Another Top 100 List

[treble 0]

So, basically, it's TSN's 20th anniversary and I guess they decided they liked what ESPN was doing for their 25th and decided to follow their lead. Obviously, this list is going to have a big Canadian tilt to it, as is obvious by the first 2 moments on here:

 

100: Manley wins silver at '88 Olympics

 

TSN.ca Staff

 

9/1/2004

 

Elizabeth Manley captured the hearts of Canadians with an electrifying performance at the 1988 Winter Olympic in Calgary.

 

Heading into the Games, the 22 year old three time Canadian figure skating champion was not considered a medal threat despite finishing fourth at the 1987 world championships.

 

With the free skate set to go, the spotlight was clearly on defending Olympic champion Katerina Witt and her American counterpart Debi Thomas in the battle for the gold medal. Skating to the identical piece of music, Bizet's Carmen, Witt turned in a beautiful, moving performance albeit on the conservative side. Thomas on the other hand two footed a combination landing and never recovered, opening the door for Manley.

 

With millions watching and the home crowd behind her, Manley reached deep within herself to deliver a flawless performance which earned her top marks, bettering those of Witt and elevating her ahead of Thomas into second place. Manley became the first Canadian woman to win a figure skating medal since Karen Magnussen took silver in 1972

 

Proving that her performance was more than just lucky, Manley went on to repeat her silver medal win at the 1988 World Championships, a fitting end to an amateur career that all began when she laced up a pair of hand-me-down skates at the age of five.

[treble 0]

99: Selanne scores record 76 goals

 

TSN.ca Staff

 

9/2/2004

 

The Winnipeg Jets used their first pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft to take a young Finnish player by the name of Teemu Selanne. Fans in the city of Winnipeg would have to wait four more years before they would see him in uniform but that first season was one to remember.

 

In 1992-93, the "Finnish Flash" as he would come to be known, had an incredible rookie season in the NHL. He led all first year players in goals, power play goals, game winning goals and points, earning him the Calder Trophy. His 132 points left him tied for fifth in league scoring behind Mario Lemieux, Pat Lafontaine, Adam Oates and Steve Yzerman.

 

On March 2, 1993 against the Quebec Nordiques, Selanne would score his 54th goal of the season, breaking the rookie record held by Mike Bossy which had stood since 1977-78. Selanne would go on to score 76 goals that season, a record that still stands today. Only three other NHL'ers have scored more goals in one season - Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Mario Lemieux.

 

Selanne would go on to play for Winnipeg for three and a half seasons until they traded him along wtih Marc Chouinard and a 4th round pick to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for defenceman Oleg Tverdovsky, Chad Kilger and 3rd round selection.

[the max 0]

Well, at least we don't have to worry about Gretzky being outranked by a girl playing in a men's golf event.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Obviously, this list is going to have a big Canadian tilt to it

It's probably going to have a "not suck" tilt to it

[Slayer 0]

It's going to be filled with Canadian athletes we American folk have never heard of

 

2002 double gold will be #1, I'm sure (unless there's a Miracle on Ice equivalent that my ignorant American self does not know about)

[Red Baron 0]

Now is it going to be the top 100 moments in the twenty years TSN has been on the air?

 

#1 Will be the double gold or 87 Canada Cup

[Slayer 0]

No Summit Series then, I suppose

[Red Baron 0]

No Summit Series then, I suppose

It's pretty much cemented as Canada's #1 favourite sport moment.

[Slayer 0]

When I was at the Hockey Hall of Fame two years ago (in the corner of a mall basement?! What the fuck?) they had a big special on the 30th anniversary of the Summit Series.

 

Captivating beyond words...

[Red Baron 0]

The hall of fame is in the old CIBC Bank, thats where the trophies and the names of famous hockey players/refs/builders are there.

[Slayer 0]

It felt mall-ish to me... though I understand if it was a bank because I remember quite a few skyscrapers in Toronto that seemed to have mini-malls on the first two floors

 

Anyways, it still struck me as odd that Canada's greatest pride (barely edging out maple syrup) is relegated to such a relatively small area and not given it's own grandiose building of some sort (see: NFL or Baseball HOF)

[Red Baron 0]

The enterence you had to get in is connected to many buildings, including the hockey hall of fame, and is close to Union Station where its a major transportation location, to get and leave Toronto. I forget what building the HHOF is connected too though.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

 

I'd be stunned if it wasn't Summit Series.

 

And Steve, give me a call so we can hammer out plans for the nudies tonight.

 

[Red Baron 0]

Brian, its the top 100 moments in the past 20 years that TSN has been around, so the summit series will not be in the list.

[Lightning Flik 0]

If I'm not mistaken, isn't TSN a subsidery of ESPN? I mean they both use Sportscenter and all...

 

Just saying.

 

Oh and Summit Series wouldn't be included if it's only 20 years. It's 1972, TSN didn't start till 1984.

 

So yes, Summit Series will not be #1. Most likely double gold will be.

[Red Baron 0]

ESPN owns I think 20% of TSN. They wanted 51% to become the majority owner, but Bell Globeandmedia did not want that.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The biggest moment I can think of would be Joe Carter's home run. If dubvious moments make the list, then they have to have Ben Johnson fairly high on there.

[treble 0]

98: Dave Ridgway's Grey Cup winning FG

 

TSN.ca Staff

 

9/3/2004

 

"Thank God it went through"

 

Those were Dave Ridgway's exact words when asked to recollect his memories of 'The Kick' which gave the Saskatchewan Roughriders their second Grey Cup championship in 1989.

 

It was the only Grey Cup game Ridgway would ever see in his 14 year CFL career, a career which saw him amass some impressive numbers - most field goals in a regular-season game (eight) and consecutive field goals without a miss during the regular season (28).

 

But for all his accomplishments, the six time CFL all-star - nicknamed Robokicker - will always be remembered for the 43 yard field goal in the dying second of the game which gave Saskatchewan a 43-40 win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats, ending the Roughriders 23 year championship drought.

 

"I can't deny I've had dreams about it - about missing the kick," Ridgway said at the time of his induction into the CFL Hall of Fame.

 

 

"My career would have been over. You don't recover from that in Saskatchewan. They hadn't won since 1966. I wouldn't have wanted to fly back to Regina. It would have been awful and nobody (in the CFL) would have wanted me."

 

"As an athlete, you deal with those pressures every time you go out there for a last-second field goal. Every kick, every game is important.

 

"The old saying is you're only as important as your last kick. No doubt, it was a big moment."

 

Ridgway grew up playing soccer in England when his family moved to Ontario in 1974. He was introduced to the Canadian game as a teenager and made an instant impression with his strong leg.

[Brush with Greatness 0]

It says most memorable, not greatest, so yeah, Seoul will be up there.

 

For me, however, it could be

 

August 9, 1988.

 

Thinking about it, the summer of '88 was a very traumatizing time, for a seven year old sports fan.

 

First Gretz was traded and then Ben Johnson was stripped of the medal. And it was that age where you saw what was going on, could (somewhat) grasp what was going on, but couldn't fully understand why these events were going on.

[treble 0]

97: Bailey beats Johnson over 150 metres

 

TSN.ca Staff

 

9/4/2004

 

Throughout Olympic history, the winner of the 100 metre race at the Summer Olympics has traditionally been acknowledged as "The World's Fastest Man". But even after Canadian Donovan Bailey captured the gold medal in record time at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, there was at least one athlete challenging Bailey's claim to the Fastest Man title.

 

American sprinter Michael Johnson had won gold in the 200 and 400 metre events and had begun making claims that he deserved the title and forget about history.

 

The squabbling between the two world class athletes ultimately set the stage for the highest rated athletic event in history - the 1997 showdown at SkyDome in Toronto between Bailey and Johnson over 150 metres to finally determine who deserved the title "World's Fastest Man".

 

When the gun went off, the two were stride for stride but soon Bailey began to pull away. With the 100 metre champion clearly in the lead, Johnson suddenly pulled up with a leg injury, leaving Bailey to cross the finish line uncontested.

