Page 4 December 29, 2016 2016: A Year of Firsts in the World of Sports By Adam Serrao So much can happen in sports throughout the course of one calendar year. Granted 365 days doesn’t necessarily sound like a long time… but as 2016 has shown us all, just one year has the potential to take everything that we thought we knew about sports and turn it all completely upside down. In the leap year of 2016, we were all afforded one extra day to appreciate the sports world as we have all become accustomed to doing. In a year that was so entirely jam-packed with record-breaking history, any amount of extra time is, of course, extremely valuable and has shown us all that there truly is a first time for everything. The city of Cleveland was very busy in the year of 2016, most specifically with providing the sports world with its share of groundbreaking events. One of those events people across the nation have been waiting their entire lives for was the championship won by the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of this year’s World Series. The series was special for a few reasons. It was the first-ever postseason meeting between the Cubs and the Cleveland Indians (who had home field advantage in the series). Everyone loves a do-or-die Game 7, and this series gave you more than that. The final and deciding game went extra innings and was interrupted by a rain delay just as the 10th inning was about to begin. Chicago came back from a three-gamesto one deficit in the series to win its first MLB championship in 108 years. It was something not even the movie Back to the Future could have predicted, though it came close. Keeping the winning in Cleveland, the NBA’s Cavaliers won that city its first major professional sports championship since 1964. The 2016 NBA Finals was a rematch of the 2015 Finals in which the Cavaliers took on the Golden State Warriors in what has become one of the sport’s biggest rivalries to date. The series went a full seven games, like all sports fans love to see, and ended with LeBron James bringing his team back from a three-games-toone deficit to give the title to the Cavs. It was the first time since 1978 that the road team had successfully won a Game 7 and the first time in NBA Finals history that a team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the series. James, of course, took home the series MVP and had an iconic block in the final seconds on Andre Iguodala of the Warriors that played a huge part in the victory. The year 2016 has become famous across the sports world for some of the great athletes who have said goodbye. Peyton Manning went out on top and rode his white bronco off into the sunset after he defeated Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game and Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl. With the win, Manning became the first quarterback to win the Super C e r t i f i e d a n d L i c e n s e d P r o f e s s i o n a l s plumbing & heating painting PAINTERS PLUS INTERIOR • EXTERIOR PLUS IMPROVEMENTS • REPAIRS FREE ESTIMATES LOWEST PRICES • GUARANTEED QUALITY 5 YEAR FREE MAINTENANCE SERVING THE BEACH CITIES FOR OVER 20 YEARS CALL DON 310-798-0450 LIC # 726089 handyman BILL’S HOME & APARTMENT MAINTENANCE CONTRACTOR QUALITY at Handyman Prices. We cover everything from A-Z. Bill Henrichon Cell: 310-890-7531 Office: 310-542-3470 billhenrichon@sbcglobal.net Henrichon & Associates Inc. CA ST LIC# 1011547 / Licensed & Insured 2011 2012 2013 Serving the South Bay for 25 years FREE ESTIMATES concrete LINDAHL CONCRETE, INC. 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The basketball legend left the game a five-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP, and made the All- Star team 18 seasons in a row. Bryant was, of course, known for his high-flying, high-scoring ability. Despite being broken down and battered, he finished the last game of his career in typical Kobe Bryant fashion. He scored 60 points and left the crowd at the Staples Center in awe. It wasn’t the first time that he did that. Perhaps no athlete can be considered more of an icon than Michael Phelps--not only for his own career accomplishments, but also for what he has done for the United States in the Olympics. Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals--23 of those gold. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Phelps brought home a total of six medals with five golds and one silver. The accomplishment in 2016 made Phelps the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row. Like Manning and Bryant, Phelps used the year of 2016 to retire, but did so as arguably the greatest athlete of all time. With so much that happened in 2016, it is truly impossible to get to it all. Some other notable events, however, included an absolutely thrilling NCAA basketball championship win by the Villanova Wildcats. With perhaps no bigger shot in NCAA history, Kris Jenkins hit a three-pointer as the final buzzer sounded to give his team a 77-74 victory. Normally the winner of the college football championship would be notable, but Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide win it so often that it has become commonplace. Saban and the Tide are the favorites to win it all again in 2017. In golf, the U.S. team won the Ryder Cup trophy for the first time since 2008 and for just the third time in the last 11 competitions. Serena Williams won her 22nd career Grand Slam, Ronda Rousey lost the first UFC match of her career, Simone Biles won four gold medals in Rio, and Leicester City overcame 5,000:1 odds to win the Premier League championship. It’s impossible to cover everything that has happened throughout the course of one sports year in just one article, but it’s clear that 2016 was a tremendous year of amazing accomplishments across the board. Iconic moments were created while a few great icons left their respective sports. There is a lot about this year in sports that will surely be remembered forever, but with 2017 just around the corner, it’s now time to look forward to what another year of athletics has in store. • – Asixlion@earthlink.net
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