Most Stressful Moments of 2008

SI Staff | Dec 17, 2008

Most Stressful Moments of 2008 /

Most Stressful Moments of 2008

Giants upend Packers in NFC Championship Game

At a sub-zero degree Lambeau Field, Giants' kicker Lawrence Tynes had two fourth quarter chances to put Big Blue on top. He missed from 43 and 35-yards, and the game went to overtime. In the extra frame, Corey Webster intercepted Brett Favre's final pass as a Packer, and set up another chance for Tynes, who this time connected from 47 yards, giving the Giants a 23-20 win.

Super Bowl XLII (Giants over Patriots)

A defensive battle into the fourth quarter, Super Bowl XLII rocked back and forth for the final 15 minutes. The game's defining play came with 1:15 remaining when Eli Manning hit David Tyree (and his helmet) for a 32-yard completion. Four plays later, Manning connected with Plaxico Burress for the game-winning touchdown, ending the heavily-favored Patriots' perfect season.

Montreal erases 0-5 deficit to beat Rangers 6-5 in a shootout

Down five goals to the Rangers, the Canadiens staged the biggest comeback in their 99-year history. The comeback started with two second period goals by Michael Ryder, but spiked with two goals in a nine-second span in the third period. Montreal's Alex Kovalev (bottom) tied the game with less than five minutes to play, and Saku Koivu (right) eventually won the game, 6-5, in a shootout.

No. 10 seed Davidson knocks off No. 2 seed Georgetown

The Wildcats continued their surprising run to the Elite 8 on the back of another monster performance in the second half by Stephen Curry. Curry singlehandedly outscored the Hoyas over the final 14:24, putting up 25 points to Georgetown's 22, as Davidson ran to a 74-70 win.

Men's basketball NCAA title game (Kansas over Memphis)

Down nine points with 2:12 remaining, Kansas mounted a furious comeback while Memphis missed four of its final five free throws. Jayhawks guard Mario Chalmers hit the game-tying three-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime, where Kansas stayed hot, en route to a seven point win and the fifth national championship in school history.

Rockies defeat the Padres 2-1 on April 17

In a game that took 22 innings and lasted six hours, sixteen minutes, the Rockies defeated the Padres at Petco Park in San Diego. The game was the longest (in terms of innings played) in each franchise's history.

Boston's Jon Lester no-hits the Royals

Nothing's more stressful in sports than the last few outs of a no-hitter. On 130 pitches, Boston's Jon Lester threw the 18th no-hitter in Red Sox history, a 7-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. For the game, Lester allowed just two walks, while striking out nine.

Da'Tara ends Big Brown's Triple Crown chance at the Belmont Stakes

A 38-1 long shot coming into the Race, Da'Tara won the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes, leading the race wire-to-wire. Big Brown (the Derby and Preakness winner) was a heavy favorite coming into the race, but suffering from a crack in his left front hoof, finished in last place, failing to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

Stars advance to Western Conference finals with overtime win

Brendan Morrow sent the Stars to the Western Conference finals with a goal 9:03 into the fourth overtime of Game 6 of the conference semis, ending the eighth-longest overtime game in NHL playoff history.

Woods defeats Mediate in 18-hole playoff at the US Open

Knotted after 72-holes of play at Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate played an 18-hole playoff to decide the U.S. Open champion. Still tied after the extra holes, the pair went to a sudden-death 19th hole, which Woods won with a par 4, all while playing on a fractured tibia.

Celtics come back from 24 down in Game 4 of the NBA Finals

Trailing 2-1 in the series, the Lakers jumped out to a 35-14 first quarter lead in Game 4, and led by as many as 24 points. The Celtics then mounted the biggest NBA Finals comeback since 1971 to win the game 97-91. The Celtics finished off the series five days later with a lopsided 131-92 win at home.

Nadal wins epic Wimbledon Men's final

In what some regard as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time, Rafael Nadal won the first Wimbledon title of his career, defeating five-time defending champion Roger Federer in five rain-delayed sets. Nadal, who also won the French Open in 2008, triumphed in the fifth set, 9-7, nearly seven hours after the match started.

Michael Phelps wins eighth gold medal

Phelps capped a record-setting Olympic Games with his seventh World Record in eight days in Beijing. Phelps swam the third leg of the 4x100 meter medley relay, and captured his eighth gold medal, breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in one Games, which had stood since 1972.

U.S. women win third soccer gold in four Olympics

After losing 4-0 to Brazil at last year's World Cup, the American women got a shot at revenge in the gold medal match. Outplayed and overwhelmed for most of the match, Team USA kept the game scoreless until Carli Lloyd scored in the sixth minute of extra time --- giving the United States its 1,000th gold medal in Olympic history.

Red Sox stage biggest postseason rally since 1929

Trailing by seven runs with seven outs left in their season, the Red Sox pulled off the biggest postseason rally since 1929. Boston staved off elimination in the AL championship series with an 8-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays when J.D. Drew singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth.

Phillies win World Series

Almost 50 hours after the start of a waterlogged Game 5, the Phillies wrapped up their first World Series win since 1980 with an unusual three-inning finale. The stress is tough enough to handle during a regular nine-inning game, without having to wait two days in between pitches.

Texas Tech tops No. 11 Texas

The Red Raiders upended No. 1 Texas in a back-and-forth shootout with BCS implications. With the final seconds ticking off and Texas Tech trailing by a point, Graham Harrell saw Michael Crabtree in double coverage and let it fly. The All-American wide receiver hauled in the pass, shook off a defender and ducked into the end zone with one second left, sealing a 39-33 upset win for No. 6 Texas Tech.

Donovan McNabb and the Eagles tie the Bengals 13-13

In a day where he fumbled and threw three interceptions, Donovan McNabb's biggest blunder was not knowing the NFL rule book only allowed one overtime frame. "I've never been part of a tie," McNabb said afterwards. "I never even knew it was in the rule book. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately with the rules, we settled with a tie." Can't get more stressful than a tie.

No. 2 Florida knocks off No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship game

Down 20-17 after three quarters of play against the undefeated Crimson Tide, Tim Tebow and the Gators mounted a comeback that put them into the BCS Championship game. For Tebow -- last year's Heisman winner --- the win was especially important because he did a lot of it with his arm, throwing three touchdown passes, including the one that put the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter.

Steelers rally to beat Ravens 13-9 on controversial touchdown, win AFC North

The Pittsburgh Steelers cliched the AFC North division by winning in Baltimore thanks to a dominating defensive effort and a late touchdown catch by Santonio Holmes that was upheld by instant replay after there was question about whether Holmes, who's body was in the end zone, pulled the ball in enough to cross the plane.

Published Dec 17, 2008

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