2007
This is a month-by-month recap of key events in the sports world for 2007.
<< See 2006's Key Events
[edit] January
- January 1: Boise State University beats the University of Oklahoma, 43-42, on a statute of liberty play in overtime, winning the Fiesta Bowl. Boise State becomes only the second non-BCS conference team to win a BCS bowl.
- January 8: The University of Florida upsets and embarrasses the Ohio State University, 41-14, to win college football's national championship.
- January 9: Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- January 11: David Beckham announces that he will leave Real Madrid to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
- January 11: The New York Daily News reports that Barry Bonds had tested positive for amphetamines at some point during the 2006 season and that Bonds had initially cited a supplement he had received from the San Francisco Giants teammate Mark Sweeney as a possible reason for the positive test. Testing rules established in 2006 had required that first positive tests must remain confidential.
- January 27: Serena Williams defeats number one seed Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open finals, 6-1, 6-2. It was Serena's 3rd Australian Open title and 8th Grand Slam overall. The 81st ranked player going into the Open, Williams also became the third-lowest ranked player in history to capture a Grand Slam title.
- January 28: Roger Federer defeats Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4 to win the Australian Open men's title. It was his third Australian and tenth Grand Slam title.
[edit] February
- April 2: The Florida Gators defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes to win their second straight NCAA Men's National Basketball Championship.
- Bruce Froemming umps behind home plate for the opener between the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners, tying Bill Klem's major league record of 37 seasons as an umpire.
- April 8: With a one-over 289, Zach Johnson wins The Masters by a margin of two strokes.
- April 11: Charges of rape, pending against members of the Duke University lacrosse team, are dropped.
- April 15: To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first major league game, dozens of players wear his league-wide retired number, 42. The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of six teams whose entire roster wore number 42 for their games.
- April 18: Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitches a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers, becoming the team's first pitcher since Wilson Alvarez in 1991. It was also the 16th no-hitter in franchise history.
- April 20: Bruce Froemming umpires at first base in the Cleveland Indians-Tampa Bay Devil Rays game, passing Bill Klem to become the oldest umpire in major league history (He was 67 years and 204 days old).
- April 22: Four players of Boston Red Sox hit four consecutive home runs against Chase Wright of the New York Yankees in the third inning. This was the third time that any team was able to hit four home runs in a row, and the second time the same pitcher surrendered four straight home runs (the other being Paul Foytack) Manny Ramírez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek hit the home runs.
- April 25: Media reports of an illegal dog-fighting ring at Michael Vick's residence first surface.
- April 28: With the first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select JaMarcus Russell, quarterback, the Louisiana State University. Brady Quinn, who was number one in some earlier mock drafts, falls to the Cleveland Browns at number 22.
- April 29: Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki performs the 13th unassisted triple play in MLB history, catching a Chipper Jones line drive, tagging second base to force Kelly Johnson out off the bag, then tagging out Edgar Renteria in the 7th inning of an 11-inning 9-7 Rockies victory over the Atlanta Braves.
- April 29: St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs is postponed due to the death of Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock early that morning.
- July 7: Venus Williams defeats Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1 to win Wimbledon women's title. Williams and Bartoli are the two lowest seeds to meet in a final, 23rd and 18th respectively.
- July 8: Roger Federer defeats Rafael Nadal 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2 to win his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. He ties Bjorn Borg for the most consecutive Wimbledon titles.
- July 9: Vladimir Guerrero beats out Alex Rios to win MLB's Home Run Derby in Pittsburgh.
- July 10: The American League beats the National League in the MLB All-star game, 5-4. Seattle Mariners CF, Ichiro Suzuki, wins the games MVP award, in the game he hit the first inside-the-park HR in all-star game's long history.
- July 20: The New York Post reports that the FBI is investigating an NBA referee for wagering on basketball games. The referee is later revealed to be Tim Donaghy.
- July 22: Padraig Harrington won The Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links in a playoff over Sergio Garcia.
- July 26: Skip Prosser, basketball coach at Wake Forest University, dies.
- July 30: Hall of Fame football coach Bill Walsh dies.
[edit] August
- August 5: Michael Irvin, Gene Hickerson, Bruce Matthews, Charlie Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Roger Wehrli get elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
- August 12: Tiger Woods wins his 13th career Major championship, the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club.
- August 15: Tim Donaghy, the disgraced NBA referee, pleads guilty to charges of conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce, with sentencing set for early 2008.
- August 25: Michael Vick pleads guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to operate an interstate dogfighting ring.
[edit] September
[edit] October
[edit] November
[edit] December
