Winners and losers of 2002

GOLF

Winner

Tiger Woods

Led earnings list for fourth straight year with over $7 million. ... Won Masters and U.S. Open, pushing to eight his number of major titles. ... Had lowest scoring average (68.56) for fourth straight year.

Annika Sorenstam

Set 20 records with best LPGA Tour season since 1964. ... Won 13 of 25 tournaments, 11 on LGA Tour. ... Earned more than $2.8 million, breaking LPGA record of $2.105 million she set in 2001.

Loser

U.S. Ryder Cup Team

Lost to Europe by largest margin in 17 years, 151/2-121/2. ... Beaten when obscure European players Phillip Price and Paul McGinley delivered crucial points.

Phil Mickelson

Remained best player never to win a major. ... Now 0-for-38 as a professional. ... Competed in 15 tournaments against Woods, beating him just twice. ... Earned in 26 tournaments what Woods made in his five best finishes.

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SOCCER

Winner

Brazil

Won World Cup for fifth time, led by Ronaldo, who scored both goals in 2-0 championship game victory over Germany. ... Welcomed home to Brasilia by a crowd of 500,000 cheering fans.

Loser

France

Defending World Cup champions lost tournament opener to unheralded Senegal, then went scoreless and out of the tournament after three games.

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OLYMPICS

Winner

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen

Norwegian biathlon star became just third winter Olympian to win four gold medals. ... No biathlete had ever won three golds before Salt Lake Games.

Loser

Marie-Reine Le Gougne

French figure skating judge caught in vote-swapping scoring scandal. ... Outcome produced unprecedented two gold medals in pairs competition.

BOXING

Winner

Oscar De La Hoya

Scored impressive 11th-round victory over Fernando Vargas. ... Added WBA 154-pound title to WBC crown. ... Wants to lure Felix Trinidad out of retirement for rematch.

Loser

Mike Tyson

Iron Mike turned out to be a tin man, bark much worse than bite, exposed by Lennox Lewis in long-awaited heavyweight title match with an eighth-round knockout.

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TENNIS

Winners

Serena Williams

Won French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, three-quarters of a Grand Slam. ... Finished year ranked No. 1 after 18-match winning streak ended in WTA championships.

Lleyton Hewitt

Won season-ending Masters Cup to finish No. 1 for second straight year, first player since Pete Sampras in 1997 to successfully defend the top ranking.

Loser

Anna Kournikova

Tennis heartthrob stretched her winless streak through 25 more events. ... Now winless in 122 career tournaments.

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AUTO RACING

Winners

Michael Schumacher

Five-time Formula One champion won a record 11 races as Ferrari won 15 of 17 events. ... Finished in the top three of every Grand Prix event with most points in a season (144), largest winning points margin (67) and most career wins (64).

Tony Stewart

Won first Winston Cup championship. ... Blew engine and finished last in season-opener at Daytona, becoming first NASCAR driver to go from bottom to top in same season.

Loser

Paul Tracy

CART driver lost Indianapolis 500 to Helio Castroneves in disputed finish. ... Appealed outcome and was turned down by final arbiter Tony George, president of rival Indy Racing League.

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CYCLING

Winners

Lance Armstrong

Won fourth straight Tour de France, six years after battling testicular cancer, which spread to lungs and brain.

Mario Cipollini

Ended short retirement to win world championship road title. ... Finished 159 miles in 5 hours, 30 minutes, 3 seconds. ... Announced retirement in July after not being invited to the Tour de France, but later said he would continue to compete.

Loser

Stefano Garzelli

Banned two years for doping after appeal was rejected. ... Tested positive for a banned diuretic after second stage of Giro d'Italia. ... Won Giro in 2000 and was race leader when he was banned.

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HOCKEY

Winners

Canada

Scored an Olympic gold medal sweep, defeating USA for championship in both men's and women's competition. ... Men's gold was first for country since 1952. ... Women reversed gold medal loss to USA at Nagano in 1998.

