Biggest Stories of 2012

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Dec 14, 2012

Biggest Stories of 2012

After spending the past five years with the Texas Rangers, perennial All Star Josh Hamilton signed a five-year, $125 million deal with Texas' AL West rival the Los Angeles Angels. It was the second year in a row that the Angels had signed a former MVP slugger, with Hamilton joining Albert Pujols on Los Angeles' lineup. The big-money move left former Angels outfielder Torii Hunter feeling angry. ``I was told money was tight but I guess the Arte had money hidden under a Mattress. Business is business but don't lie,'' Hunter tweeted.

When it came to the NFL's Bountygate scandal, it turned out that the commissioner did not have the final say: the former commissioner did. Having been appointed to handle the appeals in the controversy, former commissioner Paul Tagliabue reversed Roger Goodell's decision to impose suspensions on four New Orleans Saints players and instead vacated them. Tagliabue said that while some of the players deserved to be fined, the chief of the blame should lie with the Saints' coaches.

After three close bouts, Juan Manuel Marquez dealt Manny Pacquiao the knockout punch that the rivalry needed. The devastating punch from the 39-year-old came in the sixth round, left Pacquiao lying face-first in the ring for two minutes, and left some wondering if Pacquiao -- who had until recently been seen as unstoppable -- should retire.

It was the award that had eluded every freshman in college football history. But the Heisman voters could not deny that Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel was worthy. After finishing the regular season with 4,600 total yards, Manziel received 53 percent of the first-place votes and earned a space in college football history.

Dallas defensive end Jerry Brown died in a car accident on Dec. 8. The driver, Brown's teammate Josh Brent (pictured), has since been charged with intoxicated manslaughter and could face up to 20 years in prison.

This has been a rough year for the NFL, but nothing shocked the league, and the nation, more than the Saturday morning news that Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend and then committed suicide. The tragedy once again brought into question the psychological toll that the contact-heavy sport causes upon its athletes. After consulting with the Chiefs players, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decided that the Chiefs-Panthers game would go on as scheduled. The Chiefs responded with an emotional 27-21 win.

With a national title berth awaiting the winner, Alabama and Georgia played an uncharacteristically high-scoring SEC Championship, which made it all the more memorable. Alabama wideout Amari Cooper made a highlight reel catch, and eventually the game-clinching 45-yard touchdown reception with 3:15 remaining. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray charged the Bulldogs 77 yards down the field in just over a minute, but his decision to not spike the ball proved costly in the end as wide receiver Chris Conley ended up with the ball in bounds as time expired. Alabama's 32-28 win guaranteed it a spot to play Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship.

For much of the past decade, Notre Dame had become one of the laughing stalks of college football. It was a historic program that seemed to have faded from relevance (losing nine out of their past 10 meetings with USC did not help). But then 2012 rolled around and the Fighting Irish were unstoppable. A key goal-line stand helped Notre Dame defeat Stanford in overtime. And when it came time to face the Trojans with a BCS Championship berth at stake, the Irish won. Next up: Alabama.

It never seems to stop. Maryland and Rutgers became the latest big-name Division I program to switch conferences, as the two schools are jumping to the Big Ten (which now will include 14 teams). Citing financial advantages, Maryland and Rutgers are leaving the ACC and Big East, respectively, and will join the Big Ten in 2014.

The Blue Jays and Marlins reportedly executed a staggering 12-player trade that will send five starting players from the 2012 Marlins -- shortstop Jose Reyes, pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, catcher John Buck and multi-position speedster Emilio Bonifacio -- to Toronto in exchange for shortstop Yunel Escobar, starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez, backup catcher Jeff Mathis and four prospects. The deal finds the Blue Jays assuming $167.75 million worth of contracts, led by those of Reyes ($96 million over the next five years plus a 2018 option) and Buehrle ($52 million over the next three years) who were just signed by the Marlins last offseason. The trade is pending physicals, but many Marlins fans are upset with the deal since the team just moved into a new publicly financed ballpark.

