Sports also allow us to see the most physically gifted people in the world perform the most amazing feats of athleticism that us common folk can only dream about. Sometimes they leave us in awe, dumbfounded by what we just witnessed. But some plays are so far out of the realm of normalcy that we are left pondering, "What the ----?"
June 6, 1999
"Love The Glove"
Orlando Hernandez
The Yankees are hosting the Mets in an afternoon game at Yankee Stadium. The Mets are already up 1-0 in the top of the 2nd, having just scored a run that inning and threatening for more. Mets third baseman Robin Ventura is the runner on third as shortstop Rey Ordonez comes to the plate. On an 0-1 count, Ordonez hits a sharp one-bouncer back to the mound, where Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez is the Yankees' starting pitcher for the day. (El Duque, roughly translated, means "The Duke." I doubt Hernandez actually has governing power over any body of constituents, but you never know.) Hernandez quickly stabs at the ball. Then something I've never seen before or since happens.
The best part about this play is, as you can see at the end of the video, Hernandez is completely focused on the play from start to finish. When he first fields the ball, he takes a split second to check Ventura back to 3rd base. As he makes his move towards first, he becomes aware of his odd situation and without a moment's hesitation references in his mind the words of Sherlock Holmes: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Ok, that's not exactly relevant, but the idea is something crazy just happened so the only logical thing to do is go along with it. He then proceeds to launch the ball as is, lodged tight in the webbing of his glove, over to Yankees' first baseman Tino Martinez to record the out. Martinez is similarly professional about the situation, which makes this slightly less entertaining. (Or more so if you're announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, because they are clearly VERY entertained.) Hernandez being able to consider all of this in his mind in mere microseconds, (that's a thousandth of a thousandth of a second for you non-sabermetricians) is impressive. Actually getting the blob that was the ball and glove over to first base is even more impressive. Making weight calibrations on the fly isn't the easiest thing in the world; that's why the players warm up before every inning. But the first thing Hernandez does after ridding himself of the mitt-ball monstrosity is look back at Ventura to make sure he hasn't tried to take advantage of the strange situation and advance home for a run. Awareness win. Strangeness double win.
January 4, 2007
"Open Net Bungle"
Patrick Stefan
There are 12 seconds left against the Edmonton Oilers when Dallas Stars centerman Patrik Stefan controls the puck after an Oiler turns it over at the Edmonton blue line. The Stars currently have a 5-4 lead, and Edmonton has already pulled their goalie for an extra attacker in hopes of tying the score. This means there is literally nobody between Stefan and scoring a goal for an insurmountable 2 goal lead and effectively ending the game. Things didn't turn out as he'd expected:
There are bad bounces, there are really bad bounces, and then there's just bad luck. Stefan experienced a bit of the latter, because of multiple things. First, the ice at the end of the period becomes pretty rough. With all the skating and stoping and sliding and chipping, the ice gets beat up, especially in the crease where the goalie normally is. That's why Zambonis have to work on the ice at the end of each period, to smooth the ice for premium playing conditions. Stefan had the unfortunate circumstance of the puck lying perfectly flat on the ice one second, then doing it's best jumping bean impression right over his stick the next second. Now, this normally would not have been a big deal. Mishandled puck, there's only a few seconds left, just suck it up, collect yourself, and let time run out. Instead, Stefan has a mental freakout and reacts instinctively with the mindset of absolutely having to score a goal. In his desperation to right the ship and still get a shot on goal, he completely wipes out and goes sliding into the boards. The Oilers are on it and immediately start a fast break the other way. After some deft passing and a slick maneuver by Alex Hemsky past the goalie, in a process that takes about seven seconds, the Oilers tie the game and both teams go into overtime. Dallas ended up winning the game, but you can bet Patrik Stefan will be reliving that moment in his nightmares.
March 20, 2005
"The Greatest Basketball Shot Ever"
Blake Hoffarber
Some kids spend a good amount of time in their driveways or at their local parks pretending to count down the seconds at the end of a basketball game and throwing up a crazy shot that miraculously goes in for the fictional win. Most of us can only dream of one day being in a position that lives up to that wild fantasy. Others of us are Blake Hoffarber, competing in the 2005 Minnesota High School State Basketball Championship tournament, fulfilling this destiny to an unprecedented degree.
