Mattie T’s Top 10 Sports Stories of 2006

Now that 2006 is coming to an end, i’d like to share my Top 10 Sports Stories of the year.

10. Bob Knight tying Dean Smith for most wins among Division I Coaches.

On December 23rd, Knight tied Smith with his 879th victory & will break Smith’s record with his next win.

Smith recorded his 879 wins in 36 years while Knight will break the record in his 34th year of cooaching.

Knight failed in his first attempt to break the historic record on Friday as UNLV defeated Texas Tech 74-66.

Knight will get his 2nd try on New Year’s Day when Texas Tech hosts New Mexico.

9. Allen Iverson traded to the Denver Nuggets, ending a 10 year run with Philadelphia.

Superstar G Allen Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets on December 20th in exchange for G Andre Miller, F Joe Smith, F Ivan McFarlin & two 2007 1st-round draft picks.

The trade ended a 10 year tenure for Iverson in Philadelphia which saw him make 7 All-Star apperances (won 2 All-Star Game MVP awards), 4 scoring titles & 1 League MVP award. (The Sixers made their last Finals apperance the same year Iverson won league MVP.)

Iverson has averaged 28.8 points per game, 9 assists per game & 2 steals per game while shooting 46.6% in his first 4 games with Denver.

In 15 games with Philadelphia before the trade, Iverson averaged 31.2 points per game (2nd in NBA), 7.3 assists per game & 2.2 steals (10th in NBA) per game while shooting 41.3% from the field.

8. The Detroit Tigers appearing in the World Series 3 years after an 120+ loss season.

In Jim Leyland’s 1st season as manager, he guided the team to a 95-67 record & led the franchise to their first World Series apperance since they beat the San Diego Padres in 5 games during the ‘84 season.

The 95 wins were the highest by the franchise since they went 98-64 & won their last division title in ‘87 with Sparky Anderson as the team’s manager.

Detroit built their 2006 team around pitching, as they led the majors with a 3.84 ERA.

The Tigers had 4 pitchers within the AL’s top 15 earned run average. (Verlander, Robertson, Rogers & Bonderman)

Their rotation was led by a pair of 17-game winners.

19 year veteran Kenny Rogers went 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA in 204 innings pitched.

Rogers was sensational in the postseason, compliing a 3-0 record with a 0.00 ERA in 23 innings pitched.

Rookie phenom Justin Verlander went 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA (in 186 innings pitched.

Verlander struggled in the postseason, compliing a 1-2 record with a 5.82 ERA in 21.2 innings pitched.

The Tigers had a reliable closer in Todd Jones, who finished 6th in the majors with 37 saves & walked only 11 batters all season.

However, Jones led the MLB’s top 10 closers in ‘06 in hits allowed (70) & batting average against (.276)

Other Tigers that stood out in 2006 included:

OF Carlos Guillen, who finished 8th in the AL with a .400 on base percentage, 9th in the AL with a .320 batting average & 10th in the AL with 41 doubles.

OF Curtis Granderson, who tied for 3rd (Ichiro) in the AL with 9 triples.

However, Granderson also led the AL with 174 strikeouts.

SP Jeremy Bonderman, who finished 9th in the AL with 214 innings pitched & 2nd in the AL with 202 strikeouts.

7. The death of Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.

When the 45 year old Puckett (born in Chicago, IL) passed away on March 7th, the Minnesota Twins & all of Major League Baseball lost one of the most clutch hitters of all-time.

In 1991, Puckett became just the 9th player to end a World Series game with a home run on the final pitch, which helped the Twins to force a Game 7 against the Atlanta Braves.

Minnesota went on to win Game 7, while collecting their 2nd World Series trophy in 4 years. (The Twins also won a World Series title in 1987.)

The 10 time All-Star & 6 time Gold Glove winner finished with a .318 lifetime batting average, which was the highest for any right-handed batter since World War II.

Puckett retired in March of 1996 after learning that he suffered glaucoma (blurred vision in the eyes) as the Twins’ all-time leader in hits (2,304), doubles (414), total bases (3,453), at-bats (7,244) & runs (1,071).

Puckett’s #34 was retired by the Twins in 1997 & he was selected to the Twins’ 40th Season Anniversary All-Time & the Twins’ Hall of Fame in 2000.

Puckett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, that made him at the time the 3rd youngest-living electee in baseball history behind Sandy Koufax & Lou Gehrig.

6. Dwyane Wade’s one-man show in the NBA Finals.

In a 2003 draft that included LeBron James & Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade was often the most overlooked player out of the trio.

Wade’s efforts during June’s NBA Finals made him the 1st player out of the threesome to reach the Finals & win an NBA Championship.

