My Top 25 Sports Moments

Back in May, the Dodgers played the Mets and Yankees in consecutive weeks on Apple TV.  I went to the game against the Mets, but then they played the Yankees in Los Angeles so I had to get Apple TV for that.  I was able to do a free trial and cancel it, but it remains annoying that Major League Baseball makes it more difficult to watch games.  The one good thing about getting Apple TV for a week was watching the documentary they made about the 2024 World Series.  That was the inspiration for this blog post.  I thought about the top sports moments of my lifetime.  I have some rules.  They are my favorite moments, not an objective list of sports moments.  So Ray Allen is going to be on this list, but not for his three to save the Heat in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.  They have to be moments that I can remember experiencing.  I remember hearing about Kirk Gibson’s home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series and I’ve watched that game several times over the years, but I almost certainly did not see it live when I was four years old.  So that won’t be on the list.  I’m going with specific moments, not entire games or sequences.  So I’m not just going to pick the Dodgers’ comeback in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.  Speaking of Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, I’m limiting the list to one moment per game for the top 25 (there will be some honorable mentions that were in the same game as a top 25 moment).  If I didn’t do that, 40% of this list might be that game and the 2025 Orange Bowl.  If I was in attendance, that definitely helps.  I was in attendance for some of these, but most of them I watched on TV.  And finally, context matters.  Like if I was a Met fan, the Endy Chavez catch in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS was amazing, but the Mets ended up losing that game.  So a play like that might make the list, but it wouldn’t rank as high as it would if the Mets ended up winning that game and winning the World Series.

Between the top 25 and honorable mentions, I have a lot of moments.  And it’s entirely possible that I’m just forgetting something.  If I forget something, that might be evidence that it wasn’t a great moment.  But I think it’s more likely that my memory isn’t great.  Like I almost forgot Charlie Culberson’s home run in 2016.  It didn’t make the top 25, but it definitely deserved consideration.  The list is going to be mostly Notre Dame football, the Dodgers, and Celtics, but not entirely.  Before I get to the list, let’s get to some honorable mentions that I considered.  I’ll break it down by team or sport and go in chronological order.

Notre Dame Football

2005- Darius Walker 51 yard touchdown on a screen pass against Pittsburgh (this was Notre Dame’s first touchdown when I was a student), Tom Zbikowski 60 yard punt return touchdown against USC (I was there), Tom Zbikowski 78 yard punt return touchdown against Tennessee, Darius Walker direct snap two point conversion against Stanford (I was there for all of these except for the Stanford game)

2006- Terrail Lambert completes the comeback against Michigan State with a 27 yard interception return, Brady Quinn 45 yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija to beat UCLA (I was there)

2012- Stephon Tuitt 77 yard fumble return for a touchdown against Navy (I was there), Tommy Rees 38 yard pass to Tyler Eifert to seal the win against Michigan (I was there), Stopping Stanford on 4th and goal in overtime to win, Manti Te’o interception against Oklahoma, Everett Golson two point conversion to tie Pittsburgh

2014- Everett Golson 23 yard touchdown pass on 4th and 11 to Ben Koyack to beat Stanford (I was there)

2018- Brandon Wimbush 43 yard touchdown pass to Chris Finke against Michigan, Tony Jones 51 yard touchdown on a swing pass against USC

2020- Daelin Hayes sack in overtime against Clemson

2024- Xavier Watts 100 yard interception return against USC, Jeremiyah Love 98 yard touchdown against Indiana, Jayden Harrison 98 yard kick return touchdown in the Sugar Bowl, Love 2 yard touchdown in the Orange Bowl, Riley Leonard 54 yard touchdown pass to Jaden Greathouse in the Orange Bowl, Mitch Jeter 41 yard field goal to take the lead with seven seconds left in the Orange Bowl

Dodgers

2013- Juan Uribe home run in Game 4 of the NLDS

2016- Charlie Culberson game winning home run in Vin Scully’s last game at Dodger Stadium to clinch the NL West, Clayton Kershaw strikes out Wilmer Difo to get the save in Game 5 of the NLDS

