Happy Holidays, Everybody!

So, the year is coming to a close...and with it I shall take a break.  I will be in Charlotte from Dec 22 until the new year is upon us.  I will probably get on the computer a bit while I am gone....check my blog....do my Pigskin Picks...among other things...but I most likely won't spend to much time doing any actual blogging.

You can see my bowl takes on this site [SportzAssassin.com] and my THE VERY BEST OF SPORTZ ASSASSIN 2005 whenever you like.

But, for my last real blog entry of 2005....I want to go back and touch on and remind people what a year it was. 

THE CHAMPIONS

                   

*North Carolina completed their turnaround as they beat Illinois for the National Championship.  It was the first time the #1 and #2 teams met in the championship game in 27 years. 

*The Chicago White Sox win their first World Series in 88 years...as they ran thru the Red Sox, Angels and Astros. 

*And some had the same ol' same ol'.  The New England Patriots won back-to-back Super Bowls...making it their third in four years.  The San Antonio Spurs win their third title in six years in a Game 7 win over the Pistons.  USC romped Oklahoma for their 2nd straight National Championship [they go for their 3rd in a couple weeks]. 

*Afleet Alex nearly fell...yet saves himself and ends up winning the Preakness. 

*Venus Williams makes a dramatic leap back into the hearts of the tennis world....as she wins Wimbledon. 

*Lance Armstrong won that bike race in France. 

THE GREAT MOMENTS

                        

*In the NCAA Tournament...Vermont stuns Syracuse;  Bucknell stuns Kansas;  Wisconsin-Milwaukee stuns Boston College;  West Virginia stuns Wake Forest.  Not to mention the greatest Elite 8 in tournament history.  Three of the four regional finals went into overtime...including Michigan State needing two overtimes to defeat Kentucky. 

*The National Pastime returns to the nation's capital as the Washington Nationals begin play....and had a pretty good season.   

*Little Steve Nash wins the NBA MVP award.

*London is awarded the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.   

*The Utah Utes produce the #1 overall pick in the NBA [Andrew Bogut] and NFL [Alex Smith] drafts. 

*Welcome to the NHL, Sydney Crosby!!!!

THE BAD MOMENTS

                               

*The NHL officially cancelled the 2004-2005 season in February.  The Stanley Cup wouldn't be awarded for the first time in 86 years. 

*The NFL's Saints...the NBA's Hornets...and a host of area colleges are effected by Hurricane Katrina. 

*Raphael Palmeiro tests positive for a banned substance.  Period.  I don't know how more plainly I can say it. 

*Savannah State goes 0-28 in men's basketball....becoming only the2nd team in the last 50 years to go winless in a season. 

*Just days after the Pro Bowl, Pats linebacker Tedy Bruschi suffers a mild stroke. 

*A fan in the outfield stands at Fenway Park took a swing at Gary Sheffield.

*Kellen Winslow II takes a spill on his bike and has to miss the entire 2005 NFL season. 

*Kenny Rogers goes Sean Penn and shoves around cameramen. 

*The Minnesota Vikings get busted taking a Sex Cruise.

*So do two Carolina Panther cheerleaders who got busted doing each other in a bathroom, then getting in a fight. 

THE CONTROVERSY

   

*Was their anything more controvercial than Jose Canseco's book??  "Juiced:  Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big" threw steroids to the forefront of the sports world...and our elected leaders.  We even got an "apology" from Jason Giambi for....uh...well, he didn't say. 

*During their playoff win in Green Bay, the Vikings' Randy Moss "moons" the crowd after scoring a TD.  Later in the year, he tells Bryant Gumbel that he likes to toke the hippie lettuce. 

*Monday Night Football leaves ABC.  In the new TV deal....ESPN gets MNF while NBC gets the Sunday Night Game and John Madden. 

*The Anaheim Angels change their name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  If you speak Spanish...then it means "The Angels Angels of Anaheim".  Nice. 

*Temple head coach John Chaney gets suspended for sending a player he dubbed a "goon" to deliberately hurt players for St. Joseph's. 

*Ricky Williams un-retires and reports back to the Miami Dolphins. 

*AJ Pierzynski is ruled safe after the home plate ump says the catcher didn't catch the called third strike.  Replays show that the ump is a moron. 

*Barry Bonds holding a news conference, on crutches, to tell everyone that he "is tired". 

*Anything involving Terrell Owens. 

THE LAST TIME WE GET TO SEE THESE GUYS

                            

*Jerry Rice, the greatest WR of all time, hangs 'em up.

*Rudy T re-retired from coaching in the NBA as he stepped down from the Laker job just 43 games in. 

*The NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith, retires from the NFL. 

*Jack Nicklaus walked off the Masters stage for the final time. 

*Mike Tyson loses to Kevin McBride by quitting and not coming out for the 7th round.

*Reggie Miller and Karl Malone play their final games. 

THE PEOPLE WE LOST

                                   

*The first star of the NBA, George Mikan passes away. 

*Clarence "Big House" Gaines died of a stroke.  Only Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Roby Knight and Jim Phelan have more wins than him. 

*Reggie White, one of the greatest players in NFL history, died in his sleep. 

*New York Giants owners Robert Tisch and Wellington Mara both pass away within weeks of each other. 

*Hank Stram, former head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs died of complications from diabetes. 

*Max Schmelling, one of the best fighters of all time, dies in Germany. 

*Jason Collier, 28, of the Atlanta Hawks. 

*Former Redskins punter Reggie Roby passed away.  Darrell Russell, another former Redskins, dies in an automobile accident. 

*Chris Schenkel, the voice of the Olympics and the Wide World of sports. 

*Sam Mills, one of the greatest Carolina Panthers ever, died of intestinal cancer. 

*Kwane Doster, 21, a RB for Vanderbilt was killed in a drive by shooting. 

*Leavander Johnson, 35, died from injuries sustained in a boxing match with Jesus Chavez.  Martin Sanchez, 26, also dies from injuries sustained in the ring. 

*Thomas Herrion, 23, collapsed in the San Francisco 49ers locker room and later dies. 

*Former Orioles and Rangers manager Johnny Oates dies of cancer. 

*Al Lucas, 26, died from an injury sustained during an Arena Football League game.