Posts Tagged ‘baseball’
FIGHT! The Most Brutal Sporting Punch-Ups Ever
PROFESSIONAL sports (and amateur events) can, as we all know, get a little bit out of hand. Players pump themselves up for the occasion and, sometimes, all the wiring in the athlete goes wrong and that energy is transferred into violence.
This weekend, in Rugby League’s Grand Final, we saw super rivals Wigan taking on St Helens and, in the opening minutes of the game, Lance Hohaia found himself on the end of a beating from Ben Flower.
You can see the video below, along with some of sports most brutal punch-ups.
Naturally, this isn’t a positive endorsement of professional sportsmen punching the crap out of each other, but obviously, there’s something hair-raisingly exciting about it too.
That’s why we watch boxing.
Anyway, here we go with some of the most brutal, and in some cases, baffling fights in sports history. If you have a favourite, tweet us or tell us about it in the comments.
Flower vs Hohaia
As previously mentioned, Ben Flower did his Wigan team no favours after attacking Saints’ Hohaia in the Super League Grand Final on Saturday. One punch is deemed acceptable in rugby – the second one is the one that’ll tarnish Flower’s reputation.
Duncan McRae vs Ronan O’Gara
Rugby Union has had a fair number of dust-ups too, and one of the most notorious is the occasion when New South Wales played the British Lions, which saw McRae delivering a savage 11 punches to O’Gara’s face.
Meath vs Mayo
The GAA is essentially organised pain, so punch-ups are to be expected. However, the one that went above and beyond was the 1996 All-Ireland match between Mayo and Meath. Thing is, half of these lads will have had work the next morning.
Braves v Padres
There’s loads of baseball brawls to choose from, but the most notorious in the MLB is the Braves versus Padres. They didn’t just have one scrap – they basically fought each other for the whole game. Both Atlanta manager Joe Torre and San Diego manager Dick Williams were fined while four players and Williams got suspended. Even the fans got involved. Would you be daft enough to start a fight in a place where there are that many baseball bats lying around?
Tuilagi vs Ashton
Manu Tuilagi is a handy lad as it is, but in the Leicester-Northampton semi final in 2011, he received a yellow card for his assault on Chris Ashton. Tuilagi was later given a 5-week ban for his punch.
Aussie Rules Sleeper Hold
Brian Lake, one of the most talented Aussie Rules footballers of his generation, got into a tussle with Drew Petrie. In Hawthorn’s match with North Melbourne, Lake decided to strangle Petrie on the pitch. For ages. Lake was charged with misconduct by the AFL Match Review Panel. If it was any other sport, you can only imagine the punishment that would’ve been handed out.
Todd Bertuzzi v Steve Moore
Ice Hockey prides itself on its rucks, but there’s one punch that resonates more loudly than any other. Mention Todd Bertuzzi to anyone who watches hockey, and chances are, they’ll wince. In 2004, Bertuzzi was found guilty of criminal assault for causing actual bodily harm for the suckerpunch that fractured three of Moore’s vertebrae and ended his NHL career.
Maradona vs Bilbao
Tired of being kicked-around, Diego Maradona let out his darkness while playing for Barcelona against Bilbao. This is one of the most well-known fights in football, and for good reason.
Malice at the Palace
The Indiana Pacers took on the Detroit Pistons in a match that would become known as the ‘Malice at the Palace’. There’s a scuffle on the court, which ends up moving into the stands, with Ron Artest fighting members of the crowd. Absolutely insane.
Ivan Rovny v Gianluca Brambilla
Cycling is a ruthless and cruel sport, but there’s not many fistfights. That’s why everyone was so shocked when Rovny and Brambilla started trading blows in the 16th stage of the Vuelta a España. As if they hadn’t put their bodies through enough.
Posted: 13th, October 2014 | In: Key Posts, Sports | Comment
Carly Rae Jepsen throws worst baseball pitch, like, EVER
REGULARLY, people unfairly chide women for their inability to throw, however, popstar Carly Rae Jepsen have gone and thrown a ball so badly that it might keep bozos in jokes for the rest of their lives.
Jepsen was left amused and embarrassed by her lame attempt at throwing the first pitch at a baseball game.
She was invited to throw the traditional first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays game against the Houston Astros, however, what transpired was worse than Diana Ross’ penalty during the opening ceremony for the ’94 World Cup.
Fox Sports commentators noted that Jepsen had actually thrown several impressive strikes during practice, which is no use to anyone, especially Jepsen.
Jepsen laughed off the pitch on Twitter later, describing it as a “fail”.
“So apparently I made ESPN with my fail of a pitch. Lol- Daddy must be so proud.”
Posted: 18th, July 2013 | In: Celebrities, Sports | Comment
Man catches baseball thrown from helicopter flying 1,050ft above him
CATCHING a ball? How hard is that? Well, if it is a ball thrown from a helicopter, then it is stupidly hard. However, one plucky fella has done exactly that!
Zack Hample has set a world record by holding on to a baseball that was lobbed out of a helicopter flying 1,050ft above him, with the ball reaching speeds of 95mph!
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Posted: 16th, July 2013 | In: Sports | Comment (1)
Couple break-up on jumbo screen ‘kiss cam’
FANS at the Fresno Grizzlies baseball team got more than they bargained for when the kiss cam did the rounds at their stadium.
Normally, when the kiss cam zooms in on two people, they kiss and everyone whoops. It being America, they only look out for straight couples, but you have to give the USA a little leeway, what with it being 10 minutes old compared to the rest of the world.
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New York Times reports on Baseball’s death
NO player has been elected to Basbeball’s Hall of Fame this time round. The New York Times responds thus (this might be how the Guardian reports on sport from now on, given that it’s sacked its chief sports writer to save money. Look out for the Guardian’s basbeball HoF live blog to go with its – and we’re not kidding – live darts blog):
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New sport videogame lets you use steroids
A new online baseball game from Addicting Games allows players to beef up their character using steroids. Just like in real life, then.
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Baseball For Jesus And Jews In Hell
ANORAK’S look at religion making news.
FROM the Rapture Ready site:
Just last night after baseball practice, my 11yr old son and I were driving home when someone almost pulled out in front of us. It could have been a bad accident. After I blew my horn and mumbled to myself about how ignorant some people could be, my 11yr old said “Oh well….we would have just gotten to Heaven a little sooner. You know how much I like baseball, Dad, but I am ready to go now.”
Strike one…
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Posted: 19th, November 2008 | In: Key Posts, Strange But True | Comments (12)
British Invested Baseball And Decided Not To Play It
THE Times reports that the British invested baseball and then decided not to play it:
Historians in Surrey have documentary proof that the game was being played in the UK before America. A diary entry which talks about a game played in Guildford, Surrey in 1755 has been verified as authentic by the Surrey History Centre.
The Surrey History Centre, where highlights include The Philip Bradley Fairground Collection and Dennis Specialist Vehicles.
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Posted: 12th, September 2008 | In: Back pages, Broadsheets, Strange But True | Comments (10)
