Sweet '16

Published Apr. 18, 2016 3:14 p.m. ET

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When the Denver Broncos pillaged Cam Newton's Super Bowl hopes they did so behind a formidable defense, leading the way for Peyton Manning to ride off into the sunset on top of the football world. This was the first moment 2016 gave us. Even in his fragile state, Manning did just enough to not lose the game for the Broncos. At a certain point before the playoffs we thought Manning had lost his job forever to Brock Osweiler. But let's face it, that Super Bowl would have been mediocre at best if Osweiler quarterbacked the Broncos instead of Manning. His 13/23, 141 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception stat line did not include the strength of his football IQ, which has separated Manning from the rest of his contemporaries.

The last two weeks of the NBA season, Kobe Bryant could barely walk. How in the world was he going to play the 30-35 minutes Lakers head coach Byron Scott wanted him to play in his final game at home? Well, because he's Kobe Bryant. That's how.

One could argue Bryant's 60-point performance in his final game is the most memorable moment of his career. Yes he fired up 50 shots, most in a single game since Michael Jordan attempted 49 shots back in 1993, but he looked like the Kobe Bryant of old. His mamba-like mentality came out one last time as he hit a bone-chilling. go-ahead jumper to beat the Utah Jazz in an eerily similar fashion to Derek Jeter's walk-off single in his final game at Yankee Stadium.

Steph Curry set an unbelievable record of his own in the 2015-16 regular season as well. Last Wednesday, he became the first player in NBA history with 400 three-pointers in a single season. He averaged a ridiculous five three-pointers per game on 45 percent shooting in the regular season, another remarkable feat.

Yes, there is still playoff basketball to be played and a champion to be crowned, but the way the Warriors dominated this NBA regular season may never be matched.

The thrilling moment of the year so far came from the hands and touch of Villanova forward Kris Jenkins in the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship game. In one of the wildest finishes in recent history, the Wildcats, led by point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, needed a miracle of their own to answer North Carolina guard Marcus Paige's dream heave.

And they got it.

Slightly underdogged, Villanova stole the hearts of many around the nation and won their first national championship since 1985.

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