Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Locked On Sports Today: Aaron Judge, Messi, Rams, Sue Bird and more of 2022's best sports moments

Episode Date: December 26, 2022

Locked On Sports Today, hosted by Peter Bukowski takes a look at the biggest sports moments from 2022. From Aaron Judge's home run record, to championships for the Warriors, Rams, Astros, and Avalanche, to retirements of Coach K, Sue Bird, and Tom Brady retiring and un-retiring. 2022 was a big year in sports. In this year end special we look back on the biggest stories, the biggest games, and the superstars who called it a career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Locked-on Podcast Network and Odyssey present Locked-on Sports Today. On this Locked-on Sports Today, year-end special, we'll reminisce on which stories ignited our imagination, which games made our hearts skip a beat, and which goodbyes had us reaching for a tissue. I'm Peter Mikowski, starting your day with the Can't Miss stories and biggest debates in sports, your locked-on sports today. Searching all major sports.

found. Let's start with the biggest story. This Locked on Sports Today's special is brought to you by Bet Online. Bet Online has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before. Bet Online where the game start. We'll start first with the stories that gripped us. These are the ones that we either kept an eye on, the chase, or the headline stunned us. Possibly the biggest story of the year, the quest to break Roger Maris's home run record. Aaron, Judge smashed baseballs out of nearly every park he played in during the 2022 season. He kept our attention all the way through football season where ESPN would interrupt college

football games to air his at-bats. Aaron Judge bet on himself and won big in 2022. I'm Stacey Gautzulius, the host of Lockdown Yankees and Aaron Judge, after rejecting a contract extension from the Yankees before the start of the season, went out and had the best season of his career. He set a new American League single-season home run record of 62 by surpassing Roger Maris's 61, which Maris set with the Yankees way back in 1961. This was the first time Yankee fans had seen something like this since before most of us were born. Judge also nearly won the Triple Crown because he was in the race for the batting title until the last days of the season.

People will remember those 62 home runs the most when they think about judges 2022, but what he did overall shouldn't be overlooked, and it was amazing to cover. For more, make sure you check out the Lockdown Yankees podcast, which you can find on every podcasting platform available. When it comes to the ice, Alexander Ovechkin has been building on his greatness for a long time. This year, though, he solidified his place among the all-time greats of the rink. Ovechkin chases history. Dan, homie of Locktown Capitals here to tell you why Alex Ovechkens continued chase of the NHL's all-time goals record was one of the biggest sports stories of the year. By all rights, Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's record 894 goals really shouldn't be happening.

Gretzky played in the high-octane 80s, second place Gordy Howe played 26 seasons across multiple eras of the league. Meanwhile, Ovechkin's entire career has come during one of the lowest scoring eras in league history and has been interrupted by a half-season lockout and pandemic stoppages, and yet still he sits less than 100 goals back of what was thought to be an unbreakable record. His pursuit is so important, in fact, that the Washington capitals themselves have admitted that their main goal isn't necessarily winning right now, but it's getting their superstar number 895. 2020 saw him pass Yomir Yager for third all time, as well as his 800th career goal, won less than how, who Ovi may have already passed by the time.

you're hearing this. You can argue that Ovechkin's the greatest goal score of all time, but it could become official as early as the 2024-2020-5 season as the projections put him about 150 games away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record. Speaking of hockey greatness, we may have seen a new power rise. The Colorado Avalanche had an outstanding season. Hoisting the Stanley Cup was no small task, though, as they had to go through the two-time defending champion and Tampa Bay Lightning to do it. The Colorado Avalanche came into the 2021-2020 season once again as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

Even so, a lot of people had their doubts since the avalanche had struggled to get beyond the second round of the playoffs for the previous three seasons. But all those failures of the years that came before only gave this avalanche team more motivation to prove the doubters wrong as they steam rolled their way to the third championship and franchise history. and in the process, preventing the Tampa Bay Lightning from winning their third consecutive Stanley Cup. Everything went the aves way during the playoffs, losing only four times throughout the postseason. The additions of Arturi Lekinen and Josh Manson at the trade deadline solidified any lingering holes the abs might have had as they prepped for a deep playoff run.

