Looking back on sports in 2008: More highs than lows

Photo credit: Game Face

Michael Strahan shows you who's Super Bowl champion. (Getty Images)

By Max J. Dickstein

Top that, 2009.

With a field rich in historic achievements from Beijing to Glendale, Ariz., ranking 2008’s best sports stories is difficult. amNewYork gave it a shot and came up with these:

1. PHELPS AND BOLT TAKE BEIJING

The convergence of two of the world’s greatest athletes, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, marked the Games of the XXIX Olympiad for all of history. Phelps won all eight races he entered — seven in world-record time. With 14 gold medals in two Olympics, the Baltimorean swimmer earned eternal consideration as the greatest Olympian. Bolt, the dynamic 6-foot-5 Jamaican sprinter, set records in the 100 and 200 meters with energy to spare in China.

2. GIANTS SHOCK IN SUPER BOWL

The Giants’ 17-14 upset of the perfect Patriots could hold the No. 1 spot, too. With 97.5 million viewers watching the action in Arizona, the Giants topped an 18-0 team that would have otherwise been anointed history’s best. Big Blue’s Super Bowl roll continues. Heading into the playoffs at 12-4, the Giants could repeat as champions on Feb. 1. What’s already being repeated — by other NFL teams — is a Giant-like emphasis on a ferocious pass rush and stout running.

3. SPAIN OWNS WORLD SPORT

Rafael Nadal, of Mallorca, defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer at the All England Club in the greatest tennis match ever played, but his ascent to No. 1 is just one of his country’s fine athletic achievements this year.

Spain won the quadrennial Euro Cup for its first major soccer title since 1964, overcoming its choker image against powerful Germany. Spanish athletes also claimed a third straight Tour de France (Carlos Sastre), tennis’ Davis Cup and a close-call silver medal behind USA Basketball’s Redeem Team in Beijing.4. METS, YANKEES CLOSE STADIUMS, OPEN WALLETS

The closing of 85-year-old Yankee Stadium assured a nostalgic year even as the team playing there missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

The Bombers acted swiftly, committing a total of $423.5 million to first baseman Mark Teixeira and pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, incensing other teams and making a bid to purchase entry into the World Series in their $1.6 billion new home.

The Mets shuttered Shea Stadium, but not their penchant for late-season collapse. For the second straight year, the Mets squandered a comfortable first-place lead in August. Their acquisition of $137.5 million ace Johan Santana in February — and elite closers Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz this fall — may spare them another collapse in their first season at Citi Field.

5. CELTS RECLAIM THEIR NBA GLORY

In a swift rebound for a proud club mired in mediocrity, the Celtics

united title-hungry All-Stars Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and blitzed to a league-best 66-16 record. In the playoffs, tireless Boston set a record for games played (27) and, against classic NBA Finals foe Los Angeles, won its 17th title.

6. BRETT’S JETS FLAME OUT

The Jets (9-7) were by turns captivating and embarrassing as they started 8-3, crumbled and now hit the off-season confused and broken. At least they gave it a shot with Brett Favre, an all-time great quarterback who scarcely played like one after emerging from retirement.

Eric Mangini’s firing yesterday is the latest twist in a bewildering saga.

7. TIGER ROARS ALONGSIDE ROCCO

Tiger Woods gutted through a U.S. Open playoff victory before undergoing badly needed reconstructive left knee surgery.

The interplay between the 14-time major champion and his scrappy but deferential journeyman opponent, 45-year-old Rocco Mediate, left the world transfixed by the men’s sportsmanship.

8. PHILLIES LEAVE NO DOUBT

The Phillies walked the walk this season. They surpassed the rival Mets to take first place in the National League East, motored past the Brewers and Dodgers in the playoffs and delivered Philadelphia its first World Series since 1980. Their opponents, the stalwart, worst-to-first Tampa Bay Rays, enjoyed a spirited run of their own.

9. CLEMENS’ DUBIOUS LEGACY

Mentioned as a performance-enhacing drug user in baseball’s Mitchell Report last December, seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens launched an angry and vigorous character defense, swearing his innocence before Congress and suing his accuser for defamation. Legal rulings pend, but public opinion has swung against the 354-game winner.

10. MILESTONES IN AUTO RACING

Clinching his record-tying third straight NASCAR title, Jimmie Johnson left more hyped young stars in his Chevrolet’s exhaust and sparked talk of a Johnson era. In Formula One, Britain’s Lewis Hamilton became the sport’s first black champion and, at 23, its youngest.

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