M
MentalDisabldLst
Guest
Some ESPN sponsored content led me to this listicle up on this here site that purports to offer the 15 worst decisions of sports history. The article itself might be one of the 15 worst decisions in sports journalism, except that that is an elite list full of spectacular examples of journalism fails, whereas this article will probably quickly end up in the dustbin of history.
But nevertheless, I thought it was an interesting subject for discussion. Here's my commentary on their list, to save you the clicks and cookies. Which of these aren't even arguably-bad decisions? What decisions should be on the list? Suppose we're excluding roster-construction issues and just go with in-the-moment sporting decisions... what's missing? What's under-rated vs over-rated?
15. Miracle at the Meadowlands - OK, if a kneeldown actually would have ended the game, this could probably be on the list. A fair start.
14. 1982 NCAA title game - Guy Lewis leaves Clyde Drexler in - You only get so many minutes out of a player. Those minutes are probably no more valuable at the end of a game than they are in the middle of the game. But it's a moment worthy of debate.
13. 2003 ALCS Game 7 - Grady leaves Pedro in - Although it probably doesn't rank in the top 10 worst decisions of Grady Little's storied Red Sox managerial career, it was certainly the most prominent. Many of us still have PTSD from it, and can be heard occasionally muttering "Timlin in the 8th, Williamson in the 9th" to nobody in particular.
12. 2002 Lions vs Bears - Marty Mornhinweg takes the wind in OT - So, making the right decision (taking the wind in an NFL OT when the game was a defensive struggle in regulation) suddenly is an all-time boneheaded move when it doesn't work out? I need hardly mention that Belichick's decision vs the Broncos in 2013 doesn't make the list, because that happened to work, even though that game was much higher-scoring. Dumb inclusion.
11. 1994-1995 NBA Finals - Pat Riley sticks with John Starks - OK, the guy clearly didn't have it. 2-for-18 in Game 7. But there's something to the notion of "dance with them what brung ya", and Starks was probably 2nd in importance only to Ewing on that team (with all due respect to Oakley). Debateable.
10. 1980 Olympic Hockey semifinal - Russia pulls their goalie during the Miracle on Ice - I dunno, maybe he was having a Luongo-like meltdown. But after Tretiak was pulled, the US got two goals in the 3rd to famously pull ahead. Maybe this was a dumb decision, I sure wasn't around to see it.
9. 1980 season AFC Divisional - Rutigliano calls Red Right 88 - Down by 2, facing 2nd-and-9 on the Oakland 14 with 49 seconds to play, in a game where he had had an extra point blocked, a FG snap mishandled, and TWO FGs missed, Browns coach Sam Rutigliano decided to try for the endzone before settling for the FG attempt. Given the temperatures (4 deg F) and the failures of his kicking game thus far, it seems reasonable. That his next pass was intercepted in the endzone to give Oakland a road win on their way to a title seems like picking on the results rather than the process. I get why it's famous, but I think the guy is getting unnecessary crap.
8. 2009 NE @ IND - Belichick goes for 4th-and-2 - Forget that Faulk probably got the 1st down. The call was the right tactical decision to make. Not all calls work out perfectly, but that one gave his team the best chance to win. Screw you all, Sports Media Groupthinkers.
7. 1992 NCAA Regional Final - Pitino doesn't guard Grant Hill, gives up Laettner's buzzer-beater - I dunno if that was a bad decision. I mean, they were double-teaming Laettner, but one of those two, #34 Pelphrey, literally just stands around while he watches Laettner post up and get off a clean shot. Not much Pitino can do if his team is playing 4-on-5. Guarding Grant Hill might have resulted in something less than a 3/4 court pass, and a desperation midcourt heave rather than a two-dribble post-up. I guess I see the criticism for Pitino, but I don't think he was the biggest offender on that play. Also, fuck Duke.
6. 1986 WS game 6 - McNamara doesn't sub for Buckner - I can't rationally discuss this. I guess it's up there.
5. 1999 British (golf) Open - Jean van de Velde goes driver on 18th - I didn't follow Golf then, but the guy needed anything under a Triple-Bogey to win on the final hole of the tournament, and chose the one club that gave him a nontrivial risk of the hole going haywire. Turns into a Parade of Fail in which he narrowly saves triply-bogey, then loses a 3-way playoff. OK, a fair inclusion on the list.
4. 2006 World Cup Final - Zidane headbutts Materazzi, gets red-carded - the mofo had it coming. The game was going to penalties anyway. I don't think Zidane's presence would have been the difference between winning on pens and losing. Plus, I mean, fuck Materazzi. He's lucky Zidane didn't just have his Marseille boys knife him in the locker room later.
3. 1993 NCAA Title game - Chris Webber calls a timeout he didn't have - I gotta give them this one. Dunno if it's #3, but it's probably top 15 for sure.
2. 1984 Orange Bowl - Tom Osborne goes for 2 and fails - For those who don't know, the #1 and #2 college teams were playing each other, in the days before OT. Nebraska scores a last-second TD where an extra point would have given them a 35-35 tie, which would result in a split national title. Osborne was later quoted as saying he thought the fans deserved to know right then and there who the best team in the country was. It's one of the gutsiest calls in sports, a fucking manly-man decision, and giving him crap for it just because the 2-pt conversion failed misses the entire point. F this list.
1. 2014 season Super Bowl - Pete Carroll throws it - We've gone around and around on this. I can see the argument that it was a bad call, but only because it laid bare Carroll's tactics and let Belichick essentially know what was coming ("Malcolm Go!"). Throwing it at some point in that series was probably necessary. I think this was more an extraordinary play by Butler than a bad call by the offense. One of the most dramatic heart-stoppers in sports history? Certainly. The worst call of all time? I think that's a stretch.
