Did anybody else watch ESPN’s “Top 10 Games of 2006” on Christmas Eve and get pissed off? Women’s basketball and auto racing shouldn’t have been included when there were so many other worthy games this past year. And Jesus Christ, sure Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a game, but who cares? It was a meaningless regular season blowout between a mediocre team and a pathetic team. I didn’t even watch the last half of it (I hope to god they got #1 right). So after watching that monstrosity, I, of course, decided to make my own list. Sure, many of the games on my list also were included in theirs, especially the no-brainers near the top, but I think this list is much better from top-to-bottom.
There isn’t one sole factor I used to rank these games; they’re based on which had the best combination of the following: exciting finishes, unbelieveable indivdual performances, huge comebacks, upsets, players playing through physical pain or exhaustion, and the overall importance of the game. However, having an exciting finish is probably the most important factor there. Going back to the Kobe game…sure that pretty much defines unbeleiveable indivdual performance, but that game had absolutely none of the other factors. Importance was probably the second biggest factor. #9 and #7 on the list definitely would not have made it had they been regular season games. #8 would be a LOT higher if it would have been a playoff game.
So without further ado, here are my Top 10 games of 2006. And damn, I hope we’re lucky enough to see anything in the last 364 days of 2007 to top what went down in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s night.
10. Andre Agassi VS. Marcos Baghdatis
US Open 2nd Round
August 31
Flushing Meadows, NY
Tennis wouldn’t usually make the list, but this was a special match. It would end up being the last victory for one of the greatest tennis players in history. The New York crowd willed Agassi to victory in the 2nd Round of the US Open against one of the best up and coming players in tennis. Both men battled injuries in the match; Agassi’s aging back had been a problem all year while Baghdatis suffered cramps throughout the 5th set. Agassi looked to have it wrapped up after winning the first two sets, and he even led the 4th set 4-0, but Baghdatis wouldn’t quit. Agassi trailed early in the 5th but came back to take the lead and finally win 7-5 after a couple of marathon games late in the set. His career would end three days later after a loss to Benjamin Becker.
9. UCLA 73 Gonzaga 71
NCAA Sweet 16
March 24
Oakland, CA
The perennial underdog Gonzaga Bulldogs were cruising their way to the Elite 8 for the second time in school history with what looked to be a mild upset of the second-seeded Bruins. The Zags led by 13 at halftime and even by 9 with three minutes left, but UCLA would score the final 11 points of the game. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute gave the Bruins their first lead of the game on a layup with 10 seconds left and then stole the ball from Gonzaga’s Derek Raivio to seal the win. UCLA would beat Memphis and LSU before losing to Florida in the National Championship while Gonzaga had to wonder what could have been. In one of the defining scenes of the 2006 tournament, Bulldogs star Adam Morrison sat crying on the floor after the game, his last before leaving for the NBA.
8. Chicago 24 Arizona 23
NFL Week 6
October 16
Glendale, AZ
The 1-4 Arizona Cardinals were blowing out the undefeated and seemingly invincible Chicago Bears in a stunner on Monday Night Football. The Bears offensive weaknesses began to show as Rex Grossman turned the ball over six times on four interceptions and two lost fumbles. The mishaps turned what was expected to be a Bears blowout into a 20-0 Cardinals lead at halfime and a 23-3 lead with under a minute left in the 3rd quarter. But then Mike Brown returned a Matt Leinart funble for a touchdown. Then Charles Tillman returned an Edgerrin James fumble for a touchdown. All of a sudden, the Bears were down 23-17 with five minutes left. They got another stop and forced the Cardinals to punt it to Devin Hester, who ran it back 83 yards for the go-ahead score. Leinart got the Cardinals into field goal range, but Neil Rackers missed a 41-yarder with under a minute left to give the game to the Bears, who came back from down 20 without an offensive touchdown.
7. Dallas 119 San Antonio 111 (OT)
NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 7
May 22
San Antonio, TX
The two best teams in the Western Conference finally settled their in-state rivalry with a thrilling Game 7. The Spurs had come back from a 3-1 series deficit and a 20-point first half hole of this game. San Antonio’s Manu Ginobli hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds left to give the Spurs a 104-101 lead, but Dallas’s Dirk Nowitzki answered back with a three-point play on the following possession. Ginobli and Tim Duncan both missed shots to win the game in regulation, and then the Mavericks finally slowed down Duncan to pull away in Overtime. Dallas would go on to beat the Suns in the Western Conference Finals to go to the franchise’s first NBA Finals, which they lost in six games to the Miami Heat.
