Sports fans were spoiled with several exciting games, matches and tournaments in 2011. The biggest stages in sports showcased some of the most dramatic and exciting moments of the year — even if you don’t include the Bruins’ run up to the Stanley Cup or any other games involving Boston-area teams. (Otherwise, this list would be too easy.)

Looking back on 2011 as the calendar year comes to a close, fans across the country were treated to competitive championships in college and professional football, one of the best playoffs in NBA history, some unreal baseball games and much more.

Trying to pick the best 11 games of the year that didn’t include Boston teams is like trying to pick which game from the past year you would most like to go back and see in person: It’s no easy task.

Check out the best national sporting events of the year>>

And sports. 

No matter what may happen throughout the year, we always have holidays to rekindle the relationships with friends and family that we haven't seen in a while. And few things compare to the unity created from rooting for a common team.

So, it's no surprise that sports and holidays have been synonymous with each other for a very long time. The NBA began playing on Christmas Day in 1947, just one year after its inception. The NFL has been playing on Thanksgiving since 1920. And the earliest known baseball game on the Fourth of July was in 1873.

Of course, baseball on July Fourth isn't as much about family as it is about the country, but being at a baseball game on that day has a special atmosphere. Ballparks are always sold out as people gather to celebrate America's independence with America's pastime. Jet flyovers, red, white and blue apparel, fireworks and civility among fans sweep the ballparks as camaraderie unites fans, regardless of fandom.

On the Fourth of July, fans at the ballpark become more than just fans, they become one big family.

That same sort of camaraderie exists among family later in the year, especially at Thanksgiving, which combines the three F's: family, food and football. Fans of the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have their yearly Thanksgiving routine planned around the game. Whether the meal is before or after the contest, it's always about the game and watching it together.

The NBA on Christmas doesn't have that same tradition element that's present with the NFL on Thanksgiving, probably because there aren't set teams that always on Christmas like the Cowboys or Lions. But the Christmas games are a feast for NBA fans with several marquee matchups — especially this year with the lockout being lifted.

In 2008, the NBA expanded the number of the day's games to five, giving each network that broadcasts games (ABC, ESPN and TNT) a piece of the action. The result is 13 straight hours of basketball, often featuring the best teams and players in the sport. It's the NBA's biggest day of the season, which is why players and owners rushed to the ratify a new collective bargaining agreement to make sure this year's games wouldn't be lost.

The NFL and NBA know families are going to be together on Thanksgiving and Christmas and market their games to appeal to watching as a family. It's the reason each league sets new ratings records every few years.

Other sports are trying to jump into holiday games, notably the NHL and its Winter Classic on New Year's Day. The NHL started the Winter Classic in 2008 and has been widely popular among hockey fans but will find it difficult to reach a national audience with college football's commanding presence on the same day (safe for this year when Jan. 1 falls on Sunday, the last week of the NFL regular season).

There's bound to be plenty of ratings to go around this year for the NFL and NBA. With Christmas falling on a Sunday, fans get a double whammy of basketball and football action. The NFL moved its slate of games to Saturday (Christmas Eve) with the Bears-Packers matchup being the lone Sunday game.

Now comes the question of how much we can get away with watching before being scolded by family to get off the couch. There's always the family member that tries to pull us away and wants to know what's going on in our lives. Of course, we'd rather have that conversation while watching.

Sports have become such a backdrop for our world today and the amount of sporting events on holidays reflect how important they are to us. Besides our family and friends, and maybe school and jobs, sports are toward the top of the totem pole for a lot of people.

So, when we can share our love of sports with the love of family and friends, that's a win-win.

CBS, FOX and NBC were all granted new nine-year contracts from the NFL, according to Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch. ESPN reached an agreement earlier this year to broadcast Monday Night Football through 2022.

In all, the three networks are expected to pay close to $28 billion to the league over the next nine seasons.

With the new deal, CBS will begin broadcasting NFC games. It will be the first time the network, which traditionally handles AFC games, will broadcast NFC and AFC games in the same season. The traditionally NFC-oriented FOX will similarly have the opportunity to broadcast AFC games starting in 2014.

