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2020 year in sports review
It's been a hell of a year but we've just about made it, even managing to keep some sports going through it all. How about we look back at the best, the worst, the biggest, the weirdest stories of 2020? Even with keeping my eye on the weekly round-up threads, I know I've missed more than a few.
@culturedleftfoot, enjoy the rabbit holes lol
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW FOR THE DALLAS STARS, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS, AND NEW YORK YANKEES
DALLAS STARS
I'll start with the Dallas Stars. We're actually coming up on the start of the next NHL season so, anyone interested, this will double as a primer for the 2021 season. Bear in mind, however, that the Stars are the team I follow least, compared to the Jaguars and Yankees anyway, so my analysis will be slightly more bare.
The Stars got off to a pretty rough start, losing 7 of their first 9 games before a 14-1-1 hot streak got them back into the groove. Despite the hot streak, however, Dallas fired Head Coach Jim Montgomery. At the time, all Dallas would say was that the firing was due to "unprofessional conduct". As it turns out, Montgomery was battling a severe case of alcoholism and his conduct was a result of that although I, personally, haven't seen what the conduct actually was.
Dallas promoted Rick Bowness and the team continued their hot streak, including a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators in the Stars first appearance in the NHL's Winter Classic, a game that takes place in an open air rink. Nearly 86,000 fans attended the game, making it the 2nd most attendant NHL hockey game in the sports history.
The Stars would shock the hockey world with a pretty unexpected Stanley Cup run. Despite being underdogs in every series they played, Dallas would upset the Calgary Flames in six games, the Colorado Avalanche in seven games, Vegas Golden Knights in five games but would lose to the heavily favored Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
Despite the loss to the Lightning, Dallas is clearly on the upswing. They have significantly talented young players like Denis Gurianov, Miro Heiskanen, and Jon Klingberg to go along with veterans like Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
They're definitely not considered a top contender right now, as their Stanley Cup run was considered more of a fluke but the potential is there depending on the further development of players like Gurianov and Heiskanen.
Ultimately, though, Dallas will only go as far as their tandem team of goalies, Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin, will carry them. Both are elite goaltenders and Dallas maximized their performance by rotating them regularly. Ben Bishop, though, will be out until March with injury so Dallas will have to rely on Khudobin(affectionately nicknamed "Dobby") until Bishop returns.
NEW YORK YANKEES
Covid delayed the start of the 2020 season until July 23rd after negotiations between the Players Union and MLB Ownership. The delayed start necessitated a shortened, 60 game season.
The Yankees were considered one of the top teams in the league and a favorite for the World Series, albeit not quite as heavily favored as the eventual winners, the LA Dodgers.
The Yankees had also landed the Big Fish of the Offseason, handing top FA starting pitcher Gerritt Cole a record breaking 9 year/324 million dollar contract to help address what has continually been the Yankees biggest weakness, reliable starting pitching.
The Yankees got off to a hot start, going 16-6 but age, injuries, and inconsistency would bring them down to Earth. They would eventually finish the season with just a 33-27 record and make the playoffs as a Wild Card team. They got through the first round of the playoffs, defeating the Cleveland Indians, in a two game sweep but would lose to their division rival and AL East Champions, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, there were some notable bright spots.
Utility man extraordinaire DJ LaMahaieu would go on to win the AL batting title with his .364 average. He's currently a free agent and the Yankees have stated to want him back, however, DJ's asking price(5 yrs/125 million) may be too rich, even for the Yankees, who currently have two 300+ million dollar contracts on their books in the aforementioned Cole and slugger Giancarlo Stanton(10/325 million) and multiple young players, like slugger Aaron Judge, that will soon be free agents.
Luke Voit and his barrel chest lead the Majors in home runs with 22 in just 60 games. For stretches of the season, Voit and LaMahaieu formed the bulk of the Yankees offense and, for lack of a better phrase, carried the Yankees to the postseason. Voit did this despite being noticeably injured as every hit he had, he was limping along the basepaths. It became a running joke in the Yankees subreddit that Voit was hitting all the homeruns to avoid having to run the bases at all.
