If you're putting together a sports retrospective for 2007, let me save you the trouble. This year was nothing short of a catastrophe for sports, from beginning to end, the icing being the announcement of the Mitchell Report.
The year started off great, with Boise State upsetting Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on New Years Day. Then the negative stuff picked up just two days later, when Nick Saban waltzed into the Alabama job after denying he was interested in it for three months. Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson couldn't stay out of the headlines, nor could Don Imus when he referred to the Rutgers women basketball team as "nappy headed hoes."
March Madness was anything but exciting. It was the most by-the-numbers tournament seen in years: no #12 beat a #5 and great games were seldom. Florida won the championship for the second straight year, beating the same team (Ohio State) that they beat in the BCS Championship Game (which was also boring).
The NHL continued to post some of the most embarrassing television ratings in history. The NBA had a rough summer too. First the Phoenix Suns were jipped out of the Finals when Amare Stoudemire walked 10 feet down the sideline, forcing a suspension that put the Spurs in the Finals instead. San Antonio swept what was the lowest rated Finals in the League's 60 years of existence. Then it was revealed that veteran referee Tim Donaghy had been betting on games he officiated for over four years.
The middle of 2007 proved to be the worst. Michael Vick became the most reviled man in America when he was indicted and then convicted of dogfighting and dog-killing. When it wasn't Vick and Donaghy in the news it was Barry Bonds, who at least surpassed the hallowed mark of 755 home runs that Hank Aaron set 33 years ago. Three months later, Bonds was indicted on federal charges of perjury.
David Beckham tried to make soccer relevant in America when he came aboard the LA Galaxy in August. However due to injuries he sustained while playing with England, Beckham didn't change a thing. He only scored one goal all season. The bad luck even spread to women's soccer. The US Women's soccer team was knocked out of the Fifa World Cup when the coach decided to pull their undefeated goalie, Hope Solo. The US lost 4-0.
The Boston Red Sox won their second title in four years, but had to sweep the Colorado Rockies in a rather unwatchable World Series. In fact it's been five years since there was a World Series that was the least bit competitive.
Sean Taylor was senselessly killed when young men, some of them teenagers, robbed his house and shot the Pro Bowler. Then the cou de gras: the Mitchell Report reveals only a particle of the steroid-users in Major League Baseball, but does oust Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte, Eric Gagne, Mo Vaughn, and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens as cheaters.
Now 2007 wasn't all bad: there was the Warriors upsetting the Mavericks in the first round, LeBron single-handedly toppling Detroit, Appalachian State upsetting Michigan....It's just that the negativity outweighs the positivity. Yeah the Patriots are heading to 16-0, but they were also involved in Spygate at the beginning of the season. And yes the Celtics returning to prominence is great for the NBA, but not after the Lakers, Knicks, Bulls, and Heat were involved in tireless soap operas. For the most part, 2007 has been one story of a troubled athlete or poor television ratings after another. Hell, even OJ was in the news again.
Let's hope 2008 goes better.
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Ever since the '95-96 Chicago Bulls won 72 games, the latest team to get off to a great start is asked if they too can win 70 games. Three years ago it was the Pistons, two years ago it was the Suns, last year it was Dallas (who won 67). Now it's the Celtics turn--can they win 70 games?
