The year is almost over; it’s a time of thoughtfulness, goal making, and hope of a wonderful new year. And of course, as always the world of sports brought us many stories as ever. Let’s take a look back at some of the years biggest moments in sports from the year of 2011.

We were all witnesses to the Dallas Mavericks winning their very first NBA title for their franchise. Beating the ostracized and inflated Miami Heat, LeBron now going 0-2 in his finals appearances, or disappearance from this one, depending on how you look at it. Finals MVP, Dirk Nowitzki was lights out, scoring 26/night and 10 boards for the series.

The Green Bay Packers snuck into the NFL playoffs as a wild card team with a 10-6 record and ended up as NFL title holders, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25. Super Bowl MVP, Aaron Rodgers has, from then, is going on to become one of the greatest QBs to play the game.

The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup, beating the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games, for their 1st championship since 1972, when Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr were leading the team up and down the ice.

And how can we overlook the St. Louis Cardinals winning the MLB World Series in 7 games over the Texas Rangers. Where 1B, Albert Pujols swung his bat for the last time for St. Louis, ultimately deciding to leave the championship team and head to the Angels, signing a 10 year deal.

Derek Jeter continued on with his Hall of Fame career, getting his 3,000th hit during the baseball season. A season, in which many thought was a “down year” for the 37 year old shortstop, in which for a down year, he still batted .297, goes to show what’s expected when you are one of the best for so many years.

PG Derrick Rose won the NBA MVP at only 22 years old, with a 25.0 scoring avg. becoming the youngest ever to win the NBA MVP award, leading the Bulls to an impressive 62-20 record.

Kemba Walker led the untiring Connecticut Huskies to 11 straight wins to claim the NCAA championship in March Madness. Truly a team that refused to get exhausted and never said quit, showed inconceivable determination.

We were forced to deal with the lockouts, both of them, the NFL and the NBA. Money, money and more money is what makes the world go around, and luckily didn’t stop the sports world from continuing. As we all sat and waited for breaking news and waited to hear when we would see our beloved teams and players hit the field and courts again.

The one and only Shaquille O’Neal retired, as one of the greatest big men ever to play the game, with career averages of 23.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, and 2.3 bpg, even if Shaq hung on probably 3-4 years longer than he should have, his big game was only matched with his big heart and infectious smile. And of course, there were the moments that certainly didn’t make the world very pleased, the Penn State humiliation leading to the firing of Joe Paterno, the Ohio State scandal, with Jim Tressel resigning under uncomfortable circumstances.

The sad passing of boxing great Joe Frazier, and the passing of quirky Raiders owner, Al Davis. We saw how the Colts are without their “Ironman” Peyton Manning, who strangely missed the season with a severe neck injury. NCAA football realignments taking place, it’s hard to remember who is in what conference anymore. Anyway you look at it, 2011 was captivating to say the least, and, as always, looking forward to more sports spectacles in 2012. Here’s hoping everyone has a safe and happy upcoming New Year.

Written by Frank Jordan of VegasTopDogs.com