2012 has been an eventful year full of stories that prove the tenets of sports - endurance, perseverance and passion - are always at the heart of moments that will resonate forever. Here's a look back at the most enduring moments of 2012.

Tebow's magical ride through the 2011 NFL season extended into the playoffs. Tebow's Broncos faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow had a whale of a game - throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns and also rushing for 50 yards and another touchdown. On the first play of overtime, Tebow threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to receiver Demaryius Thomas and, in a flash, Tebow delivered one of the best sports moments of the year.

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After years of questions dogging him, James finally put his doubters to rest. On June 21, James and his Miami Heat teammates clinched the NBA title by beating Oklahoma City. In the face of intense scrutiny, James finally captured the NBA title that had eluded him the first eight years of his career.

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Normally, a team like the Miami Heat would dominate NBA headlines. But nothing captured the attention of NBA fans and the general public quite like the tale of Lin, the Taiwanese-American point guard from Harvard who saved the New York Knicks' 2011-12 season. It has been an incredible story for Lin. In 2011, he was fighting for a roster spot on an NBA team. In 2012, he is the point guard of the future for the Houston Rockets.

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Lochte finally took a step from behind the mammoth shadow of Michael Phelps. Lochte didn't exactly dominate in the pool, but if press coverage and buzz counts for anything, Lochte hit it out of the park at the London Games. Lochte made a guest appearance on the hit show "30 Rock" and is on the verge of launching his own fashion line. Jeah!

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In 2012 at the tender age of 19, Davis has accomplished more than many people twice his age. Davis won an NCAA championship with the Kentucky Wildcats, went No. 1 overall in the NBA draft and became the first American player since 2004 to compete in the Olympics without any NBA experience.

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The 17-year-old was billed as the future of U.S. swimming ahead of the London Games. The future, as they say, is now. Franklin swam in seven events, won five medals (four of them gold) and set two world records. Franklin idolizes Michael Phelps and wants to chase his medal record. Fans of USA Swimming are going to have a fabulous time watching her try.

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Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback award. "Johnny Football," who passed for 3,419 yards and 24 TDs and posted an SEC-record 4,600 yards of total offense, led the Aggies to a 10-2 record and a Cotton Bowl berth. There was also that 29-24 upset victory at No. 1 Alabama on Nov. 10 that just adds to his lore.

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Media attention has increased exponentially for Griffin since he came out of nowhere to win the Heisman Trophy last year. In 2012, Griffin has endured intense media scrutiny, finding success as the rookie quarterback for the Washington Redskins.

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Morgan played the heroine in Team USA's victory over Canada to get to the gold-medal match in this year's Olympics. After helping the U.S. women to a victory over Japan (who had beaten the United States in the 2011 World Cup), Morgan became the golden girl of U.S. women's soccer. The public can count on seeing her quite often in the years to come.

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Who knew Trout would be an MVP finalist, AL Rookie of the Year and All-Star just one season into his professional career? Trout began the 2012 season in Triple-A, but after plowing through the minor leagues, he made a huge impact in the Angels' outfield. Among all of Trout's first-season accolades, his 10.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) stands out.

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London was a coming-out party for Douglas, who helped the U.S. women's gymnastics team win the all-around gold and then became the first African-American to win gold in the all-around competition. Even though her hair became a hot-button issue on Twitter, Douglas has handled herself with class this year.

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The 2011-12 Kings accomplished a feat that even The Great One couldn't pull off. The Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils in six games to capture the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. 'Go Kings Go!' was the catchphrase of the summer in Los Angeles.

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Jones captured the public's attention leading up to the 2012 Olympics. Jones, a self-professed virgin, garnered public attention after publicizing that claim in a magazine article. The track star's media-darling status came under fire when articles of a more negative nature, and comments about her using the Olympics to build her brand, became more prevalent in the days before she took to the track. And then, when it mattered the most, she failed to come through, finishing fourth in the 100-meter hurdles by one-tenth of a second.

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It has been a year of ups and downs for Manning. After missing the 2011 season, Manning was let go by the Indianapolis Colts - the only organization he had played for. Manning got a fresh start in Denver and has made the most of it. Manning has the Broncos atop the AFC West and is putting up incredible numbers.

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Each member of the US women's gymnastics team - dubbed the Fierce Five - brought something special to the table in the Olympics this year. Together they made history, propelling the U.S. to just its second all-around gold, the first on foreign soil.

