2014: The year in sports photos
2014 was a year filled with memorable moments in sports. Here are some of our favorite moments of the year.
Seattle Seahawks Malcom Smith makes an angel in the confetti after his team defeated the Denver Broncos in the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Feb. 2.
Biathalon
A biathlete trains ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 5.
Opening ceremony-winter olympics
Dancers perform during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 7.
Short track
Gold medalist Charles Hamelin of Canada celebrates with Marianne St-Gelais after winning the Short Track Men's 1500m Final on day 3 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 10.
Snowboarding
Shaun White of the U.S. crashes during the men's snowboard halfpipe final at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, in Rosa Khutor in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 11.
Skiing
Third-placed Italy's Christof Innerhofer, second from right, does a somersault on the podium as winner Switzerland's Sandro Viletta, second from left, and second-placed Croatia's Ivica Kostelic, left, laugh after the men's alpine skiing super combined event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 14.
Figure skating
Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu reacts in the "kiss and cry" area during the Figure Skating Men's Short Program at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Feb. 13.
Hanyu became the first skater to score more than 100 points in a short program and went on to become the 2014 Olympic champion, winning Japan's first-ever Olympic gold in men's figure skating.
Speed skating
From left: Havard Lorentzen, Havard Bokko and Sverre Lunde Pedersen of Norway compete during the Men's Team Pursuit Quarterfinals Speed Skating event on day fourteen of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Adler Arena Skating Center in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 21.
Winter Olympics
Fireworks explode over Olympic Park during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 23.
Cycling
An animation is projected on the track during the opening ceremony of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships at Alcides Nieto Patino velodrome, in Cali, Colombia, Feb. 26.
Track
Paolo Dal Molin, left, of Italy competes with Abdulaziz Al Mandeel of Kuwait during the men's 60m hurdles heats on day two of the IAAF World Indoor Championships at Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland, March 8.
Skiing
Serbia's Jugoslav Milosevic skis during the Men's Standing Skiing event of the Giant Slalom at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in Sochi, Russia, March 15.
Basketball
Aaron Craft #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after losing to the Dayton Flyers 60-59 in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York, March 20.
Rugby
The New Zealand team perform the Haka after winning the final between England and New Zealand during the 2014 Hong Kong Sevens at Hong Kong International Stadium in Hong Kong, March 30.
Hockey
Travis Hamonic #3 of the New York Islanders gets slammed into the glass by Nick Bjugstad #27 of the Florida Panthers during the first period at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, April 1.
Running
Meb Keflezighi (USA) wears an American flag at the finish line after winning the men's division of the 2014 Boston Marathon, April 21.
Baseball
Jayson Werth #28 of the Washington Nationals is doused with water by teammates, after he hit an RBI double to score two runs to tie the game in the ninth inning, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., April 23.
The Nationals won, 5-4.
Track
Terezinha Guilhermina and guide, Guilherme Santana, of Brazil compete in the Women's 200m T11 final during day one of the Open Caixa Loterias 2014 Paralympics Athletics competition at Ibirapuera Sports Complex in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 24.
Horse racing
Victor Espinoza leads California Chrome, wearing a breathing strip, across the finish line winning the 139th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, May 17.
California Chrome won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but failed in its bid for the Triple Crown, losing to Tonalist in the Belmont Stakes.
Basketball
San Antonio Spurs fans taunt Miami Heat's LeBron James during the third quarter in Game 2 of their NBA Finals basketball series in San Antonio, Texas, June 8.
Basketball
U.S. President Barack Obama laughs with UConn women's basketball stars Stefanie Dolson (L) and Bria Hartley (2nd L) as he poses with them and men's team star Ryan Boatright (R) and the jerseys of the NCAA basketball champion University of Connecticut Huskies men's and women's basketball teams in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., June 9.
The men's team won their fourth NCAA Tournament Championship. In the NCAA the women's team won a record-tying eighth national championship.
Ice Hockey
Los Angeles Kings pose for a team photo with the Stanley Cup after defeating the New York Rangers in Game 5 of their NHL Stanley Cup Finals hockey series in Los Angeles, Calif., June 13.
The Kings clinched their second Stanley Cup Championship in three years.
Soccer
Costa Rica's Joel Campbell celebrates with the match ball after scoring against Uruguay during their 2014 World Cup Group D soccer match at the Castelao stadium in Fortaleza, Brazil, June 14.
Golf
Lucy Li of the U.S., only 11-years-old, plays her tee shot at the par 4, 16th hole during the first round of the 69th U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, Course No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, June 19.
Unfortunately, the 11-year-old sixth grader, who is the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, did not make the 36-hole cut.
Soccer
Italy's Giorgio Chiellini reacts to being bitten by Uruguay's Luis Suarez during their 2014 World Cup Group D soccer match at the Dunas arena in Natal, June 24.