6. Rutgers 28 Louisville 25
November 9
Piscataway, NJ
Louisville was coming into Piscataway with an 8-0 record to play another 8-0 team on a nationally televised Thursday night game, and the biggest game in Cardinal history was the week before that? Sure, the offensive shootout against previously unbeaten West Virginia seven days before this was memorable, but this one would become even more memorable…at least for everyone outside Louisville. The Cardinals jumped out to a 25-7 lead in the first half thanks in part to a TD on a kickoff return. But Rutgers made it’s run thanks to a great defensive effort that shut the Cardinals out in the 2nd half and two touchdown runs from Heisman candidate Ray Rice. A Jeremy Ito field goal in the 4th quarter tied the game at 25, and then Rutgers ran most of the last 5:30 off the clock on one final drive. The Scarlet Knights drove far enough to get in range for a short game-winning field goal, but Ito missed the 33-yarder. However, a Louisville offsides penalty gave him another chance, and this time, he nailed it from 28 to give Rutgers their own most memorable victory of all-time. The Scarlet Knight fans then recreated the scene in Louisville seven nights earlier by storming the field and getting the goalposts. This one hiccup proved to be costly for the Cardinals as they almost certainly would have played Ohio State for the national title although they would wind up winning the Big East and playing Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl. Rutgers ended the regular season dissapointingly by getting blown out at Cincinnati a week later and missing its shot at the conference championship in a heartbreaking loss at Morgantown on the last day of the season. The Scarlet Knights would get some consolation in a blowout Texas Bowl victory over Kansas State.
5. Italy 1 France 1 (Italy 5-3 on penalty kicks)
World Cup Final
July 9
Berlin, Germany
OK, soccer gets a pass once every four years if there’s a really great World Cup game. Well, the final this year was good enough to merit making this list. The only two goals in the first 120 minutes of the game came very early in the match. French legend Zinedine Zidane put France up 1-0 on a penalty kick in the 7th minute but was answered right back with a header by Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the 19th minute. The last 101 minutes of the match would be scoreless as France missed several chances to retake the lead. What is probably the most defining moment of soccer in this decade came in extra time when Zidane headbutted Materazzi to the ground after the Italian allegedly made ethnic slurs about his mother. The headbutt, which sent Zidane out of the game with a red card, was shocking because it was in extra time of soccer’s biggest game, and it was the last game of the French legend’s international career. When it came down to penalty kicks, France’s David Trezeguet was the only player on either side to miss. Fabio Grosso then gave his country the World Cup with Italy’s 5th and final penalty kick.
4. Dodgers 11 Padres 10 (10 Innings)
September 18
Los Angeles, CA
The Padres and Dodgers were in a dogfight for the National League West division title coming into the final week of the regular season, and their last meeting of the series and the season would be one for the ages. Los Angeles trailed San Diego by a half game in the division coming into the game and trailed 9-5 in the bottom of the 9th inning. But then the Dodgers pulled off a feat only accomplished three other times in Major League history. Jeff Kent, J.D. Drew, Russell Martin, and Marlon Anderson hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs to tie the game at 9. The Padres bounced back in the top of the 10th inning with a Josh Bard RBI to go up 10-9, but the Dodgers’ Nomar Garciaparra ended the game with a two-run home run following a Kenny Lofton walk to give Los Angeles a half-game lead in the division with less than a week to play. San Diego would wind up winning the division, but this victory helped the Dodgers win the NL wild card. Both teams would lose in the division series.
3. Ohio State 42 Michigan 39
November 18
Columbus, OH
This game would be huge if both teams came in 0-11. In 2006, both came in 11-0, and for the first time in the history of the rivalry, the teams were ranked 1 and 2 meaning the winner of the season finale for both teams was guaranteed a spot in the national championship game in Glendale. The Wolverines jumped out right away with a touchdown on their first drive, but the #1 Buckeyes answered right back on the next drive and then added two more touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead in the 2nd Quarter. The teams traded touchdowns to give OSU a 28-14 halftime lead, but Michigan came out with the first 10 points of the 3rd quarter to cut the Buckeye lead to 4. Ohio State’s Antonio Pittman answered back with a 56-yard touchdown run up the gut on arguably the game’s biggest play. Wolverine running back Mike Hart scored his third and final touchdown of the game to put his team back within 4 early in the 4th quarter. On the next drive, Michigan appeared to get a much needed stop, but roughing the passer was called on a 3rd down incompletion, and the Buckeyes took advantage as Troy Smith’s 13 yard pass touchdown to Brian Robiskie gave OSU all the points they would need. A late Wolverine touchdown and two-point conversion made the score 42-39, but their onside kick was recovered by Buckeye superstar receiver Ted Ginn Jr. Ohio State was able to run out the clock and punch their second ticket to the national championship game in five years. Michigan would almost get a rematch with the Buckeyes, but Florida edged them for the #2 spot in the BCS.
2. George Mason 86 Connecticut 84 (OT)
NCAA Elite 8
March 27
Washington D.C.
