The top 10 Los Angeles sports stories of 2009

It happens every day: A young life is snuffed out in an automobile accident. It’s always an incomprehensible tragedy. How could someone so strong and vibrant -- so alive -- be gone in an instant? And sometimes the story of a life and death touches us almost as if the victim had been a neighbor, a friend, even a relative.

Most of the people who contributed to the memorial in front of Angel Stadium for 22-year-old pitcher Nick Adenhart had never spoken to him. But they felt they somehow knew him, and their sense of loss was real. Many had cheered him on in April as he threw six shutout innings hours before an allegedly drunk driver killed him and friends Henry Pearson and Courtney Stewart.

The team kept his jersey in his locker the rest of the season and included it in the celebration after their victory over the Texas Rangers that clinched the American League West title. They jogged en masse to the center-field wall, where a picture of Adenhart throwing a pitch was placed after the crash, and poured beer over his head. It was Southern California’s most compelling sports story in 2009.

Another inspiring athlete lost his life this year, and while just as heartbreaking, his death wasn’t quite as shocking. When you perform flips on flying motorcycles for a living, you’re always one under-rotation away from disaster. Jeremy Lusk of Temecula was coming off his best season as a pro freestyle motocross rider, having won a gold medal in the 2008 X Games, when he crashed during an event in Costa Rica. He died two days later. He was 24.

This year started last year for Kobe Bryant on a parquet floor in Boston. The Celtics were celebrating winning the 2008 NBA title after a 39-point Game 6 demolition of the Lakers. He was already plotting a course, steering his infamous stubborn streak toward a dedication to defense and making the players around him better. Bryant had almost 400 assists last season, but still knew when to turn on the faucet and pour in the points: He averaged 33 a game in the NBA Finals as the Lakers rebounded from the disappointment of 2008, cruising past the Orlando Magic in five games. Bryant picked up his fourth ring -- two shy of Michael Jordan -- and was named Finals MVP.

Next year started this year for the Dodgers, who were playing the Phillies in the National League Championship Series in October. The weather in Philadelphia was unseasonably warm; the boys in blue weren’t, losing in five games (again), as news filtered out of the pending breakup of Frank and Jamie McCourt. . . .

A year ago, Manny being Manny meant home runs and ground balls hit so hard they skipped by startled infielders before they could react. In 53 games with the Dodgers in ‘08, Ramirez hit 17 homers, drove in 53 runs and batted .396. He almost maintained that RBI-per-game pace in the first 27 games this year . . . and then came the 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy. When he returned, Manny being Manny meant wild swings, weak rollers and a .269 batting average, leaving Dodgers fans to ponder whether he’ll be any match for the Phillies’ new acquisition Roy Halladay . . . or 47-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer for that matter.

The top 10 Southland stories of 2009:

Fallen Angel: Nick Adenhart called his father, Jim, a retired Secret Service agent, and told him to come to Anaheim because “something special” was going to happen. Proud papa watched his son scatter seven hits over six innings in his first start of the season April 8. Nick left the game and told agent Scott Boras he finally “felt like a major leaguer.” Then he was gone. Jim Adenhart spent several moments alone on the pitcher’s mound at Angel Stadium the next day and then spoke to players and team officials. “He just wanted to say thank you” for giving his son the opportunity, outfielder Torii Hunter said.

Kobe time: The Lakers’ dismantling of Orlando -- Bryant’s first title without the help of Shaquille O’Neal -- brought instant relief from the self-described “Chinese water torture” he endured every time it was mentioned that he had no Shaq-less rings. “I don’t have to hear that idiotic criticism anymore,” he said, dripping champagne. It also provided Coach Phil Jackson with a 10th championship, one more than Boston legend Red Auerbach, which made him officially peerless. A nice accomplishment, but Jackson, never passing up a chance to be Philosophical, reminded us: “The journey is important.”

Breaking up is . . . No one knows yet how the breakup of the McCourts will affect the Dodgers, whether Frank will remain the sole owner, whether Jamie may end up buying the team or whether the club may have to eventually be sold. Team officials say it’s business as usual; time will tell.

