Clip Reel: 2008

A year in review, with help from the hyperlink.

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"What has two thumbs and is synonymous with 2008? This guy."

Tomorrow, we'll be ushering in 2009. But first, we have to say goodbye to the wonderful year that was 2008. Here's a look back at the major stories of the last 365 days with a little help from our good friend, the hyperlink.

NFL:

• David Tyree made this incredible catch to help end the Patriots run at perfection in Super Bowl XLII.
• Chad Johnson changed his name. Kinda.
• Brett Favre left Green Bay for not-so-greener pastures with the Jets, as EA Sports scrambled to explain cover of Madden 09.
• Fans in New England mourned the loss of a fallen heartthrob quarterback.
• NFL Players' Association director and Raider great Gene Upshaw lost his battle with cancer at the age of 63.
• Vince Young had confidence issues. Lucky for the Titans, Kerry Collins didn't.
• The Dolphins unearthed a new offensive formation, which might not have been so new.
• The Cowboys gambled on Pacman Jones—and lost. (Just ask Lil Wayne!)
• Tony Gonzalez stuck it out in Kansas City and even saved a guy's life.
• Javon Walker was at the center of another cautionary tale regarding security in the NFL.
• Philip Rivers is a gamer. He played in the AFC Championship game on a torn ACL.
• Al Davis just couldn't take Lane Kiffin anymore. The Volunteers, however, could.

NBA:

• After acquiring both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the offseason, the Celtics win their 17th NBA Championship.
• Around the trade deadline, Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, Jason Kidd (with an odd assist from Keith Van Horn) and Mike Bibby all find new homes. Some had more success than others.
• Goodbye Sonics, hello Thunder.
• New Knicks president Donnie Walsh fired Isiah Thomas and hired Mike D'Antoni so that we may never be subjected to the likes of this again.
• The Houston Rockets won 22 straight games, the second longest streak in NBA history.
• Brandon Jennings circumvented college and headed to Italy to play pro ball, while Jannero Pargo and Josh Childress' leaps overseas caused many to speculate about the future of the league's superstars.
• With his "Superman" dunk, Dwight Howard won the slam dunk contest and left Kenny Smith nearly apoplectic.
• Shaq had a simple request for Kobe Bryant: "Tell me how my a-- tastes."
• Baron Davis left Golden State to come home to LA and play with Elton Brand, who promptly jumped ship for Philadelphia.
• Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups swap places and the Pistons as we knew them would never be the same.

MLB:

• The Tampa Bay Rays were a team of destiny …
• … until the Phillies took them down in the World Series, ending Philadelphia's legendary title drought.
• Roger Clemens released a heated phone conversation he had with former trainer Brian McNamee, and we found out about the pitchers ties to a certain country music star.
• After a rocky start in Tampa Bay, Josh Hamilton shines with the Rangers (and in the Home Run Derby).
• No one wanted the giant-sized headache that came with signing Barry Bonds. It must have been collusion.
• Jon Lester completed his heroic comeback from cancer by throwing a no-hitter against the Royals.
• For the first time ever in MLB history, instant replay was used to confirm a home run.
• Francisco Rodriguez saved an astonishing 62 games.
• After a trade from Cleveland sent him to Milwaukee, CC Sabathia drops the periods from his nickname and proceeded to just crush the National League.
• The A's Brad Ziegler set a record for most scoreless innings to start a career (39 1/3).
• The All-Star Game was really freaking long.
• A-Rod split with C-Rod … over Madonna? Really?
• We retired Yankee Stadium—then watched in horror as the Yanks spent a ridiculous amount of cash on free agents.

NHL:

• The Red Wings beat the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final and somehow got even stronger in the off-season.

• The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres played the first outdoor regular season game on U.S. soil.
• Fans held their breath after Olli Jokinen's skate severed Richard Zednik's carotid artery.
• Alexander Ovechkin took home his first Hart Trophy.