George Mason cemented its place as the biggest Cinderella of the NCAA Tournament since 1985 Villanova with an overtime victory in the most memorable game of the 2006 season. The Patriots, out of the Colonial Athletic Conference, barely made the tournament at all as an at-large 11th seed. The mid-major school from the Washington D.C area showed it belonged by beating 6th seeded Michigan State and 3rd seeded and defending national champion North Carolina in the opening weekend of the tournament. A win over equally surprising Wichita State in the Sweet 16 set up the showdown against 1st seeded UConn with a Final Four berth on the line. The powerful Huskies were expected to waltz through the region, but they had fought through three tough games, including a 10-point second half comeback over 16th seeded Albany. UConn appeared to be on their way to the Final Four with their easiest win of the tournament as they led GMU 43-34 at the half. But the Patriots fought back with uncanny three-point shooting in the second half as they made six straight from behind the arc. They would only need nine minutes after the break to take a one-point lead, and then the two teams went back and forth down the stretch. George Mason led 71-67 with a minute to go, but a huge steal and three-point play by the Huskies’ Marcus Williams cut the lead to 1. The Patriots had a 74-72 lead with under 10 seconds to play, but a missed foul shot gave UConn’s Denham Brown a chance to drive the court and make a reverse layup, which hung for what seemed like forever on the rim, to send the game to overtime. GMU dominated overtime until the final minute when poor foul shooting almost did them in again. They led 86-84 when big man Jai Lewis missed two foul shots with 6 seconds left. Brown again drove the length of the court but this time missed a three-pointer that would have the won the game as time expired. George Mason would get blown out by eventual national champion Florida in the Final Four but will always be remembered as the top story of the 2006 tournament.
1. Texas 41 USC 38
Rose Bowl and BCS National Championship
January 4
Pasadena, CA
What else can you say about this one? I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say this might have been the best college football game ever. It certainly was the best in my lifetime. A matchup so perfect not even the BCS could screw it up. A team with two Heisman trophy winners, two straight national titles, and a 34 game winning streak versus probably the best dual-threat quarterback in college football history playing for the national championship on the most hallowed grounds in college football. The Longhorns put any doubts that they couldn’t hang with the Trojans by scoring 16 straight 2nd quarter points to take a 16-10 lead into the half. The two juggernauts went back and forth in the 3rd quarter – Vince Young’s 19 yard touchdown run was sandwiched between two Lendale White touchdown runs, and USC took the 24-23 lead into the 4th quarter. Heisman winner Reggie Bush got on the board early in the final period with a 26 yard dash to give his team an 8 point lead. A Texas field goal cut the lead back to 5, but Dwayne Jarrett’s 22 yard touchdown catch with under 7 minutes to go appeared to ice the championship as USC took the biggest lead of the night for either team at 38-26. Vince Young had other ideas. He calmly lead his team down the field, and his 17 yard run capped off a quick strike that took only 3 minutes off the clock. With only 4 minutes to play, the Texas defense had to stuff the most powerful offense in the country and get the ball back to their leader. They were able to force a Trojan 4th and 2 at their own 45 with just over two minutes to go, and Pete Carroll decided to try to win the national championship right there by picking up the first down that would have enabled his team to run out the clock. It wouldn’t happen. White was stopped shy of the first down, and Young had one final chance to win it all. He quickly led his team deep into Trojan territory, but the drive stalled inside the 10 as the Longhorns faced 4th and Goal from the 8 yard line. Even though all of America and USC’s defense knew Young would try to run the ball in, he was able to scamper to the right untouched for the winning score. A two-point conversion made the score 41-38, and Matt Leinart ran out of time as he tried to get USC in field goal range. Young finished the night with 267 yards passing, 200 yards rushing, and a shiny crystal football that made the two Heisman winners on the other sideline jealous.
Honorable Mention:
- Michigan State’s 35 point comeback to beat Northwestern. This would have made the list if it weren’t between two awful teams that didn’t go to a bowl game.
- Maryland’s national championship victory over Duke in women’s basketball. I know I ragged on women’s basketball, but it’s still pretty cool when two conference rivals go to overtime in the national title game.
- The Titans’ 21 point comeback against the Giants in the 4th quarter. Vince Young led another great comeback, but this game didn’t end up meaning much for either team, and the first 3 quarters were awful.
- 14th seeded Northwestern State’s 1st Round upset over Iowa in the NCAA Tournament. Sure, upsets are cool, especially since NW State came back from down at least 15 in the final 10 minutes, but I couldn’t put every tournament game on the list. Plus, NW State got annihilated in the second round.
- Texas Tech’s 31 point come from behind win over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl. Again, this didn’t make it because it was a meaningless bowl game between two very mediocre teams.
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