2017- Justin Turner home run to win Game 2 of the NLCS, Chris Taylor leads off Game 1 of the World Series with a home run

2018- Cody Bellinger catch in Game 4 of the NLCS, Chris Taylor catch in Game 7 of the NLCS, Kershaw strikes out Mike Moustakas to finish Game 7 of the NLCS

2020- Cody Bellinger catch in Game 2 of the NLDS, Will Smith home run against Will Smith in Game 5 of the NLCS, Mookie Betts catches in Games 5, 6, and 7, Justin Turner double play in Game 7 of the NLCS, Kershaw catching Manuel Margot trying to steal home in Game 5 of the World Series, Austin Barnes hit to knock Blake Snell out of Game 6, Corey Seager drives in Betts to take the lead in Game 6, Mookie Betts home run in Game 6

2021- Chris Taylor home run to win the Wild Card Game, Cody Bellinger RBI single in the top of the 9th in Game 5 of the NLDS

2024- Kiké Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez home runs in Game 5 of the NLDS, Teoscar Hernandez double to tie Game 5 of the World Series, Mookie Betts sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers the lead in Game 5

Celtics

2008- PJ Brown shot to give the Celtics a three point lead late in the fourth quarter in Game 7 against the Cavaliers, Paul Pierce back to back 3s after getting hurt in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Any Leon Powe dunk in Game 2, Eddie House gives the Celtics the lead in Game 4 of the NBA Finals

2022- Jayson Tatum spinning around Kyrie Irving to make the game winning layup at the buzzer in Game 1 against the Nets

2024- Jaylen Brown 3 to tie Game 1 against the Pacers, Jrue Holiday steal to seal Game against the Pacers, Xavier Tillman 3 in Game 3 against the Mavericks, Jaylen Brown shot to give the Celtics a four-point lead with a minute to play Game 3 against the Mavericks

Jets/NFL (the years are the season, not necessarily the actual calendar year when the game was played)

1998- Keyshawn Johnson intercepts a pass to seal the Jets’ playoff win against the Jaguars

2000- Curtis Martin game winning touchdown pass to Wayne Chrebet against the Buccaneers

2001- John Hall game winning 53 yard field goal against the Raiders to send the Jets to the playoffs

2009- Shonn Greene 53 yard touchdown run against the Chargers in the playoffs

2010- David Harris intercepts Tom Brady and returns in 58 yards in the playoffs

Any of the four times Justin Tuck sacked Tom Brady in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI or the time he got held in the end zone for a safety in Super Bowl XLVI

Hockey

1994- Final face off of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals (if I had been older than 10, this would probably make the top 25; also Stephane Matteau’s overtime goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals would get consideration, but I don’t think I watched that live)

2014- USA beats Russia in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia on T.J. Oshie’s fourth goal of the shootout

Toughest omissions:  Quinn to Samardzija against UCLA, Golson to Koyack, Kershaw striking out Wilmer Difo, Chris Taylor’s catch, one of the Mookie Betts catches from the 2020 NLCS (the fact that there were three of them in three straight games makes it tough to pick just one, I think the one in Game 6 was the best, but they’re all really good), Justin Turner’s double play, Tatum’s layup at the buzzer against the Nets, Brown’s three against the Pacers, David Harris intercepting Tom Brady, Justin Tuck getting held for a safety in Super Bowl XLVI (because it put points on the board), Justin Tuck’s second sack in Super Bowl XLVI (because it sealed the game), the final face off in Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals

Anyway, let's get to the top 25:

25. Tim Kenny fumble against Army in 2006- A Notre Dame fumble recovered by the opponent gets the 25th spot on the list.  Why?  It was my last home game as a student and we were up 41-3 and if he didn’t fumble, it would have been the last play of the game (or we might have had to kneel down one time depending on when the clock started after the first down).  Instead Army recovered the fumble and the game continued for four more plays.  That meant that my former roommate Kyle got to get on the field.  We were hoping he would get to play on Senior Day, but he came very close to not getting the chance.  Another walk-on fumbling gave him that chance.

