Without the greatest sports moment of 2013, the San Antonio Spurs would have been having a parade instead of the Heat. By Michael Kain, via Wikimedia Commons

Can you believe that it is almost 2014? It seems like just yesterday 2013 started and we were looking forward to another great sports year and it lived up to the hype indeed. There were many great sports moments and memories this season but only five can make my list. Here for my Top 5 Moments of the 2013 Sports Year:

5. October 13, 2013. Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts. 2013 ALCS Game 2

Heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, it looked as the Detroit Tigers would come into Fenway Park and take the first two games of the ALCS, heavily swaying the series in their favor heading back into Detroit. But David Ortiz had other ideas. Trailing 5-1 with two outs left, David Ortiz stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded to face Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit. Nothing had gone the Red Sox’s way on this night but with one pitch, one moment, that would change. Ortiz rocketed a pitch over the outstretched arm of Torii Hunter over the wall in right field to tie the game up. In that, “moment” I knew that this was the Red Sox’s year. Fenway was rocking and all the momentum swayed back to Boston. It was an “I don’t believe what I just saw” type of moment and makes it way onto my list at #5.

4. June 24th 2013. TD Bank Garden. Boston, Massachusetts. 2013 Stanley Cup Finals Game 6

Trailing 2-1 in the game with under two minutes to play it seemed that the Blackhawks would be forced back to Chicago for a series deciding game 7. But the miraculous happened, with 1:16 left to play the Blackhawks tied the game up at 2, stunning the crowd in Boston. The game looked like it would go to overtime yet again, only to have the Blackhawks score another goal only 17 seconds later. Watching this game live, I didn’t believe what I had witnessed. Down by one not even a minute ago, the Blackhawks were up by one with under a minute to play. After the game winning goal went into the net, I knew it was over. The Bruins were shocked to a level that was unseen before and the Blackhawks would finish up that final minute and claim another Stanley Cup trophy for the city of Chicago.

3. November 30, 2013. Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama. 2013 Iron Bowl

One of the most incredible sports moments in history only makes it as #3 on my list because it wasn’t for a championship but it was still such an amazing and shocking play that it makes the list nonetheless. Coming into the Iron Bowl both Auburn and Alabama still had a chance to make the BCS Title Game and the winner would more than likely make it there. Trailing by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Auburn tied the game at 28. Alabama then drove the ball down the field only to set up what would be the game winning field goal. The field goal went wide right and was improbably returned for a touchdown by Chris Davis to win the game and stun the college football world. An incredible play, incredible moment and hopefully won’t be for nothing as long as Auburn can claim another National Championship.

2. February 3, 2013, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA. Super Bowl XLVII

The blackout game. Leading 28-6, the Ravens seemed as if they were running away with the Super Bowl title until a mysterious blackout happened and swayed the entire game in favor of the 49ers. In what was legendary linebacker Ray Lewis’s final career game, it was only fitting that the game would end on a defensive stand, something the Ravens have been known for in their history. San Francisco made it interesting, driving the ball down to the goal line only to be stopped four times in a row leading to a Ravens victory. In one of the more memorable Super Bowls in recent memory and it goes on my list as the #2 sports moment in 2013.

1. June 18, 2013. American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida. NBA Finals Game 6

In what might be the greatest NBA Finals game in history, it not only defined the series but the legacy of LeBron James. One rebound, one boxout and the San Antonio Spurs would have been the world champions but Chris Bosh and Ray Allen saved the Miami Heat’s season and the legacy of the “Chosen One”. The Heat were trailing most of the game and it seemed as if they would not repeat as champions. Even their fans believed they would lose as many of them left the stadium early only to attempt to return as the Heat made something of the game. Down by three, Lebron missed what would have been the tying three pointer only to have Chris Bosh snag the ball out of the air and throw it back in the corner to the best three point shooter in NBA history in Ray Allen. Of course Allen was going to make the tying three, of course he was and he did. Sending the Spurs into disbelief, something we had never seem before from San Antonio. The Heat would go on to win the game in overtime and then eventually win game 7 to claim their re-peat. If that Ray Allen three doesn’t fall, LeBron falls to 1-3 in the NBA Finals and we all look at him differently. But what a game. What a series.

Jonathan Toews has led his team once again to the Stanley Cup Finals. By Resolute, via Wikimedia Commons

Why isn’t anyone talking about the Stanley Cup Finals? I understand that is isn’t as highly followed as the NBA finals or any other “main” sport but at least I still consider it a top-four sport behind football, basketball and baseball. Nonetheless, the NHL and especially the Stanley Cup Finals should be covered more with more people talking about or at least put every game on national TV. The story lines this season make the series that much more enticing to watch.  Both the Bruins and Blackhawks showed

First off, it is the first time in 34 years that two of the original six NHL teams (Bruins, Blackhawks, Rangers, Red Wings, Canadeins, and Maple Leafs) have met in the Stanley Cup Finals. For the Bruins, getting to the Stanley Cup wasn’t easy, as they had to defeat the Maple Leafs, Rangers and Penguins to do so. In game 7 of the first round, the Bruins came back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period and won 5-4 in overtime.

