The Twelve Days of 2010

Sure, there are 365 days in a year. With the holiday season still upon us, I thought a title in the spirit of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" may be clever and eye catching. Alright, it is "Google friendly". I confess!

Today, the final day of 2010, The Daily Hat Trick reviews the top sports stories of 2010, by month. Keep in mind that I am a Louisiana native, so there will be a pinch of Creole seasoning in this "best of". Here is a hint: The Saints won the Super Bowl in this calendar year.

January 24, 2010 - The New Orleans Saints Advance to the Super Bowl


As I stated, there would be some local flavor, but this was still a national story. The Saints, over the course of their 43 seasons of play, had a well documented record of heartbreaks for their fans (and absolute, inexplicable failure prior to the 1985 sale of the franchise to current owner Tom Benson). Growing up in New Orleans, "wait until next year," was an expression I had grown accustomed to hearing at the end of every football season. Enter Head Coach Sean Payton. In 2006, Saints fans began to actually believe that there could be something to wait for "next year". In 2009, "next year" came.

"Hartley...SENDS THE SAINTS TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!"

This gives me goose bumps almost every time I watch this.
(source: Fox via You Tube)

Brett Favre's interception/Dillo Hunt 

in the 2009 NFC Championship Game

(source: The Jim Rome Show via You Tube)

February 7, 2010 - The New Orleans Saints Win Super Bowl XLIV

Again, Louisiana flavor, but nationally relevant.... The dream of generations of Saints fans finally came true. "If the Saints win the Super Bowl, I can die in peace," was another colorful, tongue-in-cheek expression that many a Saints fan heard repeatedly. 

The late, long time New Orleans sports media icon Buddy "Buddy D" Diliberto often said, following a disappointing season, that he hoped to see the Saints go to the Super Bowl before he died. Buddy D expressed similar feelings during final post game broadcast was after a Saints victory over the Carolina Panthers on January 2, 2005 (only to have the Saints miss the playoffs due to a Rams overtime victory within the hour following the Saints' game). Five days later, he died. Diliberto quipped, often, that if you go to Heaven after you die to just tell St. Peter that you are a Saints fan because St. Pete would let you in, no matter what you had done; you had suffered enough. This past February, Buddy D and millions of Saints fans, past and present, living and passed on, young and old, received their peace. 

Saints fans celebrate the Super Bowl victory with a tribute to Buddy "Buddy D" Diliberto.
Beats the heck out of celebratory gunfire.... 1

March 11, 2010 - Merlin Olsen Dies

Pro Football Hall of Fame player and former NFL color commentator Merlin Olsen died of cancer this past March. Olsen and longtime NBC broadcast partner, Dick Enberg, were the voices of the marquee AFC football games on NBC throughout the 1980s.

Enberg, left, and Olsen (1940-2010), right 2

April 5, 2010 - Butler University loses to Duke on a missed, last second  shot.

The 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament featured a number of surprising upsets. The story of the 2010 tournament was the Butler Bulldogs, a small college in Indianapolis, Indiana from the Horizon League. Butler entered the tournament as a respectable #5 seed and continued to beat opponent after opponent with shooting and defense. Duke University, possibly the "Evil Empire" of college basketball, was playing for its fourth National Championship under legendary Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. Butler rebounded an (intentionally missed) Duke free throw, trailing by two points. Butler's Gordon Heyward launched, but missed, a three point shot, at the buzzer, from just inside the Duke backcourt, hitting the backboard and glancing off of the rim.

Gordon Heyward was close, but no cigar.
I would imagine he could have been a spokesperson for Trojan had me made the shot that night. 3

May 9, 2010 - Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics Pitches the 19th Perfect Game in the 142nd Season of Major League Baseball

Dallas Braden, the pillar of class in Major League Baseball , pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Mother's Day, 2010. Braden, who was raised by his grandmother after his mother died of cancer while Braden was in high school, had become involved in a controversial verbal altercation with Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez after A-Rod walked across the pitcher's mound in between half-innings. Rodriguez, whom I rarely defend, in so many words, suggested that Braden should settle down, especially considering his limited success in Major League Baseball. A-Rod has a Hall of Fame resume, Braden is an injury or a slump away from updating his resume. Braden's grandmother following the perfect game was quoted as saying, "Stick it, A-Rod!" Ah, baseball, a "family game"....