24.  Derrick White game winning put back at the buzzer of Game 6 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals

23. Max Muncy game winning home run in the 18th inning of Game 3 of the World Series

22.  Brady Quinn five yard touchdown run to give Notre Dame the lead 31-28 in 2005

These three plays are in their own category.  They could all rank much higher.  Each one would be a top five moment, but what happened next hurt their ranking.  Derrick White saved the Celtics from elimination when he got the offensive rebound on Marcus Smart’s missed three and scored at the buzzer to give the Celtics a 104-103 win in Game 6 against the Heat.  Unfortunately, Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle early in Game 7 and the Celtics lost.  Max Muncy Muncy’s home run in the bottom of the 18th inning gave the Dodgers a chance in the World Series after losing the first two games.  It looked like the Dodgers were going to win Game 4 and have all the momentum on their side, but the Red Sox came back and won Game 4 and Game 5 to win the series.  And Brady Quinn gave Notre Dame the lead with 2:04 left to play against USC in 2005.  I was there and this was the most hyped game of my time as a Notre Dame student.  Because of the college football playoff, there will never be another game at Notre Dame stadium of this magnitude.  Brady Quinn scrambled and scored on second and goal.  He might have been down short of the goal line, but they weren’t using instant replay to review calls in that game.  If he was marked short, the clock would have kept running and we could have taken the lead on third down and left USC with less time.  Of course, we still had a pretty good chance to win the game.  We had USC with a third and 20 on their own 15.  But then they had an 11 yard pass and a 61 yard pass.  Then they benefitted from fumbling.  After getting another first down to make it first and goal, Matt Leinart scrambled and fumbled out of bounds at the 1 with seven seconds left.  If he was tackled in bounds or if he fumbled in bounds and USC recovered, the clock would keep running.  If he fumbled in bounds and we recovered, it’s game over.  If it was a fumble that went through the end zone and out of bounds, it would be a touchback and the game would be over.  But because the fumble went out of bounds, the clock stopped and then Reggie Bush pushed Matt Leinart into the end zone (when that was illegal, also Reggie Bush was a professional football player playing college football when that was illegal) on a quarterback sneak on first and goal.  I think all three of these moments could be number 2 on this list if things had turned out better.

21.  Vinny Testaverde touchdown pass to Jumbo Elliot with 42 seconds left to tie the game against the Dolphins in 2000- The Jets trailed the Dolphins 30-7 going into the fourth quarter.  They tied the game at 30, but then the Dolphins retook the lead 37-30.  On second and goal, offensive lineman Jumbo Elliot caught the touchdown to tie the game and the Jets went on to win 40-37 in overtime.

20. Pat Connaughton blocks a shot to send the game against Butler to overtime in the NCAA Tournament- This was back when the second round of the NCAA tournament was called “the third round.”  The game was tied at 55 with two seconds left with Butler inbounding the ball in the front court.  Connaughton blocked a three from the corner to send the game to overtime and we ended up winning 67-64.  I needed a Notre Dame men’s basketball moment.  The best game was the five overtime game against Louisville in 2013.  Jerian Grant scored 12 points in the last 44 seconds to get the game to overtime, but that was a sequence, not one specific moment.  And there’s not one overtime moment that stands out.  Louisville had the ball with a chance to win to end the first four overtimes and didn’t score.  And in the fifth overtime, we took the lead with 1:20 left and led for the rest of the game.

19.  Arike Ogunbolwale game winner for the National Championship against Mississippi State- She also made the game winner in the semifinal against UConn with one second left.  This would definitely rank higher if I cared more about women’s basketball.  It also might rank higher if the championship game was against UConn instead of Mississippi State.  And the fact that they had to review it and put a tenth of the second back on the clock hurts it a little bit.

