Top 13 Sports Games of 2013

Top 13 Sports Games of 2013

And the stage is set for 2014 to be just as epic.  After all, 2014 gives us a Winter Olympics and a World Cup.  But before we turn the page to 2014, let’s look back on the year that was.  In true Joe Brackets tradition, with this final post of the calendar year, it’s time to take a look at the best games of the year.  (And just as we did 12 games for 2012, this year’s list features a lucky number 13.)

13. America’s Cup, Final Race-September 25, San Francisco
The America’s Cup is held so infrequently that it’s tough to follow.  But this one was worth watching.  With nine wins needed to take the cup, Emirates Team New Zealand built an 8-1 lead on defending champion Oracle Team USA.  Oracle, though, incredibly, came all the way back to tie the series at 8-8 and force a decisive race, only the third in America’s Cup history.  They won that one, too, to cap the amazing comeback and retain the oldest trophy in international sports.

12. Louisville 82, Baylor 81 (NCAA Women’s Oklahoma City Regional Semifinal)-March 31, Oklahoma City
The 2013 NCAA Tournament was supposed to be Baylor’s march to a second straight title that would cement Brittany Griner’s place among the all-time greats of women’s college basketball.  Someone forgot to tell Louisville.  The Cardinals pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Women’s Tournament history by effectively taking Griner out of the game and firing away from three.  It worked.  Louisville took the lead on a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds left, then Odyssey Sims missed a shot at the buzzer that would’ve won it for Baylor.  Louisville ended up going all the way to the National Championship Game, where they lost to UConn.

11. Indianapolis 500-May 26, Indianapolis
The Indy 500 is becoming a staple of this list.  It’s not intentional.  It’s just that we’ve had some really good Indy 500s over the past couple years.  And the 2013 race was incredible.  There were 68 lead changes, double the previous record (set all the way back in 2012).  A caution flag came out with seven laps left, and when the race went back to green, Tony Kanaan shot to the lead.  Another caution came out almost immediately, which meant that, unlike NASCAR with its green-white-checkered finish, the race would end under yellow.  Even the critics of this rule didn’t mind this time, though.  Because those were three victory laps for Tony Kanaan, who finally got to drink the milk in Gasoline Alley.

10. United States 3, Panama 2 (FIFA World Cup Qualifying)-October 15, Panama City
The U.S. had already clinched a berth in the World Cup, as well first place in CONCACAF qualifying prior to its final game at Panama.  The game was meaningless for the Americans, but it meant everything for Panama, which would move into the playoff with New Zealand with a win, as well as Mexico, which stood to advance if Panama lost.  It looked like, incredibly, Mexico would fail to get out of CONCACAF qualifying when Panama took a 2-1 lead into second half stoppage time.  Then Graham Zusi scored to tie the game.  Aron Johansson then scored less than a minute later to, incredibly, give the Americans a shocking 3-2 victory and save Mexico.

9. Netherlands 7, Cuba 6 (World Baseball Classic, Second Round)-March 11, Tokyo
Cuba played the Netherlands in the first game of the second round and the Dutch won, sending Cuba into the loser’s bracket.  They met again three days later with a berth in the semifinals at stake.  Everybody expected the Cubans to win, especially after they took a 6-4 lead in the eighth.  But then the Dutch tied it on a two-run homer by Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons in the bottom of the eighth.  After Cuba left two runners on in the top of the ninth, the Dutch loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half.  Kalian Sams then lifted a fly ball to center to knock in Andruw Jones and give the Netherlands a thrilling 9-8 victory.

8. Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Martin Del Potro (Wimbledon Semifinals)-July 5, London
It was a rematch of the 2012 Olympic bronze medal match, which Del Potro won on Centre Court.  This semifinal was an absolute classic that took a Wimbledon record 4:44 to complete (which was still eight hours shorter than the Isner-Mahut match in 2010).  It was nearly five hours of brilliant tennis.  After splitting the first two sets, Djokovic took the third in the tiebreak.  The fourth set also went to a tiebreak, which Del Potro won 8-6 to stay alive.  Djokovic rallied to take the fifth, though, winning the match 7-5, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.  Perhaps as a result, he was on the receiving end of history two days later, losing to Andy Murray in straight sets in the final.

7. Louisville 82, Michigan 76 (NCAA Championship Game)-April 8, Atlanta
The NCAA Tournament gave us its usual dose of classic games, none more so than the Louisville-Michigan Championship Game.  Michigan led by as many as 12 points in the first half before Louisville got four straight three-pointers from Luke Hancock to pull within 38-37 at halftime.  Louisville eventually took a 10-point lead in the second half, but Michigan got back within four with less than a minute left.  Hancock sealed it with a pair of free throws, though, and the Cardinals sent the old Big East out in style, by making Rick Pitino the first coach in history to win National Championships at two different schools.

