Let’s face it, the last decade in Chicago sports has been a complete suck fest. The Chicago Tribune has been saying this decade has been a “Golden Age of Chicago Sports”, but c’mon, who really believes that? When you are the nation’s 3rd largest market and can claim ONE world championship in ten years that’s not exactly “Golden”. Shit, this hasn’t even been a bronze age. I’d even argue this decade in Chicago sports has been the equivalent of a cubic zirconia ring. Everywhere you turn the last few weeks, people are writing All-Decade teams, the best teams of the decade, top moments, and all that garbage. It got me to thinking about the last ten years, and what my most memorable moments in sports were and why. My list isn’t what I think are the top ten or what has been the best, just my most memorable. The top ten times I said to myself….”This is why I love sports” moments. Many of us love sports for different reasons. It’s often a distraction from the struggles of everyday life that can often be monotonous and annoyingly stressful. Coming up with this list was tough because compared to the 90′s, the 00′s was like comparing Beverly Hills Cop III to the original. It took me a while, but here are my most memorable sports moments of the 2000′s. (Sorry White Sox fans, but the 2005 World Series title is not on this list. Why you ask? Because it meant nothing to me and I’m not even sure it actually happened. Honestly I really don’t remember it). Plus it’s my blog and I can write what the hell I want. Now onto the list………

10. SuperBowl XLII Giants stun the 18-0 Patriots– I hate to admit it, but I was rooting for the Patriots all season long in 2007. Not because I am a Patriots fan, just because my hatred for the ’72 Dolphins runs as deep as my hatred for Indian food and Knicks fans. The sight of those old turds popping champagne when the last undefeated team loses pisses me off. Anyway, I thought there was no chance the Patriots would lose going into this game. Once Tom Brady hit Randy Moss for the apparent game wining touchdown, I was convinced that 19-0 was a sure thing. Then Eli Manning hit David Tyree with “the catch of the decade” ( I had to get one cliche in here), and you suddenly got that “oh boy” feeling. Before you knew it, Mercury Morris, Bob Kuechenberg, and the rest of those senile old farts were celebrating the Giants 17-14 win over the Pats. A team needs to go 19-0 in the NFL and soon. Please… I’m begging someone. Anyone. Make this happen before those old farts pass on.

9. Chicago Bears beating The New Orleans Saints in NFC Championship– The Bears run to the SuperBowl in 2006 was interesting to say the least. They had a defense still at their peak, a weak NFC to compete with, and just enough “good Rex” to make it to Miami. This would rank as Chicago’s number one if the Bears closed it out and beat the Colts in SuperBowl XLI. Either way it was a hell of a run and the day they beat the “Aints” 39-14 in the snow was reminiscent of the ’85 NFC Championship game over the Rams. The reaction in the city that night was unbelievable and proved why this is, and will always be ,a “Bears town”.

8. Diamondbacks defeat Yankees in 2001 World Series– This series sticks out to me because it was right after the 9-11 tragedy,  and people’s thoughts were on the victims families not baseball. The D-Backs took a 2-0 lead back to New York, and what transpired over the next 3 games is something I will never forget. George W. Bush throwing the first pitch was chilling. This was only a few weeks after the infamous day so you had reservations about the president taking the mound to make the first pitch. He delivered a strike that Carlos Zambrano only wishes he could throw ( Yes, he threw from the mound). The Yankees won that night 2-1 and the series was “ON”. My buddy, “The Blade”, had a favorite pitcher in 2001 named Byung-Hyun Kim. Kim was the D-Backs closer…. he was also bad. Kim gave up a 2- run Home Run to Tino Martinez in the 9th inning of game 4 and a solo blast to Mr. November, Derek Jeter, in the 10th inning  that evened the series at 2-2. Bob Brenly ,doing his best Don Baylor impression the night of game 5, went to Kim again despite the closer being rattled worse than John Starks during his 2-18 in game 7 of the ’94 NBA Finals (I love ripping on the Knicks at any opportunity). Kim surrendered another 9th inning Home Run, this time to Scott Brosius, that tied the game at 2. The Yankees won that night 3-2 in 12 innings on.. get this Cub fans…..an Alfonso Soriano base hit. Not surprisingly, “Fonzi” hasn’t had a big hit since. Despite the Yankees losing the series in 7 games, the 3 games in New York that played out the way they did at that time was something you couldn’t script in Hollywood.

George W. Bush throwing out the 1st pitch of Game 3 of the 2001 World Series was a signature moment of the decade.

7. Vince Young Leading Texas over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl– Vince Young may be the best college football player of the decade and the performance he put on this night was astounding. He was the best player on the field that was littered with future NFL players. The Longhorns 41-38 victory was voted by Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine as the best sports moment of 2006, and it easily deserves a spot in my most memorable of the decade. For those who think that Tim Tebow is a better college player than Vince Young was –you need to watch this game again. There is no comparison. Young did things that night against a stout USC defense that I didn’t think was possible. On this night, Vince Young was Texas football.

