Dumbest Sports Mistakes - what's the one you remember the most!

[LynneSin]

Seriously, I can think of hundreds of them. Dumb mistake, second guess and other bad ideas that cost important games to the teams that made these mistakes.

I'm not a Phillies fan, bu when they were in the World Series in 1993 I was living in the Philly area and dating a Phillies fan. The Phillies had a rag-tag team of nobodies and guys getting second chances in the league and somehow they ended up in the World Series. And their relief pitcher was Mitch Williams, a guy with some superfast pitches in his arsenal - provided he could hit the right target.

Mitch didn't have a good game in 1993 World Series and if I'm correct, he may have cost at least one other loss during the Phillies playoff runs. Phillies had a 2 run lead with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Although Williams had been pitching irratically through the series, the manager left him in when Joe Carter came up to bat instead of bringing in another relief pitcher who had been doing much better during the series.

I remember where I was at - the Holiday Inn bar by the Stadiums. The place was jammed full with Phillies fans. But I swear on my grandmother's grave that when they saw Mitch Williams starting the bottom of the ninth that place emptied out faster than you can imagine.

Maybe they knew the fate - Two Blue Jays got on base thanks to Mitch's poor pitching. Those of us who were left still couldn't figure out why they weren't pulling the guy from the game when Joe Carter came up to bat. And maybe we were right - cause Joe Carter hit the winning homerun and the Phillies lost the World Series.

Phillies were so angry with Williams that they sent him death threats and Phillies Management had to get rid of Williams before the season started.

So tell me, what's the most memorable bonehead moment that you from sports history.

(BTW runner-up - that slow looping signature pitch that Spaceman Bill Lee of the Red Sox sent to Tony Perez which cost the Sox the World Series in 1975)

[HERVEPA]

1. That's Mitch Williams, not Matt

Matt a third Baseman with SF, Arizona

[LynneSin]

4. You're right, I mostly had Mitches not sure why I had the matts in there

corrected

Now I look dumb!!

[VelmaD]

2. Jose Canseco...

playing rightfield for the Rangers and having a ball bounce off his head and over the outfiled wall for a home run. I'm giggling just thinking about it. *rolls eyes*

[WindRavenX]

50. OMG I remember that!!

Bloody hysterical! It must've hurt too!
While I wasn't, ah, old enough to really understand the infamous Buckner mishap of '86, I remember with all too much pain Game 7 of the 2001 WS...Gonzo hitting that bloop just past the infield dirt and out of the last, desperate dive of a wounded Derek Jeter...
x( x( x( x( x(
Arghhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GOPisEvil]

3. Leon Lett in the Super Bowl. You all remember the play, right?

Er, Leon Lett on Thanksgiving Day vs. the Dolphins. You all remember that, right?

Leon had some really bad public moments, but he was a pretty good player.

[LynneSin]

6. I so remember that play

Because I actually had turned off the TV thinking that the Cowboys had won. (There was a field goal involved and the Cowboys were ahead). I turn it on 5 minutes later and there are the Dolphins jumping for joy!!

[VelmaD]

7. Thanks GOPisEvil

I coulda gone the rest of my life without having to remember Leon Lett. And with the Cowboys and Dolphins playing on Thanksgiving again this year you know they're gonna show the replay over and over and over...*sigh*

[GOPisEvil]

8. How do you think I feel? Every time they talk about replay in the NFL,

I have to see Mike Renfro of the Oilers CLEARLY get both feet down in the end zone against the Steelers. Talk about blunders - stupid refs. x(

[soleft]

5. I thought Giant kicker Bryant's out of bounds kickoff with 11 seconds

against the Cowboys comes to mind a recent FUBAR

[BurtWorm]

9. Bill Buckner, 10th Inning, Game 6, 1986 World Series

hands down. Someone I knew was convinced Buckner must have been paid to throw the game.

PS: fixed historic inaccuracies.

[GOPisEvil]

11. Psssst

That was game 6 and it was the 10th inning.

