The Top Sports Teams of 2007

While veiled in controversy and wrongdoings, it is easy to forget the team accomplishments of the 2007 season. From the amazing run of the Colorado Rockies, to the excitement of the Phoenix Suns, to the current undefeated streak of the New England Patriots, 2007 has been a year to remember. But where do the teams ranks in terms of top teams of the year? Let's take a look.

10.) Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB - National League Champions (90-72)

Of all the division champions in baseball, no squad exemplified the world "team" more than the D-Backs. Given their lack of rotation depth behind ace Brandon Webb and the fact that they were the first team to ever win a division with a negative run differential, being outscored by 20 runs on the season, Arizona had no business winning a division, let alone pushing itself to the National League Championship series. However, what it shows is that the Diamondbacks, while being on the wrong end of some blowouts, pulled together and won the close games, accomplishing an amazing 32-20 record in 1-run contests. Not a team to sit on one year's success, the young Arizona squad closes out 2007 by completing trades on December 14th with Oakland for ace Dan Haren and with Houston for Chris Burke and Chad Qualls, fortifying the team's young players with solid veterans that could propel them to the next plateau.

9.) Anaheim Ducks
NHL - Stanley Cup Champions (82-48)

Never in the history of the NHL had a West Coast team brought home a champion. And while they are no longer mighty, the Ducks of Anaheim were the first to accomplish the feat in 2007. It took 14 years for the Ducks to win their first championship, when they beat the Ottawa Senators in five games to take home the cup. The team featured a healthy mixture of both young players and veterans, giving them an exciting squad that could score goals but also played a bruising defense. Probably the biggest take-away from the Ducks season is that it was the ended the streaks of 12 or more seasons without a title for six different players on the team. A feel good story is always great, but when it can be shared with six different players, that's what makes it truly special.

8.) Dallas Cowboys
NFL - NFC Wild Card 2006-07 (9-6)/NFC East Leaders 2007-08 (12-1)

One muffed hold is all that is keeping the Cowboys from being higher on this list. The emergence of Tony Romo in 2006-07 was lost on many people when he mishandled the snap on what would have been the game-tying field goal during their wild-card match-up with Seattle to end last season. However, like a true team, neither Romo, TO, nor the remaining Cowboys allowed one mistake to derail the development of this squad into the powerhouse it now is. Aside from a loss to New England during Week 6, the Boys have been punishing opposing teams, outscoring them by 148 points on the season, behind only New England and Indianapolis in that regard. For his part, Romo has either set or on pace to break every major Cowboys passing mark. Terrell Owens has tied the club record for touchdown receptions. This team is a Super Bowl victory away from being America's Team again.

7.) Colorado Rockies
MLB - NL Champions (90-73)

Sometimes good things are found in the oddest places. Like their Arizona counterparts, the Rockies were a young team thought to be a few years away from contention. However, they dispelled those beliefs on the back of an unbelievable run that saw the team win 14 of their final 15 regular season game, win a one-game playoff with San Diego for the NL Wild Card, and sweep both the Phillies and Diamondbacks in the NLDS and NLCS accordingly on the way to winning 21 of 22 games, carrying the Colorado to their first ever World Series appearance. And while they were swept in the World Series by the Champion Boston Red Sox, no one can push aside the heart that this team showed to claw its way back from elimination and become the one playoff squad that no one wanted to match up with.


6.) Hendrick Motor Sports
NASCAR - 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 15th in 2007 Nextel Cup Season

Faced with the debut of the now infamous Car Of Tomorrow, Hendrick Motor Sports set out early in the season to develop strategies based around the new car and the extra preparation showed for a team that won seventeen of the cup's thirty-six races. When they weren't winning, they were did fine job of keeping themselves in top 10 position, ensuring that three of the four cars would make the Chase For the Cup, with Johnson and Gordon finishing 1-2 to end the season atop the standings. And while the drivers were making all the news on the track, Hendrick as an ownership group made news off it, signing Dale Earnhardt Jr., arguably the most marketable force in NASCAR. Not a shabby move by a team already at the top of the sport.

