Sporting Moments of the Year - 2012
There is little doubt that 2012 will rank as one of the most unpredictable and exciting sporting twelve months in recent memory. Each and every high profile event which made up the sporting calendar created drama and tension the likes of which we rarely see in a decade let alone 365 days
Here are the finest examples of sporting achievement throughout the last twelve month....
Here are the finest examples of sporting achievement throughout the last twelve month....
Zambian’s Rule Africa
Gabon hosted the final of Africa’s most prestigious international football competition as the Ivory Coast took on un-fancied Zambia in competition’s showpiece occasion. The heavy favourites, Ivory Coast, had breezed through their group without losing a game before beating Equatorial Guinea and Mali to reach their first final since 2006. Zambia, revelling in their status as underdogs made their third appearance in the final after topping their group before beating both Sudan and Ghana to make the final. The match was an emotional one for the “Copper Bullets” as the game was being played in Libreville which was just a few miles away from the site of a horrific accident which killed 25 members of the Zambian National team in 1993.
After a tense 90 minutes, the game finished in a 0-0 draw with the Ivory Coast having many of the chances but being unable to convert them. As extra-time began in the same vein the Elephants continued to waste good possession and lack conviction in front of goal. A penalty shootout was needed to separate the two teams after no goals in 120 minutes of pulsating football. The tension carried over into the shootout as the first seven takers for both teams found the net before Zambia midfielder Rainford Kalaba missed his spot kick and it was left to Kolo Toure to secure his side’s victory. The Manchester City defender couldn't put away his kick however and Zambia were given hope of causing an almighty shock. When defender Stoppila Sunzu netted his spot kick in round nine, Gervinho needed to find the net and level the game up but sadly for the Arsenal striker he could do no such thing after a fantastic diving save by Zambian goalkeeper goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene. Players officials and coaches of the Southern African nation embraced one another to celebrate a tremendous achievement and honour the fallen members of the 1993 team.
Eli’s Eliteness Lifts Giants
Before the beginning of the 2012 season, New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning did his best in the media to convince people that he should be in the conversation when discussing the most ‘elite’ QBs in the NFL.
Many scoffed at the idea that Manning was anywhere close to Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, that is, despite his heroic win over the New England Patriots in 2007 that guaranteed both members of the Manning family would retire with at least one championship to their name.
After catching fire late in the season, the Giants just about made it into the playoffs turning in a run reminiscent of their 2007 form. Working around some injuries in their team, the Giants finished 9-7 to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Against the odds they won a Wild Card Playoff game against the Falcons then went on the road to best the Packers and the 49ers to make the Superbowl.
New England cruised to a 13-3 record through the season, easily beating the Tim Tebow-led Broncos on the way to face off against the Ravens in the Conference Championship. Joe Flacco and his team fought hard and only a missed field goal with eleven seconds to go spared them elimination and they went on to face the Giants in a rematch of Superbowl XLII.
Looking to avenge the famous 2007 defeat that cost them a ‘perfect’ season, the Pats started slowly and found themselves 9-0 down after a safety from Tom Brady and a touchdown from Victor Cruz. New England fought back however and led 10-9 going into halftime after a touchdown from running back Danny Woodhead and a field goal edged them in front. They extended their lead early in the second half when Brady found Aaron Hernandez in the end zone as the score lay at 17-9.
Undeterred by the odds, the Giants came back to lead after a touchdown run from Ahmad Bradshaw put them in front by 21 to 17, and although there was still a minute remaining on the clock, Brady couldn't find a receiver inside the scoring zone and once again the Giants came away victorious giving Eli a second ring and validating his claims to be Eli-te.
City-Slickers Leave it Late
In the 20-odd years since the creation of the Premier League there have been many end of season nerve jangling moments for teams chasing the championship. Going for a 20th title Manchester United had been involved in several of these occasions themselves, but their rivals, Manchester City, had faced more last day drama at the wrong end of the table than they had battling to lift the trophy.
The two sides had been going backwards and forwards with City building up a five point advantage after a 6-1 victory over United at Old Trafford before they allowed the Red Devils to get back in front thanks to a loss of form. Alex Ferguson’s men looked to be heading towards another title, but a rare blip saw them drop points ahead of a crucial trip to the Etihad for a Manchester derby. City won the fixture 1-0 meaning that they moved back ahead of United on goal difference setting up a final day race for the title.
Manchester United travelled to Sunderland whilst City played host to a QPR side struggling against relegation. Early on it appeared that the trophy would be covered in blue ribbons as the Citizens went ahead through a Pablo Zabaleta strike in the first half. As both games wore on it seemed that the title would be heading to a new home denying Alex Ferguson yet another championship. QPR, fighting for their Premiership survival, caused a shock however as they equalised, and then dramatically took the lead despite having Joey Barton sent off.
Spurred on by City being behind, Manchester United nicked a late goal through Wayne Rooney against Sunderland it seemed destined that the Premiership would be once again heading back to Old Trafford. The Red Devils game finished slightly before the game in Manchester and both players and fans waited news on that would confirm them as Champions.
What unfolded was a remarkable sequence of events that even the finest script writers in Hollywood could not conjure up. Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko gave the season the nail biting finish it deserved by scoring in the 92nd minute to give his team an improbable chance, but whilst United still waited for a possible trophy presentation Mario Balotelli slipped in Sergio Aguero who scored a game winner in the 94th minute to clinch the title on goal difference.
