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| The List: Best sports moments of 2001 Page 2 staff | ||
As Page 2 begins its look back at the year 2001, we list the 10 most memorable moments in sports from the past 12 months.
In the long, storied history of baseball, only once had a team won a World Series game in which it trailed by two or more runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Then ... it happened twice in 24 hours. 2. The playing of "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch of the Braves-Mets game on Sept. 21 The first major pro sporting event in New York following Sept. 11 offered a moving tribute that we'll never forget. (The game had a great finish, too, as Mike Piazza's eighth-inning homer helped win it for New York.) 3. Luis Gonzalez's single to win Game 7 of the World Series The hit that dethroned the three-time defending champion Yankees -- and against the "unbeatable" Mariano Rivera -- ended perhaps the most dramatic Series ever.
Bonds' record-breaking shot would be higher, but Mark McGwire's record was only 3-years-old. 5. Ray Bourque finally lifts the Stanley Cup What's the perfect way to end a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals? How 'bout by handing the Cup to a Hall of Famer who was everyone's sentimental favorite. 6. Tino Martinez's two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to tie Game 4 of the World Series In any other year, this one might be No. 1. But, of course, this wasn't just any other World Series. 7. Michael Jordan's second comeback begins in New York OK, so the game stunk, and MJ looked rusty and the Wizards looked bad. But His Airness was still back on the floor ... and we were glued to our TV sets.
The Yankees weren't the only ones posting amazing comebacks in late October and early November. Just one week after beating San Francisco with an amazing rally, the Bears stunned the Browns 27-21 on Nov. 4 in the most dramatic NFL game of the regular season thus far. Down 21-7 in the final minute, Chicago scored on a TD pass with 28 seconds left. Then, the Bears recovered an onside kick and completed a "Hail Mary" pass as time expired to force overtime. After all that, Mike Brown's interception return to win the game in overtime -- his second such return in two weeks -- must have seemed commonplace. 9. Jennifer Capriati wins the Australian Open The best comeback story of 2001 started Down Under in late January when Capriati overwhelmed top-seeded Martina Hingis to win her first Grand Slam title. 10. Tiger Woods wins the Masters And thus the "Tiger Slam" was born as Woods became the first golfer to ever hold all four major championships at the same time.
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