Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Storyland Will Sparkle for All Visitors With $1 Million City of Fresno Grant

14 hours ago

Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath’s Bat-Biting Frontman, Dies at 76, BBC Reports

19 hours ago

What’s Fresno County Worth? Property Tax Roll Grows by Billions of Dollars

21 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Seek Help Locating Missing Woman and Infant

21 hours ago

Maddy Institute Fundraiser to Highlight Central Valley’s Impact at State Capitol

21 hours ago

No Aid Supplies Left and Staff Are Starving in Gaza, Says Norwegian Refugee Council

22 hours ago

US Justice Dept. Asks Epstein Associate Maxwell to Speak to Prosecutors

22 hours ago

Trump’s Golden Dome Looks for Alternatives to Musk’s SpaceX

22 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Free Immunization Clinics for Students Start in August

24 hours ago
Plays of the Year: 2019 Had a Flair for the Dramatic
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
December 24, 2019

Share

Thousands of pro games, hundreds of thousands of college games, millions of high school games and billions of youth-league, rec-league, bar-league and whatever other sort of league games you can think of were contested in 2019.

That means there were probably trillions of plays.

Of those, we’re picking 10 as the best of the year.

It’s a thankless task. Spoiler alert: Yes, we are missing some good ones. We’re missing some very — very — good ones. Dwyane Wade’s buzzer-beater to beat Golden State. Gary Woodland using his wedge on the 17th green to just about clinch the U.S. Open. Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale throwing a no-look behind-the-back pass for an assist. An outfielder for Liberty front-flipping over a wall to make a catch.

They were all fantastic. So were countless others.

But let’s get to the ones that made the list.

10. From Way Downtown

Aldahir Cazun is the goalie for the men’s soccer team at New Jersey City University. He’d just made a diving save to protect a 2-0 second-half lead against Purchase College, then casually walked with the ball up the top of the penalty box before punting it away.

And then he got a bounce he’ll never forget:

Cazun’s punt was a bit wind-aided. The ball carried about 80 yards in the air, hit the grass on the other end with some serious topspin, bounced over Purchase goalie Mario Olmedo and found its way into the net.

9. Tulane Trickery

Imagine: Tulane beat Houston on a 53-yard touchdown pass with three seconds left — and that wasn’t the one making this list.

The play before did.

Tie game, 18 seconds left, Tulane lined up as if it was going to kneel down and send the game to overtime. Except the Green Wave decided to employ some trickery, and Amare Jones’ 18-yard scamper got them near midfield — good enough for them to try the Hail Mary game-winner.

8. Goalie Swagger

Penalty kicks are an inhumane way to decide anything, especially a national championship.

Katie Meyer didn’t mind:

The Stanford goalie was the star of the Women’s College Cup, leading the Cardinal to the national title after stopping two penalty kicks from North Carolina in the game-deciding shootout. She set the tone with a dive to her right to stop the first offering from the Tar Heels, then stoned them again in the sixth round with a dive to the left.

Meyer got up, found the nearest camera, flexed, shouted and emphatically pointed to the “Stanford” across her chest after putting her team on the brink of the title. Kiki Pickett then won it for Stanford with the deciding penalty kick.

7. Another Yaz

Carl Yastrzemski won seven Gold Gloves for the Boston Red Sox. His grandson Mike Yastrzemski is pretty good with the leather as well.

The younger Yaz had some unforgettable moments in 2019 — homering at Fenway Park among them — but he turned in arguably the baseball play of the year with his game-ending catch for San Francisco in a game against Milwaukee.

Yasmani Grandal represented the tying run for the Brewers and he hit a sharp liner into left-center field. Yastrzemski got a good jump, dove and snared the ball to end the game just before it would have hit the grass.

“What a catch by Yastrzemski,” then-Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Wasn’t the first time those words were said in baseball.

6. Colorful Goal

The St. Louis Blues had a comeback story for all time — going from being the worst team in the NHL midway through this past season to winning the Stanley Cup.

To get there, the Blues needed some Maroon magic first.

Patrick Maroon’s goal in double overtime gave St. Louis a win in Game 7 of its Western Conference semifinal series against Dallas. The Blues went on to beat San Jose in six games, then needed another Game 7 to defeat Boston and win the Stanley Cup.

5. Buzzer Beaters

This is where these lists get difficult. Choosing one game-winning shot is impossible.

Senior Annie Giannone of Ithaca College scored 10 of her team’s final 11 points, including a sharp-angled runner with six seconds left to give her team — which was down by eight before her late closing surge — a 76-75 win over Desales and berth in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals.

Don’t forget Nathan Bain, whose layup as time expired gave Stephen F. Austin a shocking win over then-No. 1 Duke 85-83. The shot put Bain — and his story — in the limelight. Over the next few days, over $150,000 was raised for his family, who endured hardship when Hurricane Dorian slammed the Bahamas.

But the best of the buzzer-beating bunch in 2019 was Kawhi Leonard, whose jumper from the deep right corner bounced, then bounced again, then bounced yet again, then bounced ONE MORE TIME before finally going in to give Toronto a 92-90 win over Philadelphia in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. You know the rest: Toronto beat Milwaukee for the East title, then topped Golden State in six games for the NBA title.

4. Golden Rose

This is how you finish a World Cup championship.

Rose Lavelle of the U.S. took a pass just inside of the midfield stripe in the 69th minute of the Women’s World Cup final against the Netherlands, a game the Americans were already leading 1-0. And she sealed the title in style, dribbling about 40 yards downfield as three Dutch defenders attempted to thwart her path and a fourth was just a couple steps behind.

Lavelle waited until the last possible second before taking a left-footed strike, threading the ball between the outstretched legs of two Netherlands players before it skipped past a helpless — and ordinarily fantastic — Dutch goalie Sari van Veenendaal.

