Team of the Year (ESPY)

This is one of the hardest categories for me...

nominee's

Lady Terrapins (Maryland women's hoops) -- National Champs with 2 frosh, 2 soph coming out of the incredibly tough ACC.
Chicago White Sox -- MLB World Series Champs. Wire to wire greatness. First championship in almost a century
Texas Football -- Brought down the mighty Trojans on way to NCAA championship
Pittsburgh Steelers -- Improbable playoff run to beat the Colts on way to winning superbowl.
Miami Heat -- Coaching change, aging superstar, emerging young star, NBA champs.

I throw out the Lady Terrapins and Steelers first. Terrapins did not actually win the ACC and just had a good tournament. Likewise the Steelers only had the best playoff run as they did not come in first during the season. These teams had great moments at the end but were not great all season.

I give the Heat a pass on that test because regular season NBA is so meaningless. However, the Heat do get marked off for very favorable officiating in the finals. THe coaching change was also handled poorly. I'm hunting here because all teams deserve it but that's enough to eliminate them.

Both the White Sox and Longhorns were great from beginning to end. Both came as somewhat of a surprise. UT has the benefit of an entertaining last final game while the White Sox kind of coasted through the series. However, I'm giving it to...

Chicago White Sox -- being 2 years removed from the Red Sox championship I think we've become accustomed to the end of long curses. I don't think it can be understated just how long the futility of the White Sox had been evident. A futility not just of losing but also of losing fans/publicity in their own city. The Sox did it the 'right' way with pitching and not just outslugging the others. Scary thing is they are better this year!