Best Games of 2011

Let's face it, this year has been an OFF-FIELD story driven year. From the Penn State/Syracuse Scandal to the BCS debacle insulting college football fans, there seemed not to be as much to cheer about on the field. That is until you think about these games that glued viewers to the screens, fans to their seats, left people talking about the game for days after.

12) Rangers/Capitals Game 4 - The Rangers took game 3 of the first round playoff against the Washington Capitals, but the headline going into the game was Coach Bruce Boudreau saying MSG is "not that loud". After the Rangers blitzed the Capitals for a 3-0 lead, the Garden crowd chanted, "Can you hear us?!" Only to see the Capitals rally and force overtime, which didn't disappoint for drama and featured Henrik Lunqvist stopping Alex Ovechkin on a breakaway. The end of the game was cruel and unlikely as Rangers star Marian Gaborik accidently poked a loose puck from Lundqvist and into the crease for Jason Chimera to poke it in and give the Caps a 4-3 win.

 11) Michigan/Notre Dame - Under the lights for the first primetime game at the Big House, Michigan supplied a classic game for their already historic rivalry. Forget the previous 58 minutes -which were amazing- with 1:12 remaining in the game, Michigan completed a 17 point comeback when Vincent Smith caught a 21 yard Denard Robinson pass, giving the Wolverines their first lead of the night. Game over? Nope, Notre Dame drives down and Tommy Rees hits Theo Riddick for a 29 yard score, taking the lead right back? Game over? Think again. Michigan drives down and Robinson hit Roy Roundtree with 2 seconds remaining.

10) Lightning/Bruins Game 7 - A trip to Vancouver was on the line for two underdog teams. The only question was which one? The Lightning took out the Penguins and #1 seed Capitals, whereas the Bruins fought off their rival Canadiens and Flyers. This series was back and forth, Game 7 was not. It was a game that every inch of ice was hard to come by and two goalies that gave nothing for shooters. With the game scoreless midway through the third period, Bruins winger Nathan Horton deflected the puck behind Lightning Goalie Dwayne Roloston to give the Bruins the only goal they'd need. They'd only need that lone goal because Tim Thomas was stellar. He stopped 24 shots including a sprawling stick save on Dominic Moore. Later, Thomas would win the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup.

9) VCU/Kansas Elite 8- At the beginning of the NCAA Tourney, all the critics were calling out the NCAA selection committee for selecting VCU. The committee claims that VCU "passed the eye test". Two weeks later, VCU shut their critics up by beating the #1 team in the nation in Kansas. VCU sprinted to an early 18 point lead, which Kansas cut to 2 with 13:11 minutes remaining. However, the slipper was on Cinderalla's foot as VCU went on an 11-3 run immediately and put themselves in the books as one of the biggest Final Four upsets of All Time.

8) Heat/Mavericks Game 4 - The storylines for this game were simple. Heat win and they can backup their promise for a championship. Mavericks win and they continue one of the best underdog stories in NBA history. With everyone in the country outside of Miami rooting for the Mavericks, the Heat and Mavs went back-and-forth in the third quarter, but the Mavericks -led by a flu-ridden Dirk Nowitzki- kept the "Heatles" close until the closing minutes of the game. Nowitzki hit a lay-up with 14.4 seconds left, capping his 10-point fourth quarter. It would also be a game that started a theme for the series- poor Fourth Quarters by the Heat, especially LeBron James. The Mavs surged with a 21-9 run to end the game and leave the Heat sweating. The Mavs would win their first NBA Championship five days later and spark many LeBron jokes. By the way, he can't change a dollar because he won't give the fourth quarter.

7) Rory McIlroy at the US Open - Not a game, but a performance that was as unexpected as any other this year. If you did a soap opera style "Previously...", you would have seen Rory McIlroy at Augusta National choking away his lead and finishing with an embarrassing round for an amateur. Fast forward to June at the US Open where McIlroy did the unthinkable. He shot FOUR subpar rounds on the "Golf's Toughest Test" and set or tied 12 records including the largest win with a 16 shots under par. McIlroy's highs and lows are well documented in 2011, but his high was a memory for the ages.

6) USA/Brazil Women's World Cup - In one of the most thrilling games in the history of Women's sports, USA loaded with talent, took on Brazil -which was considered to be their greatest obstacle. Brazil proved the Analysts right when they tied the game at 1 late in the second half. In extra time, their star Marta would break the tie and assure Brazil victory. That is until time was winding down, seconds ticking off the clock, Megan Repinoe kicked a soccer-style "Hail Mary" toward the net where Abby Wambach was sprinting to the right post. She headed the ball into the empty net and sent the game into penalty kicks. Hope Solo made two saves and moved the Americans on. Had the US won the World Cup, Wambach would be synonymous with Mike Eruzione.

