The Biggest Sports Stories of the Summer in GIFs

Image via Complex Original

Date: April 2013-Present

Mariano Rivera had a great run as a Hall of Fame closer and wonderful pitcher. Outside of three straight blown saves, he's been pretty phenomenal this season and up to his old tricks. Rivera probably could play another ten seasons at the rate that he's going. Mo also must be enjoying this experience with all these collectables he's receiving as gifts. Now that's the good life.

Date: 7/11/2013

Ilya Kovalchuk's retirement caught the attention of several NHL fans this summer. Kovalchuk retires leaving 12 years and $77 million on the table. The former NHL All-Star desperately wanted to return to his native Russia and left a tremendous amount of money on the table. A few days later, Kovalchuk signed with a Russian team for a similar annual salary so it turned out well.

Date: 7/7/2013

Andy Murray definitely stood out during his Wimbledon win against Novak Djokovic. The Brit defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the Wimbledon Final matchup. Murray was the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years—Fred Perry won the last of three in a row in 1936. Talk about putting your whole homeland on your back.

Date: July and August 2013

Johnny Manziel had an interesting summer. First, he was rumored to have been partying it up too much at the Manning quarterback camp. Then the NCAA started an investigation into Manziel signing autographs and receiving some kind of monetary compensation for it. Luckily for Manziel, he only received a half game suspension. That rule is stupid in it's own right but that's beside the point. Johnny Football must be feeling like the Teflon Don of college football right now. The NCAA doesn't have anything on him.

Date: 6/25/2013

Doc Rivers left on relatively cordial terms with the team, but left in an awkward way with Bill Simmons and the fans. Rivers should help propel the Clippers into a better position next season. His playoff tested resume as well as his ability to motivate should have the Clippers contending for a title this season. We will miss the days of ubuntu.

Date: 6/3/2013 & 6/12/2013

Jason Kidd didn't really surprise anyone when he retired after his awful shooting stretch during the 2013 playoffs. Kidd went scoreless in his last 10 games of his career missing on all 17 of his attempts. He was even missing easy layups. Despite the Knicks wanting Kidd back in the fold, he decided to end his 19-year playing career. However, he managed to shock everyone when he was named the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets nine days later. Now with the beef between the two crosstown rivals brewing, can he make an instant impact this upcoming season?

Date: 6/3/2013

Ever since the Dodgers called Puig up, they've been on absolute fire this season. The Dodgers were 12 games under .500 at one point and are now more than 20 games over .500. A lot of their success can be attributed to Yasiel Puig. When Puig starts, the Dodgers are 51-21 this season. His robust production line of .347, 13 HR, and 30 RBI has been helpful to the Dodgers' emergence. And let's not forget about that cannon of an arm.

Date: 7/12/2013

The nine-player blockbuster deal shows two teams going in completely different directions. Brooklyn is willing to make whatever deal necessary to win a championship. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has a bottomless wallet as evidenced by the Nets' $87 million luxury tax bill for the 2013-14 season. There's a lot Brooklyn has to figure out when it comes to contending with elite teams like the Heat, Thunder, and Spurs, but they will most definitely be in the picture.

Boston, on the other hand, decided to blow it up. They'll now be rebuilding their current team around Rajon Rondo, and will likely be bottoming out for a top lottery selection. Losing Paul Pierce is significant considering he's played with the Celtics his whole career, but overall this just signifies the end of an era that included two trips to the Finals and a championship.

Date: 6/24/2013

The Blackhawks withstood a tough battle from the Boston Bruins, but they held on and won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2010. This series was ultra-competitive and featured so many twists and turns. The 2013 Stanley Cup Finals featured five overtime periods and alternating leads throughout the six games. The Bruins had many chances to win and seemed headed that way late, until Chicago scored twice within 17 seconds to seal the win.

Date: 7/13/2013

Finally, we never have to talk about where Dwight Howard will end up again. After two years of waffling back and forth, Dwight has a new home in Houston and should be there for at least the next few years. Howard's defection to the Houston Rockets improves Houston immensely and also puts the Lakers in a tough position for the 2014-15 season. Houston will be a force with two legitimate superstars in James Harden and Howard flanked by supporting players in Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, and Omer Asik.

Date: July 2013

Riley Cooper had the most awkward 2013. He was caught at a Kenny Chesney concert (of course) uttering a racial slur at a security guard. After the video leaked, Cooper was forced to go back to his teammates and apologize for his actions and go to sensitivity training. He's going to have alligator arms all season, should be fun to watch.

Date: 7/6/2013

Some moments just shock us. Anderson Silva usually is in the position of knocking people out. However, his signature showboating style got him KO'd by Chris Weidman. it was Silva's first title loss in seven years which is astounding in its own right. The Spider still gets no love from the public, as many speculated that Silva is too cocky.

Date: 6/20/2013

LeBron and Co. once gain proved all the doubters wrong and will be looking for a three-peat. They could be the first team to do it since the Shaq & Kobe Lakers. The underlying theme to this championship was how hard Miami had to play to win it. After their 27-game win streak, many felt that Miami would steamroll through the playoffs. They struggled in the Eastern Conference Finals but eventually advanced after a grueling seven games. San Antonio was one offensive rebound from sealing a six-game series win against the Heat but it was not meant to be. The Heatles deserve their props. Now can they do it one more time?

Date: 8/5/2013

Everybody hates A-Rod, but you have to love how smug he is this season. Alex was found to have used performance enhancing drugs during this whole Biogenesis scandal. He was supposed to be for 211 games, but his appeal of his suspension has allowed him to keep playing. He has no fans right now and every player has been gunning for him in quotes and even on the field. And he could care less.

Date: 6/18/2013-Present

The Aaron Hernandez story has seemed to carry a life of its own from the day he became a suspect in the murder of Odin Lloyd. After being arrested and awaiting a trial for his actions, information has trickled out about Hernandez. Rolling Stone is claiming that Aaron Hernandez was using PCP and showed signs of paranoia over the past year. In what has to be one of the craziest and shocking sports stories ever, it seems like it could get deeper as his case continues to unfold.