4) D é j à Vu All Over Again
In the 1980s, Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird's Boston Celtics would capture eight championships between them, resurrecting a storied NBA rivalry that had seen those two teams meet in seven finals between 1959 and 1969 (with Boston winning all of them). But while the Lakers, behind Shaq and Kobe had celebrated a championship three-peat in the new millennium, the Celtics had faded into irrelevance. Even after Boston added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, to bolster Paul Pierce, nobody was sure the veteran trio of all-stars would mesh. They more than meshed, they soared, leading the Celtics to the league's best record and a meeting in the finals with a Lakers team that had breezed through the tougher Western Conference. But the underdog Celtics, with a record comeback on the Lakers' home court and astonishing 39-point demolition in the finale, took out L.A. in six games for the franchise's record 17th title.

3) Bolt of Lightning
His was the perfect name, yet it still didn't do justice to Usain Bolt's astonishing Olympic performance. The gangly, 21-year-old Jamaican became the first sprinter to shatter world records in both the 100 and the 200 at the same Olympics. He won the gold in 9.69 despite slowing and beginning his celebration some five meters before the finish—experts agreed that had he just kept running he might have run 9.55 or better. Several misguided folks, including the stodgy IOC president Jacques Rogge, criticized Bolt for showboating and displaying a lack of respect for his opposition. So Bolt toed the line in the 200 meters and—on his 22nd birthday—ran 19.30 to break Michael Johnson's hallowed record. He capped his week—another gold medal, another world record—with a brilliant leg on Jamaica's 4x100 relay team.

2) Giant Upset
It was one of the three greatest upsets in Super Bowl History, rivaling the Jets over the Colts in Super Bowl III and the Patriots over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Yet it was even more than that because the New York Giants' 17-14 win knocked the New England Patriots off an unprecedented perch. Had the Pats pulled off the first perfect 19-0 season, they would have been enshrined as the greatest team in league history with a dynasty second to none. Sure the upset required a miracle play that combined a Houdini-like escape from defensive clutches by quarterback Eli Manning and a freaky face-plant catch by spare-parts receiver David Tyree. Still, the win was no fluke. The Giants defensive line held Patriots runners to less than three yards a carry and harassed quarterback Tom Brady all night, sacking the league MVP five times. And when the Pats needed a miracle of their own in the final minute, New York shut down Brady and his record-setting offense.

1) Golden Week in Beijing
It was hardly unimaginable that Michael Phelps could surpass the legendary Mark Spitz by winning eight Olympic gold medals. After all, a year earlier, at the world championships in Melbourne, Australia, Phelps had won seven golds and only lost his shot at an almost-certain eighth after a teammate was disqualified in a relay heat. What nobody could quite imagine was the sensational way his triumph unfolded. It played out like an old fashioned serial with daily installments, highlighted by near-perfect execution—seven world records and one Olympic record—and extraordinary drama. Twice Phelps's record chase appeared in jeopardy. The first time, in the 4x100 meter relay, American anchor Jason Lezak bailed his teammate out, swimming the fastest relay leg in history to catch the French world record-holder from almost a full body length back. And in the 100-meter butterfly it was Phelps who had to do his own catching, touching out his Serbian rival by the narrowest possible margin of 0.01 seconds. Phelps achievement not only tops this list, but, arguably, stands as the greatest Olympic performance in history.

© 2008