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Simply while you thought you had seen all of it on the earth of sports activities, 2023 occurred. Within the final 12 months, we have witnessed the signing of a mammoth document contract in Main League Baseball, an unbreakable document fall within the NBA, individuals raging at — and due to — soccer in the US, numerous dramas play out throughout the faculty sports activities panorama, considerations about the way forward for an American sports activities league … {and professional} soccer turn into the second-biggest headline throughout an NFL recreation. Right here, on your consideration, are CBS Sports activities’ prime 23 headline-making moments of 2023.
1. The Kelces go mainstream
Star tight finish Travis Kelce joked about courting Taylor Swift, however as soon as the pop icon truly set foot on Kansas Metropolis’s stomping grounds — not for a live performance — however to observe Kelce and the Chiefs play soccer, social media went abuzz with tinheritor rumored, and later confirmed, relationship. The Grammy winner is now an everyday at Chiefs’ contests, cheering on her big-name beau, all of which helped gasoline all the pieces from Kelce’s jersey gross sales to the Swifties newfound love of all issues KC Chiefs to the listenership of the New Heights podcast co-hosted by Kelce and older brother Jason, heart for the Philadelphia Eagles … And, oh yeah, the Chiefs gained the Tremendous Bowl (by defeating the aforementioned Eagles in comeback vogue) whereas quarterback Patrick Mahomes picked up the second championship MVP award of his younger profession.
2. The 12 months of Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani started 2023 by hanging out then-Angels teammate Mike Trout to win the World Baseball Traditional for Group Japan in March and ended it by inking a $700-million take care of the Dodgers in December. In between, the two-way famous person placed on a present, pitching 132 innings and socking 44 residence runs earlier than being shut all the way down to endure elbow surgical procedure. All of that added as much as one other unanimous MVP award within the American League, his second in three years. Below regular circumstances, this might rely as a profession yr, particularly for the reason that surgical procedure will maintain him off the mound in 2024, however nothing about Ohtani has been regular to this point.
3. You possibly can’t see me.
Caitlin Clark and No. 2 Iowa had been all the thrill after she dropped 41 factors in a surprising upset of top-seeded South Carolina of their girls’s Ultimate 4 semifinal … and also you would possibly say that Angel Reese and fellow semifinal victor No. 3 LSU took that personally. Two days later, the Tigers crushed the Hawkeyes, 102-85, to win this system’s first nationwide championship. With the sport determined late within the fourth quarter, Reese stared Clark down, pointed to her ring finger and made the “you may’t see me” gesture — one which Clark had carried out to an opponent one week earlier. Regardless, Reese’s motion, which got here within the most-watched girls’s school basketball recreation ever with practically 10 million viewers, was met with a degree of indignation and vitriol that, at finest, uncovered bias and double-standards as a result of they (presumably) didn’t know or see Clark’s actions. Clark would later defend Reese’s motion, which is now one of the crucial iconic photographs in girls’s school basketball historical past.
4. Deion period opens with a bang
Colorado started the Deion Sanders period as a 21-point underdog on the highway in opposition to a TCU workforce coming off an look within the School Soccer Playoff title recreation. However behind a 510-yard passing efficiency from quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the Buffaloes shocked the Horned Frogs and school soccer as an entire. Sanders’ efficiency, which included 4 landing passes, despatched the hype surrounding his father’s teaching tenure into overdrive. Colorado climbed to No. 18 within the AP ballot amid a 3-0 begin earlier than struggling to a 4-8 document in a rugged Pac-12. Nonetheless, Colorado’s begin to the 2023 season constructed a fervor that transcended the traditional parameters of faculty soccer.
5. Pray for Damar
It seemed to be a routine sort out on a routine play in a late-season soccer recreation. It will wind up rocking the NFL, all athletes in addition to sports activities followers and non-sports followers alike. After the sort out, Buffalo Payments security Damar Hamlin stood up, took two steps and collapsed as he went into cardiac arrest. Teammates fashioned a wall round him on the sector as CPR was administered to be able to restore his heartbeat earlier than he was transported to a hospital in Cincinnati. The incident led to the Jan. 2 recreation being suspended, then canceled, and whereas the well being of Hamlin was far and away a very powerful factor, there have been questions on proceed with postseason seeding because the eventual division winners Payments and Bengals, together with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs all had pathways to being the convention’s prime seed had that recreation been performed to completion. (One plan even had the AFC title recreation being held within the impartial web site of Atlanta had it been a Payments-Chiefs matchup.) In the meantime, “Pray for Damar” grew to become a rallying cry that unified the sports activities world. By April, Hamlin, said his intent to return to the sport, and he would go on to play within the preseason. On Oct. 1, he performed in his first common season recreation and he recorded his first sort out on Nov. 13. Mentioned Hamlin: “To have the ability to nonetheless do what I really like on the highest degree on the earth, is superb.”