In the second round, the Bruins routed the New York Rangers four games to one. In the Eastern Conference finals, they cemented their 2013 playoff resume by annihilating Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since they won the title in 2011. From the second the Bruins made the astonishing comeback against the Leafs in round one, I predicted the Bruins to make it to the Stanley Cup.

As opposed to the winding road the Bruins traveled, the Blackhawks were a favorite to make the finals. They stacked-up a 24 game win streak early in the season and never looked back. The Blackhawks would go on to clinch the number-one seed in the Western Conference and plow through the Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, and Los Angeles Kings. The Red Wings series was the only one that was close, including a game-7 overtime game.

As for the current Stanley Cup finals, so far the first two games have gone past regulation with game 1 going to three overtimes and game 2 just going to one overtime. Both games have been amazing to watch. They have played two games this series and as the series shifts from Chicago to Boston for game 3, both teams should feel good about themselves because this series I believe will go seven games. It already feels like one of the best series in any sport that I have watched in a long time. The games have been so close and so physical. Playoff overtime in the NHL is one of the most exciting things in sports The series is tied 1-1 right now and I seriously can’t wait to see what happens from here on out in this series. It doesn’t always happen, but hockey fans lucked out this year and actually got the two best teams playing in the finals. Considering the fact that we almost didn’t have hockey this season, this series makes up for missing half the season and if you miss the rest of it, you’ll be sorry.

The Eastern Conference Final boasts the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, two teams that finished the season tied for the fourth most points in the conference with only 103. Their advancing was seemingly unexpected, but the tightly contested Eastern Conference could have seen any of the top five seeds advance, as they all finished the season only separated by four total points collectively.

Boston has found themselves at this point by coming back from an 0-2 deficit and ultimately getting by Montreal with a 4-3 victory at home in game seven. The Bruins then carried that momentum over to the second round by sweeping the second seeded Philadelphia Flyers by a combined score of 20-7. The command Boston showed in the semis versus their long-time and hated Eastern Conference rival certainly has given bean-towners something to be excited about in the coming weeks.

The Tampa Bay Lightning escaped the first round versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, after overcoming a dire 3-1 deficit in the series to come back strongly with three straight wins, all-the-while outscoring the Penguins 13-4, including a 1-0 squeaker of a win on the road in game seven. In the second round Tampa Bay discarded the Washington Capitals in four straight games, riding the high that you saw Boston engulfed in on the other side of the bracket.

Both the Bruins and the Lightning are coming off sweeps in the semi-finals and have had plenty of time to fortify. Neither holds an advantage in the categories of rest or lack of rust. Expect this series to start off very methodically, eventually culminating into a pinnacle juncture in game seven.

In the Western Conference Final, the San Jose Sharks, who narrowly squeaked by the Detroit Redwings in the semis Thursday night after being up 3-0 and losing three straight close-out games to eventually take the series in seven games, are matched up against the Vancouver Canucks. This is a match-up of favorites from the regular season, as Vancouver dominantly finished with the most points in the conference, and San Jose finished with a somewhat distant second-most, 117 points and 105 points, respectively.

Vancouver clearly dominated the regular season, finishing with 6 more wins and 10 more points than anyone in the entire NHL. They have however, only stayed somewhat true to their scheduled pedigree. In the first round, after sprinting out to a 3-0 series lead, the Canucks were beaten three straight times by the Chicago Blackhawks by a combined score of 16-5. In true nitty-gritty fashion, they closed out Chicago with a 2-1 game seven victory. Round two saw a 3-1 series lead and an eventual 4-2 series win versus the Nashville Predators for Vancouver. These Canucks present a brawny challenge to anyone standing in their way from this point forward.

While its hard for this Los Angeles Kings fan to get behind a nemesis like the San Jose Sharks, who have perpetually kept their little brother down South at bay year after year after year, the Sharks are the last remaining true West coast team, in a sea of Pacific Division talent that includes: the Sharks, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, the Kings, and the Phoenix Coyotes. The Pacific Division was the only division of the six in the NHL to feature four playoffs bids. This bodes well for the future of the competitiveness of West coast NHL hockey.

The Sharks, as mentioned above, have advanced to this point by the skin of their teeth. Allowing a perennial power like Detriot a shot at a game seven after being ahead in the series 3-0 shows that San Jose has trait of vulnerability. The Sharks beating the Kings 4-2 in the opening round was expected by most privy, but after having this lull in the second round, things don’t look so bright for San Jose as they will now face the irrefutable favorite in the Conference Finals.

There are several dynamics that contribute to the overall remaining scene of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, much like an orator who has completed several audible thoughts, yet still has abundantly much more to say.

There is a certain passion that an NHL hockey player holds, a passion that is unmistakably bona-fide and legitimate. This bare truth is what makes the pinnacle of NHL hockey, year after year, a must see.

It is something pure, something flawless, something classic and authentic, something simple and unadulterated.

It is something distant from steroids or lockouts. It is something away from contract negotiations and talking points debating the lack of team chemistry because of selfish reasons.

It is something behind the scenes of all that transparently grasps at the forefront of North American sport…….and proud of it.

Seeing a team of hard-working professionals with toothless smiles laying on the ice, with their beloved Lord Stanley captured at the end of a tumultuous journey, makes paying close attention during playoff hockey season a rewarding investment.

Join the club.