Honor 2008 with awards for good, bad

As we move in one year and out the other, it’s time to take one last look back at 2008, and hand out some awards …

Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Phelps

Female Athlete of the Year: Candace Parker (and if you don’t know who that is, it says a lot about the state of women’s basketball.)

Performance of the Year: Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open, taking 91 holes to win his 14th major on a badly damaged knee needing surgery.

Champs of the Year: New York Giants.

Chumps of the Year: Detroit Lions.

Injury of the Year: Tom Brady.

Turnaround of the Year: Miami Dolphins, going from 1-15 to 11-5, and winning the AFC East.

Upstart of the Year: Tampa Bay Rays.

Upset of the Year: New York Giants over New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria.

Veteran of the Year: Kurt Warner.

Codger of the Year: Joe Paterno.

International Flop of the Year: David Beckham.

Domestic Flop of the Year: Dallas Cowboys.

Last Bowden Standing of the Year: Bobby.

Comeback of the Year: Jon Lester, cancer survivor, throwing a no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox.

Come Through of the Year: The U.S. Ryder Cup team, minus Tiger Woods, ending a three-match losing streak by beating the Europeans.

Foregone Conclusion of the Year: Terrell Owens complaining about the offense he plays in.

Team of the Year: Boston Celtics, who won their first NBA title in 22 years.

Delay of the Year: The 46-hour World Series rain delay.

Coaching Job of the Year: Bill Belichick, taking the New England Patriots to 11-5 minus Tom Brady.

Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay.

Came From Nowhere of the Year: Matt Cassel.

Breakthrough of the Year: Danica Patrick becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.

Retirement of the Year: Brett Favre.

Un-Retirement of the Year: Brett Favre.

Trade of the Year: Brett Favre.

Possible Retirement of the Year Part II: Brett Favre.

Most Annoying Story of the Year: Brett Favre.

Real Retirement of the Year: Annika Sorenstam.

Bird of the Year: Atlanta Falcons.

Cat of the Year: Penn State’s Nittany Lions.

Hot Dog of the Year: Terrell Owens.

Manning of the Year: Eli.

Catch of the Year: David Tyree snagging Eli Manning’s 32-yard pass in Super Bowl XLII.

Catch of the Year II: Tom Brady snagging Gisele Bundchen. Or maybe not.

Spendthrifts of the Year: New York Yankees.

Instant Classic of the Year: Rafael Nadal beating Roger Federer in a 9-7 fifth set at Wimbledon.

Name of the Year: Usain Bolt.

Hello of the Year: Entire Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.

Farewell of the Year: Yankee Stadium, the greatest venue in modern sports history.