When looking back at the year of 2007 there are so many memories and big storiesin sports. It is unbelievable how many huge stories there were. What is being attempted here is three lists. Three lists that are putting all these stories front and center once again.

Some will spark fond memories, some not so much. Some stories we had this year were and still are very painful to many people but great to many others. Some of these stories were so unbelievable that we had to check several sources just to believe they were true. Unfortunately there were many deaths as well.

It was yet another great year in sports. Here are the top 10 stories for the Good the Bad and the Ugly.

 Top Ten Good from 2007-

10. U.S. wins team World Championships for Greco Roman Wrestling in Baku, Azerbaijan. This was the first time the U.S. has ever won this as a team. Maybe if this victory didn’t take place in Azerbaijan you would have heard about this one.

9. David Beckham signs with the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS. The MLS is so far off the map that many Americans didn’t know that there was still an MLS for him to sign in.

8. Jimmie Johnson wins Nascar’s Nextel Cup for second season in a row! Johnson beat out Jeff Gordon who also had an amazing year.

7. Big Boston deals. The Celtics became a relevant team agin in 2007 by acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics went from worst to first and are now legitimate contenders not only in the NBA’s Eastern Conference but for a NBA Championship.

6. Rockies Roll to the World Series. The Rockies won 21 of 22 in a remarkable run to the World Series. Unfortunately they had an 8 day lay off that may have cooled the teams momentum as the were beat by the Red Sox.

5. Boise State goes undefeated and beat Oklahoma on two incredible plays to win. Boise State was the underdog in the Fiesta Bowl and won in overtime 43-42 in one of the best football games ever. It capped off an undefeated season.

4. Florida’s big year. After winning the NCAA basketball Championship and football Championship the football team had the Heisman trophy winner. Tim Tebow won the trophy as an underclassman and is poised to be the second two-time winner if all goes well in 2008. Tebow had 51 total touchdowns (29 passing, 22 rushing) as only a sophomore!

3. The Spurs won the NBA Championship and the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup. These were two under the radar type Championships for different reasons. The Spurs won with defense and overall team play headed by possibly the best overall player in the league in Tim Duncan. The Ducks won in similar fashion but since bowling gets higher ratings than hockey most people didn’t even see the Ducks play on their amazing run.

2. Indianapolis wins the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning gets off the snide. Manning who was riddled with big game losses through college and pro football. But not in 2007. Manning led the Colts past the Patriots and then the Bears.

1. Appalachian State beats Michigan at the Big House in the biggest upset in college football history. By beating the number five ranked Wolverines Appalachian State won their 3rd straight Division 1 National Championship.

 Top Ten Bad from 2007-

 10. West Virginia coaches bolt for Michigan. West Virginia lost three coaches overall. Gone to Michigan are the women’s soccer coach, men’s head basketball coach, and most recently the head football coach. I think it is time for Michigan and West Virginia to start playing every year.

9. Marion Jones doping scandal. Marion Jones was included in the Balco steroids scandal this year which in turn wiped out all the Olympic gold medals and Olympic records. This story has been in the making for years but was confirmed this year.

8. Kevin Everett’s spinal injury in week one of the NFL season was a very scary one. Some players on the field didn’t think he would live, let alone walk again.

7. Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of five employees at his ranch in Venezuela. The ranch hands were using the family’s pool without permission so Urbina decided to pour gas on them and attempted to light them on fire.

6. Joe Kennedy’s death. Kennedy died mysteriously the day before being a best man in a wedding. He last pitched for Toronto but was better known for his days in Oakland. He was the father of a 1 year old son.

5. Cardinals lose another pitcher in a tragic death. First it was Pitcher Daryl Kile in 2002 and then Josh Hancock, a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, had died in an automobile accident. Josh was intoxicated and hit a tow truck on the highway.

4. Darrent Williams death after a New Years eve party was shocking to many as he was hit in a limo that was leaving a party. This all happened just hours after the team was eliminated from the playoffs.