Kevork Djansezian, Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images; John W. McDonough/SI

Having assembled a superstar lineup in the offseason, Lakers owner Jerry Buss was not happy with his team's 1-4 start. Head coach Mike Brown was abruptly fired, leading many to believe that coaching legend Phil Jackson was waiting in the wings, ready to return to Los Angeles. The organization talked with Jackson, and Jackson said he thought he had until Nov. 12 to give his answer. Instead, Jackson was woken up late at night on Nov. 11 and told that Mike D'Antoni had been hired. It was a move that surprised everyone, including D'Antoni himself.

The San Francisco Giants may be under the radar, unappreciated and unexpected. But they're unassailable, the winner of two World Series titles in the last three years. Their sweep of the Detroit Tigers, completed Sunday night with a 4-3, 10-inning win, was simply historic. No National League team had swept a World Series since the 1990 Cincinnati Reds. No NL team had won twice in a three-year span since the Big Red Machine in 1975-76. Pablo Sandoval, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda, was benched for most of the 2010 Series and then went 8 for 16 this year, including a three-homer performance in Game 1, to win MVP honors.

The NHL's New York Islanders have agreed to move to Brooklyn's Barclays Center starting with the 2015-16 season. Islanders owner Charles Wang made the announcement at a news conference Wednesday. He opened the session by exclaiming "Hello, Brooklyn!" The lease agreement is for 25 years. Officials in Nassau County, N.Y., have struggled for years to come up with a plan to either renovate or build a new arena to replace the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which opened in 1972. Last year, county voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum -- backed by Wang -- that would have allowed Nassau County to borrow $400 million to build a new hockey arena on the current site in Uniondale.

On August 23 the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced that it was stripping Lance Armstrong of his record-seven Tour de France titles and barred him for life from the sport after concluding he used banned substances. Armstrong said he would no longer challenge USADA and declined to exercise his last option by entering arbitration. He denied again that he ever took banned substances in his career, calling USADA's investigation a "witch hunt" without any physical evidence. On October 22 the International Cycling Union (UCI), cycling's governing body, said that it had officially stripped Armstrong of his seven titles and banned him from cycling for life. "He deserves to be forgotten," UCI President Pat McQuaid said of Armstrong.

Miguel Cabrera became the first player to win baseball's Triple Crown since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, and just the 15th player ever , joining an elite list that includes Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig. Cabrera topped the American League with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBIs.

0.packers-seahawks.jpg — Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The NFL's use of replacement refs can to a screeching stop after a Week 3 game in which one official ruled an interception and the other ruled a touchdown (which stood) on the final play of a Seahawks-Packers game. The uproar over the blown call helped push the NFL toward settling its labor dispute with the regular officials, who were back on the field for Week 4 of the season.

After two months of talks between team owners and the NHLPA, the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement expired at midnight and the NHL entered its fourth work stoppage since 1992. With the owners entrenched in their key position that they wouldn't open for business without a new CBA that requires players to accept salary cuts and limits on free agency, and the union insisting that a better revenue sharing plan is the best way to help the league's struggling franchises, the first 60 preseason games were cancelled within days of the witching hour. As players packed their gear for Europe or Russia instead of training camps, fear grew that some or all of the season could be lost, as happened in 1994-95 and 2004-05 respectively.

The controversial "Bountygate" scandal took a turn when the four suspended players -- (left to right) Jonathan Vilma, Anthony Hargrove, Will Smith and Scott Fujita -- were reinstated by a three-members appeals panel. The panel overturned a ruling that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was within his powers to suspend the players for their alleged roles in a pay-to-injure agreement. The panel's decision did not apply to Saints management and coaching staff.

In what has been called the biggest deal in baseball history, the Dodgers new ownership group signed off on a late-August deal in which the team acquired three former All-Stars from the Red Sox -- Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett -- and the more than $250 million remaining on their contracts in exchange for one major league player (James Loney), two prospects and two players to be named later.

For the first time in its 80-year history, Augusta National Golf Club has female members. The home of the Masters, under increasing criticism the last decade because of its all-male membership, invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first women in green jackets when the club opens for a new season in October. Both women accepted.

