Every day, every week throughout 2014, there has always been drama: The drama of the Ebola virus hitting America, the drama of a missing downed plane with everyone on board, the drama of a discontented president and a do-nothing government not getting the job done, the drama of waves of terrorism in outlying areas hitting our way, and the drama of corrupt police forces killing innocent, unarmed victims when they should be left alone.
Our first big drama this year was the Polar Vortex, which resulted in bone-chilling temperatures all throughout the country including Hawaii. But that pales in comparison to Winter Storms Leon and Pax that numbed the South, including here in Atlanta. For two periods in late January and mid-February, we've seen our freeways jammed as far as the eye can see, as motorists spent up to a whole day trying to get home.
Super Bowl XLVIII should've been called Super Blowout I, as a record 111.5 million viewers saw the Seattle Seahawks totally humiliate Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos 43-8. The attention of the sports world would later shift from New York/New Jersey to Sochi, Russia, and the XXII Olympic Winter Games, where Meryl Davis and Charlie White claimed the inaugural ice dancing gold, Canada still ruled the hockey universe, Adelina Sotnikova made her home country proud in figure skating, and Shaun White's dynasty came to end as Switzerland's Iouri Podladtchikov became the new halfpipe king. In the end, Russia owned the medals podium with 33 (13 of them gold); United States, 9 golds and 28 overall.
Then there was the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, which saw the United States barely advancing to the next round, only to fall to Belgium. But after everything was said and done, it was Germany as the only one left standing.
The NFL had all kinds of drama off the field, starting with the video of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice attacking his wife in an elevator in Atlantic and dragging her unconscious; Rice would be suspended indefinitely by the team but won his appeal of the decision, saying that the league was asleep at the wheel when it came to obtaining the footage. He's now waiting for any team to sign him as soon as possible.
Another involved Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, who abused his young son in September but would remain suspended without pay until next April. However, the NFL Players Association filed an a lawsuit against the league after an arbitrator decided not to grant Peterson an appeal.
And there were countless non-Olympics/World Cup sports highlights: The San Antonio Spurs' sweet redemption by claiming the NBA championship they almost got last year (which resulted in LeBron James taking his talents back home to Cleveland), Bubba Watson's second Masters Green Jacket, Connecticut once again the mecca of college basketball, the Los Angeles Kings on top of the Stanley Cup throne once again, Florida State outranking Auburn in the last BCS National Championship game before the newly created College Football Playoffs, L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks leading to a lifetime ban from the NBA and his team put up for sale, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Hunter-Reay dominant in Daytona and Indianapolis respectively, the San Francisco Giants denying Kansas City's first World Series title in 29 years, a record-breaking Iditarod -- and his second -- for Dallas Seavey; and Tonalist's Belmont Stakes upset costing California Chrome the Triple Crown, extending that winless streak to 36 years.
Malaysia Airlines had a tumultous year, all stemming from the disappearance of Flight 370 off the Gulf of Thailand with all 239 people on board before crashing into the Indian Ocean. That would be followed in July by Flight 17, shot down by a missile in Ukraine killing 298 people. In an historic first, Popes John Paul II and John XXIII were canonized in the Vatican; there was turmoil in Ukraine as President Viktor Yanukovych was out and Oleksandr Turchynov was in and pro-Russian unrest that culminated in the annexation of Crimea; and 276 females were held hostage in a Nigerian school, raising global awareness with the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag on Twitter. But in light of all that, 17-year-old Malala Yousafzi became the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
Meanwhile, same-sex marriages continue to take shape from coast to coast with the exception of Tennessee. From July to August, the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers and a Palestinan in the wake of growing tensions between Israel and Hamas led to Operation Protective Edge; 2,100 Palestinians and 71 Israelis were killed during those seven weeks. In April, the Korean ferry MV Sewol sunk with more that 290 on board; 35 tornadoes claimed 35 lives across the Midwest and Southern U.S.; a 6.0 earthquake struck Napa Valley, California in August; and President Barack Obama launched a coalition against the Islamic terrorist group ISIS, responsible for the beheadings and executions of three humanitarian workers.
But as in every year, we have experienced a lot of significant losses, including: Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mickey Rooney, Harold Ramis, Shirley Temple, Maya Angelou, game show hosts Jim Lange and Geoff Edwards, Richard Kiel, director/playwright Mike Nichols, professional wrestlers Mae Young and The Ultimate Warrior, fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, Jan Hooks, Ruby Dee, Sid Caesar, Don Pardo, Mary Ann Mobley, Maxmillian Schell, Pete Seeger, Bob Hoskins, Casey Kasem, Bobby Womack, Richard Attenborough, Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Elizabeth Pena, Ben Bradlee, Eli Wallach, Joe Cocker, television producer Glen Larson, and author P.D. James.
What were the three biggest stories of 2014 that had everybody on edge? The first was nationwide police unrest, starting with the shooting of Michael Brown that sparked unrests in Ferguson, Missouri and resumed in riots after a grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson with protests spread across the country. It would be deja vu for the latter as far as Eric Garner was concerned, as a Staten Island grand jury refused to indict Daniel Pantaleo over the chokehold that killed him. Even LeBron James and Reggie Bush among sports stars had T-shirts which read "I can't breathe" (Garner's last words) during pregame warmups. And on the last weekend before Christmas in Brooklyn, police officers Rafael Ramos and Wen Jian Liu were shot to death in their patrol car before the gunman pulled the trigger on himself, igniting a new wave of protests throughout the Big Apple.
Second was the Ebola epidemic spinning out of control, even making its way to the United States. Those stricken with the virus such as Dr. Keith Brantly, Thomas Eric Duncan, Nona Pham, Amber Vinson, and Craig Spencer were fighting for their lives in hospitals in Omaha, Dallas, and Atlanta; all but Duncan got clean bills of health and were named "Time" magazine's Person of the Year.
And finally...with President Obama's approval ratings still in a freefall, voters took to the polls in November to stage a political intervention. The result: Republicans retaining control of the House but claiming the Senate. Meanwhile, those in Oregon, the District of Columbia, and my home state of Alaska said "yes" to legalizing marijuana; Alaska and three other states also voted to raise the minimum wage, which became an issue as China once again surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest economy.
Now we look forward to what kind of new real-life dramas 2015 will bring us. One thing that's already slated is the general election in Britain, whose outcome could offer us a sneak preview of 2016. As of publish time, President Obama recently announced that the United States and Cuba should kiss and make up after 55 years, meaning those Eisenhower-era cars that have been on the streets of Havana all this time may be headed for the auto museums here. And there are countless others that will be developed in the blink of an eye; the first drama will start as soon as the ball drops.
Next time when the Year in Review continues: the biggest entertainment stories, trends, and everything else.
