So far the national sports year of 2008 has been very eventful as we recently reached the half-way point. Looking back on the nationwide sports year of 2007 for just a second, I, unfortunately, only have bad memories. We had sad news from Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Pacman Jones, Tim Donaghy (an NBA referee claiming he and others refs fixed games), and of course the Michael Vick situation. Thankfully, that year is in the rearview mirror. Baseball pitcher and Hall-of-Famer Satchel Page was quoted often in his day, but his famous statement “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you,” seems like a great theme for this column.

Fortunately, Page’s quote doesn’t seem to have foretold the 2008 sports year. So far, I can say we have had a great year. An SEC team claimed victory as the LSU Football Tigers won the National Title in January.

Then Brett Favre and his Packers made a run to the NFC Championship game only to lose an overtime thriller to Eli Manning and his Giants. Eli then took on the part of “David” and defeated the “Goliath” in the Super Bowl. The unbeatable New England Patriots fell in the final minute to Eli and the Giants. The Patriots had gone 16-0 during the regular season and claimed both their playoff wins before falling to the road warriors from the Big Apple.

In March we had the famed March Madness, and for the first time in NCAA basketball tournament history, four number one seeds made the final four in San Antonio.

Kansas then came from behind to defeat Memphis in an overtime final to claim the championship. That was just scratching the surface of things to come.

We saw another SEC team as the Lady Vols of Tennessee claimed another national title. As we headed toward summer, we had a possible Triple Crown hopeful in Big Brown. This, however, turned to be a sad turn of events when the horse finished last in the Belmont Stake due to an injury.

Next up was the NBA finals, and all the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird fans from the 1980’s came out of the woodwork to get their rematch as the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers met in the NBA finals.

The Celtics ended their last to first run by claiming the series. Also in June we had the U.S. Open from San Diego when a very determined and injured Tiger Woods nipped the sentimental favorite Rocco Mediate in an 18-hole playoff.

The College World Series had a Cinderella story in one of the lowest seeds ever in tournament play when the Fresno State Bulldogs won the whole ball of yarn in a improbable run.

Wimbledon Tennis had one of the most classic singles finals ever, according to the tennis experts that follow the game. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both battled and competed like no others had ever before.

The Major League Baseball All-Star Classic last week was another defining moment in sports history for 2008. The game lasted almost five hours as the teams played 15 innings and 64 players got to see action in historic Yankee Stadium. Current Yankee shortstop and all-star Derek Jeter summed up the night when he said after the game, “It seemed like the stadium did not want it to end.” It was the last summer classic to be played in the famed stadium called by some the cathedral of baseball. The Yankees will be moving into a new stadium next season. The new version of the House that Ruth built is under construction in the next block.

Baseball rolled out the red carpet for the final performance as 50 former hall-of-famers were in pre-game introductions that evoked many wonderful memories from our youth. Ernie Banks’ and George Brett’s pre-game pep talks to the All-Stars were motivational. It was a great game to be playing in the city that never sleeps. The greatest players in the world dueling at midnight during the middle of the summer after already playing some 90 games attest to the players’ love for the game.

And let’s not forget the unreal performance of Texas Ranger outfielder Josh Hamilton stealing the spotlight in the home run derby with 28 shots. About a dozen of those missiles went over 500 feet. Still to come in 2008 in baseball are the final games in Yankee Stadium, the pennant races, and maybe a Cubs-Red Sox World Series. Other notables still to come are the Beijing Olympics, College and Professional Football and, of course, the outcome of the Brett Favre situation. It has already been a special year in sports with more fun to come. By the way, did you realize this is a leap year, so we had an extra day to enjoy the action?

NOTES ON FAVRE: A personal friend of Favre’s told me he talked to Brett Friday and he said that Brett would be interested in playing for the Saints or Miami if nothing works out with the Packers. He really likes Bill Parcells and could have a lot of fun getting the Dolphins back on track. He would love to play close to home, but the Saints might not be a possible location because of his high salary and the Saints already have a pretty good quarterback in Drew Brees. Favre in New Orleans would be as exciting as having Mardi Gras during football season.