It was the year when we drank more tea than Kool-Aid as far as politics were concerned.
The year when the name of a massive volcano erupting in Iceland was too tough for any spelling bee.
The year when an oil spill in the Gulf required more than just Shamwows to clean up.
The year when thanks to some instrument, soccer's world championship were abuzz.
The year when we experienced joy over the rescues of miners in Chile, while the U.S. government experienced a leak.
The year when there were (i)Pads, Nooks, and Kindles of all shapes and sizes.
The year when "Toy Story 3", "Inception", and "Harry Potter" were epic successes, while "MacGruber" and "Jonah Hex" were epic fails.
The year when one prince brought us a royal engagement that would make his mother proud.
The year when one TV show "Dance"-d their way to the ratings...and sometimes into a little conspiracy.
The year when the time was "White" for one octogenarian to prove a point she's still got game, while one person decided to take his game to someplace sunny.
The year when football provided a whole lot of body language.
And, it was the year when the late night community had us asking, "Whose side are you on?"
That year was 2010.
Join the AllenBlog as we look back at another unpredictable year.
Looking back at 2010, we experienced thrills, spills, and chills of every proportion in every corner of the globe.
And we began that year with, of course, the massive 7.0 earthquake that rocked the nation of Haiti. With the death toll over 230,000, it was also the deadliest on record, prompting all of us to help out in more ways than one. That would be followed by another earthquake in Chile, which led nearly 500 lives perished in a Pacific tsunami. But there was one other story in that country that made major headlines this year, which I'll get to later.
In Super Bowl XLIV, the New Orleans Saints routed the Indianapolis Colts 31-17; for New Orleans, MVP Drew Brees's hoisting of the Vince Lombardi Trophy signaled the completion of five years of recovery from Hurricane Katrina that nearly destroyed the city and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Over 106 million viewers tuned in for all this, which was enough to eclipse the "M*A*S*H" series finale as the most-watched television broadcast of all-time.
Vancouver played host to the 21st Olympic Winter Games in February, kicking off with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky lighting the torch. Throughout those two weeks, highlights included Shaun White and Evan Lysacek grabbing golds in snowboarding and men's figure skating respectively, while host country Canada got some hockey redemption beating the U.S. for the hockey gold.
South Africa was the site for the FIFA World Cup this year, and even though they're in a Southern Hemisphere country where it's winter there, the action was a mixture of hot and cold: hot because the high kicks and low scoring that make soccer famous...and cold because thanks to those annoying vuvuzelas, the venues have become artificial beehives! Anyway, we saw the United States keeping their hopes alive thanks to a last-minute goal against Angola...that is, until Ghana knocked us out before they were knocked out themselves. In the end, it was Spain that outscored them all.
Besides the Olympics and the World Cup, other 2010 sports highlights included: Duke and Connecticut taking the men's and women's Final Four titles, Alabama becoming the national champions of football, the NBA championship still in possession of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Blackhawks's first Stanley Cup since the Kennedy administration, Phil Mickelson the "Master" of his domain while Tiger Woods roared in his comeback to the green (though he faltered big time at the British Open), the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series pennant, and Fairbanks' own Lance Mackey making it four Iditarods in a row. Oh yeah, there was also LeBron James trading in the coldness of his hometown Cleveland for the Miami Heat, pissing off loyal Cavaliers fans.
The NFL had their share of drama both on and off the field, with Mexican TV sports reporter Ines Sainz being the center of more than just attention in the wake of a sex harassment scandal involving the New York Jets, and Brett Favre allegedly sending cell phone pictures of his genitals to another female sports reporter.
The entire Gulf Coast -- not just New Orleans and Mississippi -- would face another disaster that would last longer than Katrina: The BP oil spill with practically no end in sight; it started when the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11. Millions of gallons floated into the waters non stop, threatening the tourism and seafood industries. After numerous attempts including the "Top Kill" method, cement was finally pumped into the well to put the summer-long nightmare (longer than the Exxon Valdez in 1989) to an end.
30 years after Mount St. Helens, volcanic ash from a series of eruptions in Iceland had air traffic disrupted throughout most of western Europe, including Britain. The only other thing newsworthy about it? We can't even pronounce the volcano's name!
