'TWAS the night before Christmas, the wind bit the air,
Snow dusted the landscape, tree branches were bare.
As the year 2015 came to its end,
I sat down at my desk, a poem to pen.
'BOUT the moments that made us stand up and cheer,
The best of the best from the long sports year.
The groundbreaking women like Becky and Jen,
Who crashed through glass ceilings and coached with the men.
ROUSEY tickets, the hottest in town,
American Pharoah's Triple Crown.
Curry's rise to MVP fame,
Athlete kids showing podium game.
BUT it wasn't all triumphs, trophies and wins,
Too often athletes made news with alleged sins.
Sports can be ugly outside the box score.
Think: McDonald, Hernandez, Hardy and more.
BUT let's start at Day One, out in sunny CA,
The Ducks and the 'Noles took the field to play,
With a berth in the title game on the line,
Oregon got the win, puttin' up 59.
OUT at the Superdome, 'Bama-OSU,
Cardale and Zeke packed a mean one-two.
The Buckeyes held on to roll the Tide,
Upending Saban's boys 42-35.
IN Texas the Buckeyes took Oregon down,
The first ever to claim the CFB crown.
Four scores for Zeke, he was on a tear,
Third string QB? Cardale doesn't care.
THE Super Bowl pitted the Pats vs. Seattle,
Glendale would host the epic battle.
We weren't talking schemes or offensive calls,
Pregame was all about Brady's balls.
DEFLATEGATE conspiracies were widespread,
But the Patriots didn't let it get in their heads.
The Hawks had a chance at a game-winning six,
But the call was to pass and Wilson got picked.
IN March there was Madness at Lucas Oil,
Kentucky's perfection the Badgers did spoil.
But down the stretch Wisconsin sank,
Duke won it all over Frank the Tank.
IN Tampa the UConn ladies shined,
Geno tied Wooden, winning a record 10th time.
The Irish couldn't slow Breanna down,
Three straight MVPs and a third-straight crown.
THE NFL draft finally left the East Coast,
After 50 in New York, Chicago played host.
Jameis went One to the Tampa Bay Bucs
While the Titans took Marcus, who starred for the Ducks.
THE Fight of the Century finally went down,
Mayweather-Pacquiao for the welterweight crown.
Floyd got the win, but he's still a loser,
Can't be a real champ if you're an abuser.
APRIL saw Jordan's wild ride start,
His first major victory was a work of art.
Twenty-eight birdies, led from start to end,
That Masters win began quite the trend.
U.S. Open? Speith won. Won at John Deere, too.
Fourth at the British, PGA Champs, No. 2.
No. 1 ranked, the awards went his way,
Oh, and $12 million, not a bad payday.
ON the women's side there's still Inbee Park,
But a young Kiwi gal has challenged her marks.
Lydia Ko, golf's new reigning queen,
The youngest ever No. 1 at just 17.
IN June the Blackhawks rose again,
Their third Cup win since 2010.
In Game 6 Duncan lit the lamp,
Keith, a worthy Conn Smythe champ.
THE Warriors won it all in the NBA,
With the baby-faced assassin leading the way.
LeBron did his best with a hobbled squad,
Matthew Dellavadova was a lightning rod.
CURRY was lights-out, from layups to threes,
Igoudala went from sub to MVP.
But somebody else got all the good press,
Riley Curry. Way up, she felt blessed.
DJOKOVIC was tops on grass again,
Defending his title at Wimbledon.
Serena the winner, still tops in the sport,
Her sixth singles title on Centre Court.
A calendar slam wasn't meant to be,
But Serena still dominated at age 33.
Rowdy Ronda was equally as great,
Just one loss for the butt-kicking bantamweight.
STICKING with women who kick major tail,
What a year for soccer and Abigail.
Wambach, that is, and her U.S. squad,
Kicking ass, taking names, leaving all of us awed.
THROUGH China, through Germany, Japan left to beat,
A hat trick from Carli made the journey complete.
Most-watched soccer game in America, ever!
#SheBelieved, so did we and they're champs forever.
THE Lynx beat the Fever in the WNBA,
Winning at home in front of 18K.
Maya and Silvia, Seimone, too,
Prince partied with them the whole night through.
THE Cubs had a good year, so did the Mets,
But both long-suffering teams, in the end, were upset.
The Royals got hot, their bats came alive,
First 'ship for KC since '85.
THE NBA summer was a blogger's dream,
DeAndre was torn between two teams,
The Mavs and the Clips fought emoji wars.
Clips convinced him to stay by locking the doors.
IN the NFL Chip's moves made fans worry,
Goodbye Foles and LeSean, hello Bradford and Murray.
Suh went to Miami, Harbaugh was fired,
Graham headed West, half the Niners retired.
SOME called Jerry Jones hardened and callous
When he signed Greg Hardy to play in Dallas.
It's greed at its worst and the fans have to pay,
Supporting the league gets tougher each day.
WE lost Darryl Dawkins. Frank Gifford, too,
Moses, Minny, Dean Smith -- adieu.
We said goodbye to Yogi, to Flip, farewell,
So long, Ernie Banks, we'll miss you, as well.
IT'S tough not to get lost in all the despair,
But sports can still give us reasons to care.
Caitlin Jenner inspired, Leah Still, too.
Lauren Hill fought bravely, so did Stu.
WE'LL do it again in the coming year,
More winners, more losers, more reasons to cheer.
Super Bowl 50, a San Francisco treat,
The Summer Olympics in the Rio heat.
NOT just yet, though. This year's not quite through,
We shan't rush ahead, as we're oft wont to do.
Go get some more eggnog and savor this year.
Merry Christmas to all and a hearty "Cheers!"