AUTOS:

• Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive Sprint Cup.
• Junior left DEI and ran a season with Rick Hendrick's team.
• Danica Patrick and Ashley Force shattered the gender barrier by winning Indy and NHRA races respectively.
• Kiwi Scott Dixon chugged milk in victory lane at the Indy 500—and in our offices.
• F1 chief Max Moseley was caught in a bizarre Nazi sex scandal.
• Graham Rahal became the youngest driver to win an IndyCar event at the Honda Grand Prix in St. Petersburg. He also did some reporting for us.
• Lewis Hamilton became the first black driver to win an F1 title after narrowly losing to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

OLYMPIC SPORTS:

• Opening Ceremonies kicked off the Beijing Games in style. (You don't have to read Portugese to get the video from that link, but it sure helps.)
• China passed the torch to the Brits with a little help from Jimmy Page.
• Michael Phelps had a few exciting finishes on his road to a record eight gold medals, but none were closer than this one.
• Weightlifters arms just weren't supposed to bend this way.
• Usain Bolt can run really, really fast.
• The Redeem Team ended our national nightmare and brought home gold.
• Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang withdrew from the Games and crushed the hopes of an entire nation.
• USA Men's and Women's beach volleyball teams swept the competition, while the U.S. indoor team persevered in spite the murder of head coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law
• Even at 41, Dara Torres can still swim.
• Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson finish 1-2 in the gymnastics all-around, even though their competition might not have been exactly legal.
• Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius nearly qualified for the Olympics after a hard-fought battle for the right to race against able-bodied runners.
• Haile Gebrselassie broke his own world record in the marathon in Berlin.
• Lindsay Vonn and Bode Miller secure the first American sweep of the skiing World Cup since 1983.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

• The Buckeyes faltered against an SEC team in the BCS title game … again.
• Rich Rodriguez made more than a few enemies in Morgantown.
• Terrelle Pryor made sure he had everyone's attention before signing with Ohio State.
• Sooners QB Sam Bradford threw 48 TDs and only 6 INTs and took home the Heisman. (But lost to Texas! Remember? Anyone?!)
• In an interview on Monday Night Football, then-senator Barack Obama made his stance on the BCS very clear.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

• Kansas ruined thousands of brackets by actually playing up to their No. 1 seed.
• The world was introduced to Davidson and Stephen Curry.
• The NCAA began an investigation of Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson and cited five major recruiting violations. The Hoosiers are now trying to rebuild with Tom Crean.
• O.J. Mayo was allegedly given gifts by an L.A. event promoter while at USC, but was still drafted No. 3 overall in the NBA draft.
• Kansas State's Michael Beasley put forth one of the best freshman seasons ever.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES:

• The Fresno State Bulldogs won the College World Series despite being unranked all season.

WOMEN'S HOOPS:

• Candace Parker was the best rookie the WNBA has ever seen.
• The Houston Comets, winner of the first four NBA championships, disbanded due to lack of owner interest.
• Top recruit Elena Delle Donne enrolled at UConn, only to transfer to Deleware … to play volleyball.

GOLF:

• Tiger Woods proved he doesn't need fully-functioning knee ligaments to win the U.S. Open.
• Annika Sorenstam believed it was time for her to go.
• After playing in 62 LPGA tournaments, mostly by exemptions or invitations, Michelle Wie finally gets her tour card.
• Padraig Harrington won his second-consecutive British Open.

SOCCER:

• Spain came away victorious at Euro 2008.
• Manchester United defeated Chelsea in a shootout to win the UEFA Champions League.
• Young American star Freddy Adu continued to shine overseas. Only now in Monaco.

TENNIS:

• Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer at Wimbledon in one of the best championship matches of all time.
• World No. 1 Justin Henin retired, as so few do, at the top of her game.

HORSE RACING:

• Filly Eight Belles broke her front ankles at the Kentucky Derby and had to be euthanized on the track.
• Big Brown nearly completed the first Triple Crown in 30 years until finishing last at the Belmont.

ACTION SPORTS:

• At the X-Games, Danny Way proved he's much tougher than you are.
• Paul Rodriguez took home a record $100,000 for winning the first-ever Maloof Money Cup, hosted by Sacramento Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof.

BOXING:

• Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito threw down the fight of the year.
• In what was probably his final fight, Oscar De la Hoya was completely overmatched by Manny Pacquiao.
• Joe Calzaghe stayed perfect against Roy Jones at Madison Square Garden.

MMA:

• Kimbo Slice got hyped up. Then he got knocked out.
• Brock Lesnar battled Randy Couture and won himself a spot on our list of NEXT athletes.

Whew. See you all next year.

Did we miss anything? Sure we did. Let us hear about it.

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