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).

Ok so last year I posted a story about Minnesota Timberwolves Center Eddie Griffin who had smashed his SUV while driving drunk and cranking one out to porn.  That was one for sure way most fans agreed they would not have wanted to get busted.  But Griffin made his mama proud by pulling off this trifecta of nonsensical lunecy.

 Then a few months later another set of indescretions from the Detroit Lions defensive line coach Joe Cullen.  He was busted once when he drove through Tim Horton's drive thru naked.  Maybe he just wanted to see if he could use "it" as a bagel holder, who knows.  Then he was arrested for drunk driving two weeks later.

  Now comes the latest from a Wisconsin man.  He had his second arrest for similar charges.  This is the Associated Press story: 

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) — A 20-year-old man received probation after he was convicted of having sexual contact with a dead deer. The sentence also requires Bryan James Hathaway to be evaluated as a sex offender and treated at the Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health in Duluth, Minn."The state believes that particular place is the best to provide treatment for the individual," Assistant District Attorney Jim Boughner said.

Hathaway's probation will be served at the same time as a nine-month jail sentence he received in February for violating his extended supervision.

His extended supervision is from guess what?  Seriously, guess what it was.  Ok I will tell you, it was from killing a horse and having intercourse with the animal afterwards.  I may be going out on a limb here but, is it just me or should this man be getting a little more than probation for this?  Is this a guy we want living about your community? 

Just another thought on how not to get busted in my humble opinion.

    We have entertainers come through our cities along with pro and college athletes.  Most people will think only about how much money someone is making for delivering to us entertainment for our money.  What most people never think about is life on the road.  What good does having all the money in the world if you have to keep working harder and harder at what you do?  So many end up having all the things in life money can buy, but none of the things it can't.

  Let me give you an example of a few types of life on the road.  One is the rock band life on the road.  Life on the road as a rock star more realistically is the everyday grind of travel.  Have you ever been stuck in an airport?  Think about being stranded  20 times in a year or more.   The road traveled between cities can be rough too.  Rock bands don't usually get the best drivers for the tour bus.  Think about how hard it would be to find a bus driver to drive a party bus from city to city for six weeks, away from their family, and free of full-time employment before departure.  At least you party every night and get to trash hotel rooms city to city!   But anyway who cares about rock bands anyway, this is a sports blog!!

Different sports have diffrent types of road trips.  Baseball may be the hardest.  You start off the season with 5 weeks on the road in Florida or Arizona for spring training.  Some teams when they do get back home and get ready for the season they start the season ON THE ROAD!  Baseball also has series when they play someone.  You may end up with a road trip of over a week at a time as a regular occurance.

Football may have the best.  They only play once a week and when they do go on the road, it is only for two days.  They are home a minimum five days of the week.  Hockey and basketball have similar schedules but road trips usually only max out and 5-7 games on the road.

Life on the road as a pro-wrestler is strange as well.  For instance WWE Superstar Ric Flair  said in his biography that he had wrestled Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat over two thousand times in a five year period, most of which were one hour draws.  They were on the road over three hundred days a year and Flair insists he wrestled eight times a week (twice on Saturdays) everyday for two years.  In 1975 in a effort to start to cut travel time down Flair had a guy with a small Cesnna airplane that ended up crashing and breaking his back.  He is still on the road today because his life has been spent on the road.  Life on the road for Flair has been stylin' and profilin'.  Adam Copeland spent a lot of time on the road.  He said part of his yearly trips through Canada included a two hour drive across a frozen lake to get to the next city.  Copeland who is known in WWE as "Edge" has paid his dues like many before him and many after him will do.

Life on the road for me as a wrestler throughout my life has been a great one.  My trips were almost always weekenders.  I loved traveling from city to city and state to state to test my skills and meet new competition.  My type of wrestling in not what you see on T.V. at all.  I was a freestyle wrestler.  The kind you or your buddy was in high school.  I started my adventure at seven years old, a 52 pound grapler, ready learn how to be a wrestler.  If you were a young wrestler in the midwest from 1981 to 1992, wrestled in extra tournaments, I may have twisted your head off or broke your will to compete, I am sorry, yeah right.  Now I spend my time as an adult as an instructor for a wrestling camp hosted by the U.S. Olympic coach Steve Fraser. That is a lot of time away from home but it is a great experience.  Sometime life on the road is great because you get to go away for a while and do what you love to do. 