Miami Witnesses Lebron’s First
Since his “Decision” in 2010, Lebron James had constantly been fending off criticism for his choice to join together with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade on South Beach. After the famous “not three, not four....” speech, many revelled in the Heat’s 2011 NBA Finals defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in Lebron’s first season as a member of the team, but as Miami stormed through the regular season again questions were raised as to whether the best player in basketball could actually win himself a title at the third time of asking.
The lockout shortened season made the race to the playoffs more of a sprint than a marathon, but by winning their division the Heat secured a second placed finish in the East. They made short work of the Knicks in the first round before coming up against the Indiana Pacers in the conference semi-finals.
The size and physicality of the Pacers had the Heat in considerable trouble at two games to one down, but a forty point performances from James in Game Four eventually helped his team to a 4-2 victory.
Top seeded Chicago should have lay in wait for the Heat as they advanced to the Conference Finals, but a devastating injury to Derrick Rose which saw him blow out his ACL meant that the Boston Celtics remained as the last hurdle in the way of a return trip to the NBA Finals.
In his Cleveland days, the Boston Celtics had often stood in the way of Lebron reaching the Finals, and despite two victories in Miami for the Heat, the Celts evened things up when the series headed back to Boston. The Celtics won Game Five on the road to push Miami to the brink of elimination but again, Lebron came up huge posting a 45-15 game to send the series to a Game Seven.
Another thirty point performance from James helped the Heat easily past the Celtics in the pivotal game, but facing up against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder looked as though it may be their toughest test yet, especially as the Heat no longer had home court advantage.
The Thunder took Game One with Durant scoring at will, but an exceptional team performance helped the Heat to steal Game Two in OKC. The Heat won the next two games at American Airlines Arena and had the chance to bring the Championship back to Miami for the first time since 2006 with a win in Game Five.
Three fantastic quarters of basketball blew the Thunder off the court in what turned out to be the pivotal game, and thanks to come superb shooting from Mike Miller, the Heat were up 27 at one point in the game. Fuelled by Millers seven-from-eight shooting and strong performances from the ‘Big Three’ Lebron capped the final game in the series with a triple-double securing his first title and forever changing the narrative of his career.
Kings Crowned in LA
Although the NHL has done its best marketing work to improve the interest in the NHL in warm weather United States cities, it has been a struggle for many of them to break past the traditional powers of the league.
Just scraping into the playoffs as a number eight seed, the LA Kings suffered a long playoff drought for most of the 2000s but having made the post-season they were hoping to perhaps win a couple of playoff games before inevitably bowing out to stronger opponents.
Faced up against the Vancouver Canucks in the first round the Kings took on the Canadians who were on a redemption mission after their 2011 Finals defeat to the Boston Bruins. The Canucks entered the post-season playoffs as favourites having won the Western Conference and also the Presidents’ Trophy.
LA took a surprising 3-0 lead winning both games in Vancouver before taking their first home game at Staples. The Canucks appeared to be struggling offensively and although they won Game Four to give themselves a chance of getting back in the series, LA proved too strong and the Cans were beaten once again at Rogers Arena as the series returned north of the border. Despite high hopes of a championship, Vancouver found themselves eliminated despite a belief that they could bring the cup back to Canada.
Moving on to the Second Round for the first time since 2001, the Kings looked to build on the momentum of their victory against the Canucks as they were now facing up against the second seeded St Louis Blues. Once again their away form was tremendous and for the second consecutive round they stole the opening two road games and won their first trip back at Staples.
Goalie Jonathan Quick shone as the team’s key component, allowing only six goals in the series as the Kings won Game Four and swept their loftily ranked opponents out of the playoffs.
In the process, the Kings made history by becoming the first eighth seed to beat both 1st and 2nd seeds in the same playoff competition.
Onto the Conference Finals and they were matched up against the Phoenix Coyotes who by now knew what was coming. Beating the Coyotes 4-2 and 4-0 in Arizona they won a tight one at Staples before losing Game Four. As they had done against Vancouver in Round One, they recovered from a defeat when up 3-1 and claimed a victory in overtime to put themselves through to the NHL Finals.
As only the second ever number eight seeded team to make the finals, and only the second ever to beat 1st, 2nd and 3rd seeds, momentum was now starting to build in LA’s favour. All that stood between the Kings and the Stanley Cup were the New Jersey Devils, who overcame the New York Rangers in the East and tried to prevent the Western Conference foes from winning in the Garden State.
The Devils, as every team in the playoffs had done before them, struggled to do this as the Kings continued to be unbeaten on the road, winning both Game One and Game Two by a score of 2-1, both in overtime.
They made home advantage count in Game Three as they won 4-0 at Staples, but back came the Devils with wins in Games Four and Five to leave the series poised at 3-2.
The Kings returned to Staples for Game Six with one ambition in mind and from the get-go it was clear they wanted to win a first Stanley Cup in franchise history. They shot out to a 4-0 lead thanks to goal from Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter (2) and Trevor Lewis, and despite a goal from New Jersey in the second period, the Kings added two more in the third to win the game by an emphatic 6-1 scoreline.