You know the song "Dirty Little Secret"? Well, Wikileaks disclosed tons of them this year, including over 90,000 reports about the U.S.-led involvement in the Afghan war, and perhaps the biggie that put Julian Assange in the spotlight: 250,000 diplomatic cables.
The U.S. automotive industry made a huge comeback this year (probably thanks to slews of recalls by Toyota), with General Motors no longer in government control while unveiling the all-electric Chevrolet Volt as well as saying goodbye to the Pontiac brand. Meanwhile, Ford is bidding Mercury adieu after 70 years, and Chrysler? Along with Ford, they kept quiet while raking in huge profits.
Back to Chile: In August, 39 miners were trapped at the San Jose mine near Copiapo, Chile. At first it was thought they would be all be rescued around Christmas, but 69 days later, one by one they all met the surface once again. Just like Baby Jessica 23 years prior, the entire world were overjoyed by this miraculous turn of events.
While we continued to embrace newer faces lighting up the scene in 2010, there were some old faces we had to say goodbye to, including: Leslie Nielsen, Gary Coleman, J.D. Salinger, former U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke, James MacArthur (Danno on the original "Hawaii Five-O"), former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samanranch, Olympic cinematographer Bud Greenspan, singer Teena Marie, Dennis Hopper, Peter Graves, Lynn Redgrave, Rue McClanahan, John Forsythe, fashion designer Alexander McQueen, basketball star Manute Bol, "Gumby" creator Art Clokey, Robert Byrd, Corey Haim, Tony Curtis, Stephen J. Cannell, Teddy Pendergrass, George Steinbrenner, Elizabeth Edwards, Pernell Roberts, Lena Horne, broadcast journalists Daniel Schorr and Edwin Newman, Art Linkletter, Eddie Fisher, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Culp, television announcer Charlie O'Donnell, film director Blake Edwards, Tom Bosley, Barbara Billingsley, Gloria Stuart, "Dandy" Don Meredith, and one that really hit home here in Alaska...former senator Ted Stevens.
The year's biggest story had something to do with tea, and not the sipping or iced kind.
When President Obama signed the health care bill into law in March after passing both houses of Congress, we knew we would be one step closer to universal healthcare in this country...or so it seemed. With the economy still in shambles and nationwide unemployment rates at their highest ever, many of us realized the fact that change came a little too prematurely.
Enter the Tea Party Movement, with former Alaska governor Sarah Palin leading the charge and endorsing some unknowns like Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell, and Joe Miller with one goal in mind: put some of the longtime incumbents out of a job in Washington. The Democrats, meanwhile, went all out in an attempt to save their hides. In the end, the Republicans took back control of the House with Nancy Pelosi out and John Boehner in as their speaker, though the Democrats barely held on to the Senate.
O'Donnell, Angle, Carly Fiorina, and former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon all conceded defeat, but not Joe Miller...yet. After making the biggest mistake in our lives by voting for him in the August primaries, we gave Lisa Murkowski a second chance after launching an unprecedented write-in campaign. It definitely worked with Scott McAdams already throwing in the towel, but Miller still hasn't budged, taking his case to the courts. By the time the new Congress is sworn in in January, the results would finally be certified and Murkowski will have secured her seat.
In December, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" act was repealed after 18 years, allowing gays to finally be in the military; at the same time, tax rate cuts that were orginially carried over from the Bush administration were approved.
But we were not the only country that had political firestorms this year. Britain went to the polls in May with a hung parliament as the end result and Gordon Brown handing over the keys to 10 Downing Street to David Cameron, while Australia saw its first ever female Prime Minister in Julia Gillard.
So...what can we expect in 2011? President Obama's administration will be put to the ultimate test as the Republicans will be in charge of the House, while a host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics will be chosen. A U.S. city may step up to the plate for their bid, will it be Anchorage in its third attempt? And of course, there will be some royal wedding over in England; I'll have more on that in the Year In Entertainment.
But as always, you may never know what else will transpire in the new year; we'll have to wait till the clock strikes midnight on January 1 to find out.
Tomorrow, entertainment and celebrities as the 2010 Year In Review continues.