Not only will we look back at this avalanche season as one of the more dominant seasons in NHL history, we will also look at it as the year Kale McCarr turned into a superstar. Having already won the Calder trophy in his rookie season, Macar added the Norris trophy for best defensemen, the Khan Smyth trophy for the playoff MVP, and of course, the Stanley Cup. Having a transcendent defenseman like McCar, along with the rest of the avalanche stars like Nathan McKinnon,

Miko Rantonin, and Gabriel Landisg, the avalanche have positioned themselves as anything but a one-and-done team. This team is already on the hunt to put themselves in the same position. they stopped the Tampa Bay Lightning from doing and getting two and winning multiple Stanley Cubs. As always, drama abounds in the NBA, but this year it mostly stemmed from one player. When Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets,

the NBA, and all of its fans stopped. He's still yet to be traded, by the way, so the conclusion to this story may have to wait till 2023. As the 2022 calendar year comes to a close, The Brooklyn Nets organization and fan base find themselves in a somewhat unique set of circumstances. I'm Adam Armbrick with the Lockdown Nets podcast and you don't have to cast your mind too far back to this past off season where superstar Kevin Durant was demanding a trade. This is a fan base that has had to dream on what is possible, what could have been, far more than what has been. And as someone who covers this team five days a week, I spent too much of my energy discussing.

off-the-court narratives rather than being able to focus on the on-court product. The Nets started this season, losing six out of their first seven games, firing head coach Steve Nash and dealing with a controversy around Kyrie Irving that ultimately led to his suspension. But fast forward two months. And all of the sudden, the Brooklyn Nets are just an NBA basketball team. Fans have watched them go on a substantial winning streak, put themselves in a position as fourth in the Eastern conference and genuinely get to sit back and enjoy basketball. GM Sean Marks, who this offseason added Royce O'Neill, T.J. Warren, Edmund Sumner, and Yudawada Nabe seems to have pushed all of

the right buttons to make this team a stable and competitive roster on a night-in, night-out basis. Ben Simmons struggled to find his form early, but looks like he's trending in the right direction. And Kevin Durand is playing MVP-level basketball. To say nothing of the electric talent, That is Kyrie Irving. It is an amazing thing to think that now, as we look forward to 2023, this might be the most stable the Brooklyn Nets have ever been as a basketball team. And the fan base gets to finally start to watch games, be excited about the wins, and think about what they could accomplish as we move into 2023 and the NBA playoffs.

Leonel Messi finally got his cup. The greatest player in the world had pretty much every other trophy already, but the World Cup had eluded him. And what will go down is one of the best, if not the best World Cup match ever. Argentina got the job done, though they jumped out to a 2-0 lead early, Killing Mbapé would not let Argentina get comfortable. When the game was over, the French megastar had a hat trick

and forced penalty kicks for Messi and Argentina. Messi and his teammates stayed perfect on their penalty kicks while Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez blocked France's second attempt and French winger Kingsley Coman missed his penalty before the tournament Messi's plan was for this to be his last. Basking in the glow of the World Cup win though Messi walked back those comments. I won the Copa America and the World Cup in a short time. I love what I do.

being in the national team and I want to continue living a few more games being world champion, he said. The 2006 Cup will be joined hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico will see if Messi is there to defend his crown. For years, speculation has run rampant on the owner of the Washington commanders.

Dan Snyder has been the topic of many a theory, but it all came to a head in 2022 when the facts came up. In 2022, seemed to be the year ownership upheaval across sports. The Phoenix Suns had to navigate through their own tumultuous ownership story and soon we'll have a new one.

