Top 10 Philadelphia Sports Games In 2010

Now that everyone has annoyed me to death by airing out their grievances on this so-called holiday stemming from a TV show that has been canceled for 12 and a half years (I was forced to do this), I say it's time to celebrate the year that was! And by doing so, I will post after the jump my list of the Top 10 games Philadelphia sports teams played in 2010. Not that this needs to be re-stated, but this is just one man's opinion on how they should be ranked and this is by no means anything authoritative. Feel free to disagree in the comments.

Honorable Mentions

The Capital Mud Bowl: January 1. Playing on a football field that most high schools would call inadequate, Penn State battled the always entertaining Les Miles and his LSU Tigers on a New Years Day Bowl, winning it on a last minute field goal. Penn State 19, LSU 17. (click here for highlights)

Michael Vick Starts His 1st Game Since Release From Prison; Throttles Lions: September 19. Even though it was the Lions, they have been more of a hard luck team not quite as bad as their record indicates. Regardless of that, Vick tore apart the Lions defense in this game, not really remarkable in anyway other than for the resurgence of Michael Vick's career as a starter. Eagles 35, Lions 32. (click here for highlights)

Old Man Pitches Historic Gem: May 7. To Jamie Moyer, age is only this random annoying number. At the age of 47, the old man became the oldest pitcher to ever throw a shutout in MLB history when he allowed only two hits against the Atlanta Braves. Phillies 7, Braves 0. (click here for highlights)

Follow the jump for the list of the Top 10 list.


10. A Skills Competition Starts Two Months Of Epic Hockey: April 11. I don't like the shootout. I never will like the shootout. But a spot in the playoffs came down to the last day of the regular season. Rangers vs. Flyers. One team advances to the playoffs, the other goes home. How that team came about the two points or how many points the other team got was irrelevant. So naturally because fate and Gary Bettman are not best of friends, this came down to a shootout. And the result sparked a run that could only be described as magical. Flyers 2, Rangers 1 F/SO



9. Philadelphia Union Win Their First Game: April 10. Playing the team a lot of now Union supporters rooted for before the existence of the Union, the Philadelphia Union played their first ever home game and scored their first ever goal with their first ever hat trick. The Union would have their highs and their lows this year, but seeing them win their first MLS game as a franchise is an unmistakable high. Philadelphia Union 3, D.C. United 2.



8. Joe Paterno Wins His 400th Game: November 6. The first to ever do so, and quite possibly, the last to ever do so; Joe Paterno wins 400 games as a major college football head coach. In this game, Northwestern would jump to an early 21-point lead, but Penn State would rally on their home field to provide Penn State students, Penn State alumni, and Penn State fans a moment they will always remember. Penn State 35, Northwestern 21.




7. The Game 4 Thriller That Started The Comeback: May 7. Boston leads the Eastern Conference Semifinals 3 games to 0. All the Bruins need is one more win to close it out. Now Game 7 of this series may have been one of the greatest games in Flyers history, but Game 4 was a thriller as well. Just how thrilling was it?
Well, this game alone consists of a blown 2-goal lead, a game-tying goal with less than a minute left in regulation, and an overtime winner by a guy making his first start since going down with an injury in the previous round. Flyers 5, Bruins 4 F/OT



6. The Meltdown Part 3, Starring The Philadelphia Phillies And Jonathan Broxton: Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS: Broxton blows a lead against the Phillies, leading to the Dodgers' elimination in Game 5. Game 4 of the 2009 NLCS: Broxton blows a save against the Phillies, leading to the Dodgers' elimination in Game 5. August 13 of the 2010 regular season: Broxton blows a save against the Phillies, leading Broxton to lose his starting drive. The stakes may not have been the same for the Phillies in this one as in the past two, but that does not make this 7-run comeback any less enjoyable, especially considering just who the opponent was. Phillies 10, Dodgers 9.

Because MLB does not allow embeddable video and takes down every MLB video on YouTube 5 seconds after it gets put up, click here to watch the highlights of this game.

5. Flyers Win 2010 Eastern Conference Championship On Home Ice: May 24. How awesome was 2010? An Eastern Conference Championship is #5 on this list. In the only close game of the Habs-Flyers Eastern Conference Finals, the Flyers get to celebrate sweet victory on home ice after Jeff Carter scores an empty netter with 22.1 left to put the game out of reach for the Habs. Flyers 4, Canadiens 2.



Bonus game: June 2. On a night that for other reasons will forever live in sports infamy, the Flyers win their 1st Stanley Cup Finals game of my lifetime. Flyers 4, Blackhawks 3 F/OT.



4. Roy Halladay Perfectos The Marlins In May.....And No-Hits The Reds In The Post-Season: May 29. October 6. Two amazing displays of pitching by one of the best in the sport. One of them perfect, the other one Jay Bruce walk away from being perfect, but to make up for that little miscue, this one was thrown during a time when only one other pitcher had ever thrown a no-hitter. And that particular playoff no-hitter was all the way back in 1956! The May perfecto was a 1-0 pitching duel between Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson. The October no-no was a 4-0 win where the Phillies feasted off a pitcher who did not have his best stuff on this particular night. And the greatness of Roy. Phillies 1, Marlins 0. Phillies 4, Reds 0.

Click here to watch all 27 outs of Roy Halladay's perfect game vs. the Marlins.

Click here to watch all 27 outs of Roy Halladay's post-season no-hitter vs. the Reds.

3. Michael Vick's Night Out In Landover: November 15. As great as Halladay's feats were, they've all been done before. Granted a post-season no-hitter was only once before in 1956, but still an individual performance that has been replicated. But 300+ passing yards, 50+ rushing yards, 4 passing TDs, and 2 rushing TDs in a single football game? On top of all that, Michael Vick set the record for most fantasy points for a single player in a single game. And somehow, that is a stat that dates back to the 1970s! The Pro Football Hall Of Fame immediately requested Vick's jersey immediately following this game. It is for those reasons that some consider this the greatest individual quarterback performance in NFL history. The performance on this night by Michael Vick was individual performance that have never before been accomplished. There was no moment of excitement at the end of the game like there were for the Halladay no-hitters, just the awe-inspiring feeling you have as you hear of record after record being broken and the knowledge afterward that you witnessed something great. Eagles 59, Redskins 28.



2. Miracle At The New Meadowlands: December 19. 8 minutes left in the game. Giants lead 31-10. It's all over but the crying, right? Well, by the end of this one, there certainly was crying, just not the crying everyone thought. Joe Pisarcik now has company. Another chapter of NFL lore was written, as what followed in the final 8 minutes and 17 seconds is a comeback the Eagles will always remember, and a collapse the Giants will never be able to forget. Eagles 38, Giants 31.



1. Two Epic Comebacks; One Epic Night: May 14. Only twice in NHL history had a team been down 3-0 in a series and come back to win it. Only twice in NHL had a team trailed by 3 goals in a Game 7 and come back to win it. That was until the Flyers became the first team to do both on the exact same night. Well, the 3-0 series comeback started a week before this, but they were both complete at the exact same moment. Three professional sports with 7 game series, and yet, this is only the 4th time such a series comeback has happened. Suffice to say on May 14, 2010 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, history was made. Flyers 4, Bruins 3.