The New York sports year started with a Giants Super Bowl victory over the Patriots and a parade up the Canyon of Heroes. None of our other pro teams went all the way, but the Devils came close, losing to the Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals (remember those?) after beating the Rangers in a scintillating Eastern Conference Final. The year also brought Linsanity and Tebowmania to the Big Apple, the Nets across two rivers to Brooklyn, the first no-hitter in Mets history courtesy of Johan Santana and much more. The Post’s beat writers relive the 2012 highlights and lowlights of the New York teams:
Jets quarterback Tim Tebow (Getty Images)
Raul Ibanez (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
Mets pitcher Johan Santana (
)
Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (AP)
(Getty Images)
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (Anthony J. Causi)
Devils goalie Martin Brodeur (NHLI via Getty Images)
(AP)
Tom Coughlin
Tim Tebow
Raul Ibanez (APAPCharles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
Tim Tebow
Raul Ibanez
GIANTS
PATRIOT GAMES REDUX
A furious pass rush assaulting Tom Brady. A late-game comeback engineered by cool-hand Eli Manning, complete with a pass for the ages to Mario Manningham to set up a last-minute, go-ahead touchdown. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. The Giants go for the gusto and the glory in Indianapolis to win Super Bowl XLVI.
FOR STARTERS, A DUD
As Super Bowl champs, the Giants are given the honor of hosting the NFL Kickoff game, a mid-week, prime-time affair featuring the team that won the title the previous season. The champs had been 8-0 in this game, but the Giants couldn’t uphold the tradition. Their 24-17 loss to the Cowboys was a sign this would not be an easy season.
REALITY TRUMPS THE GAMES
Several Giants were displaced from their homes by Hurricane Sandy, and in the aftermath players volunteered their time in hard-hit areas such as Staten Island and the Jersey Shore. Perhaps drained a bit, the Giants lost 24-20 to the Steelers in the first game after the storm. Following the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Conn., Victor Cruz wrote the name of Jack Pinto, a 6-year-old killed in the attack, on his cleats and gloves for the following game. Cruz and the Giants struggled and lost, 34-0, in Atlanta.
MISSING SACKS
Heralded as the best defensive line in the league, the group that led the Giants to glory in 2011 returned, but the dominance never arrived. The sacks and production for Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora were down, and as a result the entire defense often sagged and sputtered.
NO PUT UP, SO SHUT UP
The scenario was eerily similar to 2011: Win their last two games, get into the playoffs. Two days before Christmas, the Giants made a mess of things in Baltimore, losing 33-14 to all but assure there would be no Super Bowl defense.
— Paul Schwartz
JETS
MIAMI MELTDOWN
The 2011 season actually ended on New Year’s Day 2012 with the Jets losing 19-17 to the Dolphins to miss the playoffs. The bigger story, though, was wide receiver Santonio Holmes fighting with teammates and getting benched. This led to the revelation of just how fractured the Jets locker room was and how deep the rift was between Holmes and quarterback Mark Sanchez.
TEBOW TIME
After a brief flirtation with Peyton Manning, the Jets brought in another quarterback, trading for Tim Tebow on March 21. The Jets immediately said Sanchez remained the starter and Tebow would be used in a variety of ways other than traditional quarterback. The move generated a ton of buzz and coverage during training camp. When the season arrived, it became clear the move was a dud. Tebow barely played, but remained a constant topic of discussion. He never started at quarterback for the Jets, and there is no chance he’s back with the team in 2013.
OUCH!
The Jets suffered two major season-ending injuries in back-to-back weeks. First, All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis tore the ACL in his left knee in the third game of the season in Miami and did not play again. Revis, generally regarded as the best player on the team, had surgery and is expected to be ready for next season.
A week later, Holmes suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury in his left foot, making an already shaky receiving corps shakier.
BUTT UGLY
The Jets embarrassed themselves on national TV on Thanksgiving night when they lost to the Patriots, 49-19. They gave up a stunning 21 points in 52 seconds in the second quarter. The lowlight was Sanchez’s “buttfumble” when he ran into guard Brandon Moore’s backside and coughed up the ball, which was returned for a touchdown. The play became an instant YouTube hit and was even included in comedian Adam Sandler’s act in the Hurricane Sandy benefit concert.
BENCH MARK
Jets coach Rex Ryan finally sent Sanchez to the bench against the Cardinals on Dec. 2, bringing in Greg McElroy. Ryan went back to Sanchez the following week, but benched him again after a five-turnover performance against the Titans on Dec. 17. The move casts doubt on Sanchez’s future with the team. It also sent Tebow into a fury, as he was passed over for McElroy the following week against the Chargers.
— Brian Costello
YANKEES
WAITING TO MOVE
After a slow start to the offseason, the Yankees made three bold transactions late in the winter. In January, top prospect Jesus Montero was shipped to Seattle in a package for Michael Pineda, who was expected to help anchor the rotation behind CC Sabathia before shoulder surgery knocked the right-hander out for the year. The Yankees ended up relying on free-agent signee Hiroki Kuroda, another January addition, as well as Andy Pettitte, lured out of retirement in March.
MO GOES DOWN
Never before did shagging fly balls during batting practice seem so treacherous. Mariano Rivera was going through his typical pregame routine on May 3 in Kansas City when he tore his right ACL. Rafael Soriano was superb in place of Rivera, and the season-ending injury helped lead to Rivera’s decision to return for another year in 2013.
ICHIRO COMES ABOARD
With Brett Gardner unable to play most of the season because of an elbow injury, the Yankees made another trade with the Mariners, this time for future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, who was rejuvenated in The Bronx, hitting .322 after the trade and playing well in the playoffs.
PAINFULLY QUIET
They blew a 10-game lead before clinching the division on the final day of the season and then outlasted the Orioles again in the ALDS. Those triumphs seemed like a distant memory after the Yankees sleepwalked through an ALCS sweep at the hands of the Tigers. In a Game 1 loss in which Ichiro and Raul Ibanez (a postseason longball miracle worker) hit home runs to tie the game in the ninth, Derek Jeter suffered a fractured left ankle and was lost for the remainder of the series.
A-ROD’S HIPPY DAYS
Already with a surgically repaired right hip, Alex Rodriguez learned in November he would need another procedure, this time to repair a torn labrum in left hip. It likely will knock the third baseman out for at least the first half of 2013. The Yankees, determined to get under the $189 million luxury tax threshold that goes into effect in 2014, won’t be able to spend their way out of it. That limitation has led brass to sign a number of aging veterans to short-term deals, including a one-year pact for Kevin Youkilis to replace Rodriguez.
— Dan Martin
METS
JOHAN’S NO-NO
After going 8,019 games without a no-hitter since the franchise’s inception, the Mets finally got one on June 1, with Johan Santana’s gem against the Cardinals. It may have come with a price tag: Santana, coming off shoulder surgery, remained in the game to throw 134 pitches and struggled in several of his ensuing starts before being shut down in August.
WELCOME, MATT
With the starting rotation in need of a jolt, rookie Matt Harvey arrived from Triple-A Buffalo on July 26 and made an immediate impact. The right-hander struck out 11 Diamondbacks in his major league debut and finished the season 3-5 with a 2.73 ERA in 10 starts for the Mets. He will be a key component of the rotation in 2013.
BYE, BYE, BAY
The final year of Jason Bay’s contract was bought out in November, ending the left fielder’s disastrous tenure with the Mets. Bay, at four years and $66 million, was the biggest free-agent bust in team history. With the buyout, the Mets deferred a portion of the $21 million Bay was owed, giving the organization more financial flexibility for 2013.
WRIGHT ANSWER
David Wright is positioned to finish his career with the Mets after signing an eight-year contract worth $138 million. It came a year after the Mets never seriously pursued Jose Reyes and watched the shortstop sign with the Marlins for $106 million. The 30-year-old Wright already is the Mets’ all-time leader in hits and RBIs, but his resume is incomplete without a world championship ring.
CY YOUNG TO SAYONARA
R.A. Dickey became the Mets’ first Cy Young Award winner since Dwight Gooden in 1985, but that didn’t stop the team from trading him. The 38-year-old knuckleballer was dealt with Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas to the Blue Jays on Dec. 17 for Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, John Buck and Wuilmer Becerra. The trade became complete after Dickey agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $25 million with the Blue Jays.
