THE BEST thing about sports? It's the gift of giving performed by the great athletes on big stages. Now 'tis the season to reflect upon the dozen shots, catches, hits, mis-hits and events that made an impression. Call them the 12 Plays of Christmas.
1. Bonds homers in his first World Series at-bat.
Oct. 19. Edison Field. Game 1. Second inning. Barry Lamar Bonds takes a 2-1 fastball from Angels starter Jarrod Washburn and flicks it 418 feet. Love him or hate him, at that whiplash moment, we understand: Bonds isn't a hitter. He's a Pentium processor. He's got computer chips in those wrists, generating a cold, mechanical, stunning swing.
2. Follow me, fella! Otherwise known as "The Ray Lewis Hit."
Sept. 30. Monday Night Football. Lewis puts a hit on Broncos special teams player Keith Burns that reminds you: Football is not for people who treasure their teeth or brain stems.
To recap: The underdog Ravens were putting a national TV whipping on Denver, when, after a missed field-goal try by the Broncos, Chris McAlister caught the ball in the end zone, then looked upfield to see Lewis acting like a mine sweeper, leveling Burns to open the path for a TD gambol. The 107-yard runback set an NFL record. Kudos to Burns, who somehow got back up.
3. Juan Dixon for three - and an NCAA title.
April 1. Georgia Dome. Indiana vs. Maryland. Byron Mouton, Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox get credit for doing the dirty work in this imperfect but dramatic bout. But it was fellow senior and Final Four MVP Dixon whose critical three-pointer with 9:44 left opened the door for Maryland's victory.
Indiana had just taken its first lead of the game on a basket by Jared Jeffries. Dixon, who had gone an eternal 20:22 without scoring, netted a fadeaway jumper over designated stopper Dane Fife. The entire tone of the game changed. The Terps went on a 22-8 run. Game, set, national championship, Maryland.
4. Clint Mathis scores some World Cup karma for the United States.
After the embarrassment of the last-place finish at the '98 World Cup, it took exactly two games to see things were going to be different for the American lads this time.
U.S. coach Bruce Arena could do no wrong. He stuck with goalkeeper Brad Friedel instead of platooning with Kasey Keller. Then, after holding striker Mathis out in the opening win over Portugal, Arena started Mathis against South Korea.
Sporting a garish Mohawk, Mathis was a force unleashed. He trapped a pass from John O'Brien with his right foot, then slotted the ball past goalkeeper Lee Woon Jae to score on one of his first touches.
The Americans secured a tie against South Korea, advanced to the quarterfinals, shocking everyone but themselves.
5. A power play shakes the golf world.
July 8. Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson pens a rebuttal that will ignite a raging debate.
"There may come a day when women will be invited to join our membership, but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of bayonet," Johnson wrote to National Council of Women's Organizations president Martha Burk, who had suggested Augusta amend its men-only policy.
Down in Dixie - and in the Beltway - them's fightin' words.
6. A heavenly moment at the Salt Lake City Olympics.
Feb. 20. Park City, Utah. Trailing by fractions of a second in the skeleton event in his final run, third-generation Olympian Jimmy Shea somehow made up time in the final yards to win gold.
Shea had lost grandfather Jack Shea -a double gold medalist in the Winter Olympics (speed skating, 1932 Lake Placid Games) - after a car accident just before the Olympics started last February. Jim Sr. was a skier during the '64 Innsbruck Games.
After the race, Shea flashed a funeral card he had tucked in his helmet. "I think my grandfather had some unfinished business down here," he said.
No one watching could doubt it.
7. A new streak at shortstop for the Orioles.
Sept. 20, Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick sets a major-league record of 102 consecutive games without an error. He sidesteps the barrel of Jason Varitek's broken bat, makes the play. Bravo, Bordy. You're a Blue Jay now?
8. A Triple Crown legend goes down.
On May 7, on the 25th anniversary of his 1977 Kentucky Derby victory, a phone call to Karen and Mickey Taylor, owners of Seattle Slew, confirmed that the only living Triple Crown winner has died in his stall at the grand old age of 28. Slew had sired 102 stakes winners who had won $75 million in purses. But Slew was remembered as "the child we never had" by the owners who loved him. An unforgettable phone call and eulogy of a great champion.
9. Rough day at Muirfield shows human Tiger.
Saturday. July 20. Tied for ninth. First tee. Woods is holding an umbrella as the rain turns cold. Later, he says he was looking for signs of sleet. Woods takes a 2-iron and drives the ball far to the right, into the rough, setting up his first bogey. It was a surreal round (81) that would produce two double bogeys and consternation from the world's best golfer. His shot to win the British Open and a Grand Slam is crushed, but his image is slightly changed. When have we ever felt such empathy for him?
10. Ed Reed's rookie blunder.
Nov. 10. Ravens Stadium. Bengals. Remember the Leon Lett Super Bowl XXVII fiasco, when the Cowboys' defensive lineman got stripped at the goal line by the Bills' Don Beebe?
What Reed did wasn't quite as bad, but don't tell Ravens fans who chewed up the first-round pick for a week on sports talk radio.
Running back a pick off Jon Kitna, Reed hot-dogged his way to the end zone, holding the ball out in premature celebration. On the 8-yard line, Reed gets stripped by Cincinnati's T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Bengals recover and get a touchback, prompting Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome to conclude, "The school of hard knocks is tough."
11. All-Star Game called a tie.
July 9. Milwaukee. 11th inning. Game tied 7-7. AL pitcher Freddy Garcia looking like he could go another five innings. Baseball "commissioner" Bud Selig decides the game will end. Fans shouted, "Let them play!" and threw garbage onto the field. Is this really happening?
12. A special tribute.
Sunday. Sept. 15. Ravens vs. Buccaneers. Four days after the sudden death of 69-year-old Johnny Unitas. Third-year Baltimore quarterback Chris Redman defies the suits at the NFL and wears black high-tops onto the grass at Ravens Stadium, in honor of his mentor. In the press box, an old pair of Unitas' cleats, in a glass box, are sitting on a table. You feel the presence of the greatest QB. All those passes. All those yards. All that toughness, loyalty, candor. All those memories.