2011 World Series – St. Louis Cardinals vs Texas Rangers
This was one for the ages, a dramatic 7 game series that kept us on the edge of our seats until the last out.
The Rangers entered game 6 with a 3-2 advantage and all the momentum going back to Busch Stadium, but a Cardinal team that needed a miracle just to get in to the playoffs (they were 10.5 back of the wild card race at the end of September) was not about to go down without a fight.
With 2 on and 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and the Cardinals trailing 5-7, David Freese stepped into the box as St. Louis’ last chance. Down to his last strike and with Neftali Feliz on the mound, the Cards were all but dead until the unthinkable happened. Freese hit a liner to deep right field that dropped behind Nelson Cruz (who should have made the catch, but took a terrible route to the ball) giving Freese a 2RBI triple and tying the game 7-7.
The comeback was short-lived and the electricity was sucked out of Busch Stadium as Josh Hamilton crushed a 2-run homerun to left-center giving the Rangers a 9-7 lead. In the bottom of the 10th and the same situation, 2 on 2 out and down to the final strike…again, Lance Burkman hit a 2RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 9-9…insanity.
After holding the Rangers scoreless in the top half of the 11th, David Freese ended one of the best (if not the best) World Series games of all time with a walk-off solo homerun to center field. The St. Louis Cardinals went on to win the series the next night in game 7.
They went from virtually eliminated from payoff contention to World Series Champions and will be talked about for years to come.
NBA Finals – Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat
Not 7, not 6, not 5, not 4, not 3…..well as a matter of fact not 1. From the moment LeBron James announced that he would take his talents to South Beach and the Miami Heat held their “victory party” before they had even practiced together, the entire world and especially Cleveland fans wanted LeBron James to fail - and do so miserably.
Thank you Dallas Mavericks. A team full of scrappy veteran players and one the classiest guys around in Dirk Nowitzki were able to defeat the self-proclaimed “champions” in 6 games on Miami’s home court.
After childish mocking from Dwyane Wade and LeBron, accusing Nowitzki of faking an illness during the series, Dirk simply brushed it off and handled his business on the court claiming Dallas first NBA championship and the only prize his hall of fame career was lacking.
As for LeBron, he went to the post-game press conference and gave a “my life is still better than yours” speech that he quickly “apologized” for days later because of the PR backlash it caused. As the 2012 season gets underway, LeBron has shed himself of the “villain” role he embraced last year that clearly affected his game. He has begun with a better attitude and it looks like the Heetles are well on their way to a second finals appearance.
Green Bay Packers Win Super Bowl XLV
SUCK IT BRETT!....is what Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wanted to say when he rose the Lombardi trophy after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Of course he took the high road and didn’t do anything of the sort, but wouldn’t that have been awesome?!
After suffering major injuries throughout the team, the Packers found a way to crawl into the playoffs on the last day of the season to capture the 6th and final spot. Their road to the Super Bowl included road wins at Philadelphia, Atlanta, and arch-rival Chicago.
Rodgers put on a show in the Super Bowl. He went 24/39 for 304 yards 3 TD’s and no interceptions, hooking up with Greg Jennings for 2 TD’s 64 yards and Jordy Nelson for a TD and 140 yards, as he captured his first Super Bowl win…equaling Favre.
Brett who?
Kobe’s Divorce
Advice to every professional athlete…Don’t get married if you want to keep sleeping around. Seems to work for Derek Jeter
Advice to every woman on this planet…Don’t marry a professional athlete, because he will cheat on you. Unless you are looking to get all his money – then it seems like a good plan
Advice to every professional athlete that wants to get married, and also wants to continue sleeping around…PRENUP! Just ask Kobe.
Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit
One of the best players of all time, not to mention one of the best all around guys of all time, no one deserved this milestone more than Derek Jeter.
After getting off to a slow start as well as dealing with injuries, Jeter finally reached the 3,000 hit mark against the Tampa Bay Rays. He did it in magnificent fashion going 5-5 in the game, his historic 3,000th being a homerun to left in the 3rd inning off David Price.
This was such a big deal that literally nothing was played on ESPN except for this story for 2 days. Armageddon could have happened and they wouldn’t have broken away from their coverage on Jeter.