No longer dreaded: Clearly, Manny’s bat didn’t strike the same kind of fear it did before his suspension. He didn’t strike the ball nearly as often or nearly as hard. Was he just overswinging to prove he didn’t need chemical help to hit the ball out of the park? Or were all the line drives and bleacher-bound blasts injection-related? In any case, his performance in the second half this year was truly un-enhanced. So what’s in store for 2010?

Musical forwards: Trevor Ariza might not have been the most popular Laker on the team (see No. 24), but there were a great many disappointed and dismayed fans when the team broke off negotiations with the young forward and signed free agent Ron Artest. Ariza then immediately took a five-year deal with the Houston Rockets, for whom Artest played last season. The free-agent swap was seen in a lot of purple-and-gold circles as giving up a beloved up-and-comer for a hated head case. Artest, however -- at least before he fell down the stairs -- has been the consummate teammate. And it’s tough to argue with the Lakers’ record since he came on board.

Leap of faith: Despite the obvious dangers -- the back-flip trick during which Lusk was injured involves soaring off a 100-foot jump, extending the body away from the motorcycle and grabbing the seat as the bike is upside down, then pulling back aboard as it is righted before landing -- Lusk is believed to be the first pro motocross freestyler to have suffered fatal injuries in competition. For Lusk, nicknamed “Pitbull” for his passion and intensity, it might have been deemed a death by natural causes. He had been riding motorcycles since he was 3. His wife, Lauren, and his parents, who were with him when he died, survive him.

Rivalry without chivalry: USC has a snug little 21-7 lead over UCLA with 54 seconds remaining and the Trojans’ quarterback is taking a knee on the Coliseum turf. Game over, right? Uh, no, because Bruins Coach Rick Neuheisel -- apparently trying to teach his players about fighting on until the end -- calls a timeout. USC Coach Pete Carroll decides to teach Neuheisel to use his timeouts more wisely and calls a long pass play that results in a touchdown. Mayhem nearly ensues, but the players settle for trash talk, or trash screaming. Were the Trojans poor sports? Was the Bruins’ timeout ill-advised? Sure, but, hey, it’s college football, you can’t expect anyone to act like a grown-up.

Great ones keep fighting: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, always a bit of a health junkie, admits he was terrified when first informed he was stricken with a rare form of leukemia. But his instincts took over and he soon regained the will to battle. “When you hear the word . . . it’s a shock to you,” he said. And people can lose the “will to do what they need to do.” Now, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, who played 20 seasons in the NBA -- 14 with the Lakers -- says he’s managing the disease with daily medication. And he’s quick to remind well-wishers that a cancer diagnosis isn’t necessarily “a death sentence.”

Sail on: Zac Sunderland, 17, thought storms in the Atlantic were nasty but they turned out to be a summer breeze compared to the Internet tempest howling around his record-setting voyage that earned him the title of youngest person to sail around the world alone. His parents were accused of child abuse -- and worse -- and that was before they announced they would let his 16-year-old sister have a go at it. At one point during his journey, a mysterious-looking vessel tailed Sunderland. Pirates? His father’s advice via satellite phone: Load your pistol and “shoot to kill,” if necessary. Words of wisdom few parents want to have to pass on to their teenagers.

Bowl’s half empty: USC fans, so used to seeing a veritable NFL Pro Bowl linebacking lineup blowing apart an opponent’s offense, really suffered this year as the Trojans defense made the likes of Washington, Stanford and Arizona look like the Indianapolis Colts. Carroll would’ve pulled his sweat shirt hoodie up over his head to hide except he was worried it might muss his hair. There’s been lots of talk about his decision to go with a freshman quarterback this year, but the kid’s all right. Anyway, the Trojans used to be able to beat the Washingtons, Stanfords and Arizonas of the world with your sister at quarterback . . . or at least tie them, 0-0.

john.weyler@latimes.com