2012 "An exciting year for sports fans"

According to the Mayans this is the year that the world is suppose to end. Well if that's the case then at least the world of sports as we know it will be going out with a bang.  Carrying over from the 2011-2012 football season, the the current NBA playoffs and for more sporting events to come this year, it has been a hell of a sports calendar year.  Whether you like football, basketball, soccer, hockey track & field or any other sport if you aren't pleased yet with how this year has gone then you most likely will be pleased with what's coming in the second half of 2012.

Let's start with football, American football that is. In college we got to witness Robert Griffin III (RG3) thrust himself into superstardom with his Heisman winning season. We saw Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State dominate opposing defenses with his countless receiving touchdowns. We saw a talented class of quarterbacks which was so deep that even Matt Barkley of USC who people regard as a great QB decided not to enter the draft which was stacked with QB talent. Most impressive of all we witnessed two schools in Alabama and LSU, with rosters full of NFL talent do battle twice in one season. In the NFL we got to witness the rise of another star, Victor Cruz who played a crucial role in the New York Giants Superbowl run. We also witnessed Jerome Simpson from the Cincinnati Bengals score an amazing touchdown by doing a front flip over the defender and into the end-zone. We also saw teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans win division titles after years of struggling, and the once powerful Indianapolis Colts fall to the worst team in the league after their star QB Peyton Manning had to be sidelined due to surgery. Regardless of whether things went in your favor or not you have to admit that it was a hell of a football season.

Next we look at the basketball season. In college we saw a team that could go down as one of the best squads in the history of college basketball. The Kentucky Wildcats coached by John Calipari played a near flawless season with superstars that can't even drink alcohol legally. Just as quickly as they arrived in Lexington, KY guys like Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are bidding farewell and headed to the NBA as if to say "our job here is done". The NBA playoffs are still going but this lockout shortened season has been exciting. We got pretty much what we expected out of teams like the LA Clippers who after years of hanging out with the scrub teams of the NBA finished top 5 in a very tough Western Conference and made a nice playoff run before running into the juggernaut known as the San Antonio Spurs. The Philadelphia 76ers surprised us with their first round upset of the top seeded Chicago Bulls. though I should note that a couple key players from Chicago (no one important just Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah haha) went down to injury. the remaining 4 teams in the playoffs are giving us a great show as we have two series that feature a battle between young athletic stars and older but very experienced future hall of famers. Surely we all want to see a San Antonio vs Boston finals matchup right?

Football and Basketball are the two main sports in America that most people follow but we can't forget the other sports. In hockey the LA kings and NJ Devils have started a great series. In golf we just witnessed Tiger Woods return to glory. In Track & Field, anybody that has been following the college season has witnessed records broken. Miles Batty of BYU broke the NCAA indoor mile record with a time of 3:54.54. SEC fans saw the Arkansas men's team lay a beating on the rest of the conference at their outdoor championships. The professionals will also be ready to shine in London when August rolls around. Will we see more records broken by Usain Bolt or David Rudisha? I don't know but I'm sure excited to see what all the track athletes have in store for the Olympic games.

Now let's talk a little about my favorite sport....SOCCER. If you follow the European leagues then surely you either witnessed or heard about the dramatic end of the English Premier League season. On the last day of competition the clubs from Manchester (City & United) were neck and neck with each other in the standings. As Man United finished off their game with a victory and having heard that Man City was down by a goal in their game, they thought the title was theirs. Miraculously, Man City managed to score 2 goals in the last 5 minutes to win their game and claim their first league title in over 30 years. If this drama wasn't enough for the country of England, another one of their teams Chelsea completed a comeback scoring in the last couple minutes of regulation to tie and eventually winning in penalty kicks against Bayern Munich of Germany in the UEFA Champions League final. The European soccer action is only going to get better as we are only days away from the start of the European Championships which begin Friday and are co-hosted by Poland & Ukraine. there will also be more soccer action later this summer in the Olympics.

For all the other sports I haven't covered, we will surely see them in this summer's Olympic games. Whether you're looking forward to seeing Michael Phelps in the pool, or Shawn Johnson's 4-11 figure on the beams and mats, this summer's Olympics will surely be exciting for all sports fans. So if those overachieving Mayans are right and we all die in December then I would like to personally thank all the athletes that have made and will continue to make this year a special year in the world of sports.

By Guy Hudson