The Biggest Gifts of 2008

With Christmas Eve upon us, everyone should be in a jolly good mood.

Gifts are under the tree, ready to be unwrapped either tonight or tomorrow, and the recipients can only wait to see what is in store for them.

Even though this is the season of giving, some of the biggest gifts of the year have already been revealed in the world of sports.

To refresh your memory, here are some of the biggest gifts given out in 2008:

Memphis handing Kansas the NCAA Title

In what was a close game for most of the second half, the Tigers took a seven point lead after a 10-2 run. With 2:12 remaining in the game, Memphis was up nine and has the Jayhawks on the brink.

Kansas would fight back with a run of their own after two Mario Chalmers' free throws cut the lead to four with 1:15 remaining in the game.

Then, the bottom fell out for Memphis. Chris Douglas-Roberts missed the front end of a bonus opportunity and then two more to bookend a Darrell Arthur jumper.

Derrick Rose then split a trip to the line with ten seconds left to give the Tigers a three point lead.

That disappeared once Mario Chalmers hit an incredible three to tie the game and send it to overtime, where Kansas would win running away.

Memphis missed four of their final five free throws and shot 63% from the line for the game while Kansas missed one from the charity stripe all day.

Lakers giving Game 4 to the Celtics at home

In one of the most anticipated Finals match-ups of the decade, the Lakers and Celtics were going to renew their storied rivalry.

After Boston had taken the first two at home, LA kept home court in Game 3.

Game 4 would start out in the Lakers favor as Los Angeles jumped out to 24-point lead and held an 18-point advantage at halftime.

The Celtics then came alive in the second half, finishing the third quarter on a 21-3 run while LA would garner one point over a seven minute span between the 3rd and 4th quarters. Boston would then finish the game on a 15-8 run to outscore the Lakers 57-33 in the second half. With the win, Boston took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series on their way to finishing off the Lakers in six for the franchise's 17th NBA Title.

New York Mets sending the Phillies to the playoffs for the second straight season

In 2007, the New York Mets had an epic collapse in September as the Philadelphia Phillies wound up taking the National League East on the last day of the season.

As September approached in 2008, the Mets were once again on top of the East with a month to go, this time with a two game lead.

By September 10th, the Mets had extended their lead to 3.5 games with only sixteen games remaining in the season.

Then, deja vu happened. The Phillies went on a tear, winning seven straight and then 13 of their final 16 games. The Mets went 7-10 over the same span, failing to win any of their final five series of the year.

Philadelphia would take the division lead for good on September 20th and clinched the division on the 27th. The Mets, for the second straight season, would be spending October at home after having a division lead late in the season.

The Phillies would ride their success all the way to the World Series title in 2008, the second in the Phillies history and first since 1980. Philadelphia finished the season and playoffs with 24-6 record.

Tom Brady and Tiger giving everyone else a chance

It has been years since two ACLs had a larger impact on the world of sports. No two shadows loom larger than Tiger Woods and Tom Brady's in their respective sports.

Tiger's injury left the golf world wide open, and no one took more advantage of his absence than Padraig Harrington.

After Tiger left for knee surgery, Harrington asserted himself to the top the sport, winning the British Open and PGA Championship to finish out the 2008 season. His stellar finish got him selected PGA Golfer of the Year, the first European player to win the award. The win ended Tiger's three year reign of the award.

Tom Brady wasted no time in ruining his season and the season of fantasy owners everywhere by going down with a knee injury in the first quarter of the season.

Now, Matt Cassell has stepped in for Brady and has led the Patriots all season. His numbers aren't Brady-like, but he still has New England with a chance to win the AFC East. Cassell is completing 63% of his passes for 3,615 yards and 21 touchdowns on the year. For a guy who hadn't started a game since high school, he hasn't done too shabby and will make a new team happy in 2009.

Denver giving the AFC West to San Diego

This hasn't happened yet, but it is definitely not out of the equation.

Denver has not been on fire this season, but their division has been horrible for most of the season. The Broncos have had chances in the past two seasons to clinch a playoff spot, but have lost back to back games to the Panthers and Bills.

San Diego, however, is a whole other story. The Chargers started the season with two hard losses in the final minute to the Panthers and Broncos. Just three weeks ago, they were 4-8 and looking at a long off season.

The past three weeks, San Diego has won divisional games against Oakland and Kansas City as well as a huge win in Tampa Bay last week. They are now 7-8 and are facing a chance at the playoffs with a home win over Denver.