Year end: New school was cool

      By Paul Sullivan of Knight Ridder Newspapers

      CHICAGO -- Old school ruled again in 2002, but new school was pretty cool too.

      For every prime-time perennial -- the ubiquitous dominance of Tiger Woods, Randy Johnson or the Miami Hurricanes - a fresh-faced super nova arrived on the scene, catching the eye of a nation of sports junkies in a roller-coaster year.

      Michael Vick, Sarah Hughes and the Anaheim Angels were among the athletes who opened eyes and captured hearts in '02, while Rich Beem, Tom Brady and the Indiana Hoosiers proved once again that perseverance and perspiration are the great equalizers when going into battle against overwhelming odds.

      The best and brightest of the sports world gave armchair fans a little bit of everything in '02, from a nail-biting Super Bowl, a sevengame World Series featuring a classic Game 6, a sudden-death playoff at the British Open, the most hyped high school basketball player since Lew Alcindor and fullmetal controversies surrounding the Olympics, the Masters and baseball's All-Star game. It was a year in which many became famil iar with the intricacies of the tuck rule, the complexities of the dimin ished-skills clause, the dimensions of the half-pipe, the physics of cryogenics and the requirements for unveiling the Rally Monkey.

      If your name was Hootie or Yao, Dusty or LeBron, Ronaldo or Serena, 2002 was a year you'll never forget. If you rooted for a team named the Bears or Bulls, Lions or Tigers, or, naturally, the Cubs, `02 was a nightmare you'd like to forget. All in all, the 2002 sports year was sometimes a headache, but never a bore. Here's a few snapshots of one of the wildest, wackiest years in memory:

      Who let the underdogs out?

      In almost every sport on every level, the `Dogs thrived in `02. Indiana advanced to the NCAA bas ketball title game before losing to Maryland; the New England Patriots shocked St. Louis in the Super Bowl on Adam Vinatieri's 48yard, last-second field goal; and the Minnesota Twins not only survived contraction but advanced to the American League Championship Series before falling under the spell of the Angels and their funky monkey. The Atlanta Falcons burst out of nowhere behind budding superstar QB Michael Vick; former car stereo salesman Rich Beem edged Tiger Woods by one stroke to win the PGA Championship; and first-year Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham rescued the university from the George O'Leary mess and led the Fighting Irish to 10 victories.

      Same old, same old

      The more things change, the more they stay the same. Brazil won its fifth World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Germany, both goals scored by Ronaldo. Lance Armstrong claimed his fourth straight Tour de France. Pro golfer Annika Sorenstam set 20 LPGA records, earned a record $2.8 million and won 13-of-25 tournaments. Arizona left-hander Randy Johnson won his fourth straight Cy Young award and fifth overall. Miami convincingly beat Nebraska for the BCS championship in January and went undefeated in 2002, setting up a title-game matchup against Ohio State in next week's Fiesta Bowl. Dallas running back Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton's career rushing record and San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds became the fourth player to reach the 600-homer plateau.

      Cold, colder, coldest '85

      The hapless Cincinnati Bengals were 2-13 heading into Sunday's finale, the Cubs lost 95 games to extend their championship drought to 94 years, and baseball great Ted Williams was cryogenically frozen after his death in July.

      Flops on Parade

      The bigger they were, the harder they fell in `02. A U.S. basketball team of NBA stars finished sixth at the World Championships in Indianapolis, while former Bulls star Michael Jordan sputtered in his comeback in Washington and was embroiled in a legal controversy over an alleged affair from years ago. The Bears followed up a 13-3 season with a 4-11 collapse heading into Sunday's finale against Tampa Bay, putting coach Dick Jauron and offensive coordinator John Shoop under the microscope. War Emblem stumbled at the start of the Belmont Stakes, ending his Triple Crown bid before it started. Once the most feared man in boxing, Mike Tyson was beaten badly by Lennox Lewis in their long-delayed heavyweight bout and faces an uncertain future after Lewis' eighth-round knockout. Michigan's famous `` Fab Five'' team saw its legacy tarnished after a federal investigation concluded that a booster gave Chris Webber and three other players a total of $616,000 in payoffs, leading to forfeiture of 112 regular-season and tournament victories from the era. The defending World Cup soccer champs from France lost to Senegal in their Cup opener and were eliminated in three games without scoring a goal. Steve Spurrier's honorary `` MENSA'' designation was taken away after the heralded offensive genius from Florida became just another NFL coach, taking a 6-9 record into the finale. Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers three-peated in June, but by Christmas had only one more victory than the perpetually rebuilding Bulls.