— Mike Puma
KNICKS
LINSANITY
The 48-day fairy tale that was Linsanity captured the imagination of New York and spread across the world. Desperate for a point guard to run his speedball offense, Mike D’Antoni turned to the undrafted, unheralded kid out of Harvard on Feb. 4 against the Nets, and Lin electrified the team with his bursts to the basket and clutch last-second shots. The Linsanity phenomenon ended March 24 when he had left knee surgery and ended for good when the angered Knicks didn’t match a revamped offer sheet from the Rockets.
D’ANTONI OUT, WOODY IN
With Carmelo Anthony wanting to be traded unless he had assurances Mike D’Antoni wouldn’t be back as coach the following season, D’Antoni made it easy for him and resigned that afternoon. Mike Woodson took over as interim coach, closed the season 18-6 and earned a three-year contract extension.
EXTINGUISHED
After the final buzzer of a Game 2 first-round playoff loss in Miami, Amar’e Stoudemire punched the window pane of a fire extinguisher case on his way to the locker room. The punch sliced up his hand, spilling blood on the locker-room carpet and coming perilously close to severing a nerve, and he needed surgery the next day. Stoudemire missed one game, then played the rest of the series with a bandaged left hand. The $100 million man hasn’t played since — save for one exhibition game — because of knee debridement surgery, but is expected back in early January.
SHOPPING SPREE
The Knicks no longer had cap space, but did their best to restock the roster over the summer. They signed three point guards in Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni to replace Lin, added serviceable swingman Ronnie Brewer, bulked up the frontcourt with Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby and re-signed J.R. Smith and Steve Novak.
FAST START
The Knicks bolted out of the gate 6-0 and were the league’s only unbeaten club for more than a week. They have routed Miami twice by 20 points and upset the Spurs on the road. The national pundits have even given the Knicks their due as real title contenders.
— Marc Berman
NETS
HELLO, BROOKLYN!
After years of anticipation, the Nets finally moved across the Hudson River (and East River) and into Barclays Center, their palatial new home in Brooklyn. Almost overnight, the Nets went from a team that was an afterthought in New Jersey to one that has already earned plenty of headlines and spotlights inside the city limits.
SPLASHING THE CASH
General manager Billy King went on a spending spree this summer, committing more than $330 million of billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s fortune in current and future salaries to dramatically overhaul a talent-bare roster. The Nets have nine new players and 12 who played 20 games or fewer for them a season ago.
BROOKLYN’S BACKCOURT
When the Nets traded for Deron Williams almost two years ago, they risked everything on the hope of re-signing Williams this summer in order to make him the face of the Brooklyn franchise. Williams eventually turned down the overtures of his hometown Mavericks to re-sign with the Nets, and said the biggest deciding factor in doing so was the acquisition of six-time All-Star Joe Johnson in a trade with the Hawks.
THE DWIGHTMARE
The final season in New Jersey was dominated from beginning to end by a player that was roughly 1,000 miles away. Dwight Howard openly pined to team with Williams in Brooklyn, and the Nets did everything they could to trade for him. But Howard’s incomprehensible decision to opt into the final year of his Magic contract eliminated the Nets’ chances of signing him as a free agent, and led to him eventually being dealt to the Lakers in August.
RISE AND FALL OF AVERY
Avery Johnson finally got a chance to have a competitive roster two years into his tenure with the Nets after the offseason overhaul. At the end of November, it looked as if he would take full advantage, going 11-4 and winning the Eastern Conference’s Coach of the Month award. But after the team fell into a 3-10 slide in December, the coach suddenly lost his job on Thursday.
— Tim Bontemps
RANGERS
BEASTS OF THE EAST
The Rangers defeated the Flyers 5-3 in Philadelphia on April 3 to clinch first place and the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1993-94. The Blueshirts, who swept the six-game season series against the Flyers — including the 3-2 Jan. 2 Winter Classic victory at Citizens Bank Park sealed by Henrik Lundqvist’s penalty shot save on Daniel Briere with 19.6 seconds remaining — had been atop the East since Dec. 26.
THREE-RING CIRCUS
The Rangers and Devils engaged in a line brawl immediately after the puck was dropped at the Garden on March 19 with all six forwards dropping their gloves. Stu Bickel squared off with Ryan Carter while Brandon Prust took on Cam Janssen and Mike Rupp threw punches with Eric Boulton. Rangers coach John Tortorella screamed epithets from the bench at Devils coach Pete DeBoer over his choice of an opening lineup.