Goalie Jonathan Quick was named as MVP of the playoffs thanks to his spectacular performances in all four rounds. Providing the team with some fantastic defence against three of the top ranked opponents in the western conference he became the second netminder in consecutive years to lift the Conn Smythe.
London’s Golden Summer
There were so many fantastic moments at the London 2012 Olympic Games that it is hard to recount all the magnificent action that was seen by viewers across the globe this summer.
In and around the capital there was some scepticism that London could pull off hosting the Olympics, particularly after witnessing the spectacle that Beijing had produced four years earlier.
Backed by incredible support from an army of volunteers, the Games were instantly memorable and from the moment the opening ceremony started all the doubts were long forgotten. ‘Golden Saturday’ was the highlight for the hosts as they scooped up six gold medals including unforgettable performances inside the Olympic Stadium from Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah.
Also winning favour were the Team GB cyclists who won gold in every discipline across competition for both males and females.
British success was celebrated in fitting fashion at Wimbledon too when Andy Murray won at the home of grass court tennis by claiming a gold medal when he beat World Number One Roger Federer on Centre Court.
Elsewhere history was made by others during the two weeks of the Olympics; David Rudisha finished ahead of the pack in the fastest 800m race of all-time; Michael Phelps became most the decorated Olympian in history claiming his 22nd medal across three Olympics, and on the track Usain Bolt electrified the crowd by securing gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, the first man to complete this feat at back-to-back Olympics.
The Miracle of Medinah
Illinois played host to the Ryder Cup in 2012 as Europe and the hosting US went toe-to-toe for the 39th time. The Europeans were confident having won the trophy back in 2010, and with Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood all inside the world’s top ten upon the tournament’s beginning, it seemed that there was real hope from across the Atlantic that the famous cup could be retained by the combined might of Europe.
Things started fairly evenly as both sides picked up points in the morning foursomes on Friday, but by the afternoon the US had taken a five points to three lead thanks to victories in the fourballs. Saturday was an even more dominating day for the hosts as they won three of the four morning foursomes, and split the points in the fourballs meaning that their lead heading into the singles was ten points to six.
Requiring only 4 ½ points for victory the United States were confident that their first four players could help get them to their target but one by one, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickleson all lost to their European opponents and the visitors soon started to believe that they could achieve one of the greatest Ryder Cup comebacks of all time.
Dustin Johnson beat Nicolas Colsaerts to steady the US ship and with Zach Johnson’s victory over Graeme McDowell it seemed as though the US were heading towards comprehensive victory. It wasn't to be however as things started to break the way of the Europeans and despite the firepower of the top end of their singles line up it turned out to be an afternoon for the unsung heroes. Sergio Garcia won his match against Jim Furyk before Martin Kaymer sent home a five-foot putt on the 18th hole to defeat Steve Stricker and take the score to 14-13 allowing the cup to be retained with one match to progress. Tiger Woods missed a putt on the final green and conceded the hole to Francesco Molinari in the final match which halved the last point and gave the Europeans a 14 ½ to 13 ½ victory and secure a fifth victory in the last six competitions.
Spain’s Silence the Doubters
Despite winning the European Championships in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, many people doubted that Spain would be able to repeat as champions when Euro 2012 kicked off in Poland and the Ukraine.
In a tough group containing Italy, Croatia and the Republic of Ireland, the Spanish drew 1-1 with Italy in their opening game before demolishing Ireland 4-0 to almost secure qualification. In their final group game, a goal from Jesus Navas in the 88th minute was enough to secure a position at the top of Group C, but having found goals difficult to come by against quality opposition, the team, and their manager were still hearing doubts about their credentials.
Although the team were not playing the slick football that had won the competition in 2008, their play was still based around the midfield of Xavi and Iniesta. Where David Villa and Fernando Torres had been scoring goals at the World Cup and in European Championship wins, the Barcelona striker was missing due to injury and the Chelsea forward a little off colour despite helping Chelsea to win the Champions League Final.
In the knock-out stages, Spain were drawn against the French who had advanced behind England in Group D. Despite the talent available to France, the last team who were the last to hold both the World Cup and European Championships at the same time, two goals from Xabi Alonso were enough to push them through to the semi-finals where they faced an Iberian derby against Portugal.
Ronaldo’s performances on a domestic level in La Liga for Real Madrid were a good warning of what Portugal were capable of, but the Spanish managed to stifle their opponents’ danger man and sneak through on penalties.
Once again unconvincing to many neutrals the Spaniards faced a familiar opponents in Italy, the only team who had managed to avoid being defeated by the side now filling up with confidence. The Olympic Stadium in Kiev was to witness Spain’s coming out party as they secured the greatest margin of victory in the history of the European Championship Finals with a 4-0 win.
Finally some of the flowing football they are known from was shown as the Spanish shrugged off accusations of negative defensive football by taking control early in the game as David Silva put the team 1-0 up. Italy still had chances but in a perfect demonstration of Spain’s stylish passing game, Jordi Alba finished Xavi’s precise pass and made it 2-0.
With Italy still pressing they received a huge blow when Riccardo Montolivo’s went down injured after coming on as a substitute. This left the Italians with only ten players having already used all their substitutes, but the Spanish felt no sympathy for their opponents netting two more goals first through Fernando Torres and then Juan Mata to finish off an impressive if not efficient trophy defence.
Spain became the first team to retain the European Championship and also the first European team to win three major European competitions in a row.
