On Feb. 14, 2005 the National Hockey League made history. In the worst possible way.

After months of mostly acrimonious negotiations, the NHL's braintrust concluded a solution to its protracted labour dispute with the games' players couldn't be reached in time to save a hockey season that already had lost thousands of games.

"I have no choice but to announce the formal cancellation of play for 2004-05," said an apologetic NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman that day in New York.

And so the NHL suffered the indignity of becoming the first of North America's four major professional sports leagues to lose an entire regular season because of a labour dispute.

It also meant that for the first time since 1919 the Stanley Cup – the NHL's championship trophy – would not be awarded.

It took nearly five more months for owners and players to strike a deal. It was widely accepted that the owners benefited most from the new collective bargaining agreement, which extracted a 25-per-cent pay cut from the players and included salary cap.

Players finally returned to the ice in early October to a game transformed. The NHL adopted a handful of offence-friendly rules in an effort to eliminate the boring defensive play that has plagued the game for the past decade.

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Canadian basketball star Steve Nash was everywhere in 2005.

His visage graced sports pages and fashion magazine covers. His comings and goings were monitored as if he was a pop-music star. His highlight-reel passes and clutch shots were staples on every television sports show.

He was dubbed the "Slam-dunk hunk," "Hair Canada," "Hoser Hoopster," and, by the end of the basketball season, "Most Valuable Player."

It marked the first time a Canadian had won the prestigious award and only the second time in the last 40 years a point guard had been named NBA MVP.

Nash's name will now go into the NBA's history books beside legends like Magic Johnson and the only other non-American winner, Hakeem Olajuwon.

"It's incredible," said the affable and unassuming Nash when asked about the exclusive company he was joining. "I'm there with my heroes."

But the truth is no baller was more deserving of the honour last season than the six-foot-three-inch playmaker from Victoria, B.C.

Nash didn't put up gaudy scoring numbers, but he led the resurrection of a Phoenix Suns squad that was among the league's worst a year earlier.

Like Wayne Gretzky in hockey, Nash is all about passing. He makes his teammates better ball players. Before Nash, the Suns were an abysmal 29-53. After Nash they boasted a league-best 62-20.

Enough said? Wait, there's more.

Paced by their unselfish catalyst, the Suns played an up-tempo style and blew opponents away with their offence. Phoenix averaged 110 points per game, the most in the league in the past decade, and Nash led the league with 11.5 assists per contest.

"[Nash] is the motor, explained Suns forward Amare Stoudemire. "He has the ball in his hands 80 per cent of the time, and a guy like [Nash], he gets everyone involved."

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This year the NHL draft lottery was known by a different name – The Sidney Crosby Sweepskates.

It was a no-brainer that the winner of the lottery would select the fresh-faced 18-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., who had led the Rimouski Oceanic to the Memorial Cup final while racking up 303 regular season points in two years with the team.

Crosby's passing ability, quick release, and uncanny hockey sense were just some of the on-ice reasons, while his potential to transcend the game had general managers and owners around the league salivating.

Throw in a lottery design where each team's chance was more than just in name only, and you had the makings of genuine suspense.

With just ten teams left in the lottery, it appeared that Crosby could be plying his trade professionally on Canadian soil. However, Vancouver and Ottawa were eliminated when the next two envelopes were drawn.

Montreal, the team that drafted father Troy Crosby in 1984, was the fifth-last and final Canadian team to lose out.

It came down to the Mighty Ducks and Penguins, with Mario Lemieux ultimately gaining a new teammate and heir apparent in Pittsburgh.

Crosby has been as good as billed in his rookie campaign, but by year's end, it was starting to appear that even Sid and Mario might not be able to save the franchise, which has been unable to work out a deal on a new arena with state and county officials.

If so, he could find himself on the move by his third season, selling the game in a hockey hotbed such as Kansas City or Houston.

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As the new year began, Canadian junior hockey observers wondered just what the London Knights would do for an encore.

The team had ended 2004 by establishing a new CHL record with a 31-game unbeaten streak, which was eventually halted in December.

It soon became apparent that London would not be resting on its laurels. This was a team built for a championship, with a bevy of final-year players and a berth as host of the Memorial Cup awaiting.

The rare occasions when the team lost were inevitably followed by other lengthy winning streaks. With NHL hockey removed from the landscape, the bandwagon had plenty of room as it gathered steam.

The team was virtually unbeatable at John Labatt Centre, recording a 31-1-2 record at home.

The regular season dominance resulted in Dylan Hunter, Corey Perry, Danny Syvret and coach Dale Hunter all made the OHL's first all-star team.

If a two-game losing skid to end the season gave potential playoff opponents cause for hope, they were quickly proven wrong. London rolled through Guelph and Windsor en route to a nine-game streak to open the playoffs.

Kitchener and Ottawa gave some resistance, but could only last five games as the Knights won the club's first OHL title.

