Anyway, while I'm sure some PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountants will be looking for new jobs at some point soon, the Oscars aren't alone in their awkward, embarrassing screw-ups ("Dewey Defeats Truman" anyone?). There have been plenty in the world of sports, too. Some were bigger than others, some cost people championships, and still others were so glaring that they led to major changes being made. Some were human error, while the rest were just mental lapses. So who makes it into my Top 10?
10. Jim Marshall: It's often considered the biggest blooper in NFL history. In a game against the 49ers in 1970, Marshall picked up a fumble and ran untouched into the end zone. Except there was one small problem. It was the wrong end zone. He scored a safety, not a touchdown. I'm still convinced that this play is the reason he's not in the Hall of Fame.
9. Lindsey Jacobellis: In Torino, Jacobellis had the first-ever Olympic gold medal in women's slopestyle snowboarding in her pocket, and she knew it. So she decided to celebrate and do a little trick. That's when it all went terribly wrong. She fell, another racer passed her, and she "won" the silver.
6. Diego Maradona: Of course, if you want an obvious hand ball worse than that one, look no further than Diego Maradona and the "Hand of God." This is perhaps the most famous goal in World Cup history. Argentina vs. England in the 1986 semifinals, Maradona literally punches the ball into the net for the first goal in a 2-1 victory, (His second goal a few minutes later, was an absolute masterpiece.)
5. Charlie Jones: NBC's track & field commentator at the 1988 Olympics, Jones committed the one of the biggest blunders in Olympic broadcasting history. During the final of the men's 800 meters, he misidentified the gold medalist. There were two Kenyans in the race. He said the wrong name as the runners turned for home, and didn't realize his error until the results popped up on the screen and he saw that it was the other Kenyan who had won. (At least he admitted that they had completely blown it as soon as the mistake was discovered.)
4. Don Denkinger: The most famous blown call in World Series history. In the bottom of the ninth in Game 6, Umpire Don Denkinger called the Royals' Jorge Orta safe at first even though he was clearly out by a step. That led to a two-run Kansas City rally that forced a Game 7, which Kansas City won 11-0.
3. Chris Webber: Michigan was playing North Carolina in the 1993 NCAA Championship Game. It was 73-71 North Carolina when Webber called timeout late in the game. Michigan didn't have any timeouts, though, so instead he got charged with a technical foul. North Carolina made the free throws and, as a result of the technical, got the ball back, essentially icing the National title.
2. Jim Joyce: Jim Joyce screwed up. He was the first one to admit it. The Tigers were playing the Indians and Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out away from a perfect game. It looked like he got it with a grounder to first. Everyone in the stadium thought he had it. Except Joyce inexplicably called the runner safe. Once he saw the video, he knew, and no one felt worse about it than he did. The silver lining here (other than the incredible sportsmanship shown by Joyce and Galarraga) is that this game was the last straw that brought Baseball into the replay age.
1. Heidi Game: There could only be one No. 1 on this list. And it had to be the Heidi Game. NBC's coverage of a Jets-Raiders game was running long, so they cut away with the Jets winning 32-29 so that they could start "Heidi" on time. What America missed was two Raiders touchdowns (nine seconds apart) in the final minute of the game that gave them a shocking 43-32 victory. Viewers were understandably outraged, and it's been stipulated in the NFL's broadcast contract ever since that the network can never cut away from a game early again.
And I totally forgot to include the Replacement Refs in that Packers-Seahawks Monday night game.
ReplyDelete