6. WWE’s WrestleMania 22– Speaking of 2006, my brother Anthony and I attended The WWE’s version of the SuperBowl at AllState Arena in April of ’06. Your damn right wrestling is a sport and you better believe it’s in my most memorable. WrestleMania 22 was a top 5 sporting event I have ever been to. The electricity in the arena that night was amazing. The Main Event featured John Cena vs HHH for the WWE Title. If you haven’t watched that match on YouTube, please do so. It’s a top 12 WrestleMania match of all-time. There is a reason that Chicago is rated number 1 on cities that the WWE frequents, and considering they tour all over the world, that’s saying something. A close 2nd that night was “HBK” Shawn Michaels destroying WWE Chairman Vince McMahon in a street fight.

5. Michael Phelps’ 8 Gold Metals in the 2008 Summer Olympics– I am not a fan of the Olympics anymore because they have lost their luster and are filled with chemically enhanced science projects. However, there have been two Olympic events since the ’92 Dream Team that I have HAD to watch. The first was the Magnificent 7 Woman’s Gymnastics team winning team gold in ’96, and the other was Phelps’ 8 gold metals in the ’08 games in Beijing. Wherever I was that summer, I had to see  Phelps do his thing. His performance was ridiculous and in breaking Mark Spitz’s record for gold metals in one Olympic Games, he became one of the greatest Olympic athletes ever.

4. The Boston Red Sox coming back from 0-3 hole to win the 2004 ALCS– This was as sweet as any baseball story of my lifetime. It lost some luster once the performance-enhancing drug allegations of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz came to light, but at that moment it was remarkable. Down 0-3 to the Yankees after losing at home the Red Sox stormed back to win 4 straight and take the Pennant. I, like most, pronounced the Sox dead after game 3′s 19-8 loss, but Ortiz and the boys had other ideas. Ortiz’s walk-off Home Run in the 12th inning of game 4 sparked the Sox and rattled the Yankees. Ortiz did it again in game 5 with a two-out single in the bottom of the 14th on the 10th pitch of the at-bat to really make things interesting. Curt Schilling’s bloody sock game 6 outing was followed by the Johnny Damon show in game 7 as the Red Sox became the first team ever to come back from an 0-3 hole to win a best of 7 game series. That series was the best baseball series I have ever watched and is easily in my most memorable sports moments of the decade. Thhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeee Yankees win!!!!! Nope! Try again bitches.

3. Tiger Woods wins the 2008 U.S. Open with a torn ACL– Long before Tiger Gate became the pop culture story of the decade, Tiger Woods put on a heroic effort at the 2008 U.S. Open. Playing in his last tournament of the season, Tiger dazzled in a signature moment that made me say…….”That’s why there is Tiger Woods, and then there’s everyone else”. His back 9 on that Saturday couldn’t be done in his video game unless my brother was playing with A. Ruffolo (the greatest video game athlete ever created). His 2-eagles and a birdie on 17 from the rough to take a one-stroke lead at -3 was just sick. Woods and fan favorite Rocco Mediate tied in an 18 hole playoff on Monday after Woods naturally birdied 18 to force sudden death. Woods won on the 1st sudden death hole to win his 3rd U.S. Open and 14th major title. Love him or hate him (don’t all women hate him now?) there is no denying what Tiger did that weekend on a torn ACL and a double stress fracture in his left tibia. What other modern athlete would perform at that level on that stage with those injuries? Like I said, there is Tiger Woods, and then there’s everyone else.

Tiger Woods' 2008 U.S. Open performance is number 3 on my list of the most memorable sports moments of the 2000's.

2. The 2003 Chicago Cubs blowing a 3-1 series lead in the ’03 NLCS– You all remember this horror show, don’t you? I still have nightmares about it. Up 3-1 in the ’03 NLCS with 2 home games left, Wood and Prior, destiny, and all that nonsense. I can’t even write about it except to say I will NEVER forget it. I will NEVER get over it, and I still HATE Dusty Baker. Don’t blame Bartman or Alex Gonzalez for the game 6 choke. It all goes back to how Dusty left Mark Prior in game 2 when the Cubs had a 10 run lead!!!!!! I can’t keep writing about this because my head is pounding. This is number 2 on my list of my most memorable sports moments of the decade and I’m not happy about it. That was THEE year Cubs fans. Remember it because you won’t be in that position for a long time.