Murray Breaks through at Flushing Meadows
Scotsman Andy Murray won so many admirers when he gave a tearful speech after losing to Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon Final. As a player who had reached four Grand Slam Finals and been defeated in all of them, many questioned whether he could break through and win his first major trophy with such an impressive crop of current players in his way.
With Nadal missing from Wimbledon, Murray made the most of ‘home advantage’ and was only defeated by an inspired Federer who won his seventh title in the English capital. Suffering the emotions of a tough loss Murray promised to give the adoring crowd a speech despite admitting that it “wasn't going to be easy”. Despite saying he was “getting closer”, Murray had to then turn his attention to Olympics where he was representing Great Britain, and in a re-match of the Wimbledon Final he managed to secure a gold medal and gain sweet revenge for such a devastating defeat on centre court just weeks earlier.
Winning Olympic gold gave Murray confidence as he headed into the US Open as the third seed. With Nadal missing once again, the Scotsman stayed away from both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as he came through the opening four rounds. As the second week started Murray found himself in a quarter final against Marin Cilic. The tall Croatian won the first set, but Murray stormed back claiming the final two sets 6-2, 6-0 after battling through a tie breaker to even up the match. His semi-finals opponents turned out to be Tomas Berdych who took care of Roger Federer in four sets to reach the last four stage.
Despite once again losing the first set Murray claimed the second set 6-2 before securing the third in 6-1. What turned out to be the last set of the match went to a tie break as Murray came tough to eventually win in four sets. His opponent in the final was a familiar one as he stepped out onto court to face World Number one Novak Djokovic.
The two players were in their best form leading up to the final, and as Murray won the opening set 7-6 things appeared to be slightly different compared to his losses in Grand Slam Finals. Rallies were long and drawn out as the first four games featured n breaks of serve and in the tie break itself, two of the points had to be settled by thirty-plus shot rallies.
The second set appeared to be heading all in the Scotsman’s direction as he went 4-0 and then 5-2 before Djokovic levelled the set up at 5-5. Murray dug deep to hold his own serve, and then broke his opponent’s serve to go two sets ahead. Although he led the number one player in the world, Murray was far from thinking about lifting the trophy as Djokovic won the next two sets 6-2 and 6-3 to level the match up.
Despite having been in a strong position an hour earlier, there was none of the antics and loss of temper that have marred Murray’s game in the past. He came out for the fifth set with a resolute attitude and built up a sizeable lead to put himself in a strong position to serve for the championship at 5-2. The Brit held three match points, and although Djokovic saved the first Murray emerged victorious on the second after his opponent’s return landed just outside the boundaries of the court.
The relief and joy on his face was clear to see after winning his first major title and succeeding after a quartet of defeats in Grand Slam Finals. The match marked Murray’s 100th match win at a Grand Slam tournament and also made him the first British man since Fred Perry to win a major singles title.
Triple Crown Glory for Tiger Cabrera
Having been joined at the Detroit Tigers by power-hitter Prince Fielder, Cabrera was moved to third base to make room for the franchise’s big offseason acquisition. In April as the fledgling season began to spring into life Cabrera collected his 1,000th RBI in a game against the Yankees, becoming one of only four players to reach this plateau before the age of 30.
He was honoured as one of the best players in the league after being selected to the American League All-Star team, and just a few months later he hit his 300th career home run against the White Sox. Accolades on the diamond were setting this up to be a fantastic season for Cabrera, but as it developed it became clear that he was on the verge of achieving some remarkable history.
Hitting yet another landmark in August he became the first Detroit Tigers history to hit 30 home runs in five consecutive seasons, and after claiming a player of the month award during the same month he had an inspired finish to the season and thanks to successfully hitting his team into the playoffs Cabrera finished the season leading the league with 44 home runs, 139 RBI’s and a batting average of .330. Those figures meant that he became the first batter to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and this came during his first career 200-hit season.
In recognition of his performances he was named as the AL’s Most Valuable player for the 2012 season.
Wiggins Ends 99-Year Wait with Cycling Success
Bradley Wiggins was not among the favourites for the Tour de France, but having finished in fourth place during 2009 and being a podium finisher during the 2011 Vuelta a Espana, the Brit was intending on continuing the good form he had showed throughout the season.
As the world’s most famous cycling race began Fellow Brit Mark Cavendish was successful in stage two, but it was Fabian Cancellara that took the early lead having finished well in the early six stages including a win in the preliminary stage.
Wiggins finished second in the prologue and when Chris Froome won Stage Seven, this was the moment that the talented British rider saw an opportunity to take the lead. He managed to pick up his first win of the 2012 tour on Stage 9 between Arc-et-Senans to Besancon and the gap between himself and nearest challenger Cadel Evans at the halfway point of the stage was almost two minutes.
A sixth-placed finish on Stage Eleven was Wiggins’ last top ten classification until Stage Seventeen as the race went into the mountains and he tried his best to conserve some energy and stay ahead of his opponents. His closest challenger, Chris Froome – also of Team Sky – finished just ahead of Wiggins in second on Stage Seventeen, but still 2”05 ahead of his fellow countryman Wiggins aimed for a strong finish and in Stage Nineteen he won his second stage of the tour and beat his team-mate by one minute and sixteen seconds extending his lead to almost three and a half minutes.
