Broken droughts, smashed barriers and shattered records: A look back at the year in sports

A 72-foot putt for eagle. A new home for women's hockey. A rousing farewell to a legend.

Those are just some of the moments that defined sports in 2023 — a year of broken droughts, smashed barriers and shattered records.

WATCH | CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo takes you through the year's marquee moments:

Here's a look at the stories we'll remember:

In a year that featured Connor McDavid completing a 154-point season, the Vegas Golden Knights winning the Stanley Cup in just their fifth year and the Maple Leafs even making the second round, the biggest hockey story came off the ice.

Since then, the news has come fast and furious as the league storms toward its Jan. 1 start. There was a frenzied free agency period followed by the inaugural draft at CBC in September and training camps not long after.

Now, the likes of Marie-Philip Poulin (Montreal) and Hilary Knight (Boston) finally have professional homes. And for the first time in a long time, the conversation around women's hockey will centre around wins and losses. Let the games begin.

WATCH | Billie Jean King discusses inaugural draft:

You might remember the miraculous putt. You may recall the chaotic scene in Toronto, with rain pouring down on rowdy Canadian golf fans. Surely you can envision the security guard's tackle of Adam Hadwin that put an exclamation mark on a wild Canadian Open back in June.

I'm here to remind you that the absurdity didn't end there.

It all could have overshadowed the actual golf. Somehow, though, the competition became even more fascinating. A playoff-hockey style overtime on Sunday came down to Nick Taylor — the B.C. native vying to become the first Canadian man to win at home since 1954 — and Tommy Fleetwood, the long-established Brit