2010 has brought us another exciting, drama-filled year in sports. Locally, the Jets are running their mouths as the best team in sports and hold a 9-3 record, yet they have only beaten one team with a record above .500.
The Giants were outmatched by a quarterback who hasn’t started since 2006 and has served jail time in between.
Oakland pitcher Dallas Braden and his catcher, Landon Powell, share a hug after Braden’s perfect game in April. It was the first of two perfect games during the 2010 baseball season.
The Yankees just ended the circus free agency signing with Derek Jeter that was about as exciting as Ben Stein’s voice.
The Mets have added a Terry and a Sandy to their front office; and I don’t mean the ladies that appeared in Grease.
The Islanders and the Nets seem a little lost, which isn’t a surprise.
The Devils sit just above the Islanders, which is a surprise.
The only team that hasn’t given us anything to talk about are the New York Rangers … and that’s probably a good thing.
This year brought us a lot of positive things as well. The New Orleans ‘Aints helped a city stand on its feet with an unlikely victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. The San Francisco Giants won their first World Series since they departed New York. The LA Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in a rematch similar to the days of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The Red Bulls came close to winning the MLS championship, but fell in the semi-finals to the San Jose Earthquakes. In an attempt to bring some excitement to the MLS the Red Bulls signed international French star Thierry Henry, a contract that cost less and provided a better turnout than the David Beckham signing that happened a few years back. Beckham’s career to Americans can be compared to Carmen San Diego or Waldo; where has it gone?
Baseball saw three perfect games in a season. Well, technically, there were only two: Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics and Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies. Armando Galarraga came close to being the third, but was denied a chance at history by umpire Jim Joyce. It was a game that’s sure to live in infamy with not only the players involved, but fans of the sport as well. It was a game that’s sure to lead to further use of instant replay in baseball, another thing that will be remembered by sports fans for years to come.
USC seemed on top of the college football world, but their coach bolted to the NFL and joined the Seattle Seahawks, and their starting player during that era was revoked of his Heisman Trophy. This led to the likes of Auburn, Oregon and TCU rounding out the top three teams respectively. The only classic powerhouse college team in the top ten is Ohio State.
What we didn’t see this year was the implementation of a playoff system for college football. But when every college football team plays in a bowl game there probably isn’t a need for a playoff system.
2010 also saw the rise of MMA, a fiercer form of boxing that lets fighters use every part of their body that isn’t just below the belt. Boxing’s biggest headline is their loss of fans and funds — the people that decided MMA was more exciting to watch. Maybe it’s because the most exciting thing to happen in boxing this year was the Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather fight that never happened.
2011 is sure to be as exciting as 2010 and the drama that will ensue will surpass that of all the MTV “reality” shows. Maybe Jimmie Johnson will win his sixth straight NASCAR title, or Tiger Woods will regain his number one ranking. Maybe Roger Federer will retake the number one tennis ranking from Rafael Nadal. At this point, everything is just speculation. There is always uncertainty heading into a new year. Something new and exciting is bound to happen soon after the ball drops. Until then, we still have the rest of 2010.
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