03:54 PM ET  12.28 | (Everything in red is a URL link to a YouTube video. Click to enjoy)

 

It was an amazing year, one that brought us all sorts of twists and turns to start off the new decade. We saw a number of different champions, a slew of great games, and moments that left us breathless. It's hard to remember all the moments that were special to each of us, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

 

January

 

The year started off with the first title just 6 days into the year when Alabama knocked off Texas. However, that wasn't even the best bowl game of the month. Boise State took down TCU in the battle of the mid-majors in a back and forth game.

 

The month was finished off with another gut-wrenching game on January 24 when the Minnesota Vikings traveled down to New Orleans to battle the Saints. In a game I won't soon forget, the Vikings offered the ball up 8 times, yet still had a shot with 2 minutes left to win the game.

 

We all know what followed next. Brad Childress forgot how many people were allowed on the field and Brett Favre remembered he was Brett Favre. Tracy Porter picked off the pass, the Vikings couldn't get a stop in overtime, and Garrett Hartley sent the Saints to the Super Bowl.

 

February

 

Two weeks later, the Saints capped off their season in ways only they know how. They started off the second half with the now infamous onside kick. After getting ahead, they sealed with Indiana University alum's Tracy Porter's pick 6 of Peyton Manning, which made up for his interception in the NFC Championship game.

 

Then came our first non-sporting event moment of the year relevant to sports. Tiger Woods, after months of speculation and rumors, addressed the media. While he didn't address his issues directly, he [http://tinyurl.com/yg4hl7j]provided us with something to talk about[/url].

 

And we topped the month off with quite the hockey game. And for those that know me, you know it probably took a lot for me to watch a hockey game and write about it. But this one was special. It saw USA make an improbable comeback only for Sidney Crosby to put a knife into Americans hearts with his goal in overtime to win it.

 

March

 

March itself didn't provide any singular moments that stand out, but did provide some great March Madness moments like Kansas State-Xavier epic battle, then we had Butler making a run few predicted, despite a debilitating injury, Korie Lucius one-upping Grevis Vasquez, and to end it all Ali Farokhmanesh becoming a household name with one shot.

 

April

 

The NCAA tourney capped off in early April with two moments that few will forget.

 

First, we watched Butler take down Michigan State and then watched Butler almost do the unthinkable against Duke as their upset bid fell just inches short.

 

Outside of those two games, the month of April wasn't an all to exciting month either. Phil Mickelson captured the Masters title with the help of this miraculous shot.

 

May

 

In May, we found out it would be the "Year of the Pitcher" when Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game.

 

A few days later, the Flyers capped off two amazing come backs. After falling behind in the series 3-0, they fought back to force a game 7. However, the Boston Bruins put them in a 3-0 hole in Game 7. With their backs against the wall, the Flyers pulled off one of the biggest upsets ever, winning 4-3 on their way to the Stanley Cup.

 

June

 

Then came the month of June, arguably the most exciting month of the season.

 

We saw Jim Joyce become one of the biggest goat's ever when he blew Gallaraga's bid for the 3rd perfect game of the season.

 

But that was just the start of the drama. Less than a week later, Stephen Strasburgh lived up to the hype, striking out 14 in his major league debut.

 

The next night, the Chicago Blackhawks ended a 50 year drought by capturing the Stanley Cup on Patrick Kane's overtime goal. As I said earlier, it takes a lot for me to watch hockey, but this game was truly a great game and so was the series.

 

In my favorite moment of the year, on June 18, the Lakers-Celtics squared off in a Game 7 for the ages. It was my first experience of a Game 7 for one of my team's and boy did it live up to the hype. Despite falling down 13 in the 2nd half, the Lakers battled back and captured the fourth championship of the year.

 

Then came my 2nd most memorable moment of the year, Landon Donovan captured the heart of America. USA was faced with a do or die situation: a win and they move on, a loss or tie and they don't move on. Tied at 0-0 in extra time, it looked like the US was going to choke once again in the World Cup.

 

Then this happened. Landon Donovan sent America into hysteria and gave anyone watching it a moment to remember.

 

The first half of the year was capped off with a record-breaking match at Wimbeldon when Isner-Mahut went at it for 3 days before Isner won the last set 70-68.

 

The second half of this blog series will come later this week. Thanks for the read and please offer suggestions for things I missed