      2003 save leaders

      Atlanta Braves veteran John Smoltz led the majors with 55 saves. San Francisco first baseman J.T. Snow saved Dusty Baker's 3-year-old son, Darren, after the Giants' pint-sized batboy nearly got steamrolled at home plate during Game 5 of the World Series. Goalie Dominik Hasek, a Blackhawks reject, helped lead Detroit to its third Stanley Cup title in six years before retiring on top. Bears running back Anthony `` A-Train'' Thomas and his wife, Hayley, helped save a man from a burning car after pulling over on Route 60 following the man's accident.

      Photo ops

      Rod Stewart once asked the musical question, `` Every picture tells a story, don't it?'' It certainly did in `02. Serena Williams donned a skin-tight catsuit at the U.S. Open, where she claimed her third Grand Slam title of the year and sealed her No. 1 ranking. San Francisco receiver Terrell Owens pulled a Sharpie from his sock after scoring a touchdown in a Monday night game, then signed the ball and handed it to his financial adviser. Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7-inch former NBA center, donned ice skates for a minor-league hockey promotion. Cleveland linebacker Dwayne Rudd ripped his helmet off to celebrate a sack and a would-be victory in the season opener, only to be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. Rudd then watched Kansas City steal a last-second victory that ultimately may keep the Browns out of the postseason. Sprinter Tim Montgomery became the world's fastest human with a 9.78-seconds clocking in the 100 meters. Tennis sex symbol Anna Kournikova remained the world's most photographed failure, stretching her winless streak to 122 career tournaments in between photo shoots for her swimsuit calendar, soon to be featured on an ESPN special.

      The Year in Bud

      It poured on Bud Selig's All-Star party the night before the Midsummer Classic in Milwaukee, a fitting metaphor for the soggiest of seasons for baseball's embattled commissioner. The topic of water-cooler conversation from the baseball front went from proposed contraction to Mike Piazza's sexuality to charges of rampant steroid use by ex-player Ken Caminiti to an All-Star Game tie to a threatened work stoppage to ultra-low World Series ratings to the umpteenth national debate over Pete Rose and his banishment from the game. Despite a new labor agreement with more revenue sharing than ever, the megabucks Yankees continued to throw money around in December while the majority of teams ignored the free-agent market for `` budgetary'' reasons.

      Let's get ready to rumble

      A couple of virtually unknown boxers, Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward, staged the year's most critically acclaimed fight in May. But several other interesting tussles, verbal and otherwise, dominated the headlines in `02, including Sammy Sosa vs. Barry Bonds, the Lakers vs. the Sacramento Kings, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart vs. a newspaper photographer, Tampa Bay defensive lineman Warren Sapp vs. Green Bay coach Mike Sherman, Yankees pitcher David Wells vs. Yonkers bartender Rocco Graziosa, Kansas City first base coach Tom Gamboa vs. a shirtless Alsip resident and his son, Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss vs. a Minneapolis traffic officer, Miami Heat coach Pat Riley vs. NBA officials and Augusta National Chairman Hootie Johnson vs. National Council of Women's Organizations Chairwoman Martha Burk.

      Diminished shrimp clause

      White Sox slugger Frank Thomas' convoluted contract hung over his head all season long, but the Big Hurt had nothing on Norwegian soccer player Kenneth Kristensen, whose team sold him for his weight in shrimp -- 170 pounds.

      Here comes da judge

      Three Portland Trail Blazers--Ruben Patterson, Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace--were arrested in a five-day span, as the `` Jail Blazers'' threatened to become the first NBA team to be sponsored by Chico's Bail Bonds. A Municipal Court judge in Philadelphia dismissed felony weapons, trespassing and conspiracy charges against 76ers star Allen Iverson and his uncle. Canadian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were awarded gold medals at the Salt Lake Olympics after a judging scandal in which a French judge charged that hanky-panky led to a gold for a Russian pair. Possession of Barry Bonds' record 73rd home run ball was in dispute in a San Francisco trial, but the judge eventually ordered the ball to be auctioned off and the proceeds evenly split.

      Gone, not forgotten: Ted Williams, Darryl Kile, Johnny Unitas, Jay Berwanger, Dick `` Night Train'' Lane, Bob Hayes, Dan Devine, Harold `` Mush'' March, Sam Snead, Jack Buck, Mike Webster, Bison Dele, Dave McNally, Darrian Chapman.

      OMulletulletullet

      'a9 2002, Chicago Tribune.

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