Countdown...

Who doesn't love countdowns? Well, besides Keith Olbermann (hey-oooooooooo). This is a highly subjective arena. One can only assign value and inherent meaning if the moment up for discussion is relevant to either the overall history of the sport, or if it resonates within you on a more personal level. This is not going to be a list compiled of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, Lou Gehrig's speech, or Broadway Joe Namath calling his shot in upsetting the Baltimore Colts. These are my moments. Whether I was there in person or watching it on TV matters not. Without further ado, I present to you my personal top 5 moments in sports history.

5. The year is 2005. The venue is Augusta National Golf Club. We are at the 16th hole on Sunday. Tiger Woods has just pulled his tee shot a bit. The pin is positioned in its traditional Sunday location which is back left. Only experience and masterful skills permitted what followed...

 

This incredible chip-in was sorely needed as Woods would need one extra hole to defeat Chris DiMarco in a sudden death playoff and earn his fourth Green Jacket. When you consider had he just got up and down from off the 16th green as opposed to his birdie, Woods would have missed the playoff and finished 2nd. Some would prefer to put Jack Nicklaus here and his stunning victory at the 1986 Masters. While Jack's performance was one of legend, the defining moment in that tournament is the putt he holed on 17 for birdie in the final round. The stage was the same, the difficulty was not. Even at 46 years of age.

4. May 1, 1991. An amazing feat occurred this evening. At first glance, you might think back and try to figure out just what event transpired this evening. Well, there were two astounding events which took place on this record setting night. First, Rickey Henderson stole his 993rd base to break Lou Brock's career stolen base record. That's all well and good. But stolen bases are a dime a dozen. Even if you are one of the most active and successful in doing so. No, the feat this evening which deserves the accompanying accolades belongs to none other than Nolan Ryan. It was on this night that he tossed his 7th and final no-hitter of his hall of fame career. Hey Bill Conlin, you are a complete moron. Go ahead and fast forward to the 7 minute mark of this video.

Without question, Nolan Ryan is my favorite pitcher of all time. He blew out his arm a couple of years later and his last pitch was clocked at 98MPH at the age of 46! It's just too bad that Bill Conlin was not forced to take a Ryan heater right in the kisser. By the way, Conlin is one of six sports writers that did not vote for Ryan in his first year of eligibility into baseball's hall of fame. At least he has company in the cerebral vacancy club. 

3. 1977-1985. The life and times of Earl Campbell. The other day on Twitter, @tommy_in_bama asked people to rank their top 5 RB's of all time. Invariably the majority listed Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, and Earl Campbell. Sadly, we were only exposed to The Tyler Rose for nine seasons. He was overused, abused, and his running style cut his career short. It also produced moments like this one where he de-cleats Isiah Robertson, which ranks third on my personal list of memorable sports moments:

And it produced moments like this (the greatest stiff arm of all time):

And finally, his running style produced jaw dropping power runs like these:

Earl brought the power of Jim Brown and parlayed it with the balance of one Barry Sanders, but he was a bit bigger than the aforementioned Oklahoma State Cowboy and fellow Heisman Trophy winner. When people from my generation think of the prototypical "power" running back, Earl Campbell should come to mind. His yards after contact were legendary. I cannot recall many moments when one defender brought him down. Matter of fact my favorite quote from Campbell is as follows: "I always felt like, and I paid a price for it, that it didn't seem right for one guy to bring me down." Well said, Earl. Hook'em.

2. This is not a "best of" or "top 5" of all time type of post. These are moments that have stuck with me over the years. One of these moments was quite painful. One team was a team of destiny. They were led by a coach, whose purpose in life would be one that was much greater than the game of basketball. Before the Fab Five, there was Phi Slamma Jamma. In one of the greatest upsets of all time, Jim Valvano's NC State Wolfpack defeated Guy Lewis' (a crime he is not in the Basketball Hall of Fame) Houston Cougars in the 1983 NCAA Basketball Championship. I cried like a freaking baby that fateful spring night nearly some 28 years ago. If you were a Cougar fan, or simply wish to relive the nearly unforgivable failed box out of Lorenzo Charles by Akeem Olajuwon as Dereck Whittenburg's airball from 28 feet fell into the waiting hands of Charles, who then stuffed it down with one second left on the clock for the final margin of victory, feel free to watch the following tortuous video recap:

This moment is one that will stick with me my entire life. I recall the exact location where I watched this game and remember thinking as the ball left Whittenburg's hand: well, we are headed to overtime. Then, the unthinkable happened. Olajuwon watched as the ball fell well short of the rim. Had he been in the proper position to defend that play, he could have jumped and either blocked the shot, or simply caught it and prepared for overtime. But, this is not the reason the Cougars lost. They built a second half cushion and with about ten minutes left in the game and the Cougars up double digits, the poor free throw shooting Cougars were ordered into a "four corners" delay style offensive scheme. In essence, they got away from what got them there. Hey Guy: dance with the one you brought! They could not knock down their free throws, thus this was their undoing. I've never understood why Coach Lewis decided to hang his team's title hopes on the charity stripe. This loss is the one that haunts Lewis and has been a deciding factoid that has prevented him from taking his rightful place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

1B. I began playing golf in 1994. A good friend of mine had been begging me to take up the sport. I finally conceded and made the trip to Academy to purchase a bag, irons, "woods," putter, balls, tees, glove, and towel. I was ready for my first round of golf without ever having taken a lesson. I counted every stroke that day...all 128 of them. The round was played at Bay Forest Golf Course in La Porte, TX. The date was June 22, 1994.  It will be permanently etched into the memory of Houston sports fans as the city celebrated its first major sports title this evening as the Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks 90-84 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. 

I'll never forget the sulking Bob Costas looking on as the Larry O'Brien Trophy was presented to Leslie Alexander and Coach Rudy Tomjanovich. I prayed hard that night. I bargained with God..."just let us win this one game"..."I'll never ask for anything else (um, that is until tomorrow and most certainly the following year as they went for the repeat against the Orlando Magic)". You get the idea. That's how important this night was to Houston sports fans. It exorcised all of the demons of the Oilers, Astros, Cougars, as well as previous Rockets failures. Houston finally had a champion. Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Horry, Otis Thorpe, Kenny Smith, and Vernon Maxwell will never be forgotten.

1A. How do two events occupy the number one spot at the same time? It's tough to separate championships from one another. Each is quite worthy on its own merit, and they are achieved through the same painful method of ending the season as the very best team out of them all. Differentiating between the Rockets and this team that follows was no small task. But, on January 4, 2006, in Pasadena, CA, the historic Rose Bowl was the venue for what Longhorn fans probably consider their greatest moment in sports history. Without further ado, The USC Trojans and Texas Longhorns began the 2005 season ranked #1 and #2 respectively. They each held their respective spots for the entire season. The match-up was arguably the most highly anticipated football game in the history of college football. Vince Young vs. Reggie Bush kicked salivary glands into high gear. VY clearly dominated this game accounting for 467 total yards on the biggest stage in college football.  The game came down to one magical play in a "make or break" situation. Facing 4th and 5 from the Trojans 9 yard line, with his Longhorns trailing 38-33, Vince Young took the snap and history took hold:

It is incredible to think that this was Keith Jackson's final game on ABC. Nobody did it better. Some interesting factoids about the game: 16 players from the game would be drafted and play in the NFL; the victory was Texas' 800th in its storied history; it was the highest rated Rose Bowl since 1986 when UCLA faced Iowa; Young was named MVP of the game, his second Rose Bowl MVP and only the fourth player in the history of the game to accomplish such a feat. The 2005 Texas Longhorns will always be remembered for taking down the unbeatable Trojans in their own back yard. They were simply one of the greatest college football teams of all time.

I'm sure many of you can think of others or add to this if these resonated with you in any form or fashion. We could certainly add "Chokegate" by the Oilers in Buffalo, who after leading 35-3 in the 3rd quarter, somehow managed to squander that 32 point cushion. But, that game was in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs. Never mind that Warren Moon (prettiest spiral ever - fact) was 19/22 for 220 yards and 4 touchdowns in the first half. Additionally, we could forget that the Bills played their backup QB, Frank Reich as Jim Kelly was lost in the final game of the season, ironically in a loss to the Oilers in Houston. Did I mention that Thurman Thomas was also lost for the second half of Chokegate? Well, now I did. So, unintentionally, this game takes honorable mention, finishing just outside the above moments, yet mentioned last as this all came impromptu. There, now I'm done.