3. Sean Taylor’s death was another tragedy in the NFL this season as he was gunned down in his own home in Miami. Taylor was recently elected to the Pro Bowl and is mourned by many as he was a man who had just decided to turn his life around in recent years. He was an impact player in the NFL and becoming an impact citizen in life.

2. Michal Vick’s dog fighting scandal was alomost as big as it got in sports stories for 2007. The Vick scandal rocked two communities and also headed the demise of the Atlanta Falcons organization. The Falcons have used four Qbs and also had head coach Bobby Petrino bolt for Arkansas. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail and could face more time in Virginia for the same case.

1. Chris Benoit was the most shocking story of the year. The WWE Superstar had recently lost best friend and fellow WWE Superstar Eddie Guerrero the year before. This year he killed his son, his wife, and then himself in a span of two days at his home in Georgia. The story had more twists and turns than any story in many years.

 Top Ten Ugly from 2007-

10. The Miami Dolphins (1-14 at the time this was written) having their worst season ever and threatened to go winless in the same season the undefeated record set by the 72' Dolphins is threatened by New England.

9. The Chicago Bears went all the way to the Super Bowl in 2007 but ended up having to rely on Wrecks Grossman in the Big Game. Everything that got the Bears to the Super Bowl was absent from the Super Bowl. They got there with special teams, defense, and key turnovers. Three things they couldn’t manage to get in a rain soaked Super Bowl. Since the big game they have slid all the way into last place in the NFC Central getting swept by the Detroit Lions of all teams.

8. Travis Henry had a drug problem. It manifested into a positive test that was appealed and over ruled which not only kept him in football this season it also revealed his child support payments to his 9 children with 9 women. Better known as "baby mamas". Two more and he has an entire football squad, if they played both ways!

7. Marty Schottenheimer was fired after leading the Chargers to a 14-2 season. That is unheard of in football. It didn’t look good as the Chargers started slowly under new coach Norv Turner. The Chargers did turn it around and won the AFC West this season.

6. Cleveland and the state of Ohio were denied in many sports in 2007. Ohio State lost in the college basketball and football championships, both to Florida, the Cavaliers lost in the NBA Finals to the Spurs, and the Indians lost to the Red Sox in the ALCS. I guess it could be worse, all those teams could be terrible. This does not mention the great season the Browns are having either. They should make the playoffs but I think most fans in Ohio are not expecting them to go to the Super Bowl. Although the mind of a Browns fan is a sick an twisted place!

5. Pacman Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 season for all the arrests he had in a one year period. There was a point where sports highlights shows didn’t ever show him in a uniform, it was usually county jail orange. He then signed up with TNA Wrestling. What a fitting move.

4. Imus fired for remarks towards Rutgers womens basketball. Imus initially was given a two-week suspension for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team "nappy-headed ####" which was way out of line. Most of those girls aren’t "####"! They are too ugly for that. Actually there aren’t a whole lot of good looking college athletes in any sport. The Comments were backed up by comedian D.L. Hughley which in turn sparked the debates even further. Somehow I don’t think these girls have not been called worse in person. But they are college girls and it wasn’t fair to them. It didn’t help that the comments came from one of the worst radio hosts who is so ugly that if his ugliness was represented by bricks he would be the Great Wall of China.

3. Barry Bonds broke the all-time home run record this year and then was indicted by a federal grand jury for perjury all in the same year. It was rather strange though how the indictments didn’t come down until after the season was over.

2. The NBA ref scandal with Tim Donaghy. NBA referee Tim Donaghy allegedly bet on NBA games, including contests that he officiated. Could NBA playoff games have been compromised? What does this betting scandal do to the credibility of NBA games? It all seamed so obvious when looking back at some of the glaring calls he made. The problem is, many have thought this in the past already with the way some games are called in such a lopsided fashion. This only put more fuel on the fire.

