2002 Yearend: The year in sports

(Part of UPI's Special Report reviewing 2002 and previewing 2003)

Exactly two weeks shy of his 30th birthday, the native of mid-America was halfway around the world from home doing what he does best -- carrying on as usual despite the fact his skills had gone generally unnoticed by those who find themselves fascinated with Barry Bonds, Shaquille O'Neal and Brett Favre.

A little more than a half hour into the game, one being played in the South Korean city of Suwon, the ball came sailing through the air toward him, delivered perfectly by a tall, powerful Minnesotan who had been playing for his country for five years.

Using the instincts that have made him one of the most accomplished Americans ever to play his sport, Brian McBride left his feet and stretched himself almost parallel to the bright, green grass. His effort was perfectly timed to receive the pass from Tony Sanneh and the ball deflected off McBride's head, leaving goalkeeper Vitor Baia helpless.

There were plenty of unexpected results in the world of sports during 2002, the deeds of the New England Patriots and Anaheim Angels among them. And there were happenings that were not so shocking, such as those achieved by the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Lakers, Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong.

And when it came to soap opera-style drama, nothing could beat the figure skating saga that began in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains and continues to unfold as part of an international criminal investigation.

As far as the global community was concerned, however, the most significant athletic event of the year was played out in the Far East -- where Brazil re-established itself as king of the world's most popular sport and the United States finally proved it belonged.

McBride's goal against Portugal on that June evening in Suwon, coming while the vast majority of his fellow Americans were asleep, gave the United States a 3-0 lead against the fourth-ranked team on the planet and sent shockwaves throughout the World Cup.

When the World Cup is played, it automatically becomes the biggest story of the year in Europe and South America. But in 2002, it also became huge in Asia and the United States as well.

China played in the event for the first time. Japan made its first ever advancement past the first round and South Korea reached the semifinals, the best showing by an Asian country in World Cup history.

And the United States rode its shocking victory over Portugal to a spot in the second round, something defending champion France and the always dangerous Argentines could not do. The Americans then established themselves as No. 1 in their own neighborhood by ousting old rival Mexico, 2-0, to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.

That set up a meeting with powerhouse Germany, a three-time World Cup champion. Although the Americans played the Germans on basically even terms in that game, Germany advanced with a 1-0 win and eventually fell to Brazil in the championship match.

Throughout the latter portion of the 20th Century, those who follow soccer -- and outside the United States that is just about everybody -- feared that one day, the Americans could become a giant in the sport. At the start of the 21st century, those fears are perhaps becoming justified.

The other major international event of 2002 took place in Salt Lake City, where the world's best in sports that take place on snow and ice gathered for the Winter Olympics.

These Games were covered in controversy from the start because of the bribery scandal associated with the awarding of the event, one that led to explusions and reform within the International Olympic Committee.

Prior to Salt Lake City, the United States record for medals in a single Winter Olympics had been 13. Americans won 34 medals in Utah, just one less than overall leader Germany.

The United States won at least one medal in 10 of the 15 sports contested.

Canada claimed gold in hockey for the first time in 50 years and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway won four golds in biathlon, becoming only the third Winter Olympian to win that many in a single Games.

Croatia had never won a Winter Olympics medal before, but Janica Kostelic won three golds for her country in alpine skiing. And on the final day of the Games, as Russian Larissa Lazutina was preparing for a cross-country race that was likely going to bring her a record 11th Olympic medal, she was told she had failed a drug test and would not be allowed to compete.

Spanish cross-country hero Johann Muehlegg, who won three golds in Salt Lake City, had one taken away and was also expelled after testing positive. Lazutina and Muehlegg were found to have used the same drug, one that helps kidney patients avoid anemia but which creates red blood cells that can give athletes an oxygen boost.

The Russians protested that Lazutina's dismissal was just another indignity they had been made to suffer because of biased judging. Russia won 16 medals and finished behind Germany, the United States, Norway and Canada in the overall total.

Much of the Russian frustration stemmed from what became the overriding story of the 2002 Olympics.

Late on the evening of Monday, Feb. 11, those in contention for the medals in the figure skating pairs event went through their routines. The Canadian pair of Jamie Sale and David Pelletier skated a flawless program. Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze struggled -- suffering clear missteps that even the most novice of fans could see.

And yet five of the nine judges, those from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, China and France, gave higher marks, and thus the gold medal, to the Russian pair.

"I'm trying to think of a reason or excuse, but I can't find a reasonable argument why Yelena and Anton won," American figure skating icon Scott Hamilton told the television audience. "I can't understand it."

The spotlight soon focused on French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne, who at first said and then denied that she had been told by the head of the French skating federation to vote for the Russians no matter what.

Le Gougne was eventually suspended from the sport, as was French federation chief Didier Gailhaguet. Neither will be allowed to take part in the 2006 Olympics.

Five months later, reputed Russian crime figure Alimzan Tokhtakhounov was arrested at his Italian villa. He is charged with masterminding a scheme in which the French would support the Russians in the pairs competition in exchange for a guarantee that the French team of Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat would win the ice dancing gold medal -- which it did.

The criminal case is unresolved.

There was much resolved, however, on the playing fields.

In one of the bigger upsets in Super Bowl history, New England shut down St. Louis' offense and finished off an unlikely string of successes that took the Patriots all the way to the NFL title.

A controversial call that went New England's way in the divisional round against Oakland kept the Patriots' season alive.