[BurtWorm]

20. Are you sure it was game 6?

10th inning? I must have blacked it out.

[GOPisEvil]

24. Positive.

I even looked it up to make sure. :-)

[Richardo]

12. My thought, too when I saw the subject line...Billybillybillybilly...

:-(

[FlashHarry]

13. Actually, it was the 10th inning of Game 6 (Desicription Follows:)

the 1986 post-season Buckner batted a weak .200, with four RBI in 14 games, and just one extra-base hits. In spite of his poor performance, Boston manager John McNamara left him at first base in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game Six of the World Series with a two-run lead. Defensive specialist Dave Stapleton was left on the bench, and watched in horror as a ground ball skipped through Buckner's legs and down the right field line, allowing the Met's Ray Knight to score the game-winning run. The Red Sox never recovered, losing a three-run lead in Game Seven and continuing their cursed Fall Classic tradition. Buckner's name became synonimous with the team's failure, and due in part to that, and the fact that he was deteriorating as an everyday player, he was released by the Sox on July 23, 1987, to make room for prospect Sam Horn.

[BurtWorm]

23. I fixed it.

Thanks! It's not the numbers I remember, it was the dipshit look on Bucker's face! (And the hole he shot through my heart. But I've forgiven him.)

[FlashHarry]

26. Just like the Cubs' Game 6.

Total meltdown, even though they could have won game 7. It's funny; nobody ever talks about Game 7 of the '86 World Series...

[FlashHarry]

10. October 1964: Jim "Wrong-Way" Marshall

<snip>
t was a zany affair the Vikings won yesterday -- a victory which gave them undisputed fourth place in the Western Division of the NFL. Defensive end Jim Marshall's 60-yard "wrong-way" run with a fumble recovery -- for a two-point safety against the Vikings -- was the capper.

"Jim took it fine," Van Brocklin said when asked how Marshall reacted to the strange play on the long plane ride home."

With the Vikings leading 27-17 midway in the fourth quarter, Marshall picked up a fumble by 49ers halfback Bill Kilmer and took off toward the Viking goal. Viking players lept from the bench and chased Marshall along the sidelines, trying to warn him.

"I thought they were cheering me on," Marshall told reporters after the game. "I don't remember much about the play; but I didn't realize I was going the wrong way till I was over the goal line."
</snip>

story here

[Stupdworld]

14. Chris Webber's non-existent timeout

from the ncaa championship abou a decade ago.

[LisaM]

18. Oh, God, that was awful

I understood not giving him a timeout. But why was it a foul? They should have just not given it to him. The worst was, I got to work the next day and everyone was laughing about it, not realizing how it hurt.

[LisaM]

15. Paul Coffey scoring a goal for the Avalanche

in 1996.

Or, and this one helped my team, Washington putting 12 men on the field in the Michigan-Washington game in 2002.


I loved the Leon Lett play. I could watch it multiple times.

I'm going to start a thread for worst call by a ref.

[Atman]

16. Me, staying up till 1am to watch the Sox lose n/t

.

[matcom]

17. Last Night

hands down the WORST 'managerial' decision in the history of Baseball and perhaps all of sport.

[GOPisEvil]

21. Nah...right team; wrong manager...

Red Sox vs. Indians, 1948. One game playoff to decide which team went to the World Series. Joe McCarthy should have started Mel Parnell, a rookie who was having a great year. Instead, he picked "the immortal Denny Galehouse" a journeyman veteran. Cleveland 8, Boston 3.

[Chovexani]

37. Ain't that the truth

Did he ride the short bus to the stadium? WTF was he on?

He's not going to have a fun off-season, I don't think.

[matcom]

41. Off-Season?

that BETTER be his LAST SEASON

[denverbill]

19. Norm Cash, Detroit 1st basemen.

Somebody hit a little dribbler to him, right down the first base line. He could have easily tagged him out, but the batter ran up to him, stopped, told him it was foul, and turned around and started walking back towards home plate. Cash believed him, turned to throw the ball to the pitcher, and the guy turned and ran past him to first base. It was pretty damned funny.

