Top 5 sports moments of 2010

1. The Decision: "I'm taking my talents to South Beach." These seven words uttered by LeBron James, with about 10 percent of the country watching, broke the hearts of an entire state (Ohio), while kinda making a touristy city that doesn't care about sports partially happy (Miami). LeBron went about the Decision incredibly wrong and he lost many fans in the process, including me, but if you didn't think the Decision was fascinating, then you don't know what fascinating is. This event was so big it broke the Mom test and created countless spoofs and angry videos from Clevelanders. The aftermath of the Decision is that the Cavaliers are terrible now, and the Heat are great. Does anyone in Miami really care though? Nope.
2. The Missed Call: When umpire Jim Joyce made an incorrect call to break up a perfect game for Detroit Tiger's pitcher Armando Gallaraga, it felt like the world was going to explode. This story transcended the world of sports and made the topic of instant replay in baseball come to the forefront of every sports discussion. In the end, a great show of sportsmanship and kindness by Gallaraga trumped everything bad that had happened, and although Gallaraga didn't technically pitch a perfect game, he got more recognition than anyone else who did this year.
3. The World Cup: And this is coming from someone who basically does not like soccer at all. The World Cup was riveting, from the opening concert to the championship match. USA made a spectacular run and the country of South Africa was put on display for all its greatness. With a German octopus predicting games, and a touch of vuvuzela controversy, there probably could not have been a more interesting world cup.
4. The Tiger Apology: There are championships won every year, great upsets, comebacks, and plays, but never has the most famous athlete in the world been caught cheating on his wife, go to a sex rehabilitation center, and then apologize for it. The Tiger Woods saga might just be the biggest sports story that crossed over into pop culture in the history of the world. I mean, damnnn, this guy was on the cover of Sports Illusrated and Us Weekly in the same week. ESPN became a station dedicated to relationship drama for months, and they spent more time on this than even the extremely annoying Brett Favre drama. Maybe not actually, Brett Favre is on ALL the time! And to make things more interesting, when Tiger returned to golf, he suddenly was not that good anymore. The entire Tiger story is one for the ages.
5. The Endless Match: When it finally did end the result was Isner def. Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. This epic Wimbledon match lasted for 11 hours and five minutes shattering records and creating one of the most remarkable sporting contests of all time. Who cares who won Wimbledon, the Isner vs. Mahut match was remarkable with the players stopping to go to the bathroom to Mahut still diving after balls in the 10th hour of a match. It was perhaps the most memorable tennis match of all time, with a fifth set for the ages.

honorable mentions: The entire olympics, especially the gold medal hockey game. Saints win the Superbowl. Butler comes oh so close to winning the NCAA tournament.

My teams are terrible

Remember all that New York Knicks excitement from a week ago. Well, that's gone. The Knicks got obliterated by Miami (who have LeBron James), and then lost to lowly Cleveland (who don't have anyone). Thankfully, the Knicks don't play again until Wednesday, so they can get some much needed rest. On Wednesday though they play the 19-10 Kevin Durant Thunder. And then Chicago on Christmas day, followed by Miami again and Orlando. Come 2011, there is a very good chance the Knicks will be on a seven game losing streak. I know I'm Jewish and Hanukah's over, but if I could get a Christmas gift, Santa, please bring Carmelo Anthony.

The New York Giants suffered the most painful regular season loss I can remember in my nearly 17 years of life on Sunday. Apparently being up by 21 points with eight minutes to go is not a safe lead for the G-men, who all but handed the Philadelphia Eagles the NFC East title.

From missed tackles, to a misfielded onside kick, to the dumbest punt I have ever

seen, the Giants literally collapsed. The Giants can still clinch the wildcard with a win next week against Green Bay, but if they don't, Tom Coughlin should be fired immediately.

Also, I am so sick and tired of the Jets. Can people PLEASE stop talking about the Jets. Who cares besides some whack-job fireman and some other people who can spell a four letter word really loudly?

Oh, the Devils. Now ranked 30th out of 30 teams, the New Jersey Devils have literally hit the bottom. After a 7-1 loss to Atlanta, the team that traded the Devils Ilya Kovalchuk, it is apparent that this season is over for the Devils, not that it wasn't before. The gradual decline of the Devils has been in motion for a few years now, with the departure of players like Scott Stevens, Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer, Jay Pandolfo, and John Madden, to name a few, but the decline has reached its zenith this season. Martin Brodeur just can't seem to do it anymore. Ilya Kovalchuk is looking the

worst signing in the history of the NHL, and no one else can score goals either. First year head coach John Maclean should be fired shortly, and general manager Lou Lamoriello can start the rebuilding process. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Devils are rebuilding.

The Garden is Rockin', and Spike is Talkin'

I remember growing up in the 90s and watching all the great Knick games back when Patrick Ewing roamed the Madison Square Garden floor and Spike Lee and Reggie Miller had some less than friendly conversations. The New York Knickerbockers changed as soon the 90s became the 00s and a decade of horrendous basketball followed. Finally, as the 00s turned into the 10s, it seems as if basketball is relevant in New York once again.

The signing of free agent Amar'e Stoudemire has completely reversed the losing feel of the Knicks and New York has surged to a 16-10 start a quarter of the way through the season. After an eight game winning streak where Stoudemire scored 30 or more points in each game, the Knicks finally lost to the Boston Celtics in a Garden classic Wednesday night. Boston's Paul Pierce said before the game that it wasn't a real rivalry because the Knicks have been so bad the last decade, but everything changed as the Knicks earned some much deserved respect losing on Pierce's last second game winner. After the game he said, "The Knicks have arrived."

Yes, the Knicks certainly have arrived. There is a buzz around the city and in the Garden that

hasn't been felt in a very long time. Amar'e is playing better than any player in the league and is an early candidate for league MVP. The Garden is the place to be once again as tickets are getting harder to get and celebrities once again inhabit celebrity row. Spike Lee was court side as always and even he was whooping it up like it was the 90s. After a decade of suffering, it feels good be to a Knick fan once again.

As much as I want to enjoy the winning, it's impossible to ignore a certain player that wears number 15 and plays in the state of Colorado. Brooklyn native and Syracuse alum, Carmelo Anthony, is who I speak of, of course. He has already stated that he wants to be traded from Denver to New York, but many Knick fans have been debating how much he is worth. There is no doubt that Carmelo is one of the top five players in the NBA and an elite perimeter scorer but is he worth giving up Wilson Chandler, Danillo Galinari, or rookie Landry fields. Most likely the Knicks will lose at least two of those players, plus more, if they want to trade for Carmelo. The Knicks could wait for the summer to sign Carmelo as a free agent but there would be even further complications if they wait. As much as I love the young talent the Knicks have, if they have the chance to get Carmelo, they should get him. Just like Miami and Boston have done, the Knicks need to add another superstar to their lineup to compliment Amar'e. With the inside play of Amar'e and the perimeter presence of Anthony, the Knicks would be an immediate title contender.

Also, it's important to point out how great point guard Raymond Felton has played this season. It took awhile to click, but Felton and Amar'e have been running the pick and roll just as well as Amar'e did it with Steve Nash in Phoenix. Just thinking about the leading threesome of Amar'e, Felton, and Carmelo is enough to make me salivate as a fan.

The Knicks play Miami on Friday night, and the Garden will be rocking as LeBron James comes to town for the first time since he jilted the Knicks on the Decision. No matter the outcome, there is no doubt that the buzz is back, the Knicks are fun once again. Hell, even my Mom was watching the Boston game on Wednesday, and when a game passes the Mom Test, you know it's good.