Hello there everyone, and an early Happy New Year to all of our readers.

As I sit here on New Year's eve, I can't tell you how many "Best of the Decade" stories I have seen this past week.  Whether is was the best players, best teams, craziest moments, you name it.  Every media outlet did it, so we might as well tag along.  i didn't want mine to be exactly like all of the others.

But it probably will be.  I decided to do what I believe to be the ten best games of the past decade.  They may not be the most influential or universally-appreciated, but these were the games that resonated with me the most.  To make sure it was genuine, I didn't even do any research when making the list.  I simply sat down, put pen to paper, and wrote down the games off the top of my head.  (Let me just apologize now to the golf/tennis lovers...those events just weren't on my mind.)  I then ordered them into the following ten.  I hope you remember/enjoy them, and this blog brings you on a pleasant trip down memory lane.  Of course, this will be modestly slanted towards my teams.  But maybe that adds to its originality.  At least that's what I'm telling myself...Enjoy!

10.  Steelers 27, Cardinals 23  (2009 Super Bowl)
Does this have an unfair advantage because it was so recent?  Perhaps.  But this one was pretty nutty.  I mean, just look at the title again...the words Cardinals and Super Bowl are in the same sentence!  And boy was Arizona close to winning this thing.  Larry Fitzgerald looked like he capped the most amazing individual playoff performance in history, splitting the Pittsburgh secondary for 63 yards and giving the Cards the lead in the final minutes.  But Ben Roethlisberger marched on down, Santonio Holmes somehow got both feet in...and the rest is history.  Bonus points for James Harrison's crazy interception return for 101 yards to end the first half.

9.  Jets 41, Colts 0 (2003 Wild Card Round)
Ok here's an example of the whole "Conor's team having a big bias on this list" thing.  But this was a three-hour celebration for the suddenly-cool Jets franchise.  It was Chad Pennington's first playoff game, and his first pass was a screen to Richie Anderson for a touchdown.  Peyton Manning and Indy were hopeless from the start.  (ALSO, this game makes the cut as a way to get the Giants/49ers matchup from the very next day on the list.  You know...38-14 Giants with 5 minutes left in the 3rd turning into a 39-38 Niners victory.  A truly bonkers football weekend for New York.)

8.  Islanders 4, Maple Leafs 3 (2002 Conference Quarterfinals)
This is more of a testament to this entire series.  After all, it was a 7-game slugfest (literally) in which the home team won every game.  Though it was a bitter end for the Islanders, this was a real return to relevance for them as they broke their 7-year playoff drought (an eternity in hockey.)  Anywho, this game featured the penalty shot heard 'round Long Island, as Shawn Bates beat Curtis Joseph (listen to how loud the crowd gets after this one.)  Great game, phenomenal series.

7.  Illinois 90, Arizona 89 (2005 Elite 8)
This one hits close to home.  First off, I may have been the only person in this hemisphere that picked the Salim Stoudamire-led Wildcats to win the entire tournament.  Illinois were undefeated for the season and the favorites.  Arizona took control of the second half and led by 15 points with 4 minutes left.  I will venture to say the last 4 minutes of regulation were the craziest minutes of the college basketball decade.  Steals, three-pointers, Arizona meltdowns.  Somehow, Illinois forced overtime and the Wildcats knew they were dead.  So did everyone else.

6.  Cardinals 3, Mets 1 (2007 NLCS Game 7)
Yeah, maybe the biggest sports heartbreaker of my life so far.  Bitterness aside, there was no doubt in anybody's mind that the Mets were the best team in the National League in 2006.  But the underdog Cardinals fought valiantly to force 7 games.  And despite Endy Chavez's miraculous robbery of Scott Rolen, the Cards rallied to take the lead and hold off a furious New York rally in the 9th.  Though people like to think of the Mets of having a renaissance, this was their only postseason appearance of the decade besides the 2000 World Series appearance.  Weird, isn't it?

5.  Red Sox 6, Yankees 4 (2004 ALCS Game 4)
Of course, this game means absolutely nothing without the three subsequent Boston victories.  But this was the grand daddy that started it all.  Yankees were on the verge of a sweep, with the lead in the 9th inning, Mariano Rivera on the mound.  Kevin Millar draws a walk, Dave Roberts steals, Bill Mueller delivers the game-tying RBI for Boston.  Little did everyone know that this began the biggest comeback in baseball history (I would say sports history, but hey, the Islanders came back from 3-0 many moons earlier, remember??)  Two World series this decade for a team that won zero for over eight decades.  Not too shabby.

4.  Jets 40, Dolphins 37 (2000- The Monday Night Miracle)
Yes, I simply write the 'Monday Night Miracle.'  That's my sly way of saying that essentially, this was only a regular season game.  New York fans weren't really paying attention, as this game happened right smack in the middle of the Mets/Yankees World Series.  And after the Dolphins were leading 30-7 in the 4th quarter, they really weren't paying any attention.  Yes, that's correct.  30-7.  Describing all the madness would be too much for one blog.  This video was the best justice I could find for this incredible game.

3.  Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42 (2007 Fiesta Bowl)
Yep, this one was bananas.  Though it's number 3 on this particular list, it's definitely number one as far as what I like to call "Holy S*** factor."  Because everyone watching this game uttered that phrase at least 5 times.  Underdog Boise State gets a lead, loses it, and hits a desperation 'hook-and-ladder' that captured every football fan's imagination.  All that was before a crazy overtime that featured a successful 'statue of liberty' play on a do-or-die 4th down conversion.  You can find videos for this one all over the place, so I'll spare you the link.  But this one changed college football as far as mid-major schools standing up to the big boys.

2.  Giants 17, Patriots 14 (2007 Super Bowl)
We all shoulda listened to Plaxico Burress.  Before he popped a cap in himself, he was the one that guaranteed a New York victory in this Super Bowl.  Everyone thought he was crazy.  After all, the Giants were two-touchdown underdogs against the undefeated Patriots.  The upset in itself was special enough.  But what made this game legendary was that the Giants came back even after Randy, Tom, and the Patriots delivered what seemed to be a fatal blow with two minutes left.  But Eli Manning became a true captain, David Tyree will never pay for a meal in New York again, and Plaxico himself caught the winner in the final minute.  Mercury Morris and the 1972 Dolphins still find themselves all alone in Perfectville. 

1.  Texas 41, USC 38 (2005 Rose Bowl)
This Rose Bowl is Vince's.  In my entire life, for any sport, this is the greatest individual performance I have ever seen.  Before the game, ESPN was debating if this USC team was the best college squad ever.  Southern Cal had two Heisman winners on offense and tons of future NFL players on defense.  Texas...had Vince Young.  He threw it, he ran it, he could have caught it if need be.  Each and every play, it was essentially 11 guys trying with absolute futility to take down one man.  Vince's run on 4th down with seconds remaining was only appropriate.  The best of the decade, hands down.

Feel free to comment with your own choices.  I'm sure there are tons that I forgot, but that's what makes these fun.  Have a happy, healthy New Years Eve and we hope you come back for what is sure to be a great 2010 for this blog.