Most Dramatic Sports Moments of the Week

It was a very interesting week in sports, with a much more even distribution of action across a number of different leagues.

The NBA and NHL both moved into their respective championships—and craziness predictably ensued—but the MLB also provided more than its fair share of action with a bunch of thrilling finishes.

Here are the most dramatic moments in sports from the past week.

Hamilton Hits Walk-Off

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Josh Hamilton has had a rocky road since he left the Texas Rangers a couple years back, but he sure did make a good impression in his return on Sunday.

The Boston Red Sox had a 3-2 lead heading into the ninth but made the mistake of intentionally walking Prince Fielder before Hamilton came to the plate as a pinch hitter.

Hamilton proceeded to smash a ball into the opposite gap, and Fielder got on his horse and slid head-first across home to complete the walk-off. The win sent Texas above .500 for the first time since last June.

Lightning Advance to Stanley Cup

Short of a last-second comeback effort or overtime thriller, it doesn't get much more dramatic than the Eastern Conference Final Game 7 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers last Friday night.

Henrik Lundqvist was good in net but was surprisingly bested by Ben Bishop, who made 22 saves and was perfect in the biggest game of his life.

Neither team scored in the first two periods, but Alex Killorn finally broke through for Tampa Bay a couple of minutes into the third period.

Both teams battled hard for the next nine minutes or so, but Ondrej Palat put in the insurance marker at 11:17 and helped send his team to the Stanley Cup Final.

Brewers and Diamondbacks Go to 17

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The Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks played nearly an entire second game on Sunday, needing 17 innings to decide a winner.

It was the longest home game in Milwaukee since 2003, and the Brewers persevered thanks to a walk-off home run from catcher Martin Maldonado. 

The Diamondbacks jumped out to a 5-1 lead after scoring in the top of the fourth, but the Brewers charged back, and it went into extras tied at 6-6. Neither team scored in extras before Maldonado's walk-off.

Warriors Outlast Cavs in OT

Game 1 of the NBA Finals was everything it was supposed to be and more, with excitement and drama from the opening whistle to the final minute.

It was a game of runs, and LeBron James certainly put up his best effort with 44 points on 18-of-38 shooting, but Golden State's relentless attack proved to be too much for Cleveland.

Stephen Curry scored 26 points alongside Klay Thompson's 21, and each hit a number of big shots to help keep the Warriors in the game and force overtime.

Then in OT, Golden State absolutely dominated, scoring nearly at will while the Cavs started a miserable 0-10 from the floor before a meaningless late layup from LeBron gave them their only points of extra time. The Warriors ended up winning 108-100, but it was far closer than the final score indicated.

Djokovic Defeats Nadal

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Rafael Nadal is nearly unbeatable on clay and had only ever lost to one competitor (Robin Soderling) in the French Open.

That changed in Paris on Wednesday when Novak Djokovic took him down in straight sets in one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire year thus far.

Djokovic, who came into the match as the favorite, played a nearly flawless game and was simply too much for Nadal to handle, winning 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 to move on to the semifinals. 

Blackhawks Steal Game 1

The Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning certainly got off to a riveting start on Wednesday night.

The Blackhawks' calling card all playoffs has been their experience, so it's ironic that their two goals came from guys who were not even with the team a few months ago.

After Alex Killorn got Tampa Bay up 1-0 with a beautiful redirection, nobody could find the back of the next for roughly 50 straight minutes.

But then, with six and a half minutes left in the third period, rookie Teuvo Teravainen scored on a fantastic shot, and Antoine Vermette followed it up less than two minutes later with a perfect wrister of his own to give Chicago a humongous Game 1 win. 

Phillies Come Back and Walk Off

The Philadelphia Phillies have not had a whole lot to cheer about thus far in 2015 but sure treated fans to a heck of a game on Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

As has become routine, the Phillies found themselves in a big 4-1 hole heading into the sixth inning but scored a run to cut the lead to two.

Then in the bottom of the eighth, Maikel Franco hit a two-run bomb to tie it up at 4-4, and the Phillies held the Reds scoreless in the top of the ninth.

Odubel Herrera led off with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and finally scored the game-winning run on a broken-bat single by Darin Ruf to give Philadelphia the walk-off victory.

UNC Allegations

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill finally released the NCAA's notice of allegations this past week, and they're a slamming group of accusations directed toward the academic-related practices of the school regarding their student-athletes.

Deadspin has the full breakdown of the five allegations here, but they essentially implicate a philosophy instructor and the women's basketball team, former members of the African and Afro-American Studies department and the school as a whole with providing impermissible benefits and demonstrating a lack of institutional review.

It remains to be seen what type of punishments will come from these, but it's hard to imagine them being anything but harsh.