Best of the decade: The 2010s

This article originally appeared in ZU News.

While some may accuse me of recency bias for saying the 2010s held some of the greatest sports moments ever, the 2010s truly did house a number of the best spectacles American sports fans have ever seen.

It is incredibly hard to pick just one moment from the big four leagues, and since we already wrote about the best NBA Finals and World Series ever, I’m going to choose two other moments for the NBA and MLB.

Here are the best sports moments of the 2010s:

MLB: MadBum is not human (2014)

As a die hard San Francisco Giants fan, this is a biased selection (though I also could have chosen when the Los Angeles Dodgers lost the World Series in 2017, or 2018). However, any baseball enthusiast could tell you that Madison Bumgarner’s postseason performance in 2014 was unparalleled. He did what Barry Bonds could not do in the 2002 World Series — carry his team to victory.

Let’s start off by looking at the stats. During the 2014 postseason, Bumgarner pitched a record-breaking 52.2 innings with a 1.03 ERA. This included a complete game shutout in the wild card round over the Pittsburgh Pirates and three quality starts where he only allowed five earned runs and struck out 18 batters in the NLDS and NLCS. But it was his performance during the 2014 fall classic against the Kansas City Royals that truly made Bumgarner “Mr. October.”

Bumgarner started Game 1, tossing seven innings and allowing just one run on three hits and a walk while fanning five. The Giants claimed victory 7-1 and held a 1-0 series lead. Then the Giants dropped Game 2, 7-2, and Game 3, 3-2, before drawing the series even at 2-2 with a 11-4 win in Game 4. Bumgarner started his second contest in Game 5, dominating the Royals with a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits while striking out eight. The Giants grabbed a 3-2 series lead, but the Royals crushed San Francisco 11-0 in Game 6, bringing it to a winner-take-all Game 7.

Both starters struggled early, as Tim Hudson only made it 1.2 innings after allowing two runs for the Giants, and Jeremy Guthrie was pulled after allowing three runs in 3.1 innings for the Royals. Jeremey Affeldt pitched 2.1 innings of shutout ball for the Giants, and that’s when the world’s eyes turned to the 6’4” southpaw coming out of the bullpen. 

On just three days of rest after already pitching 16 innings in the series, Bumgarner was coming in. 

It didn’t start out well, as he allowed a single and a sacrifice bunt, leaving a runner-in-scoring-position with no outs. But Bumgarner rallied, getting 13 straight outs before allowing a single which turned into a triple thanks to an error by Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco. With two outs and a man on third, Bumgarner went to work trying to get the final out of the World Series against Salvador Perez. Perez popped up a pitch in foul territory and Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval caught it, ending the series. 

No pitcher has ever had a postseason performance like Bumgarner did in 2014. The Chicago Cubs World Series victory in 2016 was perhaps the biggest moment of the decade, but MadBum’s heroics were more memorable.

NFL: Malcom Butler says goodnight to the Seahawks (2015)

It seems like the New England Patriots own so many of the best moments in the NFL over the 2010s, and while their victory over the Falcons in Super Bowl LI was the better game, Malcolm Butler’s interception to beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX was the better moment.

To give some context, the Seahawks were the best team in the NFL at the time. They had dominated the past two seasons, going a combined 25-7 in the regular season, and destroyed the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the previous Super Bowl. Seattle’s “legion of boom” was perhaps the best defense in the history of the NFL, allowing just 14.25 points and 239.6 yards per game. Led by the NFL’s best cornerback (at the time) Richard Sherman and Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas III, the Seahawks held one of the strongest secondary groups in league history.

However, down 28-22 with less than a minute remaining, the Seahawks were counting on their offense to win the game. Though he’s surely a Hall of Famer now, quarterback Russell Wilson was still young and inexperienced then. But Wilson had ice in his veins, as he completed three passes for 75 yards to get the Seahawks to New England’s five-yard-line with just over a minute remaining. Star running back Marshawn Lynch, also known as “Beast Mode,” charged up the middle on the next play to the one-yard-line. 

The whole world expected Lynch to finish the job on the next play, but head coach Pete Caroll decided to throw the ball (resulting in countless memes), and Wilson was picked off by Butler in the end zone, sealing the victory for New England. It was their first Super Bowl victory in a decade, and they would add two more titles in the next five years, while the Seahawks haven’t even been back to the NFC Championship since then.

NBA: Ray Allen saves Heat on last second three (2013)

Steph Curry’s dominance over the past five years from beyond the arc may make fans forget that he wasn’t always the three-point king. Ray Allen was the original, and still holds a fair amount of records (that Curry will likely break), but none of his triples were more significant than his game saving three-pointer against the San Antonio Spurs in 2013. 

