Today's 5-at-10 a not-so-quick sports top five. Please feel free to leave your favorite moment or hit me on Twitter at @jgreesontfp. Also, please know that the web staff has heard the complaints and is working feverishly to get a better commenting system back in place. Truth of the matter is the end of the year commenting debacle on the 5-at-10 has been a microcosm of the 2014 sports year, a year in which the moment became too big for some of our favorite things.
From the "Talks to much" studios, everyone have a safe New Year's Eve, and we'll try to update the bowl standings tomorrow morning going into the Jan. 1 games. Deal? Deal.
Dichotomous sports moments of 2014 (no particular order)
1) Mon'e Davis pitching in the Little League World Series.
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2014, file photo, Philadelphia's Mo'ne Davis delivers in the first inning against Nashville's Robert Hassell III during a baseball game in U.S. pool play at the Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa. Davis, who became an instant celebrity in August when she became the first girl to win a Little League World Series game, is The Associated Press 2014 Female Athlete of the Year. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) It was awesome and inspiring and fun to watch her pitch, and the two lasting takeaways from it are a tough defeat and the NCAA had to rule about her eligibility she a hoops ace that openly said she want to play for UConn because of her new-found fame. Egad.
2) College football Tuesday nights
The idea of the college football playoff was embraced and quickly dissected and debated about when we're going to eight teams rather than four because the Tuesday night poll announcement proved to be as meaningful as a Valentine's Day present delivered on Feb. 16 wrapped in a CVS bag. Plus, we got to listen to Arkansas AD Jeff Long talk about the poll and use phrases like "game control" and fluid and realize that if the cards fall right, maybe we could still be an AD somewhere. How hard could it be, a couple of buzz words and rally cries? We're so in. We have not played a single major college football playoff semifinal and you know what, there are more than a few people (Hi Art Briles and the rest of the Big 12) already wondering if this system is already too small.
3) NFL's "No More"
FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2014, file photo, Jeff Long, left, chair of the college football playoff selection committee, speaks to the media about the first NCAA College Football Playoff rankings as Bill Hancock, executive director of the committee, stands near during a news conferenc in Grapevine, Texas. The College Football Playoff selection committee will reveal its final top 25 rankings and set the four-team field for the College Football Playoff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp, File) We salute the NFL's campaign to raise awareness and use its vast cultural popularity for more than lining its own pockets. The commercials are powerful although can we make a suggestion that we add two more words to the phrase? "Know more = No more" especially if we are going to to speak to the people in these types of situations who need to get involved. It's a great start, however. Still, the lasting image from this entire, sordid mess is the video of Ray Rice and the bungling handling of the matter by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who is the most powerful man in sports and looked like he was an assistant middle school principal answering for why he showed up late on his first day. Want to know who loves to watch Roger Goodell speak to the camera about meaningful issues? Arkansas AD Jeff Long, that's who, because then he can dream of being the NFL commissioner one day. He's so in.
4) Big stars in name only
Who were the biggest names in the major sports in 2014? LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning and Clayton Kershaw were as big as any, and collective they won as many meaningful games/tournaments as you did, and other than Woods, they had staggeringly successful years. Sadly it was a year that was filled with popularity more than perfection, especially in the most meaningful of moments. Here's hoping that 2015 is better for the best on the biggest stages.
5) Storylines to cringe to
FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2010, file photo, Los Angeles Clippers team owner Donald Sterling watches his team play the Utah Jazz during the second half of their preseason NBA basketball game in Los Angeles. Steve Ballmer is officially the new owner of the Clippers. The team says the sale closed Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014, after a California court confirmed the authority of Shelly Sterling, on behalf of the Sterling Family Trust, to sell the franchise.(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File) Go another step beyond the stars that fell short. Who were the most mentioned and biggest names and stories in the sports world in 2014. Donald Sterling. Rice, Goodel and the NFL domestic violence issue. (Side note: Have you noticed whenever anyone brings in a special job with a person unofficially titled "czar" like the NFL did to handle its domestic issues, well, that's never good.) Michael Sam, who played as many NFL snaps as you did this year (well unless you are an NFL player reading this). Johnny Manziel, who played this year but is far more renowned as a playa than a player. Richard Sherman, who made more noise with a postage rant than he did as an All-Pro on a nameless defense than may be as good as any since the Bears in 1985.
And yes, there were some stories to relive.
Cancer-fighter Lauren Hill scoring a basket and living her dream in an NCAA college basketball game. Greg Popvich proving to be on the shortlist of great modern-era coaches and people with his memorable in-game interview with Craig Sager Jr. during a memorable postseason run for the Spurs, who won it all for the fifth time. Odell Beckham's eye-popping catch, which almost broke the interweb. Kevin Durant's amazing MVP speech that highlighted the sacrifices his mother made to get him to basketball's individual pinnacle. Madison Bumgarner's three-week stretch of utter brilliance that made us remember what true excellence can look like and how captivating it can be.
New York Yankees' Derek Jeter (2) tips his cap to fans during a pregame ceremony honoring the Yankees captain, who is retiring at the end of the season, on Derek Jeter Day at Yankee Stadium in New York, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014.And of course, there was Derek Jeter's walk into the sunset, leaving his last game at Yankee Stadium with a game-winning walk-off single to right and his last at-bat in the majors with an infield single (always hustling) at Fenway to a standing ovation from the loved/hated rival Red Sox fans.
Maybe Jeter should be the face of a puzzling 2014 year in sports and in general. A year in which we became all-to-familiar with the letters ISIS and what Ebola can do and where Ferguson, Mo. is and how many angles there are of video cameras in an elevator in Atlantic City and that not even a technology giant like Sony is safe from technological terrorism. A year in which we lost arguably the greatest comedian (Robin Williams), actor (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and hitter (Tony Gwynn) to deaths that were either directly or indirectly self-inflicted for the most part. A year in which we apparently have accepted that not one but two airplanes can disappear into thin air.
Maybe Jeter's grace and retirement is that face, because in the end, the best thing about 2014 may be that both their exit came at the perfect time.
Happy New Year everyone, and here's to a great 2015.