And classy, too...! 4

June 4, 2010 - Legendary UCLA Men's Basketball Coach John Wooden Dies at Age 99

John Wooden, coach of UCLA Bruins teams that won 10 NCAA Championships (including a stretch of seven straight), posted a NCAA Division I men's basketball record winning streak of 88 consecutive games (which has stood for the past 37 years), and included future professional basketball Hall of Fame players Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton, died this past June. Frankly, I think that no commentary is really necessary for this story. For the casual or new sports fan who may not be familiar with Wooden's legacy, he was a forefather of the popularity of the modern college basketball game, representing all that is good with sports.

John Wooden (1910-2010) in 1974 against Notre Dame in the loss that snapped his record 88 game winning streak. 5

July 8, 2010 - The Decision

LeBron James announces that he will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and take his "talents to South Beach" to play for the Miami Heat. James immediately goes from one of the most liked athletes in the world to one of the most hated. The Miami Heat go from a middle of the road Eastern Conference team to a favorite (The Sporting News described the Heat as "The Evil Empire" of the NBA, post "Decision"), and NBA television ratings would go through the roof in the fall. David Stern does a happy dance. As for LeBron James' reputation in his native Ohio? I think a dude could have relations with both his father's and his brother's girlfriends...at the same time...on video...sold on the Internet for $59.99...after going viral...with full screen captions...and have a better chance at repairing the relationships than James has of repairing the bridge with Cavs fans.

We, at ESPN, would like to thank you, King James for our stratospheric ratings, that night. We realize you had a choice of whether or not to broadcast The Decision, and your choice was the wrong one. 7

August 23, 2010 - The Divorce of Tiger and Elin Woods Is Final


Boy did Tiger screw up. All I will say, to paraphrase Jim Rome, is that "sex" is undefeated, untied, and has never trailed against any opponent when it comes to ruining lives.

Was Bill Duke, as the cop in "Menace to Society" talking to Kane or Tiger? 8

September 20, 2010 - Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Kenny McKinley Commits Suicide


In yet another tragic death of a young NFL player, and the third Broncos player in recent years (Darrent Williams, Damien Nash), Kenny McKinley dies from a self inflicted gunshot wound. Reportedly, McKinley suffered from depression over massive debt and the possibility that his NFL playing career may have been over due to a knee injury he suffered earlier in the season.

Kenny McKinley (1987-2010)

October 6, 2010 - Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Roy Halliday Throws the 2nd, Ever, No-Hitter in MLB Postseason History.


The Phillies fell woefully short of expectations, being upset by the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series, but Roy Halliday's performance, his second no-no in the 2010 season, was one for the ages. Halliday pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB history during the regular season. I thought it was Groundhog Day when I heard the news on the opening day of the playoffs.


November 1, 2010 - The San Francisco Giants Win the First Ever World Series in San Francisco, and the First World Series for the Franchise Since 1954.


Brian Wilson, the Giants' eccentric closing pitcher, said the World Series against the Texas Rangers (who made their first, ever World Series appearance in 2010) would be "epic". It wasn't. Cliff Lee laid an egg when the Rangers needed him most. The Giants win the series four games to one. Tim Lincecum, who reminds me of Professor Snape from "Harry Potter", became a household name among sports fans. Rangers manager Ron Washington...I hope he didn't fall off of the nose candy wagon.

Tim Lincecum (left), and Professor Snape (right). Or is it the other way around? 9

December, 13, 2010 - Brett Favre's Consecutive Start Streak Ends at 297 Games


No commentary is really needed for this either. But to put it in perspective, the last time Fave did not start an NFL game, 1992:

• The elder George Bush was President
• Most people didn't know what the Internet was
• Jackie Slater, who played with Joe Namath, was still a starter in the NFL
• The Rams and Raiders were in Los Angeles
• Jenn Sterger was nine years old.

My, how she has blossomed! 10

HAPPY NEW YEAR, HAT TRICK READERS!!!!
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1) Image from http://farm5.static.flickr.com

2) Image from www.chicagotribune.com

3) Image from www.onegreatseason.com

4) Image from www.nola.com

5) Image from the Associated Press via www.theledger.com

6) Image from www.fancast.com
7) Image from ESPN via www.hitfix.com
8) Image from www.usatoday.com
9) Images from http://sports.yahoo.com
10) Image from www.bleacherreport.com