Top sports stories of 2012

So what would you rate as the top NFL story? To me, it's the bounty scandal and everything that went with it.

I understand if you live in a certain market that might influence one's feelings. I really could care less which team wins. The Giants winning the Super Bowl is not much different than the Patriots or Steelers or Packers. It's what happens along the way that makes a story big or not. I see the bounty scandal as big if, for no other reason, a head coach got suspended for the entire freakin' season. That has never happened in my lifetime, and I doubt it ever will again.

 

Anytime a major pro league cancels a ton of games, it is a pretty big deal. It means tons of other stories that simply don't happen.

And, yes, the list is subjective, of course. Losing the NHL season means I have basically nothing of interest sportswise to watch on weeknights for six months. If it were, say, the NBA, I wouldn't care as much because I haven't watched an NBA game in years anyway.

Please do put together your own list. I'm curious to see what others think.

 

Soccer had some real doozies this year:
Messi breaking the goal record
FC Rangers going broke
Hillsborough investigation finally getting traction
Man City edging Man Utd. in the Prem on an epic last day of the season

In the golf realm, USA Ryder Cup meltdown was pretty big.

 

Linsanity beats the NHL lockout.

 

Nationally: Penn State.

Everything else is a well-beaten second.

 

Peyton Manning changing teams should be somewhere in the top 10.

 

I'm no cycling fan, but I'd think Lance Armstrong would be in there. Lost track of when the Penn State stuff came out.

 

Facts started coming out about Penn State around mid-November of last year, but all of the major fallout stories: Paterno's death, the Sandusky trial and the firestorm over the NCAA sanctions all occured this year.

Lance Armstrong would be somewhere in the top 10 I would think.

 

Chipper Jones final season, the season of the Falcons, Georgia misses shot at national title are three big stories here in the state of Georgia.

 

Sure. Each list is going to be somewhat skewed by local bias. I get that.

I had Manning at No. 10 and then bumped it for the two December deaths. The Armstrong thing makes sense as well, given that after so many years of rumors and speculation, we finally got some finality to it.

 

No. 7 probably shouldn't be in the Top 10 either. It's a No. 8 seed winning a title, but really it's just another sports championship. Big in LA, but that's it. Certainly not a big thing on the national scale.

 

this:
1) College conference re-alignment.

wasn't even no. 1 last year. yet sports writers just beat that shit to death. the conference i follow added two teams and was broken into north and south divisions. so fucking what? interleague baseball was more interesting.