Every year, we witness things in sports that provide us with lasting memories. Some of these memories remain with us for a lifetime. This year was no different as the last twelve months gave us jaw-dropping, head-scratching, fist-shaking moments.
NBA
Year of the Warriors
2015 NBA Champions. A 24-0 start to the following season. The Warriors had the best start in NBA history, and nearly matched the Lakers historic winning streak of 33 wins, but that was thwarted by the Milwaukee Bucks. Nevertheless, this group of young men have been the most dominant team in professional sports this year.
Kobe’s Retirement Announcement
In November, one of the greatest players to ever step onto the basketball court announced that this will be his last year. Many speculated that he would hang it up after this season, but it was not confirmed until the man himself, Kobe Bean Bryant, announced that his body could no longer take the beating on a nightly basis.
Stephen Curry
After leading the Warriors to the best record in the league, electrifying All-Star point guard won the MVP award in a landslide. If that was not enough, the Warriors won the title a few weeks later. Currently, Curry leads the league in points-per-game and three-pointers made. He appears to be even better than he was last season. This young man has a bright future.
NFL
Patriots Win the Super Bowl
Should Russell Wilson have handed the ball off to Marshawn Lynch? Should there have been a passing play called at the one-yard? These questions may haunt the Seahawks forever. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won their fourth Super Bowl after this very surprising (and head-scratching) ending to an exciting game.
Carolina’s Shocking 14-0 Start
Cam Newton is likely the NFL MVP after leading his team to such a surprising start. He has been nothing but stellar this season, and even though the Panthers lost their first game to the Falcons, their season has been fantastic. Their defense has been stifling to opponents.
Hernandez
To the surprise of no one, Aaron Hernandez was convicted of murder and is likely to be sentenced to life in prison. Water is wet.
Deflategate
Brady was under fire for allegedly cheating during the playoffs and there was some damning evidence against him for quite some time. Unfortunately, there were some holes in Ted Wells’ report, and Brady was let off. He then started off the new season “guns blazing.”
NHL
Blackhawks Win 3 out of 5
Dynasty? The Hawks won their third Stanley Cup in five years, led by the spectacular play of Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews.
Patrick Kane
One of the NHL’s most promising stars was accused of sexual assault and the potential case cast a shadow over his summer and training camp. Notwithstanding this PR nightmare, Kane started the season on a twenty-six game point streak. This was something that had not been done in many, many years.
Connor McDavid
The consensus number-one overall draft selection had a slow start to his NHL career, looked like the promising heir to the throne until he sustained a broken clavicle, leaving him shelved for months. With the Oilers poised for another season of futility, there is no reason to rush him back.
Boxing
Mayweather-Pacquiao
The fight of the century went out with a whimper, but made Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao very, very wealthy. Millions tuned in to watch the twelve-round bout.
MMA
Upsets
Holly Holm absolutely demolished Ronda Rousey in what was one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Rousey was the face of the UFC, but after this obliteration, it remains to be seen. Next, we had Chris Weidman nearly put into a coma by Luke Rockhold for the middleweight championship. Finally, we had the colourful, outspoken Connor McGregor knock out Jose Aldo, the UFC’s only featherweight champion – in thirteen seconds. Many analysts had Aldo defeating McGregor after a few rounds, but no one had a first-round knockout coming from McGregor.
Bones
This year Jon “Bones” Jones was in the news for the wrong reasons. After the hit-and-run, Bones was stripped of his title and expelled from the UFC. He was later reinstated and is expected to face Daniel Cormier in 2016.
Soccer
FIFA
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter was suspended from his position and was under investigation for corruption in a huge scandal that rocked the sports world this past summer.
Women’s Soccer
The rise of women’s soccer was spearheaded by the stacked rosters of the U.S. and Canada national teams. It was an overall fantastic display of athletics at the 2015 tournament. The future of women’s soccer is bright, and in North America, this sport has been left on the fringes – behind football, baseball, basketball, and hockey – so it is nice to see that it will be prioritized in the years to come.
Tennis
Serena and the Joker
2015 had both Serena Williams and Novak “The Joker” Djokovic nearly sweep the Grand Slams (both won three out of four). Williams again won the Associated Press (AP) Female Athlete of the Year.
I have no doubt that 2016 will berth upsets, triumphs, and scandals. With the World Cup, Olympics, and pro sports championships slated, the new year will be full of smiles, cheers, and tears.