As Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over 'til it's over." These 15 moments mark team triumphs, personal triumphs, and even national triumphs -- the nail-biters and feel-good sporting moments that defined the aughties. The list is ranked by multiple factors -- newsworthiness, expectancy, effect on sports, with a dash of consideration for emotion and poignancy. Of course, let us know what we missed in the comments.

15. Syracuse and UConn's Epic Battle (March 12, 2009)



The Moment: There were so many moments in the quarterfinal game of the 2009 Big East Tournament between the Syracuse Orange (AP's No. 20/ESPN's No. 18) and the Connecticut Huskies (AP's No. 4/ESPN's No. 3), but the three-pointer by Syracuse's exhausted Andy Rautins 10 seconds into the game's sixth overtime is the moment that stands out. It was the first time Syracuse had led the game since the end of regulation. Of course, also of note was the moment that led to the nearly two hours of overtime. With 1.1 second left on the regulation clock, Connecticut's Kemba Walker grabbed a loose rebound and laid it in to tie the game at 71. After a timeout, Syracuse's Paul Harris ran the baseline and threw an in-bounds pass past mid-court to his teammate, Eric Devendorf, who let a shot go from about 28 feet, just as the red lights around the backboard went off. The shot went in; Devendorf jumped up on the press table in excitement, but the referees' review confirmed that the ball left Devendord's hands after the buzzer sounded. Connecticut took the lead in each of the first five overtimes, but Syracuse found a way to come back in all of them.

Why It Was Great: It wasn't the Final Four or even the championship of the Big East tournament, but the underdog victory was exhilarating; a true David beats Goliath moment. And but for the referee's call, it almost didn't happen. The statistics speak for themselves. The game ended at 1:22 a.m., 3 hours and 46 minutes after it began, making it the second longest Division I basketball game ever played. The game was one overtime short of the seven overtimes that set the record back in December 1981. Perhaps the most impressive numbers were 244 points scored during the game, 102 of which were scored after regulation play.  Keep Reading »

You take the good, you take the bad, and there you have the facts of sporting life. There were many great moments in sports in the first decade of the millennium, but there were also a fair share of low moments -- senseless tragedies and despicable scandals -- that took away from a sports fan's love of the game. Below is a list of the top 20 low moments in the new millennium, ranked on newsworthiness, shock value, and long-term effect on sports.


20. If He Did It (November 2006)
O.J. fell from grace long before this decade. Even if you believed he was innocent in the brutal 1994 slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and Ron Goldman, he was no longer known as the champion football star. Then, in November 2006, Simpson wrote a book, "If I Did It," which included a section giving a "hypothetical" account of how he would have committed the infamous murders. The book was supposed to be promoted with a special television interview on Fox News. The American public, led by the Brown and Goldman family, were outraged at the thought that O.J. Simpson was going to make money giving a detailed account of the gruesome crimes that a civil court found that he committed. The interview was eventually canceled and the book was destroyed.

Moment of Redemption: Things got really bad for Simpson in 2007, when he was arrested in September 2007 after he entered a Las Vegas hotel room with a group of men, armed, and stole sports memorabilia from the room. On December 5, 2008, Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison, with the possibility of parole in late 2017. Although more than a decade too late, Simpson finally got at least a little of what was coming to him.  Keep Reading »

CLICK HERE TO READ #20 THROUGH #11 OF THE LOWEST SPORTS MOMENTS OF THE DECADE...



10. Duke Lacrosse Scandal (Spring Break 2006)
In March 2006, Crystal Magnum, a black NC Central University student working as an exotic dancer, accused three white Duke University lacrosse players of rape and sexual assault. Over-zealous Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong immediately called the players' actions a hate crime and said that they would prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Duke President Richard Brodhead canceled the 2006 lacrosse season on the same day that the team's head coach resigned. Although Magnum was definitely at the lacrosse house on that spring break night, few other elements of Magnums' story were true. Magnum identified three players in a photo line-up that consisted entirely of lacrosse players. One legal commentator described the line up as "a multiple choice with no wrong answers." DNA tests came back negative; hair fibers found did not match those of the accused. Additionally, ATM records and school identification cards revealed that one of the accused players had alibis. The scandal put a larger strain on already cold Duke-Durham relations and created a divide between Duke students and the administration.

Moment of Redemption: While the lacrosse players were not necessarily saints, they did not commit any criminal wrongdoing. On April 11, 2007, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges and declared the three players innocent. Cooper stated that the charged players -- Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans -- were victims of a "tragic rush to accuse." Nifong, who was denounced by Cooper as a "rogue prosecutor" was disbarred for dishonesty, fraud, making prejudicial and false statements, and misrepresentation. Additionally, Nifong was ordered to serve one day in jail for criminal contempt and eventually declared bankruptcy. On September 29, 2007, Duke President Brodhead, speaking at a two-day conference at Duke Law School on the practice and ethics of trying cases in the media, apologized for "causing the families to feel abandoned when they most needed support." Lacrosse coach Mike Pressler, who was forced to resign, and the accused players worked out a financial settlement with the University. Perhaps most important to Duke fans and sports fans, generally, in 2007, the mens' lacrosse team reached the NCAA finals, and remain a top contender year in and year out.  Keep Reading »

As this past weekend demonstrated, we've just entered the golden season of sports -- the NFL and college football season are starting, baseball's getting good, basketball and hockey are just around the corner, and there are even some fireworks on the tennis courts and golf links. And with that "perfect storm" comes an increased chance of a blessed incident: the player/coach blow up. Friday night saw Serena's on-court meltdown, but most blow ups take place after the final whistle, in the usually boring but sometimes amazing post-game press conferences. Here, then, are 10 of our favorite player/coach blow ups ever. If you spot a blow up this fall, let us know, and we'll ad it to the list.

10. Bob Knight
Choosing one Bob Knight tirade is like trying to choose the prettiest star in the sky... Just embrace the collective work.



9. Ryan Leaf
Remember when Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf were considered equals in the 1998 NFL Draft? Remember when Tara Reid was hot?

 Keep Reading »

In case you haven't seen this week's Sports Illustrated, there is a story on 16-year-old Bryce Harper, lovingly referred to as "baseball's LeBron." The pitcher/catcher can throw 96 MPH, gun down runners trying to steal second from his knees, and has hit a home run a mind-boggling 570 feet. In other words, he's the greatest prospect who ever lived. Why else would SI put him on the cover?

Of course, SI doesn't have the best history with their covers. Forget about the curse, here are 10 covers the magazine wishes they could take a mulligan on.


Sebastian Telfair, March 2004
Yes he can? No he can't. In five seasons for three different teams, Telfair is averaging 10 points and five assists per game. What else should you expect from the cousin of Stephon Marbury?


Jon Peters, May 1989
Let's hope Peters enjoyed his week on the SI cover because it was all downhill from there. He blew out his arm shortly after the story came out, did next to nothing in college, and faded away like David Ortiz through the first two months of this season.  Keep Reading »