The Robert Sarver era is over for the Phoenix Sons as the team will reportedly be sold to billionaire mortgage lender Matt Ishbia according to Adrian Wojianowski of ESPN for a record $4 billion. We knew this price tag would be high. We thought the process would last a lot longer. Up to six to nine months was what was originally out there

but now Matt and his brother Justin Ishpia will become the leading governors of this franchise spending a heaping sum of money to end Robert Sarver's tenure in Phoenix. It appears this will be a majority sale. Robert Sarver had the power to do that and if so, it will usher in a brand new state of affairs. A really remarkable transformation is possible now for this franchise. We've heard for years that this team, this market was a small market, but we know it's not. This deep-pocketed ownership group has the chance to overhaul everything we know. Thanks for making Lockdown Sports.

Today, your first listen coming up, we wade through the heartbreak and excitement of the best games of 2022. BetOnline is your number one source for all of your betting sports. Info, stats, news, and analysis. Get the latest odds and trends from every professional and amateur league out there. From pro football to college football to basketball to MMA, they've got it all at betonline. If you love sports podcasts, you can find those at bet online as well. Always the fastest and easiest way to get your betting info. Head to the website or use your mobile device to learn more.

Bet online where the game starts. There are always games that stick in our minds, the underdog gutting out a win, the against all odds comeback and the championship victory. There's no shortage of amazing in the next few minutes as we look back on the best games of 2022. The dynasty was done, right? The Golden State Warriors had seen their title come and gone and can revel in a great stretch of basketball.

Not so fast. Steph Curry showed that the Warriors aren't done yet by leading them to yet another NBA finals win. The Golden State Warriors reminded the world that the dynasty was not over, winning their fourth world title in eight years, and Steph and Curry won his first NBA Finals. MVP award. I'm Cyrus Sautz's with Locked-on Warriors. And when you're talking about the biggest moments in sports in 2022, Stefan Curry and the Golden State Warriors have to be up there simply because they personify greatness in the NBA. They remain the current dynasty in the sport.

And Stephen Curry, with one of his biggest criticisms still levied toward him being a lack of NBA final's MVP awards silenced the remaining critics of his game. He averaged 31.2 points per game, six rebounds, and five assists in those six games as the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in six games to win the 2022 NBA championship, their fourth world title in eight years. Matthew Stafford put together a nice career in Detroit, but one thing was clear. he wasn't going to get a Super Bowl ring there. After being traded to the L.A. Rams in a deal that sealed the Rams mentality of championship or bust,

the board was set. Stafford and a stout defense got the Super Bowl win in their home stadium. The Rams win their first Super Bowl as the Los Angeles Rams and they do it in the palace called SoFi Stadium. My name is Travis Rogers from Locked on Rams. And what the Rams did this most recent season, the 2021 season, the 2021 season, in the 2022 Super Bowl, Super Bowl 56 at SoFi Stadium was kind of the crowning jewel of what the Rams have been working on since they came back to Los Angeles back in 2016. This is a team that while it did have a history of fans here in Los Angeles, comes back after a 22-year absence, and they give you the Jeff Fisher special right out of the gate, which landed like a you know what on the front doorstep. Sean McVeigh shows up and in the five years that he's there, he's building and he's building and he's building.

and he's building. And he's putting a team together that not only is incredibly exciting to watch, but very, very good. They go to the Super Bowl in Super Bowl 53 against the Patriots, and they get run over by Bill Belichick, and it doesn't go well. It takes them two years to retool and get back with Matthew Stafford in his first year as quarterback of the Rams. They go to the Super Bowl in SoFi in front of their hometown fans and win the whole thing in Sean McVe's fifth season as head coach. You couldn't ask for anything more from a team coming back into an area, trying to generate fans, trying to get everybody's attention in a city that has teams like the Lakers, recent NBA champions, a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, recent World Series champions.

You couldn't juice it any more than they have. And that's what made the Rams run to the Super Bowl last year so remarkable. Dusty Baker had put together one of the finest managerial careers in baseball history. He just needed that World Series ring. The Houston Astros still had the stink of the cheating scandal that led to a World Series win in 2017. That most questioned the legitimacy of both now and in the future. It was clear that in 2022, it was personal for the World Series champion Houston Astros. How's it going, Aitown Wheelhouse here with Lockdown Astros?