Soccer
Goalkeeper Tim Howard of the U.S. saves a shot during their 2014 World Cup round of 16 game against Belgium at the Fonte Nova arena in Salvador, Brazil, July 1.
During the heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16 Howard made a record-breaking 16 saves, the most in a World Cup Match. Howard was selected Man of the Match.
Soccer
Germany's Mario Goetze, left, and teammate Thomas Mueller celebrate after Goetze scored the winning goal in extra time in their 2014 World Cup final against Argentina at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro July 13.
Germany defeated Argentina in the third final between the two countries, a World Cup record. This was Germany's fourth World Cup title.
Soccer
Argentina fans mourn their loss to Germany on Copacabana Beach in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final match pitting Argentina against Germany in Rio de Janeiro, July 13.
Germany won the match 1-0 in extra time at the famed Maracana stadium.
Motorcycling
Mahindra Moto3 rider Bryan Schouten of the Netherlands fights with compatriot Kalex KTM Moto3 rider Scott Deroue, right, after they crashed during the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring circuit in the eastern German town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal, July 13.
Track
Cedric Dubler of Australia gets set in the blocks for the start of the 110m hurdle portion of the men's decathlon during day two of the IAAF World Junior Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, July 23.
Boxing
Kenya's Denis Okoth lands a punch on England's Samuel Maxwell during their men's Light Welterweight boxing fight at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, July 27.
Wrestling
Ifeoma Nwoye of Nigeria is carried away by her coach after she lost her women's freestyle 55kg wrestling semi-final at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, July 31.
Track
Athletes compete in the Men's 10,000 meters final at Hampden Park during day nine of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, United Kingdom, Aug. 1.
Swimming
Ukraine's Anna Voloshina performs in the synchronized swimming solo free routine preliminaries during the European Swimming Championships in Berlin, Aug. 15.
Baseball
South Williamsport, PA, USA; Mid-Atlantic Region pitcher Mo'ne Davis (3) throws a pitch in the first inning against the West Region at Lamade Stadium, Aug. 20.
Thirteen-year-old Davis, pitching for the Taney Dragons, is one of two girls who played in the 2014 Little League World Series and is the first girl to earn a win and pitch a shutout in series history. Davis is also the first little league baseball player to appear on the cover of "Sports Illustrated".
Car racing
Scott Dixon of New Zealand drives the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet during qualifying for the Verizon IndyCar Series GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, Aug. 23.
Track
Ahmed Kenzi Saidia of Algeria, center, competes in the Men's 2000m Steeplechase Final of the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre in Nanjing, China, Aug. 25.
Gymnastics
Irina Annenkova of Russia competes in the Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual All-Around Qualification on day ten of the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games at Nanjing OSC Gymnasium in Nanjing, China, Aug. 26.
Tennis
Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates with the trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark to win their women's singles final match of the 2014 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, Sept. 7.
Williams defeated Wozniacki in two sets by a score of 6-3, 6-3.
Tennis
Marin Cilic of Croatia celebrates after defeating Kei Nishikori of Japan in their men's singles final match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Sept. 8.
Football
Umpire Russ Pulley falls down on a play during the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, Sept. 13.
Football
Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots is tackled during the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass, Sept. 21.
Synchronized swimming
Japan's Yukiko Inui and Risako Mitsui perform in the women's duet technical routine synchronized swimming competition at Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Center during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Sept. 20.
Golf
European Ryder Cup player Martin Kaymer, left, kicks his ball as he walks with teammates Rory McIlroy, center, and Sergio Garcia along the seventh fairway during practice ahead of the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland, Sept. 23.
Diving
Japan's Ken Terauchi competes in the Men's 3m Springboard diving final at the Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Center during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Oct. 2.
Baseball
Derek Jeter #2 of the New York Yankees celebrates after a game winning RBI hit in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles in his last game before retirement at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, Sept. 25.
Sailing
Onboard Team Vestas Wind. Maciel Cicchetti driving, Tony Rae on mainsheet and Nicolai Sehestead on trim as the boat surfs at 25 knots on the morning of Day 8 during Leg 1 between Alicante, Spain and Cape Town, South Africa, Oct. 18.
The Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 is the 12th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain on October 11, 2014, the route, spanning some 39,379 nautical miles, visits 11 ports in 11 countries (Spain, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, China, New Zealand, Brazil, United States, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and Sweden) over nine months. The Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier ocean race for professional racing crews.
Motorcycling
Motorcyclists tumble at the start of the Nordic Extreme Biking event of the 2014 Gotland Grand National at Gotland island, Sweden, Oct. 25.
Soccer
A streaker runs across the pitch as a security guard prepares to tackle him during the Asian Champions League final first-leg soccer match between Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers and Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal at Parramatta Stadium in Sydney, Oct. 25.
Baseball
Buster Posey #28, Madison Bumgarner #40, Pablo Sandoval #48 and the San Francisco Giants celebrate after defeating the Kansas City Royals to win Game Seven of the 2014 World Series by a score of 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, Oct 29.
