Plenty of great sports stories in 2018

2018 was a year that saw some surprises and great stories in sports nationally. 

We take a look back at some of those stories from the past 12 months.

From expansion team to Stanley Cup final

Even in their own city, the odds were against them as the Vegas Golden Knights began play in the NHL.

The league’s newest franchise, and the first major pro sports team in the city, participated in the 2017 NHL expansion draft in June 2017 to build the roster. Among the players selected were a pair of Sault Ste. Marie natives in Chris Thorburn and Colin Miller.

Thorburn eventually signed with the St. Louis Blues as a free agent before playing a game with Vegas.

With the roster set, the Golden Knights jumped out of the gate when the regular season opened and a strong start continued well into the season.

The team eventually posted a 51-24-7 record and finished in top spot in the NHL’s Pacific Division.

After sweeping the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round of the playoffs, the Golden Knights proceeded to beat the San Jose Sharks in six games in round two.

Facing the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference final, the Golden Knights needed five games to advance and become just the third team in NHL history to get to the Stanley Cup Final in its first season.

The other teams?

The Toronto Arenas (1918) and the St. Louis Blues (1968).

The Golden Knights lost in the final to the Washington Capitals in five games.

Warriors win NBA title

It’s become a habit for both teams and for the Golden State Warriors, it looked easy at times.

Thanks to a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors won the NBA title.

The 2018 final marked the fourth straight year that the two teams met in the NBA final, a first in North American pro sports.

Heavy favourites entering the series, the Warriors, backed by series MVP Kevin Durant and three-time all star Steph Curry, won the franchises third title in four years and second consecutive.

The Warriors took game one in overtime by a 124-114 score. Curry scored 29 points for the Warriors while Cleveland’s LeBron James led all scorers in the game with 51 points.

Curry scored 33 points as the Warriors took game two 122-103.

As the series shifted to Cleveland for game three, Durant scored 43 points and added 13 rebounds as the Warriors took a 3-0 stranglehold on the series with a tight 110-102 win.

Golden State capped off the sweep with a 108-85 win in game four. Curry scored 37 points while Durant had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Tavares returns home

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a splash on Canada Day by signing John Tavares.

It was an exciting day for the 27-year-old, who grew up a Leafs fan.

"It really took the right opportunity and the right fit. I thought the timing just couldn't be beat. Certainly being from here, and I think with where this team's at and how good and young their core players are ... it was just hard to turn down,” Tavares said in a press conference announcing the signing. “It was hard to turn down this opportunity. It's obviously one of the premier organizations, not just in hockey, but in sports.”

"As a kid, cheering for the Leafs growing up, you start to get those feelings again, once I went through the interview process and got that and what it was like as a kid watching the Leafs and following my favourite players. I thought the timing was too good. It was an opportunity I didn't want to turn down. I'm very fortunate to be here and call myself a Maple Leaf."

The signing came on the opening day of NHL free agency.

The contract, a seven-year deal, is worth $77 million.

After signing restricted free agent William Nylander recently, the Maple Leafs will shift focus to the contract status of star forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who will both become restricted free agents at the end of the season.

Capitals win Stanley Cup

It was a new experience for the entire team when the Washington Capitals advanced to the 2018 Stanley Cup final.

When the series against the Vegas Golden Knights began, just one player on the Capitals roster, defenceman Brooks Orpik, had played gamed in a Stanley Cup Final.

Washington advanced to the final thanks to a game seven win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference final.

2018 was the Capitals second Stanley Cup Final appearance in team history.

The first finals berth ended up in a sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings in 1998.

The Capitals lost the opening game of the series on the road before winning four straight games to win the title.

The Capitals finished the regular season in first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 49-26-7 record.

In the playoffs, before winning the Eastern Conference final against Tampa Bay, the Capitals fell behind 2-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets before winning four in a row to win the series.

In the second round, the Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

Boston Red Sox World Series

Having won a division title the previous two seasons. the Boston Red Sox won Major League Baseball’s East Division title in a big way in 2018.

The team won 108 games and finished eight games ahead of the New York Yankees en route to the division title and eventually turned the subsequent playoff appearance into a World Series title.

The 2018 season was one of the best in team history for the Red Sox.

The team set a new franchise record for wins with the previous record of 105 being set in 1912. The 108 games won by the Red Sox was also the most won by any team since the 2001 Seattle Mariners won 116.

