WSVN — 2015 is winding down, and before we ring in the new year, it’s always good to look back at what’s happened in the past 12 months. 7’s sports director Steve Shapiro has tonight’s top seven sports stories of the year.
To quote David Bowie, 2015 was a year of ch, ch, ch, changes. The Dolphins, the Marlins and the Canes all made significant coaching changes.
The Dolphins fired Coach Joe Philbin and replaced him with one of his assistant coaches, Dan Campbell, on an interim basis.
Dan Campbell: "Nothing has gone the way we wanted it to be. You get tired of losing. It stinks."
The Dolphins failed to make the playoffs for the seventh straight year.
The Marlins fired manager Mike Redmond and replaced him with general manager Dan Jennings. They then fired Jennings and replaced him with former Dodgers manager, and great Yankee hitter, Don Mattingly.
Don Mattingly: "It’s a young, talented club that has a good core. It has a good chance to grow and develop."
After a 4 and 3 start and a 58 to nothing shellacking by Clemson, the Canes fired football coach Al Golden and replaced him with longtime Georgia coach, and former UM quarterback, Mark Richt.
Mark Richt: "I’m just very excited to be home. This is home, and I’m very thankful."
"Deflategate" took the air out of the NFL playoffs. New England quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for four games, accused of having equipment guys deflate footballs below League standards.
Brady won on appeal. The Patriots won the Super Bowl.
In February, Heat all-star Chris Bosh was sidelined the second half of the season with blood clots in his lungs. The Heat did not make the playoffs for the first time in five years.
Bosh is back healthy again and playing this season.
For the first time in 37 years we had a Triple Crown winner. American Pharoah is the king of horse racing.
And the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, coached by Miami resident Jill Ellis, won the World Cup.
These are the top seven sports stories for 2015.
This is a close eighth: Serena Williams wins three of the four women’s Grand Slam events. She is named Sports Illustrated’s Sports Person of the Year.
Monday night, Craig Stevens takes a look back at the top state and local stories of 2015. In the Newsplex, I’m Steve Shapiro, 7News.