And what a season the Houston Astros just had 22 World Series champions, bury me in the age. That's right. You had Justin Verlander come back. He won a Cy Young. Remember, Bob Dez, 25 consecutive quality starts. And there are so many accomplishments. We would have to spend five minutes talking about all that they accomplished. The bullpen, stellar, the starting stellar, the position player is stellar. From beginning to end, Jeremy Payne became a superstar. Won the ALCS and World Series MVP, as well, the Gold Glob. The only player to do that in their career, he did it in one season.

you had Kyle Tucker win a goal glove. Alex Bregman came back to form, contributed big. Chas McCormick, after being given not much of a chance at the end of the year, really came through clutch. Opposite field home runs, amazing catches in the outfield. They really owned the playoffs, only losing two of those games, sweep in their first two series, to submit their second World Series title in six seasons.

The late editions of Vasquez and Mancini helped towards the end, as they contributed in Vasquez as well with a no hitter there combined in the playoffs. It was a phenomenal season for the Houston Astros, and they looked to go back to the fall classic in 2023. Stay tuned in to Locked on Astros, where your team every day, Ghostroes. Nick Saban is built as close to an invincible program at Alabama as you can build. Year in and year out, they recruit the best and see the best get drafted to NFL teams. This last year, we saw some glitches in the Crimson Tides Matrix, none more prominent than the defeat at the hands of the Tennessee volunteers. Playoff hockey.

Two of the most awesome words when put together, Calgary and Edmonton managed to take that excitement up a notch in 2022, though, as they met for a fiery series in the playoffs. They demanded everyone's attention after game one saw 15 goals scored. 31 years is a long time. Imagine not seeing your favorite team win a playoff game for that long. Bengals fans didn't have to imagine it. They lived it. But on an interception by Jermaine Pratt, the Cincinnati Bengals sealed the win, obliterated the drought and beat the Las Vegas Raiders for their first playoff win since 1991.

The Bengals exercised their playoff demons when they took down the Raiders earlier this year, 26 to 19. Hi again, everyone. I'm James Rupin from the Lockdown Bengals podcast, and it was 31 years that it took the Bengals to get that elusive playoff win. It was their first playoff win of my lifetime in Paycourt Stadium. Well, it erupted as Joe Burrow, Jemar Chase, and the Bengals led Cincinnati past the Raiders 26 to 19 and Burrough threw for two touchdowns afterwards, saying that this is the standard. I'm not sure he realized the six. significance of that win. It exercised all of the demons from Jeremy Hill fumbling in 2015 to Carson Palmer going down and getting injured in 2005, thanks to Kimo von Olhoff and all of these

playoff failures under Marvin Lewis. What all came to an end when Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, Zach Taylor beat the Raiders and ultimately went on to Super Bowl 56 and becoming AFC champions. For more, make sure you check out the Locked-on Bengals podcast. I'm James Rupin. It was North Carolina's championship. They had built an impressive 15-point lead heading into half and had to feel like this was their game. The Kansas Jayhawks were not done.

And as the Tar Heels would soon learn, no lead is safe in the NCAA tournament. And overtime in the NFL is stressful. But how about overtime in the NFL playoffs? Well, maybe you should ask Josh Allen. because the Buffalo Bills are still trying to figure out what happened when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round. And frankly, so am I. The Kansas City Chief's biggest moment of 2022 was their thrilling win in 13 seconds over the Buffalo Bills.

Again, it will be remembered for a very long time. And they are looking to give back to that kind of level here. As we look at the beginning of 2023, I'm Ryan Tracy from Lockdown Chiefs. And getting to that point was a turning point for Patrick Mahomes and this organization because a lot has followed on from that. That was a thrilling win, 13 seconds. It spurred the Believe movement in Kansas City. It spurred the grim reaper moniker from Andy Reid for Patrick Mahomes. And it spurred a rivalry with the Buffalo Bills that I think is going to live on for a very long time.