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So what say ye, SoSH?
But nevertheless, I thought it was an interesting subject for discussion. Here's my commentary on their list, to save you the clicks and cookies. Which of these aren't even arguably-bad decisions? What decisions should be on the list? Suppose we're excluding roster-construction issues and just go with in-the-moment sporting decisions... what's missing? What's under-rated vs over-rated?
15. Miracle at the Meadowlands - OK, if a kneeldown actually would have ended the game, this could probably be on the list. A fair start.
14. 1982 NCAA title game - Guy Lewis leaves Clyde Drexler in - You only get so many minutes out of a player. Those minutes are probably no more valuable at the end of a game than they are in the middle of the game. But it's a moment worthy of debate.
13. 2003 ALCS Game 7 - Grady leaves Pedro in - Although it probably doesn't rank in the top 10 worst decisions of Grady Little's storied Red Sox managerial career, it was certainly the most prominent. Many of us still have PTSD from it, and can be heard occasionally muttering "Timlin in the 8th, Williamson in the 9th" to nobody in particular.
12. 2002 Lions vs Bears - Marty Mornhinweg takes the wind in OT - So, making the right decision (taking the wind in an NFL OT when the game was a defensive struggle in regulation) suddenly is an all-time boneheaded move when it doesn't work out? I need hardly mention that Belichick's decision vs the Broncos in 2013 doesn't make the list, because that happened to work, even though that game was much higher-scoring. Dumb inclusion.
11. 1994-1995 NBA Finals - Pat Riley sticks with John Starks - OK, the guy clearly didn't have it. 2-for-18 in Game 7. But there's something to the notion of "dance with them what brung ya", and Starks was probably 2nd in importance only to Ewing on that team (with all due respect to Oakley). Debateable.
10. 1980 Olympic Hockey semifinal - Russia pulls their goalie during the Miracle on Ice - I dunno, maybe he was having a Luongo-like meltdown. But after Tretiak was pulled, the US got two goals in the 3rd to famously pull ahead. Maybe this was a dumb decision, I sure wasn't around to see it.
9. 1980 season AFC Divisional - Rutigliano calls Red Right 88 - Down by 2, facing 2nd-and-9 on the Oakland 14 with 49 seconds to play, in a game where he had had an extra point blocked, a FG snap mishandled, and TWO FGs missed, Browns coach Sam Rutigliano decided to try for the endzone before settling for the FG attempt. Given the temperatures (4 deg F) and the failures of his kicking game thus far, it seems reasonable. That his next pass was intercepted in the endzone to give Oakland a road win on their way to a title seems like picking on the results rather than the process. I get why it's famous, but I think the guy is getting unnecessary crap.
8. 2009 NE @ IND - Belichick goes for 4th-and-2 - Forget that Faulk probably got the 1st down. The call was the right tactical decision to make. Not all calls work out perfectly, but that one gave his team the best chance to win. Screw you all, Sports Media Groupthinkers.
7. 1992 NCAA Regional Final - Pitino doesn't guard Grant Hill, gives up Laettner's buzzer-beater - I dunno if that was a bad decision. I mean, they were double-teaming Laettner, but one of those two, #34 Pelphrey, literally just stands around while he watches Laettner post up and get off a clean shot. Not much Pitino can do if his team is playing 4-on-5. Guarding Grant Hill might have resulted in something less than a 3/4 court pass, and a desperation midcourt heave rather than a two-dribble post-up. I guess I see the criticism for Pitino, but I don't think he was the biggest offender on that play. Also, fuck Duke.
6. 1986 WS game 6 - McNamara doesn't sub for Buckner - I can't rationally discuss this. I guess it's up there.
5. 1999 British (golf) Open - Jean van de Velde goes driver on 18th - I didn't follow Golf then, but the guy needed anything under a Triple-Bogey to win on the final hole of the tournament, and chose the one club that gave him a nontrivial risk of the hole going haywire. Turns into a Parade of Fail in which he narrowly saves triply-bogey, then loses a 3-way playoff. OK, a fair inclusion on the list.
4. 2006 World Cup Final - Zidane headbutts Materazzi, gets red-carded - the mofo had it coming. The game was going to penalties anyway. I don't think Zidane's presence would have been the difference between winning on pens and losing. Plus, I mean, fuck Materazzi. He's lucky Zidane didn't just have his Marseille boys knife him in the locker room later.
3. 1993 NCAA Title game - Chris Webber calls a timeout he didn't have - I gotta give them this one. Dunno if it's #3, but it's probably top 15 for sure.
2. 1984 Orange Bowl - Tom Osborne goes for 2 and fails - For those who don't know, the #1 and #2 college teams were playing each other, in the days before OT. Nebraska scores a last-second TD where an extra point would have given them a 35-35 tie, which would result in a split national title. Osborne was later quoted as saying he thought the fans deserved to know right then and there who the best team in the country was. It's one of the gutsiest calls in sports, a fucking manly-man decision, and giving him crap for it just because the 2-pt conversion failed misses the entire point. F this list.
1. 2014 season Super Bowl - Pete Carroll throws it - We've gone around and around on this. I can see the argument that it was a bad call, but only because it laid bare Carroll's tactics and let Belichick essentially know what was coming ("Malcolm Go!"). Throwing it at some point in that series was probably necessary. I think this was more an extraordinary play by Butler than a bad call by the offense. One of the most dramatic heart-stoppers in sports history? Certainly. The worst call of all time? I think that's a stretch.
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So what say ye, SoSH?