Gerritt Cole was largely worth his massive contract, pitching to a 7-3 record and a 2.84 ERA, over 12 starts, and 94 strikeouts in just 73 innings pitched. He gave up a few more homeruns than most fans, and likely Cole himself who is a notoriously fierce competitor would've wanted, but that can partially be chalked up to Yankee Stadiums smaller confines where it's just 314 feet down the right field line and 316 feet down the left field line.
Gio Urshela continued to prove that his 2019 wasn't a fluke as he put up a solid .298 BA while playing solid third base.
Promising young right handers Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt made the jump to the Majors, getting valuable experience. While neither set the league on fire, Garcia made a case for consideration to be in the starting rotation for this upcoming season.
Some notable disappointments however......
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton continue to be plagued by injuries. Both are among the leagues most gifted power hitters but both have struggled to stay on the field with neither player even playing in half the teams games. Judge played in 28 games, Stanton in 23.
Serious regression from Gary Sanchez. Once considered the Yankees catcher of the future, Sanchez exploded onto the scene in 2016 hitting .299 with 20 homeruns in just 53 games and seriously challenged for the Rookie of the Year award despite playing in less than a third of the Yankees games. He looked to be on the path to joining the Yankees long history of excellent catchers with a strong 2017 season that saw Sanchez make the All Star game......but it's been down hill from there. To quote a favorite movie....."The god damned plane has crashed into the god damned mountain!" Sanchez has fallen off a cliff logging batting averages of .186, .232, and .147 the last 3 seasons and his defense has been just as bad with accusations of laziness from fans. There are some fans who believe that Sanchez's regression was triggered by the Yankees decision to move on from hard ass manager Joe Girardi, a former catcher and known as a strict disciplinarian not afraid to get into a players face, to the more laid back Aaron Boone who is nearly the polar opposite. At times, Sanchez has looked just....lost....at the plate often striking out in 3 pitches like he's stepping up to the plate for the first time in his life.
Gleyber Torres dealt with injuries and also regressed to the tune of a .243 BA and lower power numbers than previous seasons. Once considered to be the Yankees shortstop of the future, Torres struggled defensively and a move back to second base may be in his future.
Brett Gardner's age started to catch up to him as well. The remarkably durable and consistent career Yankee posted the lower batting average of his career. While he's still fast and plays excellent defense, his career is clearly winding down and he may be relegated to the fourth outfielder spot in favor of Clint Frazier who is younger and better offensively.
James Paxton was another Yankee pitcher that many fans had hoped would be a solid addition to the rotation after Paxton was acquired in a trade with Seattle but Paxton's Yankees tenure ends with a whimper as injuries limited him to just five starts on the year and he's currently a free agent
As the Yankees prepare for the upcoming season, there are more questions than answers. Will they resign DJ LaMaheiu, easily their best hitter of the last two seasons? Will they address the rotation? Aside from Paxton, veteran pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is also a free agent. The Yankees could probably survive not having DJ in their lineup as scoring runs has never been their weakness but not addressing the rotation could be a major mistake. Problem is that there really isn't any slam dunk free agent pitcher. Trevor Bauer is the number one pitcher on the market but his demands may be too high. Corey Kluber is a low risk, high reward option but so far, the Yankees haven't made any moves towards him.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Ooooooh boy....Jacksonville.....going into the 2020 season, I had cautious, but optimistic, hopes for my Jaguars. For most of their existence, the Jaguars have been one of the worst teams in the NFL, with a winning percentage higher than just the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Outside of the Brunell years of the 90s, quarterback has largely been a black hole of mediocrity for the Jags and every attempt to address the position has failed. Brunell gave way to Byron Leftwich, a first round pick in 2003. Leftwich was replaced just four seasons later by David Garrard. Admittedly, the Leftwich and Garrard years were at least competitive Jags football with a couple playoff appearances but neither was able to see any long term success although Leftwich did get a Super Bowl ring with Pittsburgh so he probably got the last laugh. Garrard was replaced by another first round pick in Blaine Gabbert whose lasting impression on most Jaguars fans is his meme worthy "Whoa there motherfucker" that was picked up on a recording during a game and Gabbert being incredibly afraid of pressure. Gabbert would be replaced by Chad Henne who was then replaced by Blake Bortles, yet another first round pick. Bortles would last 4 seasons but at least had the distinction of helping the Jaguars to the 2017 AFC Championship game. In 2019, Bortles was replaced by Nick Foles, a Super Bowl MVP with the Eagles who Jacksonville handed a nearly 90 million dollar contract to. Foles last 1 quarter before getting injured against the Chiefs and, even when healthy later that year, was largely ineffective.
