BEST 10 Moments ’98

1. MCGWIRE 70, SOSA 66

Save baseball? McGwire and Sosa merely pulverized it, a whopping 136 times in 1998, and America was transfixed. But will we still be watching when McGwire hits, say, only 63 in ‘99?

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2. ELWAY AT LAST

On his fourth try, John Elway finally wins the Super Bowl. Good things happen to those who wait, Dan Marino keeps telling himself.

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3. 114-48

Decades from now, with not a single member of the 1998 New York Yankees in the Hall of Fame, baseball historians will still be scratching their heads over this one.

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4. THREE-PEAT REPEAT

Michael Jordan carries the Bulls to a third consecutive NBA title for the second time this decade. Just to prove that the first one wasn’t a fluke.

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5. GO SIT, CAL

A working-class hero is something to be, as Cal Ripken Jr. reminded us again when he finally sat one out after 2,632 in a row.

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6. 6 4 SAMPRAS

Pete Sampras is still stewing that his record run of six consecutive years at No. 1 did not receive a fraction of the media attention the McGwire-Maris watch did. So, next year, Pete tries androstenedione.

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7. VIVE LA FRANCE

The home team wins the World Cup--3-nil over Brazil, no less--and Paris, 54 years later, gets a chance to replay Liberation Day.

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8. TUBBY 78, TUBBY 69

An African-American coach leads Kentucky to the NCAA basketball title as Tubby Smith’s “Rally ‘Cats” cap a memorable tournament with a comeback victory over Big Rick Majerus and his Stunnin’ Utes from Utah.

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9. TARA & MICHELLE

Tara Lipinski upsets Michelle Kwan in a spectacular all-American skate-off for the Olympic gold medal. And not a clubbed kneecap in sight.

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10. THANK YOU, LINDSAY

Spare us the obnoxious teenage rebels without a clue now running rampant on the “women’s” professional tennis tour. Lindsay Davenport--grounded, level-headed, 22 for heaven’s sake--did just that by delivering the most refreshing No. 1 ranking in years.

WORST 10 Moments ’98

1. NO BASKETBALL ALLOWED

The incredible, inexplicable NBA lockout. Also known as “Michael Jordan Secretly Retired and Took the Whole League With Him.”

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2. NO JUST SAY NO

Drugs, drugs and more drugs--leading to bans of Olympic swimmers in China and Ireland while turning the world’s biggest bicycle race into the Tour de Farce. Even Mark McGwire admitted to using androstenedione, a body-building substance banned by the IOC. No suspension for him, though--only a share of Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year” award. Only in America.

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3. TEAM SPINAL TAP

The U.S. men’s hockey team was a bust on the ice and inside the living quarters in Nagano. Uberskier Hermann Maier nailed it when he grabbed a reporter’s pen and wrote: “USA HOCKEY A JOKE.”

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4. REGGIE BLIGHT

Reggie White has lost a step, and the Wisconsin State Assembly now knows why. It’s hard to run the 40 with one foot in your mouth.

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5. HOW DO YOU GUT A MARLIN?

Wayne Huizenga’s budget-slashing evisceration of the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins was nothing short of obscene. Dealt 108 losses and a triple-A roster in 1998, Marlin fans are left to wonder: Was the World Series worth it?

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6. LOCKED OUT TOO LATE IN DENVER

The Denver Nuggets lost 23 in a row, started 4-42 and made a serious run at the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers’ NBA record for futility (9-73) before rallying to finish 11-71. Credit the Clippers, who broke the losing streak, for turning the Nuggets’ season around.

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7. WE’RE NO. 32!

The United States was never going to win the World Cup. Not in the men’s division, anyway. But oh-and-three--including a 2-1 embarrassment at the hands of Iran--and dead last in a field of 32 was not the great leap forward envisioned by U.S. Soccer officials in ’98.

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8. LEAF US BE, ALREADY

“Ryan” is a four-letter word. So is “Leaf.” As if that’s telling the city of San Diego something it doesn’t already know.

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9. THERE IS NO D IN UCLA

Stop harping about UCLA’s defense. If Cade McNown had just put up 50 against Miami, no one would be complaining.

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10. ITALY 4, USA 1

No, that’s not a World Cup score. That was the United States jayvees--no Sampras, no Agassi, no Chang--blowing the Davis Cup semifinals, at home, indoors. Worse yet, Italy has pro basketball and we don’t.