Scotty Bowman

Won Stanley Cup for ninth time, coaching Detroit to championship, third in six years for Red Wings ... Also coached five Cup champions in Montreal and one in Pittsburgh.

Loser

Theo Fleury

Ended troubled three years with New York Rangers which included treatment for substance abuse. ... Signed free agent contract with Chicago Blackhawks but was suspended by NHL 25 games for violating terms of substance abuse aftercare program.

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TRACK AND FIELD

Winners

Tim Montgomery-Marion Jones

Both ranked No. 1 at 100 meters. ... Live and train together and have each other's names tattooed on their arms. ... Shared Jesse Owens Award as top track and field athletes of the year. ... Montgomery clocked world's fastest 100 at 9.78 seconds. Jones is aiming for Florence Griffith-Joyner's record of 10.49.

Loser

Maurice Greene

Called "Slo-Mo" by British press after a disappointing season was capped by losing his 100 record to Montgomery. ... Beaten badly in most meets, troubled by family problems.

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HORSE RACING

Winner

Azeri

Wire-to-wire winner of Breeders' Cup Distaff, her seventh straight victory and 10th in 11 career starts. ... Strong Horse of the Year candidate.

Loser

War Emblem

Won Kentucky Derby and Preakness but Triple Crown bid ended badly with stumble at start of Belmont. ... Beaten by long-shot Volponi in Breeders' Cup Classic, and lost three of last four races of career.

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BASKETBALL

Winner

Los Angeles Lakers

Captured third straight NBA championship, sweeping New Jersey. ... Completed NBA three-peat without coach Pat Riley, who coined the term when the team won two straight titles in 1986-87.

Loser

New York Knicks

Missed playoffs for first time in 15 years. ... Latrell Sprewell broke hand before training camp and was suspended and fined nearly a half-million dollars. ... Lost Antonio McDyess for the season with a broken kneecap in a preseason game.

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BASEBALL

Winners

Anaheim Angels

Reached World Series for first time in 42-year history. ... Won championship, rallying from a 5-0 seventh-inning deficit while facing elimination in Game 6, then took Game 7.

Barry Bonds

Unanimous winner of record fifth MVP award. ... Pushed past 600 career home runs, fourth on all-time list. ... At 38, became oldest first-time batting champion in history with .370 average, record 198 walks and record .582 on-base percentage.

Randy Johnson

Unanimous choice for fourth straight Cy Young Award, fifth overall. ... Won pitching triple crown, leading NL with 24-5 record, 2.32 ERA and 334 strikeouts.

Loser

Livan Hernandez

Considered unbeatable in October with a 6-0 record in previous postseason action, lost both World Series starts for San Francisco, never making it past the fourth inning and finishing with an ERA of 14.29.

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PRO FOOTBALL

Winner

Tom Brady

Went from backup quarterback to Super Bowl MVP with the New England Patriots. ... Play forced trade of longtime No. 1 quarterback Drew Bledsoe to Buffalo. ... In first full season as starter, led NFL in TD passes through 14 weeks.

Loser

Kurt Warner

Two-time St. Louis Rams MVP lost Super Bowl then went 0-4 before breaking finger. ... Lost two more games on return and broke hand again, ending season.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Winners

Miami-Ohio State

Set up national championship game with undefeated seasons, Buckeyes finishing at 13-0 and Hurricanes at 12-0. ... Miami takes 34-game winning streak into title game at Fiesta Bowl.

Carson Palmer

USC quarterback became first West Coast Heisman Trophy winner since USC tailback Marcus Allen in 1981. ... Completed nearly 63 percent of passes for 3,639 yards and 32 touchdowns, including 23 in last six games.

Loser

Nebraska

Had first non-winning conference record since 1968. ... Lost six regular-season games, most since 1961 team went 3-6-1. ... Road record against ranked teams under coach Frank Solich fell to 1-7.

 

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