The team went unbeaten in the Memorial Cup, winning all five games by a combined score of 25-11. The pairing of the Knights and the Sidney Crosby-led Rimouski Oceanic in the final generated the highest-rated television audience for a Canadian junior game, peaking at over one million viewers.

The mission had been accomplished. Including regular season and playoffs, London went 79-9-2.

The city was reluctant to see the good feeling end. About 15,000 people attended a parade on June 1st to celebrate the first Memorial Cup championship in the franchise's forty-year history.

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The groundwork for a successful 2005 season by the Chicago White Sox – culminating in their first World Series since 1917 – was laid in December 2004.

General manager Ken Williams changed the complexion of his team with one move, trading power-hitting outfielder Carlos Lee for speedy centre-fielder Scott Podsednik and relief pitcher Luis Vizcaino.

With a more speed-oriented offence, Chicago started winning one-run games they had lost the previous season.

Chicago spent most of the 2005 campaign atop the American League Central division and then avoided what could have been one of the worst collapses in baseball history.

The White Sox had a 15-game lead on Aug. 1, only to have the Cleveland Indians close the gap to 1 ½ games with the end of the regular season looming.

Undaunted, Chicago reeled off five consecutive wins to finish the year with an AL-best 99.

Second-year manager Ozzie Guillen then watched his team go 11-1 in the post season, including a four-game sweep of the Houston Astros in the World Series.

The White Sox prevailed 1-0 in Game 4 on an eighth-inning single by Jermaine Dye that ended an 88-year World Series drought, the longest streak of futility in the AL.

Starting pitcher Freddy Garcia, a one-time Astros prospect, picked up the win before a crowd of 42,936 at Houston's Minute Maid Park.

The right-hander had earlier finished off a three-game AL Division Series sweep of Boston and before that, tossed seven strong innings to help Chicago clinch its first AL Central pennant since 2000.

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To call Canada's first world junior men's hockey championship since 1997 emphatic may be an understatement.

Team Canada went undefeated in six games, hammering Russia 6-1 in the final at Grand Forks, N.D. The squad, which may go down as the best ever assembled, outscored its opponents 41-7 in the tournament.

The NHL lockout was a boon for coach Brent Sutter and management. There was no wrangling with pro clubs over players, with several who would have otherwise been vying for the Calder Trophy able to suit up in red and white.

The team featured 12 holdovers from the previous year, a team that lost in a third-period heartbreaker against the United States to earn Canada's third consecutive silver medal.

In addition, Patrice Bergeron was eligible, despite having played the previous season with the Boston Bruins. Bergeron would go on to take the scoring title (five goals, 13 points) and most valuable player honours. Ryan Getzlaf and Jeff Carter had one goal and two assists apiece for Canada in the final game. Bergeron, Danny Syvret, Andrew Stewart and Dion Phaneuf also scored.

Jeff Glass won five games in net for Canada, topping all goaltenders with a 1.40 goals-against average.

It was a team that could also prove to have the most pro success of any Canadian group.

Several players are already paying immediate dividends in the NHL. While the strong first-year play of Phaneuf and Sidney Crosby was expected, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Brent Seabrook and Andrew Ladd have all made solid contributions to their respective clubs.

All in all, a mighty tough act to follow for future Canadian junior teams.

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It wasn't the players' ever-expanding arms or the mounting home run totals that got baseball to crack down on steroids users.

Instead, it was a controversial tell-all book by a former slugger, coupled with the threat of American government intervention, that forced Major League Baseball to act in 2005.

Before that, baseball had no real steroid policy. And that's despite allegations by convicted steroid distributor Victor Conte that drug use was rampant, as well as hinted admissions of steroid use by Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds, two of the game's top batters.

In February, Jose Canseco, who clubbed 462 home runs during his career, released a book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big," which alleged several high-profile players used steroids.

Canseco's targets – players like Rafael Palmeiro and retired home-run champion Mark McGwire – dismissed the claims, saying the oft-controversial slugger was creating the scandal to sell books.

But with evidence mounting and fan cynicism toward players growing, commissioner Bud Selig decided something had to be done. In March, baseball put a new steroid policy in place.

The policy was tougher. According to some, though, not tough enough.

Congress wasn't impressed, and called Selig and a handful of the game's biggest stars to Washington to answer questions.

Canseco, McGwire, Palmeiro, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa and Frank Thomas joined Selig at a hearing into baseball's "efforts to eradicate steroid use."

Schilling claimed the problem was overstated. Sosa and Palmeiro denied using drugs, with Palmeiro the most emphatic of all. McGwire refused to say anything. Selig and union boss Donald Fehr tried to reassure Congress that they were taking care of things.

The politicians weren't satisfied. Senator McCain argued Major League Baseball "can't be trusted," and warned legislation might be needed to force the sport to change its steroids policy.