After being held to 51 points in the first 2 games of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks (both losses), Wade exploded for 157 points in the next 4 games (average of 39.3 PPG) that helped Miami dig out of an 0-2 hole & win their first NBA Championship in franchise history.

The Heat became just the 3rd team in Finals history to rebound from an 0-2 deficit to win the Championship.

The previous team to pull off the feat were the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, who beat the Philadelphia 76ers in 6 games after losing the first 2 games.

Wade averaged 34.7 PPG in his first ever Finals apperance, which is the 3rd highest average in league history behind only Rick Barry (40.8) & Allen Iverson (35.6).

5. The death of Boston Celtics’ legend Red Auerbach.

When the 89 year old Auerbach passed away on October 29th, the NBA lost the man who was largely responible for Boston’s 9 titles from the 1950-60’s, which included a NBA-record 8 straight championships from 1959 to 1966.

Auerbach stepped down as coach & took over the team’s general manager position, watching the Celtics win 7 more championships through the 1970’s & 80’s, bringing them to 16 total titles, which still ranks 1st in NBA history.

Auerbach was also responsible for trades that brought Bill Russell, Robert Parish & Kevin McHale to Boston.

He also drafted Larry Bird a year early to make sure that the Indiana State junior would come to Boston.

Auerbach also coached players during his championship run that included Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, Bill Sharman, K.C. Jones & Sam Jones. (All 5 players were inducted into the Hall of Fame.)

Auerbach was famous for his traditional victory cigar when he was sure of a Celtics triumph.

4. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ historic Super Bowl season.

As the #6 seed in the AFC in January, the Pittsburgh Steelers had to do the unthinkable:

Win 3 road games in order to get to Detroit for Super Bowl XL.

Their first opponent was the Cincinnati Bengals during Wild Card Weekend at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH.

Pittsburgh recovered from an early 10-0 deficit to post a 31-17 road win to advance to the AFC Divisional Playoffs.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger completed 14 of 19 passes for 208 yards & 3 touchdowns, which included a 43 yard flea flicker from Roethlisberger to WR Cedrick Wilson.

Up next were the top-seeded Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.

Pittsburgh held a 21-3 lead on Jerome Bettis’ 1 yard touchdown run late in the 3rd quarter before Indianapolis attempted their comeback.

The Colts scored on a 50 yard touchdown pass from QB Peyton Manning to TE Dallas Clark & a 3 yard touchdown run by RB Edgerrin James (which was followed by a successful 2 point conversion from Manning to WR Reggie Wayne.)

Manning was sacked on 4th & 16 at the Colts’ 2 yard line, which appeared to end the game.

But the Steelers had to try & deliver another touchdown to put the game away with the Colts’ having all 3 of their timeouts to use.

On Pittsburgh’s first play of the drive, Bettis fumbled for the first time all season when he was hit by Colts LB Gary Brackett.

Colts CB Nick Harper recovered the fumble & raced downfield to what appeared to be the go-ahead touchdown.

But Roethlisberger made a game-saving tackle (later titled as “The Immaculate Redemption”, bringing down Harper at the Colts’ 42 yard line.

The Colts then drove the ball down to the Steelers’ 28 yard line before K Mike Vanderjagt missed a 45 yard field goal that would’ve tied the game.

It was Vanderjagt’s first miss all season at the RCA Dome.

Pittsburgh advanced to the AFC Championship Game with the win, the first #6 seed to do so in NFL history.

Up next were the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game with the winner earning a trip to Super Bowl XL in Detroit, MI.

Pittsburgh scored three 1st half touchdowns (12 yard reception by Cedrick Wilson, 3 yard run by Jerome Bettis & a 17 yard reception by Hines Ward) & forced 4 turnovers to take a commanding 24-3 lead at halftime.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger finished off the scoring with a 4 yard touchdown run with 3:05 remaining in the game to seal the win & make Pittsburgh the first #6 seed in NFL History to reach the Super Bowl.

The Steelers met up with the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL for the right to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the NFL Champions.

Pittsburgh scored the first touchdown of Super Bowl XL on Ben Roethlisberger’s 1 yard run in the 2nd quarter to give the Steelers a 7-3 lead.

Steelers RB Willie Parker made some NFL history in the 3rd quarter.

Parker broke off a 75 yard run for a touchdown to give Pittsburgh a 14-3 lead.

The 75 yard run is the longest in Super Bowl History.

Marcus Allen held the previous mark with a 74 yard touchdown run during Super Bowl XVIII. (Raiders won 38-9.)

Seattle scored their only touchdown of Super Bowl XL on QB Matt Hasselbeck’s 16 yard touchdown pass to TE Jerramy Stevens to make it 14-10 Steelers with 6:45 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Pittsburgh scored their final touchdown of the game on a 43 yard touchdown pass from WR Antwaan Randle-El to WR Hines Ward with 8:56 remaining in the 4th quarter.

