I went a different route than the rest of you when coming up with my Top Ten. I decided to include only games and moments that I have seen live (on television and in person). I even give an explanation of what makes them so special to me. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Feel free, as always, to email me comments.



1. 10/25/86 - Game 6 - This is probably in everyone's top ten who isn't named Herlihy(You guys probably won't get that one). I don't think there is a person alive who doesn't remember where they were when the baseball went through Bill Buckner's legs. I was watching the game at my uncle's house while my parents were at Shea rooting on the soon to be World Champions. There really isn't much to say about that night that hasn't been said already. That date will forever live in infamy. Here are a few personal notes on that night- My pin number in college included the numbers 10 25 86. It was easy to remember and I am sure I am one of thousands who chose those fateful numbers. Also, in college I had a cat named Mookie. It's funny that I now am close with both Mookie and Bill. I love talking baseball with Mookie. The guy bleeds blue and orange and is as knowlegable a baseball man as there is. Buckner is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. You should all go and check out his career numbers. He was an amazing ballplayer who had over 2700 hits.
2. 1/21/91- Super Bowl XXV- This was probably the greatest of all forty Super Bowls (again Herlihy would disagree). It will always be remembered for the Scott Norwood missed field goal (Laces out!) but who can forget the play of the vaunted Giants defense, O.J. Anderson and the always clutch Matt Bahr. That guy must have had ice in his veins (The NFC championship game of the 1990 season is definitely #11 on this list.) Along with Adam Vinatieri he is one of the biggest big game kickers of all time. O.J. had the game of his life carrying the football 21 times for 102 yards on his way to winning the MVP.
3. Gatti/Ward Trilogy- For those of you who don't know I am a huge boxing guy. I love the sweet science and there is no fighter I love more than the ultimate blood and guts warrior Arturo "Thunder" Gatti. I was in attendance at all three of these epic bouts. The first one took place at Mohegan Sun and was not even sold out. I ended up sitting with a bunch of Mickey Ward fans and was completely taking my life in my own hands by rooting for my man Gatti. Round 9 is arguably the greatest round in the history of the science. Who can forget Jim Lampley saying that he told us it could have been the fight of the year...who knew it might just be the fight of the century. By the way it was a total robbery. Despite the theft Arturo made up for it with victories in bouts two and three and even came back from a broken hand in the middle of the third fight. This will go down in boxing history as one of the greatest trilogies of all time (up there with Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier) cementing Gatti's legacy as boxing's human highlight reel.... Gatti rules!
4. 9/21/01- Mets v. Braves- This is another event I was in attendance for. I was literally sitting in the row behind the visitor's dugout when Mike Piazza hit a dramatic two run home run off Steve Karsay in the eighth inning. This was the first major event in New York after September 11th. I have been to countless sporting events and concerts but have never been around such positive energy and sheer joy as I was that evening. It was one of many epic homeruns that Piazza hit at Shea Stadium but it is undoubtably the most special.
5. Maryland 2002 National Champs- As you all may know I am an alumni of the University of Maryland at College Park. Through all of my years there we were a perenial Sweet 16 team that couldn't quite get past the hump. In 2001 Steve Francis played there and even with the soon to be NBA superstar the Terrapins could not win it all. Then in 2002 we did it. Led by Steve Blake at the point the Terps rode Juan Dixon all the way to the National Championship. Dixon had one of the all time greatest tournament performances by averaging 25.8 points and earning the honor of the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. It was a magical run and , unfortunately, is probably the Terps last for a while.
6. 1/25/87- Super Bowl XXI- Phil Simms put on the greatest showing by a quarterback in the history of the Super Bowl. Simms completed 22 of 25 passes for 268 yards. He set records for conscutive completions as well as completion percentage. It was incredible. Those are the kind of performances that other people's players have..never ours, never mine. That is what made it so incredible. Finally, my guy was setting records and winning the biggest game. It was absolutely awesome.
7. 10/17/99- I was a student a Maryland in the fall of 99. I had watched my Mets enter the playoffs for the first time since 1988 only to fall 3-1 to the hated (now hated even more) Atlanta Braves. Despite the deficit I truly felt that we had a shot. We had a potent lineup where everyone hit over .300 except for Rey Ordonez. (I may have gotten more hits on this page in the past hour than Ordonez had in his whole career). Once we won game four to cut the lead to 3-1 I became really superstitious. I made everyone that was at my house for game four come back to watch game 5. Not only did they have to come back but I forced them all to sit in the same seats. You may laugh but it worked. On that rainy night at Shea, in the 15th inning, Robin Ventura came through with a grand slam to win the game. It will forever be known as the grand slam single because Ventura never made it past first base. His teammates ended up mobbing him as he ran the bases. It was an unforgettable Mets moment for me and the seven people I made come back and watch all 15 innings in my small living room in College Park, Maryland....let's forget that Game 6 ever happened as that would be in my top 3 worst sports moments.
8. 1/14/01- NFC championship game- Giants 40, Vikings 0. I was at this game. Not only was I in attendance but I camped out in a blizzard to get tickets to it. As a Giants fan I was still haunted by the 1997 playoff collapse to Minnesota. This definitely redeemed that terrible loss. It was amazing. The Giants kept scoring and scoring and scoring and....you get the picture. Kerry Collins threw five touchdown passes in that game. The media staff at Giants Stadium ran out of songs to play during scoring drives. They must have played "Twist and Shout" four times during the first half alone. The best part of the game came at the conclusion when the late Wellington Mara was presented with the NFC championship trophy on the field. I seriously considered travelling to Tampa for the Super Bowl...I am so glad I didn't go. It would have been a long flight home.
9. 10/7/00-This was the third game of the 2000 NLCS between the Mets and Giants. I was sitting about twenty rows behind homeplate with all of the Giant's wives and kids. I remember that none other than Sandy Koufax was actually sitting a few rows in front of me. The game started at 4 or 5 (It was a weird time for a playoff game) and the Yankees game started at 7 or 8. In the fourth inning Koufax and his friends left to get to Yankee Stadium. He missed out on one of the greatest Shea moments ever. The game ended in the thirteen inning when Benny Agbayani hit a walk off home run to put the Mets up 2-1 in the series. It was probably the loudest I have ever heard Shea Stadium. People were chanting "Benny, Benny!" all the way to the Whitestone Bridge. You could literally hear it in your car on the highway. It was awesome.
10. 5/30/91- I was huge Lakers fan throughout middle school and high school. I still am but am not as into basketball as I once was. The 90-91 season was a strange one. Kareen and Riley were gone. Showtime was basically over and Vlade Divac became the main man. That is what made L.A.'s run to the Finals that year so incredible. I still remember exactly where I was when the Lakers beat Portland to advance to the NBA finals to face Michael Jordan and the Bulls. It was Memorial Day weekend and I was at my father's friends house in New Jersey. I was such a huge Magic Johnson fan and was so into every second of that game. The game ended 91-90 and concluded with, what I still believe is, the smartest play in NBA history. L.A. had the lead and possession with a few seconds remaining. The entire Portland team swarmed Magic as he stood to inbound the ball. I guess Johnson noticed that there were no Trailblazers down the court so, instead of inbounding the rock, he simply rolled the ball down the court and let the clock run out. The Lakers then went on to lose to the Bulls who went on to start their own dynasty. Even with the Finals loss the Western Conference victory will always be an unbelievable memory for me.