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| English: Serena Williams at 2009 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
American Pharoah, with his sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes (something that hasn't happened since the 1970s), has become horse racing's savior. The sport will never again be as popular as it was nearly a century ago. But at least there will be a little less whining about the lack of a Triple Crown winner.
Serena Williams also tried for a sweep this year, winning three of the four major women's singles titles at Wimbledon and the French and Australian Opens--but not the U.S. Open. She is also Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year. Serena and her sister Venus have dominated women's tennis for so long that, once their playing careers are over, it's hard to think that the sport will be relevant for a long time.
Tiger Woods hasn't won many tournaments since his marriage ended and his knee blew out. Even after Rory McIlroy, Jordan Speith and others have long since surpassed him, Woods is still the face of golf. He might still win another championship or two, but Jack Nicklaus' record of racking up the most majors still seems safe.
Boxing and ultimate fighting are two of the biggest draws on pay-per-view video. But like anything else, you get what you pay for.
- Ronda Rousey became a celebrity when she won and defended her UFC titles, mainly by knocking out her opponents in 30 seconds or less. Then she lost to Holly Holm, one of the few opponents Rousey has had who has taken her past the first round. Well, Rousey's still a celebrity, but she's not invincible any more. Until her next match.
- The Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout was one of the most-anticipated boxing matches of 2015. Then came the fight, but it soon became clear that this match (which Mayweather won) would have been sooo much better a few years earlier. People who paid exorbitant rates to watch this on PPV screamed for their money back, but got nowhere. Mayweather fought once more and won, then retired undefeated. No wonder they call him "Money". He just banks a lot of it.
In the age of people no longer willing to pay extra for cable channels they don't watch, while finding other ways to get their TV, ESPN is the biggest loser. To date, the Disney-owned network has reportedly lost between seven to 10 million subscribers. They charge more because they pay through the nose for rights to the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and various college conferences well into the next decade. In response, ESPN has let go of several well-known commentators including Keith Olbermann, Jason Whitlock, Colin Cowherd and Bill Simmons (though it must be said the reasons why don't always have to do with finances). They also pulled the plug on the Grantland website, which was started by Simmons. People have begged ESPN to go the route of HBO and other networks in offering their content online at a cheaper rate, but they haven't done that. Instead, to the chagrin of most cord-cutters, sports remains the one thing that's keeping cable and satellite in business. And they're not letting go unless they're forced to.
WHO DIED THIS YEAR: Ken Stabler, Garo Yepremian, Minnie Minoso, Calvin Peete, Charlie Sifford, Dean Smith, Phil "Flip" Saunders, Dickie Moore, Frank Gifford, Dolph Schayes, Glen Sonmor, Yogi Berra, Dean Chance, Lindy Infante, Milo Hamilton, Al Arbour, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Guy Lewis, Ernie Banks, Jerry Tarkanian, Darryl Dawkins and Moses Malone.