Hines Ward was named MVP of Super Bowl XL after catching 5 receptions for 123 yards & scoring a touchdown.

Pittsburgh became the first team in NFL History to win 3 road playoff games & win the Super Bowl.

The 1985 New England Patriots won 3 road games to reach Super Bowl XX, but lost 46-10 to the Chicago Bears.

3. Kobe Bryant’s 81 point game against Toronto.

On January 22nd, the 18,997 fans at Staples Center were treated to an offensive showcase unlike no other.

After being held to a season-low 11 points against Toronto in December of 2005, Los Angeles Lakers G Kobe Bryant erupted for a career-high 81 points, making his performance the second-highest ever in NBA History behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game in March of 1962.

Bryant scored 81 of the team’s 122 points for 66.4% of the team’s offense, which beat out Chamberlain’s 100 of his team’s 169 points (59.2%) during his record-setting game.

Chamberlain holds 4 of the NBA’s top 8 single-game scoring performances.

In a box score for the ages, Bryant made 28 of 46 field goal attempts (7-13 from 3 point range), and made 18 of 20 free throws.

His performance even amazed Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who watched Michael Jordan score a career-high 69 points against Cleveland during the 1990 season.

Bryant had set a previous career high of 62 points earlier last season against Dallas before his magical evening.

Bryant went on win his 1st scoring title with an average of 35.4 PPG, the highest in the NBA since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 PPG during the 1986-87 season.

2. Texas’ upset win over USC in the Rose Bowl.

In a game that featured future first-round NFL draft picks Vince Young, Matt Leinart & Reggie Bush, it was Young that stole the show & helped end USC’s 34 consecutive win sreak, which was tops in the nation at that time.

After USC took a 24-23 lead after the first 3 quarters, both teams combined for 32 points in a memorable 4th quarter.

USC took a 38-26 lead on Matt Leinart’s 22 yard touchdown pass to Dwyane Jarrett with 5:42 remaining.

That’s when Vince Young took over the game.

Young closed the deficit with a 17 yard touchdown run with 4:03 remaining to make it 38-33 Longhorns.

On 4th & 5 with 26 seconds to go, Young lined up in the shotgun before taking off down the right sideline to give Texas the lead for good & setting off a frenzied crowd of Longhorn fans in Pasadena, CA.

USC’s final chance came short as Leinart’s pass sailed over the head of Jarrett, ending USC’s 34 game win streak.

Young finished the game with an amazing 467 yards from scrimmage (267 pass, 200 rush), accounting for 83.9% of the team’s offense to help Texas pull off the stunning upset.

Texas finished their national championship season as the new #1 team in the country & a 20 game win streak.

USC QB Matt Leinart finished the game completing 29 of 40 passes for 365 yards & a touchdown in a losing effort.

1. The resurgence of the New Orleans Saints.

After Hurricane Katrina swept through Louisiana’s most beloved city in August of 2005, it clearly affected the Saints’ play that season as the team stumbled to a 3-13 finish (worst record since 1999) while having to play home games at the Alamodome (San Antonio, TX), Giants Stadium & LSU’s Tiger Stadium. (Baton Rouge, LA.)

New Orleans rebounded in 2006 to win 10 games & earn a first-round bye in the NFC, completing a 7-game turnaround which is the highest in the NFL this season.

Free agent QB Drew Brees is a huge part of the Saints’ success this season.

Entering Week 17, Brees led the NFL with 4,372 passing yards, 3rd in the NFL with a 96.1 quarterback rating, 4th in pass completion percentage (64.1%) & 2nd in the NFL with 26 touchdown passes.

Brees has also connected with 8 different players for touchdowns this season, which is 2nd in the NFL behind the New England Patriots.

Brees will receive some strong votes for the MVP award along with his ex-teammate LaDainian Tomlinson, who has a NFL single-season record of 31 touchdowns.

The Saints have also received strong play from RB Reggie Bush (7th in NFL & 2nd among running backs with 86 receptions), RB Deuce McAllister (8th in NFL with 10 rushing touchdowns), & WR Marques Colston (8th in NFL with 8 receiving touchdowns, only rookie wideout that has 1,000 yards or more receiving this season).

First year head coach Sean Payton is a strong favorite to win the NFL’s Coach of the Year award.

The Saints will host their first playoff game in 6 years (def. Rams in 2000) during the weekend of January 13-14th during the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

That’s a wrap!

I hope 2007 will bring us some very memorable sports moments like the 10 that were my personal favorites over the past 12 months.

From all of us at BMSRadio.com, i’d like to wish everyone a happy & safe New Year’s.

Until then,

Mattie T

Sports Writer for BMS Radio Chicago

www.bmsradio.com

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