As the tour concluded with the now customary stage finish on the Champs-Elysees, Mark Cavendish won his 23rd stage and in turn helped his team mate secure first place overall finishing in a time of 87h 34m 47s. He became the first British man to win the Tour de France in almost 100 years.
Gabon hosted the final of Africa’s most prestigious international football competition as the Ivory Coast took on un-fancied Zambia in competition’s showpiece occasion. The heavy favourites, Ivory Coast, had breezed through their group without losing a game before beating Equatorial Guinea and Mali to reach their first final since 2006. Zambia, revelling in their status as underdogs made their third appearance in the final after topping their group before beating both Sudan and Ghana to make the final. The match was an emotional one for the “Copper Bullets” as the game was being played in Libreville which was just a few miles away from the site of a horrific accident which killed 25 members of the Zambian National team in 1993.
After a tense 90 minutes, the game finished in a 0-0 draw with the Ivory Coast having many of the chances but being unable to convert them. As extra-time began in the same vein the Elephants continued to waste good possession and lack conviction in front of goal. A penalty shootout was needed to separate the two teams after no goals in 120 minutes of pulsating football. The tension carried over into the shootout as the first seven takers for both teams found the net before Zambia midfielder Rainford Kalaba missed his spot kick and it was left to Kolo Toure to secure his side’s victory. The Manchester City defender couldn't put away his kick however and Zambia were given hope of causing an almighty shock. When defender Stoppila Sunzu netted his spot kick in round nine, Gervinho needed to find the net and level the game up but sadly for the Arsenal striker he could do no such thing after a fantastic diving save by Zambian goalkeeper goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene. Players officials and coaches of the Southern African nation embraced one another to celebrate a tremendous achievement and honour the fallen members of the 1993 team.
Eli’s Eliteness Lifts Giants
Before the beginning of the 2012 season, New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning did his best in the media to convince people that he should be in the conversation when discussing the most ‘elite’ QBs in the NFL.
Many scoffed at the idea that Manning was anywhere close to Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, that is, despite his heroic win over the New England Patriots in 2007 that guaranteed both members of the Manning family would retire with at least one championship to their name.
After catching fire late in the season, the Giants just about made it into the playoffs turning in a run reminiscent of their 2007 form. Working around some injuries in their team, the Giants finished 9-7 to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Against the odds they won a Wild Card Playoff game against the Falcons then went on the road to best the Packers and the 49ers to make the Superbowl.
New England cruised to a 13-3 record through the season, easily beating the Tim Tebow-led Broncos on the way to face off against the Ravens in the Conference Championship. Joe Flacco and his team fought hard and only a missed field goal with eleven seconds to go spared them elimination and they went on to face the Giants in a rematch of Superbowl XLII.
Looking to avenge the famous 2007 defeat that cost them a ‘perfect’ season, the Pats started slowly and found themselves 9-0 down after a safety from Tom Brady and a touchdown from Victor Cruz. New England fought back however and led 10-9 going into halftime after a touchdown from running back Danny Woodhead and a field goal edged them in front. They extended their lead early in the second half when Brady found Aaron Hernandez in the end zone as the score lay at 17-9.
Undeterred by the odds, the Giants came back to lead after a touchdown run from Ahmad Bradshaw put them in front by 21 to 17, and although there was still a minute remaining on the clock, Brady couldn't find a receiver inside the scoring zone and once again the Giants came away victorious giving Eli a second ring and validating his claims to be Eli-te.
City-Slickers Leave it Late
In the 20-odd years since the creation of the Premier League there have been many end of season nerve jangling moments for teams chasing the championship. Going for a 20th title Manchester United had been involved in several of these occasions themselves, but their rivals, Manchester City, had faced more last day drama at the wrong end of the table than they had battling to lift the trophy.
The two sides had been going backwards and forwards with City building up a five point advantage after a 6-1 victory over United at Old Trafford before they allowed the Red Devils to get back in front thanks to a loss of form. Alex Ferguson’s men looked to be heading towards another title, but a rare blip saw them drop points ahead of a crucial trip to the Etihad for a Manchester derby. City won the fixture 1-0 meaning that they moved back ahead of United on goal difference setting up a final day race for the title.
Manchester United travelled to Sunderland whilst City played host to a QPR side struggling against relegation. Early on it appeared that the trophy would be covered in blue ribbons as the Citizens went ahead through a Pablo Zabaleta strike in the first half. As both games wore on it seemed that the title would be heading to a new home denying Alex Ferguson yet another championship. QPR, fighting for their Premiership survival, caused a shock however as they equalised, and then dramatically took the lead despite having Joey Barton sent off.
Spurred on by City being behind, Manchester United nicked a late goal through Wayne Rooney against Sunderland it seemed destined that the Premiership would be once again heading back to Old Trafford. The Red Devils game finished slightly before the game in Manchester and both players and fans waited news on that would confirm them as Champions.
What unfolded was a remarkable sequence of events that even the finest script writers in Hollywood could not conjure up. Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko gave the season the nail biting finish it deserved by scoring in the 92nd minute to give his team an improbable chance, but whilst United still waited for a possible trophy presentation Mario Balotelli slipped in Sergio Aguero who scored a game winner in the 94th minute to clinch the title on goal difference.