If life on the road still sounded sweet to you, think about the fact that most athletes don't even live in the city they play.  Remember it is a business.  You don't know if you are going to finish your career with anyone.  So they will get a condo or rent a house and still live where ever they always have.  Look at Roger Clemens.  He lived this way his whole career.  His family in the Houston area and him playing in Boston, New York, and even worse........TORONTO!  When all your toys are at home and you live on the road, what is so great about that?

Hey this is just another way to look at something you may have never thought about.  I didnt even hit on hockey parents life on the road either.

Is there a team that comes to mind whenever you think of a certain sport.  I know I have a few teams that I think may be the "center" of the league.  I wouldn't say that each league has one team the world rotates around though.  This relation of team with league/sport could even come from the way the team is covered on Sportscenter.  I know that when I think about Hockey, the Detroit Red Wings are the team that comes to mind.  They have also been known to fill a lot of road arenas as well with Red sweaters.  Kind of like the Cowboys are to the NFL, right?

Right now the debate is ongoing on who sports fans consider "America's Teams" for each sport, or if they even have one.  I have to say I am a little surprised at how the voting is going.  If you are a member of FanIQ.com you can vote here.  If you haven't joined that site you can sign up here.  It is free and a lot of fun. 


Once the polling is complete I am going to write all about it like I do when we vote on top ten athletes lists.  A team will be considered "America's Team" if they have an equal or greater approval rating than the President of the United States.  This will have accuracy rating of +/- 5%.  Right now all you have to think about are "America's Teams, who are they"?

Chris Webber has decided that when he clears waivers Tuesday, he will sign with the Detroit Pistons.  Detroit is where he is from and will return to friends and family.  This is where it all started for Webber and may end for him as well. 

He was part of the Fab Five at Michigan and starred at Detroit's Country Day High School.  When he left here, it was all a mess.  He had to deal with the Ed Martin Scandal which has pretty much taken Michigan right off the radar in basketball since.  He has also taken a lot of heat for calling the time out in the National Championship game against North Carolina.  Although if you ever saw a different angle of that game you would see Eric Talley and an assistant coach on the bench yelling and motioning for Webber to take that time out.

  He had his problems with media in Sacremento when he was supposedly dating Tyra Banks.  Although I don't see the problem there.  I would want it printed, if it were true, that I was takin it to the hole with Tyra Banks, but that is just me though.

 When he went to Philly, he was supposed to be the question to the "Answer" Allen Iverson.  That question would be, Chris Webber will win the NBA Championship with which NBA superstar? 

Chris now gets what most people want in life, a second chance.  He comes back home after rejecting the hometown Pistons twice in free-agency.  He gets a second chance to make all that has been wrong between Detroit and Chris Webber.  Webber is supposed to be at the Minnesota/Detroit game today (Monday MLK day) for the afternoon game.  He comes here in hopes of winning the elusive championship he has just never been able to get.  He has been close a few times in college and pro.  He was the number one pick in 1993.  Webber will play center/power forward with Rasheed Wallace which should sit ####r Mohammad down more (whew).  Webber's quote in the associated press report was "I look forward to joining a roster of talented athletes and working towards a fourth NBA title for the Pistons and the great city of Detroit." 

I picked the Pistons to win the East based on experience, they still have 4 of the 5 starters from the last two years, and the good teams in the Eastern Conference didn't really upgrade much.  Now that they add Webber and actually have some time to get some chemistry started before the playoffs.  Webber has career averages of 21.4 points and 10 rebounds.  We will see how the last chapters of Chris Webber's career come together and see if he can right ther wrongs and get closure on his life and career.  I can see it now......Coming soon to a theatre near you.....Shawshank Redemption 2, the Chris Webber story!

All in all I am very excited to see him come back here.  I have always been a fan of his no matter what.  He is a very good player, he is from around here, he played for Michigan and I always wanted him to play for the Pistons.  I hope he wins a Championship here.  Even if he doesn't hopefully he can have a great time being home and playing for the Pistons.

  The debates can be intense.  You read them all them time here and in sports forums around the net.  Who is better, which conference is weak, and who will win.  It can be pretty amusing how matter-of-factly many sports fans make predictions and then see the complete opposite result.  I have even done it myself.  I think I personally jinxed the Ohio State Buckeyes when I predicted they would win the National Championship soley because they have Jim Tressell and Troy Smith and Florida uses two quarterbacks.  We all know what happened there now don't we, the exact opposite.  So how can we figure out who actually knows what they are talking about when it comes to sports and predicting games?