The Miami Hurricanes became No. 1 in college football with a victory over Nebraska, a team that was awarded a spot in the championship game even though it did not even win its conference.

Like New England, the Anaheim Angels became a surprise survivor. The Angels finished second in the American League West, but pounded the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins to reach the World Series and won it all by defeating the San Francisco Giants in seven games.

The fact that the World Series was played at all was significant since the owners and players went to the deadline before finally reaching an agreement that avoided another work stoppage. As part of the deal, Major League Baseball agreed not to eliminate any teams, something it tried unsuccessfully to do in 2002.

The new bargaining agreement, however, will probably not create a depression of salaries. Slugger Jim Thome, for instance, jumped from Cleveland to Philadelphia during the offseason for $85 million over six years.

Although Anaheim won the World Series, the brightest spotlight remained focused on Bonds.

Playing in the World Series for the first time in his record-setting career, Bonds reached base in 21 of his 30 plate appearances, hit four home runs, had a slugging percentage of 1.294, batted .471 and drew 13 walks -- seven of them intentional.

But it wasn't enough.

As long as the Los Angeles Lakers had O'Neal, though, they easily had enough. For the third straight year, the Lakers rode the shoulders of their mammoth superstar to the NBA title. Los Angeles dispatched the New Jersey Nets in four games, having defeated Philadelphia in five the previous year and Indiana in six the year before that.

O'Neal was the NBA Finals MVP on all three occasions.

Just how valuable O'Neal is to the Lakers was demonstrated at the start of the 2002-03 season, when Los Angeles got off to a 3-9 start while he was nursing an ailing big toe.

As the Lakers were winning again, the Maryland Terrapins were winning their first collegiate basketball championship.

Maryland defeated Siena, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Connecticut to reach the Final Four and then dispatched Kansas in the semifinals and Indiana in the championship game, 64-52.

Seventeen people were arrested in post-game celebrations in College Park, Md.

Championship celebrations in Detroit, however, are nothing new. Fans of the Red Wings were given their third Stanley Cup title in six years, after which legendary coach Scotty Bowman retired.

Retirement may also be near for Pete Sampras since he won only one tournament during the year. But it was a biggie.

Sampras marched through the field at the U.S. Open, then defeated old rival Andre Agassi, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, to win the 14th major championship of his career -- two more than anybody else.

To become the all-time major championship winner in his sport, Woods needs to reach 19. His total climbed to eight this year with victories at the Masters and U.S. Open.

But his bid for the single-year Grand Slam came crashing down when he suffered through an 83 in the third round of the British Open -- a tournament eventually won in a four-way playoff by Ernie Els.

Woods and his teammates also came up short at the Ryder Cup, which was regained by Europe. If Woods and Phil Mickelson had won their singles matches, the United States would have retained the cup. But Mickelson was beaten by Philip Price and Woods could only halve Jesper Parnevik.

Next April, Woods will try to become the first player to win the Masters three straight years. Barring a change of heart by the head of the Augusta National Golf Club, however, Woods' bid for golf history may be upstaged by those protesting the fact that the club has no women members.

Among those who have called for Augusta National to admit a female to the club has been LPGA Tour Commissioner Ty Votaw, whose circuit has a player even more dominating than Woods is on the men's side.

Annika Sorenstam won 11 tour events this year and no one had done that since six years before Sorenstam was born. Hall of Famer Mickey Wright won 11 titles in 1964, one season after she set the all-time LPGA record of 13.

While Woods and Sorenstam will be trying to add to their numbers in 2003, Armstrong will attempt to win the Tour de France for a fifth straight year. His fourth consecutive victory was just as impressive as all the rest, one secured by an overpowering performance in the mountains that left his closest pursurers without a chance.

In the world of speed, trainer Bob Baffert again came close to a Triple Crown. But after War Emblem won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, a terrible start at the Belmont doomed his bid to become the first Triple Crown winner in 24 years. That is the longest stretch without one in the history of the three big stakes races.

And on the race track, Tony Stewart finished last at the season-opening Daytona 500, drew a fine from his sponsor and probation from NASCAR for punching a photographer and then finished the season by winning his first Winston Cup championship.

The CART series, meanwhile, struggled to remain a viable part of the auto racing community and Formula One sought ways to create some sort of competitive balance after Ferrari and Michael Schumacher once again were unbeatable.

The sports world also lost two of its most famous members in 2002 -- Johnny Unitas and Ted Williams.

Unitas set a record that may never be broken by throwing a touchdown pass in 40 consecutive games, and no one has had a batting average of .400 for an entire season since Williams did so 61 years ago.

They are often praised as being the best ever at what they did -- playing quarterback and hitting a baseball.

Among the record setters in 2002 were Emmitt Smith, who broke Walter Payton's all-time NFL rushing mark; Rich Gannon, who completed 21 consecutive passes in one game; and jockey Jerry Bailey, who set a single-year earnings record in North America with more than $19 million.

In 2003, Bonds should inch closer to the all-time home run record owned by Hank Aaron. Bonds needs 143 to break the record of 755.

The Lakers will attempt to overcome their poor start and demonstrate that as long as they have O'Neal, no team can touch them.

And after seeing cracks appear in their dynasty, the New York Yankees will attempt to make it back to the top step of baseball's staircase.

Those who are interested in the most-played sport in the world, however, will have to wait until 2006 to learn whether the United States is truly a major threat or whether their very unexpected showing in South Korea was all a mirage.