Whitesoxclub.com | Chicago White sox News, whitesox Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary - <div>Fashion statement </div>Reed Johnson's full-extension, diving catch against the Nationals. He slid headfirst into the wall, and when he stood, the bill of his Cubs cap was flipped up from the impact. Nice look. Rick Morrissey Hero is christened Reed Johnson nearly lost his head while making a sensational diving catch at the wall at Washington in April. Several players claimed it was the best catch they'd ever seen, and it turned Johnson into an instant cult hero among Wrigley Field bleacherites. "At Wrigley, they might have had to call a timeout to find his head in the vines," manager Lou Piniella said. Paul Sullivan \ Missile launcher Given the circumstances, the sixth-inning grand slam by White Sox rookie Alexei Ramirez to beat the Tigers in the season's last scheduled game stands out. Ramirez backed Gavin Floyd's solid pitching and forced a one-game playoff against the Twins, which the Sox won to reach the postseason. Fred Mitchell \ 'Kid' comes through The best game of the year featured the best play of the year, with future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. preserving a scoreless tie with a strong throw from center field to cut down the Twins' Michael Cuddyer, who was trying to score on Brendan Harris' fly ball. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski made a textbook tag, somehow keeping the ball in his glove after Cuddyer sent him flying. The White Sox went on to win the AL Central tiebreaker 1-0, making this one of the most significant fielding plays I've ever seen. Phil Rogers \ Substance and style For style points, it was Reed Johnson's cap-bending slide into Washington's center-field wall. For importance, it was Ken Griffey Jr.'s center-field throw and A.J. Pierzynski's one-handed, game-saving tag on Michael Cuddyer in the winner-take-all White Sox-Twins tiebreaker for the division title. Dave van Dyck \ Slick glove work Any of the four tough grounders Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez fielded flawlessly in a 15-inning win over Kansas City on June 4. Mark Gonzales \ Kicking away controversy If not for the right foot of Daniel Murray, there would have been BCS chaos. Murray drilled a 31-yard field goal at frigid Kinnick Stadium to lift Iowa to a 24-23 victory over Penn State. If he hadn't, the Nittany Lions would have finished 12-0. And either Joe Paterno's crew or Florida, the BCS' current No. 2, would have been shut out of the BCS title game. Teddy Greenstein \ Prescient moment As the ball flew toward the Fire's Chris Rolfe on Oct. 23, I said to another reporter, "That's his spot." Just as I was finishing the sentence, Rolfe received the ball with his chest from well outside the box and volleyed it into the Red Bulls' goal. Luis Arroyave \ Golden assist U.S. swimmer Jason Lezak's astonishing final leg on the 4x100 freestyle relay, during which he made up an apparently insurmountable deficit on Frenchman Alain Bernard, who had held the world record and would go on to win the 100 free. Lezak's feat, the fastest free relay leg ever, turned Michael Phelps into a post-Olympic multimillionaire, saving the medal that allowed Phelps to break Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in a single Olympics. Philip Hersh \ Worth the wait Northwestern waited until 12 seconds remained against then-No. 20 Minnesota for a 24-17 upset. That's when Wildcats safety Brendan Smith intercepted a pass and ran it back 48 yards for the winning touchdown in the Metrodome. The first thing coach Pat Fitzgerald said after the victory? "Wow." Northwestern's seventh win clinched a bowl spot in dramatic fashion. Shannon Ryan \ Slow-motion stunner Was there a more jaw-dropping play, just seconds after those four failed tries at the Minnesota end zone, than Bernard Berrian catching that Gus Frerotte pass and going 99 yards for a touchdown against the Bears? It happened in slow motion, along the sideline right in front of me, the ball hanging in the air forever, and Berrian, of all people, being the stake through the Bears' hearts. John Mullin \ Repeat playmaker Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews is making a habit of this "Play of the Year" thing. His 2007 goal against the Colorado Avalanche remains the best I've ever seen, but he nearly topped it Dec. 6 with a highlight-reel effort against the Red Wings. Toews skated right around the Wings' Dan Cleary and deked Detroit goaltender Ty Conklin nearly out of his pads to score. Chris Kuc \ Providing a spark Devin who? Danieal Manning, replacing Hester as the Bears' kick returner, brought back the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown against the Saints, an electrifying play the Bears had been missing all season. Manning added a little flair by pointing his hand in the air while crossing midfield. Vaughn McClure \ Follow bouncing balls When the Ping-Pong balls numbered 11-7-9-13 came up in that order, the Bulls overcame 1.7 percent odds to win the NBA draft lottery May 20. They eventually selected Derrick Rose, and the pick is looking like it might work. In the 24-year history of the lottery, only Orlando made a larger leap to the top pick, from the 11th spot in 1993. K.C. Johnson \ Of course he did Indiana guard Eric Gordon, public enemy No. 1 in Champaign for backing out of an oral commitment to play at Illinois, made his only appearance at Assembly Hall on Feb. 7. Sure enough, Gordon banked in a 25-foot three-pointer to tie the game 63-63. The Hoosiers went on to win in double overtime. Terry Bannon \ Mastering the maze East St. Louis receiver Terry Hawthorne caught a 3-yard slant pass, dodged three Glenbard West defenders while running across the field, turned the corner, eluded two more would-be tacklers and then juked a sixth defender on his way to an 81-yard touchdown. Bob Sakamoto \ Helpful competitors Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in her career. She finally connected with two runners on against Central Washington, only to miss first base and tear a knee ligament when she spun around to touch the bag, collapsing to the ground. The umpires explained that if any Western Oregon coach or teammate touched her, she would be out, and she'd be credited only with a single if Western substituted for her. So Central Washington's Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace carried Tucholsky on a slow, surreal trip around the bases, Tucholsky touching each bag with her good leg. I have tears in my eyes even now. Steve Rosenbloom

