10 Things We've Learned so Far in 2016: Sports Edition
You might have known the Oklahoma City Thunder were good, but be honest. At the start of the NBA playoffs, did you think they would win two games in San Antonio, beat Gregg Popovich and crew and take the 73-win Golden State Warriors to seven games?
The Thunder were better than a lot of people thought.
This year in sports, around six months old, has already provided many lessons. Fans found out things they might not have known—or they at least got more evidence for things they suspected.
How are dynamics changing in UFC? What is the real status with baseball's fun level?
Find out the answers to these sports questions and more—if you haven't already.
Cam Newton Is Human, After All
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Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton led his team to a 15-1 regular-season record in 2015 and a berth in Super Bowl 50. His Superman celebrations, affinity for the Dab and infectious personality took over the league. He threw for 35 touchdowns, ran for 10 more and ran away with the MVP Award.
And yet, Super Bowl 50 showed a startlingly human side of Newton fans had yet to see much of. Despite heading into the game as the favorite, the Panthers were more or less handled by defensive juggernaut Denver Broncos.
Newton threw for 265 yards and no touchdowns in the game, was strip-sacked twice and had a hard time keeping his composure on the sidelines. He faced criticism for his lackluster demeanor at the postgame presser. A Broncos win wasn't the shock of the century, but few would have predicted a Panthers breakdown of that caliber.
"We picked a really bad day to kind of have a meltdown," said Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, per Will Brinson of CBS Sports.
None of this makes Newton a bad person or a bad football player. What it does make him is human.
Matchups Might Be More Important Than Titles in the UFC
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Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz fought at welterweight at UFC 196, despite the fact that neither usually fights at that weight class—McGregor had usually fought at featherweight and Diaz at lightweight. Diaz won by second-round submission, but a rematch is scheduled for UFC 202.
Before 2016, Cris "Cyborg" Justino was kept out of UFC largely because of her weight class—the former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion fights at 145 pounds, while the UFC's heaviest weight class for women is 135.
Ongoing back-and-forth with UFC fighter Ronda Rousey and Cyborg made fans clamor for a matchup in the Octagon, but weight was always the issue—Rousey fights at 135.
And while Cyborg's UFC debut didn't come against Rousey, it did happen—at 140 no less—against Leslie Smith at UFC 198. Cyborg won by first-round TKO in just 1:21.
Dave Doyle of Yahoo Sports wrote: "The fans have spoken loud and clear that in 2016, they enjoy seeing fun fights every bit as much as they enjoy title bouts."
Winning 22 Grand Slams Is No Cake Walk
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Serena Williams won three Grand Slams in 2015, bringing her career total to 21, just one shy of Steffi Graf's 22 and three short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24.
Titles have proved more elusive for Williams in 2016, however. In January, Williams fell to Angelique Kerber—6-4, 3-6, 6-4—in the Australian Open final. In June, it was Garbine Muguruza who upset Williams to take the French Open final, 7-5, 6-4.
Williams was nagged by an abductor injury but said, "I think at the end of the day I didn't play the game I needed to play to win and she did," per Nick McCarvel of USA Today.
Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, added, per McCarvel: "This 22nd is difficult, but the 17th and 18th were difficult too. It's normal, you cannot play a Grand Slam final for history the same way as any other. So it's going to take the time that it's going to take. But we're going to do it, we're going to make it."
Sports fans have seen Williams win so often over the years, at times it felt almost given. And yet this first half of 2016 has clearly shown that anyone who thought Williams would coast and pass Graf was wrong.
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Rio Turned out to Be Worse Than We Thought
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Rio de Janeiro was selected as the 2016 Olympic city way back in 2009, and even then there were concerns.
At the time, Juliet Macur of the New York Times wrote, "Geography, though, was Rio's strongest point. It helped the city overcome concerns about security in the Brazilian City. There were also concerns that the country would be overextended because it is hosting the 2014 World Cup."
Surprise—those issues are still real seven years later. Two months out, those and other serious issues plague the 2016 Olympic city. In January, Will Connors of the Wall Street Journal called them a "carnival of unusual problems." They include:
- Economic recession
- Impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff
- A virus (Zika) carried by mosquitoes that is particularly dangerous for pregnant women
- Water safety
- Security and crime
Some are calling for the postponement or even cancellation of the Games. What we've learned in 2016 is not that Rio was a poor choice—but that it was an extremely poor choice.
The Cubs Might Be the Best Team in Baseball History
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At the end of 2015, people knew the Chicago Cubs were good. That's not news. The "loveable losers" won 97 games and went to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2003. Ace Jake Arrietta won 22 games and the NL Cy Young.
But did anyone realize the 2016 version would have a realistic shot at the all-time regular-season wins record?
Offseason additions to the roster included outfielder Jason Heyward, infielder Ben Zobrist and pitcher John Lackey—all with at least one All-Star Game under their belts.
On June 6, the Cubs won their 40th game, a figure that put them on pace to win 116 games, which is, incidentally, the major league record. The 1906 Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners each hit that mark.
Did you like those 73 games the Golden State Warriors won? Buckle up—baseball is shaping up to have some record chases of its own.