Soccer
Sevilla's Victor Machin "Vitolo," right, is congratulated by teammate Ever Banega after scoring against Levante during their Spanish First Division soccer match at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville, Spain, Nov. 9.
Tennis
Kei Nishikori of Japan serves during his men's singles tennis match against David Ferrer of Spain at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London, Nov. 13.
Picture taken with in-camera multiple exposure.
Boxing
Ukrainian WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF heavyweight boxing world champion Vladimir Klitschko reacts as he leaves the arena after defeating his challenger Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev during their title fight in Hamburg, Nov. 15.
World heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko knocked out Bulgarian challenger Kubrat Pulev with a fierce left hook in the fifth round to retain his IBF title and end his opponent's unbeaten record.
Tennis
Novak Djokovic of Serbia enters the court in the singles semi-final match against Kei Nishikori of Japan on Day Seven of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena in London, Nov. 15.
Ice skating
Spain's Javier Fernandez performs during the exhibition gala at the Rostelecom Cup ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Moscow, Nov. 16.
Soccer
Francisco Ascencio, a member of the Salvadorean national amputee soccer team, is massaged before a training session at Jorge "Magico" Gonzalez National Stadium in San Salvador Nov. 19.
The El Salvador Amputee National Football team was founded in 1987 by veterans who lost their limbs during the civil war in the Central American nation. Many members of the team joined as part of their rehabilitation process and the team has won the world championship three times, from 1987 to 1989.
Soccer
Boca Juniors' fans cheer as fireworks explode before the start of the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semi-final soccer match against River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 20.
Football
Odell Beckham #13 of the New York Giants scores a touchdown with an incredible catch in the second quarter against Brandon Carr #39 of the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Nov. 23.
Tennis
Maria Sharapova of the Manila Mavericks team signs an autograph for a fan on a large tennis ball after beating Kristina Mladenovic of the UAE Royals team in their women's singles tennis match at the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) competition in Manila, Nov. 28.
Equestrian
Miron Bococi practices with his horses before performing during Madrid Horse Week in Madrid Nov. 28.
Madrid Horse Week is an equestrian show that includes the Longines World Cup Show Jumping as well as non-competitive activities such as horse vaulting, horse carriage shows, pony races and horseball games.
Fencing
Athletes practice during a fencing class at the "Martyrs of Barbados" gymnasium in downtown Havana, Nov. 28.
About 100 students train at the gymnasium, which was named after 73 Cuban fencers, known as the "Martyrs of Barbados" who were killed in a 1976 attack when a bomb blew up a Cubana airliner in Barbados.
Football
St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey (12) and wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) and tight end Jared Cook (89) and wide receiver Chris Givens (13) and wide receiver Kenny Britt (81) put their hands up, as politics spilled over into the sports world, to show support for Michael Brown before a game against the Oakland Raiders at the Edward Jones Dome, Nov. 30.
The "hands up, don't shoot" gesture became symbolic during protests over the killing of unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri by a white police officer who wasn't indicted for Brown's death.
Football
Strong safety Matt Elam #26 of the Baltimore Ravens is kicked in the face by wide receiver Eddie Royal #11 of the San Diego Chargers as they collide in the first half at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, Nov. 30.
Swimming
Ryan Lochte of the U.S. competes in the Men's 200m Freestyle Final on day one of the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) at the Hamad Aquatic Centre in Doha, Qatar, Dec. 3.
Soccer
A spectator dressed as Spiderman approaches Manchester City player Gael Clichy during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Manchester City at Stadium of Light in Sunderland, England, Dec. 3.
Cricket
Australian cricket team captain Michael Clarke pauses as he speaks in front of the Baggy Green and other state representative caps belonging to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes during his funeral service in the town of Macksville, north of Sydney, Dec. 3.
Hughes died after a fatal injury caused by being struck by a ball in the back of the head.
Basketball
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, right, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, center, on their first trip to the U.S., and retired Houston Rockets player Dikembe Mutombo, left, watch the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 8.
It was the royal couple's first trip to the U.S.
Golf
A wave crashes behind Todd Linehan on the 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif., Dec.10.
Surfing
A surfer drops in on a large wave at Praia do Norte, in Nazare, Portugal, Dec. 11, 2014.
Praia do Norte beach has gained popularity with big wave surfers since Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara broke a world record for the largest wave surfed here in 2011.
Track
David Kirisia, a Masaai moran athlete, celebrates after winning the 5000m race in the Masaai Olympics 2014 at the Sidai Oleng wildlife sanctuary at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro near the Kenya-Tanzania border, Dec. 13.
Scores of young Masaai representing four manyattas - a barrack for warriors aged about 16-25 - competed against each other for prestige, bragging rights and a prized breeding bull for their manyatta. The Maasai Olympics is a biennial event focused on ending Masaais' enduring cultural tradition of killing lions.