[size= 6][color= orange]Best and worst of 2004 [/size][/color]
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Kevin Hench / FOXSports.com [/size]
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[color= orange]OK, nobody's going to confuse me with an impartial judge. [/color]
I was born in Massachusetts and raised in Vermont, where I slept beneath posters of Steve Grogan, Fred Lynn and Larry Bird. My freshman year in high school we had to write an essay on whom we would want to be if we could be anyone in the world. I chose Danny Ainge. So I don't deny or apologize for my Boston sports bias.
Images of 2004...
[color= orange]A collection of the year's best photographic memories[/color]
These awards may seem a little tilted toward New England, but in case you missed it, 2004 was the year of Boston sports.
The envelopes, please:
Athlete of the year
The nominees: Tom Brady Not only does the guy win his second Super Bowl MVP trophy in February, he leads the Patriots to an NFL-record 21 consecutive wins over two seasons. Peyton Manning may get the records, Brady gets the rings.
Lance Armstrong OK, OK I get it, it's not about the bike. It's about being impervious to little things like fatigue, pain and human limitation. Lance even proved invulnerable to hot-new-girlfriend syndrome when he won his sixth straight Tour de France despite his blooming love with Sheryl Crow.
Martin St. Louis The first player since Wayne Gretzky to win the scoring title, league MVP and the Stanley Cup in the same season. Hopefully the Lil' Lightning Who Could won't be the last MVP of the NHL.
Curt Schilling Not since Squanto and Samoset has there been a Thanksgiving dinner as important in New England as the one the Schillings hosted for Red Sox GM Theo Epstein in 2003. All Schilling did in '04 was win 21 regular season games and three more in the postseason to carry the Red Sox to their first World Series title since 1918.
Kevin Garnett KG finally won his first playoff series (and his second) and his first MVP in 2004. The guy is so unbelievably dominant in all facets of the game he has almost single-handedly ruined fantasy basketball.
[color= orange]And the winner is ...[/color]
Curt Schilling's gutsy performance in the 2004 playoffs snares top Athlete honors. (Jed Jacobsohn / GettyImages)
Curt Schilling.
The Red Sox' pursuit of the title was as all-consuming as Ahab's pursuit of Moby Dick and Schilling was the one-legged monomaniac with his eyes fixed solely on the prize. Even Herman Melville, staring out the frosty windows of his Pittsfield, Ma., farmhouse, couldn't have dreamed up a tale as incredible as the Red Sox odyssey from the brink of death to eternal salvation. Schilling's performance in Game 6 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium on his makeshift ankle is a tale for the ages.
Game of the year
The nominees:
Game 4, American League Championship Series This was Washington crossing the Delaware, the moment where an enduring conflict changed forever. Nothing would ever be the same after the Red Sox tied it off Mariano Rivera in the ninth and won it in the 12th on a home run by David Ortiz.
Game 5, American League Championship Series Again, the Sox tied it off Rivera and won it on a hit by Ortiz. Only this epic stretched out over 14 innings of unbreakable tension before Boston sent the series back to New York.
Super Bowl XXXVIII Who would have thought the most boring first half in Super Bowl history would give way to a historic shootout between Tom Brady and Jake Delhomme? In classic he-who-has-the-ball-last-wins fashion, Brady overcame a dubious offensive pass interference penalty to drive the Pats downfield and set up Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal at the gun.
Lakers-Spurs, Game 5, Western Conference Semifinals Lest we forget, everyone thought Derek Fisher's improbable catch-and-shoot with four-tenths of a second left that trumped Tim Duncan's last-second shot would undoubtedly deliver the title to the Lakers. It was the stuff of legend, but somebody forgot to tell the Pistons.
Duke-UConn in the NCAA semifinals Trailing by eight with 2:49 to play, Connecticut's Emeka Okafor, who had battled a back injury all tourney long, once again put the Huskies on his broad shoulders and carried them to a 79-78 victory over Duke.
[color= orange] And the winner is ...[/color]
Game 5, ALCS
A buddy of mine says you can't differentiate between Games 4 and 5 and that they should be treated as one. But to me Game 5 was the shift from merely salvaging dignity to "we can win this series." The walk-off stroke a bloop single by David Ortiz might not have been as majestic as Big Papi's home run to end Game 4, but the win sent the series back to New York and sent those visible shivers of doubt throughout the Yankee team.
Team of the year
The nominees:
New England Patriots Has any assemblage of athletic talent more personified the word team? Every guy sacrificing personal glory, and often large amounts of free agent dough as well, to be part of something special. The whole is not only better than the sum of its parts but practically unbeatable. (**Private note by Tyler, HELL YES!
)
U.S. women's soccer team Mia Hamm led one last roundup of her posse and crowned her career with another gold medal. Did this team ever lose a big game?
