This timeline of the 2000s in sports is a chronological list of sporting events between 2000 and 2009. Notable events The World Series (in 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2006), NBA Finals (in 2003, 2005, and 2007), BCS (in 2004) and Men's NCAA Basketball Championship Game (in 2004) all hit record lows in Nielsen ratings and/or total viewers in America. Basketball decreases in popularity in the U.S. with the loss of Michael Jordan to retirement, the Kobe Bryant controversy, the Pacers–Pistons brawl, the 2007 betting scandal, and a new television deal signed in 2002 relegates most NBA games to cable. Kobe Bryant became popular again, during and after the 2008 summer olympics. Baseball in the United States undergoes controversy and Congressional scrutiny due to steroids; stars such as Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, ranked #1 and #2 in single-season home runs, are suspected to have used steroids, while others such as Jason Giambi and Rafael Palmeiro are confirmed to have been using the drugs. Thanks to two consecutive years of Boston Red Sox–New York Yankees American League Championship Series, however, ratings and popularity for the sport (while lower than previous years) still remain high. The National Hockey League suffers a lockout that wiped out the entire 2005 season, as well a television deal with OLN that prevented many fans from being able to see games (several NHL telecasts on OLN were outdrawn by WNBA games on ESPN2 ). NASCAR Racing becomes more mainstream as TV ratings for the sport grows in the U.S.. NASCAR races regularly outdraw NBA, MLB and NHL telecasts by over 200 percent (in fact, NASCAR's average rating in 2005 outdid the combined regular season averages for the NBA and Major League Baseball during that same year). TV networks such as Fox, NBC, ABC, and TNT air races on a regular basis on Sundays and sometimes Saturday nights. Popular drivers during this period include Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Kasey Kahne. American Football continues to become more popular; Super Bowl XLI, in which the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 becomes the third most watched television event in the US market ever. The NFL also draws criticism, especially following the Super Bowl XXXVIII fiasco, the Terrell Owens controversy in 2004 and 2005, and the Michael Vick dogfighting fallout in 2007. The NFL undergoes significant upheaval in its international activity, discontinuing