Miami Witnesses Lebron’s First
Since his “Decision” in 2010, Lebron James had constantly been fending off criticism for his choice to join together with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade on South Beach. After the famous “not three, not four....” speech, many revelled in the Heat’s 2011 NBA Finals defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in Lebron’s first season as a member of the team, but as Miami stormed through the regular season again questions were raised as to whether the best player in basketball could actually win himself a title at the third time of asking.
The lockout shortened season made the race to the playoffs more of a sprint than a marathon, but by winning their division the Heat secured a second placed finish in the East. They made short work of the Knicks in the first round before coming up against the Indiana Pacers in the conference semi-finals.
The size and physicality of the Pacers had the Heat in considerable trouble at two games to one down, but a forty point performances from James in Game Four eventually helped his team to a 4-2 victory.
Top seeded Chicago should have lay in wait for the Heat as they advanced to the Conference Finals, but a devastating injury to Derrick Rose which saw him blow out his ACL meant that the Boston Celtics remained as the last hurdle in the way of a return trip to the NBA Finals.
In his Cleveland days, the Boston Celtics had often stood in the way of Lebron reaching the Finals, and despite two victories in Miami for the Heat, the Celts evened things up when the series headed back to Boston. The Celtics won Game Five on the road to push Miami to the brink of elimination but again, Lebron came up huge posting a 45-15 game to send the series to a Game Seven.
Another thirty point performance from James helped the Heat easily past the Celtics in the pivotal game, but facing up against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder looked as though it may be their toughest test yet, especially as the Heat no longer had home court advantage.
The Thunder took Game One with Durant scoring at will, but an exceptional team performance helped the Heat to steal Game Two in OKC. The Heat won the next two games at American Airlines Arena and had the chance to bring the Championship back to Miami for the first time since 2006 with a win in Game Five.
Three fantastic quarters of basketball blew the Thunder off the court in what turned out to be the pivotal game, and thanks to come superb shooting from Mike Miller, the Heat were up 27 at one point in the game. Fuelled by Millers seven-from-eight shooting and strong performances from the ‘Big Three’ Lebron capped the final game in the series with a triple-double securing his first title and forever changing the narrative of his career.
Kings Crowned in LA
Although the NHL has done its best marketing work to improve the interest in the NHL in warm weather United States cities, it has been a struggle for many of them to break past the traditional powers of the league.
Just scraping into the playoffs as a number eight seed, the LA Kings suffered a long playoff drought for most of the 2000s but having made the post-season they were hoping to perhaps win a couple of playoff games before inevitably bowing out to stronger opponents.
Faced up against the Vancouver Canucks in the first round the Kings took on the Canadians who were on a redemption mission after their 2011 Finals defeat to the Boston Bruins. The Canucks entered the post-season playoffs as favourites having won the Western Conference and also the Presidents’ Trophy.
LA took a surprising 3-0 lead winning both games in Vancouver before taking their first home game at Staples. The Canucks appeared to be struggling offensively and although they won Game Four to give themselves a chance of getting back in the series, LA proved too strong and the Cans were beaten once again at Rogers Arena as the series returned north of the border. Despite high hopes of a championship, Vancouver found themselves eliminated despite a belief that they could bring the cup back to Canada.
Moving on to the Second Round for the first time since 2001, the Kings looked to build on the momentum of their victory against the Canucks as they were now facing up against the second seeded St Louis Blues. Once again their away form was tremendous and for the second consecutive round they stole the opening two road games and won their first trip back at Staples.
Goalie Jonathan Quick shone as the team’s key component, allowing only six goals in the series as the Kings won Game Four and swept their loftily ranked opponents out of the playoffs.
In the process, the Kings made history by becoming the first eighth seed to beat both 1st and 2nd seeds in the same playoff competition.
Onto the Conference Finals and they were matched up against the Phoenix Coyotes who by now knew what was coming. Beating the Coyotes 4-2 and 4-0 in Arizona they won a tight one at Staples before losing Game Four. As they had done against Vancouver in Round One, they recovered from a defeat when up 3-1 and claimed a victory in overtime to put themselves through to the NHL Finals.
As only the second ever number eight seeded team to make the finals, and only the second ever to beat 1st, 2nd and 3rd seeds, momentum was now starting to build in LA’s favour. All that stood between the Kings and the Stanley Cup were the New Jersey Devils, who overcame the New York Rangers in the East and tried to prevent the Western Conference foes from winning in the Garden State.
The Devils, as every team in the playoffs had done before them, struggled to do this as the Kings continued to be unbeaten on the road, winning both Game One and Game Two by a score of 2-1, both in overtime.
They made home advantage count in Game Three as they won 4-0 at Staples, but back came the Devils with wins in Games Four and Five to leave the series poised at 3-2.
The Kings returned to Staples for Game Six with one ambition in mind and from the get-go it was clear they wanted to win a first Stanley Cup in franchise history. They shot out to a 4-0 lead thanks to goal from Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter (2) and Trevor Lewis, and despite a goal from New Jersey in the second period, the Kings added two more in the third to win the game by an emphatic 6-1 scoreline.
Goalie Jonathan Quick was named as MVP of the playoffs thanks to his spectacular performances in all four rounds. Providing the team with some fantastic defence against three of the top ranked opponents in the western conference he became the second netminder in consecutive years to lift the Conn Smythe.
