promoearn: What was your favorite sports story of 2021? Here are some from USA TODAY

Friday, December 31, 2021

Friday, December 31

The best quarterback named Manning might still be in high school.

Brian Kelly bolting from Notre Dame for LSU wasn't the only coaching move that led to crazy contracts in college football.

Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles forced the sports world to acknowledge mental health issues for athletes.

And the NFL continued to grapple with racism, CTE and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

The past year produced myriad sports story lines that ranged from Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady helping a boy with brain cancer to the "graphic" nature of the crash-scene photos detailed in Vanessa Bryant's lawsuit.

Arch Manning is trying to accomplish what his father and uncles couldn't at Isidore Newman - win a state championship.

Isidore Newman School

Here are some of the top USA TODAY Sports staff stories from 2021:

NFL

•	A retired NFL player, a bizarre shooting and claims of CTE.
•	Phillip Adams' family wants to know if football caused the ex-NFL player to kill six people.
•	Why do some NFL teams never hire people of color as GMs and coaches, and others do?
•	Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson finds peace with personal life no longer out to sea.
•	Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue admits 'worry' over league's association with gambling.
•	Deion Sanders, 'Coach Prime,' sees role at Jackson State as more than coaching.
•	'To them, I'm just Dad.' Tom Brady cherishes Super Bowls with his children.
•	DeMaurice Smith opens up on Jon Gruden, racism in the NFL.

NBA

•	Kobe Bryant photos lawsuit: Why do cops keep and share images of dead bodies?
•	An eighth-grader is buried in criticism after Kevin Durant trashed him. 'Why's KD being so mean?'
•	Becky Hammon's historic moment as Spurs coach captured with perfect photo.
•	'An outpouring of public art:' Hundreds of Kobe Bryant murals fill Los Angeles landscape.
•	Ranking the greatest 75 NBA players of all time: Nos. 75-51 \| Nos. 50-26 \| Nos. 25-1.

MLB

•	'He wants his son back': Father of Dodgers' Andrew Toles refuses to lose son to schizophrenia.
•	How Albert Pujols' final hours with Los Angeles Angels turned ugly.
•	'A beautiful story': NL MVP Freddie Freeman's family welcomed two new babies this winter – six weeks apart.
•	MLB's payroll disparity has become laughable and is threatening the integrity of sport.
•	Minnie Miñoso's legacy lives on as the 'Jackie Robinson' of Black Latino players.
•	Baseball's stolen legacy: The fascinating story of the Negro Leagues and the man keeping the history alive.
•	Mexican League once tried to raid MLB stars such as Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Stan Musial.

A chair made entirely out of Louisville Slugger baseball bats makes for an ideal throne for Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.

Evert Nelson, Topeka Capital-Journal

College football

•	'I was a little bit of the Grim Reaper.' Old Dominion football has emotional journey after sitting out pandemic season.
•	Pac-12 football coach Nick Rolovich seeking religious exemption from vaccine mandate.
•	Former LSU football coach Les Miles was banned from contacting female students after 2013 probe.
•	LSU administrator gave rapists, stalkers and other Title IX violators slaps on the wrist.

Opinion

•	Aaron Rodgers fooled a lot of people ... including me, writes USA TODAY Sports' Mike Freeman.
•	Gonzaga-UCLA gave us an unexpected masterpiece in this men's Final Four.
•	Track star's marijuana ban is another example of Olympic hypocrisy.
•	U.S. women dominated medal count at Tokyo Olympics in ways they have never done before.
•	Jon Gruden's racist emails reveal the real Coach Chucky.
•	Urban Meyer was an embarrassment with Jaguars, and Jimmy Johnson knows why.

American Valarie Allman giver her new gold medal a kiss after winning the women's discus throw at the Tokyo Olympics.

Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

High school

•	'No longer the cool story:' 106-0 win has obscured Inglewood High football's incredible rise.
•	Before Bishop Sycamore, there was Christians of Faith Academy, along with lawsuits and unanswered questions

Others

•	Bull rider killed on tour didn't realize dream of buying home for parents. Now donations are flooding in.
•	How COVID-19 shuttered sports in 48 hours a year ago today.
•	Conservatives want to ban transgender athletes from girls sports. Their evidence is shaky.
•	Tiger Woods' history with Ambien, details of latest car crash raise questions.
•	'Conclusions are misguided:' Tiger Woods crash investigation criticized by forensic experts.
•	Simone Biles gave hints of struggles well before Olympics withdrawals.
•	'I assumed they were treating us fairly:' Why can't NCAA get women's basketball right?