18.  Clayton Kershaw strikes out Corey Dickerson to finish a no hitter- There are some great pitchers who never threw a no-hitter, but I believed that Clayton Kershaw would do it.  He was absolutely dominant in this game and he finished it off with a strikeout on a slider.  It should have been a perfect game.  Don Mattingly left Hanley Ramirez in the game too long and he made an error.  If I made a list of my least favorite moments, that error would be on the list.  It wouldn’t be as high as the Bush Push, Ron Artest’s three in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals or Juan Soto’s home run in Game 5 of the NLDS, but it would be on the list.

17.  John Shuster double for 5 in the eighth end to put us up 10-5 and lock up the gold medal

16.  Jason Lezak comes back to win against France by 8 hundredths of a second

We’ve reached the greatest moments in US Olympic History in my lifetime.  Of course, curling is my favorite Winter Olympic sport.  And the US was terrible in Olympic curling.  Then in 2018, we made it to the Gold Medal Game and we were locked in a tight matchup against Sweden.  John Shuster’s double made it 10-5 with only two ends to play and we were on our way to our first gold medal in curling.  And I view swimming as the main event of the Summer Olympics.  In 2008 Michael Phelps won eight medals and they were all gold medals.  But it looked like he would have to settle for a silver medal in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay.  France had the lead and Jason Lezak chased down Alain Bernard on the last lap to give the US the gold medal.

15.  Robert Hughes five yard touchdown run against USC in 2010- We weren’t very good and neither were they.  But they had beaten us eight straight years (but it should be pointed out that one of those was vacated for cheating).  We hadn’t beaten USC since I was in high school.  Robert Hughes gave us a 20-16 lead with 2:23 left to play and we held on to win.  Hughes had four carries for 36 yards on that drive.  They couldn’t tackle him.  It was beautiful.  It gave me hope that things were changing for Notre Dame football.  Starting with that game, we’re 10-4 against USC (that includes two wins vacated because of NCAA ridiculousness, not for using professional players when that was illegal like USC did) and we made it to a BCS Championship Game and the College Football Playoff three times while USC has not played a postseason game with a chance to win a National Championship since then.  I don’t think a lot of Notre Dame fans would put this in their top ten Notre Dame football moments of this century, but we absolutely needed to start beating USC again and the way Robert Hughes ran them over to win the game was beautiful.

14.  Kevin Garnett throw in basket and the foul in Game 6 of the NBA Finals- This was at the end of the first half.  Garnett went up for a shot in the paint, got fouled, and just threw the ball with one hand off the backboard into the basket.  He made the free throw to make it 56-35.  The celebration was starting as the Celtics were blowing out the Lakers to win the championship.

13.  Cody Bellinger home run in Game 7 of the 2020 NLCS- The Braves led this series 3-1.  They led Game 7 2-0.  Bellinger’s home run made it 4-3 in the seventh to give the Dodgers their first lead of the game.  That ended up being the final score and after losing the World Series in 2017 and 2018 and perhaps the most disappointing elimination for the Dodgers of my lifetime in 2019, the Dodgers were on their way back to the World Series.

12.  Paul Pierce outhustles LeBron James to a jump ball with a minute left in Game 7 in the second round in 2008- This was the one moment when the Celtics could have been kept from winning the championship in 2008.  They were up 91-88 with a jump ball between Zydrunas Ilgauskas and James Posey.  Ilgauskas tipped it back and Pierce boxed out LeBron James, tipped the ball, and went to the floor to get the ball and call time out right in front of LeBron James.  The Celtics ended up winning 97-92.  The other thing with Pierce that stands out was coming back from a seemingly serious injury in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and hitting back to back threes.  That was more of a sequence than a single moment so this is the Paul Pierce moment that makes the list.

11.  Christian Gray 99 yard interception return for a touchdown against USC in 2024- USC’s next drive ended with a Xavier Watts 100 yard interception return for a touchdown, but Christian Gray’s came first and it pretty much sealed our victory.  We had dominated most of the game, but USC was showing some life late in the game.  USC was moving the ball with a chance to tie it, but instead we were up 42-28 with 3:39 left and the game was pretty much over.  It also clinched our spot in the playoff.