Now they have to move past that as they look to return against those bills and the rest of the field in the AFC playoffs in 2020. It is all built onto that win that highlights 2022 for the Kansas City Chiefs. Will they do it? That's what we're thinking. Check out more on Locked-on Chiefs. Coming up, we saw some story careers conclude in 2022. And one man stop and restart his career in less than two months. Can we pause for a second?

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It's built take on the granola bar, so it's more filling and still insanely tasty. If you haven't tried built bars before, they are the best tasting protein bars ever. They're revolutionizing nutrition because we're talking about 100% real chocolate, 17 grams of protein and shockingly low sugar and calories. Just 130 calories. I just bought myself two new boxes.

is. My pantry, it's a staple in there. They have to be in there. Or my food situation, incomplete. I just need them around because when I need something delicious, I want something that I can feel good about eating, something that is going to fuel my body. Get 15% off your order right now by using the code lockdown 15 at built.com. The heroes we've grown up watching in our favorite sport eventually pass the torch. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. We may want to see our favorite players continue on forever, but that's just not realistic. Some write off into the sunset and some are forced to call it a career. 2022 saw a number of storied endings and one false ending to brilliant careers.

Possibly the greatest coach in college basketball history called it a career in 2022. One of the best college coaches, one of the best coaches in the history of American sports. There was no more fitting crescendo than for coach, to go out against North Carolina in the final four. It's quite rare in sports to have an iconic figure identified by one single letter. That's exactly the case for Coach K, the Hall of Fame coach of Duke University, who retired after 42 seasons as the head coach of the Blue Devils. Hello, everybody. I'm JJ Jackson, the host of Lockdown Blue Devils.

Mike Shoshchewski retired in 2022 after 42 seasons leading Duke men's basketball. He led the Blue Devils to five NCAA titles, 13 Final Fours, 13 ACC regular season championships, 15 ACC tournament titles, 101 NCAA tournament wins, and 1,202 wins overall. No coach has ever won more games than Coach K. Mike Shoshchewski also was the head coach for Team USA and won three gold medals at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics. Coach K is synonymous with Duke and synonymous with greatness and will be greatly missed in the game of college basketball. Congrats on your retirement, Coach K.

He's known as the machine. What a nickname. Wouldn't you love that as your nickname? Albert Pujols finished up his career as one of the best right-handed hitters of all time in 2022. And that would have been the case pretty much whenever he retired. But he did it after eclipsing the 700 home run mark. Albert Pooholz and the chase for 700 gives baseball fans a season to remember in 2022. Hey, it's JD from Locked on Cardinals.

And late in spring training, the Cardinals did something that put a massive smile on the face of Cardinal Nation when they signed Albert Pooholes. The machine was coming home after 10 years out West in California. But the question was, did Albert have anything left to offer at age 42? And what occurred was a magical run that had the baseball world cheering him on. He comes into the season, 21 home run shy of 700. and many thought that reaching that plateau was a pipe dream. And he struggled in the first half.

But following his appearance in the home run derby and at the All-Star game, something happened. A switch went off and his bat catches fire. In August, he smashes eight home runs and is now looking at 700. It's not so far-fetched. He stays hot in September, passing A-Rod on September 11th with home run number 697, moving into fourth place all time.

And then on September 23rd and now lay out of all places, He hits home runs number 699 and 700 in consecutive at bats against the Dodgers, moving him into the elite club that only includes Barry Bonds, Hank Garon, and Babe Ruth. He finishes the season with 703 career home runs, fourth all time. He's second all time on the RBI list, second all time in total basis. It was a storybook ending for arguably the greatest right-handed hitter the game has ever seen. For the latest news and notes on the St. Louis Cardinals, be sure to listen to Locked on Cardinals wherever you get podcast.

