Top 12 Sports Games of 2012

Top 12 Sports Games of 2012

I can’t believe we’ve reached the end of 2012 already.  It seems like just yesterday that we were watching the Giants beat the Patriots in another classic Super Bowl.  Or LeBron’s coming out party.  Or London’s brilliant and glorious Olympic Games.  New stars emerged in 2012.  From Gabby Douglas to Missy Franklin to Andy Murray to Mike Trout to Robert Griffin III.  We had a Triple Crown in baseball and a near-Triple Crown in horse racing.  We had three perfect games in the Majors for the first time ever, yet none of them made my list of the top games of the year.  So, in true Joe Brackets tradition, my final post of the year is dedicated to those contests that were the most memorable.  The annual Joe Brackets “Top Games of the Year.”  And since 2012 just ended, the countdown starts at No. 12.

12. Preakness Stakes-May 19, Baltimore
It’s been 34 years, but I’ll Have Another horse win the Triple Crown at some point.  I’m sure of it.  In 2012, we almost had one.  I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier from post 19, but went into the Preakness as the second choice behind Derby runner-up Bodemeister.  Bodemeister moved into the lead and I’ll Have Another sat fourth before making his move on the stretch run.  I’ll Have Another moved past Creative Cause, then caught Bodemeister in the final strides to win by a neck and keep the Triple Crown hopes alive.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t even an attempt at horse racing’s Holy Grail, as an injury kept I’ll Have Another out of the Belmont Stakes, and the Triple Crown drought continued.  (Although, Miguel Cabrera ended a Triple Crown drought of another kind later in the year.)

11. Rangers 3, Capitals 2 (OT) (Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 5)-May 7, New York
Remember hockey?  It’s that sport played on ice by Canadians.  Anyway, this is my choice from a Stanley Cup Playoffs that had so many overtime games, it could’ve produced a Top 10 list all its own.  It’s not just my favorite because the Rangers won.  It’s my favorite becuase of how they won.  With the series tied 2-2, Washington had a 2-1 lead with 21.3 seconds left in Game 5.  Then the Capitals’ Joel Ward received a double-minor.  The Rangers’ Brad Richards tied the game with 6.6 remaining in regulation, then, with the Rangers still on the power play, Marc Staal scored 1:35 into OT to cap the amazing comeback.

10. Norfolk State 86, Missouri 84 (NCAA Tournament “Second” Round)-March 16, Omaha, NE
One of the best things about the NCAA Tournament is that you can always count on there being an upset or two.  This one ranks as one of the all-time biggest.  Missouri had won the Big 12 Tournament and was tabbed as a potential Final Four team.  Norfolk State was a No. 15 seed.  But that didn’t matter.  It was tied at 81-81 until Kyle O’Quinn’s three-point play with 34 seconds left.  It was 86-84 when O’Quinn missed two free throws at the eight-second mark, giving Missouri one last chance, but the Tigers missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, completing the upset.  It was just the fifth win by a No. 15 seed over a No. 2 ever.  Later that day, Lehigh would upset Duke to become the sixth 15-seed to beat a 2.

9. Cardinals 9, Nationals 7 (NL Division Series, Game 5)-October 12, Washington
A year after their remarkable run from wild card to World Series Champions, the Cardinals were back in the playoffs thanks to the new second wild card.  They proceeded to beat the Braves in the inaugural NL Wild Card Game before drawing the Nationals, the team with Baseball’s best record, in the Division Series.  St. Louis went up 2-1 in games before Jayson Werth’s dramatic home run in the bottom of the ninth in Game 4 tied the series.  Game 5 wasn’t the Cardinals’ epic win over the Rangers in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, but it was close.  Washington jumped out to a 6-0 lead affter three innings before the Cardinals started clawing back.  St. Louis pulled within 6-5 in the top of the eighth, but the Nationals picked up an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning.  Washington was one out away from the NLCS in the top of the ninth when Daniel Descalso’s two-run single tied the game.  The next batter, Pete Kozma, roped another two-run single to make it 9-7 Cardinals, and St. Louis retired the stunned Nationals in order in the bottom of the ninth.

8. Alabama 32, Georgia 28 (SEC Championship Game)-December 1, Atlanta
Since my knowledge in this area is limited, I left this one up to the college football experts.  Alabama and Georgia came into the game ranked No. 2 and 3, so this was a de facto play-in game to determine who would play No. 1 Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game.  Alabama trailed by 11 points in the third quarter, but drove down to take the lead midway through the fourth.  After the Crimson Tide’s apparent game-clinching interception was overturned, Georgia got the ball on the Alabama 8 with nine seconds to go.  However, the Bulldogs, who were out of timeouts, ran out of time, and Alabama advanced to play Notre Dame.

7. Heat 104, Thunder 98 (NBA Finals, Game 4)-June 19, Miami
I always end up lumping the college football and NBA games together.  2012 will always be the year LeBron James finally won his first NBA title.  That became apparent in Game 4 of the Finals.  Oklahoma City led 33-19 after the first quarter, but Miami trimmed its deficit to three, 49-46, at halftime.  The Heat took the lead in the third, and it was neck-and-neck for much of the fourth.  Russell Westbrook had 43 points for the Thunder, but LeBron ended up just shy of a triple-double for Miami.  His three-pointer put the Heat ahead for good, as they took a 3-1 lead in the series.

6. Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Manny Pacquiao-December 8, Las Vegas
This is the second straight year a Pacquiao-Marquez fight made my list.  The fourth incarnation of their rivalry has been dubbed “Fight of the Year” by numerous boxing publications/organizations, as well as earning a few “Knockout of the Year” awards.  It was mostly even through five rounds.  In the sixth, Pacquiao went on the offensive, but, just before the round ended, Marquez landed a powerful right hook, sending Pacquiao to the canvas.  After three Pacquiao victories by decision, the Marquez knockout left no doubt who won this time.

5. Indianapolis 500-May 27, Indianapolis
Just when I thought I wouldn’t see an Indy 500 that could top 2011, the 2012 race might’ve been a little better.  There were a record 34 lead changes between 10 different drivers, including one in the opening moments of the race.  Dario Franchitti moved into the lead on lap 199, followed closely by Scott Dixon and Takuma Sato.  Sato tried to pass on the first turn of the final lap, but spun out and hit the Turn 1 wall, bringing out the caution flag and giving Franchitti his third Indianapolis 500 victory.  He dedicated the win to his late friend Dan Wheldon, the 2011 Indy 500 champion.

4. Goodletsville, TN 24, Petaluma, CA 16 (7 innings) (Little League World Series, U.S. Championship Game)-August 25, Williamsport, PA
I’m breaking my “no two per sport rule” because this game was just crazy.  Tennessee led 15-5 going into the bottom of the sixth, which is the last inning in Little League (if it was any inning earlier, they would’ve won by mercy rule).  Remarkably, California climbed all the way back, scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth to send the game into extra innings.  Unfazed, Tennessee put up a nine-spot in the top of the seventh.  This time, the kids from Tennessee held on to advace to the Championship Game.  Lorenzo Butler, a kid on the Tennessee team, had three home runs and nine RBIs in the game.

3. Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 (Australian Open Men’s Final)-January 29-30, Melbourne, Australia
There were a number of classic tennis matches in 2012 from which to choose, but the epic Australian Open men’s final stands a cut above the rest.  Top-ranked Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, was looking for his third straight Grand Slam title against the same man he’d beaten in each of the previous two Grand Slam finals–second-seeded Rafael Nadal.  And the two best players in the world hooked up for one of the all-time great Grand Slam finals.  They battled for nearly six hours in the longest match in Australian Open history and the longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era.  Finally, at 12:53 in the morning, Djokovic broke Nadal’s serve to end what many experts consider one of the greatest matches ever.

2. United States 4, Canada 3 (OT) (Olympic Women’s Soccer Semifinals)-August 6, Manchester, England
I easily could’ve picked the Top 12 Games/Events of the London Olympics, but if I had to pick only one to put on the list, this is clearly the winner.  The USA and Canada on hallowed ground–Old Trafford, home of Manchester United.  And the rivals did the place proud.  Three times Canada took the lead.  In the 80th minute, the Canadian goalie got a questionable yellow card for stalling, and Abby Wambach scored on the ensuing penalty kick to tie the game at 3-3.  It looked like they were headed to a penalty kick shootout until, in the waning seconds of injury time in overtime, Alex Morgan took Heather O’Reilly’s cross and perfectly placed a header into the back of the Canadian net, giving the Americans a 4-3 victory.

1. Giants 21, Patriots 17 (Super Bowl XLVI)-February 5, Indianapolis
Every four years, we can count on the Giants and Patriots to play a classic Super Bowl.  Super Bowl XLII may never be equaled, but Super Bowl XLVI sure came close.  The Giants led 9-0 after one quarter, but the Patriots drove 96 yards at the end of the first half to take a 10-9 halftime lead.  New England then received the second half kickoff and proceeded to drive 79 yards for another touchdown and a 17-9 advantage.  The Giants kicked two field goals later in the corner to make it 17-15 after three.  Still trailing 17-15, the Giants got the ball on their own 12-yard line with 3:46 remaining.  Just like Super Bowl XLII was defined by David Tyree’s miracle helmet catch, Super Bowl XLVI would be defined by the first play of this drive.  Eli Manning floated the perfect pass to Mario Manningham, who hauled in a 38-yard completion to midfield just inbounds along the New England sideline (right in front of Bill Belichick).  Belichick asked for a review, but the catch was good.  The Giants had second-and-goal on the Patriots six with 1:03 left when New England decided to intentionally let the Giants score so they could get the ball back.  Ahmad Bradshaw realized this and tried to stop, but his momentum carried him into the end zone, giving the Giants a 21-17 lead.  New England had 57 seconds to try and score a winning touchdown, and the Patriots drove to their own 49 with nine seconds left.  Tom Brady heaved a Hail Mary towards the end zone which was batted around by a couple Giants defenders before hitting the ground just past Rob Gronkowski’s outstretched hands.  And with that, the Giants were Super Bowl champions.