[tom_paine]

22. Buckner of the Red Sox in 1986

Which, sadly, Red Sox fans must be reliving today over and over.

(not to rub salt in the wound, Sox People, I hate the f*cking Yankees, too)

[JackDragna]

25. There's one I'll definitely remember..

Grady Little keeping in an obviously winded Pedro Martinez to pitch to New York in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

[Another Bill C.]

27. The Ironman

Jim Marshall played 18 years for the Vikings -- 282 consecutive games. He's also remembered for the fumble he recovered and ran 66 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately, he ran the wrong way and the 49ers got the score.

[MrBenchley]

31. 1964

The Philadelphia Phillies have a 6-1/2 game lead with 12 to play....Gene Mauch overmanages his way out of the pennant.

[Rooktoven]

28. Lonnie Smith baserunning, game 7, 1991

cost the braves the series

[TacticalPeek]

29. Golden State Warriors vs Seattle Sonics, late '70s, regular season.

This is before the three-point shot.

Four seconds left in the game (regular time). The Warriors have a three point lead. The Sonics have no fouls to give. Warriors have the ball, out of bounds. All they have to do is in-bound the ball and run out the clock, or take free throws if fouled.

Warriors lose by one, in regular time.

Being a Warriors fan, the exact details are a bloody blotch in my memory bank, but it involved a Warrior foul before they could get the ball in, and a tipped-pass Sonic steal-after-score.

Four seconds, three point lead, you've got the ball. How can you lose?

:(

[Ishoutandscream]

30. Death threats - Philly fans. Sounds about right.

Death and serious injury to opposing players give them the giggles.

[LynneSin]

34. Mitch was one of their own players

it's just not the opposition that is put into deep doo-doo by the fans!! If that was the Phillies playing last night instead of the Yankees - the manager would have retired the next day just so he would not have to deal with the obnoxious Philly fans (and that's all sports teams)

[Ishoutandscream]

36. I watched Mitch pitch for the Rangers at old Arlington stadium

in the late 80's. My buddy and I remarked about the egotistical strut he had and you knew he was just so stuck on himself. He was such a wild pitcher. I remember the whole Red Sox dugout standing on the top of the steps yelling their lungs out intimidating the sucker. He was never well liked.

But I wouldn't want to see him dead.

[Ishoutandscream]

32. Jackie Smith dropping touchdown pass from Staubach

in Superbowl 13. Dallas had to settle for a field goal, and Pittsburgh won, 35-31.

[Drifter]

33. Scott Norwood ...

The name that is now used to describe an easy missed field goal (wide right).

If Norwood had not missed that field goal, it is possible that they would have won 4 Superbowls in a row, rather than lose 4 in a row.

Cheers
Drifter

I am local (almost) to the Bills but not a fan.

[Chovexani]

35. Knicks vs. Rockets, NBA Finals

Knicks vs. Rockets, NBA Finals a few years back (I forget the exact year). Instead of going for the easy lay up that would have won us the championship, Patrick Ewing goes for a finger roll.

A motherfucking finger roll.

Misses, we end up losing the title to Houston. I still cuss at the tv when I see Pat.

--C. understands the pain of Red Sox fans, she's a Knicks fan.

[RetroLounge]

38. Becoming a rabid Cubs fan a a tender young age

and no surgury can reverse the disease.

[ScreamingMeemie]

39. Packers/SF playoffs '98 Ref. made a bad call on a Jerry Rice

fumble. (the year before replay) sigh. With 7 seconds to go, because of that bad call, Steve Young threw a touchdown pass that should never been allowed to happen because, IT WAS THE PACKER'S BALL!!!

[RetroLounge]

43. You're still whining about that play? Get over it.

How about GB Quarterback (Majkowski?) throwing the winning pass after he ran passed the line of scrimmage against the Bears.

Always to be in the bears history books with an (*) next to it.

So there...

