Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss their best of the year. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is up to the end of the NHL lockout. After months of labour war, wed spent a week freezing on some of the finest sidewalks New York had to offer, staking out meetings that produced nothing much. And then on Jan. 5 the NHL walked to the players hotel for what was described as an informal meeting, starting at one in the afternoon. It didnt stop. Midnight arrived, and the meeting kept going. At 4am I closed my eyes for 15 seconds and Aaron Ward took a picture. And finally, at five in the morning the news broke: Labour peace was at hand, and a voice exiting the room bellowed out, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. For ending something thats the opposite of sports, thats my moment of the year. Steve Simmons, SUN Media: My thumb is up to the least natural sporting emotion of 2013 - caring about the Davis Cup. Most of us couldnt tell you when the Davis Cup begins, when it ends, how the schedule works or who plays who, but Milos Raonic and Canadian tennis changed all that this past year. Suddenly we were pulled in by possibility, by Raonics huge first serve, by the fortitude of Vasek Pospisil, by the stoic veteran Daniel Nestor, all of them coming together in red and white as a team. Our team. They didnt win the Davis Cup but did what no Canadians had ever done before. They made the semi-finals. In a way it was the perfect Canadian ending: We played hard, we played great, we inspired, we just didnt win. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to the Iron Bowl, proof that one second can last for eternity. The improbable finish started with that single tick Alabama coach Nick Saban lobbied to have put back on the scoreboard. Rather than take his chances in overtime, Saban sent out a back-up kicker to attempt a quixotic 57-yard game-winning field goal. Auburns Chris Davis took the failed kick deep in the end zone and juked and then sprinted more than 100 yards - straight into the hard drive of memory. In-state rival Auburn deprived Alabama of a third straight national championship with Davis return while reminding us that sport is the grand unscripted drama of our lives. Dave Hodge, TSN: Well if that defied belief, my thumb is up to the current NFL season, which has done that… right from the start when Peyton Manning tossed seven touchdown passes, only to have Nick Foles of the Eagles do the same thing later on. Matt Prater broke a record with a 64-yard field goal at the end of the first half, but Justin Tuckers 61-yarder might have been more amazing, because it came at the end of the game. One week, the NFL set a record with 90 touchdowns. The next week, it set a record for one-day scoring with 763 points. Phillys LeSean McCoy rushed for 217 yards in the snow, and Kansas Citys Jamaal Charles, another running back, caught four passes for touchdowns. NFL stadiums have scoreboards, and the busier they are, the better the games tend to be - never truer than in 2013. Scarpe Stan Smith Scontate . Ryan Callahan trade talks caught a lot of people off guard. Details are now emerging about why the Rangers would consider such a move. Darren Dreger: He wants a lot of money. Its been widely reported that Callahan is looking for a seven-year term around $6 million per year. That is not accurate. Im told that it is more than $6. Stan Smith Scontate Uomo . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. http://www.stansmithscontate.it/ . Now he can be had by any team willing to pay his salary. According to a report from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shopping the veteran CB and plan on releasing him Wednesday if they cant find a trade partner. Stan Smith Outlet Italia . He still wanted out. "It just seemed like the direction they were going didnt fit what I thought my career was going to be," Kesler said. "At the end of the day I want to win a championship and I want to win it now, and four years is a little too long for me. Stan Smith Italia . The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot.HOUSTON -- The Chicago White Sox couldnt get anything going early on Friday night against the Houston Astros. One big swing by Adam Dunn changed that and the White Sox cruised to a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros. Dunn hit a three-run home run and Conor Gillaspie added two RBIs to lead the White Sox. The White Sox trailed by two and had managed just one hit off of Collin McHugh (2-2) through the five innings before Dunn launched his soaring homer into the second deck in right field with one out in the sixth to put Chicago on top. "That guy it just seemed like he was cruising," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He was around the zone, a good curveball and thats what really kept everybody off-balance. You just stick with it. Dunns homer ... but then after that we put some stuff together to put it away." White Sox starter Jose Quintana (2-3) allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings for his first win since April 8. Hes pitched well between wins, but Chicago has had trouble scoring in his starts. "Hes done a lot for us to keep us in games and he hasnt won any games," Ventura said. "Hes notorious for coming out with a no-decision, so it was nice for us to get some runs after that and get him a win, because hes done a lot of work for us that doesnt go in the win column all the time for him." Dunn was happy he could help Quintana get a win after he had three no-decisions and three losses since his last victory. Quintana has been plagued by no-decisions in his career and set an American League record last season with 17. "It seems like every single game that he pitches we cant offensively get it going," Dunn said. "Then when we do, its when hes out of the game. He obviously wasnt as sharp as he has been lately or even since hes been up. But getting him that win was big." Tyler Flowers had an RBI in the sixth and Gillaspie drove in two runs with a double in Chicagos three-run eighth inning. Rookie George Springer and Jason Castro each haad an RBI for the Astros.dddddddddddd Chris Carter added a double and a single to extend his hitting streak to a season-high six games. He has improved in May after hitting just .153 in April. McHugh allowed four runs on three hits, striking out seven in 5 1-3 innings for his second straight loss after starting the season 2-0. "Coming in, from the get-go, I knew my stuff was good, but my command was spotty at best," McHugh said. "And it came back to bite me in that inning." Dunn, who was 0 for 11 before his home run, added a double in the ninth inning. "Hes got power with anybody in the league," Ventura said. "If he gets it its going to go. Its good. Hes walking and hitting balls hard so its a good night for him." Jonathan Villar and Jose Altuve hit consecutive singles to start Houstons fifth inning and Villar advanced to third on an error by Dayan Viciedo on Altuves hit. Villar scored on a groundout by Springer to put the Astros up 1-0. Castros two-out single made it 2-0. Matt Dominguez singled to put runners at first and second, but Quintana retired Jesus Guzman on a liner to centre to limit the damage. Alejandro De Aza singled to start the third inning for Chicagos first hit and Moises Sierra walked with one out. McHugh then retired nine of the next 10 batters, with the only baserunner coming on a walk by Flowers with two outs in the fifth. Gillaspie walked with one out in the sixth before McHugh plunked Jose Abreu. Dunns sixth homer of the season and the 446th of his career came next to give Chicago the lead. After the homer by Dunn, Viciedo doubled to chase McHugh. He was replaced by Josh Zeid, who intentionally walked De Aza with two outs before the RBI single by Flowers. NOTES: The series continues Saturday when Houstons Jarred Cosart opposes Hector Noesi. ... Ventura planned to give Abreu a day off to rest his sore left ankle. 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