The outcome was never in doubt from there, and the Americans won the World Cup for the fourth time.

3. The Triple Double

Due respect to James Harden, Russell Westbrook and anyone else in the NBA, the triple-double of the year was turned in by someone who stands 4-foot-8.

Simone Biles, take a bow.

If we’re going to get technical, her triple-double is actually called a triple-twisting double backflip — which Biles pulled off during her floor routine multiple times this year. The rule in gymnastics is if you’re the first one to execute a move, it gets named on your behalf. The triple-double in gymnastics is the Biles II; the plain old double-double … well, that’s the Biles, since she was the first to do that, too.

2. ‘Kick’ Play

The 2019 season for the Miami Dolphins was largely forgettable, except for one play where a punter found a kicker for a touchdown.

It happened against Philadelphia, a play where the Dolphins sent five players out to the left, four others to the right and had Daniel Kilgore snapping the ball to punter Matt Haack — who was basically in a shotgun quarterback stance. Haack darted to his left and just as the Eagles were about to bring him down he shovel-passed to Jason Sanders, the Dolphins’ kicker who had slipped behind the defense.

Sanders caught it, the Dolphins went on to win, and it was the first time a kicker and punter combined for an NFL touchdown since 1964.

1. Bounce Oop

Just about anyone can throw a lob for a dunk in the NBA, particularly in the All-Star Game.

Golden State’s Stephen Curry raised the bar a little bit this year.

Curry took a pass from Joel Embiid on a fast break and — in less than a second — decided to set up Giannis Antetokounmpo for a dunk. Except a lob would be too boring. Instead, Curry hammered a pass off the court, then watched the ball ricochet several feet above the rim as it made its way toward the Milwaukee star.

Antetokounmpo handled it as if they’d been practicing the play for years, timing his jump perfectly to corral the ball and slam the dunk home.

“Timing was unreal,” Curry said. “His length, finishing it and getting it before it came down … a pretty bang-bang play.”

The pass — and the play — just was a little better than the rest, in a year that had countless unforgettable moments.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Trade Deal With Japan, Including 15% Tariff

DON'T MISS

Why American Jews No Longer Understand One Another

DON'T MISS

Visalia DUI Operation Nets 17 Arrests Over Weekend

DON'T MISS

Storyland Will Sparkle for All Visitors With $1 Million City of Fresno Grant

DON'T MISS

Former Madera Charter School Executive Charged With Embezzling Federal Funds

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Doesn’t Respond to Public Records Requests. Is District Hiding Something?

DON'T MISS

US Appeals Court Will Not Lift Limits on Associated Press Access to White House

DON'T MISS

Feds Award $93 Million to Key San Joaquin River Salmon Restoration Project

DON'T MISS

With Backing From Dyer, Ashjian Reinstated to Measure C Panel

DON'T MISS

Fresno Shooting Leaves One Dead, Authorities Looking for Witnesses

UP NEXT

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

UP NEXT

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

UP NEXT

Uber Named Official Rideshare, Delivery Partner for Los Angeles Games

UP NEXT

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

UP NEXT

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

UP NEXT

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

UP NEXT

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

UP NEXT

How Wimbledon Is Tackling Its Hottest Opening on Record

UP NEXT

Wonderdog Still Barking: Justin Wilson Thrives With Boston Red Sox

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

Storyland Will Sparkle for All Visitors With $1 Million City of Fresno Grant

14 hours ago

Former Madera Charter School Executive Charged With Embezzling Federal Funds

14 hours ago

Fresno Unified Doesn’t Respond to Public Records Requests. Is District Hiding Something?

15 hours ago

US Appeals Court Will Not Lift Limits on Associated Press Access to White House

15 hours ago

Feds Award $93 Million to Key San Joaquin River Salmon Restoration Project

15 hours ago

With Backing From Dyer, Ashjian Reinstated to Measure C Panel

16 hours ago

Fresno Shooting Leaves One Dead, Authorities Looking for Witnesses

16 hours ago

Epstein Files Fight Leads US House Republicans to Start Summer Break a Day Early

17 hours ago

Obama Reiterates Conclusion of Attempted Russian Interference in 2016 Election

17 hours ago

What Do Fresno Families Pay in Taxes? Study Says 11th Lowest Rate in Nation

18 hours ago

Trump Announces Trade Deal With Japan, Including 15% Tariff

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a trade deal with Japan that he said will result in Japan investing $550 bill...

13 hours ago

Containers are pictured at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Trump Announces Trade Deal With Japan, Including 15% Tariff

American Jews are fracturing over Israel’s war in Gaza, as a generational divide deepens between older Jews who see Israel as essential for Jewish survival and younger Jews who view its actions as a moral crisis incompatible with liberal values. (Shutterstock)
13 hours ago

Why American Jews No Longer Understand One Another

14 hours ago

Visalia DUI Operation Nets 17 Arrests Over Weekend

14 hours ago

Storyland Will Sparkle for All Visitors With $1 Million City of Fresno Grant

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Former Madera Charter School Executive Charged With Embezzling Federal Funds

FUSD Fresno Unified paper shredder gvwire
15 hours ago

Fresno Unified Doesn’t Respond to Public Records Requests. Is District Hiding Something?

AP's members leave the U.S. District Court, on the day a judge hears arguments in the Associated Press' (AP) bid to restore access for its journalists to cover press events aboard Air Force One and at the White House, after the Trump administration barred the news agency for continuing to refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

US Appeals Court Will Not Lift Limits on Associated Press Access to White House

Artist Rendering of Sack Dame and Arroyo Canal Project Site for San Joaquin River Salmon Restoration Project
15 hours ago

Feds Award $93 Million to Key San Joaquin River Salmon Restoration Project

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend