Sporting Moments of the Year - 2011
THE past twelve months have provided the sporting world with yet more heroic performances to be proud of.
2011 featured a Rugby World Cup, Women’s World Cup and World Athletic Championships, it was a packed sporting calendar which also saw truly memorable performances in yearly events which continue to add to their legacy as the new millennium continues along.
In a bid to celebrate some terrific action between January and December here are some of the year’s highlights…
Novak Djokovic wins first Wimbledon Title
Finishing the year with a record of 70-6 and claiming $12m in prize money (the most ever on the ATP Tour), Novak Djokovic had arguably the best twelve months of any player in the Open Era. Starting with a success at the Australian Open and making the semi-finals at Roland Garos, Djokovic was an early favourite at the Wimbledon All-Engand club.
With the likes of Federer, Nadal and home favourite Andy Murray in the mix to win the Championship many feared that Djokovic’s chance may be harmed after he pulled out of the traditional warm-up event at the Queen’s Club.
By the time the opening Monday had arrived, No-Djo had been passed fit, and coming through the first four rounds dropping only one set, the Serb defeated qualifier Bernard Tomic in the Quarter Finals before facing off against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga for a place in the Final.
Djokovic beat the twelfth seeded Frenchman in three sets to set up a showdown against Rafael Nadal, a man he had beaten in pre-Wimbledon tournaments on two occasions.
Everything lay on the line for both players ahead of the Sunday Showdown as the winner would be crowed as the World number one and claim the momentum ahead of the season ending US Open. Meeting for the fifth time in the season Djokovic took the first two sets before Nadal fought back to take the third set 1-6 with Djokovic seemingly being affect by the injury which had almost hampered his participation. In predictable fashion, the tireless Spaniard gave everything he had to the cause and made Djokovic work hard to gain points in each and every rally.
An error-strune game from Nadal in the fourth set handed the Serbian Djokovic the initiative and by breaking his opponent in the seventh game of the set, it was left to him to serve out the match. A backhand volley gave him Championship point and when Nadal hit a groundstroke return long, Djokovic fell to his knees in celebration of a first ever Wimbledon title and his second major title of the year.
Japan stun US to win women’s World Cup
In a year without a World Cup or a European Championships in the male form of the game, the women’s World Cup in Germany was allowed to take centre stage in the summer of 2011.
Stunning Brazil with a shoot-out victory in the semi-finals, the US were heavy favourites as they took on Japan in Frankfurt. In the early going the Americans in front of goal, and it took them until the 69th minute to hit the back of the net. Alex Morgan’s goal looked as though it was enough to win the game, but as the USA switched off the US’s only goal was cancelled out by Aya Miyama’s equalizer in the 81st minute as Japan took the game to extra time.
The pattern of the game continued as Japan were on the back foot and it seemed that their dream had come to an end when US star striker Abby Wambach scored a minute from half time in extra time. The Japanese players refused to give in and showed they still had fight in them with a goal from Homare Sawa, her fifth of the tournament, coming just four minutes before the game was sent into penalties.
Japan pulled off a huge shock in the shoot-out as the US missed their first three penalties, and with the Asian side being extremely clinical from twelve yards out it came down to Japan’s goalkeeper Kaihori who saved from Boxx and was soon mobbed by the team’s squad who won their first World Cup off the back of the Tsunami tragedy which had put them at the forefront of the world’s sympathy.
Rory McIlroy eight-shot victory at the US Open
With no Tiger Woods in the field, the US Open at Congressional in Maryland was wide open for any of the world’s top golfers to make a name for themselves.
One of the contenders, Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy was still reeling from his meltdown at the Masters in April which saw him lose the lead on the final day after a terrible closing round. Many questioned whether or not the young gofer had the mental toughness to win a major, and ahead of the US Open, pundits queried why McIlroy had not practiced at the course and instead heading to Haiti on a UNICEF ambassador’s duty rather than preparing in his usual meticulous way.
It didn’t seem to make any difference, and perhaps a break from the golf bubble was what he needed as during his second round McIlroy became the first player in history to amass a score of 13-under at any point of the tournament. With rounds of 65 and 66 through 36-holes, he set a record for the lowest combined first two rounds in history.
Records continued to tumble as during the third round McIlroy reached 14-under par on his way to a 54-hole US Open record of 199. This built McIlroy an eight-shot lead going into the final round, and escaping the ghosts of the Masters meltdown he carded a 69 allowing him to claim his first major championship and set a new course record.
Dirk Nowitski dominates for Europe and erases Finals defeat
In a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks faced off against the much-favoured Miami Heat in a star-studded battle between Eastern and Western Conference champions.
The first game at American Airlines Arena went to the Heat with Lebron James scoring 24 and in a double blow to the Mavs they lost Dirk Nowitski for the final four minutes with an injured finger.
Before Game Two Dallas received a huge boost when Dirk was passed though with Miami fifteen points ahead in the fourth quarter it seemed as though Nowiski’s presence would have little affect on the overall outcome.
With Miami on cruise control towards a 2-0 lead the Mavs fought back with some excellent three point shooting from Jason Terry, and when Dwayne Wade’s potential game winning three hit the back of the rim at the buzzer, the Texans found themselves level heading back to their building.
The Heat re-took the series lead in Game Three as Chris Bosh hit a game winner with less than twenty seconds to go, but by outscoring the Heat 21-14 in the fourth quarter and mounting a huge comeback in Game Four, the series was level at 2-2 with one more game to go in Dallas.
After four relatively low scoring games, game five exploded with Dirk unstoppable in scoring crucial points in the fourth quarter of a one-sided win. Despite home advantage in Game Six Miami could do little to control the German forward in the paint and with a 21-4 run the Mavs put themselves into a great position to win the title at the end of the first half. Dirk took over the game in the scoring 18 points in the deciding half of the game leading the Mavs to their first ever Championship. For his terrific performances throughout the series allowed Nowitski to shake off the bad memories of 2006 series and also secured him the 2011 Finals MVP award.
Barcelona rule Europe
Hosting the Champions League Final for the first time, Wembley Stadium was the venue for Manchester United Vs Barcelona: Part Two as both sides renewed acquaintances from 2009 encounter when the Catalan side defeated United 2-0.
Favourites for the competition once again, Pep Guardiola’s men outplayed Manchester United in the first half as Ferguson’s team put players behind the ball and tried to stop the likes of Xavi and Iniesta from finding space in and around the penalty area.
Barca came into the game after adjusting to United’s tactics and two efforts from David Villa gave United a warning of what was to come. The Spanish Champions took the lead in the 27th minute when Xavi played in Pedro who struck from inside the penalty box. It looked as if Barcelona could keep possession for the remainder of the game if they wished, but United seized an opportunity to equalise seven minutes later against the run of play. Rooney played a one-two with Giggs on the edge of the box and curled home past Valdes in the Barcelona goal.
With the scores level at half time, it looked as though the second half would continue in the same vein.
In the second half, Barca almost re-took the lead after some excellent play from Messi, and after surviving a couple of scares thanks to their goalkeeper and defence, United were behind for a second time when Messi picked up the ball on the edge of the area and found the corner of Van Der Saar’s goal with an accurate strike.
A third and sealing goal came in the 69th minute when David Villa scored with a curling effort from twenty yards to give Barcelona their fourth European title and their third in the last six years.
Three Lions roar their way to world number one
Claiming an early New Year success in the Ashes over in the Australian’s backyard, England’s cricket team could have been forgiven for thinking that their work was already done in 2011.
Reality bite for the third-ranked test side in the world during the ICC World Cup a few months after Ashes victory when they scraped through to the Quarter Finals despite suffering humiliating defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh.
They were inevitably eliminated from the competition by Sri Lanka, but back playing test match cricket they gained a manor of revenge by beating the Sri Lankan’s 1-0 in a rain affected series.
The big test came when India visited England in the summer for a four-match test series to decide the world’s number one ranking. England started impressively with a 196 run victory at Lords in the first game, largely thanks to the bowling performance of James Anderson who picked up 5-65 in the final day.
Boasting an early psychological edge, the English pushed their series lead to 2-0 at Trent Bridge thanks to a second innings from Ian Bell who re-established himself as a competent run scorer and set up a convincing 319 run victory.
England all but sealed world number one status with a hugely impressive innings and 242 run win at Edgbaston in just four days of the third test. A phenomenal batting performance in their only innings was highlighted by a superb 294 knock from Alistair Cook as England declared on 710 giving the Indian’s little chance of salvaging anything from the game.
With the series already decided, England put an exclamation point on a 4-0 whitewash by beating India by an innings and eight runs at the Oval. In a true team performance everyone contributed to the team’s success as England were officially crowed the world’s best test team.