[ScreamingMeemie]

44. Hello pot, meet kettle ;) As if that play didn't happen a decade

and a half ago almost. Now who needs to get over it.?

;-)

[RetroLounge]

45. Oh, definitely me, but I couldn't resist a little nudge

Still, I think the asterisk in the record book is funny.

I guess neither of us is doing to well this year.

At least we both hate the Vikes.

[ScreamingMeemie]

46. Yes, friendship in joint hating of the Vikings...

By the way, I think your new stadium is nice.

[RetroLounge]

48. Yes, Soldier Field is nice on the INSIDE

The outside is another story.

They did a better job on Lambeau's exterior, retained it's classic look, I think.

[Superfly]

40. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

of all the sports mistakes, I remember the ski-jumper's crash in the opening credits the most vividly. What was that, 20 years ago?

[ironflange]

42. Flames-Oilers Game 7, 1986

Steve Smith, behind the net, bounces it off Grant Fuhr into his own basket to give the series to the Flames. Ironically, both guys eventually play for Calgary.

[HEyHEY]

47. Vancouver Canucks 1998

The whole season

[ronzo]

49. Chris Webber 92 Final Four...

He blew it for Michigan calling a T/O they didn't have, IIRC...
We got some windfall tickets from a UK fan that year... pretty cool.

[kixot]

51. Soccer for me.

When Miradonna punded the goal in with his fist and the ref didn't cath it but counted it anyway. That was a travesty.

[Spirochete]

52. Williams

gave up a lead to lose the game before that too, if I remember correctly.

[Awsi Dooger]

53. This was obscure, but it cost my 'Canes a title shot in 2000

An off-the-field decision that still inflames me whenever I see Butch Davis on the sideline for the Browns.

In 2000 Miami was supposed to open the season at home vs. East Carolina. It was even a circled revenge game for the 'Canes after blowing a 23-3 halftime lead at East Carolina in '99.

But East Carolina asked out of the game in April. Miami was under no obligation to say yes, especially at that late date and as the home end of a home-and-home agreement. Still, Miami let East Carolina out of the game and had to settle for McNeese St as the replacement. Miami received no BCS computer points for defeating McNeese St, which is not in division one.

That was the season Miami defeated FSU 27-24, yet ended up the regular season #3 in the BCS ratings despite having the identical record as FSU. The Seminoles lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the national title.

Get this, EVEN A 1 POINT VICTORY over East Carolina would have been enough to push Miami ahead of FSU in the BCS rankings, and into essentially a home game in Pro Player Stadium for the national title.

The controversial loss to Ohio St last year would have been much easier to digest if we had already secured two titles in 2000 and 2001.

On the field, I'm very surprised no one mentioned the Columbia player who scored an own-goal vs. the USA in World Cup '94. It was judged slightly more serious than others we've listed -- the guy was murdered not long after returning to Columbia.

[VermontDem2004]

54. Miami Shouldn't of lost to Washington

Washington lost to Oregon who finished at #10 on the BCS rankings which means it was a worse lose then Florida State loosing to Miami that year.
My point is if Miami would've won that game they would've faced Oklahoma without worrying about computer rankings and other stuff.

[VermontDem2004]

55. Arizona State allowing Ohio State to score in the last 2 minutes

I know it's not much of a mistake but they got two pass interference calls that really helped Ohio State get down the field with only two minutes left. The second was contraversial because it looked like the pass was out of reach for Boston, but on the very next play they allow Boston to score :grr: :argh: :mad: :nuke:

But somehow this pass inteference call was never made in the second quarter.



If they would've won ASU would be national champs, there is not a single
heartbreaking loss that comes in the same vicinity as this 1997 Rose Bowl loss. I don't think I'll ever recover.

[imax2268]

56. I would have to say...

In 1983, during a broadcast of Monday Night Football, veteran sports commentator Howard Cosell exclaimed, "Look at that little monkey run!" about Washington Redskins receiver Alvin Garrett, an African American. Cosell resigned two months later, following intense public outcry.