The Top Five Sports Stories of 2009

As a young athlete growing up in Philadelphia and running for an Olympic track coach of a father, I was always taught that it's not how you start out in a sporting event - (or life for that matter), but how you finish, that really counts.

Having said that, the year of 2009 brought sports fans everywhere some big news throughout the course of the year, but nothing like the international bombshell that rocked the sports world quite literally to close out the year and decade.

This look back at the top five sports stories for 2009 will give sports fans everywhere reason to pause, smile, laugh or cry, depending on how you feel about each particular story.

With the new decade less than two weeks from getting under way, let me get started.

No. 5 Nadal Loses On Clay

Rafael Nadal had never lost on the red clay of Roland Garros, boasting a spotless 31-0 unbeaten record while winning four consecutive French Open Finals dating back to his French Open debut on May 23, 2005,

All that changed on May 31, when Nadal ran into red-hot Swede Robin Soderling, who cut down the fiery Spanaird in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open.

It took the 24-year-old Soderling 3 1/2 hours to complete what many viewed as an impossible task, beating then then No. 1-ranked Nadal 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) with an impressive display of aggressive and often phenomenal play.

The loss ended Nadal's bid to become the first player in ATP history to win five consecutive French Open titles and gave current World No.1 Rogerer federer the impetus to beat Soderling in the final and win his first-ever French Open title, completing the career Grand Slam in the process.

No. 4 Usain Bolt Stars

2009 was the year Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the only man to hold the world and Olympic records in the 100 and 200 meter events at the same time, forever imprinted his legacy on the sport of professional track and field.

At the 2009 World Championships in August, just one year after the setting world records in both events at the Beijing Olympics, Bolt, (what a name huh?), broke his won world records by recording a mind-numbing 9.58 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.19 seconds in the 200 meters respectively.

No. 3 A-Rod Admits Steroid Use

On February 7, New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez admitted that he used performance-enhancing steroids from 2001-2003, extending Major League Baseball's disgraceful link to the illegal substances that have forever tainted what was once the most beloved sport in America.

Rodriguez, the highest paid player in the sport, and one of its biggest celebrities, took a massive hit from the media, other major league ballplayers and of course, commissioner Bud Selig.

Rodriguez was vilified both nationally and internationally - until he led the New York Yankees to the 2009 World Series title. Now, all of A-Rod's performance-enhancing indiscretions seem to be forgotten, but back in February, it was earth-shattering news.

No. 2 Federer Sets Career Grand Slam Mark

In one fell swoop, Federer won Wimbledon in one of the greatest matches in tennis history, set the career mark for men's grand slam singles titles in a career and took back the No. 1 world ranking he lost to Rafael Nadal just one year prior.

Federer took out American, Andy Roddick for the third time in a Wimbledon Final, beating the game Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14 in one of the all-time epic matches ever.

All-time greats Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras, among others, have both endorsed Federer as the greatest player of all-time.

No. 1 Tiger Woods Infidelities

While all of the aforementioned sports stories of 2009 will likely be forgotten by many at some point in the near future, the No. 1-ranked sports story of 2009 will likely never be forgotten by millions of people, both sports fans and non-sports lovers alike.

When world No.1 golfer Tiger Woods was injured in the early morning hours of Nov. 30, it set off a cataclysmic series of events for the world's most beloved golfer and the sporting world's richest athlete.

The accident occurred just two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods was seeing a New York night club hostess and that they were spotted together in Melbourne where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.

Well, needless to say, the successive series of events that followed blew up into one of the biggest sports stories of the decade.

Woman after woman came out of the woodworks over a three-week period, saying they too had been dating Woods at one point or another during the time he was married to his wife Elin Nordegren.

Now, Woods has taken a leave of absence from the PGA Tour to get his life and affairs (no pun intended) in order.

What will become of the PGA Tour during Woods' absence remains to be seen, but needless to say, Woods' troubles which look like they will extend well into 2010, have taken center stage as the No. 1 sports story of 2009.