The 10 sports stories that defined 2012

Linsanity, the London Games, and the fall of Lance Armstrong all made for quite a year

Jeremy Lin in a Knicks uniform: Don't expect to see this again.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

1. Linsanity

In early 2012, the Knicks' top players were injured, and famously grumpy New York fans were sick of losing. Down against a superior Boston Celtics team in early February, Coach Mike D'Antoni, running out of options, strangely called the number of a little-known, 6-foot-3, Asian-American kid who slept on his teammate's couch. Then unexpectedly, D'Antoni once again gave Jeremy Lin playing time in the next game. He scorched the Nets for 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, and led the Knicks to victory. Then things got even weirder: Lin continued to put up mind-blowing numbers, and more importantly, the Knicks kept winning. Linsanity was born. The Knicks rattled off seven straight wins with Lin as their leader, and all of Gotham seemed to swoon. But soon enough, a knee injury knocked Lin out of the lineup, and when he became a restricted free agent in the offseason, the Knicks declined to match a pricey offer from the Houston Rockets. Lin left town. New York fans were predictably irate — robbed of one of their most popular players in a decade.

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.