It happens in every profession. Some guys just can't quite leave the grind. Tom Brady, no stranger to the grind and no different. 40 days after announcing he had played his last football game, Brady announced he was returning for his 23rd season. 2022 began as a year where Tom Brady just didn't seem to like me or anything I was trying to do. I'm David Harrison, the Locks on Buck's podcast. And I was on my way to Mobile, Alabama for the Reese's Senior Bowl.

when news broke that Tom Brady would be retiring from the National Football League. I finished my trip. My co-host, James Jarko, did a whole lot of heavy lifting since I was in my car and obviously unable to do a whole lot of work during that stretch. And then as the practices began, I was at practice, February 1st, when it was announced officially that Tom Brady was retiring after some back and forth and some will he, won't he? And that is when the other shoe dropped. We got word my number 12 was hanging them up after a very first.

very storied career. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, quite honestly, we're now in rebuild mode. They had to find a new quarterback, and not only that, but they were going to lose a lot of key free agents, Ryan Jensen. The center was probably going to be going elsewhere. Carlton Davis, the third, their top cornerback probably would be departing Tampa at that time. And really, everything kind of went crazy for a little bit. Blaine Gabbert was talked about. Kyle Trass was talked about trading for the potential quarterbacks like Deshawn Watson or maybe David Carr would come available. And that lasted for all the 40 days. And those 40 days, felt like about 40 months, ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you, until Tom Brady unretired.

And all of the sudden, the Buccaneers were back in championship mode. Ryan Jensen signed a new contract. Unfortunately went down, first day of training camp. Carlton Davis, the third soon to follow, and the band was back, so to speak, except for the departures of Rob Grancowski and Ali Marpet, both of whom did retire. And as so far, as of yet, have continued to stay retired, still not completely sold on Gronk, even though he told me on the Locked on Bucks podcast, he would not be coming back. But what a year it has been.

Not one that lived up to all the expectations, but certainly one that started with a roller coaster trip through the life of one Tom Brady who departed, but also came back in 2022. For more on Tom Brady, everything Buckingneers, find James Yark going on in a Lockdown Bucks podcast, five days a week on the Locktown Podcast Network, your team every day.

You can make the case, the greatest woman's basketball player of all time and one of the great basketball players, period, called it quits in 2022. Sue Bird leaves a lasting legacy after she retired from the WNBA. The end of an era, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowls, retire from the WNBA. I'm Howard McDowell for Lockdown Women's Basketball. And when we consider what Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowls have meant to the WNBA, maybe the easiest way to look at it is the record books, is both the Minnesota Lynch Center and the Seattle

Storm Point Guard called it quits after the 2022 season. Sylvia Fowles, the all-time leader in blocks and rebounds in the entire history of the lead. Sue Byrd, the leader all-time in assists, games, minutes played quite literally the top of the record book. disappearing as both bird and fouls with a combined six championships between them, call it quits. Seismic change in the WNBA. I'm Howard McDowell for Lockdown Women's Basketball. It's hard to be more dominant at what you do than how dominant Serena Williams was at tennis.

In 2022, Serena announced she would evolve away from the game she loves in an article for Vogue. She said, I'm evolving away from tennis toward other things that are important to me. Serena mentioned her family as a driving force for the change. She was world number one for 319 weeks and winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles. Williams has also completed the career Golden Slam by holding all four majors as well as Olympics singles gold. As recently as October though, Williams said she has not retired from tennis and that the chances of her returning are very high. we may yet see her back on the court.

And tennis did see one other legend, call it a career in 2022, and Roger Federer announced his retirement. Federer said in an audio clip posted on social media, I am 41 years old. I played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I would have ever dreamed, and I now must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career. Federer leaves the game with one of the greatest competitive records in its history.

103, 103 tour singles titles, 20 Grand Slam singles titles, and 310 weeks ranked number one. And perhaps most remarkably given his long run, he never was forced to stop playing a match he had started because of injury. Thanks again for making Lockdown Sports today your first listen. Now find your favorite teams locked on podcast and make them your second listen. Each and every day, we will be all over the biggest stories in sports. So at least until tomorrow, stay locked on sports today.