In addition, the NFL Network will no longer broadcast the primetime game on Thanksgiving, with those duties given to NBC beginning in 2012. NBC will also produce a morning pregame show on Sundays starting in 2014.

On Friday, it was reported that the Celtics would send forward Jermaine O’Neal to the Hornets for West and sign him to a three-year deal. But on Sunday, the deal is now “dead” and the Indiana Pacers are now the front-runners to sign West, according to TNT’s David Aldridge.

“Source: Sign/trade between Boston, NO for David West is dead, confirms http://ESPN.com report that Pacers closing in on signing West,” Aldridge tweeted Sunday afternoon.

Just 20 minutes later Aldridge tweeted that West and the Pacers had come to terms on a deal.

”Agent Lance Young confirms David West agrees with Indiana on two-year, $20 million deal: ‘David is ready to help them win a championship,’” the tweet read.

Manager Bobby Valentine said Bard would “get innings as a starter” in spring training and general manager Ben Cherington confirmed, according to WEEI.

“He’ll come to camp as a starter,” Cherington said. “Daniel knows we’ll do everything we can to help him succeed in that role and ultimately he’s ready to do whatever it takes to win games.”

Valentine also said Bard would become the closer if things don’t pan out in spring training.

“I told him to prepare to be a starter and if that, in fact, does not happen to be ready and willing to be our closer,” Valentine said.

In 258 regular-season games of his junior career, Southorn finished with 27 goals and 78 assists. He made his professional debut last season with the Trenton Titans of the ECHL. In 19 games, Southorn tallied three goals and seven assists.

Southorn was selected with the 104th pick in the 2008 NHL draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

The St. Louis Rams were the preseason favorite to win the NFC West after narrowly missing the playoffs last season. With first-year offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels running the offense and another year under quarterback Sam Bradford's belt, it seemed reasonable to expect St. Louis to return to prominance. However, numerous injuries on both sides of the ball, including to Bradford, have plagued the Rams all season. They do have one impressive win against New Orleans, but that's about it.

After beginning the season 3-0 with a comeback win over the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills have gone just 2-7 and are in the midst of a five-game losing streak. They lost their best player for the season in running back Fred Jackson, and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has struggled during the losing streak. The defense hasn't helped the offense either, giving up 25.3 points per game.

Most thought the Indianapolis Colts would suffer after hearing of quarterback Peyton Manning's neck injury before the season, but few thought the Colts would be sitting at 0-12. The Colts will miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. There's been speculation all season as to whether the Colts are purposely losing in order to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, leading to further speculation of what's to come of Manning. Needless to say, the Colts have a lot of work to do.

The San Diego Chargers are on track to miss the playoffs for the second straight season and reports say head coach Norv Turner will be fired at the end of the season. The Chargers have the offensive weapons necessary to compete in the NFL, but quarterback Philip Rivers has regressed this season, accounting for 21 of the team's turnovers. At 5-7, San Diego still has an outside chance to make the playoffs, but will probably have to win the remainder of its games.

Then there's the self-proclaimed "Dream Team." The Philadelphia Eagles have been on a roller coaster this season, with more downs than ups and are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Eagles haven't had much difficulty scoring, but have hit speed bumps with injuries to quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. The defense has been the real problem. Beefing up the secondary has left a glaring hole in the front seven and opposing teams have been able to run the ball at will.

Like St. Louis, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just missed the playoffs last season, going 10-6. The offense seemingly has all the pieces. Quarterback Josh Freeman can throw and run, LeGarrette Blount is a bruising running back and wide receiver Mike Williams gives the team big-play ability. But the Buccaneers offense only averages 18.2 points per game and Freeman is throwing more interceptions than touchdowns.

Image via Flick/theseoduke.

Which NFL team has been the biggest disappointment this season?

The MMA star was having a conversation with a fan on Twitter and tweeted a reference to FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. UFC president Dana White found the tweet to be offensive and cut Torres from the UFC roster, according to MMAFighting.com.

Torres’ tweet, which as been removed, said, “If a rape van was called a surprise van more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone like surprises.” Little did Torres know, his tweet could be viewed by all of his followers, not just the fan he was talking to.

After being fired, Torres apologized for the message.

