| Top 10 of 2011: MLB and Steve Rushin: 2011 was a topsy-turvy year in sports |
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1. Cardinals win and Pujols leaves. To celebrate or to mourn? The Cardinals won a thrilling seven-game World Series -- baseball's first Fall Classic to go the distance since 2002 -- for the franchise's 11th title but just six weeks later saw future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols split for Anaheim with a 10-year, $254 million contract. Pujols provided one last thrilling moment for Cardinals fans when he tied a record by crushing three home runs as part of a five-hit effort in Game 3 of the World Series. Though his departure may have cost him a statue outside Busch Stadium, he left behind a new World Series banner as a parting gift.2. Game 162. The final day of the season bore witness to baseball's most thrilling night, especially the 129 minutes from 9:56 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. East Coast time that featured spellbinding drama and unforgettable moments. In that time, both the Braves and Red Sox choked away ninth-inning leads to help cement two of the biggest collapses in baseball history. [Read the full article] With 2011 drawing to a close, and 2012 about to begin, it's time for the 30 major league teams to make their New Year's resolutions. Here are my suggestions for the 14 American League clubs...The Texas Rangers resolve to get that last strike. Twice the Rangers were one strike away from winning the 2011 World Series. Twice, the Cardinals rallied to tie Game Six, after which they won both that game and the next, dashing Texas' hope of its first World Series win. Only one other team has ever gotten within a strike of a world championship only to lose the World Series, and it took the Boston Red Sox another 18 years to finally break their championship drought. The Rangers, winners of the last two AL Pennants, don't want to wait that long. The bulk of their team is still intact, and though they lost default ace C.J. [Read the full article] As for Marino: I worked with him for five years doing the HBO's Inside the NFL show, and I believe he feels deep down the way real people feel when something they did that was wonderful is eclipsed. He's not happy about it. (That's my gut feeling, folks. I haven't asked him about it.) Marino is proud of what he accomplished in the game, and when you're proud of something, why would you root for someone to do it better than you did? But having said that, I can also tell you Marino had the utmost respect for players who played the game the right way, and put the team first, and were great team players. So I can tell you when he congratulates Brees, which he did on Twitter last night, he means it. Brees is the kind of player Marino loves.Finally, this bit about getting the record when your team is up by 22 with three minutes left against a rival you might tick off by doing it: A coach is always going to do what is best for his team. [Read the full article] 
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