MICHIGAN SPORTS IN REVIEW: The top moments of the year
Jan. 1 — John David Booty throws for 367 yards and four TDs, leading USC to a 32-18 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Jan. 17 — The Pistons sign free-agent forward Chris Webber after he is waived by Philadelphia.
Feb. 27 — The Red Wings acquire controversial forward Todd Bertuzzi from Florida.
March 15 — Florida State beats Michigan 87-66 in the second round of the NIT.
March 17 — North Carolina beats Michigan State 81-67 in the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
March 17 — Michigan fires basketball coach Tommy Amaker.
March 20 — Rutgers beats Michigan State 70-57 in the second round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
April 3 — Michigan hires John Beilein away from West Virginia to replace Amaker.
April 7 — Justin Abdelkader and Chris Mueller score in the final 18.9 seconds to give Michigan State its first NCAA hockey championship in 21 years with a 3-1 win over Boston College.
April 28 — The Lions select Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson with the second pick of the NFL draft, the fourth time in five years they had taken a wide receiver with their top pick.
May 22 — The Anaheim Ducks eliminate the Red Wings with a 4-3 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.
May 31 — LeBron James scores 48 points, including Cleveland’s final 25, to lead the Cavaliers to a 109-107 double-overtime victory over the Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
June 2 — The Cavaliers eliminate the Pistons with a 98-82 win.
June 12 — Justin Verlander becomes the first Tigers pitcher to throw a no-hitter since 1984, beating Milwaukee 4-0. It is the first no-hitter at Comerica Park and the first by a Tiger at home since Virgil Trucks in 1952.
June 17 — Carl Edwards wins the Citizens Bank 400 NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway.
June 22 — The Red Wings select Canadian defenseman Brendan Smith with the 27th pick of the NHL draft.
June 28 — The Pistons select Eastern Washington guard Calvin Stuckey with the 15th pick of the NBA draft, then select UCLA guard Arron Afflalo 12 picks later.
July 1 — The Red Wings sign Dearborn native Brian Rafalski to a five-year free-agent contract.
July 1 — Brian Bateman makes a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Buick Open, without Tiger Woods in the field, for his first PGA Tour victory.
July 6 — Tigers infielder Neifi Perez is suspended for 25 games for a violation of baseball’s drug policy. Perez is suspended again, for 60 games, on Aug. 3.
July 11 — Chauncey Billups agrees to a four-year contract with the Pistons.
Aug. 12 — Magglio Ordonez hits two homers in the second inning of an 11-6 win over Oakland, joining Al Kaline as the only Tigers to homer twice in an inning.
Aug. 21 — Kurt Busch wins the 3M Performance 400 NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway. Because of rain, the race is the first run on a Tuesday since 1978.
Sept. 1 — Armanti Edwards throws for three TDs and runs for another as second-tier Appalachian State beats No. 5 Michigan 34-32 in one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
Sept. 2 — Tony Kanaan wins the Detroit Indy Car Grand Prix, the first major race held on Belle Isle since 2001.
Sept. 2 — Billups and Tayshaun Prince help the U.S. rout Argentina in the championship game of the FIBA Americas Championships, putting the U.S. into the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Sept. 9 — Curtis Granderson steals his 20th base of the season, joining Wildfire Schulte (1911) and Willie Mays (1957) as the only players to have 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 homers and 20 steals in the same season. Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins joins the group on the final day of the regular season.
Sept. 15 — Michigan routs winless Notre Dame 38-0 for its first win of the season. Both schools enter the game with 0-2 records for the first time.
Sept. 26 — The Tigers beat Minnesota 9-4 in their final home game of the season, moments after being officially eliminated from the wild-card race by the Yankees. The Tigers draw a franchise-record 3,047,133 fans for the season.
Sept. 30 — Ordonez goes 3-for-4 in a 13-3 win over Chicago to finish the season with a .363 average. He becomes the first Tiger to win the AL batting title since Norm Cash in 1961.
Oct. 7 — The Lions score an NFL-record 34 fourth-quarter points to beat Chicago 37-27. Detroit scores via rush, pass, defense and special teams in the quarter.
Oct. 9 — The Tigers announce they will exercise the $13 million option in Ivan Rodriguez’s contract for 2008.
Oct. 20 — Grand Valley State beats Northwood and sets an NCAA Division II record with its 35th win in a row.
Oct. 24 — Rookie guard Rodney Stuckey breaks his hand in the Pistons’ final exhibition game.
Oct. 29 — Tigers trade prospects Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez to Atlanta for five-time All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria.
Oct. 31 — Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya undergoes reconstructive shoulder surgery after saying he was injured helping his parents evacuate their San Diego home during the Southern California wildfires. Zumaya is expected to miss at least half of the 2008 season.
Nov. 4 — The Lions rout Denver 44-7, reaching 6-2 for first time since 1999 — two years before Matt Millen took control.
Nov. 19 — Michigan coach Lloyd Carr says he is retiring after the bowl game.
Dec. 2 — The Wolverines earn an invite to the Capital One Bowl. The Spartans accept a bid from Champ Sports, putting them in a bowl for the first time since 2003.
Dec. 5 — The Tigers acquire All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from Florida for six prospects, including Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin.
Dec. 13 — Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield is among the stars named in the Mitchell Report on the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. The report also says that three former Tigers — outfielders Rondell White and Nook Logan, and second baseman Fernando Vina — used steroids while playing for Detroit.
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