Plays of the Decade

Here are my plays of the decade. I have one for each of the four majors plus a Detroit moment.

Play of the Decade: In the first game played in New York following 911, Mike Piazza hit an eighth inning two-run home run to give the New York Mets a 3-2 win over the Braves. Tom Glavine said it was one of the few losses that did not bother him.

Detroit Moment of the Decade: There were three contenders for this. The winner: Magglio Ordonez’s pennant winning walk-off homer to beat the A’s and send the Tigers to the World Series. The other two contenders are below.

NFL Play of the Decade: David Tyree’s catch vs. New England. Tyree caught the ball with his hand-to-helmet. I never thought anyone would top the Lynn Swann Super Bowl catch. It saved Eli Manning, saved the Giants, and saved the Super Bowl. It set up the game winning TD catch by Plaxeco Burress.

NHL Play of the Decade: Statue of Liberty. This will be a homer pick. In Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, Patrick Roy wanted to stick it to the Wings after making a save. He held the puck up like a trophy and looked like the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately for Roy, he did not have the puck. Brendan Shanahan found it and scored. Wings won the game and then smoked Roy in Game 7.

NBA of the Decade: Al Michaels has a cow. The Pistons made short work of the dysfunctional Lakers and won the NBA Title 100-87 in Game 5 of the Finals. The Lakers were lucky to win a single game in the series. The national media scoffed at the Pistons. When the Palace shot off fire works following the victory, ABC’s Al Michaels had a conniption fit.