From Michael Phelps' great eight in Beijing to Tiger Woods' heroic U.S. Open win, to Brett Favre's offseason drama to Plaxico Burress' accidental shooting, take a look at some of the athletes who made headlines in 2008.

Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong decided that winning seven Tour de France crowns wasn't enough. The American cyclist announced he was coming out of retirement with hopes of competing in the 2009 Tour. In December, he also announced that he was expecting his fourth child as his girlfriend was due to give birth in the spring.

Big Brown
Big Brown made a run for the Triple Crown, winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. But in the final race -- the Belmont Stakes -- the colt was pulled up because of an injury, ending his quest to sweep all three races.

Plaxico Burress
While Plaxico Burress made headlines early in 2008 for his role in the New York Giants' Super Bowl victory, he made the news for an off-the-field incident late in the year. Burress allegedly accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a nightclub in November, which resulted in a weapons charge against the receiver.

Brett Favre
Brett Favre made news in March when he tearfully announced he was retiring from the NFL and ending his long-time career with the Green Bay Packers. But the quarterback had a change of heart in the summer and announced before the preseason began that he intended to return to football. However, the Packers had already promised the starting quarterback job to Aaron Rodgers. The solution? Favre was sent to the New York Jets.

Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson showed he's still the NASCAR driver to beat. He won his third straight cup title, tying NASCAR's 30-year-old mark that was set by Cale Yarborough.

Adam "Pacman" Jones
Adam "Pacman" Jones was reinstated to the NFL by Commissioner Roger Goodell, only to land himself in trouble once again. The Cowboys cornerback was suspended again after getting into a fight with a team-hired security guard midway through the NFL season. He was once again reinstated before the end of the season.

Eli Manning
Eli Manning and the New York Giants entered Super Bowl XLI as the underdogs to the previously undefeated New England Patriots. But Manning and the Giants pulled off an upset to prevent their East Coast rival from completing a perfect season. Just as his brother Peyton did the year before, Eli Manning was named the Super Bowl MVP.

Michael Phelps
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps entered the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the goal of winning a record eight gold medals at a single Games, which would break Mark Spitz's record that he set in 1972. The American achieved his goal, leaving Beijing with eight medals, all gold, that he collected from an octet of victories that included world-record swims, a dramatic relay win, a photo-finish and leaky goggles.

Manny Ramirez
The Red Sox decided they'd had enough of Manny being Manny after the slugger said he was too hurt to play but an examination revealed no injury, and sent him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez, who's now a free agent, helped the Dodgers advance to the National League Championship Series.

Dara Torres
Dara Torres made a splash when at 41 years old she made the U.S. Olympic swimming team. Torres, a mother of a 2-year-old daughter, earned three silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Games to become the oldest swimmer to ever win an Olympic medal.

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods cut his 2008 season short, but he made the most of his time on the course. Woods won four of the six PGA Tour events he entered in 2008, including a dramatic victory at the U.S. Open. Coming off of a knee surgery, Woods -- who was in obvious pain throughout the championship -- defeated Rocco Mediate in sudden death in a playoff round at Torrey Pines to win his 14th major championship. After the tournament, Woods revealed that he would need an additional surgery on his knee to repair his ACL and that he would miss the rest of the season to recover.