6. Lionel Messi joins MLS
The best of all time, simply months after successful the 2022 World Cup with Argentina to cement his legacy, departed Paris Saint-Germain after his contract expired and moved to Inter Miami CF of Main League Soccer. There, enjoying within the first-ever version of the Leagues Cup, he elevated the competitors’s significance and guided his membership to its first-ever trophy, scoring in each single one of many video games, producing 10 targets in seven video games, numerous magical moments and setting off an absolute frenzy within the second-hand ticket and merchandise markets. Messi’s July 21 debut drew an A-list turnout of LeBron James, Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian. Since then, different gamers have adopted Messi to South Florida, together with former Barcelona companion Luis Suarez, with the Herons’ expectations by way of the roof subsequent season.
7. Aaron Rodgers’ 4 and out
It was a significant offseason commerce that all of us noticed coming, and so simply three days earlier than the NFL Draft, four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers was dealt by the Inexperienced Bay Packers to the New York Jets. After an offseason of anticipation, a summer season spectacle that included being the main target of HBO’s Exhausting Knocks and lofty Tremendous Bowl goals, the long-suffering Jets trustworthy had been subjected to much more struggling when Rodgers’ fourth snap with Gang Inexperienced resulted of their star QB taking place with a torn Achilles. Rodgers flirted with a historic return from the harm, however his abrupt exit was a surprising technique to open — and, in a way, shut — the Jets’ 2023 season.
8. Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal
Michigan discovered itself embroiled in an NCAA investigation centered round its scouting of future opponents, which is in opposition to NCAA guidelines. It quickly developed right into a full-blown scandal for the Wolverines centered on the actions of employees member Connor Stalions. Among the many allegations in opposition to Stalions had been that he bought tickets to video games involving future Michigan opponents for associates to make use of for the aim of growing intel on the indicators utilized by different groups. He was additionally accused of utilizing false pretenses to make his method on to Central Michigan’s sideline to scout Michigan State. Stalions was fired and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was in the end handed a three-game suspension from the Huge Ten. However the controversy did little to derail the Wolverines, who enter the School Soccer Playoff with the highest seed at 13-0.
9. Florida State overlooked
The School Soccer Playoff Choice Committee pulled a stunner by leaving 13-0 ACC champion Florida State out of the four-team CFP area. The Seminoles had been the primary undefeated Energy 5 workforce ever snubbed within the 10 years of the four-team format of the CFP, and the choice sparked outrage amongst FSU’s management. The committee’s rationale for omitting FSU centered round a season-ending harm to begin quarterback Jordan Travis, which diminished the Seminoles’ offensive capability. As a substitute, 12-1 Alabama and 12-1 Texas got slots together with 13-0 Michigan and 13-0 Washington.
10. Disappointment on the World Cup
The U.S. girls’s nationwide soccer workforce’s longstanding reign over the game got here to an finish with a screeching halt in opposition to Sweden within the Spherical of 16 on Aug. 6, when it registered its earliest ever exit from the World Cup. The workforce’s signature dominant fashion by no means confirmed up on the event, which ushered in new eras galore throughout the game. A brand new world order within the girls’s recreation was confirmed when Spain gained its first World Cup, whereas a USWNT rebuild formally started quickly after the event. Out went head coach Vlatko Andonvoski and in got here younger expertise like Jaedyn Shaw and Mia Fishel that might lead a squad refresh. Extra so, coming quickly is Emma Hayes, Andonovski’s successor who will reportedly be the highest-paid coach girls’s soccer has ever seen … Spain’s win was marred by an incident through the medal ceremony that touched off a “Me Too” second. The then-Spanish federation chief, Luis Rubiales, grabbed the pinnacle of Jennifer Hermoso, the workforce’s star participant, with two arms and kissed her on the lips. Hermoso stated the kiss was not consensual, which led to requires Rubiales to resign, one thing that he did do about three weeks later.
11. Emotional rollercoaster for the James family
It was fairly a yr for arguably probably the most well-known sports activities household in America. LeBron James (who turned 39 on Dec. 30) handed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA’s all-time scoring checklist on Feb. 7. Spring noticed a revised Los Angeles Lakers squad make an inconceivable run to the Western Convention finals. In July, after committing to USC, probably the most well-known incoming freshman in school basketball suffered coronary heart failure and needed to be rushed to the hospital. Straight away, the lifetime of LeBron James Jr. modified. He not solely survived, however an optimistic prognosis and restoration plan enabled Bronny to make his school basketball debut on Dec. 10, the day incomes MVP honors for main the Lakers to victory within the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Match.
