Best of 2007: New England's Quest For Perfection Tops the List

Many people will look back on 2007 as the year when cheating was the top story. Steroids and spygate topped the sports pages for weeks at a time.

Others will see it as the year when superstar athletes were convicted of serious crimes, such as Mike Vick landing in jail.

I, however, do not like to dwell on the negative. As a long time follower of the major sports teams from Boston, this has been a truly amazing year for sports. 

Several stories could have topped the year's best list in any other year:

The Revolution returned to the finals. The Red Sox won their first division title in more than a decade, and followed that up by becoming World Series champions again.

The Celtics traded for Garnett and Allen. As I write this, the Celtics still have the NBA's best record. Not bad for a team that had the second-worst record in the NBA only one season ago.

But as compelling as these stories are, nothing tops the Patriots' quest for a perfect season. The Dolphins 17-0 record is not only one of the oldest records in pro football, but it has been thought to be in the catagory of records that may never be broken.

There were many reasons why a team today could no longer run the table. NFL scheduling has changed since 1972. Better teams play tougher schedules now.

The salary cap and free agency have also changed the landscape. The NFL has done everything within their power to set a landscape where no team can be too good for too long. Parity is the rule—and yet, here we are, five games from perfection.

This has to be the most compelling story in sports as the year winds down. Many of you will be hoping or even praying for the Patriots to fail. Others, like myself will be praying that the Patriots unseat the Dolphins as the most succesful team in as single season.

Either way, everyone will be watching.

This story has all the excitement and drama of athletic competition, with none of the stink of the negative stories that have dominated the sports pages lately.

History in the making, or another champagne toast for the Dolphins—I will be glued to the TV waiting to see how this one plays out.