Hernandez pitched the Seattle Mariners' first perfect game and the 23rd in baseball history, overpowering the Tampa Bay Rays in a brilliant 1-0 victory. The Mariners' ace and former AL Cy Young Award winner has long talked of his desire to achieve pitching perfection. He finally accomplished it against the Rays, striking out the side twice and finishing with 12 strikeouts. It was the third perfect game in the 2012 MLB season.

For the second time in franchise history, the Orlando Magic lost an All-Star center, this time with Dwight Howard being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-team deal involving 12 players and five draft picks. (Shaquille O'Neal left Orlando in 1996 to sign with L.A.) Howard averaged 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds in 54 regular-season games for Orlando last season. In eight seasons with the Magic, he averaged 18.4 points and 13.0 rebounds.

After winning the 200-meter final in enough time to ease up the last few strides (19.32 seconds), Usain Bolt became the first person in history to win a gold medal in the 100m and 200m in back-to-back Olympics. Earlier in the London Games, Bolt won the 100 with a time of 9.63, the second-fastest time in history, behind only his own record of 9.58.

michael-phelps-relay%282%29.jpg — Christophe Simon/AFP/GettyImages; Matt Slocum/AP

With a gold medal in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history with 19 medals. The 4x200 was Phelps' first gold medal of the 2012 games after he won eight in Beijing four years ago. He moved past Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who got her 18 in 1956, 1960 and 1964.

With the Queen on hand and Paul McCartney and others performing, the 2012 Summer Olympics opened with a colorful celebration of the United Kingdom's history.

After Louis Freeh's independent report concluded that Joe Paterno was complicit in protecting convicted sex offender Jerry Sandusky, Penn State received some of the harshest penalties in NCAA history on July 23. Just one day after the university took down Paterno's statue outside of Beaver Stadium, NCAA President Mark Emmert announced a $60 million fine, a four-year bowl ban, a reduction of annual scholarships from 25 to 15 (all current players are eligible to transfer anywhere without penalty), and five years' probation. The NCAA also vacated all wins from 1998-2011.

The Patriot-News, Jim Prisching, Matt Rourke/AP

Former Penn State president Graham Spanier, coach Joe Paterno and others hushed up a child sex abuse allegation against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky more than a decade ago for fear of bad publicity, allowing Sandusky to prey on other youngsters, according to a scathing internal report issued by former FBI Director Louis Freeh (inset) in July. Paterno "was an integral part of this active decision to conceal" and his firing was justified, Freeh said at a news conference. He called the officials' disregard for child victims "callous and shocking."

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

The Los Angeles Lakers acquired two-time league MVP Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns in a sign-and-trade. The deal for the 38-year-old point guard gave the Suns first-round draft picks in 2013 and 2015, and second-round picks in 2013 and 2014. Nash will join Kobe Bryant in hopes of securing another title for the 16-time NBA champion Lakers. Entering his 16th season, Nash signed a three-year contract worth over $25 million.

Spain overpowered Italy with a 4-0 victory in the Euro 2012 finals in Kiev, giving it three major international titles in a row: Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. Striker Fernando Torres scored one of the four goals, making him the first player to score in two Euros finals.

After years of appeals from the fans over the largely unpopular BCS system currently in place, the board of 12 university presidents met and approved a four-team NCAA football playoff. Beginning with the 2014 season, a selection committee will choose the top four teams and the semifinals will be played at the current bowl sites, with the national championship game staged at the site of the highest bidder. An undisputed college football champion can finally be crowned.

Following a three-year investigation that yielded a sexual scandal that rocked the very foundations of Penn State University, collegiate athletics and the entire country, Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach of the Nittany Lions, was convicted on 45 of 48 possible counts of child sex abuse. After formal charges were brought in early-November 2011, the jury took just one day to decide the 68 year old's fate once closing arguments of the 14-day trial wrapped up on June 21. With appeals pending, Sandusky currently awaits sentencing and faces a maximum of 442 years in prison. Penn State now prepares for a litany of civil lawsuits in an effort to speedily close this devastating chapter in its 157-year history.

LeBron James finally got that elusive NBA title, registering a triple double in Game 5 as the Miami Heat disposed of the Oklahoma City Thunder. LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had come up short in the previous season's championship series.

