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As 2014 winds to a close, TSN.ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. TSN.cas writing staff reflects on the best football moments from the past 12 months including Odell Beckhams all-time grab, Richard Shermans epic rant, Michael Sams brave step forward and more! The Johnny Manziel Experiment Fails Miserably in Cleveland By Mike Hetherington It was story of the NFL Draft; where would electrifying quarterback Johnny Manziel go? The Cleveland Browns answered the question when they traded up to select to Johnny Football with the 22nd-overall pick. Manziel walked across the stage of Radio City Music Hall and gave his patented money celebration. Manziel lost out on the starting quarterback job in the preseason after going 30-of-59 for 296 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Manziel lacked a wow performance in the preseason but continued to add to his polarizing personality by raising a certain finger to the Washington Redskins bench in his second game – earning him a $12K fine. Due to a surprising 7-4 start, Manziel saw little action through the first 12 weeks of the season. But, with starter Brian Hoyers play slipping and a fan base impatiently waiting to see the rookie, the Browns gave Manziel a chance. Down 20-3 to the Buffalo Bills in fourth quarter of Week 13, the Browns sent Manziel in. He provided an immediate spark, leading an 80-play touchdown drive capped with a rushing touchdown – and a money celebration. However, the Bills defence then shut him down. After Hoyer struggled again the next week, the Browns handed the reins to Manziel. He was shut out by the Bengals defence in his first start and totalled just 93 combined yards, while throwing to interceptions. The Browns gave him another shot in Week 16 against the Panthers, where he threw for just 32 yards before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury. Its too early to call JFF a bust, but the first year of the Manziel experiment certainly did not go as planned. -- Odell Beckham Jr. Makes the Best Catch You’ll Probably Ever See By Ryan Horne There were plenty of sports questions in 2014 that we can debate until our faces turn blue. There’s one question that need not be debated, tough, as realistically there is only one contender for play of the year. New York Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made a catch on Nov. 23 that could very well stand the test of time as the best ever. Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw a prayer to Beckham Jr. from the 43 yard line. Cowboys’ cornerback Brandon Carr committed at least one, maybe two, pass interference penalties on the LSU product. The Giants would have gotten the ball around the three-yard line anyway, but Beckham Jr. didn’t care. He leaped, stretched out his right arm like he was Mister Fantastic from the Fantastic Four and snagged the pigskin with three of his fingertips before bringing it down to his chest for the touchdown. Before you knew it Twitter blew up with praise from the sporting world including NBA superstar LeBron James saying it had to be the best ever. Sure it may have not been on the same stage as David Tyree’s helmet catch against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, but the pure out-of-this- world athletism displayed just can’t be matched. It’s the play of the year. -- Outspoken Sherman Boosts his Star Power By Mike Hetherington Richard Sherman made himself known as a top cornerback prior to this year, but in 2014 he took his star power to a whole new level. With under a minute to play in the NFC Championship game, the 49ers were marching and down just six points. Taking a no-huddle snap with 30 seconds to play from the Seahawks 18-yard line, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw a pass to the right corner of the end zone for Michael Crabtree. Sherman extended and batted the pass in the air and into the hands of linebacker Malcolm Smith for the game-winning interception. Sherman then made himself the face of controversy, yelling into the microphone of a post-game interview while declaring himself the “best corner in the game” and calling Crabtree “a sorry receiver.” Social media exploded with mixed reactions, with many referring to Sherman as a “thug,” to which the corner took great offence. Two weeks later, Sherman had another strong game as the Seahawks defence shut down the Denver Broncos offence in a Super Bowl rout. With a Super Bowl ring, Sherman’s celebrity rose to new levels, with Barrack Obama even doing his own spoof of Sherman’s rant. Sherman quieted down the ‘thug’ accusations after the season, but made sure he was very well known as one of the game’s best defensive backs, if not the best. -- Turn Down for Watt: J.J. Does it All By Ryan Horne J.J. Watt is a darn good football player. People already were aware of this going into the 2014 season, but it was on the basis of what he could do as the best defensive end in the game. Not what he could do as a receiver. The 25-year-old has caught three touchdown passes this season. Even though they’ve been short one or two yard receptions, it’s still impressive to see a big defensive lineman with sharp enough hands to come up with those grabs. Watt also has an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in Week 4 against the Buffalo Bills and a 55-yard fumble recovery for a TD two weeks later against the Indianapolis Colts. He has 72 tackles, 17.5 sacks, three forced fumbled and one pick so far in 2014, putting him in contention for the Most Valuable Player Award. The last time a defensive player won the MVP was back in 1986 when linebacker Lawrence Taylor took the honours as a member of the New York Giants. It will be a stretch for him to win the award since the Texans are a non-playoff team, but Watt is quickly making a name for himself as a once-in-a-lifetime type