Bell once again impressed with a score of 235 and Pietersen chipped in scoring 175 as Swann, Broad and Anderson cleared up the Indian batsmen before revelling in the glory of an emphatic series win.
Bruins win game seven on Canadian soil
The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals pitted the Vancouver Cannucks against the Boston Bruins in a US Vs Canada storyline that saw Boston searching for their first cup in 39 years and the Canadian’s hoping to end a winless streak dating back to 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens lifted the trophy on home soil.
2011’s series was perhaps the most oddly contested in recent memory with Vancouver winning Game One and Two by the narrowest of margins before being humiliated by eight goals when the series shifted to Boston. Game Four was equally as one sided with Boston shutting out the Canucks and winning by four goals to level the series.
As the series shifted back above the border an impressive 31-save performance from Robert Luongo and a goal from Maxim Lapierre gave Vancouver a 3-2 series lead, but once again returning to US soil the visitors fell apart and were beaten 5-2 after being 4-0 down in the first period. The series returned to Canada with the home side hoping to keep up the record of unbeaten hosts in the series.
Things didn’t quite go to plan for the Vancouver team as they came up against an inspired Tim Thomas who made 37 saves and allowed Boston’s attackers to go wild scoring four goals without reply despite being out shot by a margin of sixteen attempts throughout the game.
Boston’s goalie Thomas was named MVP of the series as America celebrated yet another victory in the NHL showpiece game.
Vettel dominates to become youngest double world champion
Claiming the 2010 World Championship in the final race of the season, Sebastian Vettel wasted no time in beginning the defence of his crown with four pole positions and three wins in the opening stretch of the F1 season.
By the European Grand Prix in Spain, Vettel had added three more victories and three more pole positions to be streaking ahead in the Championship race. At his home Grand Prix in Germany he finished fourth, his first time non-podium of the season but in truly resolute fashion he rebounded with a hat trick of wins in Belgium, Italy and Singapore.
The young German driver needed just one point at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, and although he captured pole position, Vettel was under-cut by Jenson Button in the pits and made a mistake which allowed Fernando Alonso to overtake. This wasn’t enough however to deny Vettel the glory of overall victory though and a third place finish was enough make the Red Bull drivr the youngest ever double-world champion.
Victory also clinched back-to-back constructors championships with a grand total of 650 points. Throughout the season Vettel and his team Webber claimed eighteen out of the nineteen pole positions in one of the most dominant years in the sports history.
UConn win March Madness
Expanding to 68 teams for the first time in the competition’s history, March Madness was as exceptional as always, but this 2011 was a special year for the NCAA with the additional entertainment of two play in games.
With Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Duke all highly ranked most impressive of all was undoubtedly the winning run by eventual champions UConn which started back at the Big East Tournament earlier in the month when they went unbeaten throughout the entirety of the competition against conference opponents at MSG.
Carrying their momentum through the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament UConn beat 14th seeded Bucknell and then number six Cincinnati before over-coming San Diego State by a margin of seven points to reach the Elite eight stage.
A talented Arizona team, containing future first-rounder Derrick Williams were beaten as UConn went on to Houston to be a part of the Final Four. They beat Kentucky by a point to reach the final where Butler lay in wait to play for the National Championship.
Calhoun’s men won a disappointing Championship game in which Butler only shot 18.8%, but sixteen points from Kemba Walker were enough to complete an eleven game winning streak and a second title in the last seven years.
Frankel succeeds at the 2000 Guineas
As a three-year old, Frankel came into the year with high hopes of continuing an excellent start under trainer Henry Cecil and jockey Tom Queally.
At the Greenham Stakes Cecil’s horse warmed up for the big race of the year with a comfortable seven-length victory at Newbury. Frankel started as a red-hot favourite for the 2000 Guineas with odds of 1-2, and the colt more than lived up to it’s lofty expectations by delivering one of the most dominant Group One performances in racing history.
Jumping straight out into the lead, Frankel maintained a relentless gallop and had established a lead of around fifteen lengths by half distance.
Newmarket’s crowd, no strangers to amazing performance, stood in awe as the horse cantered home with six lengths to spare. Racing pundits dubbed Frankel’s 2000 Guineas run as once of the greatest performances seen on a course in England and the horse has firmly been established by her trainer as ‘an undoubted contender for all major races in 2012’.