6. British Open, Final Round-July 21, Gullane, Scotland
Yes, I actually have a golf tournament not only on the list, but ranked this highly.  Because from what I hear, this was an absolutely incredible finish.  Phil Mickleson started the day tied for ninth, five strokes back.  Leader Lee Westwood had a rough final day, though, shooting four-over on the day to end up in a tie for third.  Mickleson, meanwhile, shot -2 thru nine holes to get back even for the tournament.  He then shot four birdies on the back nine to end up -3, but there were still plenty of golfers on the course.  None of them could catch him, though, as Mickleson hoisted the Claret Jug for the first time.

5. Heat 103, Spurs 100, OT (NBA Finals, Game 6)-June 18, Miami
If the Heat were going to defend their title, they were gonna have to do it the hard way.  They fell behind 3-2 in the series and headed home knowing they’d have to win both games.  And Miami promptly fell behind by 10 after three quarters.  The Heat then started the fourth on a 20-7 run to get back into the game, but San Antonio still led by three late.  LeBron missed a three-pointer that would’ve tied it, but Chris Bosh grabbed the rebound and fed Ray Allen, who hit a trey from the corner to send the game into overtime.  Miami ended up winning in overtime, then won again two nights later for its second straight championship.  This won the Best Game ESPY, but I think part of the reason for that is ESPN’s obsession with the NBA.

4. Cardinals 5, Red Sox 4 (World Series, Game 3)-October 26, St. Louis
This was a classic game in a classic World Series.  With the series tied at 1-1, St. Louis took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  The Red Sox tied it with one in the fifth and one in the sixth before the Cardinals put up another two-spot in the seventh, and Boston tied it again at 4-4 in the top of the eighth.  But it was the ninth inning of Game 3 that will be remembered for a long, long time.  For some reason, John Farrell let pitcher Brandon Workman hit (despite having Mike Napoli on the bench) in the top of the ninth, only to have him face two batters in the bottom half.  He came out after Yadier Molina singled, then Allen Craig doubled off Boston closer Koji Uehara.  That’s where this game became truly unforgettable.  With the infield in, Jon Jay hit a grounder to second.  Dustin Pedroia threw Molina out at home, then catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia tried to get Craig at third, but his throw went into left field.  Craig headed for home, but was tripped by third baseman Will Middlebrooks and out at the plate.  However, he was called safe (correctly) on obstruction, giving the Cardinals the victory in one of the wildest finishes you’ll ever see.

3. Blackhawks 4, Bruins 3, 3 OT (Stanley Cup Final, Game 1)-June 12, Chicago
We were soured by Lockout 2.0, but the NHL more than made up for it with a scintillating Stanley Cup Final between two of the Original Six.  And Game 1 was simply a preview of what was in store for the rest of the series.  Boston had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before Chicago scored twice in the third to tie it.  And it would stay that way for a while.  Finally, at the 12:08 mark of the third overtime, Chicago’s Andrew Shaw deflected Michal Rozsival’s shot past Tuukka Rask to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 victory.  The triple-overtime classic was the fifth-longest game in Staley Cup Final history and the first of three overtime games in the series.

2. Auburn 34, Alabama 28-November 30, Auburn, Ala.
Heading into this year’s Iron Bowl between No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Auburn, many experts were calling for a classic.  They were right.  It was 21-14 Alabama at halftime and 28-21 early in the fourth.  Auburn tied it with 32 seconds left, but Alabama managed to get to the Auburn 38 and tried a 57-yard field goal on the final play of the game.  It was short, and Auburn’s Chris Davis fielded it nine yards deep in the end zone.  Then, just like famous Alabama alum Forrest Gump, he started running.  And he didn’t stop until he was in the other end zone–100 yards away.  Incredibly, Auburn had won 34-28, ending Alabama’s hopes for a third straight BCS title.

1. Broncos 51, Cowboys 48-October 6, Arlington, Texas
This was one of the most entertaining football games I’ve seen in a long time.  That’s why I rank the Dallas-Denver shootout as the No. 1 game of 2013.  Dallas led 14-7 after one, but Peyton threw two TD passes and ran for another in the second to put the Broncos up 28-20 at halftime.  The Cowboys took the lead early in the fourth quarter, then Denver tied it at 41-41 on a 50-yard field goal by Matt Prater.  After Dallas went back in front, 48-41, a nine-play, 73-yard Denver drive was capped by Knowshon Moreno’s game-tying 1-yard run with 2:24 left.  Tony Romo threw one of his trademark costly interceptions on the ensuing Cowboys drive, giving Denver the ball already in field goal range.  On 3rd-and-1 from the two, Moreno got the first down, but, because Dallas didn’t have any timeouts left, intentionally didn’t score.  The Broncos then ran the clock all the way down and Prater kicked a game-winning 28-yard chip shot as time expired.  It was truly a classic.