Top 10 sports moments of 2010
What we remember most as fans are the special on-field moments, good and bad, that keep us coming back for more. Here are 10 from the New York sports world that helped define 2010:
1. Jets upset Chargers in divisional round, Jan. 17
The facts the Jets eked out a playoff berth, then ousted the Bengals in the wild-card round, were pleasant surprises. The fact they beat the Chargers, 17-14, in San Diego in the divisional round was a shock.
Trailing 7-3, the Jets scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, highlighted by Shonn Greene's 53-yard TD run. Greene rushed for 128 yards overall. Mark Sanchez passed for only 100.
The victory sent the Jets to their first conference title game in 11 years. Like the previous time against the Broncos, they lost, this time to the Colts.
2. Cliff Lee stifles Yankees, then stiffs them, Oct. 18
With the ALCS tied at one game apiece, the Rangers' ace baffled the Yankees, striking out 13 and allowing two hits over eight innings.
The Yankees would extend the series to six games, but the defending champs went quietly, losing Game 6, 6-1, to Colby Lewis.
Lee's gem was one of several he has thrown against the Yankees, who made an aggressive bid to secure him in free agency. Instead he chose the Phillies over both the Bombers and Rangers.
3. New Miracle at New Meadowlands, Dec. 19
New Meadowlands Stadium was poised to host its greatest home-team victory to date; instead the first-year facility witnessed its first catastrophic defeat.
Leading the Eagles 31-10 after 3½ quarters in a game that likely would identify the NFC East champ, the Giants collapsed spectacularly, allowing four touchdowns in 7:28.
The capper was DeSean Jackson's 65-yard punt return for the winning score as time expired; it was a punt Matt Dodge had been instructed to keep away from Jackson by kicking it out of bounds.
4. A-Rod hits his 600th home run, Aug. 4
At 35, Alex Rodriguez became the youngest man to hit 600 career home runs, but it appeared for a time the pursuit might age him prematurely.
Rodriguez waited 46 at-bats after No. 599 - longer than any other member of the 600 club - to launch a first-inning pitch from the Royals' Shaun Marcum into Yankee Stadium's Monument Park.
At season's end A-Rod had 613 career home runs, sixth on the all-time list. Next up: Ken Griffey, Jr., with 630, then Willie Mays at 660.
5. Celtics, Knicks battle in Garden classic, Dec. 15
Although the Knicks lost, 118-116, when Amar'e Stoudemire's potential game-winning three-pointer was barely too late, the high-intensity struggle energized the Garden and a national TV audience.
Paul Pierce's basket with 0.4 on the clock held up, ending the Knicks' eight-game winning streak, but the battle illustrated the potential of the current team and of the long-struggling franchise itself.
Stoudemire, the Knicks' big-money free agent acquisition, scored 39 points, his team-record ninth game in a row with 30 or more.
6. Santonio Holmes does it again, Nov. 21
The Jets are on the brink of a playoff berth now thanks largely to a wild midseason run during which receiver Santonio Holmes made a pivotal play late in four victories in a row.
The capper came when Mark Sanchez found him from 10 yards out in the back left corner of the end zone at New Meadowlands Stadium with six seconds left to beat Texans, 30-27.
The play saved the Jets after Houston had rallied from a 23-7 fourth-quarter deficit. Suddenly, the Jets were 8-2 and in far better playoff position than they were a year earlier.
7. Rangers lose shootout, miss playoffs, April 11
For much of last winter it seemed the Rangers were headed nowhere, but a strong late run put them in position for a regular-season-ending showdown with the Flyers for the final open playoff spot.
The score was tied at 1 after regulation and overtime, forcing a win-and-you're-in shootout. It ended when Brian Boucher stopped Olli Jokinen, giving the Flyers a 2-1 shootout edge.
Many dismissed the importance at the time, given the teams' mediocre records. But Philadelphia used its victory to jumpstart a run to the Stanley Cup finals, where it lost to the Blackhawks in six games.
8. George Steinbrenner, Bob Sheppard honored in Bronx, July 16
Before a game against the Rays, the Yankees honored their long-time public address announcer and long-time owner, who had died within two days of one another.
Derek Jeter - pre-contract dispute - addressed the crowd on behalf of the team but later failed to drive in the winning run from second base. Not to worry. Nick Swisher did, giving the Yankees a dramatic 5-4 victory.
Two months later, the Yankees unveiled a plaque in Steinbrenner's memory in Monument Park. It was very large.
9. Boxing returns to Yankee Stadium, June 5
After a 34-year absence and a move across the street to a new building, pro boxing returned to Yankee Stadium when Miguel Cotto faced Yuri Foreman in a junior middleweight bout.
More than 20,000 saw Cotto take out the aspiring rabbi in the ninth round after a spirited battle.
In November the new Yankee Stadium hosted its first college football game. Notre Dame beat Army, 27-3, before a crowd of 54,251.
10. Mets beat Cardinals in 20 innings, April 17
After battling through 18 scoreless innings - the longest such stretch in the majors in more than two decades - the Mets finally scored in the top of the 19th.
Alas, St. Louis answered in the bottom of the inning with a run-scoring single by an old Mets favorite, Yadier Molina. But Jose Reyes hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 20th for the win.
Mike Pelfrey earned it for the Mets. Cardinals utility position player Joe Mather took the loss. Total playing time: 6:53. Total pitchers: 19.