{"id":477810,"date":"2025-12-29T14:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/477810\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:31:14","slug":"here-are-the-best-n-y-sports-moments-of-the-quarter-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/477810\/","title":{"rendered":"Here are the best N.Y. sports moments of the quarter-century"},"content":{"rendered":"

For New York sports<\/a> fans, this millennium began with a bang.<\/p>\n

What better way to ring in the 2000s than with the first \u2014 and, to this point, only \u2014 World Series between the Yankees<\/a> and Mets<\/a>?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of many sports highlights to grace the city over the past quarter-century, even if the ultimate goal of a championship has eluded many of New York\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n

As 2025 comes to an end, the Daily News looks back at New York\u2019s best sports moments since 2000.<\/p>\n

SUBWAY SERIES<\/p>\n

The players and coaches from those Yankees and Mets teams often reflect on the pressure they felt to win that 2000 World Series and claim city bragging rights.<\/p>\n

In the end, it was the Yankees who emerged victorious in five games for their fourth championship in five years.<\/p>\n

Derek Jeter was the MVP of that World Series, during which he hit .409 with two home runs, including a leadoff shot to begin Game 4 at Shea Stadium.<\/p>\n

BOONE WALK-OFF<\/p>\n

Aaron Boone was mired in a 2-for-16 slump and began Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS on the bench.<\/p>\n

But three innings after he entered that game as a pinch-runner, Boone delivered one of the biggest swings in Yankees history.<\/p>\n

Boone\u2019s walk-off home against Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in the 11th inning of Game 7 sent the Yankees back to the World Series and eliminated the rival Red Sox in the process.<\/p>\n

And while the Yankees would lose that World Series to the Miami Marlins in six games, Boone\u2019s epic blast immortalized him in Yankees lore.<\/p>\n

HELMET CATCH<\/p>\n

Nobody expected Eli Manning and the underdog Giants to have a chance against Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in February 2008.<\/p>\n

But the Giants pulled off the ultimate upset<\/a>, thanks in large part to Manning\u2019s fourth-quarter escape act on 3rd and 5 and his 32-yard heave to David Tyree, who pressed the ball against his helmet to somehow complete the instant-classic catch.<\/p>\n

That all-time highlight set up Plaxico Burress\u2019 game-winning touchdown catch as the Giants won, 17-14, and the Patriots finished with an 18-1 record.<\/p>\n

\"GLENDALE,Plaxico Burress made the game-winning touchdown catch in Super Bowl XLII. (Photo by Streeter Lecka\/Getty Images)
\n2009 WORLD SERIES<\/p>\n

The Yankees endured a championship drought \u2014 at least by their standards \u2014 after that 2000 title, including losses in the 2001 and 2003 World Series and blowing a 3-0 lead in the 2004 ALCS.<\/p>\n

But 2009 marked a return to glory for the Yankees, who added CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher during the preceding offseason.<\/p>\n

That quartet contributed to the Yankees\u2019 27th championship in their first season at the current stadium.<\/p>\n

But nobody was bigger than Alex Rodriguez, who batted .365 with six home runs and 18 RBI during that playoff run.<\/p>\n

Hideki Matsui was named World Series MVP after hitting three homers in the six games against the Philadelphia Phillies.<\/p>\n

Mr. 3,000<\/p>\n

Always one with a flair for the dramatic, Jeter joined MLB\u2019s exclusive 3,000 hit club with a home run off of Tampa Bay\u2019s David Price on July 9, 2011.<\/p>\n

That was part of a 5-for-5 afternoon for Jeter, who would finish his career with 3,465 hits \u2014 the sixth most in MLB history.<\/p>\n

LINSANITY<\/p>\n

Jeremy Lin came out of nowhere.<\/p>\n

Undrafted out of Harvard in 2010, Lin spent time with the Golden State Warriors, Dongguan Leopards and Houston Rockets before he joined the Knicks as a down-the-bench backup point guard in December 2011.<\/p>\n

But Lin erupted for 25 points against the Nets on Feb. 4, 2012 \u2014 kicking off an incredible run that captivated New York like few have before.<\/p>\n

Lin scored at least 20 points in eight of the next nine games, including 38 in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He drilled a game-winning 3-pointer against the Toronto Raptors less than two weeks after his breakout performance.<\/p>\n

Lin averaged 20.9 points per game in that month of February.<\/p>\n

And while the journeyman never matched that level of production again and ultimately returned to the Rockets that summer, February 2012 will live on forever as \u201cLinsanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

SUPER BOWL REMATCH<\/p>\n

The Patriots got their chance for revenge against the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012.<\/p>\n

But the Giants, after another improbable playoff run, followed the same formula to beat Brady, Bill Belichick and the Pats once again.<\/p>\n

The Giants\u2019 pass rush disrupted Brady all night, setting the stage for another Manning game-winning drive. Mario Manningham\u2019s 38-yard sideline catch with 3:39 left in regulation was the lasting highlight in this one.<\/p>\n

The Giants won, 21-17, as Manning claimed his second Super Bowl MVP.<\/p>\n

LONG-AWAITED NO-HITTER<\/p>\n

It took more than five decades for a Mets pitcher to throw a no-hitter.<\/p>\n

On June 1, 2012, Johan Santana ended that streak in dramatic fashion, throwing 134 pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals to record the first Mets no-no in the franchise\u2019s 8,020th game.<\/p>\n

The no-hit bid was aided by a missed call from umpire Adrian Johnson, who ruled a fair ball off the bat of then-Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran to be foul.<\/p>\n

Mets left fielder Mike Baxter later made a running-catch to preserve history.<\/p>\n

In the end, Santana accomplished something that Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan and Jerry Koosman never did with the Mets.<\/p>\n

MELO MADNESS<\/p>\n

Carmelo Anthony never won a championship, but he certainly delivered his share of epic moments with the Knicks.<\/p>\n

None was more epic than Jan. 24, 2024, when Anthony broke the Madison Square Garden record with a career-high 62 points against the Charlotte Hornets.<\/p>\n

The previous record was 61, which the Lakers\u2019 Kobe Bryant set in 2009.<\/p>\n

END OF AN ERA<\/p>\n

The Yankees\u2019 Core Four gradually called it quits over a three-year stretch, with Jorge Posada retiring in 2012, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte following in 2013, and Jeter the last to go in 2014.<\/p>\n

The latter three had epic sendoffs.<\/p>\n

In Rivera\u2019s final relief appearance on Sept. 26, 2013, at Yankee Stadium, Jeter and Pettitte surprised him with an emotional mound visit to take the ball.<\/p>\n

Days later, Pettitte hurled a complete-game gem in Houston in his final game.<\/p>\n

And on Sept. 25, 2014, Jeter capped his last game in the Bronx with a walk-off single to beat the Baltimore Orioles.<\/p>\n

OBJ CATCH<\/p>\n

On Nov. 23, 2024, a national audience was introduced to Odell Beckham Jr.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the Giants rookie wide receiver re-adjusted after being interfered with, leapt backward, reached his right hand behind his head and used three fingers to catch a deep pass from Manning for a jaw-dropping touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys on \u201cSunday Night Football.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incredible one-handed catch was so difficult and happened so rapidly that even seasoned NBC announcers Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth struggled to comprehend what they just watched.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may be the greatest catch I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Collinsworth remarked.<\/p>\n

More than a decade later, that sentiment remains for many awestruck observers.<\/p>\n

62<\/p>\n

It took 61 years for someone to break Roger Maris\u2019 American League single-season record of 61 home runs.<\/p>\n

That someone proved to be Aaron Judge, who hit his 62nd home run of 2022<\/a> in the 161st game of the season.<\/p>\n

Judge\u2019s record-setting homer at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, came against Rangers right-hander Jesus Tinoco, who challenged the Yankee slugger after many others pitched around him during his pursuit of history.<\/p>\n

Judge became the third player in AL history with a 60-homer season \u2014 a club that added a fourth this year with Seattle\u2019s Cal Raleigh.<\/p>\n

\"ARLINGTON,Aaron Judge hit No. 62 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins\/Getty Images)
\nGIVE US LIBERTY<\/p>\n

The Liberty remain New York\u2019s most recent champion, having won their first-ever WNBA title in 2024.<\/p>\n

It required winning a hard-fought series with the Minnesota Lynx in which all five games went down to the wire.<\/p>\n

On a night Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggled on offense, Jonquel Jones scored 17 points in the Liberty\u2019s 67-62 overtime victory in the winner-take-all Game 5.<\/p>\n

Jones was named Finals MVP after averaging 17.6 points on 56.1% shooting and 7.8 rebounds per game in the series.<\/p>\n

MR. MET<\/p>\n

After a 2024-25 offseason of uncertainty, Pete Alonso returned to the Mets last season with a chance to become the franchise\u2019s all-time home run king.<\/p>\n

He did just that on Aug. 12 with the 253rd home run of his career, breaking a tie with Darryl Strawberry.<\/p>\n

Alonso hit that record-setting blast against the Atlanta Braves\u2019 Spencer Strider at Citi Field, then added another homer before the game was over.<\/p>\n

He finished the season with 264.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s where the franchise record will remain for the foreseeable future, as Alonso left the Mets this month for a five-year, $155 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For New York sports fans, this millennium began with a bang. What better way to ring in the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":477811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[3090,5229,70565,47071,23608,22967,216447,8606,4548,3685,1266,1260,405,403,5226,5225,1232,5228,5227,3687,21686,1263,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,2386],"class_list":{"0":"post-477810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-aaron-judge","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-carmelo-anthony","11":"tag-derek-jeter","12":"tag-eli-manning","13":"tag-giants","14":"tag-jeremy-lin","15":"tag-knicks","16":"tag-liberty","17":"tag-mets","18":"tag-mlb","19":"tag-nba","20":"tag-new-york","21":"tag-new-york-city","22":"tag-newyork","23":"tag-newyorkcity","24":"tag-nfl","25":"tag-ny","26":"tag-nyc","27":"tag-pete-alonso","28":"tag-super-bowl","29":"tag-tom-brady","30":"tag-united-states","31":"tag-united-states-of-america","32":"tag-unitedstates","33":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","34":"tag-us","35":"tag-usa","36":"tag-yankees"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115803343133355624","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}