Fashion statement

Reed Johnson's full-extension, diving catch against the Nationals. He slid headfirst into the wall, and when he stood, the bill of his Cubs cap was flipped up from the impact. Nice look.

Rick Morrissey

Hero is christened

Reed Johnson nearly lost his head while making a sensational diving catch at the wall at Washington in April. Several players claimed it was the best catch they'd ever seen, and it turned Johnson into an instant cult hero among Wrigley Field bleacherites. "At Wrigley, they might have had to call a timeout to find his head in the vines," manager Lou Piniella said.

Paul Sullivan

\ Missile launcher

Given the circumstances, the sixth-inning grand slam by White Sox rookie Alexei Ramirez to beat the Tigers in the season's last scheduled game stands out. Ramirez backed Gavin Floyd's solid pitching and forced a one-game playoff against the Twins, which the Sox won to reach the postseason.

Fred Mitchell

\ 'Kid' comes through

The best game of the year featured the best play of the year, with future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. preserving a scoreless tie with a strong throw from center field to cut down the Twins' Michael Cuddyer, who was trying to score on Brendan Harris' fly ball. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski made a textbook tag, somehow keeping the ball in his glove after Cuddyer sent him flying. The White Sox went on to win the AL Central tiebreaker 1-0, making this one of the most significant fielding plays I've ever seen.

Phil Rogers

\ Substance and style

For style points, it was Reed Johnson's cap-bending slide into Washington's center-field wall. For importance, it was Ken Griffey Jr.'s center-field throw and A.J. Pierzynski's one-handed, game-saving tag on Michael Cuddyer in the winner-take-all White Sox-Twins tiebreaker for the division title.

Dave van Dyck

\ Slick glove work

Any of the four tough grounders Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez fielded flawlessly in a 15-inning win over Kansas City on June 4.