1. Bulls winning the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery despite only a 1.7% chance– I need to end on a good note and when the Bulls defied the odds (Thank you for rigging it David Stern) and won the Derrick Rose lottery, I did not sleep that night. I was so upset the night of the lottery knowing there was no chance the Bulls could win, I decided not to watch and instead went to a Yoga class at my gym. Towards the end of the class I started talking to myself saying “Damn, can we get lucky one f***ing time?!!!!” That was as far as it went because again 1.7% chance. No way. Won’t happen. I moped to my locker after the Yoga class to grab my things and check my phone. 7 missed calls and 19 text messages later I had found out the Bulls won the lottery!!!! As I checked the first few, and saw they moved into the top 3 I thought my friends were messing with me. Nope! Luck was finally on the Bulls side and D Rose was coming home. Voicemail of the night went to Big Lou, who was a combination of pissed off that I hadn’t yet called him and excited as hell that the Bulls got lucky. Rose and the Bulls have a long way to go, but there is no doubt in my mind just how good he is going to be. Here’s a little D Rose video from high school………..

There you have it peeps, my top 10 most memorable sports moments of the 2000′s. Some good and some bad, but that’s sports. I’m hoping the local teams in town bring us more excitement and maybe a couple championships in the next decade. The 2000′s had a ton of memorable moments both in sports and in real life. I want to take a second to recognize the men and women who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I will never forget that day. I also want to recognize the policemen, fire fighters, and rescue workers who lost their lives trying to save the lives of the victims. That is the defining day of the decade for me. I wish that wasn’t the case.

My Favorite Game of the 2000′s– Arizona vs Illinois Elite Eight 2005. Down 15 points with 4 minutes to play the Illini stormed back behind Deron Williams, Dee Brown, and Luther Head to stun the Wildcats 90-89. We were in Peoria for our annual fantasy baseball draft and watched the game at the hotel bar in disbelief. The Blade was being cynical rooting for Arizona, Sulls almost tripped when Roger Powell nearly missed a dunk, and the rest of us going crazy as D-Will and Head hit 3 after 3 in the final 4 minutes and overtime. It was an incredible comeback by a great college team. Illinois was eventually robbed by horrible officiating in the championship game vs UNC, but their effort vs Arizona gets my vote for game of the decade.

Side note: Honorable mention goes out to the Chicago Blackhawks organization for their dramatic turnaround. They haven’t had that defining moment of their resurgence yet, but here’s hoping that comes in June when they bring the Stanley Cup back to Chicago. Go Hawks.

Side note II: Honorable mention also goes out to Tim Teblows in my most memorable list. I enjoyed that over hyped BS-er crying his eyes out after his Gators lost the SEC Championship this year. That really brought a smile to my face. Twenty bucks Teblows is involved in some sort of scandal in this up-coming decade. I’m telling you now, it’s going to happen.

Side note III: My favorite TV shows of the decade include Jersey Shore (how could it not be?!), Friends, WWE Raw, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, King of Queens, The Office, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Californication, Chappelle’s Show, Sex and the City, and the Sopranos.

Side note IV: My favorite movies of the past 10 years include Old School, Wedding Crashers, Oceans Eleven, Made, Bad Boys II, The Departed, Almost Famous, The Bourne Identity, Rocky Balboa, The Dark Knight, and Training Day.

Here’s to a great 2010 and beyond………HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Week 17 NFL Picks…….Home team in CAPS

Bears -3 vs LIONS– Just who is playing cornerback and safety for the Bears this week? It wouldn’t matter if they brought Donnell Woolford back. The Lions have been abysmal since Matt Stafford went down.

BILLS +3 vs Colts

BROWNS -1 vs Jags

49ers -7 vs RAMS– The Lambs should want to lay down and lose this game. Why? Because a win might jeopardize the number 1 pick they currently hold in April’s draft. If I’m the GM, I’m making sure my team doesn’t blow it’s chance to land Ndamukong Suh.

Falcons -2.5 vs BUCS

Giants +9 vs Vikings– The Vikings blowing a bye week for Favre to rest would be a huge story line going into the playoffs.

PANTHERS -3 vs Saints– No Drew Brees makes this game a lock. I have seen it taken off the board and it should if Vegas knows Chase Daniel might get playing time.

TEXANS -8 vs Patriots– Does Gary Kubiak survive if the Texans lose? The Pats will sit Brady and CO. so the Texans better win. The Pats will rest most of their regulars to get ready for Wild Card weekend.

Steelers -3 vs DOLPHINS

CHARGERS -4 vs Redskins

Packers +3.5 vs CARDINALS

RAIDERS +10.5 vs Ravens

Titans -4.5 vs SEAHAWKS

Eagles +3 vs COWBOYS– The game of the week. The Cowboys have been really good the last month, and Tony Romo hasn’t fizzled like he normally does down the stretch. I’m rooting very hard for the Eagles this week.

Chiefs +13 vs BRONCOS– I would love to know what really went down between Brandon Marshall and mini Bellichek leading to Marshall being benched in the biggest game of the year for Denver.

Bengals +10 vs J-E-T-S

Last week: 11-4-1

Season: 61-56-5