Rany Jazayerli of The Ringer wrote: "The 2016 Cubs might actually be able to end the franchise's immovable title drought — and emerge as the best team in baseball history."
Related: Baseball Is Definitely Fun
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Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper has a campaign going to make "tired" baseball "fun again."
Whether the campaign is having any impact or not, one thing is clear: Baseball is definitely fun, folks.
Yoenis Cespedes and Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets rode into spring training on horses. Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon dressed as a hippie and drove into camp in a retro conversion van.
Already this season, fans have seen a plethora of bat flips and hilarious fake-outs. For real, how fun was that time Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips pretended to tag Cleveland Indians infielder Juan Uribe out at second base? Hilarious.
And while boxing-ring-worthy brawls are not necessarily "fun," there's no denying their ability to drive conversation. Not everyone agreed when Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor smashed the face of Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista—was it a sucker punch, was it awesome, was it violence? Regardless, it got people talking.
And now, there is talk of San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner participating in the Home Run Derby since he told ESPN's Buster Olney on Sunday Night Baseball that he would like to participate. Whaa! It probably won't happen because injury risks and all, but man. That would be fun.
Internet Security Is More Important Than Ever
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Already nearly half gone, the year 2016 has proved even further how important internet security is in sports (and in general, but whatever).
Some internet scam artist was able to con a Milwaukee Bucks employee into handing over the tax information for every 2015 team employee (including players) in May.
Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil had his draft day turned upside down when a hacker broke into his Twitter account and posted an incriminating video. Tunsil, a projected top pick, dropped to No. 13 and likely lost out on millions.
Someone hacked the NFL's official Twitter account and informed fans Commissioner Roger Goodell had died. (He hadn't.)
The technological landscape is dangerous place, people. Stay safe out there.
Maybe the Caps' S--t Just Doesn't Work in the Playoffs
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The Washington Capitals have never won a Stanley Cup. They have made it to the postseason every year but one since 2008, but they have failed to even reach the Stanley Cup Final.
If ever there were a time for the Caps to finally win, 2016 was it. The team went practically wire-to-wire as the best team in hockey, locking up the Presidents' Trophy before the end of March.
And yet, they got bounced out of the playoffs (again) in the second round (again).
Why?
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane famously said, "My s--t doesn't work in the playoffs," per Jon Terbush of the Week. He was talking about Moneyball, but perhaps the underlying principle is true for the Caps as well.
Bleacher Report's Adrian Dater pointed to the hotheadedness of defenseman Brooks Orpik and the zero goals from center Nicklas Backstrom as contributors to the Caps' 4-2 series loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dater also wrote, "And even if changes are made, even if holes are filled and liabilities eliminated, does it really matter? After this team's last decade of playoff futility, should we expect anything more than further disappointment and frustration and more shattered Stanley Cup dreams?"
OKC Was Better Than We Thought
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The Oklahoma City Thunder won 55 games in the 2015-16 regular season. They got the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, but the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs were so dominant all year. No chance the Thunder beat even one of those teams, let alone both—right?
Leading up to the Thunder vs. Spurs in the second-round playoff matchup, a lot of folks picked the Spurs. And why wouldn't they? Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote: "San Antonio has been better all season, they've lost only a single game at home (to Golden State, no less), and they are the favorites here."
Oklahoma City took two games in San Antonio and won the series in six games. Then they went up 3-1 on the Warriors, drubbing the defending champs in Games 3 and 4 by 20-plus points each. Solid defense and the stellar play of center Steven Adams helped, too.
The Thunder—and a combined 17 three-pointers in Game 6 by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson—were perhaps their own worst enemies after that.
Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman wrote: "But the Thunder wasn't able to finish off the Warriors, in part, because of [Kevin] Durant's uncharacteristic offensive inefficiency. KD shot only 43 percent in the playoffs and made only 31 of his 110 threes, a team-worst 28.2 percent clip."
Despite the outcome, those Thunder were better than many gave them credit for.
Actual Miracles Are Possible
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Miracles are possible in sports—not miracles like "the Kansas City Royals won the World Series" (although that was cool), but truly mind-boggling, unbelievable stuff.
Not to keep beating the Leicester City drum, but the small-market club's historic run to the Premier League title is, frankly, worthy of repeated praise.
Leicester nearly faced relegation after the 2014-15 season. One year later, they were crowned champions of England.
Heading into 2015-16, Leicester was 5,000-1 to win the title, making the team perhaps the biggest underdog champion in sports history. According to BBC, bookmakers found the following things more likely than a Leicester title: Piers Morgan becoming Arsenal's manager (2,500-1), the discovery of the Loch Ness monster (500-1, per Paddy Power) and the election of Kim Kardashian as U.S. president in 2020 (2,000-1, per Paddy Power).
New manager Claudio Ranieri represented a comeback story in his own right. Sacked by Chelsea in 2004, Ranieri's replacement, Jose Mourinho, once said, "He is almost 70 years old. He has won a Super Cup and another small trophy and he is too old to change his mentality. He's old and he hasn't won anything," per Mark Doyle of Goal.com.
Yes, Leicester. Just yes.
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