The World Cup. The Winter Olympics. A 28-point second half comeback. It was a hell of a year for the sporting world. And while there is still time for the greatest sporting event of 2014 to happen, it’s going to be tough to top what we have already witnessed this year.
Here’s what we deemed the best sporting events for each month of 2014. Enjoy.
January 4, 2014 – Indianapolis Colts 45, Kansas City 44
The NFL postseason’s best game was its first one, as Andrew Luck and the Colts notched the second-largest comeback in playoff history thanks to 35 second-half points. Indianapolis was down 21 at the half and spotted the Chiefs another tuddy early in the third quarter before going on a run for the ages. Luck’s three second-half touchdown passes and fumble recovery for another score was the story and helped take the focus off his atrocious playoff beard.
February 15, 2014 – USA 3, Russia 2
TJ Oshie scored four times in a shootout that went eight rounds, and the Americans beat the Russians in front of a disappointed Vlad Putin at the Sochi Winter Games. Neither team would medal but who cares? It was “Rocky IV” on ice once again, and to say it was a thriller would be an understatement. Plus, even if for just a moment, it helped us all forget about Bob Costas and his pink eye.
March 29, 2014 – Wisconsin Badgers 64, Arizona Wildcats 63 (OT)
Not many people outside of the land of cheese and beer farts had Wisconsin making it to the Final Four, but Bucky’s Badgers got there in thrilling fashion thanks to an overtime victory against the favored Arizona Wildcats. Frank Kaminsky was the big cheese for the Badgers, netting 28 points and grabbing 11 boards and single-handedly sent Wisconsin to the Big Dance for the first time since 2000.
April 17, 2014 – St. Louis Blues 4, Chicago Blackhawks 3 (3 OT)
The only thing better than playoff hockey is overtime playoff hockey, and the Blues and Blackhawks gave us that and then some in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The two teams combined for six goals in the first three periods but went 40 minutes and 26 seconds without scoring another one until Alexander Steen found the back of the net for St. Louis.
May 13, 2014 – Oklahoma City Thunder 105, Los Angeles Clippers 104
Let’s be honest: Regular season NBA games matter almost as much as a Jonas Brother, but that’s not the case when the postseason hits. The best game of this year’s NBA Playoffs featured a furious Thunder comeback and, because it’s the NBA, some controversy. Oklahoma City was down 13 points with just over four minutes remaining, but they won the game thanks to a 17-3 run the rest of the way that was aided by an out-of-bounds call that could have gone either way and a Chris Paul “phantom foul” that sent Russell Westbrook to the line for the winning free throws.
June 16, 2014 – USA 2, Ghana 1
Mandatory’s Gary Dudak and Max Miller made the trip to Brazil for the World Cup, but sadly it was two days after USA’s epic 2-1 victory over Ghana, avenging the USMNT’s loss to the West African country four years earlier. Clint Dempsey scored the game’s first goal just 34 seconds into the match, and everything was hunky-dory until Ghana evened things up with a goal of their own in the 82nd minute. But just when it looked like Ghana would break America’s heart yet again, John Anthony Brooks found the back of the net in the 86th minute, sealing it for the U.S.
July 6, 2014 – Novak Djokovic defeats Roger Federer in five-set Wimbledon final thriller
We knew we were in for a treat when Djokovic and Federer faced off in the Wimbledon final, as the two had already combined to win 23 Grand Slam tournaments. But after this epic five-set thriller, it felt like we were given the whole damn cake. Two of the sets needed tiebreakers and another needed 12 games to be decided. Djokovic had Federer at Championship point in the fourth set, but the greatest player in men’s tennis history saved and battled back to force a fifth set, where Djokovic fought off a right knee injury and held on to win 6-4.
August 10, 2014 – Rory McIlroy outlasts Phil Mickelson and others to win the PGA Championship
Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson were both critical of PGA officials’ decision to allow McIlroy to hit his approach shot while they waited near the 18th green, but hey, that’s what happens when you don’t win. A two-hour rain delay made daylight hard to come by as the players near the top of the leaderboard tried to finish the round, and McIlroy would eventually win despite being down by three strokes with nine holes to play. He would win by one stroke thanks to an eagle on the 10th and birdies on the 13th and 17th.
September 30, 2014 – Kansas City Royals 9, Oakland Athletics 8 (12 innings)
Most baseball writers were probably writing their “Royals Fire Ned Yost” stories after the Royals skipper totally mismanaged his pitching staff and allowed the A’s to take a 7-3 lead in the American League Wild Card game. But Yost’s hitters responded with three runs in the eighth inning and one in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings. Oakland scored one run in the top of the 12th, but Kansas City plated two in the bottom of the inning, sending the Kauffman Stadium crowd into a frenzy. It was the first postseason victory for the Royals since 1985.
October 4, 2014 – San Francisco Giants 2, Washington Nationals 1 (18 innings)
The Giants won their third World Series in five years by beating the Royals in seven games, and they made history along the way, beating the Nationals 2-1 in the NLDS in what would become the longest postseason game in history. The game lasted six hours, 23 minutes and ended in the 18th inning when Brandon Belt homered and the Giants bullpen held the Nationals scoreless. The only bad news for Giants fans who made the trip to Nationals Park was that beer sales ended after the seventh inning.
November 29, 2014 – Alabama Crimson Tide 55, Auburn Tigers 44
How do top an Iron Bowl that ended on a 109-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown the year before? 99 combined points should pretty much do it. The Crimson Tide looked good early, jumping out to a 14-3 lead with six minutes left in the first quarter. But Auburn scored 30 of the next 37 points and looked in total control until Amari Cooper’s third touchdown catch cut the Alabama deficit to two late in the third quarter. The Bama offense would score three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter while the Tide defense held Auburn to just a late score, and the Tide avenged last year’s shocker.
December: TBD
Will a game in December take the cake for the best sporting event of 2014? Only time will tell…