This gave rise to Minshew Mania. Gardner Minshew III, the man, the myth, the legend. The man who bore such a striking resemblance of Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite that ESPN ran a commercial with both of them, side by side.
Minshews rookie season wasn't exactly record breaking but he performed well enough that the Jaguars traded Foles and decided Minshew would get a chance at the starting QB for the 2020 season.
Despite a rousing Week 1 win against the Indianapolis Colts, Minshew and the Jaguars fell flat on their face pretty much every week after. Minshew regressed hard, his lack of arm strength and tendency to get happy feet kept him from replicating his rookie year success. Veteran Mike Glennon and sixth round rookie Jake Luton saw time as starters after Minshew missed time with a broken thumb and then missed more time as punishment for lying about it.
They currently have the worst record in the NFL at a whopping 1-14 and, with the New York Jets win over the Cleveland Browns, secured the 1st pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
And most Jaguars fans are OVER THE MOON FOR IT
I highlight all this to bring emphasis to just bad the Jaguars quarterbacks have been for the last 20 years. Despite a few seasons of average to above average play, the Jaguars have been one of the worst teams in the league on a consistent basis. Every decision they've made has blown up in their faces. Indeed, I would need an entire post just by itself to adequately explain just how bad things have gone.
But 2021..........2021 may finally bring salvation. 2021 may finally bring the prophesized Chosen One, he of the long flowing, golden blonde locks......the Jaguars own version of King Anduin Wrynn
Trevor Lawrence of Clemson.
Lawrence put himself on the map as a freshman when he lead Clemson to a pure, unadulterated dismantling of the, at the time, invincible Alabama juggernaut in 2018. Such a victory had every NFL coach watching Lawrence the same way Palpatine watched Anakin.....watching Lawrence's career with great interest and salivating at the sheer potential Lawrence possessed. Lawrence has every thing an NFL coach could want. He's got size at 6'6", 230 lbs. He's got enough mobility to make plays with his feet. He has excellent mechanics and can make every throw with accuracy.
He's considered the most "sure thing" prospect since Andrew Luck. Luck was considered the most sure thing since Peyton Manning who was considered the most sure thing since John Elway.
Lawrence is looked at as the type of quarterback that could lead a hapless team like the Jaguars to the brightest future Jacksonville could possibly envision.
The Jaguars are going into 2021 with perfect storm of advantages that could turn the franchise around from laughingstock to powerhouse, IF everything works out.
They have the number 1 pick in the draft with an additional 1st rounder and two second rounders and a whopping 11 picks in total. They'll go into Free Agency with 80 million in cap space. Despite their 1-14 record, there is some real talent on the roster. Undrafted running back James Robinson broke the undrafted rookie record for all purpose yards in a season and likely would've broken the record for rushing yards in a season if he hadn't been shut down the last two weeks with injury. WRs DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault are a potent duo with Chark possessing number one WR potential and Shenault looking like he could be the Alvin Kamara of WRs.
There are pieces in place for Jacksonville to finally escape the Hell of Football Irrelevancy it's found itself in for the better part of the last 20 years.
Will they do it? Who knows. The Jaguars owner, Shad Khan, has not endeared himself in recent years due to his apparent infinite patience with GMs and coaches. He finally fired Dave Caldwell and HC Doug Marrone is more or less a lame duck, at this point, as a new GM will most likely want to bring in his, or her, own staff.
So....the Jaguars.....1-14 right now, likely 1-15 after this week......could, if the cards fall just right, be one of the fastest turnarounds in NFL history. A shiny new QB in Trevor Lawrence, a few solid draft picks, a new coaching staff, and a ton of money to play around with in Free Agency has Jaguars fans brimming with hope we haven't had in a loooooong time.
Paging the following people to request one story or highlight from 2020 in these respective areas:
@Micycle_the_Bichael - NHL and/or the Browns
@muh_tilde - Red Sox
@pistos - baseball
@krg - MMA
@AugustusFerdinand - sumo and/or F1
@moocow142 - marbula one :P
@spit-evil-olive-tips - NFL
@mrbig - Brazilian football
@MetArtScroll - cricket
@Erik - NFL
@Ellimist - Dallas Stars, Jacksonville Jaguars, and/or the Yankees
By no means does it need to be anything comprehensive, anything that stands out from this past year will do. If nothing else it's for me to have a few rabbit holes to go down later.
I'm not sure I can provide a specific, high-profile highlight on the year, but I do have some general thoughts on the second half of the 2019-2020 NBA season:
Obviously, it was impacted by COVID, as was the rest of the world, and all other major sports. One aspect of the impact COVID had was the essential elimination of the distinction between home team and away team. Everyone played in the same venue, with the same lack of fans in the arena. As such, teams that established themselves and earned what should have been home-team advantage going into and through the playoffs end up not having any of the usual advantages afforded to the home team: loud, raucous fans, and the psychological edge their support can provide; familiarity with a home venue, home venue audio support (walk in music, audio sound effects when they score, hype announcer, DJ), mascot. Some argued that this had an effect on the Toronto Raptors' performance (even if just a modest one), as they exited in the second round.
That all said, I think applause rightfully goes to Lebron James who continues to cement his legacy as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, with another championship victory to add to his hall-of-fame credentials. He's repeatedly shown that all he needs is an adequate supporting cast, and a couple high-calibre teammates, and he can get to the finals, year after year.
Kudos to the NBA for maintaining what seems to be one of the lowest COVID infection rates among the major sports, which has allowed them to finish the 2019-2020 season, and be in a position to execute the 2020-2021 season.
I’m afraid I’m a bad Brazilian and don’t follow any national soccer whatsoever these days. I’m a fan of Esporte Clube Bahia[1] if you’d like to know. I do understand the sport to a somewhat high degree, and played it a lot in my youth (I’m a great defender), but there are just too many options for entertainment nowadays. I follow the World Cup, so please do not remember the numbers 7 and 1 in my presence (really traumatic). As a general comment, Brazilian soccer is currently stuck in time, and I wonder if we’ll ever become a global power once again.
Can @kuromantis please help me out here? :)
[1] currently serie A, the elite division. An achievement in itself for a club from my region
No. Outside the world cup, like you, I don't follow anything related to sports unless it comes to me via PE class.
I remeber crying really loud during that game, lol.
I also cried, but on the inside :(
Cricket: A look back at the year 2020 by ESPNCricInfo
A standout story for me is also one of the last major cricket events before COVID restrictions started: Women's T20 World Cup in Australia, whose final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was played in front of more than 86 thousand spectators.
Top Ten Marble Racing Moments in 2020
This seemed like a good summary article from Axios last week: In photos: A year in sports unlike any other
They're pretty much just a footnotes there, but two stories stood out for me. The one that would have been the first to come to mind for me, without a doubt, is the death of the legendary Diego Maradona in late November at the far-too-soon age of 60. Arguably the most famous Argentine in history, the soccer icon's body lay in state for three days of national mourning at the president's official residence. Millions broke the months-long covid restrictions in Buenos Aires to pay their respects, catch a glimpse of the body's motorcade, or simply share their grief. The impact was also deep around the rest of the footballing world, with Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas's suggestion that Maradona's number 10 be retired by every team around the globe only sounding kinda hyperbolic. While he was alive, recognition of his brilliance on the field was usually tempered by criticism of his complex, troubled character off it - his flaws were often played out in front of the world's media, even after retirement - but as one of the best posthumous tributes I've heard put it, "I don't care about what Diego did to his life, I thank him for what he did to mine." I'm not Argentine, and I never even had the opportunity to really witness his brilliance, but this felt like losing Kobe times 20. The world truly seems a little less bright without him.
Also, Liverpool finally won the league for the first time in 30 years, overcoming
the Qatari oil fund'sManchester City's recent dominance. It had become quite the stick with which to beat fans of the English giant, even though they had won major cup titles in the meantime. I'm not particularly enamored with their style of play but it's a very strong, hard-working, balanced team that has performed well since Klopp took over, so fair play to them.As mentioned, I mostly follow the NFL (and MLS). And through the lens of the Green Bay Packers, as I am a shareholder of the team.
The COVID thing with the NFL has been kind of a joke. The league had months head start on other leagues and still seemed to fly by the seat of the their pants on what type of enforcement was going to be done. When games would be rescheduled, delayed, played and who could play in or even coach in those games. It's lead to some weird things competitively, but it's tough to say if it's truly stopped a competitive team from reaching the playoffs or even affected seeding too much. But it's definitely had some effects that may have rippled, such as delaying and changing the Steelers schedule a lot, which may have given them some competitive advantages that translated into being the longest undefeated team this year.
Maybe the most clear cut case is the Browns, who had to play last week with most of their coaching staff and wide receivers out because of COVID. The game was not delayed nor rescheduled and the Browns, considered pretty good this year for the first time in a while, saw them lose to the Jets, considered arguably the worst team in the league this year. The Browns' chance of making the playoffs went from the high 80s to mid 50s off that one loss. We'll see how things shake out tomorrow. While the Broncos had to use a practice squad wide-receiver as a quarterback once due to not delaying or rescheduling a game, the Broncos are not considered a competitive team this year and probably would have lost that game anyway. But, it just shows how completely random these choices have been that the Broncos had to play in such a dire situation while the league went out of its way to reschedule Steelers games.
The other big thing from COVID has been a lack of in person crowds. Many stadiums have few to zero fans. Some are running at a fairly high percentage, but even then, no full houses. This has resulted in defense, which usually feeds off of the crowd noise disrupting offenses have been overall down in efficiency across the board. Offenses have been much better. This is shown in everything from stuff like Aaron Rodgers' famous hard count harming teams while playing away games (something that rarely happens) to the overall decline in statistical effectiveness of defenses.
As far as the non-COVID stuff, this year has been pretty notable in that last years champs, The Chiefs are actually looking really hot. The Patriots are pretty much the only team in last couple decades that have been able to put together any sort of dynasty-like consistency, usually Super Bowl winning teams are picked over by free agency, they have a lot of good players and someone will pay those players more to get them. That said, a lot of teams that have traditionally been of questionable competitiveness are finally on the rise. The Buffalo Bills won their division for the first time in like two decades. The Browns, as I mentioned, are looking hot for the first time in a long time. The Buccaneers have long been near the bottom of the league are looking great with a good defense and Tom Brady at the helm of the offense. Meanwhile, former powerhouse division, the NFC East, is now the saddest division in football.
The playoff picture will be set in stone tomorrow. This is the first year of a new format where an extra team from each conference makes the playoffs, which I am not a fan of to be honest. One of the things I like about the NFL is that making the playoffs is an actual accomplishment. They don't let half the league into the post-season. It's still fairly stingy, but 14 teams is now almost half the league (32 teams). Anyway, only one team gets a bye week going into the post season now. So that number one seed means more than just home field advantage. Though, as I mentioned above, COVID has affected home field advantage in a meaningful way.
Packers specific stuff:
A lot people, myself included, thought this team would regress to the mean. They seemed to outperform their talent a bit based on how a lot of games went last year. Including getting wiped out in every game they played in the state of California while winning a lot of games by only one score. Instead, Aaron Rodgers has had a career renaissance; it seems very likely he'll win the league MVP this year after some people considered him a little washed up (hell, the team themselves traded up in the first round of the draft for a quarterback as insurance in case he was).
