The Meltdown at Medinah

Let me give you a scenario.

You are the American Ryder Cup captain.  It is Saturday night, end of day 2.  You lead the European team 10-6 and Tiger Woods and his playing partner Steve Stricker have gone 0-3.  Most of you would probably think I'm crazy and say it's impossible.

For Davis Love III this was a reality.

Entering Sunday leading by 4 the majority of American sports fans and analysts, myself included, thought the US had all but won the Ryder Cup.  Only one time in the history of the Ryder Cup has a side came back from a 4-point deficit.

The Most Relevant, Irrelevance

January 2, 1989
Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, National Championship Game
Notre Dame 34  West Virginia 21

It was so long ago that most people who attend the University of Notre Dame weren't even born the last time the Irish stood atop the college football world.  Since Dr. Lou, 6 different coaches (Yea I counted George O'Leary and Kent Baer) have called South Bend home.  There has been an onslaught of criticism about the relevance of Notre Dame when it comes to college football powerhouses.  I'll be the first person to admit that going to the Hawaii Bowl sounds more like a vacation than a postseason honor.

There have been blowouts, letdowns, "Bush Pushes" and Clausen punches, but through all the disappointments and controversies relevance has never left.  How many schools have a national television station knocking on their door every home game?  How many schools can control their own destiny and remain football independent through the current conference realignment?

Top 10 Moments of London 2012

London 2012 provided the world an opportunity to step away from the toils of everyday life and enjoy a little bit of international competition.  We waved goodbye to Michael Phelps, Misty May and Kerri Walsh; and welcomed Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky to the scene.  Regardless of the fact that we got caught up in the scandalous play of traditional powerhouse, China, badminton became relevant in America.  Oscar Pistorius embodied what it means to be an Olympian.  Although he did not make the medal stand, his strong will and determination had a greater impact on the games than gold, silver or bronze.

That being said, here are my top 10 moments from the 30th Olympiad.

10. Bryan Brothers Strike Gold 
An epic final point gave the Bryan Bros. the perfect ending to their 2012 Olympics.  By adding a gold medal to their collection, the Bros. have completed the career Golden Slam.  To make things even sweeter they defeated Frenchies Jo-Wilfried and Michael Llodra to take the gold.

Chasing A Dream

Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Jack Nickalus, Adrian Gonzalez

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah

What do all of these people have in common?

Yes, they are all famous and they make millions (if not billions), but more importantly they all skipped a portion of their college experience in order to pursue a greater goal.  Each of these individuals made the decision to skip out on college, but nobody seems to be suffering from their decisions.

Robbie Hummel: Passion on and off the court

It's March and for many college basketball fans that means it's Christmas.  68 team started on the road to the final four and just 16 remain.  Oh, how sweet it is.  Millions of brackets were filled out and just about all of them were busted (thank you Missouri and Duke).  People have their hopes dashed as they watch their team bow out of the tourney while other fans celebrate joyously as their team moved on.  As a Notre Dame fan, March feels like the Bubonic Plague.  Having a dark cloud loom over the head of your beloved Irish isn't easy to deal with.  For the first time in my life, I cried following their loss to Xavier on Friday night.

This leads me to the point I want to make.  While fans can live and die with their team (or teams), players face the reality that their dreams may come to an end.  Case in point, Robbie Hummel.

MLB Wild Wild Card

Wednesday, September 28th, a day that I will remember as a rejuvenation for baseball.

1 night, 6 teams, 2 wild card spots...

By the time August rolls around and September is on its way, most sports fans have turned their attention to NCAAF or the NFL.  The small minority of fans who keep an eye on the MLB are the fans that have a rooting interest in a potential playoff candidate.  Being a Cub fan, I knew our season was over the minute we let Ryne Sandberg get away... last November.  So my interest in the playoff picture was, at best, remote.  I was aware of the contenders and as far as I could see, the playoff picture was pretty clear to me at the end of August.

NL: Phillies, Braves, Brewers, D-Backs
AL: Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Rangers (The Angels were still relevant)

Then September hit.

Irish Eyes Aren't Smiling

Two weeks through the college football season, two painful losses for my Fighting Irish.  For the sake of my own health, mental and physical, I'm not even gonna discuss the South Florida meltdown.  Instead I'm turning my full attention to the delightful and historical Michigan game.

114,000 people + The Big House + Night Game = Rocking Atmosphere

By far one of the most exciting crowds I have ever seen.  The energy in the stadium appeared to challenge the likes of an SEC rivalry game.  Watching on television was awesome, I can only imagine what it was like in the stadium.