As 2014 ends, I figured it might be nice to scroll through my entries and remember some of the notable sports thoughts. I'll go chronologically here, and keep in mind this isn't a be-all, end-all list when it comes to the top sports stories of 2014. It's just a few highlights I chose to write about.
The Sochi Winter Olympics
It's hard to believe this was in 2014. It seems like the games were such a long time ago; it's all relative, I guess. It should come as no surprise that I enjoyed following hockey the most. Too bad the USA women's team choked away the gold medal to the Canadians - the only squad even remotely considered competition.
The men's team didn't top the 2010 epic matchup with Canada, which would have been hard to do. Instead, it failed to make the gold-medal game and then lost out on the bronze. Oh well. Back to focusing on the NHL.
Wild make a playoff run
Yes, I'm calling a first-round series victory and second-round loss a "run." That counts when the Minnesota Wild hasn't won a series since 2003. This time around, the Wild played an entertaining - if not nail-biting - seven-game series with the Colorado Avalanche. Nino Niederreiter became a hero when he scored the series-winning goal in overtime at the Pepsi Center.
Then it was on to Chicago. The Wild battled and played well against the team of superstars. It was a much more entertaining series than the previous year, where the Blackhawks bounced the Wild in five games.
Alas, the run ended abruptly at home in game six. It was overtime when the puck took an unfortunate bounce for the Wild, landed on Patrick Kane's tape and found its way to the back of the net. Series over. But it was so much fun to watch and good to have the state of hockey excited about Wild playoff hockey again.
Instant classic for Indy 500
American Ryan Hunter-Reay won the Indianapolis 500 in what I hope will go down as an instant classic. It was the second-closest finish in the race's history, with 0.0600 seconds separating the top two finishers. Hunter-Reay drove from 19th to the win, something that hadn't been done in 60 years.
AP gets himself in hot water
Like I wrote, I don't really write about the Minnesota Vikings. This was an exception, and many local media outlets pegged this lengthy saga as the sports story of the year. Star running back Adrian Peterson was indicted by a grand jury in September on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child for reportedly beating his 4-year-old son with a switch.
He didn't play much of the season with the Vikings as the case went on, followed by an NFL suspension and appeal process for Peterson. Most speculate that he won't play another down with the Vikings. It was an interesting off-the-field story that shed light on child abuse issues.
Twins change the leader
After four 90-plus loss seasons for the Minnesota Twins, it was time for a change. The club that has had exactly two managers since I've been alive fired Ron Gardenhire at the end of the season. Gardy had a good run of division championships in the past decade. Something needed to be done, whether it was solely Gardy's fault or not.
In his place, the Twins hired former player and St. Paul native Paul Molitor. He made it clear from his first news conference that he is here to win. It may be a tough task with the roster he has to work with, but I'm hoping he can bring a bit more toughness to the role.
Earlier in December it was announced that former Twin and most definitely fan-favorite Torii Hunter would return to the club. Everyone's worried about how much his defense has gone downhill for the soon-to-be-40-year-old. I say, it still has to be better than Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks.
We'll see what 2015 brings. Maybe a Stanley Cup, World Series trophy and another epic Indy 500. We can dream, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment