What pops into our minds when we look back at 2015? Was it the series of mass shootings and terrorist attacks that had the world on edge? The "anything goes" race for the White House starring a billionaire, a former First Lady, a doctor, and several politicians? The fact that gay marriages are now official in every state in the union? The possibilities were endless in those last 52 weeks.

We started it all with a series of massacres in Baga, Nigeria initiated by the jihadist group Boko Haram, killing over 2,000. But that was just the beginning, as they would be hooking up with the mega-group ISIS, which we'll get to later. 

With a record 114.8 million viewers tuning in, the Seattle Seahawks were about to put the New England Patriots to bed in Super Bowl XLIX (making them back-to-back champions), until an interception by Malcolm Butler, uh, "deflated" those chances 28-24. A month earlier, the Ohio State Buckeyes were crowned the first national champions in the newly-created college football playoffs. But perhaps the biggest sports story of the year was 37 years in the making as American Pharoah, ridden by Victor Espinoza, captured horse racing's Triple Crown and ending that long streak.

And we had other major sports happenings besides those three: the U.S. soccer team lifting their first FIFA Women's World Cup in 16 years, Juan Pablo Montoya's second Indianapolis 500 victory lap, Duke (men's) and Connecticut (women's) the masters of their college hoops domain, the Golden State Warriors's first NBA title since Gerald Ford was president (and Jay Hammond my home state's (Alaska) governor), Serena Williams almost "slam"-ming her way into the tennis history books, the Chicago Blackhawks taking another drink out of the Stanley Cup, Britain's Tyson Fury ending Wladimir Klitschiko's reign as boxing champion, the Kansas City Royals dethroning the New York Mets for their first World Series pennant in 30 years, Holly Holm putting Ronda Rousey's UFC dominance to an end, Boston dropping out of their 2024 Olympics bid and Los Angeles back in; and on the same day as the Kentucky Derby, NBA/NHL playoffs, final day of the NFL Draft, Yankees vs. Red Sox, a NASCAR race, and the birth of a second royal baby for William and Kate (which I'll save for Part 2)...Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in the fight of fights that was or wasn't -- depending on who you were rooting for -- worth the $100.

The U.S. Supreme Court had a monumental year themselves, as they ruled Obamacare unconstitutional and made same-sex marriage legal all over the country in a span of 24 hours (Ireland would become the first for that latter). From late April to early May, Baltimore became the latest epicenter of racial turmoil over the arrest and death of Freddie Gray; riots broke out all over the city and even a Orioles-Red Sox game had to be played with nobody but the teams and TV cameras present (as of publish time, there was a mistrial in the Gray case). Two days of flash flooding in Texas and Oklahoma claimed 17 lives, Rachel Dolezal resigned as Spokane, Wash. NAACP president over allegations about her race, Alaska and Oregon made recreational use of marijuana official, and former President Jimmy Carter announced in August he was diagnosed with brain cancer, only for the cancer to be eradicated from his body in early December.

Over 9,000 were killed in a 7.8 earthquake in April that stretched from Nepal to Bangladesh; 218 more would follow in another quake over two weeks later. After 54 years of being dormant, the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba and the Cuban embassy in Washington were both reopened at the same time. The U.S. experienced its worst wildfire season on record with a $1.71 billion bill and over 9.8 million acres burned, especially in California and Alaska; other fires were ablaze in Australia and Indonesia. Subway pitchman Jared Fogle would plead guilty for possession of child pornography, and Virginia TV reporter Alison Parker and her photographer Adam Ward were shot and killed live on the air by a disgruntled former employee of their station, who would later commit suicide. Pope Francis made landfall in the United States for the first time in late September; a day after his visit to Washington, House Speaker John Boehner announced he would resign and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin would take the gavel. And in north Texas, 12 were killed in a series of severe storms around Christmas

In international politics, Britain took to the polls to keep David Cameron and his Conservative Party in power for at least another five years; while in Canada, the Liberal Party (led by Justin Trudeau) ended Stephen Harper's nine-year reign. 

There were temporary streaks ending as I mentioned, and then there were life streaks that also came to an end this year: Robert Loggia; Ed Sabol; Yvonne Craig; Dick Van Patten; professional wrestlers Nick Bockwinkel, Verne Gagne, Dusty Rhodes, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper; game show host Jim Perry; Gary Owens; Leonard Nimoy; Lesley Gore; Dusty Rhodes; Los Angeles newscaster Stan Chambers; Marty Pasetta; Betsy Palmer; Scott Weiland; gospel singer Andrae Crouch; blues legend B.B. King; James Horner, Bess Myerson, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Macnee, Allen Toussaint, Percy Sledge, Jayne Meadows, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, Ben E. King, Christopher Lee, Stuart Scott, Paul Prudhomme, Bobbi Kristina Brown, former Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon, and Frank Gifford.

The year's major story? Violence, especially a global wave of mass shootings and terrorist attacks, starting with the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris that left 12 dead inside the offices of the French satirical publication and "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie") becoming a worldwide sign of solidarity. But the worst was far from over; in November, Islamic State militants wreaked terror all over Paris, killing 130 people in restaurants, bars, and an indoor rock concert.

Domestically, mass shootings from coast to coast dominated the news. One in particular was in Charleston, South Carolina, as a white gunman opened fire during bible study at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church, killing nine blacks including the pastor. The killer's fascination with the Confederate flag sparked debate about present-day Civil War symbols; the following month, the flag would permanently be removed from the South Carolina State House grounds. And there were others: 14 dead at a community center in San Bernadino, four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, a professor and eight students at an Oregon community college; and three, including an police officer, at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado.

The other biggie? The ever changing 2016 presidential race, headlined by former First Lady/New York Senator/former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Dr. Ben Carson, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Lawrence Lessig, and several Senators (Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham) and governors (Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, Chris Christie, Lincoln Chafee, Martin O'Malley, Bobby Jindal). Everything seemed to be going well as planned...that is, until uber-billionaire Donald Trump decided to put his name into the hat, and things were about to get wild. His participation in the televised Republican debates drew record ratings for the cable news channels, while some of the names I mentioned couldn't stand the heat and let themselves out.

No doubt, the headliner maker of 2016 is guaranteed to be the presidential election itself, as Hillary Clinton wants to make all those dreams about a woman occupying the Oval Office finally become a reality...that is, if she can get past Bernie Sanders. Donald Trump may still lead the polls on the Republican side, but something tells us that we will have had enough, and that Ted Cruz will pull as many strings as possible to be that party's nominee with Trump pulling a Ross Perot and running as a third party candidate. Based on what we've seen, especially in Paris, the war against ISIS is expected to escalate even further. And yes, you have the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt could be going out in style and new legends will be born.

There's no telling what else will happen in the next 366 days; all we have to do is to count down the final seconds of the previous 365 to find out.

Next time in Part 2: A look back at the year's biggest entertainment highlights.