London’s Golden Summer
There were so many fantastic moments at the London 2012 Olympic Games that it is hard to recount all the magnificent action that was seen by viewers across the globe this summer.
In and around the capital there was some scepticism that London could pull off hosting the Olympics, particularly after witnessing the spectacle that Beijing had produced four years earlier.
Backed by incredible support from an army of volunteers, the Games were instantly memorable and from the moment the opening ceremony started all the doubts were long forgotten. ‘Golden Saturday’ was the highlight for the hosts as they scooped up six gold medals including unforgettable performances inside the Olympic Stadium from Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah.
Also winning favour were the Team GB cyclists who won gold in every discipline across competition for both males and females.
British success was celebrated in fitting fashion at Wimbledon too when Andy Murray won at the home of grass court tennis by claiming a gold medal when he beat World Number One Roger Federer on Centre Court.
Elsewhere history was made by others during the two weeks of the Olympics; David Rudisha finished ahead of the pack in the fastest 800m race of all-time; Michael Phelps became most the decorated Olympian in history claiming his 22nd medal across three Olympics, and on the track Usain Bolt electrified the crowd by securing gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, the first man to complete this feat at back-to-back Olympics.
The Miracle of Medinah
Illinois played host to the Ryder Cup in 2012 as Europe and the hosting US went toe-to-toe for the 39th time. The Europeans were confident having won the trophy back in 2010, and with Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood all inside the world’s top ten upon the tournament’s beginning, it seemed that there was real hope from across the Atlantic that the famous cup could be retained by the combined might of Europe.
Things started fairly evenly as both sides picked up points in the morning foursomes on Friday, but by the afternoon the US had taken a five points to three lead thanks to victories in the fourballs. Saturday was an even more dominating day for the hosts as they won three of the four morning foursomes, and split the points in the fourballs meaning that their lead heading into the singles was ten points to six.
Requiring only 4 ½ points for victory the United States were confident that their first four players could help get them to their target but one by one, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickleson all lost to their European opponents and the visitors soon started to believe that they could achieve one of the greatest Ryder Cup comebacks of all time.
Dustin Johnson beat Nicolas Colsaerts to steady the US ship and with Zach Johnson’s victory over Graeme McDowell it seemed as though the US were heading towards comprehensive victory. It wasn't to be however as things started to break the way of the Europeans and despite the firepower of the top end of their singles line up it turned out to be an afternoon for the unsung heroes. Sergio Garcia won his match against Jim Furyk before Martin Kaymer sent home a five-foot putt on the 18th hole to defeat Steve Stricker and take the score to 14-13 allowing the cup to be retained with one match to progress. Tiger Woods missed a putt on the final green and conceded the hole to Francesco Molinari in the final match which halved the last point and gave the Europeans a 14 ½ to 13 ½ victory and secure a fifth victory in the last six competitions.
Spain’s Silence the Doubters
Despite winning the European Championships in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, many people doubted that Spain would be able to repeat as champions when Euro 2012 kicked off in Poland and the Ukraine.
In a tough group containing Italy, Croatia and the Republic of Ireland, the Spanish drew 1-1 with Italy in their opening game before demolishing Ireland 4-0 to almost secure qualification. In their final group game, a goal from Jesus Navas in the 88th minute was enough to secure a position at the top of Group C, but having found goals difficult to come by against quality opposition, the team, and their manager were still hearing doubts about their credentials.
Although the team were not playing the slick football that had won the competition in 2008, their play was still based around the midfield of Xavi and Iniesta. Where David Villa and Fernando Torres had been scoring goals at the World Cup and in European Championship wins, the Barcelona striker was missing due to injury and the Chelsea forward a little off colour despite helping Chelsea to win the Champions League Final.
In the knock-out stages, Spain were drawn against the French who had advanced behind England in Group D. Despite the talent available to France, the last team who were the last to hold both the World Cup and European Championships at the same time, two goals from Xabi Alonso were enough to push them through to the semi-finals where they faced an Iberian derby against Portugal.
Ronaldo’s performances on a domestic level in La Liga for Real Madrid were a good warning of what Portugal were capable of, but the Spanish managed to stifle their opponents’ danger man and sneak through on penalties.
Once again unconvincing to many neutrals the Spaniards faced a familiar opponents in Italy, the only team who had managed to avoid being defeated by the side now filling up with confidence. The Olympic Stadium in Kiev was to witness Spain’s coming out party as they secured the greatest margin of victory in the history of the European Championship Finals with a 4-0 win.
Finally some of the flowing football they are known from was shown as the Spanish shrugged off accusations of negative defensive football by taking control early in the game as David Silva put the team 1-0 up. Italy still had chances but in a perfect demonstration of Spain’s stylish passing game, Jordi Alba finished Xavi’s precise pass and made it 2-0.
With Italy still pressing they received a huge blow when Riccardo Montolivo’s went down injured after coming on as a substitute. This left the Italians with only ten players having already used all their substitutes, but the Spanish felt no sympathy for their opponents netting two more goals first through Fernando Torres and then Juan Mata to finish off an impressive if not efficient trophy defence.
Spain became the first team to retain the European Championship and also the first European team to win three major European competitions in a row.
Murray Breaks through at Flushing Meadows
Scotsman Andy Murray won so many admirers when he gave a tearful speech after losing to Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon Final. As a player who had reached four Grand Slam Finals and been defeated in all of them, many questioned whether he could break through and win his first major trophy with such an impressive crop of current players in his way.