In the playoffs, the Red Sox beat the Yankees in four games in the division series before advancing to the World Series thanks to a five-game series win in the American League Championship series.

In the World Series, the Red Sox beat the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to win the Red Sox fourth title since 2004 and ninth in team history.

Eagles beat Patriots in Super Bowl

Playing with a backup quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles took a 22-12 lead en route to a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Nick Foles, who took over as quarterback of the Eagles after Carson Wentz suffered an injury late in the regular season, threw for three touchdowns and 373 yards on 28 pass completions in the win.

Late in the second quarter, with Philadelphia holding a slim 15-12 lead, Foles caught a touchdown pass from tight end Trey Burton in the final minute of the quarter.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady also threw three touchdown passes in the game. Brady finished the day 28-for-48 and threw for 505 yards for New England.

A handful of Super Bowl records were set in the game. The Eagles set a Super Bowl records for most yards allowed (613) and most yards allowed in a win (613).

The 613 yards by the Patriots were also the most total yards by a team in the game. With 33 points, the Patriots scored the most points ever by the losing team.

The teams combined for 1.151 yards, the most in Super Bowl history and the 874 passing yards the teams combined for was also a Super Bowl record.

Brady also set a Super Bowl record for most pass attempts without an interception (48).

US Curling win Olympic gold

Representing the United States for the fourth time at the Winter Olympics, John Shuster nearly didn’t make the playoff round in curling and wound up winning gold instead.

Shuster was 2-4 through six games before beating Canada, represented by Kevin Koe, Switzerland (Peter de Cruz), and Great Britain (Kyle Smith) to finish the round robin with a 5-4 record.

In the semifinal, Shuster beat Koe a second time to earn the right to curl for gold.

Against Sweden’s Niklas Edin in the gold-medal game, it was a back-and-forth affair that was tied at five through seven ends. It was in the eighth end that Shuster would make a double takeout with his final rock to score five and take a 10-5 lead.

Shuster would hold on for a 10-7 win to take gold.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at Olympics

They stepped away from the sport they love for two seasons, but what a memorable return it was for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

The pair returned to figure skating in 2016 with the intent of making it to the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The pair would go on to win gold at the event.

In an interview with SooToday in the summer, Moir said being a Canadian Olympian “is just different.”

“I love the Olympics,” Moir said. “We came back just for another shot at the games. Being a Canadian Olympian, is just different. The Canadian winter team is just so tight. We support each other. I have so much respect for all of the athletes. We hang out, support each other. We go to every single event that we can.

“There’s a connection,” Moir added. “There’s just something different about the way we do the Olympics in Canada. It’s because of the support that we get from the Canadian public. It was a special time for us. A lot of the people we were at the Olympics with in Korea, we had been to Sochi, Russia (in 2014) with and some even in Vancouver (in 2010).”

The 2018 Games marked the third time the pair won Olympic gold.

Patrick Reed wins the Masters; Francesco Molinari wins Open Championship

2018 saw a pair of golfers win their first major titles.

In April, American Patrick Reed won the Masters while Francesco Molinaro won The Open Championship in July.

Reed opened the tournament with a 69 in the opening round and sat tied for fourth, three behind leader Jordan Speith.

A 66 in round two moved Reed into top spot. The American, who birdied nine holes in the round, would enter round three with a two-shot lead over Marc Leishman and a four-shot lead over Henrik Stenson.

A third round that saw Reed birdie four holes and eagle two more, Reed shot a 67 to continue to lead.

With a three-shot lead on Rory McIlroy heading into the fourth round, Reed shot a round of one-under in the fourth round to hold on as Rickie Fowler shot a final round 67 but finished one shot behind Reed for the title.

At the Open Championship, Molinari shot a one-under par 70 in the opening round and was even par after a 72 in the second round.

It was round three that saw the Italian make his move. Molinari shot a six-under 65 to move into fifth.

In the final round, Molinari opened the round with 13 consecutive pars and shot a bogey-free round and finished the tournament at eight-under.

Justify wins Horseracing triple crown – second time it’s happened in four years (American Pharoah in 2015)

Since 1919, it’s only happened 13 times and prior to 2015, there was a 36-year drought between Triple Crown winners in American horse racing.

In 2018, Justify won horse racing’s Triple Crown with wins at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes, marking the second time in four years the crown had been won after American Pharoah turned the trick in 2015.

Justify is also the descendant of Nijinsky, who won the English Triple Crown in 1970.