Missy Mikulecky/MLB Photos via Getty Images; Jeff Chiu/AP

It took a 125-pitch performance for Matt Cain to throw the 22nd perfect game in MLB history. The 27-year-old tied a perfect game record by striking out 14 batters over the nine innings, as the Giants won 10-0 over the Houston Astros. If this wasn't remarkable enough already, he became the first Giants pitcher to accomplish the feat in the 130-year history of the franchise.

Ending 45 years of futility, the Los Angeles Kings hoisted the franchise's first Stanley Cup, defeating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 6 to win the series, four games to two. In their second Finals appearance, the Kings made history as the first to win the championship as a No. 8 seed.

Rafael Nadal won a record-seventh French Open title with a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 showing against Novak Djokovic, who was seeking to win a fourth consecutive major, a unique but plausibly authentic Grand Slam. The match was suspended for a day but ended with Nadal securing his 11th major title, moving him into a third-place tie with Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the all-time list.

Manny Pacquiao took on Timothy Bradley on June 9 in one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year. Controversy ensued when Bradley was awarded a split-decision win with two of the three judges scoring it 115-113 in his favor. The WBO announced it would review the outcome.

I'll Have Another's bid to become the first Triple Crown winner in 34 years ended the day before the Belmont, when the horse was scratched from the race with an injury. Union Rags took advantage of the situation and ran down pacesetter Paynter in the final sixteenth of a mile for the victory (inset).

0.dario-franchitti.jpg — John Duquenne/Reuters

Dario Franchitti took the lead in the Indianapolis 500 on the next to the last lap and withstood a last-minute challenge that sent Japan's Takuma Sato crashing into the wall, to win the race for the third time in his career.

John W. McDonough/SI; AP; Kent C. Horner/Getty Images

Junior Seau, a decorated 20-year NFL linebacker who retired in 2010, was pronounced dead in his Oceanside, Calif., home on May 2, in what police were calling an apparent suicide. His girlfriend discovered his body in bed that morning after she returned from the gym. Seau, who played for his hometown San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, was voted to a Chargers-record 12 straight Pro Bowls and was a First-Team All-Pro six times.

Philip Humber threw the first perfect game in almost two years, striking out nine for his first win of the season. It was the third perfecto in White Sox history, joining Mark Buehrle (Tampa Bay in 2009) and Charles Robertson (Detroit in 1922). Humber, a former first-round draft pick of the Mets who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2005, needed only 96 pitches to complete the gem.

pat-summitt.opx9-85793-cut.jpg — Simon Bruty/SI

Less than a year after her diagnosis of early onset dementia-Alzheimer's type, Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in college basketball history, announced on April 18 that she was stepping down. Her Hall of Fame career ends with eight national titles and a 1,098-208 record. During her time, Tennessee never failed to reach the NCAA tournament, never received a seed lower than No. 5 and reached 18 Final Fours. She also led the 1984 Olympic team to a gold medal.

The Stanley Cup playoffs were barely a week old by the time the league had handed out nine suspensions in the wake of a series of dangerous illegal hits, stickwork and out-of-control brawls. On April 17, Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa left the ice on a stretcher and was hospitalized after being leveled by a headshot from Coyotes winger Raffi Torres, who jumped to drive his shoulder into Hossa's head. Torres was suspended indefinitely and faced a disciplinary hearing.

Winning 21 games over the last two seasons and leading Arkansas to its first BCS bowl wasn't enough to save Bobby Petrino, who was fired with cause after a motorcycle accident led to revelations of an extramarital affair. Petrino, who will not receive a buyout, hired mistress Jessica Dorrell to a football department job and lied to his employer after he and Dorrell crashed on April 1.

bubba-watson.op2s-49631-cut.jpg — Al Tielemans/SI

Bubba Watson hit an unbelievable shot from the woods on the second playoff hole at Augusta, setting him up for a simple par and a win over Louis Oosthuizen at the Masters. Watson made four straight birdies on the back nine and closed with a 4-under 68 to make the playoff. Oosthuizen's round included a rare double-eagle.

womens.baylor.142392912.jpg — Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

For the first time in NCAA history, a basketball team has finished 40-0. Baylor defeated Notre Dame 80-61 in the national championship game to complete a perfect season and capture its first title since 2005. Brittany Griner, the AP Player of the Year, totaled 26 points and 13 rebounds, Odyssey Sims amassed 19 points and seven boards, and Destiny Williams (#10) chipped in 12 points. The victory capped a dominant tournament showing: The Lady Bears won each of their six games by a minimum of 12 points.