With Nadal missing from Wimbledon, Murray made the most of ‘home advantage’ and was only defeated by an inspired Federer who won his seventh title in the English capital. Suffering the emotions of a tough loss Murray promised to give the adoring crowd a speech despite admitting that it “wasn't going to be easy”. Despite saying he was “getting closer”, Murray had to then turn his attention to Olympics where he was representing Great Britain, and in a re-match of the Wimbledon Final he managed to secure a gold medal and gain sweet revenge for such a devastating defeat on centre court just weeks earlier.
Winning Olympic gold gave Murray confidence as he headed into the US Open as the third seed. With Nadal missing once again, the Scotsman stayed away from both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as he came through the opening four rounds. As the second week started Murray found himself in a quarter final against Marin Cilic. The tall Croatian won the first set, but Murray stormed back claiming the final two sets 6-2, 6-0 after battling through a tie breaker to even up the match. His semi-finals opponents turned out to be Tomas Berdych who took care of Roger Federer in four sets to reach the last four stage.
Despite once again losing the first set Murray claimed the second set 6-2 before securing the third in 6-1. What turned out to be the last set of the match went to a tie break as Murray came tough to eventually win in four sets. His opponent in the final was a familiar one as he stepped out onto court to face World Number one Novak Djokovic.
The two players were in their best form leading up to the final, and as Murray won the opening set 7-6 things appeared to be slightly different compared to his losses in Grand Slam Finals. Rallies were long and drawn out as the first four games featured n breaks of serve and in the tie break itself, two of the points had to be settled by thirty-plus shot rallies.
The second set appeared to be heading all in the Scotsman’s direction as he went 4-0 and then 5-2 before Djokovic levelled the set up at 5-5. Murray dug deep to hold his own serve, and then broke his opponent’s serve to go two sets ahead. Although he led the number one player in the world, Murray was far from thinking about lifting the trophy as Djokovic won the next two sets 6-2 and 6-3 to level the match up.
Despite having been in a strong position an hour earlier, there was none of the antics and loss of temper that have marred Murray’s game in the past. He came out for the fifth set with a resolute attitude and built up a sizeable lead to put himself in a strong position to serve for the championship at 5-2. The Brit held three match points, and although Djokovic saved the first Murray emerged victorious on the second after his opponent’s return landed just outside the boundaries of the court.
The relief and joy on his face was clear to see after winning his first major title and succeeding after a quartet of defeats in Grand Slam Finals. The match marked Murray’s 100th match win at a Grand Slam tournament and also made him the first British man since Fred Perry to win a major singles title.
Triple Crown Glory for Tiger Cabrera
Having been joined at the Detroit Tigers by power-hitter Prince Fielder, Cabrera was moved to third base to make room for the franchise’s big offseason acquisition. In April as the fledgling season began to spring into life Cabrera collected his 1,000th RBI in a game against the Yankees, becoming one of only four players to reach this plateau before the age of 30.
He was honoured as one of the best players in the league after being selected to the American League All-Star team, and just a few months later he hit his 300th career home run against the White Sox. Accolades on the diamond were setting this up to be a fantastic season for Cabrera, but as it developed it became clear that he was on the verge of achieving some remarkable history.
Hitting yet another landmark in August he became the first Detroit Tigers history to hit 30 home runs in five consecutive seasons, and after claiming a player of the month award during the same month he had an inspired finish to the season and thanks to successfully hitting his team into the playoffs Cabrera finished the season leading the league with 44 home runs, 139 RBI’s and a batting average of .330. Those figures meant that he became the first batter to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and this came during his first career 200-hit season.
In recognition of his performances he was named as the AL’s Most Valuable player for the 2012 season.
Wiggins Ends 99-Year Wait with Cycling Success
Bradley Wiggins was not among the favourites for the Tour de France, but having finished in fourth place during 2009 and being a podium finisher during the 2011 Vuelta a Espana, the Brit was intending on continuing the good form he had showed throughout the season.
As the world’s most famous cycling race began Fellow Brit Mark Cavendish was successful in stage two, but it was Fabian Cancellara that took the early lead having finished well in the early six stages including a win in the preliminary stage.
Wiggins finished second in the prologue and when Chris Froome won Stage Seven, this was the moment that the talented British rider saw an opportunity to take the lead. He managed to pick up his first win of the 2012 tour on Stage 9 between Arc-et-Senans to Besancon and the gap between himself and nearest challenger Cadel Evans at the halfway point of the stage was almost two minutes.
A sixth-placed finish on Stage Eleven was Wiggins’ last top ten classification until Stage Seventeen as the race went into the mountains and he tried his best to conserve some energy and stay ahead of his opponents. His closest challenger, Chris Froome – also of Team Sky – finished just ahead of Wiggins in second on Stage Seventeen, but still 2”05 ahead of his fellow countryman Wiggins aimed for a strong finish and in Stage Nineteen he won his second stage of the tour and beat his team-mate by one minute and sixteen seconds extending his lead to almost three and a half minutes.
As the tour concluded with the now customary stage finish on the Champs-Elysees, Mark Cavendish won his 23rd stage and in turn helped his team mate secure first place overall finishing in a time of 87h 34m 47s. He became the first British man to win the Tour de France in almost 100 years.