PHILADELPHIA — The city of losers is no more.

One is remembered not so much for crushing blocks — although he made it to the Hall of Fame with plenty of those — than for the dense, exacting language of contracts that would leave NFL players richer than they ever hoped.

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army filled its football coaching vacancy by heeding a core West Point value: History matters.

Roger Federer, left, congratulates Rafael Nadal after the young Spaniard’s 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 victory at Wimbledon on July 6. Nadal’s victory ended a string of five consecutive Wimbledon titles for Federer, who also lost his No. 1 ranking during the season.

It was a year of inspiring performances (see Beijing Games), surprise endings (see Patriots and Lakers) and new faces (see Manny), along with the usual aggravations (see BCS and local teams’ woes). It was a sports year that often seemed blissfully out of touch with the times, with Beijing staging an opulent Olympics amid the backdrop of an earthquake that killed tens of thousands and the New …

The following does not reflect the views of R News or its parent company Time Warner Cable. I fell in love with baseball the first time I saw Tony Conigliaro hit a home run over the green monster at Fenway Park in 1964. The game has been with me ever since. It may be time to part ways.

THE New York Times Company is shopping its stake in the holding company of the Boston Red Sox as it seeks to fortify core assets.

One is remembered not so much for crushing blocks — although he made it to the Hall of Fame with plenty of those — than for the dense, exacting language of contracts that would leave NFL players richer than they ever hoped.

The term “bell ringer” doesn’t exist in Kim Schieler’s vocabulary.

What’s your No. 1 sports memory of 2008? The SouthtownStar sports writers narrowed our list to the SouthtownStar Rivals series, Dwyane Wade’s support for Richards basketball, a high school coach’s return to the football field, a friendship that ended too soon, and the anticipation of a hockey game yet to be played.