Cardinals give LaRussa best retirement gift
Returning to the World Series for a second consecutive year, the Texas Rangers were favourites heading into championship game of baseball against the St Louis Cardinals.
Despite possessing the man many dubbed as ‘best player in baseball’, Albert Pujols, the Cardinals had snuck into the playoffs as a wildcard and found themselves on the brink of elimination after their opponents won two of their three games at their home in Arlington.
Facing two make or break games back at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals survived overtime to force a Game Seven. Tied at 2-2 after the first inning it looked as if the game was headed towards a thrilling conclusion. In the third, Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer before mistakes from the Texas bullpen allowed St Louis to go further ahead.
The cards added one more run through Yadier Molin and although it took four relievers to hold Texas scoreless in the final three innings, Craig was the hero once more when he caught a fly ball by David Murphy to secure the final out.
David Freese was named as the World Series MVP and the following day came the announcement that veteran manager of the Cards, Tony La Russa, was to retire from the game after 33 seasons as a Major League manager.
All-Blacks succeed on home soil
Having failed to win the title since the inaugural World Cup in 1987 despite being the world’s perennial number one team, there was much pressure on the All Blacks of New Zealand as they headed into the summer of 2011.
Not only were they expected to win the Webb-Ellis Trophy, but also hosting the tournament added a huge amount of pressure to their performances. Their chances of victory were not helped by an injury to star number ten Dan Carter but even without their talismanic performer, New Zealand breezed through the group stages only conceding 49 points and beat Argentina comfortably in the quarter finals before a showdown with their biggest rivals.
Once again it was New Zealand’s defence, which allowed them to produce flowing attacking rugby, and limiting the Australian’s to just a penalty and a drop goal, the All Blacks faced a final showdown with France after a 20-6 victory.
Despite the apparent disarray which surrounded their tournament performance, France were formidable opponents and going into half time they were just a score ahead thanks to a try from Tony Woodcock. Expanding their lead with a penalty, New Zealand soon found themselves under immense pressure from the French backs who managed to claw back to within a point of the Kiwi’s.
Eighty minutes of hard fought defensive work was enough to secure a World Cup win for the New Zealanders as they celebrated victory inside Aukland’s Eden Park stadium and fans from across the province finally had a rugby World Cup win to be proud of.
2011 featured a Rugby World Cup, Women’s World Cup and World Athletic Championships, it was a packed sporting calendar which also saw truly memorable performances in yearly events which continue to add to their legacy as the new millennium continues along.
In a bid to celebrate some terrific action between January and December here are some of the year’s highlights…
Novak Djokovic wins first Wimbledon Title
Finishing the year with a record of 70-6 and claiming $12m in prize money (the most ever on the ATP Tour), Novak Djokovic had arguably the best twelve months of any player in the Open Era. Starting with a success at the Australian Open and making the semi-finals at Roland Garos, Djokovic was an early favourite at the Wimbledon All-Engand club.
With the likes of Federer, Nadal and home favourite Andy Murray in the mix to win the Championship many feared that Djokovic’s chance may be harmed after he pulled out of the traditional warm-up event at the Queen’s Club.
By the time the opening Monday had arrived, No-Djo had been passed fit, and coming through the first four rounds dropping only one set, the Serb defeated qualifier Bernard Tomic in the Quarter Finals before facing off against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga for a place in the Final.
Djokovic beat the twelfth seeded Frenchman in three sets to set up a showdown against Rafael Nadal, a man he had beaten in pre-Wimbledon tournaments on two occasions.
Everything lay on the line for both players ahead of the Sunday Showdown as the winner would be crowed as the World number one and claim the momentum ahead of the season ending US Open. Meeting for the fifth time in the season Djokovic took the first two sets before Nadal fought back to take the third set 1-6 with Djokovic seemingly being affect by the injury which had almost hampered his participation. In predictable fashion, the tireless Spaniard gave everything he had to the cause and made Djokovic work hard to gain points in each and every rally.
An error-strune game from Nadal in the fourth set handed the Serbian Djokovic the initiative and by breaking his opponent in the seventh game of the set, it was left to him to serve out the match. A backhand volley gave him Championship point and when Nadal hit a groundstroke return long, Djokovic fell to his knees in celebration of a first ever Wimbledon title and his second major title of the year.
Japan stun US to win women’s World Cup
In a year without a World Cup or a European Championships in the male form of the game, the women’s World Cup in Germany was allowed to take centre stage in the summer of 2011.
