While sports is just fun and games (big business too) there were many notable occurrences in 2009, so please allow me to once again to indulge and note some of the highlights.
January: The University of Florida Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners before 78,000 to capture the BCS Championship. The BCS system continues to be a joke by not allowing the football title to be determined through playoffs.
Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are crowned Australian Open singles champions. Bob and Mike Bryan win the Men’s doubles and when Serena and her sister, Venus, take the women’s doubles title. It marks the first time in the history of this prestigious tennis event that both doubles crowns were won by siblings.
Fourteen time Olympic Gold Medal winner Michael Phelps says he is sorry and he made a terrible mistake when a photograph of him smoking marijuana circulates around the world.
February: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in what the Nielsen Ratings System calls the highest rated Super Bowl in history. Yours truly finds that hard to believe when just a year earlier the New England Patriots going for a perfect season, were upset by the New York Giants in a much more intriguing game.
New York Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriquez begins
spring training by conducting a press conference in which he offers apologies for previously lying about taking banned drugs from 2001-2003 while he was a member of the Texas Rangers.
Matt Kenseth wins the Daytona 500 driving a Ford.
March: Larry Mackey wins his third straight Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race when his lead dogs Larry and Maple bring him across the finish line first in Nome, Alaska.
Bloomington South High School runs the table and goes 26-0 to win the Indiana High School 4A Basketball Tournament by defeating Fort Wayne Snider 69-62 in the championship game.
The Lady Giants of Ben Davis go 30-0 and defeat South Bend Washington 71-69 to capture the women’s crown.
April: North Carolina captures the Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship by defeating Michigan State 89-72 before a crowd of over 72,000 at Ford Field in Detroit.
The Ladies crown was captured by Connecticut who marched to a remarkable 39-0 record and defeated Louisville 78-54 in the title game played in St Louis.
Angel Cabrera captured the Masters Golf Championship at Augusta National Golf Club in a sudden death playoff over Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell.
The Indiana Pacers finish 36-46 and again miss the playoffs.
May: Calvin Borel rides Mind That Bird to victory at the 135th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky.
Helio Castroneves captures the pole and goes on to win his third Indianapolis 500, just six weeks after being acquitted on six charges of tax evasion in Florida. Tony George is ousted as the President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 27.
George’s mother and sisters felt too much of the family fortune was being spent on the Indy Racing League and voted him out.
June: The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Detroit Red Wings in seven games to capture the NHL Stanley Cup.
The Los Angeles Lakers led by series MVP Kobe Bryant, defeat the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. Bryant, with all due respect to Lebron James, showed he is still the best player in the world. (End of story)
Lucas Glover wins the US Open Golf Championship.
July: Roger Federer defeats Andy Roddick to win the Men’s Championship at Wimbledon. Serena Williams takes the Women’s Championship and teams with her sister Venus to also win the Women’s Doubles.
Alberto Contador of Spain wins the Tour de France. American Lance Armstrong finishes third in his bid to win the event for the eighth time.
Jimmie Johnson wins the Allstate 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when Juan Montoya is penalized late in the event for speeding on pit road. Montoya dominated the race, which featured little passing and was downright boring.
August: The Indianapolis Colts open their pre-season against the Minnesota Vikings at Lucas Oil Stadium, which according to the Capital Improvement Board, has a massive operational budget deficit.
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt sets a new world record in the 100 meters when he runs an incredible 9.58 in the World Athletic Championships in Berlin, Germany.
September: The Indianapolis Colts win their first three regular games of the season, and gain momentum heading in to October.
Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame all begin what would end up being embarrassing football seasons.
October: The Colts continue to roll through the month and the Pacers begin the 2009-2010 season at Atlanta with a loss.
Pacer first round draft pick Tyler Hansbrough starts the season on the bench with a shin injury.
November: The Indianapolis Colts kick it into high gear with five victories in the month of November including a 35-34 come from behind victory over the New England Patriots.
The Pacers go 6-9 in November and lose three games they should have won easily.
The New York Yankees win the World Series over Philadelphia.
Jensen Button of Braun GP wins the Formula One Championship.
Tiger Woods is involved in a domestic dispute outside his home.
Woods later issues an apology for failing his wife and children when numerous women report having had affairs with the superstar golfer. Tiger announces he will take time off from golf. Woods loses a number of endorsement deals as a result, but Nike remains steadfast in their support. Elin woods has filed for divorce and is seeking the case to be heard in California where community property laws could force Woods to pay her close to 250 million.
December: Notre Dame fires football coach Charlie Weiss and replaces him with Brian Kelly after Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops
and Jon Gruden all turn down offers to coach in South Bend. The Pacers lose nine of their first 12 in December and the Colts ramble on to reach 14-0 and look to perfect their season with just two games left. It remains to be seen if they can beat the likes of New England and San Diego in the playoffs to get to the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 in Miami.
Danny Bridges, who would like to thank Carolene Mays, Shannon Williams, Jessica Williams-Gibson and Brandon Perry for the opportunity to make these tiny contributions to the Indianapolis Recorder, can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or bridgeshd@aol.com. Happy New Year Sports Fans!