Hoffarber's Hopkins High team is down by 2 to Eastview High with time winding down in the first overtime period. Hopkins has the ball, trying to force another overtime or go for the win, when their possession goes awry and a mad scramble occurs. Enter Blake:
What you saw there was a moment that won the 2005 ESPY Award for Best Play, keeping some incredible company with the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, David Tyree, Derek Jeter, and another entry later in this article. Hoffarber fancied himself a liking to these types of situations, earning another Best Play nomination (to this point the only individual to receive two such nominations) a couple years later for this game-winning shot against Indiana University while playing for Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Unlike his play against the Hoosiers, Blake's high school shot did not win the game in that singular moment. It did send the game into double overtime, however, where Hopkins High team eventually prevailed over Eastview High. Crazy plays and buzzer-beaters happen all the time, but it's not often they combine in this fashion AND win you a state championship.
December 22, 1994
"Play of the Decade"
Isaiah (J.R.) Rider, Jr.
Isaiah Rider's career had it's series of ups and downs, peaks and pitfalls. The greatest of which might have been his 1994 Slam Dunk Contest championship. But even better than his between-the-legs, self-titled "East Bay Funk Dunk," the moment that he may be remembered for in history is this:
As insanely good plays are want to do, this one started with a bad pass from Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Winston Garland. What appears to be a miscommunication between Rider and Garland results in the ball being passed behind Rider. In his desperation to recover, Rider knocks the ball away from himself towards the sideline. He launches off of his right foot, corrals the ball in his right hand, swings it across his midsection and flings the ball way into the air, all while soaring towards the scorers table. Multiple players from the opposing Sacramento Kings take off towards their own offensive basket, anticipating a quick fast break opportunity. Much to their chagrin, and the shock of all 17,000+ people in attendance, the ball sails directly through the net. Kings guard Mitch Richmond can't help but come over and high-five Rider in congratulations afterwards. It's not often you get to witness that kind of play in person. Well, if the announcer is to be believed, once in a decade.
September 10, 2005
"The Catch"
Tyrone Prothro
Football players make ridiculous plays all over the place. Whether they're doing backflips, front flips, or stopping on a dime and using one hand, the athleticism and hand-eye coordination of wide receivers is remarkable. Then sometimes they do things that make no sense and have no explanation and you just have to accept that he scored a touchdown and move on. This is the best catch I've ever seen, and Tyrone Prothro couldn't even see it himself:
This bears less explanation and more revelry, but for my own selfish conceitedness (and redundancy?):
Alabama is down by 11 to Southern Mississippi with halftime quickly approaching. That's important because Crimson Tide quarterback Brodie Croyle isn't just roaming around throwing up hospital passes for no reason. This is Alabama's second game of the season, and they're losing to a Conference USA team. That's not how Alabama rolls. (See what I did there?) He's trying to make a play and avoid a humiliating loss.
The Southern Miss defender has nearly-perfect coverage, though you could argue he was face-guarding and deserving of a pass interference penalty. Prothro has to adjust back to the ball, but has almost nowhere to put his hands to have a legitimate shot at catching the ball. So, he puts his hands around the defender, and manages to close them on the ball at the exact moment that the ball hits the defender in the back. For those curious, this does qualify as having possession of the football. The amazing thing that follows is Prothro manages to maintain that possession through falling to the ground and FLIPPING OVER THE DEFENDER ONTO HIS HEAD. Enough said.*
*It's also important to note that those were the first 7 points in an unanswered 20-point run to eventually win the game 30-21 and create some major momentum for the rest of their season.
January 16, 2006
"When It Was No Longer Possible"
Alexander Ovechkin
What I could do is present you with a long list of impressive goals scored by talented hockey players. I could even just show a highlight reel consisting of nothing but Alexander Ovechkin, and that would be fairly satisfying. But this is the single greatest goal I have ever seen scored in my life, and there's no point trying to stack it up with anything else out there, because they all fall laughably short:
As if it's even necessary, though it's clearly not, I'm going to point out a couple things from that play:
-He's sliding ON HIS BACK.
-He can't see the net, goalie, other defenders, or his teammates, because he's ON HIS BACK facing the boards.
-He finishes ON HIS BACK with one hand on his stick.
The icing on the cake, or cherry on the sundae, or whatever your favorite metaphor for pinnacle is, is that Wayne Gretzky, the greatest goal scorer in the history of hockey (and the single most dominant athlete ever) is sitting on the Phoenix Coyotes' bench as the opposing team's head coach to witness this play. Nothing could be more perfect. Well, maybe if Ovechkin's Washington Capitals weren't already winning 5-1 in the 3rd period, so adding a sixth goal didn't really do much for them, but who's counting?
2 comments:
sick blog dude. these need to be featured on espn.com
Yeah! Those are amazing!
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