As the year comes to a close, it's time to take a look at the 2002 newsmakers in the world of sports. I drew up this list for the "2003 ESPN Information Please Almanac." Sure, there are some names missing, but at some point you have to make a call. This is a tough business. Here are my first five:

Darryl Kile
The passing of the St. Louis Cardinals' spiritual leader could have divided the team. But, in a tribute to Kile's impact as a man, the loss unified them. The Cardinals won 57 games after Kile's death -- his uniform number.

	Kannon Kile celebrates the Cardinals' win with a high-five to Jason Isringhausen.

They made the playoffs through sheer will and paid the ultimate tribute to their teammate. The team often had Kile's son Kannon in the dugout for games. It must have done wonders for Kannon. And imagine what it did for the team.

New England Patriots
Everything about their Super Bowl run was unlikely. The star quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, goes down in Game 2. Second year-QB Tom Brady fills in more than capably, keeping the job when Bledsoe returns. A head coach, Bill Belichick, who seemed best-suited as a coordinator. A defense on the small side. An unknown running back. A midseason record of 5-5. The "Tuck Rule" playoff game in the snow against the Raiders. Beating the Steelers soundly in Pittsburgh for the AFC championship. And, finally, outplaying and outlasting the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl. By banding together so strongly, the 2001 Patriots proved that football is the ultimate team game.

Juan Dixon
The struggles Dixon faced on the basketball court were nothing compared to what he went through in real life. Both his parents fell victim to heroin and eventually died of AIDS when he was still in high school. Basketball, even with the national spotlight shining on him, wasn't pressure. It was his escape. It was fun. So with Indiana up by two, late in the national-championship game, it was Dixon's time to have some fun. He calmly sank a 3-pointer to put his Terrapins up by one -- a lead he made sure they would never relinquish.

Oscar De La Hoya
You can call him a pretty boy or ask why a boxer is putting out albums, but don't ever question De La Hoya's guts or willingness to suffer to stay on top. Not long ago, De La Hoya, coming off the second loss of his career and with more money than he could have ever wanted, could have left the punishment of boxing behind him. The former lightweight didn't need to move up to junior middleweight and get tangled up with a power-puncher like Fernando Vargas. But his heart got the best of his head, he got the best of Vargas, and we all got the best of De La Hoya.

	Bibby

Mike Bibby
Bibby had a nondescript start in Vancouver. He still lived a bit in the shadow of his father Henry, the head coach at USC and an NCAA champion at UCLA. He was replacing the flashy and popular Jason Williams. And he wasn't even the biggest star on his own team. But in the playoffs, this David nearly slew the Goliaths from Los Angeles, taking his team one play away from the NBA Finals.