 

"He didn't pull up, he's a chicken," Bailey said afterwards in the heat of the moment. "He's afraid to lose. I think what we should do is we should really run this race over again, so I can kick his ass one more time."

[Red Baron 0]

Wow, Bailey was a cocky bastard.

[treble 0]

96: Henderson homer saves season

 

TSN.ca Staff

 

9/5/2004

 

With the Boston Red Sox one strike away from being eliminated from the 1986 American League Championship Series, it was up to Dave Henderson to try and prevent yet another chapter of misery to be written.

 

Henderson will be the first to admit that he was not having one of his better games. Filling in for the injured Tony Armas in center field, it was Henderson who dropped a two run homer over the wall to give the Angels a 3-2 lead in Game 5 of the ALCS. Now, it was up to him to try and prolong the series in the bottom of the ninth. Problem was, Henderson had yet to record a hit in the series and was facing Donnie Moore, California's top reliever, who was looking to put the Angels into the World Series for the first time in 25 years.

 

With 64,223 rabid fans anticipating the final out of the ballgame, Henderson swung at the 2-2 pitch and sent it flying over left fielder Brian Downing and over the fence, scoring two runs and winning the ballgame 6-5. The Red Sox would go on to win the final two games of the series, setting up a meeting with the New York Mets in the World Series.

 

Henderson, who had hit .196 in 36 games since joining the Red Sox in a trade with Seattle, would go on to flourish in the World Series, hitting .400 with two home runs. His Game 5 blast has been compared to the likes of Bobby Thomson, Bill Mazeroski, Carlton Fisk, Kirk Gibson and Joe Carter.

 

Unfortunately, while the hit proved to be a turning point in Henderson's career, it effectively ended Donnie Moore's life. Unable to deal with the catastrophic memory of giving up the home run, Moore committed suicide three years later

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Curse of the Red Sox indeed. However, the account is inaccurate. Henderson's shot gave the Sox the lead, but they were on the road, so it did not win the game. The Angels scored in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, where Don Baylor scored in the 11th off Henderson's sacrifice fly. It's also worth noting the Angels were up by three runs going into the ninth. Don Baylor's HR off Mike Witt closed the gap.

 

Make no mistake though, without Henderson's HR, the Sox don't make the World Series.

[treble 0]

95: Heaney's spectacular goal

 

TSN.ca Staff

 

9/7/2004

 

The first women's world hockey championship was staged in Ottawa in 1990. Canada and the United States were immediately considered the top seeds. Teams from Sweden, Finland, Norway, West Germany and Switzerland also earned the right to play following an IIHF sanctioned tournament while Japan was asked to represent Asia after China decided not to send a team.

 

From the outset, it was clear that the rest of the world had a lot of catching up to do when it came to Canada.

 

The West German women managed just 12 shots on goal against Canada, and the Swedes only three. In return, Canada fired 119 shots at their weaker European opponents in two games and outscored them 32 to 1. Following those decisive victories, Canada - which wore garish pink and white outfits with stylized Maple leaves, advanced to the finals to face the United States. It would be the first game in a long rivalry with the Americans.

 

The Americans, who along with Finland were considered the only strong candidates in the tournament, started quickly, scoring the opening goal at 2:25 of the first period. The U.S.A. made it 2-0 almost 14 minutes later and it appeared an upset was in the making. But the Canadians regrouped and scored five unanswered goals, including Geraldine Heaney's spectacular goal which saw her deke through several players before flipping the puck over the goaltender while flying through the air, to win the first ever gold medal 5-2.

 

Finland, which lost to both the U.S. and Canada by one goal earlier in the week, beat Sweden 6-3 for the bronze.

 

Canada has since gone on to win every single women's world championship held beating the United States in the finals each time.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

98: Dave Ridgway's Grey Cup winning FG

 

TSN.ca Staff

 

9/3/2004

 

"Thank God it went through"

 

Those were Dave Ridgway's exact words when asked to recollect his memories of 'The Kick' which gave the Saskatchewan Roughriders their second Grey Cup championship in 1989.