“I am very sorry for upsetting my bosses at the UFC, and also to my fans and everyone else who was upset by the language in my tweets. I understand it was wrong, and I meant no harm or disrespect. Given the chance, I will do whatever it takes to make things right. I am going to learn from this,” Torres said in a statement.

Ortiz attended Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year" party on Tuesday night and took a picture with former San Antonio Spurs big man David Robinson, who stands at 7-foot-1. Needless to say, the height difference was obvious.

Check out Ortiz and Robinson in the photo below via Ortiz's Twitter account.

Photo via Twitter/@davidortiz

"Losing a game or having an official's call go against you or your team are all part of sports," the MIAA said in a statement. "Just like athletes and coaches, officials try hard to do the best job possible. Athletes must learn to put these things behind them and move forward."

During the fourth quarter of Saturday's game against Blue Hills Regional, Cathedral's Matthew Owens appeared to have scored to game-winning touchdown. However, Owens briefly raised his arm en route to the end zone and was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The touchdown was erased and Cathedral lost the game. The rule, implemented this season, "bans any celebratory or taunting behavior by someone scoring a touchdown."

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino spoke out on Wednesday, saying the rule was "written by frustrated athletes."

The MIAA's full statement can be read below.

David Ortiz

It was the first time Ortiz won the award since he won it five straight years from 2003-07. The 14-year veteran received 73 first-place votes out of 84 ballots. Detroit's Victor Martinez finished second, and Kansas City's Billy Butler took third.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is looking forward to getting a chance to work with Ortiz in the upcoming season.

"When you have someone who wins an individual award and honor the previous season, you're always excited about him being on the team," Valentine said. "He's the DH of the year, how could I not be excited about [potentially] having the DH of the year as a DH."

Ortiz batted .309 with 40 doubles, 29 home runs, 96 RBI and 84 runs last season. He also earned his fifth Silver Slugger award in 2011.

Smokey Robinson led the audience at the Kennedy Center in a rendition of Neil Diamond‘s ”Sweet Caroline,” and a group of Red Sox fans in attendance joined in, as well. The singing was contagious, and before long, the entire room was belting out the hit, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Diamond, along with Meryl Streep, jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Broadway star Barbara Cook, was honored at the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors, which annually recognizes prominent figures in performing arts.

Bussing 80 Red Sox fans to Washington D.C. for the ceremony was a suprise, orchestrated by Claire Durant, who is Tom Werner’s executive assistant, The Boston Globe reports.

The show was recorded live and will air Dec. 27 on CBS.

“Sweet Caroline” was inspired by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, but Diamond says the song is about him and his ex-wife, according to The Associated Press.

Red Sox fans are very familiar with the song, of course. It’s been a tradition to sing the lyrics in the middle of the eighth inning during home games at Fenway Park. Diamond famously sang the song live at Fenway Park during a game in 2010.

Take a look at the video below to see a few seconds of Robinson’s performance at the ceremony, courtesy of CNN.

Check out the video below to see Diamond’s reaction of being honored at the Kennedy Center.

To hear Diamond singing “Sweet Caroline” at The Greek Theater in the 1970s, watch the video below.

USC's Matt Barkley has gained more recognition as the season has progressed. The pro-style offense implemented by head coach Lane Kiffin appeals to NFL scouts, and Barkley, who doesn't have a very strong arm, is capable of making all the throws needed at the pro level. The junior has not made a decision to declare for the NFL draft. Barkley was great in the Trojans' 38-35 win at Oregon. He threw for threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, and squandered any hope the Ducks had at making the BCS national championship game.

While Oklahoma underperformed this season after being ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Preseason Poll, Landry Jones has remained strong at quarterback. Jones was not asked to throw as much as he did during his sophomore season, hence the slight decline in his stats. He has had issues with interceptions at times, but Jones is still expected to be a high first-round draft pick.

One quarterback who's made a lot of noise lately is Baylor's Robert Griffin III. His athleticism makes him a threat to throw and run the ball. He is great at escaping pressure and throwing the deep ball, most evident by his 34-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Terrance Williams against Oklahoma. His 72.6 completion percentage is impressive for a scrambling quarterback, and he's thrown just five interceptions all season.