September 28, 2011 – The Last Day of MLB Regular Season
What happened this day will never happen again…ever.
Both the AL and NL Wild Card races were tied going into the last day of the regular season, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays for the American League, the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves in the National League.
At one time the Cardinals trailed Atlanta by 10 ½ games in August and by 8 ½ games at the beginning of September. The Red Sox lead the Rays by 9 games on September 2. Comebacks of that size have never happened in the history of baseball, but on that fateful night there were two.
St. Louis easily took care of business with their ace Chris Carpenter on the hill in Houston, defeating the Astros in a laugher 8-0. Atlanta didn’t fare so well at home against the Phillies, a team that had nothing to play for, as they lost 4-3 in 13 innings.
What happened in the American League was so unreal that it had to be seen to be believed.
The Red Sox were in Baltimore to face the lowly Orioles with their ace John Lester on the mound, while the Rays played host to the New York Yankees who already rapped up the division title and played with a less than stellar lineup.
The Yankees jumped all over the Rays taking a 7-0 lead and it looked like the Red Sox were going to go to the postseason yet again, as they lead Baltimore 3-2 in the 7th.
…and then the rains came
During a rain delay that lasted about an hour and a half, Boston sat in their clubhouse and watched as the Rays made a storming comeback scoring 6 runs in the 8th inning to get within one run, 7-6.
Play finally resumed in Baltimore - In the 9th inning Jonathon Paplebon took the mound for the Sox to try and nail down the save. He started off great, striking out the first two batters and it looked like they would win the Wild Card or at least have a one game playoff in Tampa. Then the Orioles hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game, which brought Robert Andino to the plate, who dropped a short blooper to left that got under Carl Crawford’s glove scoring the winning run for Baltimore.
In Tampa, Joe Maddon, manager for the Rays, sent little used Dan Johnson to the plate with 2 outs in the ninth. Johnson had a .108 avg. and hadn’t had a hit since April, and with 2 strikes on him he hit a game tying homerun down the right field line.
The game continued tied 7-7 until the 12th inning. With B.J. Upton at the plate the crowd roared so loud that Upton had to ask for time and step out of the box as the final score BOS 3 BAL 4 flashed up on the Tropicana Field scoreboard. The next batter, literally three minutes later, was Evan Longoria who hit a walk off homerun to left that barely squeaked over the wall sending the entire stadium into euphoria, and winning the Wild Card for the Rays.
Drew Brees Breaks Dan Marino’s Passing Record
The day after Christmas we witnessed history as Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s record (5,084) for most passing yards in a season in, some would say, controversial fashion.
With about five minutes left and the Saints leading the Falcons 38-16 on Monday Night Football, Brees decided to go for Marino’s 27-year old record instead of running the ball to run the clock out and end the blow out.
Brees marched the Saints down the field and broke the record on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Darren Sproles.
A lot of the Falcons players and coaches criticized Brees for passing the ball in a blowout, but can you really blame the guy? On the stage of Monday Night Football and a 27-year old record within reach I say more power to him and congratulations. As for the Falcons, if you don’t like it, stop him.
They didn’t.
NBA and NFL Lockout
Rich people arguing with very rich people over millions and millions of dollars, while the rest of us watched and wished it would end so we could give them more of our money.
I hope I never hear BRI ever again.
Penn State and Jerry Sandusky
The most despicable story in the history of the NCAA.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know the details of this terrible story so I don’t want to get into the details again. Everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves, because they put their football program and the University’s reputation before the lives of the victims that were harmed during these unthinkable and barbaric acts.
Sandusky will be brought to justice, but that won’t heal so much damage that has already been caused. I speak for all of us in saying our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those that were harmed or affected in any way by that despicable person.
Honorable Mentions
UCONN wins the Big East and NCAA Tournament
VCU’s Run to the Final Four
Auburn Wins BCS National Championship (more like dishonorable mention because Cam Newton shouldn’t have been eligible to play for accepting improper benefits, but of course the NCAA looked the other way.)
Of all the memorable moments from 2011, these are just a few. Let us know your favorite moment from 2011, by commenting below.
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