By Dugout Philippines
In the final installment of our year-end report series, we'll reminisce what happened in sports overseas. Here's our international sports recap.
1. The Donald Sterling saga
Late in April, Donald Sterling made headlines when entertainment website TMZ released an audio recording of his conversation with a certain V. Stiviano telling her not to bring Magic Johnson or any of her African-American friends to the games of the Los Angeles Clippers. It sparked a league-wide campaign to oust Sterling for the racist comment. Sterling was forced to sell his squad to Steve Ballmer and was slapped a US$2.5 million fine and a lifetime ban in the NBA. Later in the year, two more cases of racism happened. On September, Atlanta Hawks majority owner Bruce Levenson admitted to sending what he thought were racist remarks via e-mail. Recently, Liverpool star Mario Balotelli was sanctioned for a racial meme he posted on Instagram.
2. Breaking a leg... literally
Just when everyone was trying to move on from a nasty series of leg fractures seen on live TV last year, a few more took place this year involving NBA players. In a special Team USA scrimmage prior to its FIBA World Cup campaign, Indiana Pacers star Paul George rammed to the cushion of the goal only to find his foot snapped to the bottom of the cushion, causing the fracture that would sideline him in the entire tournament and the ensuing NBA season. Right on the opening day of the season, however, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Julius Randle also broke his leg while going for a layup, ending his maiden NBA journey without finishing a single game. Later in the season, second overall pick Jabari Parker suffered an ACL injury.
3. LeBron returns home
After four years of stay at South Beach, LeBron James, via a blog post on Sports Illustrated's website, decided to take his talents back to Cleveland. With him joining forces with fellow transfer star Kevin Love and the current franchise player Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers became an Eastern Conference powerhouse on paper. Their current record, however, is surprisingly not that powerhouse-like.
4. Spurs back on top
Some thought that LeBron James would have not made the return trip to the Cavs if the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals last June. However, all it took for a relatively-aging Spurs lineup to end a seven-year title drought were their young guns. Gary Neal, Danny Green, and Kawhi Leonard, the eventual Finals MVP, sizzled in the championship series, helping the Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker win the title in what could be their last championship conquest together. San Antonio, however, could still be in good hands in the near future.
5. The German domination in Brazil
Germany is the number one team in world football again after stomping its class in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. A 7-1 rout against host nation Brazil in the semifinals and the game-winner by Mario Gotze in extra time of the championship game against the Lionel Messi-powered Argentina highlighted what has been a great year for German football.
6. Messi the record-breaker
Speaking of Messi, the striker made this year the opportune time to chase history scoring-wise for his professional team, Liga BBVA's Barcelona. On March, Messi scored a hat trick to overtake Filipino football legend Paulino Alcantara as the club's all-time leading scorer. Later in the year, he became the all-time leading scorer in the Liga BBVA and the UEFA Champions League. While he failed to win a championship this year, Messi just etched his name to the Hall of Fame.
7. Mayweather wants Pacquiao next
The dream match everyone is anticipating is now closer to becoming a reality. Floyd Mayweather openly agreed to have Manny Pacquiao in his boxing calendar for 2015. On November 30, Mayweather issued a challenge to Pacquiao to have the fight on May 3. Almost everyone in the Pacquiao camp is ecstatic that "he's going to fight him". Pacquiao told Mayweather to walk the talk, while Coach Freddie Roach also agrees to have it. The problem, however, is the guy who Mayweather called "the road block"--Bob Arum. Arum said that he is not into the idea of staging the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight right before the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo because it's an insult to the Mexicans, although he already said that negotiations are ongoing for the fight.
2. Breaking a leg... literally
Just when everyone was trying to move on from a nasty series of leg fractures seen on live TV last year, a few more took place this year involving NBA players. In a special Team USA scrimmage prior to its FIBA World Cup campaign, Indiana Pacers star Paul George rammed to the cushion of the goal only to find his foot snapped to the bottom of the cushion, causing the fracture that would sideline him in the entire tournament and the ensuing NBA season. Right on the opening day of the season, however, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Julius Randle also broke his leg while going for a layup, ending his maiden NBA journey without finishing a single game. Later in the season, second overall pick Jabari Parker suffered an ACL injury.
3. LeBron returns home
After four years of stay at South Beach, LeBron James, via a blog post on Sports Illustrated's website, decided to take his talents back to Cleveland. With him joining forces with fellow transfer star Kevin Love and the current franchise player Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers became an Eastern Conference powerhouse on paper. Their current record, however, is surprisingly not that powerhouse-like.
4. Spurs back on top
Some thought that LeBron James would have not made the return trip to the Cavs if the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals last June. However, all it took for a relatively-aging Spurs lineup to end a seven-year title drought were their young guns. Gary Neal, Danny Green, and Kawhi Leonard, the eventual Finals MVP, sizzled in the championship series, helping the Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker win the title in what could be their last championship conquest together. San Antonio, however, could still be in good hands in the near future.
5. The German domination in Brazil
Germany is the number one team in world football again after stomping its class in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. A 7-1 rout against host nation Brazil in the semifinals and the game-winner by Mario Gotze in extra time of the championship game against the Lionel Messi-powered Argentina highlighted what has been a great year for German football.
6. Messi the record-breaker
Speaking of Messi, the striker made this year the opportune time to chase history scoring-wise for his professional team, Liga BBVA's Barcelona. On March, Messi scored a hat trick to overtake Filipino football legend Paulino Alcantara as the club's all-time leading scorer. Later in the year, he became the all-time leading scorer in the Liga BBVA and the UEFA Champions League. While he failed to win a championship this year, Messi just etched his name to the Hall of Fame.
7. Mayweather wants Pacquiao next
The dream match everyone is anticipating is now closer to becoming a reality. Floyd Mayweather openly agreed to have Manny Pacquiao in his boxing calendar for 2015. On November 30, Mayweather issued a challenge to Pacquiao to have the fight on May 3. Almost everyone in the Pacquiao camp is ecstatic that "he's going to fight him". Pacquiao told Mayweather to walk the talk, while Coach Freddie Roach also agrees to have it. The problem, however, is the guy who Mayweather called "the road block"--Bob Arum. Arum said that he is not into the idea of staging the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight right before the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo because it's an insult to the Mexicans, although he already said that negotiations are ongoing for the fight.
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