Stunning Brazil with a shoot-out victory in the semi-finals, the US were heavy favourites as they took on Japan in Frankfurt. In the early going the Americans in front of goal, and it took them until the 69th minute to hit the back of the net. Alex Morgan’s goal looked as though it was enough to win the game, but as the USA switched off the US’s only goal was cancelled out by Aya Miyama’s equalizer in the 81st minute as Japan took the game to extra time.
The pattern of the game continued as Japan were on the back foot and it seemed that their dream had come to an end when US star striker Abby Wambach scored a minute from half time in extra time. The Japanese players refused to give in and showed they still had fight in them with a goal from Homare Sawa, her fifth of the tournament, coming just four minutes before the game was sent into penalties.
Japan pulled off a huge shock in the shoot-out as the US missed their first three penalties, and with the Asian side being extremely clinical from twelve yards out it came down to Japan’s goalkeeper Kaihori who saved from Boxx and was soon mobbed by the team’s squad who won their first World Cup off the back of the Tsunami tragedy which had put them at the forefront of the world’s sympathy.
Rory McIlroy eight-shot victory at the US Open
With no Tiger Woods in the field, the US Open at Congressional in Maryland was wide open for any of the world’s top golfers to make a name for themselves.
One of the contenders, Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy was still reeling from his meltdown at the Masters in April which saw him lose the lead on the final day after a terrible closing round. Many questioned whether or not the young gofer had the mental toughness to win a major, and ahead of the US Open, pundits queried why McIlroy had not practiced at the course and instead heading to Haiti on a UNICEF ambassador’s duty rather than preparing in his usual meticulous way.
It didn’t seem to make any difference, and perhaps a break from the golf bubble was what he needed as during his second round McIlroy became the first player in history to amass a score of 13-under at any point of the tournament. With rounds of 65 and 66 through 36-holes, he set a record for the lowest combined first two rounds in history.
Records continued to tumble as during the third round McIlroy reached 14-under par on his way to a 54-hole US Open record of 199. This built McIlroy an eight-shot lead going into the final round, and escaping the ghosts of the Masters meltdown he carded a 69 allowing him to claim his first major championship and set a new course record.
Dirk Nowitski dominates for Europe and erases Finals defeat
In a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks faced off against the much-favoured Miami Heat in a star-studded battle between Eastern and Western Conference champions.
The first game at American Airlines Arena went to the Heat with Lebron James scoring 24 and in a double blow to the Mavs they lost Dirk Nowitski for the final four minutes with an injured finger.
Before Game Two Dallas received a huge boost when Dirk was passed though with Miami fifteen points ahead in the fourth quarter it seemed as though Nowiski’s presence would have little affect on the overall outcome.
With Miami on cruise control towards a 2-0 lead the Mavs fought back with some excellent three point shooting from Jason Terry, and when Dwayne Wade’s potential game winning three hit the back of the rim at the buzzer, the Texans found themselves level heading back to their building.
The Heat re-took the series lead in Game Three as Chris Bosh hit a game winner with less than twenty seconds to go, but by outscoring the Heat 21-14 in the fourth quarter and mounting a huge comeback in Game Four, the series was level at 2-2 with one more game to go in Dallas.
After four relatively low scoring games, game five exploded with Dirk unstoppable in scoring crucial points in the fourth quarter of a one-sided win. Despite home advantage in Game Six Miami could do little to control the German forward in the paint and with a 21-4 run the Mavs put themselves into a great position to win the title at the end of the first half. Dirk took over the game in the scoring 18 points in the deciding half of the game leading the Mavs to their first ever Championship. For his terrific performances throughout the series allowed Nowitski to shake off the bad memories of 2006 series and also secured him the 2011 Finals MVP award.
Barcelona rule Europe
Hosting the Champions League Final for the first time, Wembley Stadium was the venue for Manchester United Vs Barcelona: Part Two as both sides renewed acquaintances from 2009 encounter when the Catalan side defeated United 2-0.
Favourites for the competition once again, Pep Guardiola’s men outplayed Manchester United in the first half as Ferguson’s team put players behind the ball and tried to stop the likes of Xavi and Iniesta from finding space in and around the penalty area.