player. -- DeMarco Murray Carries Cowboys Above 8-8 and into Playoffs By Mike Hetherington DeMarco Murray had never played every game in a season entering 2014, leaving with the injury-prone label. This season, however, he received more carries and picked up more yards on the ground than any other back in football - and did so by more than 300 yards (through Week 16). Murray reeled off eight straight games with over 100 yards rushing to start the season and 11 such games in the Cowboys first 15 contests. Yet, Murray’s health came into question once again after the 26-year-old broke a finger in his left hand in the Cowboys win over the Eagles with two weeks remaining on the season. However, Murray had surgery on a Monday and played just six days later against the Colts, albeit rushing for a season-low 58 yards. On the shoulders of Murray, the Cowboys won the NFC East and managed to avoid going 8-8 for a fourth consecutive season. The team also finished above .500 for the first time under head coach Jason Garett. On a contract year, Murray could not have picked a better time to become the NFL’s premier running back. -- Michael Sam Makes History By Ryan Horne Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted by a pro football team in 2014. Sam, an outside linebacker who played his college ball at Missouri, came out earlier in the year and some thought teams would be afraid to draft the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year because of the possible distractions. Not the case. The St. Louis Rams sure made people wait, but eventually selected Sam with the 249th pick in the seventh and final round of the draft. There were 256 picks in total. A live camera crew captured Sam’s reaction from San Diego where he was celebrating with his boyfriend, friends and family. The Rams cut Sam at the conclusion of the pre-season. He was added to the Dallas Cowboys’ practice roster soon after, but was waived a month later and didn’t see any game action during the season. It’s possible the 24-year-old will never see a NFL football field during a regular season game in his career, but is a pioneer for gay athletes in professional sports and could inspire others to have the courage to come out. As for 2015, don’t be surprised to see Sam racking up sacks for a CFL team, as it seems like a natural fit. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses China .Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month. Ray Ban Sunglasses Wholesale . The 26-year-old Regina native teamed up with Denny Morrison and Mathieu Giroux to win gold in 2010. Makowsky also was 13th in the 5,000 metres and 19th in the 1,500m in Vancouver. He also represented Canada at the 2014 Games in Sochi, helping the pursuit team finish fourth and finishing 28th in the 1,500. http://www.cheaprayban.net/ . The 28-year-old from Rochester, Alta., was selected by the Redblacks from the Saskatchewan Roughriders roster in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses For Sale .com) - The Milwaukee Bucks will try to get another win on this homestand Thursday night when they welcome the Utah Jazz to the Bradley Center. Cheap Authentic Ray Ban Sunglasses . -- Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias says he has stress fractures in both legs and isnt sure when hell be able to play again, leaving the Tigers two weeks to fill his spot for opening day and perhaps a lot longer.NEW YORK -- Daniel Murphy is proud he put fatherhood ahead of baseball, and New York Mets manager Terry Collins thinks criticism his second baseman received for taking paternity leave this week was unfair. Murphy made his season debut Thursday, three days after the birth of son Noah. He called staying in Florida an extra day "the right decision to make" following wife Victorias cesarean section and said "we felt the best thing for our family was for me to stay." He learned Sunday that his wifes water broke, then travelled to Florida and missed Mondays 9-7 opening loss to Washington and Wednesday nights 5-1 defeat. He said his son was born at 12:02 p.m. Monday. Major league rules allow up to three days of paternity leave, and WFAN broadcaster Mike Francesa said on the air Wednesday that Murphy should not have skipped the second game. "One day I understand. And in the old days they didnt do that," Francesa said. "But one day, go see the baby be born and come back. Youre a Major League Baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help." A day later, Collins bristled after learning of the comments. "If youre accusing Dan Murphy of not wanting to play -- this guy played 161 games last year, wore himself out, played through all soorts of discomfort," he said.dddddddddddd "You know, the man had his first child. Hes allowed to be there. The rules state that he can be there, so he went. Theres nothing against it. Theres nothing wrong with it. You know, he missed two games. Its not like hes missed 10. You know, when you start attacking Dan Murphys credibility, you need to look in the mirror a little bit." Murphy said he received text messages about the criticism. He was applauded before his first at-bat, singled and scored the Mets first run against the Nationals. He said his son was named after the Biblical character Noah, not for Mets teammate Noah Syndergaard. "People are going to say you named him after the monstrosity that throws like 1,000 miles an hour," Murphy said. "We didnt. Noah came from Noahs Ark. Peace and rest is what it means." Baby Noah kept his parents awake at 3 a.m. Wednesday. "We had our first panic session. It was dark. She tried to change a diaper, couldnt do it. I came in," he said. "It was just the three of us, 3 oclock in the morning, all freaking out. He was the only one screaming. I wanted to." NOTES: Murphy took the roster spot of OF Chris Young, who was put on the 15-day disabled list because of tightness in his right quadriceps. ' ' '