Overall, second year coach Matt LaFluer has done incredibly well. It's a shame coach of the year in the NFL is more "doing well with a team many people thought weren't good" rather than an award based on actual coaching because it seems like LaFluer should at least be in conversations for coach of the year. He's had record setting hot start in terms of wins and losses in first two years, putting him in near legendary company. His offensive schemes don't force Rodgers to play hero ball, like former coach Mike McCarthy seemed to and instead focuses on quick release pass, natural picks in the secondary and 1-2 punch running game that mixes up power rushing and speed based stuff. His pre-snap motion style offense (similar to what others in his coaching tree do) gives his veteran quarterback a wealth of knowledge about the defense every play in addition to putting playmakers in a spot to win.
The emergence of Davante Adams as the best wide-receiver in the league has also flipped the script a bit for this team. While Adams as been all over the map (including being arguably the worst WR in the league with a good amount of snaps in 2015), he's come a long way into forcing himself into being the census number one in the league.
The defense has been a point of concern for some people, but honestly Mike Pettine just runs a very conservative scheme. Pettine's scheme takes away the big play and forces the offense to make safer choices and hope that either someone on the defense makes a big play or someone on the offense screws up. It's a defense that gives up a fair amount of yards and then clamps down when there's less field to have to defend. It has, on occasion, given up more than 30 points, which is pretty unacceptable. But honestly I am more concerned about the offense, who often comes out very flat in the 3rd quarter, sometimes only getting a first down or two the whole fifteen minute and...
The special teams. They're bad. Very bad. If it wasn't for Mason Crosby mostly hitting all his field goals, there would not be a single bright spot to this unit. They don't get any yards on kick and punt returns. They give up huge returns regularly. The punter is very streaky, sometimes looking great for stretches and other times barely getting 30 yards in the air. And while Crosby has been good on field goals, he's missed a concerning number of extra points. Also, the long snapper seems to be not great either. It's just a complete mess.
All that said, they are probably the strongest team in the NFC. They can prove it by beating the middling Bears tomorrow. The Saints look good and the Buccaneers gave them fits earlier in the year, but I think a Super Bowl appearance is theirs to lose.
Well the 2020 red sox season was a microcosm of the 2020 itself. I first posted on TIldes sports thread about the red sox failing to re-sign their top player Mookie Betts. Red sox also lost their top pitcher Chris Sale, so you knew this was going to be a tough season for the team. And it was very much that. With a win percentage of .400, this was the worst season for the team since 1965 (and 12th worst overall since the first seaon in 1901). I probably spent the least time watching the sox since I was a kid, not because I'm some fair weather fan or didn't have time, but because it was a borderline unwatchable team. I would tune in for most games, only to shut of the game in disgust by the 3rd or 4th inning. The team wasn't terrible offensively (11th in runs scored) but the pitching was so abysmal that even games they score 9 or 10 runs the would end up losing.
The positive aspect of the season is that with reduced spending, they were able to get under the salary cap and reset their luxury tax (this penalty goes up every consecutive year above the salary cap). This means they can go back to spending stupid money to put a functioning team together. Teams with huge budgets like the red sox and yankees are able to rebuilt rather quickly in this sport, so the pain should be relatively short lived. To some recent examples of this, in 2012, the red sox finished last in their division. In 2013 they won the world series. In 2014 and 2015 they were once again last in their division, but won the world series again in 2018. Now they are back to being the worst, but you can see how easily they have bounced back in the past. I'm not say they win the world series any time soon, but they should at least be competitive (or at least watchable) in a couple years if not by next season.
Another positive is that Mookie Betts was able to win the championship this year with his new team the dodgers. Just like my ex-girlfriends I just want him to be happy :p Also he made significant contributions to the team's playoff run, whereas he had been criticized for somewhat disappearing during the red sox 2018 championship run. Luckily during that run enough other sox players stepped up that Mookie's lack of contribution wasn't a real issue. It was something critics would point to, so it was good to see him shut some of those people up this year.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming year. Chris Sale will be back in at least some capacity and it can't possibly be a worst season than last year right? Right?
answering @culturedleftfoot 's call.