10.  Ian Book to Avery Davis for 53 yards to set up first and goal at the Clemson 4 with just over a minute left in regulation in 2020- This play led to Avery Davis catching a four yard pass on third and goal and then the extra point to tie the game with 22 seconds left.  Kyren Williams gave Notre Dame the lead with a three yard touchdown run in the second overtime.  The 53 yard completion was much more exciting than a four yard touchdown catch or a three yard touchdown run so that’s why I’m going with the play that didn’t tie it or take the lead.  Daelin Hayes sacked DJ Uiagalelei on second down to make it third and 24 and that’s when I knew we were going to win.  If that play had been the last play of the game, I would put it ahead of the Avery Davis catch, but Clemson still had two more plays to try to get a first down and keep the game going.  The game ended with a completion and Clemson attempting to lateral with the ball eventually being fumbled.  So the ending was a little anticlimactic.  But this was the best regular season win for Notre Dame since at least 1993 so it deserves a moment in the top 10.

9.  Clayton Kershaw home run on Opening Day- This would probably be on the list no matter what, but it makes the top 10 because I was there for it.  I always wanted to go to Opening Day.  I just happened to pick the one where Clayton Kershaw threw a shutout and hit the only home run of his career.  And it was a really significant home run.  Kershaw had completed eight scoreless innings and was due to lead off the bottom of the eighth in a scoreless tie.  I figured that they would pinch hit for him, but Don Mattingly let him hit and he hit a home run to center to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.  The Dodgers tacked on three more runs and beat the Giants (their biggest rival) 4-0 with Kershaw finishing the shutout in the ninth.

8.  Kristaps Porzingis blocks Kyrie Irving in Game 1 of the NBA Finals- It was the last minute of the first quarter.  Porzinigis, who loved being a Celtic, blocked Kyrie Irving, the most dislikable guy who used to play for the Celtics (I refuse to call Kyrie Irving a Celtic, he was just a guy who played for the Celtics).  After blocking the shot, Porzingis got the ball to Jrue Holiday, who brought the ball down the floor and found Sam Hauser in the corner for a three to make it 37-20.  When Porzingis blocked the shot, I knew the Celtics were winning the series.

7.  Max Wittek throws incomplete on fourth and goal at the one and a half to clinch Notre Dame’s win against USC in 2012- I could probably come up with a list of 25 moments from the 2012 Notre Dame football season.  This one gets the top spot because it clinched a spot in the championship game.  We finished off a magical regular season undefeated and ranked number 1.  The goal line stand against Stanford was more impressive because Stanford was much better than USC, but this was the moment where we were going to the championship game and it was against our biggest rival.  Also, it was a terrible decision by Lane Kiffin.  They were down by nine and a field goal could have helped them, but he went for a touchdown and didn’t get it.  Also, I don’t get why everybody has decided that they like Lane Kiffin now.  I still don’t like him, but I do like him a lot more than Pete Carroll or Lincoln Riley.

6.  Julio Urias strikes out Willy Adames to win the World Series- There were a lot of really good moments in Game 6 in 2020.  Austin Barnes got a hit to knock Blake Snell out of the game when he was dominating (just an absolutely terrible decision by Kevin Cash), Corey Seager driving in Mookie Betts to give the Dodgers the lead, and Mookie Betts hitting a home run to give the Dodgers an insurance run.  But this was the moment when the wait was over.  The 1988 World Series was the first sporting event that I remember happening, but I was four years old.  I went to my first ever baseball game the year after the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988 (although one of my first memories is being in Shea Stadium for a Dodgers-Mets game that never happened in 1988 because it got rained out).  I had waited 32 years to see the Dodgers win the World Series and they finally did it.  Now I wish it had been Kenley Jansen or Blake Treinen who finished it off instead of Julio Urias, but it was great to finally win the World Series.