5.) Phoenix Suns
NBA - Western Conference, Pacific Division Champs (61-21)

After years of teams slowing the game down and defense becoming the standard to win, the Phoenix Suns have jumped out to reintroduce the running game of the eighties and reignited our love of scoring. Pacing the NBA with an average of 110.4 points-per-game in 2006-07, the Suns managed the second best record in basketball, behind only the Dallas Mavericks. Phoenix also became the first team in NBA history to facilitate two win streaks of fifteen game or more when they won fifteen in a row from 11/20/06 to 12/19/06 and then topping that starting a few days later with a seventeen game winning streak from 12/29/06 until 1/29/07. And while the Sun bowed out of the post season unceremoniously to the San Antonio Spurs, the new brand of basketball has caught on and has become the footnote of which the 2006-07 squad will be remembered for.

4.) Indianapolis Colts
NFL - 2006-07 NFL Champions (12-4)

In most years, a team winning a Superbowl would place them as the top sports franchise, given the gravity of the game. While that isn't necessarily so this year, this Colts team didn't do anything to hurt their case either. After stumbling down the stretch and losing three of their last five behind what could only be labeled a porous run defense, the Colts righted the ship in the post season behind the same run defense. After giving up 173 yards per game in the regular season, the Colts trimmed that average by close to 100 yards during the playoffs. After plugging their only hole, the Colts were finally able to get past their archenemy, the New England Patriots. The win in the Super Bowl was the first for Peyton Manning and Crew, and more importantly, was also the first by an African-American coach in the NFL. Not wanting to sit on their laurels, the 2007-08 Colts have run off 12-2 record thus far, becoming the first team in NFL history to win twelve or more game in five consecutive seasons.

3.) Boston Red Sox
MLB - World Series Champions (96-66)

For many Red Sox fans, the memories of 2004 and the end of frustration is still burned sweetly into their memories. So after generations came and went before Boston finally ended their 86-year drought, how sweet must it have been to do it yet again just 3 seasons later? The 2007 edition came out of the gate fast, opening up what was at one point a 14 game lead on the rival New York Yankees in the AL East. However, behind the support of their fans and the best pitching staff in the majors, the Red Sox finally ended the nine-year strangle hold the Yankees held on the AL East crown, by holding on for a two game advantage as the regular season ended. After dispatching of the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim in a first-round sweep, the Red Sox were nearly sideswiped by the Cleveland Indians, before once again rallying back from a 1-3 deficit and moving on to the World Series, where they would sweep the Colorado Rockies. And what does a good champion try to do after taking home the trophy, they keep trying to get better. And what kind of better Christmas present would the Sox like more than acquiring arguably the best pitcher in the game, Johan Santana, just before the end of the year?

2.) San Antonio Spurs
NBA - NBA Champions (58-24)

For everything that the Phoenix Suns stand for, the Spurs remain the opposite, a calculated team that wins by grinding down ballgames and winning in the post. Built around center Tim Duncan, point guard Tony Parker, and small forward Manu Ginobli, the Spurs do thrive off of execution, beating their opponents by making them beat themselves, as evidenced by their league leading 90.1 points against average in 2006-07 and their league leading point differential of +8.4. With their latest championship, San Antonio proved to everyone that they are the closest thing to a dynasty that the NBA has seen since the end of the Jordan era, having captured four of the last nine championships in the NBA. And what's the best way of trying to win number five? The Spurs have gotten out of the gate strong thus far in 2007-08, starting 18-5, second to only the Boston Celtics in this young season.

And the top team of 2007....

1.) New England Patriots
NFL - AFC East Champions (12-4)

Sure, they lost a hard-fought game against the Colts in the 2006-07 playoffs, and then had to watch from home as the Colts won the Championship. But this recognition is based on their accomplishment during the entirety of 2007, and their hasn't been a more dominant team in any sport than the 2007-08 edition of the Patriots. With the Dolphins coming to town, the Patriots have a chance to make history and become the first team ever in the history of the NFL to move to 15-0 during the regular season. How did they get here? First, they made their normal shrewd signings and trades, plugging Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth into the offense, but then made the trade of the century when they sent a fourth-round pick to Oakland for Randy Moss. Next, they're re-writing the record books, on pace to set NFL marks for scoring in a season, scoring differential in a season, passing touchdowns in a season, and receiving touchdowns in a season, among others. They rank first in total offense, by nearly 30 yards per game. They rank fourth in total defense. They rank second in time of possession. They've converted SEVENTY-FOUR percent of their fourth-down conversion attempts. What else more do I have to say? Its not hard putting this team at the top of a list of best teams of 2007, when they may end up being known as the best team of all-time!

And that's it, the best teams of 2007. Many of the teams have the opportunity to be on this list in 2008 as well, but that list will have to wait.