Hmm... well, I suppose the biggest thing that happened in MMA this year was Khabib retiring(as much as Dana White doesn't want that to be true) after completely dismantling Justin Gaethje. Really... the forward pressure Khabib put on Justin was fuckin' scary and was supposed to be what Justin did to Khabib! I was confident Khabib would win, but I didn't think he would do it while eating Gaethje's shots and walking him down. Gaethje looked reallllly sharp for five rounds against Tony Ferguson (his fight before this), and he looked totally sapped after one round of Khabib. And, until the end of the round, he didn't even get wrestled much! This was Khabib's first fight after his father died due to Covid-19 complications and you can see how much it was weighing on him after the fight in his explosion of emotion.
Jon Jones finally? moving to heavyweight might be the next big thing.
Since @culturedleftfoot appears to be a stalker I guess I'll weigh in on the wide (no pun intended) and wonderful world of...
SUMO!
For those that aren't familiar professional sumo has tournaments (basho) every other month (odd numbered), the top divisions has 42 wrestlers (rikishi), divided into five ranks, each rikishi has one bout per day for 15 days straight. 2020 was an exciting year in the ring for mostly good reasons with a number of firsts/rarities, but also some low points as would be expected of the year. If anything it was a free-for-all with a different champion for every single tournament.
January - Holy crap, what a great story/way to start the year! This tournament is all about Tokushoryu, a 33 year old (about when they start retiring due to slipping performance) journeyman rank-and-file rikishi that finds himself at the lowest rank in the top division. After a pretty normal start for him the first two days (one win, one loss) he puts together four wins in a row to bring him within three of an overall winning record (kachikoshi) to keep a spot in the top division and the pay boost that comes with it, about all that can be expected of him going into this tournament. Then on the 7th day of the basho news reaches him that his mentor and college sumo coach passed away suddenly at 55. A fighting spirit is released within him (and he'll get the fighting-spirit prize for it) that the other rikishi don't yet know is coming. Day after day, win after win made them take notice. The final day, Tokushoryu faces Ozeki Takakeisho, the highest ranked rikishi in the basho (both yokozuna had bowed out of the tournament due to injury); if Tokushoryu loses he forces a playoff bout (there's no tying for first place), if he wins he take the Emperor's Cup and a lot of prizes and money with it... [Warning, understandably emotional crying fat man may trigger feelings you didn't know you had.] He wins! The first time someone at his rank has won the tournament since 1939 and the first time someone from his prefecture has won in 98 years! His humor, emotions, underdog story, and approachability make him international news. He's not the best rikishi, he probably won't be around for too many more years, he'll probably settle in at the bottom third of the top division rankings, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a champion in both the ring and our hearts.
March - COVID makes its presence known worldwide and for the first time in history, sumo is done in an empty arena, zero spectators, with only the minimum necessary staff to make the tournament happen. It's an odd and oddly personal way to view it. No cheering fans, clapping, or shocked gasps from the crowd. You can hear the wrestlers breathing, can hear salt land in the ring (dohyo), every slap echoes through the arena, and it's the last time this year to see either yokozuna complete a basho (more on this later). Going into the last day the two yokozuna were tied for the lead making the winner of their bout together the tournament champion as well. Yokozuna Hakuho defeated Yokozuna Kakuryu, extending his winning record to an amazing 44 championship titles and continuing his well deserved title as the greatest sumo wrestler of all time (he has pretty much every record that matters in sumo).
May - 28 year old wrestler Shobushi, the first rikishi to be confirmed to have contracted coronavirus on April 4, dies of COVID-19 on May 13, the first active rikishi to die in over a decade. He is given a funeral that is usually reserved for sumo elders, we mourn, and the May tournament is rightly cancelled while Japan is in a national state of emergency and no useful testing is available. It is only the second time a tournament has been cancelled since WW2. Wrestlers are banned from visiting other stables for training/practice, the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) extend even heavier protocols on wrestlers and staff than the general public.
