Tiger Woods lets out a celebratory roar after winning the 2006 British Open. (Jon Super/Associated Press)

HIGHLIGHTS
Agassi bids farewell
A four-set loss to German qualifier Benjamin Becker at the U.S. Open puts a tearful end to the brilliant career of tennis great and future Hall of Famer Andre Agassi.

Kobe's 81 points stun Raptors
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant pours in 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest point total in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s celebrated 100-point effort in 1962.

Ovechkin’s goal for the ages
Playing against the Great One and his Phoenix Coyotes, Washington Capitals phenom Alexander Ovechkin scores an improbable goal on his back that goes beyond highlight-reel status.

Detroit Tigers resurgence
Doormats through much of new millennium, the Tigers surprise the baseball world by upending the heavily favoured New York Yankees in the opening round of the playoffs en route to their first World Series appearance in 22 years.

Wade's MVP performance
Dwyane Wade posts the third highest scoring average (34.7) by a player in his first NBA Finals, earning much-deserved MVP honours by carrying the Miami Heat to their first title.

Allen passes into pro football history
In a Labour Day matchup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto quarterback Damon Allen passes CFL legend Warren Moon with 70,566 yards, making him the most prolific passer in professional football history. That includes the NFL too, folks.

Rookie hurler throws no-no
Pitching in only his 14th major league game, Florida Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez throws the franchise's fourth no-hitter – and the only one thrown in MLB in 2006 – blanking the Arizona Diamondback 2-0.

Jennifer Heil celebrates after winning gold in the freestyle skiing moguls at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Heil begins medal haul
Jennifer Heil nails two nearly flawless runs in the women's moguls to win a gold, giving Canada its first medal of the Torino Winter Games and setting the pace for a team-wide record haul.

LT runs into NFL record books
The catalyst of the San Diego Chargers' offence, LaDainian Tomlinson scores his 29th touchdown against the Denver Broncos to break Shaun Alexander's NFL season record.

Chinese skaters recover from scary fall
Chinese pairs skater Zhang Dan overcomes a face-first fall off an attempted quadruple Salchow throw by partner Zhang Hao to win Olympic silver, capturing the admiration of a worldwide audience in the process.

Tiger's British Open win honours father
A normally stoic Tigers Woods breaks down after winning the British Open in honour of his father and mentor Earl Woods, who passed away two months earlier. The victory was only one of many in Tiger's stellar season.

Tracy wins over Quebec fans
Embroiled in controversy with French drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Tagliani, Toronto's Paul Tracy dons a fleur-de-lis flag on the podium after finishing second in the Montreal Grand Prix. The stunt wins over the Quebec fans.

Canadian swimmers on the comeback trail
With the dismal performance at the 2004 Athens Games still hanging over the national program, Canadian swimmers win eight medals, including two gold at the Pan Pacific swimming championships. Are sunny skies ahead?

Alpine team off to roaring start
Led by John Kucera's season-opening super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta., the Canadian Alpine team earns six podium finishes to start the year, cementing Ken Read's image as skiing's saviour.

Canada earns sledge hockey gold
The Canadian men's sledge hockey team claims its first-ever gold medal at the Paralympic Games in spectacular fashion, shutting out the powerful Norwegians 3-0.

Team manager turned sharpshooter, Jason McElwain hoists another three-pointer. (Eric Sucar/The Daily Messenger/Associated Press)

Autistic hoopster makes national headlines
During his first and only appearance for his high-school basketball team in Greece, N.Y., Jason McElwain, who is autistic, drains six three-pointers, adds another field goal and is carried off the court by his jubilant teammates.

Canada hires Olympic Golden Boy
Canada's Former Olympic hero Alex Baumann, one of the architects responsible for turning Australia into a swimming power, is coaxed back home as executive director of the Canadian Olympic Committee's Road to Excellence program.

LOWLIGHTS
Canadian men ousted in Olympic hockey
The Canadians put on an embarrassing display of offensive ineptitude during the Torino Games, losing to Switzerland (that's not a typo) and culminating in a 2-0 loss to the Russians in the quarter-finals and dashing any hope of defending their Olympic gold medal.

Frost arrested for sexual assault
David Frost, the former agent of jailed NHL player Mike Danton, is arrested by Ontario Provincial Police for sexual exploitation and assault.

Bode flames out at Olympics
Trumpeted as a five-medal threat at the Torino Winter Games, American Alpine skier Bode Miller withers in every event to walk away empty-handed.

Dutch, Portuguese stage World Cup donnybrook
A soccer World Cup record is tied as at total of 16 yellow cards are handed out in an emotionally charged match between Portugal and the Netherlands.

Wotherspoon disappoints once again
Canadian Jeremy Wotherspoon, winner of more World Cup medals than any male speed skater in history, fails to reach the Olympic podium for the second consecutive Winter Games.

Americans flunk drug tests
Unseated Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and Olympic 100-metre champion Justin Gatlin fail separate drug tests, bringing further shame to American sports already marred by a number of steroid scandals.

T.O.'s OD saga
Mercurial Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens overdoses on prescription pain killers, leading his publicist, Kim Etheredge, to coin the infamous line, "Terrell has 25 million reasons why he should be alive."

Canadian Olympic hero Daniel Igali was injured during a violent robbery while visiting Nigeria. (Richard Lam/Canadian Press)

Igali mugged in Nigeria
Former Canadian Olympic wrestling gold medallist Daniel Igali is attacked by four men in his private residence of Yengoa, Bayelsa State. He loses $13,625 Cdn in valuables and questions his desire to return to his native Nigeria in the near future.

Duke Lacrosse rape allegations
Members of the highly ranked Duke Lacrosse team are accused of gang raping an exotic dancer hired to perform at an off-campus party. Although the rape charges have been dropped, three players still face kidnapping and sexual offence charges.

Renegades’ demise
With no prospective owners willing to buy the Ottawa Renegades from Detroit businessman Bernie Glieberman, the CFL announces the suspension of the team's operations for 2006 and holds a dispersal draft for the remaining eight teams.

Maurice Clarett sent to prison
The downward spiral of Maurice Clarett continues after he pleads guilty to aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon, forcing the former Ohio State running back to spend at least three years in prison.

Juventus demoted over match-fixing scandal
Renowned soccer team Juventus is stripped of its last two Serie A titles and demoted to Italy's second division following a match-fixing scandal.

Ted Lilly, left, and manager John Gibbons came to blows in the Toronto Blue Jays dugout after and expletive-filled exchange on the mound. (Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

Infighting among the Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is involved in two public confrontations with pitcher Ted Lilly and infielder Shea Hillenbrand, prompting a trade of the latter Blue Jay days later.

Sandhu implodes in Turin
The enigmatic Emanuel Sandhu falls during his first two jumps in the free skate on his way to a disastrous 13th-place finish at the Torino Olympics, ending his worst performance of the season.

Rooney stomps on Portuguese defender
England's Wayne Rooney is thrown out of a World Cup quarter-final matchup against Portugal after stomping on the groin of prone defender Ricardo Carvalho.