The top four Hamilton sports stories in 2009 probably are:
- The awarding of the 2015 Pan Am Games to the Toronto-Golden Horseshoe area;
- The resurgence of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to earn a home playoff date;
- The determined attempt by Jim Balsillie to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and relocate the team to Hamilton;
- The Hamilton Bulldogs battling for first place in the North Division of the AHL.
The combination of these four events have given the city a year long swagger it hasn't felt in quite some time. Hopefully there are more good things in store for Hamilton sports fans in 2010.
By the way, the Hamilton Spectator has named Jim Balsillie as "Hamilton's Newsmaker of the Year" for 2009.
http://thespec.com/News/Local/article/697285