December 31, 2006 @ 10:32 pm

Ballin!

by: Chris Yuscavage

Here at VIBE, we don’t just love sports, we live them. Sure, we’re technically a music magazine, but some of us still manage to show up to every meeting with a football tucked under our arms. Before Game 2 of October’s National League Championship Series between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals—a night we were busy trying to close an issue—we spent half an hour rigging up a 13” TV and an antenna to watch the game. Hell, we even had our Christmas party at a bowling alley this year and people still haven’t stopped yakking about how great they bowled (yes, even those who barely broke 50). So it’s safe to say we get excited about sports. And this year, there was plenty to get excited about. Here’s five moments that are still interrupting our meetings and buzzing through our hallways today. January 4
VINCE YOUNG runs college football University of Southern California running back Reggie Bush may have run away with the 2005 Heisman Trophy, but it was the legs of 23-year-old University of Texas quarterback Vince Young that got the job done in college football’s national championship game. With his Longhorns trailing Bush’s Trojans 38-33 and just 19 ticks left in the Bowl Championship Series Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Young scrambled eight yards into the end zone on a crucial fourth down play and converted a two-point attempt to give Texas a 41-38 lead—and their first outright national championship since 1969. June 13
DWYANE WADE takes the NBA Finals Yeah, Kobe dropped 81. But that was against the hapless Toronto Raptors. With his Miami Heat down 2-0 to the Dallas Mavericks in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, it was Dwyane Wade, 24, who put on the show of the season in Game 3. The Heat were trailing by 13 with six and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter when “Flash” turned it on, driving to the bucket at will and hitting a flurry of mid-range jump shots on his way to 15 huge fourth-quarter points in front of a frenzied home crowd. He finished with a playoff career-high 42—bringing the Heat back into the series with a 98-96 victory and paving the way for Miami’s first championship ring since the team was founded in 1988. July 22
TIGER WOODS tears up at the British Open It began as a tough year for Tiger—failing to challenge Phil Mickelson at the Master’s in April, and then losing his father to prostate cancer in May. So when he tapped in his final shot for par on the 18th hole at England’s Royal Liverpool course, successfully defending his 2005 British Open Championship by two strokes, he couldn’t hold back the tears. Two weeks later, Woods won his 50th career major tournament at the Buick Open in Michigan, becoming just the seventh golfer ever to reach the mark. And he’s still only 30 years old. September 3
RYAN HOWARD hits three home runs in a game Hitting three home runs in a game wasn’t rare in 2006—Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals actually hit three on this same day and eight other players did it this past season—but Howard’s effort against the Chicago Cubs made him the first Philadelphia Phillies player to ever knock 50 home runs in a single season and just the second slugger to do so in his second season in the major leagues. And with the “steroid era” still raging on in baseball, the 27-year-old was a constant reminder that sometimes the good guy does finish first. He won the National League MVP in November, leaving us to think, “Barry who?” December 16
The NEW YORK KNICKS and DENVER NUGGETS brawl All the rules, fines, and suspensions dished out in the past by David Stern couldn’t prevent this one—another fight (coined the “Grapple in the Apple,” by some) resulting in another blemish on the résumé of the National Basketball Association. After a hard foul by Knicks’ forward Mardy Collins on Nuggets’ guard J.R. Smith, tempers flared, Carmelo Anthony threw a punch, and ten players were sent to the showers early. Anthony was suspended 15 games. Luckily, the Nuggets landed a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers for Allen Iverson four days later. For more on everything related to sports, check out next week’s launch of Yuscavage’s “Where’s My Ball?” blog on vibe.com.

Article tags: Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, David Stern, Dwyane Wade, Five Top Sports Moments Of 06, J.R. Smith, Kobe Bryant, Phil Mickelson, Ryan Howard, Tiger Woods, Vince Young 

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