All told, 12 players failed drug tests. Most were marginal major leaguers. Palmeiro, who made highlight reels with his steroid denial, was by far the most noteworthy name caught in the drug dragnet.

He was slapped with a 10-day suspension just weeks after becoming just the fourth player ever to reach the 3,000-hit and 500-homer plateau. The failed test cast doubts on what was previously a stellar and unblemished career.

In November, baseball ramped up its penalties for steroid abuse. The new plan a first failed drug test will net a player a 50-game suspension without pay. A second positive test will earn a 100-game suspension. A third will get a lifetime ban.

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Under a cloud of controversy, American Lance Armstrong pedalled his way along the soggy Parisian streets to an unprecedented seventh consecutive Tour de France title on July 24.

While tens of thousands of fans cheered Armstrong's final professional race before retirement, others may have been thinking about doping allegations that had been thrown at the cyclist.

In August, French sports paper L'Equipe published material allegedly showing six of Armstrong's urine samples from 1999 contained endurance-boosting EPO, or erythropoietin, when they were retested.

Armstrong denied using banned drugs and said he was the victim of a "witch hunt."

At age 33, Armstrong became the oldest Tour champion in the post-Second World War era. And his historic ride was certainly eventful.

Three of Armstrong's Team Discovery Channel teammates slipped and crashed as they turned around a bend shortly before crossing the River Seine.

However, Armstrong was able to avoid the fallen trio and steady himself with his right foot before continuing.

After race officials stopped timing the last laps, Armstrong fell back of the front pack to ensure he made it safely across the finish line without incident.

Armstrong's victory is all the more impressive considering all the obstacles he has overcome during his athletic career.

In 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain, leaving the Texan with less than a 50-per-cent chance of survival.

Armstrong not only returned to competitive racing following rounds of chemotherapy, he became a dominant force and inspirational sports figure.

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Whether intended or not, one of the consequences of the NHL lockout was the fracturing of the players' union.

Shortly after a deal was reached, Bob Goodenow, who presided over more than a decade of financial prosperity, resigned – some say fired – as head of the NHLPA.

Goodenow's long-serving right-hand man, Ted Saskin, was promoted to the post, to the chagrin of nearly 100 players who believe his leadership illegitimate.

Led by the likes of Trent Klatt and Chris Chelios a group of dissident players are furious Saskin was appointed rather than "democratically" elected by the NHLPA's membership. They also accused Saskin of circumventing the union's constitution in order hold on to his $2.1-million –a-year job.

"He's not welcome here," stated Chelios when asked if Saskin could enter the Detroit Red Wings locker room.

"He should resign, as far as I'm concerned, after what's transpired over the past three months," added Chelios. "We need a new leadership, they've proved that over the past three months."

Observers also speculate the dissident players' anger is being by fuelled by resentment over how the NHL's lockout was resolved. The new collective bargaining agreement, negotiated by Saskin, is seen to favour the owners.

In an effort to quell the controversy, Saskin ordered a team-by-team secret vote on his leadership. Sept. 12. The results showed that 85 per cent of the union's membership supported Saskin.

But several teams have refused to even vote, arguing the entire process contravenes NHLPA bylaws.

"This is a credibility issue," agent Mike Liut recently told the Toronto Star. "This has not been an objective search for an executive director. It doesn't pass the smell test, and when Ted says he has 85 per cent support, I just don't believe that.

"There are 10 teams that refused to vote on [Saskin's] hiring, or voted 'no,' so there's 200 players right there."

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How did Tiger Woods rebound from one of his worst seasons on the PGA Tour?

He got married and then changed his swing.

Woods wed Swedish model Elin Nordegren on Oct. 5, 2004, and three months later began a quest to regain his world No. 1 ranking from Vijay Singh.

With a revamped swing, Woods opened the 2005 season with four rounds in the 60s on the way to a third-place showing at the Mercedes Championships.

Two weeks later, the 29-year-old won the Buick Invitational to snap a 15-month winless drought in a stroke-play event.

Another victory at the Ford Championship at Doral set the stage for the first major of the season, The Masters.

With the green jacket on the line, Woods outduelled his Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teammate Chris DiMarco in a playoff for his third win of the season.

He also regained top spot in the world rankings and avoided matching Jack Nicklaus's 0-for-12 streak in majors.

Woods missed the cut at the Byron Nelson Championship on May 15 before stringing together four top-five finishes, including the U.S. Open and British Open championships, achieving the latter two days after Nicklaus walked off the St. Andrews course and away from competitive golf for good.

At the season's final major, the nine-year pro finished in a share for fourth place behind winner Phil Mickelson.

Woods closed out the season with a second-place effort at the Tour Championship, giving him six wins among his 13 top-five finishes. He also won the money title, finishing more than $2.6 million US ahead of Singh.

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