  Here is how.  There is a website that is still in its inagural year called FanIQ.  FanIQ was started in March of '06 by a guy simply known as "Ty".  It may be one of the best sites on the internet.  If you are a fan of ESPN.com's "sportsnation" you will love FanIQ.com.  It has taken Sportsnation and actually made it a democracy in a sense.  ESPN's version is the typical polls about the biggest stories and may just be used as one of their marketing tools as to what stories to talk about and what angle to take on them.  FanIQ.com is a site of sports polls that are made up by you the fan and you can see the live results and comments at any time!  You can compete head to head against your friends and it also keeps an actual "IQ" of results from predictions you make on actual games.  You can make subjective or outcome polls that have FanIQ points that push you up the ranks if they are correct.  They have every single sport available too.  You also get a link to send to your friends and others to track "head to head" stats.  These are kept when you and any of your friends enter the same polls.  This is one of the best features of the many great ones they have with a lot more cool stuff coming soon.  Just think how many people you can see results from the NCAA basketball tournament in March this year.

  I have seen many from Fox Sports join this site and i think you should too.  It is free, no pop ups, no advertisement, you make your own polls (sports or whatever subject you want), you can see just how much you do know about predictions, it is nation wide, you can have all your fiends involved, you can get a sense of what is going on with all teams fans, and most of all it is a lot of fun and very interesting.

  Here is a link to join as one of my friends so I can prove that I know more about sports than you or vice versa.  I know I have learned a few other things from this site as well.  I have learned that when I go to Vegas NOT to bet on baseball, EVER!  I think I have learned how to bet on Football when I am there as well, take the points!!!!  Some of my favorites are the subjective polls as well that won't have an outcome but are simply opinions, and we all know that sports fans have opinions.  Plus it is fun to talk smack to fans of rival teams as well.  To me FanIQ is the ultimate sports forum and I hope you join me.  I even make polls on there about my blogs I post on here to get even more feedback on the subject matter. So I will see you there and look forward to going "head to head" against you to see who has the higher sports FanIQ!



 

  So Miami got their NBA rings on opening night and the preceeded to get POUNDED by the new look Chicago Bulls 108-66.  Something other teams will witness this season.  The Bulls are much improved this year.  The other suprise will be the Detroit Pistons returning to the NBA finals.  They lost Ben Wallace and that will make them better.  Washington Wizards will try to make a move this year in the right direction, but they still don't have it yet.  Lets breakdown some teams and make some predictions.


NBA Eastern Conferance playoff teams for 2007

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Washington Wizards
3. New Jersey Nets
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. Miami Heat
7. Philadelphia 76ers
8. Boston Celtics


Those are my predictions for the playoff brackets.  Teams 1, 2, and 3 are the division winners.  Boston will sneak back in this year, so will Philly.

Detroit will suprise people by not taking a step back from losing Ben Wallace.  He was the heart and soul for a few years but could never seem to get any better on offense.  Wallace is only a 41% free throw shooter for his career.  Wallace likened air balling to free throws to Paris Hilton say "thats hot!"  Enter Jason Maxiel for the Pistons.  He is a defensive player who actually can shoot.  They still have four of the same starting five they have had all along and also are looking to bring in Jalen Rose this week.  And they also have the X factor as well, ME, you can clearly tell by my picture that I play for them.

Washington will onlystep up to the second spot in the bracket because they will suprise everyone and win their division over Miami.  Washington has been on the rise for a few years now but still may not be ready to move deeper into the playoffs.  Only time will tell.  New Jersey is still the best in the Atlantic Division but that isn't saying too much, although I do have three teams from that division making the playoffs.

Chicago has been on the rise the last two years and may have added the one piece they were missing all along.  A player who will play like he has a pair and he will actually use them if neccesary.  Ben Wallace will be the heart and soul on defense with his great defensive ability, they just better not pass him the ball when it is time to shoot.  Alley oops only for Ben.  But when you need to get a stop on defense or get a huge blocked shot into transition he is your man.

Miami will take a step back with an aging roster that was old last year, but won the NBA title.  Shaq may have lost some weight but they will be beat by their own injury bug again but it may be worse this year.

Cleveland is blowing it.  They made a push last year giving Detroit all they could handle but fell short.  They bring in David Wesley who will just be version two of Damon Jones a player they already have at the same position.  They needed a big man, a dominant one.  They have Larry Hughes coming back but he has to get reaquainted with LeBron.  They may work out well for them once they make the playoffs.

Philly and Boston will both also be back to the playoffs but only for a few minutes once they get waxed in the first round.  Indiana has so many team issues on and off the court they won't be beating too many teams this year.  They may end the season with more players in jail than in the All-Star game.