 

It was the only Grey Cup game Ridgway would ever see in his 14 year CFL career, a career which saw him amass some impressive numbers - most field goals in a regular-season game (eight) and consecutive field goals without a miss during the regular season (28).

 

But for all his accomplishments, the six time CFL all-star - nicknamed Robokicker - will always be remembered for the 43 yard field goal in the dying second of the game which gave Saskatchewan a 43-40 win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats, ending the Roughriders 23 year championship drought.

 

"I can't deny I've had dreams about it - about missing the kick," Ridgway said at the time of his induction into the CFL Hall of Fame.

 

 

"My career would have been over. You don't recover from that in Saskatchewan. They hadn't won since 1966. I wouldn't have wanted to fly back to Regina. It would have been awful and nobody (in the CFL) would have wanted me."

 

"As an athlete, you deal with those pressures every time you go out there for a last-second field goal. Every kick, every game is important.

 

"The old saying is you're only as important as your last kick. No doubt, it was a big moment."

 

Ridgway grew up playing soccer in England when his family moved to Ontario in 1974. He was introduced to the Canadian game as a teenager and made an instant impression with his strong leg.

This should've been number one.

 

HELL YEA, RIDERS!

[treble 0]

The #1 CFL moment will probably be Passaglia's winner against Baltimore in Vancouver.

[treble 0]

94: Aaron Boone's HR in Game 7 of 2003 ALCS

 

TSN.ca Staff

 

9/8/2004

 

Aaron Boone had been acquired by the New York Yankees on July 31, 2003 to try and fix their hole at third base. After an average finish to the season, Boone struggled badly in the ALCS against Boston. Through six games, he was batting .125 with two hits and found himself on the bench for the crucial Game 7 in favour of Enrique Wilson.

 

Five outs away from losing the series, the Yankees rallied from a 5-2 deficit to tie the game in the eighth. Wilson was lifted for pinch hitter Ruben Sierra and when the Red Sox intentionally walked himi, manager Joe Torre looked down the bench to Boone to pinch run and play third. The Red Sox get out of the inning and with the game now in the bottom of the 11th, Boone is scheduled to lead off against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

 

While walking to the plate, Boone said he thought about taking the first pitch but as Wakefield delivered his knuckler, Boone swings away drilling the ball in the left-field stands, sending the Yankees into the World Series.

 

"When I joined the Yankees, this is the kind of thing I wanted to be part of," Boone said afterwards. "The perfect ending."

[treble 0]

I was finished a bit early tonight at work, so I made a list of things I think will probably finish high on the list. No particular order:

 

-Salt Lake hockey golds (I think they'll probably split them into 2, men's will obviously be higher)

-Donovan Bailey winning '96 Olympic 100 metres (4 X 100 will be on, too)

-Ben Johnson getting busted for steroids

-Gretzky getting traded to LA

-Joe Carter's HR

-'92 World Series win

-Roberto Alomar's HR in the '92 ALCS

-Dennis Martinez's perfect game

-Lui Passaglia's game winning kick in '94 Grey Cup vs. Baltimore

-Some World Junior Hockey championship moment, probably 5th straight gold

-'94 baseball strike (because of the Expos)

-'94 hockey lock-out

-Silken Laumann's bronze medal in Barcelona after her injury

-'94 Olympic hockey final shoot-out

-'98 Olympic hockey semi-final shoot-out

-'98 Olympic women's hockey final

-'87 Canada Cup (Lemieux and Gretzky)

-Mike Weir winning the Masters

-Probably some Doug Flutie CFL moment

 

There's some other obvious stuff, too, that's already been on the ESPN list (Buckner, Gibson, etc.), but this stuff either wasn't on that list or will rank higher on TSN's.

[Red Baron 0]

Jays first ALCS

Greztky high-stick

Closing of the Forum and Maple Leaf Gardens

Owen Hart's death*

Greuber cycle

Steib No-no

Lennox Lewis wins gold for Canada

[treble 0]

Forgot about Jacques Villeneuve winning the '97 F1 Championship. Him winning the '95 Indy 500 could be on there, too.

 

Greg Moore dying is another one I forgot that should be pretty high.