12. “Sportswashing”
Saudi Arabia has made no secret of desirous to turn into a significant participant within the international sports activities scene and with billions of {dollars} to shell out, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been intent on doing simply that. Within the final 12 months, Cristiano Ronaldo and different soccer stars have agreed to play in Saudi Arabia for practically $1 billion and golfer Jon Rahm signed a whopping nine-figure deal to shun the PGA Tour and be a part of LIV Golf — a league that might wind up merging with the PGA. Blended martial arts and auto racing are additionally components of Imaginative and prescient 2030, the prince’s overarching objective of reworking the dominion away from an oil-based financial system whereas additionally “sportswashing” or softening the picture of nation that has had a well-documented historical past of human rights points.
13. Golden world champion comebacks
It was a triumphant return to the world stage for Simone Biles and Sha’Carri Richardson after each skilled setbacks throughout 2021. Biles, who withdrew from some occasions whereas on the Tokyo Olympic Video games, acquired each reward and scorn from the general public for citing psychological well being considerations. However in 2023, Biles grew to become probably the most embellished gymnast ever as she earned 4 gold medals, together with the all-around on the Gymnastics World Championships in Belgium in October. (She additionally just lately made headlines as a result of her husband, Inexperienced Bay Packers security Jonathan Owens, stated he did not know who she was once they met in 2020. And he additionally stated that he is “the catch” within the relationship. Ouch.) … Richardson, in the meantime, tore up the monitor on the World Monitor and Discipline Championships in Hungary in September, successful gold within the 100m and 4×100 relay, and a bronze within the 200m, main her to say that she has “fallen again in love with my sport” after a constructive marijuana check through the U.S. trials stored her off the earlier Olympics squad.
14. Dolphins’ swagger is again
If the Dolphins wind up working the desk they’re going to little question look again on Week 3, when Mike McDaniel’s squad scored extra factors than any workforce since 1966. The offensive firestorm all however introduced Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill as MVP candidates. Washington’s NFL document for factors in a recreation nonetheless stands at 72, however with Miami up 70-20 through the recreation’s remaining drive, the Exhausting Rock Stadium trustworthy started chanting, “Three extra factors! Three extra factors!” … In Week 6, after a 41-yard landing strike, Hill made a bee-line for a photographer standing past the top zone, grabbed a ready cellphone and recorded himself doing a backflip. The 20-year-old photographer misplaced his job, however Hill has since stated he would exchange the lacking wages. However placing his cash the place his mouth is has been nothing new for Hill. In the course of the preseason he stated he might turn into the primary participant in NFL historical past with a 2,000-yard receiving marketing campaign. And it had been trying superb till an ankle harm prompted him to overlook a recreation in Week 15. However it can nonetheless be a historic season and, hey, he’ll all the time have that selfie.
15. Wemby arrives in NBA
The superb factor in regards to the Victor Wembanyama phenomenon isn’t just the sheer quantity of hype he generated within the first six months of the yr — even earlier than he left France to return to the US for the NBA Draft. And now, even together with his NBA workforce floundering, all of it appears totally justified. The No. 1 decide chosen by the San Antonio Spurs went on to make mere preseason video games must-watch, and he was barely every week into his NBA profession when he dropped 38 factors in a win in opposition to the Suns, after which Kevin Durant stated that he would “create his personal lane, a lot completely different than anyone who’s ever performed.” Though he hasn’t even turned 20 but and is determining who he’s in a less-than-ideal workforce context, one factor is evident: There isn’t a precedent for Wemby.
16. The insanity was actual
Hiya, pals! … So who else had a Ultimate 4 bracket that includes Florida Atlantic, Miami, San Diego State and UConn? March Insanity lived as much as it is billing as SDSU knocked off FAU on the buzzer in a single semifinal, however that was hardly the one shining second within the males’s 2023 event. Purdue with 7-foot-4 nationwide participant of the yr Zach Edey grew to become the second No. 1 to lose to a No. 16 in Fairleigh Dickinson College, the smallest workforce within the area, within the historical past of the occasion. No prime seed even reached the Elite Eight, and no No. 2 or No. 3 reached the Ultimate 4. It was simply the most recent reminder of the unimaginable annual spectacle that’s the NCAA Match.