Barca came into the game after adjusting to United’s tactics and two efforts from David Villa gave United a warning of what was to come. The Spanish Champions took the lead in the 27th minute when Xavi played in Pedro who struck from inside the penalty box. It looked as if Barcelona could keep possession for the remainder of the game if they wished, but United seized an opportunity to equalise seven minutes later against the run of play. Rooney played a one-two with Giggs on the edge of the box and curled home past Valdes in the Barcelona goal.
With the scores level at half time, it looked as though the second half would continue in the same vein.
In the second half, Barca almost re-took the lead after some excellent play from Messi, and after surviving a couple of scares thanks to their goalkeeper and defence, United were behind for a second time when Messi picked up the ball on the edge of the area and found the corner of Van Der Saar’s goal with an accurate strike.
A third and sealing goal came in the 69th minute when David Villa scored with a curling effort from twenty yards to give Barcelona their fourth European title and their third in the last six years.
Three Lions roar their way to world number one
Claiming an early New Year success in the Ashes over in the Australian’s backyard, England’s cricket team could have been forgiven for thinking that their work was already done in 2011.
Reality bite for the third-ranked test side in the world during the ICC World Cup a few months after Ashes victory when they scraped through to the Quarter Finals despite suffering humiliating defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh.
They were inevitably eliminated from the competition by Sri Lanka, but back playing test match cricket they gained a manor of revenge by beating the Sri Lankan’s 1-0 in a rain affected series.
The big test came when India visited England in the summer for a four-match test series to decide the world’s number one ranking. England started impressively with a 196 run victory at Lords in the first game, largely thanks to the bowling performance of James Anderson who picked up 5-65 in the final day.
Boasting an early psychological edge, the English pushed their series lead to 2-0 at Trent Bridge thanks to a second innings from Ian Bell who re-established himself as a competent run scorer and set up a convincing 319 run victory.
England all but sealed world number one status with a hugely impressive innings and 242 run win at Edgbaston in just four days of the third test. A phenomenal batting performance in their only innings was highlighted by a superb 294 knock from Alistair Cook as England declared on 710 giving the Indian’s little chance of salvaging anything from the game.
With the series already decided, England put an exclamation point on a 4-0 whitewash by beating India by an innings and eight runs at the Oval. In a true team performance everyone contributed to the team’s success as England were officially crowed the world’s best test team.
Bell once again impressed with a score of 235 and Pietersen chipped in scoring 175 as Swann, Broad and Anderson cleared up the Indian batsmen before revelling in the glory of an emphatic series win.
Bruins win game seven on Canadian soil
The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals pitted the Vancouver Cannucks against the Boston Bruins in a US Vs Canada storyline that saw Boston searching for their first cup in 39 years and the Canadian’s hoping to end a winless streak dating back to 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens lifted the trophy on home soil.
2011’s series was perhaps the most oddly contested in recent memory with Vancouver winning Game One and Two by the narrowest of margins before being humiliated by eight goals when the series shifted to Boston. Game Four was equally as one sided with Boston shutting out the Canucks and winning by four goals to level the series.
As the series shifted back above the border an impressive 31-save performance from Robert Luongo and a goal from Maxim Lapierre gave Vancouver a 3-2 series lead, but once again returning to US soil the visitors fell apart and were beaten 5-2 after being 4-0 down in the first period. The series returned to Canada with the home side hoping to keep up the record of unbeaten hosts in the series.
Things didn’t quite go to plan for the Vancouver team as they came up against an inspired Tim Thomas who made 37 saves and allowed Boston’s attackers to go wild scoring four goals without reply despite being out shot by a margin of sixteen attempts throughout the game.
Boston’s goalie Thomas was named MVP of the series as America celebrated yet another victory in the NHL showpiece game.
Vettel dominates to become youngest double world champion
Claiming the 2010 World Championship in the final race of the season, Sebastian Vettel wasted no time in beginning the defence of his crown with four pole positions and three wins in the opening stretch of the F1 season.
By the European Grand Prix in Spain, Vettel had added three more victories and three more pole positions to be streaking ahead in the Championship race. At his home Grand Prix in Germany he finished fourth, his first time non-podium of the season but in truly resolute fashion he rebounded with a hat trick of wins in Belgium, Italy and Singapore.
The young German driver needed just one point at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, and although he captured pole position, Vettel was under-cut by Jenson Button in the pits and made a mistake which allowed Fernando Alonso to overtake. This wasn’t enough however to deny Vettel the glory of overall victory though and a third place finish was enough make the Red Bull drivr the youngest ever double-world champion.
