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The 2024 sports year has a lot of great highlights, so there may be some omissions. There’s only so much space on a sports page to cram everything that happened in the world of entertainment and gaming over the past year.
celtics
Boston Celtics fans are still in a celebratory mood as the team regains NBA championship glory and the title banner, No. 18, hangs in the rafters of TD Garden. Jaylen Brown won the MVP award in the Eastern Conference and NBA Finals series.
Celtics’ Jrue Holiday and Derrick White talk strategy. Photo: Boston Celtics/NBA
Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Peyton Pritchard all played key roles in the team’s march to No. 18 NBA title. . Porzingis returned from injury and played the leading role in Game 1 of the Finals, scoring a massive 20 points, while Pritchard, who came off the bench, hit multiple buzzer-beating shots to help the team advance to the C League. The key contributors were:
The Celtics’ main stars were Jayson Tatum, who had 31 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and two steals in 45 minutes, and Brown, who had 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 44 minutes. Defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 in Game 5 of the 7NBA Finals Series.
One of the key pieces to the Celtics’ title number 18 was acquiring guard Holiday and forward Porzingis in the offseason. The holidays served as the glue that held everything together. Coach Joe Mazzulla, the youngest coach in the NBA to win a championship since Bill Russell in 1969, said it eloquently: The meaning of the championship banner. ”
Equally important to many Celtics fans, banner number 18 moves the Celtics to the top spot on the NBA all-time championship list, one spot ahead of Los Angeles (17th).
college football
This year began with controversy in the college football world as the University of Michigan, which helped the Wolverines win the national college football championship, was embroiled in a cheating scandal. Embattled head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was suspended for several games during the regular season for violating rules, persevered long enough for his team to be crowned national champions before joining the National Football League. He returned to full strength and became the manager of the Los Angeles Chargers. He left behind a certified mess that will forever tarnish the image of Michigan football. The powers that be governing college football continue to investigate blatant signal-stealing cheating used by the University of Michigan to win the NCAA Division I college football title.
pro football
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs Photo: ALL PRO REELS
In pro football, the Kansas City Chiefs are known for their late-game heroics from star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and their big team led by All-Pro Chris Jones, one of the most influential defensive linemen in American football. Thanks to their play defense, they won the Super Bowl two years in a row. league.
Jones fought Chiefs management for a better contract and got what he wanted, serving as the anchor of a Chiefs defense that shut down high-powered offenses on their home field of the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. I proved I was worth everything I was paid. The team’s performance in the Super Bowl.
Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense did enough to garner plenty of headlines. Still, the Chiefs’ defense deserved the honor of winning back-to-back Super Bowls over the past two NFL seasons, making them the first team since the New England Patriots in 2003-04 to win back-to-back Super Bowls. The Chiefs are currently 14-1 and are aiming to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Titles.
baseball
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the 2024 World Series Champions. Photo: LA Dodgers, Major League Baseball
Top baseball news centered on the magical season produced by the Los Angeles Dodgers and their superstar Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani signed a record 10-year/$700 million-plus free agent contract, avoided a gambling scandal, and achieved the first 50 home run/50 stolen base season in Major League Baseball history. Riding on the heroics of Ohtani, World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and a great bullpen, the Dodgers would defeat the New York Yankees in five games and win the World Series.
When standout free agent Juan Soto was traded crosstown to the New York Mets in a record $765 million deal, the Yanks lost more than a series. One of the rumors surrounding the 26-year-old Soto’s decision to leave the Yankees centers on an article by Jon Heyman of the New York Post that alleged stadium security disrespected his family during the season. “That’s a lie,” Soto said in an interview on social media platform X. Only time will tell.
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen offered the outfielder a 15-year, $765 million contract, making Juan Soto the highest-paid player in Major League history. For now, the Yankees and their fans are trying to recover from one of the biggest losses in the storied franchise’s history.
basketball
The 2024 basketball season also had some special news in other areas. The New York Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime in Game 5 of the Championship Finals Series to win the first title in the WNBA franchise’s 28-year history. Jonquel Jones was named Most Valuable Player of the series.
Milesia Fulwilly makes a layup for the Gamecocks. photograph:
In the women’s NCAA Championship game, the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks held a commanding lead en route to their second consecutive NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship. Coach Dawn Staley’s team defeated the challenge of Caitlin Clark and the Lady Hawkeyes of Iowa 87-75 in the championship game, ending a perfect season at 38-0. It was Staley’s third national title at the University of South Carolina, joining Texas, Baylor, Tennessee and UW as the only women’s team to have an undefeated season.
The Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball program also won back-to-back national championship titles, defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60 in the championship game and earning NCAA Division I men’s basketball under head coach Dan Hurley. completed two years of exclusivity. . The win was the sixth title for the Huskies, who have never lost in the finals.
Hurley made more news after turning down a lucrative skit.Lacto offer from Los Angeles Lakers. He signed a multi-year extension to stay at the University of Connecticut in pursuit of a third straight national title, the first since UCLA’s dynasty under legendary coach John Wooden. , something no team had been able to accomplish.
Penn State women’s volleyball coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley is the first woman to lead a college team to the NCAA Division I national championship, with her team defeating the University of Louisville in three sets to one. This is noteworthy. Eighth national championship in school history. Coach Schumacher Coley also won a national title as a Penn State player. Jess Mursik was named Most Valuable Player after hitting 20 game-winning shots in five consecutive games.
paris olympics
The 2024 Olympic Games, to be held this summer in Paris, France, have made international headlines for several weeks this summer.
Gymnast Simon Biles shows off his Olympic medal. Photo: Charlie Riedel
Simone Biles returned to her lofty position as one of the world’s top gymnasts, leading the U.S. women’s team to four medals, three gold and one silver.
The U.S. women’s and men’s basketball teams continued their winning ways to take home the gold medal. While the women’s team dominated the competition en route to a 67-66 victory over the crafty French national team, the U.S. men’s team had to withstand tough challenges from Serbia and France in the final to take home the gold medal.
The United States won a total of 126 Olympic medals (40 gold, 40 silver, and 42 bronze) thanks to its strong performance in track and field, winning a total of 34 medals.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone became the most dominant female track and field athlete in the 400 hurdles with a world record and gold medal winning time of 50.37 seconds. This was the sixth time McLaughlin-Levrone has broken a world record. She is also the only woman to win consecutive titles in this event at Olympic Games.
USA Women’s 4×400 Team (from left), Alexis Holmes, Gabby Thomas, Shamir Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone PHOTO: USA TRACK AND FIELD
Sprinter Gabby Thomas won three gold medals in the 200 sprint and the 4×100 and 4×400 relay in 21.83 seconds, the most ever by a Parisian track and field athlete.
Masai Russell won her first Olympic gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles, defeating defending Olympic champion Jasmine Camachoquin of Puerto Rico.
Noah Lyles, Ry Benjamin, Ryan Crowther and Grant Holloway headlined the U.S. men’s track and field team, which won seven gold medals and 18 total gold medals.
Krauser became the first shot putter in Olympic history to win gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games. The world record holder threw a 75-foot, 1 3/4-inch shot for his third win. Rai Benjamin anchored the 4×400 relay team at the Olympics and won two gold medals in the 400 hurdles.The record time was 2:54.43.
Noah Lyles won gold in the men’s 100m with a dramatic photo finish, but he contracted coronavirus before the 200m final, won by Botswana’s Leslie Tobogo.
Holloway, this year’s top sprint hurdler, dominated every aspect of the competition and backed up her claim by winning the 110m hurdles final with a gold-medal winning time of 12.99 seconds.
the legend we lost
Some sports legends in color DHe passed away this year. Gone are Hall of Famers Willie Mays, the best all-around player in MLB history, and Rickey Henderson, the best leadoff hitter and base stealer in Major League history. Still, their great baseball memories and joy of the game will live on.
Others who have passed away are: Al Attles is an NBA Hall of Famer who led the San Francisco Warriors to a championship in 1975 and spent more than 60 years with the organization as a player, general manager and team ambassador. Dikembe Mutombo, who played 18 seasons in the NBA, is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and was known for his humanitarian work outside of the game. and FHernando Valenzuela was a Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who won the National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981 and inspired “Fernandomania.” Valenzuela became the World Series champion that same year.
Louis Tiant, a three-time All-Star and Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer, passed away this year at the age of 83. Photo courtesy of Boston Red Sox/MLB
Cuban-born baseball pitcher Rui Tian had an illustrious 19-year career in Major League Baseball. He played for several teams such as the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox and became a fan favorite. Tiant was known for his unique pitching style, which included a variety of pitches. He was a three-time All-Star, inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, and played a key role in the Red Sox’ run to the World Series in 1975. Lewis Tian was 83 years old.
Mercury Morris of the Miami Dolphins was best known as a running back for the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. Although he played for multiple teams, he is best known for his key role in the Dolphins’ historic undefeated 1972 season, culminating in their Super Bowl VII victory. He also helped the Dolphins win the Super Bowl in 1973.
Each of these great athletes left their mark on this life. We will miss them as much as we will the many people who have impacted our lives. Blessings to you all on the countdown Only a few hours until 2025.