17. NBA provides an In-Season Match
NBA curiosity in November and December is low amongst informal followers, so any semblance of elevating the stakes for fall ball would add spice to league general. However the competitors degree and real pleasure across the inaugural in-season event was palpable. Rankings for video games in the identical time interval went up year-over-year, and the followers purchased in as a result of the gamers purchased in. There have been particular uniforms and distinctive flooring had been used on event nights. The group stage video games had been typically higher than the everyday early-season alternate options; knockout contests felt just like the playoffs. And, for higher or for worse, “level differential” entered the NBA lexicon. Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton had his coming-out get together as a bonafide famous person whereas the Los Angeles Lakers gained the NBA Cup, and the $500,000 per participant prize that went with it. LeBron James was named MVP, and one thing that might or is probably not a banner was raised to the rafters in Los Angeles.
18. Draymond Inexperienced’s antics
It was fairly the tumultuous yr for Draymond Inexperienced, who’s at the moment serving an indefinite suspension for touchdown a roundhouse to an opponent’s jaw, that Inexperienced embarrassingly tried to pawn off as a mere try and promote a foul. This occasion got here lower than a month after the Golden State Warriors ahead put a special opposing participant right into a WWE-style chokehold, which he tried to promote as defending his teammate who was in precisely zero hazard. That act price Inexperienced 5 video games, which got here on the literal heel of a chest stomp of one more participant through the opening spherical of the playoffs in April. The Warriors gave Inexperienced a $100 million contract extension this summer season within the hopes that he would, you already know, truly assist them on the court docket. Now the league has deemed Inexperienced has to assist himself off the court docket earlier than he may even play once more for a Warriors workforce that’s clinging to its final shred of relevancy.
19. Coco Gauff’s run and drama on the US Open
Simply two months faraway from a first-round exit at Wimbledon, Coco Gauff, 19, entered the US Open because the sixth seed with aspirations of successful her first main on residence soil. Gauff labored victory after victory, however in her semifinal match the usually serene tennis crowd grew to become the scene of a world warming protest as a spectator glued his ft to the ground at his seat, delaying the match for near an hour. Unfazed, Gauff went on to win that match and the championship in opposition to second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka to turn into the youngest American to say the highest prize since Serena Williams did so at 17 in 1999. On the lads’s aspect, Novak Djokovic’s win prolonged his personal document with 24 main singles titles.
20. Who’s your backup QB?
In August, fantasy drafts regarded deep as a bevy of younger QBs on the ascent regarded poised to take the following step — and fantasy soccer gamers had been able to roll as properly. Then got here the accidents. Week 1, Aaron Rodgers. Week 5, Anthony Richardson. Week 6, Justin Fields. Week 8, Kirk Cousins. Week 9, Daniel Jones. Week 10, Deshaun Watson. Week 11, Joe Burrow. Week 14, Justin Herbert. Week 16, Trevor Lawrence. One after one, the NFL’s largest stars started dropping like flies, leaving fantasy soccer commissioners scrambling to the waiver wires searching for a brand new area normal. By the point the 2023 season involves an in depth, most championship-winning groups will not have a Rodgers or Burrow on the forefront, however relatively a Nick Mullens or Aidan O’Connell.
21. The return of Brittney Griner
After Brittney Griner’s December 2022 launch following a harrowing 10 months in Russian custody, nobody was certain when or if the then eight-time All-Star would play basketball once more. That query was shortly answered when she re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury as a free agent forward of the 2023 WNBA season. Shortly upon her return, Griner was named an All-Star starter, and with the ninth choice that moved right into a tie for fourth on the all-time checklist. Whereas the season did not go properly for the Mercury, Griner’s comeback was one of the crucial inspiring tales of the yr. She averaged 17.5 factors, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per recreation. Along with her play on the court docket, she gained the WNBA’s season-long Neighborhood Help Award for her work with wrongful detainees and homeless individuals within the Phoenix space.
22. UFC/WWE merger
After years of hypothesis, WWE officers lastly confirmed initially of 2023 that the corporate was in gross sales negotiations with numerous suitors. Endeavor then introduced in April that it might be merging the UFC with the WWE to type TKO Group Holdings. The merger was lastly confirmed in September, and whereas there hasn’t been a lot crossover between the 2 promotions, the deal might form the industries of each combined martial arts {and professional} wrestling for years to return.
23. Bruins roll, then get rocked
It was the top of a common season for the ages for the Boston Bruins, who completed a staggering 65-12-5 and set an NHL document with 135 factors over the course of the marketing campaign. Elevating the primary Stanley Cup since 2011 virtually appeared like a foregone conclusion — after which the playoffs occurred. Enter the upstart eighth-seeded Panthers, who rallied after falling down 3-1 within the collection. Florida gained two of the final three video games in additional time, each in Boston no much less, to deliver the top-seeded Bruins’ magical season to a grinding halt.
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