This is my list of the top five worst sports memories of 2008, as I see it. Enjoy, and feel free to add your own in the comments section.

5. The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup. Almost nothing could be worse for a die-hard Avalanche fan.

4. The Colorado Rockies trade outfielder Matt Holliday to the Oakland Athletics for outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, relief pitcher Huston Street, and starting pitcher Greg Smith. A friend of mine described this one better than I ever could, so I'll tell you what he said. "Matt Holliday was finally our 'Golden Boy', the one to put the Rockies on the map. Kudos to Dan O'dowd for making another 'stellar' trade. The front office of the Rockies makes it really hard to be a fan of this team. Getting kicked in the junk year after year (with the exception of the NL Championship) has been hard enough. Now the Monforts (Colorado Rockies principle owners Dick and Charlie Monfort) are in the business of breaking hearts. It's time for them to go."

3. Jacksonville Jaguars lineman Richard Collier is shot multiple times, requiring major surgery to amputate his leg. This one hits close to home for a Broncos fan, as we went through Darrent Williams being shot and killed two years ago today. It's sad to see the way the world is going right now. Regardless of what he was doing with his friend, nobody ever deserves to be shot.

2. The Denver Broncos blow a 3 game division lead with 3 games to go, culminating in a 52-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers and the firing of Mike Shanahan after 14 years as head coach and executive vice president of football operations for the Broncos. I am sad to see Shanahan go, simply because of what he has meant to Denver and the Broncos. It had to happen at some point, though. The loss to the Chargers was very tough to swallow for any Broncos fan, especially after the Broncos were firmly in control of the division.

1. The Colorado Avalanche are swept out of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Detroit Red Wings, losing 8-2 in Game 4. I mentioned above that almost nothing could be worse for an Avalanche fan than seeing the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup. Well, this is worse. It's one thing to lose to the Wings. To do it in the fashion that the Avalanche managed to do it in, though, is completely different.