Entering the season with a roster beset by youth, Kentucky finished it as a champion. The Wildcats defeated Kansas, 67-59, to claim the program's eighth NCAA title and first since 1998. It was a total team effort. Doron Lamb, a sophomore guard, scored a game-high 22 points. Freshman Michael-Kidd Gilchrist added 11 points and six rebounds, and sophomore Terrence Jones contributed nine points and seven boards. Freshman sensation Anthony Davis also did his part: The projected No. 1 pick in the NBA draft collected six points, 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and three steals en route to earning Most Outstanding Player honors. The triumph marks the first career championship for third-year Kentucky coach John Calipari.

Pending a bankruptcy court's approval, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be sold for a record $2 billion to a group that includes NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. No North American franchise has ever been sold for that amount. In 2004, Frank McCourt paid $430 million for the team.

Ending a drought that stretched back to the 2009 BMW Championships outside Chicago, Tiger Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitation on March 25, restoring some order to the golf world. In the wake of tabloid-ready infidelities that led to his divorce, Woods went 728 days without a victory and some wondered if he would ever win again. His 72nd PGA title put him one behind Jack Nicklaus, who's No. 2 on the alltime list.

Denver started shopping Tebow after signing Peyton Manning, and two days later it traded the lefty-quarterback to the Jets. The Broncos received fourth- and sixth-round draft picks, while New York got a seventh-rounder -- all in 2012. Eight hours after initially agreeing to a trade, the teams completed it after it was hung up when the Jets balked at repaying Denver more than $5 million for a salary advance due Tebow. The two sides agreed to split that cost. Tebow is expected to complement starter Mark Sanchez, who received a $40.5 million contract extension, with $20.5 million guaranteed, earlier in the month. Tebow's base salaries for the next few seasons are very cap friendly: $1.942 million in 2012, $2.266 million in 2013 and $2.590 million in 2014.

The NFL released a report on March 2 that announced that former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (right) -- now with the Rams -- ran an illegal "bounty" pool over the last three seasons in New Orleans. Williams admitted to and apologized for running the pools, which rewarded players with cash payments for knocking targeted opposing players out of games and got up to $50,000. On March 21, the NFL suspended Saints head coach Sean Payton (left) for the 2012 season and banned Williams from the league indefinitely. Also, Goodell suspended Saints general manager Mickey Loomis for the first eight regular-season games of 2012, and assistant coach Joe Vitt has to sit out the first six games. In addition, the Saints are being fined $500,000 and forfeit second-round draft picks this year and in 2013.

Less than two weeks after he was let go by the Indianapolis Colts, Peyton Manning revealed on March 19 that his new team would be the Denver Broncos. Among other ripple effects, the decision meant the AFC West team would try to trade incumbent starting quarterback Tim Tebow.

0.ncaa.jpg — Bill Frakes/SI, Greg Nelson/SI

In the history of the NCAA tournament, only four times before 2012 had a No. 15 seed defeated a No. 2. That changed dramatically on March 16, when mighty Duke lost to Lehigh of the Patriot League and Missouri was toppled by Norfolk State. On the same night, a 13-seed, Ohio, stunned Michigan, which was a four-seed.

The Second Coming of Sidney Crosby, who hadn't played since Dec. 5 due to concussion symptoms, wasn't quite as big a smash as his first. (On Nov. 21, he lit up the New York Islanders for two goals and four points in his first game in 10 months.) But this time he had a Broadway stage -- Madison Square Garden -- and delivered two assists as the Penguins stormed the New York Rangers, 5-2, tightening the race for the overall lead in the Eastern Conference. With the NHL's marquee star back in their lineup, the surging Pens would win four of Crosby's first five games with him dishing nine assists.