It was Game 6 of the NBA Finals and the Miami Heat were down 3-2 against the Spurs. The Spurs held onto a 10-point lead, 75-65, entering the fourth quarter and did everything they could to shut down the best player in the game, LeBron James. The Spurs were somewhat successful in this, holding James to 30 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but even they could not contain him forever. 

James rallied the Heat and their defict was at three with under 20 seconds remaining. However, James’ three point attempt in the closing seconds was too strong, but Chris Bosch grabbed the rebound and slung it to Allen in the corner who drilled the three with five seconds remaining, tying the game at 95-95. The Heat would go on to win it in overtime, 103-100, and win the Finals in Game 7 by a score of 95-88, and giving Miami their second consecutive championship.

NHL: Patrick Kane ends Blackhawks title drought (2010)

So what if this happened in the opening year of the decade? It was still a part of the 2010s. I was tempted to go with the Las Vegas Knights’ spectacular inaugural season, or with the St. Louis Blues’ first title in 2019, but this was the best moment of the decade. 

The Chicago Blackhawks hadn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1961, a drought only trumped by the Cubs 108-year stretch between winning the World Series, at least in Chicago fans’ eyes. The Blackhawks put together a strong 2009-10 season, going 52-22-8 during the regular season, winning the Central Division and securing the second seed in the Western Conference. Then Chicago took out the Nashville Predators in the quarterfinals (4-2), then the Vancouver Canucks in the semifinals (4-2), and swept the San Jose Sharks (4-0) in the Western Conference Finals.

The Blackhawks squared off against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Final. The Flyers weren’t as strong of a squad, but they still had a respectable 41-35-6 regular season record, before taking out the New Jersey Devils (4-1) in the quarterfinals, the Boston Bruins (4-3) in the semifinals—in which the Flyers came back from a 0-3 series deficit making them the third team in NHL history to do so—, and the Montreal Canadiens (4-1) in the Conference Finals. 

The Blackhawks claimed Game 1 (6-5) and Game 2 (2-1), but dropped Game 3 (4-3) and Game 4 (5-3). Chicago rallied for a 7-4 victory in Game 5, setting the stage to end the 49-year-drought in Game 6. The Blackhawks struck first, scoring on a goal from Dustin Byfuglien, but Philadelphia tied it up. 

In the second period, the Flyers grabbed the lead on a goal by Daniel Briere, but the Blackhawks tied it up and then grabbed the lead again on goals by Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd. The Flyers tied it up once more before the end of regulation. 

Then, in overtime, winger Patrick Kane took a short angle shot and started celebrating. Kane was the only one cheering at first, since the puck got lost and no one knew if it was a goal, but then the entire team joined him when it was confirmed. Kane brought Chicago it’s first Stanley Cup in nearly half a century, and helped them win it again just two years later and again in 2015 making the Blackhawks the NHL dynasty of the 2010s.

Best of the decade: The 1980s

This article originally appeared in ZU News.

As we continue to wait for sports to come back, hopefully soon, we are continuing our series of looking into the past and analyzing the best sports moments of every decade. After sharing the best moments across the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL in the 1970s last week, here are the best moments of the 1980s.

MLB: Kirk Gibson’s home run

As a die hard San Francisco Giants fan, it’s hard for me to admit that the best moment in professional baseball of the 80s belongs to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it’s true. This pain is eased by the fact that the Dodgers haven’t won the World Series since 1988. It was during that very same fall classic that outfielder Kirk Gibson made history with an infamous walk-off home run.

Gibson had just signed with the Dodgers earlier that year after nearly a decade with the Detroit Tigers. He was always a good player and had even helped the Tigers win the World Series in 1984. However, it wasn’t until he came to LA that Gibson reached his peak. During 1988, Gibson had his best season ever, hitting .290 with 25 home runs and 76 RBIs, while stealing 31 bases and scoring 106 times. These numbers netted Gibson his first and only MVP award. 

However, even with his tremendous year, the Dodgers were still heavy underdogs against the Oakland A’s. The A’s won 104 games that year and swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Led by the Bash Brothers, José Canseco and Mark McGwire, the A’s had better than 2-1 odds to win the series. Canseco was the AL MVP that year, after slugging 42 home runs and  124 RBIs along with 40 stolen bases. McGwire wasn’t far behind with 32 homers and 99 RBIs. The A’s also had three top tier starting pitchers and the game’s best closer in Dennis Eckersley, who had notched 45 saves that year.

Fittingly, Eckersley was the man on the mound when Gibson came up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1. Eckersley had gotten two outs, with one man on first when Gibson came up to bat. It was all down to him. 

Oh yeah, there’s one more thing, Gibson was injured. He had suffered a severely pulled hamstring in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Mets. Gibson wasn’t even supposed to play at all that night. But with just one out remaining, Gibson went in and prayed for a miracle. 