Victory also clinched back-to-back constructors championships with a grand total of 650 points. Throughout the season Vettel and his team Webber claimed eighteen out of the nineteen pole positions in one of the most dominant years in the sports history.
UConn win March Madness
Expanding to 68 teams for the first time in the competition’s history, March Madness was as exceptional as always, but this 2011 was a special year for the NCAA with the additional entertainment of two play in games.
With Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Duke all highly ranked most impressive of all was undoubtedly the winning run by eventual champions UConn which started back at the Big East Tournament earlier in the month when they went unbeaten throughout the entirety of the competition against conference opponents at MSG.
Carrying their momentum through the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament UConn beat 14th seeded Bucknell and then number six Cincinnati before over-coming San Diego State by a margin of seven points to reach the Elite eight stage.
A talented Arizona team, containing future first-rounder Derrick Williams were beaten as UConn went on to Houston to be a part of the Final Four. They beat Kentucky by a point to reach the final where Butler lay in wait to play for the National Championship.
Calhoun’s men won a disappointing Championship game in which Butler only shot 18.8%, but sixteen points from Kemba Walker were enough to complete an eleven game winning streak and a second title in the last seven years.
Frankel succeeds at the 2000 Guineas
As a three-year old, Frankel came into the year with high hopes of continuing an excellent start under trainer Henry Cecil and jockey Tom Queally.
At the Greenham Stakes Cecil’s horse warmed up for the big race of the year with a comfortable seven-length victory at Newbury. Frankel started as a red-hot favourite for the 2000 Guineas with odds of 1-2, and the colt more than lived up to it’s lofty expectations by delivering one of the most dominant Group One performances in racing history.
Jumping straight out into the lead, Frankel maintained a relentless gallop and had established a lead of around fifteen lengths by half distance.
Newmarket’s crowd, no strangers to amazing performance, stood in awe as the horse cantered home with six lengths to spare. Racing pundits dubbed Frankel’s 2000 Guineas run as once of the greatest performances seen on a course in England and the horse has firmly been established by her trainer as ‘an undoubted contender for all major races in 2012’.
Cardinals give LaRussa best retirement gift
Returning to the World Series for a second consecutive year, the Texas Rangers were favourites heading into championship game of baseball against the St Louis Cardinals.
Despite possessing the man many dubbed as ‘best player in baseball’, Albert Pujols, the Cardinals had snuck into the playoffs as a wildcard and found themselves on the brink of elimination after their opponents won two of their three games at their home in Arlington.
Facing two make or break games back at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals survived overtime to force a Game Seven. Tied at 2-2 after the first inning it looked as if the game was headed towards a thrilling conclusion. In the third, Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer before mistakes from the Texas bullpen allowed St Louis to go further ahead.
The cards added one more run through Yadier Molin and although it took four relievers to hold Texas scoreless in the final three innings, Craig was the hero once more when he caught a fly ball by David Murphy to secure the final out.
David Freese was named as the World Series MVP and the following day came the announcement that veteran manager of the Cards, Tony La Russa, was to retire from the game after 33 seasons as a Major League manager.
All-Blacks succeed on home soil
Having failed to win the title since the inaugural World Cup in 1987 despite being the world’s perennial number one team, there was much pressure on the All Blacks of New Zealand as they headed into the summer of 2011.
Not only were they expected to win the Webb-Ellis Trophy, but also hosting the tournament added a huge amount of pressure to their performances. Their chances of victory were not helped by an injury to star number ten Dan Carter but even without their talismanic performer, New Zealand breezed through the group stages only conceding 49 points and beat Argentina comfortably in the quarter finals before a showdown with their biggest rivals.
Once again it was New Zealand’s defence, which allowed them to produce flowing attacking rugby, and limiting the Australian’s to just a penalty and a drop goal, the All Blacks faced a final showdown with France after a 20-6 victory.
Despite the apparent disarray which surrounded their tournament performance, France were formidable opponents and going into half time they were just a score ahead thanks to a try from Tony Woodcock. Expanding their lead with a penalty, New Zealand soon found themselves under immense pressure from the French backs who managed to claw back to within a point of the Kiwi’s.
Eighty minutes of hard fought defensive work was enough to secure a World Cup win for the New Zealanders as they celebrated victory inside Aukland’s Eden Park stadium and fans from across the province finally had a rugby World Cup win to be proud of.