2006 Sports Year in Review

2007 promises to be a spectacular sports year. What better indicator than the epic Boise St.-Oklahoma 43-42 roller coaster showdown last night? But before we launch into another year, it's time to take a look back at 2006 and all the sports stories that mattered.

1/4/2006: Texas 41 – USC 38
Stars galore in Pasadena as Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and a multitude of NFL draft picks take on Vince Young (because that’s all Texas needs). In the game of the season, Young runs rampant throughout the Trojan defense (200 yards rushing, 267 passing) and single handedly wills Texas to victory.

1/22/2006: Kobe scores 81
Talk about a performance. 3’s, layups, dunks, free throws, fadeaways, runners… they all fall. Love him or hate him, we must all respect the former #8 because he is damn good at putting a basketball through a hoop. As the Toronto Raptors will attest to, Mr. Bryant is magic when he wants to score. And score. And score.

2/19/2006: USC 71 – UCLA 68
This game is significant for several reasons. It refocuses the Bruins to play championship level basketball for the rest of the season, spurring their improbable run to the Final Four. This marks the last regular season loss that the Bruin basketball team suffered in 2006. And, it represents the only time USC beat UCLA in the two major sports during 2006.

3/23/2006: UCLA 73 – Gonzaga 71
Simply put, this is not only the greatest game of the season, but in my heavily biased opinion, the greatest comeback I will ever see. As has been documented in this space before, a UCLA comeback seemed so unlikely, I didn’t even realize we had taken the lead on the Bozeman/Farmar steal and Mbah a Moute layup. We all knew this team had heart, but the emotion they played with was unparalleled.

3/26/2006: George Mason 86 – Connecticut 84
March Madness is called such because of the upsets it produces. But beyond being a helluva basketball game between the big bad Huskies and Cinderella, the Patriots’ improbable victory launched a mid-major 11 seed to the Final Four. And upset the reigning two national champions along the way. All hail the incredible run of George Mason.

4/1/2006: UCLA 59 – LSU 45
After being discounted by college basketball experts everywhere, UCLA absolutely dominates LSU from start to finish in their most dominating performance of the season. This is by far the Bruins’ best game of the season as they use stifling defense, flawless offensive sets, and a variety of dunks to throttle Big Baby and the Tigers.

4/3/2006: Florida 73 – UCLA 57
Sadly, this is the downer of the 2006 calendar year. The Gators deserve this victory as they destroy the Bruins on both ends of the floor for a full 40 minutes. Most painful loss of my sports life to date.

5/28/2006: Sam Hornish, Jr. wins the Indy 500
Most of America could care less about open wheel racing. But the final five laps of this race are racing at its finest, as 19 year old Marco Andretti passes his famous father Michael while legend grandfather Mario looks on. And of course, to ruin the Andretti day, Sam Hornish, Jr. gets an amazing run out of turn 4 to edge past Marco and win his first Indy 500 by the shortest margin in history.

5/28/2006: Barry Bonds hits number 715
While the national media can discredit this accomplishment as much as it wants, I have seen Barry’s magic many, many times. And this blast off Byung-Hyun Kim is pure beauty. Only Giants fans fully appreciate #25’s greatness; it’s a pity that the rest of the country is blinded by its own ignorance.

7/9/2006: Zidane’s headbutt
Okay, in all honesty, this is the one game I did not watch. And while I knew of Zidane before, I don’t know or care much about soccer. But yikes, you do not want to piss this man off.

7/25/2006: Kevin Love commits to UCLA
The biggest recruit for UCLA basketball in three decades announces his intentions to attend UCLA. Time to begin making travel arrangements for San Antonio 2008…

8/31/2006: Andre Agassi outlasts Marcos Baghdatis in 5 sets at the US Open
Everyone knows this match could be Agassi’s last. And the crowd applauds Andre’s efforts, as he fights age, injury, and a worthy opponent with guile, determination, and passion. Yet as the match peaks in its 4^th hour and 5^th set, it’s hard not to root for Baghdatis’ inspirational effort while fighting severe leg cramps. The situation is pure magic; after every point, pandemonium ensues. It’s hard to watch without tears in your eyes. And of course, it isn’t special unless Andre wins – which he does, ending the night with his kisses to the New York crowd.

10/13/2006: Detroit Tigers 3 – Oakland A’s 0
The 2006 baseball playoffs weren’t particularly exciting; anytime an 83-win team wins it all, the quality of play probably isn’t very good. But in his second start in a dominating three week span, 41-year old Kenny Rogers shuts down the A’s with a remarkable performance. In addition to his gaudy postseason statistics – 23 shutout IP, 9 H, 19 K’s, 3-0 and opponents with a .114 batting average – The Gambler fuels the Tigers run to the World Series by energizing the crowd with unforeseen vigor.

10/21/2006: Notre Dame 21 – UCLA 17
Ouch. The second most painful loss for Bruins fans in 2006 is this collapse in South Bend. After controlling the game for 58 and a half minutes against the most storied program in college football in front of a national audience, UCLA collapses and fails to obtain that elusive marquee away victory.

12/2/2006: UCLA 13 – USC 9
Upset! The definite peak in a roller coaster season, this game combines grit, passion, and determination in an improbable UCLA victory. Eric McNeal goes down in history. The Bruins end a 7-year losing streak to their city rivals. The Trojans are knocked out of the BCS title game. Westwood riots.

12/27/2006: Florida State 44 – UCLA 27
Just three and a half weeks after the surreal upset of USC, the Bruins play mistake-ridden football and manage to lose much of the momentum they established in December. A devastating start to what looked to be a promising offseason, UCLA instead is faced with the very same questions and doubts they heard just a few weeks earlier.