The All-Pro pass rusher sent shockwaves around the NFL on March 15 when he signed with Buffalo rather than return to the AFC South champ Texans. The Bills will reportedly make Williams, who missed all but five games in 2011 due to injury, the highest paid defensive player in the league. The former No. 1 pick will have a lot of work to do in Buffalo: The 6-10 Bills ranked 27th in the league in sacks in 2011.

The Peyton Manning era in Indianapolis came to a rather inglorious end on March 7, when team owner Jim Irsay announced at a press conference that the team would release the iconic -- and still injured -- quarterback rather than pay him a $28 million roster bonus due on March 8. A teary-eyed Manning choked up while reflecting on his 14 years in Indianapolis and confirmed that he'll try to play next year, saying that he's not yet ready to retire. One thing that will be retired: Manning's No. 18 jersey. Irsay said that no Colts player will ever wear the four-time MVP's number again.

Tom Pennington, Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

In a race that will be remembered for the jet fuel fire that caused a two-hour delay, the 2012 Daytona 500 was won by Matt Kenseth in a green-white-checkered finish. NASCAR's Super Bowl was scheduled to start on Sunday, but was pushed back to Monday night because of rain. Things didn't go very smoothly in prime time, with numerous cautions and a bizarre track fire caused by Juan Pablo Montoya's crash into a service truck loaded with jet fuel.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images; Heinz Kluetmeier/SI; Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Jeremy Lin, a previously little-known Harvard grad, became a legend in early February, captivating the world with his improbably strong -- if turnover heavy -- play. It started on Feb. 4 as he scored 25 points and made seven assists off the bench in a comeback win over New Jersey. He went on to lead the then-reeling Knicks to seven consecutive wins. Not bad for a guy who had been crashing on his brother's couch.

Eli Manning and the Giants upset the Tom Brady-led Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time in five years, getting a late touchdown from running back Ahmad Bradshaw to beat New England 21-17. A dramatic late reception again keyed the Giants victory, with Mario Manningham following up David Tyree's 2008 helmet catch with an acrobatic final drive snag of his own.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won his third straight major in dramatic fashion, beating Rafael Nadal in a five-hour, 53 minute five-setter that broke the Open era record for longest Grand Slam singles final. It was the third consecutive major final in which Djokovic beat Nadal.

Carolyn Kaster, Gene J. Puskar/AP; Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Joe Paterno, the longtime Penn State coach who won the most games in Division I college football history before being fired in November 2011 amid a child sex abuse scandal, died of lung cancer on Jan. 22. He was 85.

Late mistakes were crucial in both Conference Championship games, with Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missing a late 32-yard field goal to send New England to the Super Bowl and 49ers returner Kyle Williams fumbling two punts to give the Giants an OT win.

The second weekend of the NFL playoffs saw the Patriots, Giants, 49ers and Ravens through the Divisional Round and into the Conference Championships. The best game was in the Bay Area, with Alex Smith throwing a touchdown to Vernon Davis with nine seconds on the clock to beat New Orleans.

Alabama avenged their November loss to LSU in a major way at the BCS Championship game, stomping all over the Tigers 21-0 to take home their second title in three years. The game wasn't even as close as the score indicated: The Crimson Tide defense held LSU to just 92 total yards and allowed them past midfield only once.

Tim Tebow threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 50 yards and another score in the Broncos' 29-23 overtime defeat of Pittsburgh in the Wild-Card playoffs. It was the first game that used the NFL's updated playoff overtime rules -- though Tebow and receiver Demaryius Thomas rendered them meaningless by hooking up for an 80-yard touchdown in the first play of the extra period.

Less than 24 hours after concluding a miserable 2-14 season with injured quarterback Peyton Manning on the bench, Colts owner Jim Irsay began rebuilding the front office by firing longtime executive Bill Polian and his son Chris, the team's GM. The elder Polian was the architect of Indianapolis' success, drafting Manning in his first year on the job in 1998 and assembling the squad that won the 2007 Super Bowl. The Rams and the Buccaneers also made firings, with St. Louis dismissing head coach Steve Spagnuolo and GM Billy Delaney and Tampa Bay axing head man Raheem Morris and his entire staff.

Biggest Stories of 2012

Biggest Stories of 2012

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