A look back at the year in sports.
staff and wire reports | Posted: Saturday, December 27, 2008 6:00 pm
Football
With David Tyree making a miraculous catch, the New York Giants capped off their final drive of Super Bowl XLII with a touchdown to upset the New England Patriots and prevent the AFC champions from becoming only the second team in NFL history to finish the season without a blemish on its record. The Giants won four playoff games, all away from their home.
Basketball
After a pair of preseason trades brought together three star players — Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce — the Boston Celtics won their 17th NBA crown by crushing the Los Angeles Lakers in the 11th championship matchup of professional basketball's greatest rivalry.
Baseball
It took nearly two full days to complete the deciding Game 5, but Shane Victorino and the Philadelphia Phillies stomped out the upstart Tampa Bay Rays to win the franchise's second World Series title. This in the same season in which they became the first professional sports franchise to notch its 10,000th loss.
Hockey
The Stanley Cup returned to Detroit as Kris Draper and the veteran Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and young stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin in Game 6. It was the Red Wings' fourth championship in 11 seasons and the first for Dallas Drake, who retired after 16 years in the NHL shortly after the finals.
Auto racing
Jimmie Johnson dominated the 10-race Chase and extended his NASCAR Cup series title streak to three years, tying the long-held record of legend Cale Yarborough. Scott Dixon dominated the IRL in the first year after the open-wheel merger, but Danica Patrick was the big story, becoming the first woman to win a major circuit race.
Golf
After Tiger Woods celebrated forcing a playoff at the U.S. Open, he went on to win the next day on the 91st hole of the tournament despite a knee injury so painful it required surgery. In his stead, Padraig Harrington won the last two majors — the British Open and the PGA. Lorena Ochoa again was LPGA player of the year.
Tennis
Rafael Nadal was the only singles player to win more than one Grand Slam title, beating Roger Federer in both the French Open and at Wimbledon and becoming the world's No. 1-ranked player. Venus and Serena Williams returned to top form, with Venus taking Wimbledon, Serena the U.S. Open and then combining to win Olympic doubles.
Men's college
January was a sweet month for Bo Pelini. The LSU defensive coordinator presided over one half of the Tigers' attack in their rout of Ohio State in the BCS national football championship game. The next day, he officially started his job as the head coach at Nebraska. In March, Memphis held a nine-point lead with a little more than two minutes to play in the basketball championship game, but Kansas roared back, forcing overtime on Mario Chalmers' three-pointer with 2.1 seconds to play and eventually winning the title. Fresno State, seeded third in its regional, became the lowest-seeded team ever to win an NCAA championship by beating Georgia for the College World Series crown at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. Nebraska-Kearney brought home the NCAA Division II wrestling title, but didn't have to go far since the tournament was held in Kearney.
Women's college
Penn State nearly swept its way to a second straight women's volleyball championship, taking the title at Qwest Center Omaha. The Nittany Lions had won every set in their first 36 matches and the first two of the national semifinal before Nebraska won sets three and four and held a 10-8 lead before Penn State rallied for the win and two nights later swept Stanford for the championship. National player of the year Candace Parker led Tennessee to its second straight basketball championship.