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Jake Simpson - Jake Simpson is a sports columnist for The Atlantic's Entertainment channel.

The 10 Biggest Sports Stories of 2011

By Jake Simpson
Dec 5 2011, 10:05 AM ET Comment

This year offered the best World Series game ever along with one of the most troubling scandals in college sports history. A look back at the best of years and the worst of years.

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AP Images, Reuters

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Last year, I predicted that NFL and NBA labor strife would be the top sports story of 2011. Not to throw a #humblebrag at you, but it stinks that I was right. Luckily, there were a plethora of feel-good moments to balance out all the lockouts, lawsuits, litigation and scandals.

How scintillating a sports year was 2011? Among the stories that didn't make the top 10 were Novak Djokovic's remarkable tennis season, in which he won three majors on his way to a 70-5 year and a dominant hold on the No. 1 ranking, and Rory McIlroy's eight-shot win at the U.S. Open that brought to mind Tiger Woods at his best.

Here are the top 10 sports stories of 2011:



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