What kind of sports year was 2001?

By Leigh Montville

You had a 47-year-old man pitching for the Bronx in the Little League World Series. You had a new football league/professional wrestling operation -- the XFL -- breaking records in the Nielsen ratings during its first weekend, then closing shop after the last weekend, the nation moved into a colossal yawn by the sight of too much cleavage, too much He Hate Me violence, too much Jesse Ventura. You had A-Rod and that billion-dollar contract and the Texas Rangers. The sad Texas Rangers.

What kind of sports year was 2001? While the rest of the world trembled from the happenings on Sept. 11, fun and games were supposed to be a distraction. Well, they were a distraction, all right, the same way the people next door with the seven kids, four dogs and five cars on cinderblocks in the driveway are a distraction. Or the way the Minnesota Twins fans were a distraction to the Yankees' Chuck Knoblauch on a warm summer night.

You started with the carpetbagging Baltimore Ravens winning the Super Bowl. (That was star linebacker Ray Lewis, a murder suspect a year earlier, accepting the MVP trophy.) You ended with the University of Nebraska, a 62-36 loser in its last outing, being selected to play in the BCS title game. (That was Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch accepting the Heisman Trophy.)

You had contraction. (That's Bud Selig, explaining the sad plight of baseball to Congress.) You had action and reaction. (That's Tie Domi telling Scott Niedermeyer to pay attention.) You had heroes who fell to earth. (That's Mark McGwire striking out. That's Tiger Woods, hitting out of the sand.) You had Bob Davie. You had the Detroit Lions. You had Hasim Rahman, heavyweight champion of the world. You had... you had a 47-year-old man pitching for the Bronx in the Little League World Series.

That was sport 2001.

Leigh Montville's commentaries appear regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated.