14) Of Bars and Beams
There was one, major, blemish—allegations that the Chinese women's Olympic gymnastics team was stocked with underage performers. But any controversy was overshadowed by the exciting rivalry between the Chinese and American teams and the brilliance of their Beijing performances. In the end, the home-mat advantage proved decisive. But America's top two stars—Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson—gave the team its first-ever 1-2 finish in the individual all-around. The 18-year-old Liukin, who in recent years had been slowed by injuries wound up with a gold, three silvers and a bronze while Johnson, 16, won three silvers and—in her final performance on balance beam—a crowd-pleasing gold.

13) The Smell of Grass
There must be something about the smell of grass, or at least of those famous grass courts at Wimbledon, that proves to be an annual restorative for Venus Williams, who this year won her fifth Wimbledon title. To capture the crown, her second in a row, Venus had to beat the woman who had always provided the biggest challenge, her sister Serena. Too often in the past the complexities of their relationship had resulted in disappointing snoozers. But this time both sisters shined with Venus's thundering serve—clocked at a Wimbledon record 129mph—the difference in her 7-5, 6-4 victory. With her seventh major championship, Venus pulled within one of little sister's eight Grand Slam titles.

12) At the Summit
The winningest coach in NCAA college-basketball history did it again. In her 34th season at the helm of the Tennessee Vols, Pat Summitt won her eighth national title and her second in a row. In the semifinals, Tennessee needed a last-second tip-in to slip past SEC rival LSU. Then in the finals, the team routed a Stanford squad that had defeated the Vols during the regular season. The lady whose trademark glower has always been a match for Bobby Knight's, entered the current season with 983 wins (and only 182 losses) and should top the 1,000-win mark in January. Summitt is only 56 and could eventually put the record for career wins far out of anybody's reach.

11) Read It And Weep, Austria
After his dismal and indifferent performance at the 2006 Olympics, Bode Miller got back to the business of proving himself the best American skier ever. Miller, who last year left the U.S. ski team to go his own way, won his second World Cup title—his 2005 championship was the first by an American since 1983—and, with 31 Cup wins overall, has surpassed Phil Mahre as the top winner in American history. Far more surprising was that the World Cup season saw an American sweep, as 23-year-old Lindsay Vonn won six races, five in her downhill specialty, and the women's overall championship.

Next Week: My Top 10

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