The year 2010 featured another exciting year in the world of sports.  A near Cinderella story, a city desperate for a distraction and a country coming together for the summer's biggest event highlighted some of 2010's best-remembered sports stories.

The year started with perhaps sports' most important injury. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy's first quarter injury against Alabama in the national championship game paved the way for the 'Tide's first title since 1992.

One month later, Drew Brees and a resurgent New Orleans Saints team made the city forget about Hurricane Katrina relief efforts at least for one night with a 31-17 Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

As one heavyweight after another fell at March Madness time, Ali Farokmanesh's famous three pointer became overshadowed by a small school from Indianapolis.  Butler, a #5 seed from the Horizon League, tugged at America's heartstrings while advancing to the national championship - and almost winning. Gordon Hayward's half-court heave nearly completed the miracle run in a rare tournament where the losers will be remembered more than the winners.

The Patrick Kane scored the game-winning goal in overtime of game six of the Stanley Cup finals to give the Chicago Blackhawks their first NHL championship in 49 years. Chicago's opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers, defeated the Boston Bruins earlier in the playoffs after being down 3-0 in the series.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, the two most stories franchises in NBA history, met on the hardwood in the first NBA Finals series to go seven games since 2005. The Lakers ultimately walked away champions for the second straight season.

Who can forget the 2010 World Cup?  After a dramatic tie against England and a disappointing but controversial tie against Slovenia, the U.S. men's soccer team appeared to be on their way out after a lackluster 92 minutes against Algeria.  But Landon Donovan's miracle goal in extra time gave the U.S. a 1-0 win and propelled them to the knockout stage, where they would eventually lose in overtime to Ghana.

The San Francisco Giants used pitching and great defense to dominate in the playoffs after clinching the division on the final day of the regular season. The Giants broke the third longest World Series drought in Major League Baseball with the win.

But the Giants weren't the only ones making baseball headlines in 2010. The year saw a slew of no-hitters (and one that wasn't), as well as a playoff no-no by Roy Halladay.

Jimmie Johnson won an unprecedented fifth straight Sprint Cup Championship, Brett Favre finally sat out a game due to injury, Cam Newton fought critics and rumors to win the Heisman trophy, the Vikings played their first football game outdoors in 29 years (the same year the Twins opened their new outdoor ballpark), and of course, Tiger Woods returned to golf, losing his number one ranking in a year for him to forget.

There were plenty of other highlights and lowlights during the season. Hopefully 2011 brings more of the same excitement.