1 / 21

The Year In Sports: 2011 - From Cam Newton’s heroics in both college and pro football to Derek Jeter’s dramatic 3000th hit, 2011 has been a signal year for Black sports personalities and achievements. – Jamie Katz

2 / 21

Tiger Woods Finally Wins One - For the first time in 749 days and 26 tournaments, and after his personal life fell apart before our eyes, Tiger Woods won on the golf course. And he did it in the old Woods fashion with a dramatic putt on the 18th hole in the final round of the Chevron World Challenge in December, to defeat Masters champion Zach Johnson by one stroke.(Photo: Robert Meggers/Getty Images)

3 / 21

Penn State Scandal Topples an Icon - Penn State’s trustees dismissed the school's legendary football coach, Joe Paterno, in November in the wake of child molestation charges against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Paterno had recently passed Grambling coach Eddie Robinson as the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history. (Photos: Reuters; Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

4 / 21

Derek Jeter’s 3000th Hit is One for the Ages - The New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter, true to his career-long penchant for flair, delivered his historic 3000th hit in the form of a dramatic home run on a day he also went five-for-five at bat and got the game-winning hit. He became only the 28th player in baseball history to achieve the 3000-hit milestone. Soon after, a Harris Poll ranked him as America’s most popular male athlete.(Photos: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

5 / 21

Greg Jennings’ Heroics Help Packers to Super Bowl Victory - Wide receiver Greg Jennings twice beat All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu  for touchdowns to help the Green Bay Packers beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25, in Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6. A favorite target of Super Bowl MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Jennings had four catches for 64 yards, including a key 31-yard  reception that helped set up a Packers field goal with just over two minutes remaining.(Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

6 / 21

A Painful Year for the Williams Sisters - First, Serena Williams came all the way back from a life-threatening blood clots in her lungs and a serious foot  injury that kept her out of action for 49 weeks – only to lose in a U.S. Open final marked by a controversial on-court outburst. But even worse was the news from sister Venus Williams: She was diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain, making it difficult for her to compete. Which didn’t stop her beating Serena – in straight sets -- in an exhibition match in November.(Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

7 / 21

Cam Newton Leads Auburn to the BCS Title - After one of the most outstanding years in college football history, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton led the Auburn Tigers to a gritty 22-19 victory over Oregon in the national championship game. (Later in the year, Auburn and Newton were cleared in an investigation of possible NCAA rule violations.) His Auburn accomplishments were a foretaste of what was to come when he turned pro.(Photo: REUTERS/Mike Blake)

8 / 21

Cam Newton Dazzles in Rookie NFL Year - With his collegiate triumphs and his status as the first player chosen in the 2011 NFL draft, Cam Newton arrived in the pros with higher-than-stratospheric expectations -- call them ionespheric. He did not disappoint. The Carolina Panthers’ prize draft pick set NFL records for most TDs rushing by a quarterback and most yards passing by a rookie.(Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Photo By Christian Petersen/Getty Images

9 / 21

Rutgers’ Eric LeGrand Takes the Field Again - Paralyzed in October 2010 when he was covering a kickoff return, Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand never gave up,  and by last summer was tweeting pictures of himself standing up in rehab. When he led the Scarlet Knights onto the field in a motorized wheelchair on Oct. 29, he inspired sports fans and recovering patients everywhere.(Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

10 / 21

Usain Bolt FTW - World’s Fastest Human Usain Bolt flirted with disaster at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, when he was disqualified the 100-meter final because of false starts. But he came back to win the 200-meter final in a scorching 19.40 seconds, and led Jamaica to a new world record of 37.01 in the 4x100-meter relay.(Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

11 / 21

The NBA Lockout: A Basketball Bummer - The NBA lockout alienated everyone concerned and lasted for 160 days, almost – but not quite – long enough to turn fans into ex-fans. In the end, both sides claimed small victories about salary cap and revenue sharing matters, and the players quickly got back to doing what they do best -- minus 240 games (16 per team) of the 2011-12 season.(Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

12 / 21

Tamika Catchings: Great on Both Ends of the Court - Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings was voted the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player, and also led in the coaches’ voting for the league’s All-Defensive Team.(Photo: CSM/Landov)

13 / 21

Dewey Bozella Realizes a Dream Long Deferred - Dewey Bozella served 26 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, and earned two college degrees while behind bars. But his dream was to fight as a professional boxer. On October 15, he achieved that goal, winning a cruiserweight bout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. He hung up his gloves after that, but won another honor in 2011: the ESPN Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

14 / 21

Kemba Walker Leads UConn to Third NCAA Championship - A scrappy, 6-1 guard from the Bronx, Kemba Walker led the UConn Huskies to a 32-9 record, including an 11-0 postseason run that ended with a national championship. Only a junior, he was selected No. 9 overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2011 NBA draft. Oh yes, he also got to visit with President Obama at the White House with his college teammates and throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium in April.(Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

15 / 21

Allyson Felix Should Be More Famous - She’s an exemplary athlete, a two-time Olympic track medalist and three-time world champion at 200-meters. And she had another great year in 2011, winning the 400-meter run at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and two gold medals in relays at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. So let’s toast her excellency, Allyson Felix.(Photo: Ian Walton/Getty Images)

16 / 21

Mavs Veterans Sink Miami’s Title Hopes - Led by old pros like Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry, the Dallas Mavericks ruined the Miami Heat’s fantasy script, taking the NBA title in six hard-fought games.(Photo: Chris Chambers/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Chris Chambers/Getty Images

17 / 21

Jerome Singleton: World’s Fastest Amputee - He was a fine athlete before he lost his right leg below the knee, and now he’s an even finer one: Jerome Singleton raced past  the reigning champion, South Africa’s  Oscar Pistorius, to win gold in the men's 100-meter at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand. An equally determined student, Singleton double-majored in mathematics and applied physics before transferring to the University of Michigan to complete his dual degree with Morehouse -- adding an industrial engineering degree to his studies.(Photo: Martin Hunter/Getty Images)

18 / 21

Bernard Hopkins Jr. May be Old, But He Can Still Mess You Up - Bernard Hopkins Jr. – The Executioner – eclipsed George Foreman’s record as the oldest boxer ever to win a world title when he defeated Jean Pascal on May 21 to become WBC light heavyweight champion.(Photo: REUTERS/Christinne Muschi)

19 / 21

Three Sluggers Who Stirred It Up - Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers (.324, 39 HR, 126 RBI). Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees (.261, 41 HR, 119 RBI, 136 runs scored). Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers (.299, 38 HR, 120 RBI). All strong MVP candidates, though the awards went to others. At least Kemp got to be Rihanna’s beau.(Photos: Christian Petersen/Getty Images (2); Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

20 / 21

Robert Griffin III – The All-Around Real Deal - Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III is leaving his peers in the dust academically as well as athletically. Even as he amazed the college football world with a string of brilliant Saturday afternoons that earned him the 2011 Heisman Trophy, RG3 racked up a 3.7 GPA, earned his bachelor’s degree and entered a master’s program in communications – all ahead of schedule.(Photo: AP Photo/Kelly Kline)

21 / 21

R.I.P. - The sports world mourned the loss of some of its brightest lights in 2011 – among them NFL Hall-of-Famers Bubba Smith, John Mackey, Al Davis and Lee Roy Selmon. But it was the death of former world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier on Nov. 7 that produced the biggest outpouring of feeling—including the appearance of the ailing Muhammad Ali, who journeyed to Frazier’s funeral in Philadelphia despite his own declining health, to pay his respects to Smokin’ Joe.(Photo: Philadelphia Daily News/MCT/Landov)