Stadium Talk’s Top 10 Stories of 2020

The year put us in a nostalgic mood. Now it's time to celebrate and honor the past, present and future of sports.

We have never seen anything like 2020 in sports. Canceled games. Games with no fans. Shortened seasons. Sure, there were some highlights, but they felt different.

The whole year put us in a nostalgic mood. We found ourselves looking back at the good old days when kids could play sports with their friends, parents could coach and watch them, and fans could go to a ballpark or stadium and root for the home team and their favorite players. We appreciate the competition and life lessons sports offer a little bit more now.

As we say goodbye to 2020, we celebrate and honor the past, present and future. These are our best stories of 2020.

Editor’s note: This top 10 list has more than 10 stories. Since 2020 was like no other year we’ve ever experienced, this top 10 list will be like no other top 10 list you’ve ever experienced.

Bonus: Most Popular Sideline Reporters in the World

Diletta Leotta

Italian sports reporter Diletta Leotta has 7.2 million Instagram followers. dilettaleotta / Instagram

Author: Tony Adame

Published: Jan. 30

Bottom line: We look forward to the days when the words “player bubble” and “quarantine” are not part of our sports vocabulary. So do sideline reporters. These are some of the most popular in the business.

Read

Bonus: Greatest Linebackers in NFL History

Dick Butkus

Welcome to the terrordome. AdamSparks / Twitter

Author: Tony Adame

Published: Sept. 21

Bottom line: It takes a special breed to play linebacker in the NFL. If you want to be one of the all-time greats, it helps to be a well-conditioned animal like Dick Butkus. The Chicago Bears legend once said, “I wouldn’t ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately. Unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something.” Many of his fellow linebacker legends also were maniacs.

Read

Bonus: Most Underrated Cricket Batsmen of All Time

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is one of the Rodney Dangerfields of cricket. Themba Hadebe / AP Photo

Author: Tevin Joseph K.O.

Published: June 9

Bottom line: Cricket is the second-most popular sport in the world (behind only soccer, or football) and has 2.5 billion fans. But even with all of those supporters, some cricket batsmen still don’t get the respect they deserve.

Read

Bonus: Best High School Basketball Player in Every State

Emoni Bates

Emoni Bates is the top high school basketball prospect in the country. TheDZoneBBall / Twitter

Author: Tony Adame

Published: July 24

Bottom line: In basketball, meritocracy rules. No matter who you are and where you live, if you can ball, the right people will find you. These high school basketball players represent the future of the game. And they got next.

Read

10. Best Sports Video Games Ever Made

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!

This is as close as most people will ever get to knocking out Mike Tyson. Claudio D / YouTube

Author: Tony Adame

Published: Aug. 14

Bottom line: The influence of the most popular sports video games goes beyond dollars and cents. They have shaped pop culture in amazing ways. Everything we love about sports is in these games.

Read

9. Little League Legends Who Became Big League Stars

Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger, then and now. Nick Wass / AP Photo

Author: Eric Ortiz

Published: Feb. 18

Bottom line: Think your kid is going to the Show? He has a better shot of being a Navy SEAL. Less than 1 percent of Little Leaguers make the big leagues. And only 58 Little League World Series participants have gone on to play Major League Baseball. We rank them all.

Read

8. Worst No. 1 NHL Draft Picks of All Time

Eric Lindros

Eric Lindros did not live up to the hype. Ed Nessen / AP Photo

Author: Tony Adame

Published: Nov. 14

Bottom line: The NHL is one of North America’s four premier professional sports leagues with the NFL, NBA and MLB. Like its compatriots, the NHL has a tradition of royally screwing up the No. 1 overall pick over the years.

Read

7. Best High School Basketball Program in Every State

Derrick Rose

Recognize this NBA star during his high school baller days in Chicago? michaelsobrien / Twitter

Author: Pat Pickens

Published: July 17

Bottom line: Football is America’s most popular sport, but basketball is a close second. If you like winning state titles and sending players to the NBA, you’ll love these high school basketball programs.

Read

6. Most Overrated College Football Coaches

Lane Kiffin

Can you say overrated? Matt York / AP Photo

Author: Tony Adame

Published: Aug. 24

Bottom line: College football coaches like to promise things. They do this because it gets fans excited and makes them think they’re the one — the savior for their beloved teams. But they don’t always deliver. Sometimes, they never deliver. Yet schools keep giving them multimillion-dollar deals.

Read

5. Best High School Football Stadium in Every State

Green Wave Stadium

The lights shine bright for Gallatin High at Green Wave Stadium in Tennessee. Gallatin High School

Author: Tony Adame

Published: Dec. 12

Bottom line: Football is serious business in some parts of the United States. The local high school football stadiums have so much gravitas that the fortunes of a town rise and fall with wins and losses. This is some hallowed ground.

Read

4A. Worst MLB Defensive Players of All Time

Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez made fielding an adventure in the outfield. Elise Amendola / AP Photo

Author: Tony Adame

Published: June 25

Bottom line: Fielding the ball is not every player’s strength. A select few never met a play they couldn’t botch. Say hello to the worst glovemen at every position in MLB history.

Read

4B. Best MLB Defensive Players of All Time

Keith Hernandez

Keith Hernandez won an MLB-record 11 straight Gold Gloves at first base. Wilbur Funches / AP Photo

Author: Paul Ladewski

Published: Jan. 22

Bottom line: On the flip side, baseball has had some amazing glove stories. They were born to be highlight machines in the field. So before defense becomes extinct altogether, we pay homage to the best players ever at each position.

Read

3. Greatest High School Athletes Ever

LeBron James

LeBron James was a basketball legend at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. Mark Duncan / AP Photo

Author: Ross Kelly

Published: June 29

Bottom line: Some of them became great pros. Others peaked as teenagers. All of them are high school legends.

Read

2. Best Small-Town High School Football Teams

Pahokee High School

Pahokee High School in Florida won its first state title in 1989. Pahokee High School / YouTube

Author: Tony Adame

Published: Aug. 8

Bottom line: There’s something special about growing up in a small town. The bonds. The community. And if you’re lucky, an amazing high school football team. All 50 states have small-town gridiron powerhouses that have been the pride of their communities for a long time.

Read

1. All-Time Starting Nine for Every MLB Team

Hank Aaron

Play ball. City_of_Mobile / Twitter

Author: Paul Ladewski

Published: June 4

Bottom line: More than 19,500 players have played Major League Baseball. These are the best at every position in the history of every team. Batter up.

Read

×