Detroit Pistons As usual before the NBA Finals, the big question was would the Western Conference champs sweep or could the Eastern Conference patsies stretch it to five games? After losing Game 2 in OT, it looked like the Pistons had missed their chance to steal the title. All they did over the next three games was remind us just what a team of tenacious defenders playing as one for each other can do.
Boston Red Sox Whether it was Manny Ramirez and his $160M bat or bargain-basement Mark Bellhorn ($490,000) and his strange, spiritual connection with the fair pole, every member of this storybook team came up biggest when it mattered most.
Tampa Bay Lightning Led by a diminutive scoring machine (Martin St. Louis) and a massive wall of a goalie (Nikolai Khabibulin), the Lightning were owner Bill Davidson's second jewel in his incredible Triple Crown (WNBA, NHL and NBA titles).
[color= orange]]And the winner is ...[/color]
The world champion
Boston Red Sox. What, you expected the U.S. Olympic softball team? Did you hear the Red Sox were down 3-0 to the Yankees? And, oh by the way, no one was talking about how fragile the Yankees were as they built that 3-0 lead by pounding Boston into near-submission. No one was talking about what bums Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield were then. But after the most ridiculous four-day stretch in baseball history, suddenly everyone in New York was longing for Scott Brosius and Paul O'Neill. For ending 86 years of misery, reversing the curse and vanquishing the Yanks, the 2004 Red Sox are not just the Team of the Year but the Team for All Time.
Best moves of the year
The nominees:
The Heat acquire Shaquille O'Neal And in so doing became instant contenders. Shaq and Dwyane Wade are now the most dominant duo in the NBA and the Heat have a chance to go somewhere the Lakers don't: the NBA Finals.
Eagles acquire Terrell Owens Though thanks to his season-ending injury we may never know, this may well have been the move that put the Eagles over the top. I guess it really does help a quarterback to have a receiver who can actually get open and catch the ball. Owens has turned Donovan McNabb into the superstar we knew he could be, and T.O.'s absence will likely mean yet another bitter ending in Philly.
Astros acquire Carlos Beltran Has a player ever done more for one team in a shorter stretch than Beltran? Not only did he carry them from middle-of-the-pack oblivion to the postseason, but he put together perhaps the most dominant playoff performance in baseball history, bringing the Astros to within one win of the World Series.
Mike Krzyzewski passes on Lakers job Let's see, do I teach life skills to good kids at the Harvard of the South, or do I supervise the implosion of a surly, selfish NBA superstar? How smart does Coach K look now?
Red Sox trade Nomar - Red Sox Nation was fairly divided when the bitter legend was dealt to the Cubs, but it's hard to find any Sox fan now who doesn't agree that the move was the key to turning around the team's season.
[color= orange]And the winner is ... [/color]
Red Sox trade Nomar. Given how obvious it was that Nomar was miserable in Boston, it is simply amazing that Theo Epstein was able to get so much value in return. Not only did he upgrade his team defensively at shortstop (with little discernible drop-off at the plate) by landing Orlando Cabrera, he also acquired the truly spectacular Doug Mientkiewicz as a late-inning defensive replacement at first base. Not only did the trade improve things immediately in the clubhouse, the defensive upgrade made sinkerballer and unlikely postseason hero Derek Lowe an All-Star again.
Worst moves of the year
The nominees:
Mets sign Pedro Martinez Four years, $54 million? Omar Minaya must have been watching a different Pedro Martinez than I was last season. He must not have seen the guy who gave up 26 home runs, lost his last four starts in September and frequently had trouble hitting 90 on the radar gun. Anyone want to bet which D.L. Pedro spends most of the last year of that contract on, 15-day or 60-day?
Ron Artest attacks (wrong) fan Good, Ron, you're doing great. Just lie there and breathe, breathe ... good ... Whoa! Ron! Come back!
Diamondbacks hire/fire Wally Backman Using the same vetting process that led President Bush to nominate Bernard Kerik as head of Homeland Security, the D-Backs hire the twice-arrested Backman to be their skipper and then fire him four days later.
Everything Hal Sutton did as Ryder Cup captain Talk about pushing all the wrong buttons. From his captain's picks to his pairings to his press conferences, everything Hal touched turned into a bogey.
Kobe Bryant, you name it Kobe v. Eagle County. Kobe v. Shaq. Kobe v. Phil Jackson. Kobe v. Karl Malone. Anybody starting to see a pattern?
[color= orange]And the winner is ...[/color]
Artest. Had he clocked the guy who actually threw the cup we might have gone with someone else. But popping the wrong bystander was the worst move of 2004.
Became household names in 2004
The nominees:
Smarty Jones The horse from the wrong side of the tracks captured our hearts and imaginations but, sadly, couldn't capture the Belmont Stakes.
