Year In Review: Top ten sports headlines from 2008
1. All eyes fixed on Phelps at Summer Olympics
Michael Phelps’ run of success swimming in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing almost defies superlatives: Eight gold medals, seven world record times, and millions of people who were captivated by his quest to reach an individual record.
Phelps qualified for eight events, and to break U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz’s 36-year-old Olympic record of seven gold medals at a single games, he needed to win them all as his mother cheered from the stands.
Perhaps the most thrilling moment came Aug. 16, when Phelps faced off against Milorad Cavic, a Serbian-American swimming for Serbia, in the 100-meter butterfly. At the end of the race, Cavic appeared to reach the wall first, but the gold went to Phelps, who was confirmed as the winner after a review of underwater photos shot one-ten-thousandth of a second apart.
“Nothing is impossible,” Phelps said after he won his eighth gold.
2. Cubs, White Sox make baseball’s postseason
It had been 102 years since both of Chicago’s baseball teams made the playoffs in the same season.
The Sox, winner of the AL Central, considered their season a success after losing, 3-1, against Tampa Bay in the AL Division Series.
The Cubs couldn’t say the same. The North Siders had the NL’s best regular-season record in winning the NL Central, but were swept by Los Angeles in the NL Division Series.
3. Bulls get No. 1 pick
The Bulls had a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top pick in the NBA draft lottery May 20, but that was all they needed.
Bulls general manager John Paxson selected 19-year-old point guard Derrick Rose, a Chicago native who played college ball at Memphis, over forward Michael Beasley out of Kansas State.
Rose appears to be an emerging star in the NBA.
4. Cubs’ Zambrano throws no-hitter at Miller Park
In a game played Sept. 14 against Houston at Milwaukee’s Miller Park, Zambrano pitched the first Cubs no-hitter since Milt Pappas in 1972, allowing only two Astros to reach base, walking one and hitting a second.
The game was played in Milwaukee after Hurricane Ike rampaged through Houston, and was technically a home game for the Astros, but the Miller Park crowd clearly favored the Cubs.
5. Giants upset undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl
New England entered Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3 undefeated and heavily favored to beat the New York Giants.
But the Giants scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win, 17-14. The play of the game was Eli Manning’s pass to wideout David Tyree, who made a clutch catch by trapping the ball against the top of his helmet on a drive that led to New York’s winning score.
6. Tiger Woods wins U.S. Open on broken leg
Tiger Woods outdueled Rocco Mediate, a veteran golfer playing the tournament of his life, at Torrey Pines in San Diego in June.
Woods returned to play the Open after having surgery on his right knee in April and often grimaced in pain as he played what became a 91-hole tournament.
Woods outlasted Mediate, winning on the 19th hole of a playoff round. It would be Woods’ last tournament of 2008 after it was revealed that he played the Open on a broken leg.
7. Favre traded to Jets
As soon as Brett Favre’s tearful March 6 news conference announcing his retirement was over, speculation began about his return.
Before the end of March, Favre changed his mind, then changed it back. By July, Favre again had decided to return, and filed for reinstatement.
In August, he showed up at the Packers’ training camp, but never practiced. Instead, he was traded to the Jets.
8. Blackhawks home games finally televised
The Hawks announced it April 1, but it was no joke: For the first time in history, all 82 Hawks games – including home games – would be televised.
Reversing a policy that was emblematic of the Blackhawks’ disconnect with Chicago sports fans, the Hawks’ plan also included as many as 20 games to be broadcast on WGN.
9. World Series Game 5 takes days to finish
Philadelphia and Tampa Bay started playing Game 5 of the World Series on Oct. 27, but a driving rainstorm left the field unplayable at the end of 5-and-a-half innings.
The two teams finished the game Oct. 29, and almost 50 hours after the first pitch, the Phillies won, 4-3, for their first championship in 28 years.
10. Orton wins QB job
The Bears flipped a coin at the start of training camp in July to decide whether Kyle Orton or Rex Grossman would play with the first-team offense.
By the end of camp in Bourbonnais, the starting job was Orton’s.
Orton justified the choice by having some solid games and avoiding the mistakes that had marred Grossman’s tenure.
The decision also made it likely that this season would be the last in Chicago for Grossman.
