On the ice:

- The Colorado Avalanche cranked up the way-back machine, winning their first Stanley Cup title since 2001 by beating the reigning champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. The uber-talented core that suffered through several early postseason exits looks like a group that could be more than one-and-done with the Cup.

On the gridiron:

- The Los Angeles Rams proved that home cooking is best, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to become the second straight team to win the Super Bowl at their home stadium after Tampa Bay did it the year before. The Super Bowl title was the Rams' first since 2000, when the franchise was in St. Louis.

In the College Football Playoffs, Georgia pulled off a similar move in football, knocking off Alabama and Nick Saban for the program's first national championship in 41 years.

At the Olympics:

- The Winter Olympics in Beijing, still grappling with the effects of the pandemic, saw American figure skater Nathan Chen earn gold after his flameout at the Pyeongchang Games four years earlier.

- Lindsey Jacobellis, long known for her blunder at the 2006 Torino Games, finally won gold in snowboard cross and added another in the mixed-team event.

- Chloe Kim proved she was the queen of the half-pipe, winning her second straight gold and Finland won its first hockey gold by beating favored Russia in the final.

Out on the fairways:

- LIV: The Saudi-backed LIV made waves that reverberated across the golf world, with several major players abandoning the PGA and European tours to cash in on the riches of the lucrative tour.

- On the PGA Tour, the young guys moved to the forefront. Scottie Scheffler won The Masters, Justin Thomas the PGA Championship, Matt Fitzpatrick took the US Open and Cameron Smith won the British Open, marking the first time all four majors were won by players under 30 in the same year.