End of the year

Well, it's that time. 2006 is coming to a close and everyone is spewing out their precious lists. (Actually, here's an entertaining one.) So why not pile on, just a little? To me, the athlete of the year is Roger Federer. Without question. 92-5 record this year, 12 singles titles including three grand slams (and he says he dedicating himself to winning the French Open in '07, so watch out!). It has to be Roger, this year, and the two reasons he isn't dominating Tiger Woods and LaDanian Tomlinson for the honor are 1) he isn't American and 2) because he plays tennis. That's just poor, Associated Press.

There are several moments that stuck out for me in '06. Agassi retiring, George Mason beating UConn to advance to the Final Four (among history's greatest upsets), the arrival of Ovechkin and Crosby. But here are the three moments, in descending order, that made me lose my mind

3. Liverpool winning the most dramatic FA Cup -- perhaps ever -- over West Ham United. The comeback was largely thanks to English Player of the Year and now living legend, Steven Gerrard.

2. The Lakers weren't supposed to beat the Suns in the first round of the playoffs (and they didn't), but Kobe's winner at the buzzer in game 4 was one of those magical moments in Lakers lore and it had everyone believing that LA had a real shot of winning this thing (they were one rebound away in game 6 from doing so). Anyway, this shot had me screaming "Black Mamba!" and jumping around for a good five minutes straight.

1. His name is Fabio Grosso and he's my personal hero for 2006. The Italian fullback scored the decisive penalty kick that won the World Cup for Italy over France (I haven't been so mental in my life, I think), but he etched his name in glory the match before during the semifinal where, in the 128th minute (final two minutes of extra time), he famously broke German hearts. Everyone in the bar lost their minds. It was the best.

Some predictions for 2007

Orange Bowl - Louisville vs Wake Forest: Doesn't matter.
Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma vs Boise State: Doesn't matter.
Rose Bowl - Michigan vs USC: Doesn't matter.
Sugar Bowl - LSU vs Notre Dame: Doesn't matter.

All of the above games are as relevant as the prestigious MPC Computers Bowl or the Papajohns.com Bowl. Maybe not as much as the prestigious Emerald Bowl, though.

BCS National Championship game - Ohio State vs Florida: Chris Leak throws not one, but TWO shovel pass interceptions in the first half, allowing the Buckeyes to set the pace early and coast to the 4th quarter where the Gators salvage some dignity, but fall short. Final score: Buckeyes 36 Gators 22

Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets will finish either 7th or 8th in the Western Conference, then get knocked out of the playoffs in five games.

Roger Federer will win all four Grand Slams.

The Colts will not reach the AFC Championship game.

The Bears will not win the Superbowl.

The Spurs will win the NBA title, beating Phoenix in the Western Conference Finals. The representative from the East will be swept by either team.

Sidney Crosby will win the Hart Trophy.

Florida will repeat as champions in college basketball and UCLA will repeat as runners-up!

Greg Oden will go #1 in the draft.

It doesn't matter who the Oakland Raiders select with the top pick in the NFL draft, they'll screw it up.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will have a relatively strong first half of the season before completely folding after the All Star break.

The Phoenix Coyotes will finish ahead of the Los Angeles Kings this season. I will get $10 from my dad.

The fans will screw up balloting for every All Star game. Again.

Terrell Owens will not be in Dallas next season.

If Barcelona doesn't win the Champions League, it'll be because they lost to Olympique Lyon.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will miraculously find a way to remain in Pittsburgh.

I still won't give a crap about Nascar or golf.

Your mom.