The following day DeBoer called Tortorella a “hypocrite,” referring to the Rangers’ opening lineup for a Feb. 7 matchup in which two fights broke out off the opening draw. The Devils won the ultimate 2012 Battle of the Hudson by defeating the Blueshirts in six games in the Eastern Conference finals.
PAIR OF SEVENS
The Rangers won a pair of Game 7s within 17 days at the Garden, both by the score of 2-1, to advance to the conference finals. The Blueshirts first knocked out the Senators on April 26 to end a bitter first round on scores by defensemen Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. Then they prevailed in the conference semis with a May 6 victory over the Capitals on goals by Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto.
WEE SMALL HOURS
At 12:14 a.m. on May 3, to be exact, it was Marian Gaborik scoring on a centering feed from Richards at 14:41 of the third overtime to give the Rangers a 2-1 Game 3 victory over the Capitals in Washington. The 114:41 of hockey marked the fifth-longest match in franchise history and the club’s longest since 1939. Lundqvist made 45 saves, and five Blueshirts played at least 40 minutes, led by Ryan McDonagh’s 53:17.
NASH TIME PAUSED
After failing at the trade deadline, general manager Glen Sather completed his pursuit of Columbus power forward Rick Nash in July by acquiring No. 61 in a trade for a bounty including Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a first-round draft choice.
— Larry Brooks
DEVILS
VANDERBEEK FINDS $AVIOR
Owner Jeff Vanderbeek fended off persistent creditors long enough to find a new investor able to finance the team’s payments on debts then said to exceed $200 million. Sources say once the lockout ends, the Devils will announce their angel, said to be a Canadian, has received up to a 49 percent share of the team. The Devils were in such straits the NHL advanced the team future revenues.
FINAL HORN
Despite finishing fourth in the Atlantic Division, the Devils survived a 3-2 series deficit against the Panthers in the first round, advancing in overtime of Game 7, before knocking off the Flyers and then the Rangers, again in OT. The Devils’ dream of a fourth Stanley Cup began to dissolve when they lost the opening two games of the Finals to the Kings, both at home and both in overtime. The Devils averted being swept for the first time in team history, winning Games 4 and 5, before falling in Los Angeles in Game 6.
RANGERS KO
Some Devils fans would rather beat the Rangers than win the Cup without beating the Rangers. After falling behind 2-1 in the playoff semifinals, the Devils reeled off three straight victories over the 109-point Blueshirts for their second playoff triumph over their greatest rivals.
HERO HENRIQUE
Despite not making the Devils out of training camp, Adam Henrique became their No. 1 center by season’s end, emerging as a finalist for the NHL’s Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year. Scoring OT series winners against the Panthers and Rangers, Henrique had five goals and eight assists in the playoffs and led the Devils at plus-12.
LACK OF ZACH
Despite keeping Martin Brodeur, Bryce Salvador and Johan Hedberg, the Devils lost captain Zach Parise to his native Minnesota as an unrestricted free agent. Parise signed a $90 million deal with the Wild, despite what was described as an ultra-competitive bid by Lou Lamoriello.
— Mark Everson
ISLANDERS
BROOKLYN BOUND
The Islanders found a way to get out the Nassau County red tape, announcing they will be moving to Barclays Center in Brooklyn starting with the 2015-16 season, once their lease at Nassau Coliseum expires.
JOHNNY ON THE SPOT
John Tavares emerged as one of the best players in the league, scoring
31 goals with 50 assists while making his teammates look a lot better. The first overall pick in 2009 can now be the cornerstone of the franchise, signing a surprising six-year, $33 million contract extension before the season.
THE DROUGHT CONTINUES
The Islanders finished with 79 points, second to last in the Eastern Conference, and missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The franchise that was a dynasty in the 1980s, winning four straight Stanley Cups, hasn’t won a playoff series since 1993.
DP LOSES ANOTHER SEASON
The albatross of Rick DiPietro’s mammoth contract still looms over the franchise. The goalie played just eight games last season because of an assortment of injuries, bringing his total to 47 in the past four seasons. Under contract until the 2020-21 season at $4.5 million a year, he is a prime candidate for the proposed amnesty clause in a new CBA.
THE SEVEN Ds
General manager Garth Snow spent all seven of his draft picks on defensemen, with 6-foot-3 Canadian Griffin Reinhart being the team’s choice at No. 4 overall.
— Brett Cyrgalis