Top Five Sports Moments of 2013

Had to do this one a couple days before New Years. The main thing I considered when making this list was what will people really remember when they think back to the year 2013 in sports.

5. The Biggest Shocks of the Year- Aaron Hernandez is a cold blooded murderer and Manti Te'o is just weird as fuck.

Hernandez-

It's not every day that an athlete is accused for murder, especially an athlete at the top tier of his sport. Even in the famous O.J. Simpson case, his murder accusation and subsequent trial came 20 years after the running back's career. In Hernandez's case, he was a top five tight end in the league playing on national television almost every single week for one of the most popular and successful team's in the NFL. In the words of Will Ferrell in Wedding Crashers "WHAT AN IDIOT." 

Being from Connecticut, I think we understand the Hernandez story a lot more than most people across the country. Hernandez is from Bristol, Connecticut, which is well on its way to knocking out Hartford or Bridgeport for the biggest shithole in the state. He had bad influences around him his entire life, but the bottom line is that this guy threw away his million dollar ticket. Most high school athletes would Hernandez somebody to be where Hernandez was in his career. 

The craziest part of this Hernandez case was the aftermath of his initial trial. Since being accused of killing Odin Lloyd, Hernandez has been linked to several other murder cases and crimes around the country. The guy was somehow fitting in an undercover life as a mob boss while playing on a national stage every Sunday, absolutely insane.

Te'o- 

This was without a doubt one of the strangest sports stories of our generation. The funniest thing about this story is that there really was absolutely no explanation. Did Te'o make this story up because he's gay? Did he fake the death of his fake girlfriend for the publicity? Or was he really that fucking weird to actually get catfished as a famous college athlete?

This story made noooo sense to anybody. Te'o was one of the best players in the country in the 2012-2013, lining himself up to be a first round draft pick in the NFL and then BAM, his fake girlfriend has a dick. The real savage in this situation, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Whether or not this guy was just taking the blame for Manti Te'o's cover up, he got famous off of this whole situation. And I understand what you might be thinking, he was pretending to be a chick for a while, he probably has a laundry list of mental problems. Listen, no publicity is bad publicity. A month after all this shit unfolded, he was doing his fake chick voice on the Dr. Phil show. If you think that this guy didn't make money off this whole situation, then your wrong.

As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Te'o was cutting this guy part of his NFL check every month saying "thanks for covering up for me pretending my girlfriend died from cancer man, you're a real pal," wouldn't put anything past Te'o at this point. 

4. Blackhawks score two goals in 17 seconds, beat Bruins in game six to win Stanley Cup

This one hurts, but I've gotta be fair when making this list. When people think back to major sporting events of this year, they will remember game six of the Stanley Cup. The toughest team in hockey, the Boston Bruins, held a 2-1 lead with 1:16 left in game six of the cup. They then displayed one of the biggest collapses in the history of the NHL. As a B's fan, the Bickell goal was just a terrible omen. As soon as he netted the tying goal, you could just feel that everything was gonna go down from there. Seconds later, Dave Bolland made the score 3-2 and suddenly the Bruins were on their heels and doing everything that they could to avoid elimination.

Even after everything that the B's had done in the playoffs (making Sidney Crosby their bitch), I don't think that there was a single Bruins fan that felt good about a comeback after Bolland scored that goal. It was too fucking demoralizing to allow the Blackhawks to tie it and then take the outright lead in a span of 17 seconds. No real way to come back from that. Nothing but a bitter taste in your mouth after this game.

3. Heat Fans Prove how irrelevant they are, Leave Early in One of the Best NBA Games Ever

Too many things to talk about with this game. The Miami Heat were losing to the San Antonio Spurs with a few minutes left in game six of the NBA Finals, and the Heat fans acted like they were losing by 20 in a regular season game. Before you knew it, the exits were flooded with angry Heat fans going back to their homes to think about how shitty their lives are. Miami doesn't deserve this franchise, they never deserved Dwayne Wade, and they certainly didn't deserve the "Big 3" of Lebron, Wade, and Chris Bosh.

They are undoubtedly one of biggest examples of Bandwagon fans in sports today, and there was no better example than their actions in the fourth quarter of this game. Enough with the Heat fans though, because the Spurs collapsed in this game almost as badly as the Bruins did. They controlled the tempo the entire game, and had showed that they were the better team through five games, as they held a 3-2 series lead. With the lead that they developed in this game, how did they lose? 