1. The Mitchell report. Only Bud Selig would spend $40 Million to find out what he and every breathing person in America already knew. Many players did steroids in baseball. The report only named 90 players after a 20 month investigation. Why didn’t they spend 1/100th of that and implant a solid steroids testing policy more like the Olympics use or the Tour De France! Besides it was steroids that brought the game back in 1998 after the lockout.

Receiving a vote for every category of the lists were the New England Patriots. They pulled off a trade to get Randy Moss for only a forth round pick, lost their first round pick in 2008 to "Spygate" and coach Belichick was fined an additional $500,000! The Patriots were then labeled as cheaters for many other incidents as well as some from 2006. All this and the Patriots are still undefeated at 14-0 at the time this was written and hold possibly the 5th overall pick in a trade from San Francisco(4-10).

Ivan Rodriguez is in the last year of his four year contract. There is a club option for next season. The Tigers may just utilize that option due to not having a clear cut replacement. Pudge is also closing in on some milestones as well. If he can sustain regular play, in two more seasons he will set the all time games caught record surpassing Carlton Fisk’s record of 2.226 games. He is also in reach of something no catcher has ever done, have 3,000 hits for a career. He would likely have to play four to five more seasons to do that though. The other question would be, Is he going to catch for four to five more seasons?

Pudge has had some great offensive and defensive years. He is a career .304 hitter and he is quick out of the gate this season hitting .381 with two home runs including a three-run game winner in Kansas City. He is also a 13 time All-Star. Rodriguez topped all major league catchers by throwing out 45.7 percent of base-runners attempting to steal 21 of 46, led all American League catchers with a .998 fielding percentage, his two errors were the fewest by any league catcher with a minimum of 100 games caught during the season. And was named the best defensive catcher in the American League by Baseball America.

He just does it all and has for his entire career. He was also named the 1999 American League MVP. It may be safe to that when Pudge reaches some of the milestones what do you think? Is Pudge Approaching Best All Time?

Rumors involving the Tigers trading before the trade deadline are going to be abundant this year. Some will have some merit as well. It is no secret that Dave Dombrowski the Tigers General Manager is not afraid to pull the trigger if the right player becomes available.

The latest involvement with the Tigers is regarding two San Fransisco Giants. One homer every series means Bonds not only would have broken the record in June but also would likely be leading the majors at the All-Star break with 28. You'd have the Yankees, Angels and Tigers tripping over each other to plug him in at DH for a run at the title. All have the type of young talent that could immediately brighten the Giants' future. The Giants may also be looking to deal Matt Morris who is in the last year of his contract. About 10 more games like Thursday's and the playoff-experienced right-hander might be the No. 1 available arm at the deadline. In the final year of his contract, he'd be the ideal rent-a-pitcher down the stretch. It depends on the health of Kenny Rogers who could be back by July.

Is it just me or is this the biggest overkill of a non record in sports history?  Do we have to catch every single at bat on ESPN?  It may be a big deal, but I am not buying it.  This is such a subjective milestone in the manner of the three men who are one, two, three on the all-time list.  Bonds has will have played nearly 250 more games and Hank Aaron played almost 800 more games than Ruth.  Players can not be compared in different eras for several reasons as well.  Maybe I have just been beat down so badly with highlights of Barry Bonds that I just resent hearing his name.  Maybe I am just Bored of Bonds.  Maybe I just resent the person who decided to start taking stats in the first place!

First reason, equipment.  The players today wear better fitting, more protective, more advanced type equipment.  Players today also play with tighter wound baseballs.  Most wear elbows protectors as well.  The bats today are also made with much higher quality as well.

Second reason, work out programs.  Guys like Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron weren't on work out rewgiments.  Especially not to the extent that players today have.  Babe Ruth's work out may have just been picking up broads after the game. 

Third reason, the amount of players in the league.  You can say todays game is watered down due to the large amount of players.  Back in the day they didn't have this many teams, travel was different, they had less players.  However, they also didn't have all the Latin, African American, and Asian players that we have today. 

