UNDATED (WHDH) -- From the Patriots Super Bowl run, to the Red Sox’ historic meltdown, and a golden moment for a local Olympian -- we've got the highs and the lows -- hits and misses.

2012 brought another banner year to the Boston sports scene, but the greater theme may have more to do with what could have been.

The Patriots strong-armed their way their 6th Super Bowl, facing off against a familiar foe and holding a lead until things slipped through their fingers.

Eli Manning and the Giants had the last laugh again.

Now, Tom Brady’s looking to lead the league's highest-scoring offense back to Super Sunday and take home another Lombardi trophy while the window to win is still open.

Hope always springs eternal for the Red Sox, but the summer of Bobby Valentine turned hopeless pretty quickly.

As the losses mounted, and the frustrations boiled over, it was time for a shakeup.

The Sox, dealt off a fifth of their roster and at the end of their worst season in 47 years, sent their skipper packing, too.

Now, with a familiar face at the helm, the Red Sox are re-tooling with a veteran-heavy roster and a commitment to character.

On the ice, the Bruins’ Stanley Cup title defense came to an end in an instant.

The black and gold bowed out in the first round of the playoffs, but the hits didn't stop there. Tim Thomas packed up his gear and took the year off from stopping pucks -- maybe because he saw more labor unrest looming.

The league locked out players for the third time in 18 years.

Of course, not all was lost on the sheet. All eyes were on London this summer where some local Olympians stole the spotlight.

Needham's Aly Raisman grabbed gold in gymnastics and Wakefield’s Kayla Harrison scoring USA's first-ever gold medal in judo.

Against all odds, the Celtics fought Father Time and the rest of the East, gutting their way to the conference finals before falling short to LeBron James and the eventual NBA champion Heat.

The new Big Three era came to an end soon afterwards, with a surprising defection, but the rest of the gang is back on board and learning that it takes more than a re-vamped core to earn a shot at Banner 18.