July - With tests available, quarantine working, Japan's mask wearing culture in full force, sumo returns with fans in the stands, socially distanced and at a maximum 25% capacity, and in Tokyo only. Typically the tournaments are carried out at various arenas around the country with half in Tokyo and the other half in Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyushu respectively. Except for the March basho (and May obviously), all will be held in Tokyo this year to minimize travel related spreading of the virus. Newly promoted Ozeki Asanoyama seems to be demonstrating that he is worthy of the rank, but Terunofuji had something to prove. Terunofuji is a former ozeki (2nd to top rank) that after suffering massive knee injuries and illness had dropped to the second to last division, a place typically reserved for high school kids to get their start, where there is practically no one in the stands to watch you, and no salary or prize money to be made. In July he reached the top division again after nearly two years at the bottom, practically unheard of to return to the top division after dropping that far, regaining muscle and learning new techniques that work with his ailing knees. He's tall and as strong as ever, lifting wrestlers larger than he by their belt and throwing them out of the ring. He wins July with a 13-2 record, the two yokozuna both drop out before the basho ends, it's the last they'll be seen this year. Abi, a perennial thorn in JSA's side as he tends to bend the rules expected of rikishi, is removed from competition partway through the tournament by his coach. It's later revealed that he has been violating JSA COVID protocols, he submits his resignation (partway serious, partway symbolic for the shame he's caused) and it is rejected, instead he's docked half his pay for the next five months, his stablemaster is docked 20% of his pay, and he's suspended for three tournaments with all of his expected matches being listed as losses thereby making him lose rank. He is currently in the Makushita division, the hardest division to get out of, and will have to fight his way back into the paying ranks. "Don't fuck with the JSA, we docked a yokozuna's pay for clapping."
September - Tournament continues much like July with 25% max capacity. Shodai gets the championship this time! He was one win from the cup in January and July making it look like it would be a always-the-bridesmaid year for him, but the win and outstanding performance handed him a promotion to ozeki, the second one this year giving us three rikishi that are within reach of the yokozuna rank, if they can get the wins.
November - Audience capacity is allowed to double to 50% of maximum. Both yokozuna are out (and get a "warning" from the JSA explained in a previous comment chain here) and the two newly promoted ozeki, Shodai and Asanoyama drop due to injuries early in the tournament. This left the sole ozeki in the tournament as Takakeisho who wasn't disappointing before the others dropped out, but certainly was expected to perform very well with everyone else at or above his rank missing. However on the last day his opponent was the rising-from-the-ashes phoenix Terunofuji mentioned earlier. Takakeisho is a "pusher-thruster" and despite his shape being reminiscent of a cross between an egg and a panda (short and round) he is incredibly strong and usually pushes nearly anyone out of the ring with seemingly little effort, however Terunofuji seemed to surprise him with his resilience and Takakeisho was slammed down by Terunofuji. This wasn't the end though, as that loss made his record the same as Terunofuji and therefore required an immediate playoff between the two. In the playoff match Takakeisho stops doubting himself and makes it clear that while Terunofuji's comeback is the story of the year, there's a reason he's one step away from the top rank (video is of both matches). Do not fell bad for Terunofuji though, he is now a sekiwake, one rank below his previous best of ozeki and if he returns there he'll be the first rikishi to ever come back from the lowest divisions to do so.
Since November Kakuryu has finally obtained Japanese citizenship and can retire with full benefits (see previously linked thread for info). Also three stables have had COVID outbreaks, and yokozuna Hakuho has tested positive. Two of the stables and Hakuho have all tested positive within the last few days as cases surge in Japan, just as they are in most parts of the world, and there's a risk that the January 2021 (set to start 5 days from this comment) tournament is cancelled either because of the outbreaks by the JSA or if Tokyo/Japan goes back into lockdown.
If it goes forward there's a very solid chance that the March tournament will have Takakeisho as a new yokozuna. Kakuryu doesn't have to compete now that he has citizenship and can announce his retirement at any time, Hakuho is out due to COVID, and the standard to be promoted to yokozuna is winning two tournaments in a row at the ozeki rank. Takakeisho won November so if he wins January then he hops to the top rank at just 24 years old. The other two ozeki, newly promoted Shodai and Asanoyama, having missed much of the November tournament will need to get a minimum of 8 wins to maintain their ranks or face demotion.