Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
December 28, 2001, Washington Post

What a Year!

The year 2001 in sports always will be remembered as the year the games stopped. Major League Baseball, the National Football League, college football, golf's Ryder Cup and just about every sport down to kids soccer stopped after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

But that doesn't mean that nothing happened in the world of sports this year. As the year comes to a close, let's look back at some of the big stories.

The Champions

Tiger Woods won another Masters golf tournament. That meant that the amazing Mr. Woods had won the world's four major titles (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship) in a row.

Duke University won another NCAA men's basketball championship. Duke looks like the team to beat again this year. The Blue Devils are a dynasty.

Venus Williams won Wimbledon and then beat her little sister Serena in a prime-time U.S. Open tennis showdown that told the world that both women's tennis and Venus had arrived.

The Surprises

The University of Maryland had a huge year. The men's basketball team made it to the Final Four. The football team under new coach Ralph Friedgen is 10-1 and going to the Orange Bowl. And don't forget the Terps' field hockey team, which reached the national finals.

The North Carolina women's soccer team did not win the national championship this year. Believe me, that is a surprise. The Lady Tarheels had won the title 17 of the last 20 years.

The Arizona Diamondbacks shocked the New York Yankees in one of the greatest World Series ever played. It was just the Diamondbacks' fourth season.

The Comebacks

Michael Jordan came back in basketball. Mario Lemieux came back in hockey. Jennifer Capriati won two major tennis titles years after everyone thought she was a hopeless burnout.

Cyclist Lance Armstrong's remarkable story continued. Just a few years ago, Armstrong was seriously sick with cancer. This year he won his third straight Tour de France, the world's most grueling bicycle race. Now that's a comeback.

But here's the biggest comeback story of the year: The Maryland men's basketball team led Duke by 10 points with just a minute to go. It looked like the Terps would upset the Blue Devils. But no. Duke scored 10 unanswered points in the last minute and then won in overtime in maybe the greatest comeback game ever.

The Kids

Danny Almonte made headlines all over the world by striking out 17 of 18 batters in a game at the Little League World Series. Almonte made more headlines when it was revealed that he was 14 years old, two years older than the age limit.

Ty Tryon is only 17 years old but last month was good enough to qualify for the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) tour. But PGA rules say that a pro golfer has to be at least 18.

The Goodbyes

Baseball said goodbye to Cal Ripken Jr., Mark McGwire and Tony Gwynn. It also waved goodbye to 73 home runs by slugger Barry Bonds. Auto racing said the saddest goodbye to champion Dale Earnhardt, who was killed in a crash at the Daytona Speedway.

Now it is time to say goodbye to all the sports memories, good and bad, of 2001.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company