So, why all the television coverage of Bonds?  He isn't about to break the all-time homerun mark.  He is ready to become no. 2.  How often do we celebrate second place in this country?  Never, until now.  ESPN feels obligated to show every at bat, lead off Sportscenter, a story in the middle of the show, close Sportscenter with a bonds highlight reel, and then promptly lead straight into Baseball Tonight with Bonds.  All Bonds all the time.  They even air his reality show.  Maybe they should just have a show called Bondscenter.  

ESPN brings up the subject of the fans not selling out Giants games during this stretch.  Maybe the fans are smarter than they think.  Or they just have the attitude of just call me when you are ready to break the actual record. They don't need to be there because they will never miss any at bats because they are not only live on T.V. but ESPN makes a cell phone that broadcasts it as well.  I for one am just Bored of Bonds and they hate spewed to and from him.  But hey, that is another story for another time (actually is).

Here are the best HR strecthes by total per season for the top three all time.

Babe Ruth - from 1926 to 1932 Ruth hit 341 homeruns averaging almost 49 per season for seven straight years*

Hank Aaron - averaged nearly 33 homers per season over a 23 year career.

Barry Bonds - averaged more than 51 homer runs over the last five years excluding last season*


*had to have a minimum of 40 home runs in the span used for statistics.

 

      Things you see and thoughts you have are based on what type of perspective you have on life.  It is easy to pick apart people for slipping in the slightest way on a daily basis.  It can be seen any where at almost anytime of the day.  We all complain and over react.  But a simple apology can make the difference for being to harsh on someone, or being to hasty toward some ones opinion.  It isn't about being right, it is about getting it right.

     In sports, sometimes what one general manager see in his players or future players can be much different from what other GM's and fans may think.  The one factor is that it is their decision to make.  It is so easy to sit back and criticize each team or GM for draft picks this weekend or trades made in baseball this summer.  There are so many factors into what makes great players great anyway. 

     The fact is, millions of fans play fantasy sports every year.  If you are a fantasy manager of any of the sports leagues out there, how many have you ever won.  I follow every sport I can digest in a day and I have never won any league.  I always think it is funny to see how quick people can throw out hate but are absent when they stand corrected.  Ghandi once said "you must be the change you want to see in the world".   why is it everyone so afraid to show some love to people for the great things they have accomplished, big or small, even if they don't like them as a person. 

      Barry Bonds has had a syringe thrown at him, he is booed every at bat on the road, and fans yell at him every chance they get.  The thing that bothers me most about this is that Bonds has never tested positive for anything.  Steroids weren't even illegal in MLB at the time and I have seen multiple men use steroids in my life that don't even play sports!  People have even said that the stats he has should have asterisks next to them.  Isn't this America?  We have found him guilty without even testing him positive?  Raphael Palmero tested positive after testifying to congress and pointing at them while he said he never took steroids. 

     What about all the current players that have tested positive, including pitchers?  No one really ever talks about it.  The U.S. Government launched an investigation into Bonds and steroids in baseball.  This is actually being lead by Senator George Mitchell.  I have an idea, how about we launch an investigation into why gas is almost $3.00 a gallon now.  How about why we are still in Iraq.  I would like to see money they spend on this investigation (which could be hundreds of thousands) put into our school systems!  How about an investigation into why we have cut backs in education year after year or why so many jobs keep going over seas day after day with out any hope that will change.  "Nothing is more important to me than the integrity of the game of baseball," said Selig, commenting on the investigation after the publication Game of Shadows, a book written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters that details alleged steroid use by Bonds and others.

     Matt Millen in Detroit has been highly criticized for the down fall of the Detroit Lions for the past five seasons.  The fans had a fire Millen rally before the last home game last year.  In his defense most fans agreed with all his top draft picks and locally the Lions receive high grades for their drafts (we call it cornbread).  The thing is the Lions have never really been a great drafting team anyway.  For every Barry Sanders they drafted, they have an Andre Ware and Chuck Long draft pick to match it.  If they had been a good drafting team over the years, they would have had more than one playoff win since the 1957 NFL championship.  Best advice on all of this, never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.