Top 12 Sports Moments of 2013 Part One

the month was March and 2013 was shaping up to be a putrid year in sports for me. The Packers were coming off a humiliating playoff loss, the Red Sox were coming off their worst season in 47 years, the Lighnting were collapsing, and the Magic were flat out terrible. Things have improved dramatically since then. The Bolts rebounded from last year to have a very impressive first half this year, the Packers responded by once again winning their division, and the Red Sox, well, you know. My point is 2013 ended up not being such a bad sports year after all. Starting today over the next three days I will be counting down the top 12 moments of 2013 for my sports teams. Of my six teams, four are included in this countdown, the Magic and Badgers football team did not make it. Here we go:

12. March 29th: Lightning Vs Devils, Jon Coopers first win as head coach.
Just two days after firing head coach Guy Boucher, the Bolts took to the ice for the first time under new coach Jon Cooper hoping to begin a new era in style. Jon Cooper had previously been the coach of the AHL Syracuse Crunch and a staple of his teams have always been resiliency. that was put immediately on display in this one. The Bolts fell into an early 2-0 hole, but came back to tie it at 2 apiece. Then they fell in a hole again, 4-2 with just ten minutes left. They close the gap to within one, but still trailed with less than a minute left. In stunning fashion, Alex Killorn tied the game with merely 20 seconds left, and the Bolts went on to win in a shootout for Coopers first win as new head coach of the Lightning.

11. February 9th: Wisconsin Vs Michigan
The Badgers came into this contest one game behind the Wolverines in the Big ten race. Michigan came into this game as the number three team in the country, and it was pretty clear this was a must win for the Badgers to maintain big ten title hopes. The Badgers opened up an early nine point lead, but Michigan quickly tied it and the rest of the game remained a nail biter. Over the final thirty minutes neither team led by more than 4 points. With 30 seconds left and trailing by two, Jarred Bergren nailed two free throws to tie it. But when Michigan nailed a three with 2 second left, the game appeared over. After the inbounds, Ben Brust was forced to throw up a halfcourt prayer, which he nailed to force over time. Overtime was a defensive grind, with a combined seven points scored, 3 of the 7 coming from another Ben Brust three to break a tie with 43 seconds left. the Badgers won 65-62

10. October 5th, Lightning @ Blackhawks
It was only their second game of the season, but the Lightning already looked hopeless. After last years diaster the Bolts opened the year with an uninspiring 3-1 loss to the Bruins, and appeared headed for an 0-2 start as they trailed the stanley cup champions Blackhawks 2-0 halfway through the third. The rally started off the stick of who else but Marty St Louis, and Purcell followed it up with the tying goal late in the third. The biggest Lightning free agent signing in years, Valterri Filpulla scored the lone goal in the shootout to finish off an unlikely win on the road against the cup champions and begin a very impressive first half of the year for the Bolts.

9. April 20th: Red Sox Vs Royals
It was the first game at Fenway Park since the Boston Marathon bombings. There was a special pregame ceremony to honor the victims and first responders, and it was a very patriotic atmosphere. Adding to it, the Red Sox were off to a surprising 11-4 start, and on a six game winning streak, their longest in four years.  After who else but Big Papi evened the game at 1 in the sixth, the Royals regained a 2-1 lead in the seventh. Still trailing with two outs and two on in the bottom of the eighth, a surprising young star Daniel Nava stepped to the plate and hit a three run shot into the bullpen to send Fenway into a frenzy, give the Sox a 4-2 lead and extend the winning streak to seven games, the longest of the season. Nava, an undrafted player whose contract the Red Sox bought for exactly one dollar, went onto to hit over .300 for the season.