Ben Roethlisberger Yet another stud from the Mid-American Conference. Let's see, he's huge, he's mobile, he's a born leader. You think he might have gone higher if he played in the SEC?
Freddy Adu OK, kid, all that's resting on your little shoulders is the future of your sport in the United States of America.
Maria Sharapova A hot, leggy Russian who actually wins tennis tournaments. Wow.
Kurt Busch OK, I didn't say my household. But my friends in the know the NASCAR knowledge, that is say this guy had a breakout season.
[color= orange]And the winner is ...[/color]
Roethlisberger. When Terry Bradshaw took the time to learn how to correctly pronounce this guy's name, you knew the torch had been passed from one Steeler legend to the next.
Loser of the year
The nominees:
Jason Giambi If you're going to cheat, it has to make you better.
Javier Vazquez Is this a replay or is Johnny Damon hitting another home run off of Javier Vazquez?
Kevin Brown Now that you've gotten shelled in Game 7 of the ALCS, feel free to punch the wall. This time you can break your pitching hand if it makes you feel better.
Alex Rodriguez The Slap Heard 'Round the World. To be remember forever in lithographs at a ballpark near you.
Gary Sheffield I guess the Cream couldn't keep you from disappearing in Games 4-7.
[color= orange]And the winner is ...[/color]
It takes a lot of guys to contribute to the greatest collapse in sports history, but the Loser of the Year is the guy who shoulders the least blame for The Choke. It's
Jason Giambi. And only $82M left on the contract.
Cringe-worthiest moment of the year
The nominees:
S.C.-Clemson brawl Might just have been your average out-of-control college football brawl if it hadn't been Lou Holtz's farewell.
Defrocked priest accosts Olympic marathon leader Upon further review, maybe one of those Grand Prix drivers should have picked him off when he ran onto their track. What's next, the Epsom Derby?
Gary Barnett press conference Maybe the grim and serious allegations of sexual assault aren't the best backdrop against which to appraise the kicking talents of a young woman. Ya think?
U.S. Olympic basketball Pick a possession, any possession. Didn't we own this game?
Brawl in Auburn Hills So many individual cringe-worthy moments within the bigger cringe-worthy event.
[color= orange]And the winner is ...[/color]
Malice in the Palace. How bad was it? Jim Gray actually sounded shaken. Here's a guy who has stood toe-to-toe with Mike Tyson without blinking and he suddenly had a warble in his voice. Still no word if David Stern's face has uncringed.
Worst moments to be a sports fan
The nominees:
Panic in Detroit The brawl was a particularly bad moment to be a sports fan if you were standing next to the guy who threw the beer.
BALCO The San Francisco Chronicle lands with a dull thud on the sporting world's doorstep and all of our worst fears are confirmed.
Smarty party ruined A whole lot of people, myself included, spent a grand total of about two minutes as huge fans of horse racing and came away totally disappointed when Birdstone dropped some bird stones on our Belmont Smarty party.
4th-and-26 January 11, 2004 was a horrible day to be a Green Bay Packers fan. You simply cannot lose that game.
NHL Opening Day There may be only seven or eight of us left which, of course, is the problem but for hockey fans this lost season has been a painful reminder that some people actually want to profit from sports.
[color= orange]And the winner is ...[/color]
Victor Conte and his Bay Area Lab. Not only does each revelation provide a sucker punch of a bad moment, it taints what we thought were great moments from years gone by. And the smug a------ is about as contrite as Allen Iverson after a 5-for-29 shooting night.
[b]Great moments to be a sports fan[b]
The nominees:
Red Sox win World Series This was the OxyContin of sports delirium. Five times more wonderful than Vicodin. (**Private note from Tyler -- WOOHOO!
)
Mia rides into the sunset a champion With millions of little soccer disciples in her flock, Mrs. Garciaparra's legacy is secure.
Ichiro breaks hit record In an otherwise miserable season in the Pacific Northwest, one man regularly beating out routine ground balls brought Mariners fans to the ballpark and to their feet.
Pistons pound Lakers Sweeter days at the Palace. This was a particularly happy-making moment not just for Pistons fans but for Lakers haters everywhere.
It's up, it's good For sheer exhilaration does anything match a Super Bowl-winning kick as time expires? Well, how about a Super Bowl-winning kick as time expires. Adam Vinatieri ends XXXVIII the same way he closed out XXXVI.
[color= orange]And the winner is ...[/color]
Are you kidding? It's a one-hopper back to Foulke ... he snares it ... he flips to Mientkiewicz ...[/size]
{ Best and Worst -- Sports of 2004 } 
It had everything - great attacking football, flowing moves and good defending (in parts 
) You obviously can't have a fantastic display of attacking football with a brilliant display of defensive football .. they'd just cancel each other out.
I wish. 