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Te'o has been a driving force behind a Notre Dame team that surprised everyone by becoming the No. 1 team in college football this year. The Fighting Irish senior cleaned up in the 2012 national awards season. Te'o started out picking up the Butkus Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Lombardi Award. The Hawaii native rounded out awards season by bringing home the Maxwell Award, given to the nation's most outstanding player, the Walter Camp National Player of the Year Award and the Bednarik Award, given to the most outstanding defensive player. Te'o and the 12-0 Irish will play No. 2 Alabama in the BCS Championship Game in South Florida on Jan. 7.

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2012 was a dream year for the New York Mets starter. The 38-year-old became the first pitcher who relied predominantly on a knuckleball to win the Cy Young Award, an achievement mentors such as Hall of Famer Phil Niekro are quite proud of. Dickey beat 2011 winner Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers by a wide margin in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

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Let's just say the 10,000-meter event isn't America's finest. The last time the U.S. medaled in the 10,000 was when Bill Mills took gold in 1964 -- almost 22 years before Galen Rupp was born. So when the Oregon native took silver in London, there was much to celebrate. But here's the thing. He almost had gold. Rupp finished 0.48 second behind Britain's Mo Farah.

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Murray is having quite a year. After losing to Roger Federer in a valiant Wimbledon performance, Murray rebounded in the 2012 Olympics to thrill the All England club and deliver a decisive smackdown of Federer to win the gold medal.

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To cap off his incredible season, Harper of the Washington Nationals was named the NL Rookie of the Year, receiving 16 of 32 first-place votes and 112 points from the NL panel. Harper batted .270 with 22 home runs and 59 RBI as Washington brought postseason play to the nation's capital for the first time since 1933. Harper, who turned 20 on Oct. 16, became the youngest position player in All-Star history. At 20 years and 27 days, he was 24 days older than New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden when he won the NL award in 1984.

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We knew they were good. But the relay team of Carmelita Jeter, Bianca Knight, Tianna Madison and Allyson Felix set a world record of 40.82 seconds to win America's first gold medal in this event since 1996. The ladies blew away the Jamaican team - their closest rival.

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Triple Crown fever swept the country after I'll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness - opening the door for the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Alas, I'll Have Another was injured before the Belmont Stakes and was unable to attempt the feat. That did not diminish the excitement of fans during the Triple Crown hunt.

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Women's boxing was a first in London and Shields made sure the United States got a gold medal. At just 17, Shields defeated 33-year-old Nadezda Torlopova of Russia for the middleweight gold.

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On the second to last day of competition, Boudia stunned the Chinese and won the men's 10-meter platform gold medal. China finished second, with British teen Tom Daley taking bronze.

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Women's water polo has been an Olympic sport only since the 2000 Sydney Olympics. While the U.S. women have medaled in every outing (a silver in Sydney and Beijing and a bronze in Athens), they struck gold in London.

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Sure, there was controversy surrounding Pistorius being able to run in the Olympic Games on prosthetic blades. But the fact that a double amputee could combine with scientific advancement and compete with -- and be considered one of -- the top athletes in the world is remarkable. Pistorius advanced to the 400 semifinals, where he finished eighth in his heat and was unable to race the final. But what he has already done is gold-medal worthy.

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May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings have dominated beach volleyball for nearly a decade. It wasn't enough for the dynamic duo to win a third gold medal before calling it quits. They crushed their opponents along the way, dropping just one set the entire Olympic competition.

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While much of the pre-Olympic focus was on Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, it seems as if the U.S. women were devising a plan to steal back the spotlight. Winning eight gold medals (up from two in Beijing), the women made a splash. Among the highlights: Rebecca Soni broke the world record — twice — to win the 200-meter breaststroke and Dana Vollmer took gold in the 100-meter butterfly, also setting a world record.

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At 15, Ledecky was one of the youngest competitors in London, but that didn't stop her from winning the 800 free gold medal by over four seconds with a time of 8:14.63. Ledecky's time was the second-fastest effort of all time and is behind only the 8:14.10 world record Rebecca Adlington (who took the silver medal) set in 2008. In addition, she broke Janet Evans' American record of 8:16.22 that had stood since 1989.

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Phelps is leaving the sport the way he always played-as a winner. The way the Games started for Phelps, with a loss, it looked like he would limp to the all-time record for most medals with bronzes and silvers. Instead he walked away with four golds -- two individual and two on relays -- and the title of greatest Olympian of all time.

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