Mark Gonzales

\ Kicking away controversy

If not for the right foot of Daniel Murray, there would have been BCS chaos. Murray drilled a 31-yard field goal at frigid Kinnick Stadium to lift Iowa to a 24-23 victory over Penn State. If he hadn't, the Nittany Lions would have finished 12-0. And either Joe Paterno's crew or Florida, the BCS' current No. 2, would have been shut out of the BCS title game.

Teddy Greenstein

\ Prescient moment

As the ball flew toward the Fire's Chris Rolfe on Oct. 23, I said to another reporter, "That's his spot." Just as I was finishing the sentence, Rolfe received the ball with his chest from well outside the box and volleyed it into the Red Bulls' goal.

Luis Arroyave

\ Golden assist

U.S. swimmer Jason Lezak's astonishing final leg on the 4x100 freestyle relay, during which he made up an apparently insurmountable deficit on Frenchman Alain Bernard, who had held the world record and would go on to win the 100 free. Lezak's feat, the fastest free relay leg ever, turned Michael Phelps into a post-Olympic multimillionaire, saving the medal that allowed Phelps to break Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in a single Olympics.

Philip Hersh

\ Worth the wait

Northwestern waited until 12 seconds remained against then-No. 20 Minnesota for a 24-17 upset. That's when Wildcats safety Brendan Smith intercepted a pass and ran it back 48 yards for the winning touchdown in the Metrodome. The first thing coach Pat Fitzgerald said after the victory? "Wow." Northwestern's seventh win clinched a bowl spot in dramatic fashion.

Shannon Ryan

\ Slow-motion stunner

Was there a more jaw-dropping play, just seconds after those four failed tries at the Minnesota end zone, than Bernard Berrian catching that Gus Frerotte pass and going 99 yards for a touchdown against the Bears? It happened in slow motion, along the sideline right in front of me, the ball hanging in the air forever, and Berrian, of all people, being the stake through the Bears' hearts.

John Mullin

\ Repeat playmaker

Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews is making a habit of this "Play of the Year" thing. His 2007 goal against the Colorado Avalanche remains the best I've ever seen, but he nearly topped it Dec. 6 with a highlight-reel effort against the Red Wings. Toews skated right around the Wings' Dan Cleary and deked Detroit goaltender Ty Conklin nearly out of his pads to score.

Chris Kuc

\ Providing a spark

Devin who? Danieal Manning, replacing Hester as the Bears' kick returner, brought back the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown against the Saints, an electrifying play the Bears had been missing all season. Manning added a little flair by pointing his hand in the air while crossing midfield.

Vaughn McClure

\ Follow bouncing balls

When the Ping-Pong balls numbered 11-7-9-13 came up in that order, the Bulls overcame 1.7 percent odds to win the NBA draft lottery May 20. They eventually selected Derrick Rose, and the pick is looking like it might work. In the 24-year history of the lottery, only Orlando made a larger leap to the top pick, from the 11th spot in 1993.

K.C. Johnson

\ Of course he did

Indiana guard Eric Gordon, public enemy No. 1 in Champaign for backing out of an oral commitment to play at Illinois, made his only appearance at Assembly Hall on Feb. 7. Sure enough, Gordon banked in a 25-foot three-pointer to tie the game 63-63. The Hoosiers went on to win in double overtime.

Terry Bannon

\ Mastering the maze

East St. Louis receiver Terry Hawthorne caught a 3-yard slant pass, dodged three Glenbard West defenders while running across the field, turned the corner, eluded two more would-be tacklers and then juked a sixth defender on his way to an 81-yard touchdown.

Bob Sakamoto

\ Helpful competitors

Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in her career. She finally connected with two runners on against Central Washington, only to miss first base and tear a knee ligament when she spun around to touch the bag, collapsing to the ground. The umpires explained that if any Western Oregon coach or teammate touched her, she would be out, and she'd be credited only with a single if Western substituted for her. So Central Washington's Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace carried Tucholsky on a slow, surreal trip around the bases, Tucholsky touching each bag with her good leg. I have tears in my eyes even now.

Steve Rosenbloom