After a couple foul balls and a few taken pitches, Gibson was staring at a full count from the game’s best closer with all of Dodger Stadium on their feet. Eckersley made a mistake down the middle and Gibson used all the power he had in his arms to crush the ball over the left field wall. As the crowd roared and his dugout emptied, Gibson jogged, limping the whole way, around the bases. He was the hero of the game and the Dodgers would go on to win their first World Series since 1981.

NBA: Magic Johnson comes in clutch 

The greatest franchise in the history of the NBA is, without a doubt, the Los Angeles Lakers. The greatest dynasty of the NBA is, arguably, the Lakers during the 80s (Bulls fans will fight you on this since they had six championships in the 90s, but the Lakers won five championships and had two more finals appearances). The greatest moment of the Lakers dynasty came in the opening year of the decade. 

The Lakers had established a 3-2 lead in the 1980 NBA Finals over the Philadelphia 76ers. However, in Game 5, Lakers superstar and reigning MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 33.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per game in the finals, had sprained his ankle and was out for Game 6. This put all the pressure in the world on rookie sensation Earvin “Magic” Johnson. 

Johnson came in clutch with the performance of a lifetime. During Game 6, Johnson scored a series high 42 points while snatching 15 rebounds, dishing out 7 assists, thieving 3 steals and even notching one block, while playing all five positions on the court. The Lakers beat the 76ers 123-107 and took the series 4-2. It established the Lakers dynasty and Magic Johnson as a legend.

NFL: The catch

I’m a bit biased here since I’m also a San Francisco 49ers fan, but any football fan would tell you that the 80s belonged to the Niners. San Francisco took home the Lombardi Trophy four times during the decade, once in the beginning, once in the middle and twice to close it out. Led by Joe Montanta, the best moment of the 80s for the Niners actually came in the NFC Championship, not the Super Bowl.

The 49ers were down 21-27 against the Dallas Cowboys with less than a minute left on the clock. The ball was snapped and Montana rolled right, scrambling for what seemed like forever as Cowboys defenders swarmed him. With legendary defensive end Ed “Too Tall” Jones in his face, Montana threw a ball to the back of the end zone that everyone thought he was just throwing away, except he wasn’t. 

San Francisco’s 6’4’ wide receiver Dwight Clark snatched the ball out of the air for the game winning touchdown. The reception became known as “the catch” and was recently named as the second greatest football play of all time. Clark became a legend and the 49ers went on to win the Super Bowl against the Bengals, and three more before the decade ended.

NHL: The “Miracle on Ice”

First of all, I don’t watch hockey at all. I’ve seen a couple games in my life and was more confused than I was after the Seahawks passed on the goal line in Super Bowl XLIX. But even I have heard of “the miracle on ice.” Disney made a movie about it after all. 

Second, technically this shouldn’t be on the list since it wasn’t an NHL game; it was in the Olympics. However, if anyone tells you there was a bigger moment in hockey in the 1980s than the miracle on ice, they are a liar. Okay, the Wayne Gretzky trade was a distant second place, but it still didn’t come close. So we’re making an exception.

Now that we’re through with all of that, let’s dive into what happened. 

In the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Soviet hockey squad was heavily favored to win the gold medal. They had won the previous four gold medals, dating back to 1964 and hadn’t even dropped a single Olympic hockey game since 1968. Meanwhile the U.S. team was a joke, seeded seventh and comprised of college players. The average age on the team was just 22-years-old.

While they lacked experience, the team made up for it with determination and perseverance. They went undefeated with four victories and one tie in the opening round, advancing to the medal round. Then on Feb. 22, 1980, the Americans took on the Soviets in front of a sold-out crowd.

The U.S.S.R struck first with a goal by Valery Krotov. American Buzz Schneider answered with a goal for the U.S. midway through the first period. Sergei Makarov responded with another goal for the Soviets, but the Americans tied it again at 2-2 off a goal from Mark Johnson with just one second remaining in the period. 

In the second period, Russia outshot the U.S. 12-2, but American goalie Jim Craig saved all but one goal, as Russia took a 3-2 lead. The Soviets held that lead until nine minutes into the final period as Johnson scored again after a Soviet penalty.  Then just a minute and a half later, Mike Eruzione smacked a 25-foot shot into the back of the net and the U.S. took a 4-3 lead. They spent the final 10 minutes doing everything they could to keep the Soviets from scoring again. 

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the crowd chanted “five, four, three, two, one,” and Al Michaels gave what is probably his most renowned sports call ever as he yelled “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” resulting in the name, the “Miracle on Ice.” The U.S. won the game and went on to defeat Finland in the finals to win the gold medal.

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The best of the decade series continues next week with the 1990s.