We love our lists here, so we decided to round up 2008’s top ten sports stories.

1. In Phelps We Trust.  Who would have thought that a 23, an Olympic swimmer could take home seven world records, one Olympic record, and eight gold medals. This great moment even came with drama when in the 100-meter butterfly it Phelps had to catch up, touching out his Serbian rival by the narrowest possible margin of 0.01 seconds. Phelps achievement not only tops this list, but, arguably, stands as the greatest Olympic performance in history. Go America!

2.  Giant Upset. It was one of the three greatest upsets in Super Bowl History, rivaling the Jets over the Colts in Super Bowl III and the Patriots over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Yet it was even more than that because the New York Giants‘ 17-14 win knocked the New England Patriots off an unprecedented perc.

3. Bolt Of Lightning. A bit ironic his name being Bolt, yet it still didn’t do justice to Usain Bolt’s astonishing Olympic performance. The gangly, 21-year-old Jamaican became the first sprinter to shatter world records in both the 100 and the 200 at the same Olympics. He won the gold in 9.69 despite slowing and beginning his celebration some five meters before the finish.

4. I Feel Like I’ve Been Here Before… In the 1980s, Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics would capture eight championships between them, resurrecting a storied NBA rivalry that had seen those two teams meet in seven finals between 1959 and 1969, and in the new millineum Kevin Garnett Ray Allen, and Paul Piercelead the Celtics to the league’s best record and a meeting in the finals with their old rivals the Lakers.

5.  Tiger Limps To Victory. Well know that golf is hard, and that Tiger Woods is a god among mortals. For the U.S. Open Woods played the game coming out of a knee surgery. It would take to the 91st hold of play for Woods to finally out duel Rocco Mediate. Finally, Woods would do so in pain, capturing his 14th major overall (with one leg), getting him closer to Jack Nicklaus and his 18 Major Championships.

6. Three Times  A Winner. Jimmie Johnson embarked into the 2008 NASCAR season as a two-time champion. He’ll enter the 2009 season as a three-time champion. Johnson, who drives the #48 Lowes Chevrolet, won his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in November. The win allowed him to join Cale Yarborough as the only man to ever win three consecutive championships.

7.  Nadal ousts Federer in “One of Greatest Matches Ever”. Federer was “The Master of the Grass”. Nadal was unbeatable on clay courts. Both tennis warriors would embark on the impossible. Nadal searched for his record setting sixth straight Wimbledon. Nadal wanted to prove to the world that he wasn’t just a clay court champion. Nadal would do just that, in a hard fought 4 hour and 48 minute barrage of power, accuracy, and intensity. Many consider it to be one of the greatest tennis matches of all time and there is no doubting that many tennis fans will never forget this 2008 epic for a long time to come.

8.  Falcons, Dolphins experience HUGE turnarounds. A  year ago, things looked dismal for both the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons. Now, both teams are experience amazing comeback seasons. Under new rookie sensation Matt Ryan (above) and breakout running back Michael Turner, the Falcons rocketed to an 11-5 record and nearly won the NFC South. The Dolphins on the other hand had the greatest turnaround in the history of the league, going from 1-15 a year ago to an 11-5 record. 

9.  Lesnar KOs Couture to win UFC Heavyweight crown. This was by far one of the most anticipated matches in UFC history. It did get a lot of slack because of Brock’s MMA record (2-1), but the fight lived up to the hype. After a rough first round with Lesnar, Lesnar, followed by a round of hammer fists to end the fight, hit Couture on the crown of the head. He will now wait to fight Frank Mir to crown an Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.

10. Danica Did It! While this may not be a big moment for a lot of people, it was a big one historically. Patrick becomes the first woman ever to win an Indy Car event. She also becomes the first one in recent memory to win an auto race.

When NFL free agency season began, Michael Turner was the biggest prize of the available running backs. Turner, who began his career as LaDainian Tomlinson’s backup with the San Diego Chargers, ended up signing with the Atlanta Falcons.

In San Diego, there weren’t many concerned fans because although Turner was a good player, the Chargers have a better running back in Tomlinson. However, Charger fans might soon regret that the Chargers picked Turner over LaDainian. Sound crazy?  I know it does.

But Tomlinson will be 29-years-old by the time next year begins. While he’s a great running back, players at his position tend to start going downhill once they hit 30. Tomlinson has 2,400 career carries, which is a whole lot of punishment. To compare, the 26-year-old Turner has 228 career rushing attempts.

The smart move would have been to sell Tomlinson right now while his value is still high and then go with Turner as the new starting running back. It would have definitely been a difficult decision because Tomlinson is the face of the franchise and is regarded by many as the best running back in the NFL. But by trading Tomlinson and keeping Turner, the Chargers could have been stronger going forward.

Turner isn’t as good as Tomlinson but his 5.5 yards per carry career average isn’t too shabby. In fact, that is one full yard better per carry than Tomlinson. While that number surely would be lowered when he had to carry the ball more often as a starter, he’d still likely produce better than average stats.

The trade market for Tomlinson would have been huge. Almost every team in the league would love to get Tomlinson on their team. He’s an amazing running back, a quality person and someone you can build a franchise around. A couple good players and a few high draft picks would have been the opening bid for Tomlinson if the Chargers would have put him on the market.

Well now it’s too late for the Chargers. Turner is gone and the team no longer has options. Sorry to say, but you’ll come to regret this move, San Diego.