5) Butler/Florida Elite 8- The NCAA tournament features several exceptional games a year- usually a first round upset. This year Florida and Butler played a classic game that said who'd go to the Final Four. Midway through the second half, Butler -2010 finalist- were down 11 to the Gators and Billy Donovan. Butler started to chip away and to tie in regulation, take a 3-point lead in overtime until Florida's Kenny Boyton made a three pointer to give the Gators the lead right back. After a foul, Butler tied the game and then came the unbelievable. On back-to-back plays at the end of regulation, Florida's Erving Walker hit a 3-pointer which was followed by Butler's Shelvin Mack hitting a three to tie. Butler would outwork Florida and win the game at the foul line, but it was a classing game for an already rich history of the NCAA.

4) Jets/Patriots AFC Divisional Playoff - Second Straight year the Jet improbable win makes the list. This game was a shocker for many reasons. The Jets were playing in Foxboro, where their last visit ended 45-3 with them on the short side and the Patriots haven't lost at Foxboro since 2008 (not counting playoffs). On the Jets side, the Patriots haven't won a playoff game since 2007, when they advanced to the Super Bowl. Despite falling behind 3-0, the Jets would back up their talk. Mark Sanchez threw touchdown passes to LaDanian Thomlinson and Brayon Edwards to make it 14-3. Sanchez would fling it to Santonio Holmes to give the Jets a ten point lead that Shonn Greene would add to with a 16-yard touchdown run. The win would send the Jets to their second straight Conference Final and Bart Scott would be remembered for saying, "Can't Wait!"

3) USA/Japan Women's World Cup - How could the USA/Brazil game be topped? Even for the biggest male chauvinist would have to say this game was outstanding even if the game ended the wrong way for the USA. Alex Morgan gave the US a 1-0, only to have Japan tie the game on a USA goof that Aya Miyama capitalized on. Unlike the Brazil game, Abby Wambach didn't wait till the closing seconds of extra time, when she headed in a crossing feed, but Japan wasn't done. Playing for their country that has been ravaged by natural disasters in the last year, the Japanese women fought and tied the game when Homare Sawa managed to redirected a ball past Hope Solo. Japan would win in penalty kicks, but the argument is clear that with the World Cup on the line, this game was the best of the summer.

2) Baseball's Final Day - This isn't a game, but a collective of moments from several games of baseball's final dramatic day. With the Wild Card spots on the line in BOTH leagues, the Braves/Cardinals battling in the NL and the Rays/Red Sox in the AL. Early in the evening, the Yankees did their best to help the Red Sox (I know, weird) by taking a 7-0 lead. In the meantime, the Sox were leading 2-0 over Baltimore, but the Rays would burst out with a 6 run eighth inning. All this built to the ninth, when Jon Papelbon was on the mound trying to save the game in Baltimore, Dan Johnson was down to his final strike against Cory Wade. Johnson would strike Wade's pitch off the foul pole to tie the game as Papelbon blows the save in Baltimore almost simultaneously! Evan Longoria would hit a homerun and punch the Rays ticket to the Wild Card. In the National League, Chris Carpenter and the Cards shut out the Astros while the Braves fell in extra innings to the Phillies. BOTH the Red Sox and Braves completed collapses that saw them leading by 10 games or more in the final week of August.

GAME OF THE YEAR:

1) Cardinals/Rangers Game 6 - In a series that will be held up against the greats, Game 6 put itself on a level with 1993, 1990, 1986 and 1975. A back-and-forth game where the Rangers took and early lead to the Cardinals striking back, but starting with the seventh inning, the game took on a new life. With the score tied at 4, Adrian Beltre hit a go-ahead home run to give the Rangers the lead, but Nelson Cruz hit a towering shot over the leftfield wall right after him. Ian Kinsler would add an RBI single to make it 7-4. The Rangers felt confident with their vaunted bullpen that they would close the game out. The Cardinals had other ideas. In the eighth, super-sub Allen Craig hits a solo home run to close it to 7-5, but in the ninth inning, David Freese struck a Neftali Feliz fastball to right field that eluded Nelson Cruz. That didn't kill the Rangers resolve. "The Natural" Josh Hamilton hit a two-run home run to right, seemingly to write a climax to his comeback story. The only problem was that the Cardinals didn't want to quit. Ryan Theriot had an RBI groundout, then Lance Berkman singled to center off Scott Feldman to tie the game at 9. It was the second time the Cardinals were down to their final strike of the SEASON. The following turn at bat for the Cardinals would force Game 7. David Freese -the eventual World Series MVP- would take a Mark Lowe offering over the centerfield wall as Joe Buck re-created his father's home run call from Kirby Puckett's 1990 Game 6 winning home run, "We'll see you tomorrow night." The Cardinals would not falter at home in Game 7, completing one of the most improbable runs to a championship in baseball history.

These are my games of 2011. I'm kind of shocked that I have two WOMEN's games on here, but gotta hand it to the US Women. They certainly entertained this year. If you have others, please leave a comment here or my Facebook.