I understand that Lebron acted like Michael Jordan for a night, willing his team back from more than a ten point deficit. Regardless, the Spurs lost this game. The result of the game had more to do with what they did wrong than what the Heat did right. As much as it pains me to say this, Ray Allen probably hit the biggest shot of his career when he tied the game at the end of regulation. Similar to the Bruins collapse, I don't think there was a Spurs fan in the world that felt confident after Allen hit that shot. It completely demoralized their team and swung the momentum in bitch face Lebron's favor.

2. The Best College Football Finish of All-Time?

This moment would hold the number 1 spot if not for the circumstances of the moment that ranks ahead of it. Nevertheless, this play made this game the best college football game that many people have ever seen. The set-up of this moment was just too good. Alabama came into the game as the best team in the country, holding the #1 ranking throughout the season and never really faltering in a game before facing off against Guz Malzahn's Auburn team. 

Auburn running back Tre Mason shredded an Alabama run defense that NEVER allows a running back to tally over 100 yards. Mason finished this game with 164 yards and a touchdown. In addition, Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall outran a very athletic Alabama defense on a 45 yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter. 

However, the real fireworks in this game came in the second half. Auburn went into the second half down one score, but they never panicked. They knew that they would receive the second half kick-off and Marshall would have a chance to drive the field against the Alabama D. He did just that, putting together a three minute drive where he hit C.J. Uzomah in the end zone for the game tying score. 

The teams traded scores in the fourth quarter and the game was tied at 28 with 32 seconds left in the game (mainly became Alabama Kicker Cade Foster couldn't hit a field goal). These last 32 seconds delivered an ending that will be remembered for years to come. Alabama put together a last effort drive to the Auburn 38 yard line. The game seemed to be over, but Nick Saban acted like a dickhead per usual, and did everything that he could to get a second back in the clock. 

He did so knowing that he'd get a last chance at a 57 yard field goal, and he brought out freshmen kicker Adam Griffith for the kick. Griffith was short on the kick, and Auburn cornerback Chris Davis returned the missed field goal 109 yards for the winning touchdown. Just like that the college football landscaped was completely re-worked, and Auburn appeared to be the team of destiny for this season (until they play Florida State).

1. Red Sox Rally around Boston Marathon Bombings, win third World Series since 2004.

On April 20th, 2013 Red Sox legend David "Big Papi" Ortiz gave a pre-game speech in the first home game for the Red Sox after the Boston Marathon bombings. The bombings took place on April 15th, and the speech took place just a day after the final suspect had been apprehended by several Massachusetts police forces. In the speech, Papi yelled out one of the most confusing yet inspirational phrases in recent memory, saying "This is our fucking city (ziti?)" and pumping up a hugely resilient Boston crowd.

Everything that followed that moment seemed like destiny in the season of the 2013 Boston Red Sox. In John Farrell's first season with full reign of the Sox, the team gelled together and turned their 2012 regular season debacle into a rallying point, going from worst to first in the American League East. They did so with gritty starting pitching, namely John Lackey, Clay Buchholz (when his tampons were removed), and Jon Lester (sometimes), and one of the best bullpens and scoring offenses in baseball. 

They finished the regular season tied for the best record in all of baseball, and headed into a first round matchup with their division rivals the Tampa Bay Rays. They moved past the Rays in four games, and looked towards the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. After going down 1-0 in the series, the Sox looked like they were in big trouble in game two at home. Down 5-1 in the 8th inning, Ortiz came up to bat with the bases loaded against Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit.

Ortiz drilled a shot to right field, and the ball barely got over the out-stretched glove of nine-time golden glove winner Torii Hunter. The next inning, the Sox walked off on a Jarrod Saltalamacchia single and the the series moved to Detroit knotted at 1-1. The grand-slam continued to be the theme of the the series, when Shane Victorino delivered a series clinching grand slam in the seventh inning of the Red Sox game six win over the Tigers.

In the World Series, the Red Sox got two great starts and victories from Jon Lester, and built around these wins to get a 4-2 world series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. This season was pretty amazing considering the state that the city of Boston was left in immediately after the Boston Marathon Bombings early in the Red Sox season. All of these circumstances made this the best sports moment of 2013.