5.  Payton Pritchard half court three in Game 5- The Celtics were almost certainly going to win this game, but when Pritchard made that shot going into halftime to give them a 21-point lead going into halftime, I knew the game was over and the Celtics were winning their 18th NBA Championship

4.  Christian Gray intercepts Drew Allar in the Orange Bowl- There are so many good choices from the Orange Bowl.  One of them had to be in the top 5 on this list.  The Jeremiyah Love touchdown is my favorite Notre Dame touchdown ever, but so much happened after that (Penn State tied it and retook the lead and then we tied it again).  We still needed to make a 41 yard field goal after that to win the game, but I’m putting the interception as my top moment from that game.  Penn State had the ball with less than a minute left with a chance to win the game.  Gray intercepted Allar on a first down play and gave us very good field position with 33 seconds left to set up the winning field goal.  And as awesome as the winning field goal was, it was a 41 yard field goal.  You expect a good kicker to make that kick (calling our kicker good last season is a little bit of a stretch, but that was just him doing what he was on the team for, it wasn’t a special play).  The interception meant that instead of hoping for overtime, I expected that we would win it in regulation.  If this happened in the Championship Game, it would be number 1 on the list.  If we had won the Championship Game, I would at least consider it for number 1.

3.  Ray Allen drive to seal Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals- There are two moments that stand out in this game.  The Celtics trailed by 24 points.  Eddie House made a jumper to give the Celtics the lead for the first time with 4:07 left.  That one was good, but the game was still up for grabs.  But when Ray Allen drove around Sasha Vujacic and made a layup over Pau Gasol to make the score 96-91 with 16.4 seconds left, the game was over.  The Celtics led 3-1 and the series was pretty much over and the Celtics were going to win their 17th NBA Championship.  The Celtics won the championship when I was five months old and when I was two and a half.  Now they were finally on their way to winning one that I could remember.  And it was against the Lakers.  If this had been the game where they actually won the championship, it would be number two on this list.

2.  Walker Buehler strikes out Alex Verdugo to win the World Series- This capped off a great comeback to win Game 5.  If the Dodgers had gotten a great start from Jack Flaherty and they won the game by a score of 4-2 or something with Blake Treinen finishing the game with a one-inning save, that moment wouldn’t rank as high.  But Flaherty was terrible in Game 5 (after being good in Game 1) and the Dodgers had to make a crazy comeback while burning through all their reliable relievers.  Walker Buehler’s heroics were necessary after Blake Treinen threw 42 pitches in two and a third innings and the Dodgers were out of relievers.  Also, the Dodgers probably would have won the World Series if they had lost Game 5 with the last two games at Dodger Stadium, but the Yankees would have had some momentum and with the Dodgers questionable pitching, anything could have happened.  So this is getting the number 2 spot on the list.

1.  Freddie Freeman Game 1 Grand Slam- This has to be number 1.  It’s the closest thing to the Kirk Gibson home run since the Kirk Gibson home run.  The difference was that nobody expected Kirk Gibson to play and that was his only at bat of the World Series, but this comes very close.  Of course, Freddie Freeman kept playing and had an amazing series to win World Series MVP as the Dodgers won the World Series in five games.  After the Freeman home run, the Dodgers had to win the series.  The Dodgers were the better team, but I didn’t feel confident that they were going to win the series.  Weird things happen in baseball and the Dodgers only had two and a half starting pitchers.  But after the Freeman grand slam, I felt confident that they would win.

So that’s my top 25 sports moments of all time.  Six of the top 11 were from the last year and a half.  It was a good year and half of sports.  I’m hoping I’ll get some more that will move into the top 25 this fall/winter.  My ideal scenario would be Notre Dame winning the National Championship with as little stress as the Celtics had in winning the 2024 NBA Championship.  Like if we could win the Championship Game (and all the playoff games before that) the way we beat Indiana in the first round of the playoff last year, that would be beautiful.  The 2024 Dodgers got the top two moments on this list because they both came in high stress situations (even though the series only went five games).  I don’t want a Notre Dame football moment to replace the Freddie Freeman home run as number 1 because I don’t want to deal with stress like that.  If we won the Championship Game by like four touchdowns, there wouldn’t be a moment that would take the number 1 spot, but I’m sure I could find a moment that would be in the top 5.  We are just a few weeks away from football season.  Go Irish!