mid-major school.
#6.
Kobe goes for 81.
On January 22nd, 2006, the STAPLES CENTER in Los Angeles enjoyed the 2nd best scoring output in league history, as Laker guard Kobe Bryant erupted for a career-high 81 points during the team’s 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors.
The amazing part about the historic feat is that Bryant scored 55 of his 81 points after halftime, as Los Angeles enjoyed a plus 32 margin in scoring during the explosion.
Here’s what Kobe had to say afterwards:
“I was just determined. (I was) just locked in, tuned in to what was going on out there and (blocked) everything out. I zeroed in on being more aggressive and setting the tempo. This was very similar to the Dallas (scored previous career-high of 62 points on December 20th, 2005) game as far as my mentality.”
#5.
Vince Young steals the show as Texas stuns USC in the Rose Bowl.
In quite possibly the best National Championship Game ever played in the history of college football, the Texas Longhorns ended an NCAA record 34-game winning streak by USC behind an unbelieveable performance from quarterback Vince Young during the spectacular 41-38 win.
Young was so dominant in this game that he amassed an eye-popping 467 yards from scrimmage (267 passing, 200 rushing) as he rushed for 3 touchdowns, which included the 8-yard game winner with just 19 seconds remaining, as he helped the Longhorns claim their first National Championship in 36 years.
Three other players in the 2006 Rose Bowl went on to be top 10 picks in the NFL the following season, which included USC’s Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush & Texas’ Michael Huff.
That victory was also the 800th in school history for the Longhorns.
#4.
Patriots go 16-0 in the “perfect” regular season.
Little did New England know that 2007 off-season acquistions such as Randy Moss & Wes Welker would help the team do something that no other NFL franchise had done before.
The Patriots not only became the first team in league history to finish the regular season with a perfect 16-0 mark, but they also had a pair of record-setting performances from their two best offensive players.
Tom Brady became the first quarterback ever to throw 50 touchdown passes in a season, while Randy Moss broke Jerry Rice’s old mark with 23 touchdown receptions, which is the most ever by a wide receiver.
New England also scored 589 points, which makes them the highest scoring team in league history.
It all went to naught though, as the New York Giants delivered an 17-14 upset in Super Bowl XLII which prevented the New England Patriots from becoming the first franchise since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to finish a season & win the Super Bowl with no losses.
#3.
The Super Bowl that was “inches short” of going into overtime.
In quite possibly the best Super Bowl ever, the St. Louis Rams completed an amazing 1-year turnaround as they won the NFL’s biggest game just one year after a 14-loss season & with a quarterback who was a grocery stock boy just 5 years prior to his biggest moment as a professional athlete.
The Rams built a 16-0 lead in Super Bowl XXXIV until the Tennessee Titans stormed back with 16 unanswered points to tie the game with 2:12 remaining in the 4th quarter.
St. Louis wasted no time re-taking the lead, as Kurt Warner hit Issac Bruce for a 73-yard touchdown pass which put them a little under 2 minutes away from winning the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl.
Tennessee was not done, as they drove 80 yards in 1:48 to set up 1st & Goal at the Rams’ 10-yard line with just 6 seconds remaining, as they had time for one more play to try & force the first overtime in Super Bowl history.
Kevin Dyson came just inches short of doing that, as he caught a short pass from Steve McNair & was wrapped up by Rams linebacker Mike Jones, as he made every effort possible to stretch the football past the goal line in an effort to score a dramatic touchdown.
Dyson came just inches short of scoring, as the Rams began their celebration with their first ever Super Bowl win.
Rams receiver Isaac Bruce had the 3rd highest yardage total (162) in Super Bowl history, while Titans quarterback Steve McNair set a Super Bowl record with 64 rushing yards, which is the highest total ever for a quarterback.
#2.
Cubs collapse just 5 outs away from the 2003 World Series.
In Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field, infamous Cub fan Steve Bartman interfered with his hometown team’s’ hopes of reaching their first World Series appearence in 58 years after making contact with leftfielder Moises Alou during Luis Castillos’ at-bat, who wound up reaching base on a Mark Prior wild pitch.
Later in that horrific 8th inning, shortstop Alex Gonzalez bobbled a potential inning-ending doubleplay, which loaded the bases for Derrek Lee.
Lee tied it with a 2-run double, which ended Prior’s ending.
It didn’t get any better with Kyle Farnsworth, who intentionally walked Mike Lowell to load the bases.
Jeff Conine then followed with a sacrifice fly, which scored Miguel Cabrera (reached safely on Gonzalez’s error) to score from 3rd base & give Florida a 4-3 lead.
After Todd Hollandsworth was intentionally walked, Mike Mordecai would shortly deliver a punishing blow, as his bases-clearing double gave the Marlins a 7-3 lead & forced Dusty Baker to remove Farnsworth from the game.
Mike Remlinger gave up an RBI single to Pierre (who batted for the 2nd time in the inning), but did retire Luis Castillo to finally end the 8-run inning.
The Cubs would go on to lose that game & Game 7, as Florida went on to win the World Series for just the 2nd time in the team’s 11 years of existence.
#1.
Red Sox rally from 0-3 deficit to win 2004 ALCS.
In perhaps the biggest comeback ever in professional sports, the Boston Red Sox become the first team ever to win a playoff series after trailing 3 games to none against their rival New York Yankees.
Dave Roberts got it all started with a 9th inning steal in Game 4, as he wound up scoring the game-tying run which sent it into extra innings.
In the bottom of the 12th inning, David Ortiz made sure his Red Sox lived to play another day as his 2-run walkoff homer gave Boston a 6-4 win & forced Game 5.
The Red Sox rallied from a 4-2 deficit in Game 5 & tied it on a solo homer from Ortiz & a sacrifice fly from Jason Varitek, which once again sent the game into extra innings.
For the 2nd straight evening, Ortiz emerged as the hero with a 14th inning walkoff single, which gave Boston a 5-4 win & sent the series back to Yankee Stadium for Game 6.
That’s when Curt Schilling put on perhaps the best start of his big-league career to force a seventh & decisive gaem, as he pitched 7 strong innings despite a bloody sock, which was caused by a torn tendon in Schilling’s right ankle that he pitched with on that night.
In Game 7, the Yankees never put up much of a fight after Johnny Damon’s 2nd inning grand slam, which gave the Red Sox a commanding 6-0 lead in a game they would wind up winning 10-3, which clinched their first American League pennant since 1986.
The Red Sox would go on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in 4 games to claim their first World Series championship in 86 years.
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DJ Special Blend from Chicago On January 31, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Nice picks my-dude!!!