An interesting quarterback is Houston's Case Keenum, who has put up record numbers for the Cougars. He owns the NCAA record for career touchdowns with 152 and has thrown for 5,099 yards in 2011. Like Griffin III, he's thrown just five interceptions, but has thrown nearly 200 more passes. The argument against Keenum is that he plays in a spread offense and Houston plays in the less competitive Conference USA.

A couple of up-and-coming quarterbacks to keep an eye on are TCU's Casey Pachall and Ohio State's Braxton Miller. Pachall, a sophomore who made 10 starts for the Horned Frogs this season, came up short in games against Baylor and SMU. However, in a pressure-filled game at Boise State, Pachall rose to the occassion. He threw for 473 yards and five touchdowns and led TCU down the field for the game-winning touchdown and go-ahead two-point conversion to win 36-35.

Miller took over for the Buckeyes just four games into the season and showed glimpses of brilliance during the season. He likes to use his legs and led Ohio State in both passing and rushing yards. Like, Pachall, Miller stepped up in big games, such asthe season finale against Michigan. Miller accounted for three touchdowns and kept the Buckeyes in the game. However, the Buckeye defense couldn't stop the Wolverines and Michigan held on for a 40-34 win.

Check out the top 10 NFL prospects among quarterbacks not named Andrew Luck>>

At least 13 people were injured, two in critical condition, during the fans' celebration. Many people fell and were trampled as fans sought to dismantle the goal posts.

"They won the game and stormed the field and ripped down the goalposts and some were jumping off the stands and hit the field and others got trampled. It was a nasty deal," Michael Authement, head of the command post for LifeNet EMS, told The Associated Press.

Helicopters reportedly flew the two in critical condition and ambulances took the remaining 11 to nearby hospitals in Oklahoma City. Authement told the newspaper he knew of a couple leg fractures. Two people suffered minor injuries and were released after being tended to at the scene, according to reports.

It took police upwards of 45 minutes to clear the stadium, reports said.

Turner and general manager A.J. Smith are likely to to fired at the end of the season, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. President Dean Spanos says he has "no choice" but to fire Turner, who has a record of 45-30 in his five seasons with the Chargers.

Spanos is reportedly still considering Smith's status, although league sources believe he will be fired.

The Chargers began the season 4-1 and were atop the AFC West. However, six straight losses and poor play from quarterback Philip Rivers have put the team in last place in the division.

It's been a long time since Tracy McGrady was a feared player in the NBA. In 2002, McGrady showed why he was such a dominant player in the early part of his career.

Against the Toronto Raptors, McGrady, then a member of the Orlando Magic, crossed over Vince Carter and rose up for a one-handed slam. Keon Clark made an attempt to get in McGrady's way, but was ineffective in stopping him.

Check out McGrady's dunk below.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is known more for his fade-away jumper nowadays, but a younger Bryant made Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard look defenseless in the 2004-05 season.

Bryant drove to the basket from the left wing and used one hand to dunk over the rookie Howard, who was just trying to get in Bryant's way. It's safe to say with seven seasons under his belt now, Howard wouldn't let such a thing happen again.

Check out the dunk below.

As a member of the Golden State Warriors, Jason Richardson brought excitment and electricity to a team that had been lacking anything to get excited about for quite some time.

During his rookie season, Richardson intercepted a pass and had no one in front of him. He used the opportunity to throw down a windmill dunk that he would later use in the 2002 dunk contest.

Check out Richardson’s windmill dunk below.

On the biggest stages, Larry Bird was one of the best players to ever play the game. During the 1984 NBA Finals, Larry Legend caused the Boston Garden to erupt.

Bird ran a fastbreak give-and-go with Cedric Maxwell and finished with a two-handed dunk, a rare sight for the 6-foot,-9-inch forward from Indiana State.

Of course, the Celtics would go on to win the game and become NBA Champions.

Both Baron Davis and Jermaine O’Neal are well past their primes at this point in their career, but in 2004, Davis and O’Neal were key players on their respective teams.

In a game against the Indiana Pacers, Hornets guard Davis ran a give-and-go with Jamal Mashburn and threw it down with one hand on a helpless O’Neal.

Check out Davis’ dunk in the video below.