The strangest sports moments of the 2020s

Should you’re like most individuals, you have been in all probability paying some, however not a lot consideration to COVID-19 in early March of 2020. You then perhaps began to take it extra critically however nonetheless weren’t fairly certain what to make of it. Then Rudy Gobert touched each microphone and recording machine in entrance of him throughout a media availability on March 9^th, seemingly mocking the general public’s concern. Two days later, he examined optimistic, the primary NBA participant to take action. A day after that, the sports activities world got here to a screeching halt. Gobert was vilified far and vast for his perspective, as even some teammates have been upset with him. It was the primary of many unusual conditions the virus would create within the sports activities world.

Sports activities have been kind of shelved for a couple of months due to COVID, with solely random occasions in random international locations nonetheless going down. (Hiya baseball in South Korea, for instance.) Once they got here again, issues have been…unusual, for lack of a greater phrase. Crowds have been minuscule and, in lots of circumstances, nonexistent. Cardboard followers have been used to create the looks of followers in attendance. Whole playoffs have been staged in “bubble” environments. The entire vibe was equal elements: “the present should go on” and “goodness, that is uncommon and type of grim.” The NFL in all probability weathered the state of affairs higher than some other league, however soccer nonetheless wasn’t the identical, both. It was sports activities, nevertheless it wasn’t. It was positively bizarre, although.

There’s that COVID once more, creating very weird schedule quirks. The Ravens and Steelers have been speculated to play on Thanksgiving evening, 2020. Then, the sport was moved to Sunday. Then it was moved once more to Tuesday. However wait, that wasn’t the tip of it! The sport was moved a 3rd time, to Wednesday afternoon at 3:40. The strikes have been, you guessed it, kind of all associated to COVID testing. Six days after it was speculated to occur, the sport was lastly performed. The Ravens have been with out Lamar Jackson, however they made a really respectable go of it in opposition to the 10-0 Steelers, battling proper right down to the wire earlier than in the end falling by a 19-14 margin. The Ravens did handle to show the Steelers as paper tigers, who promptly staggered to a 12-4 end. So Baltimore had that going for them, not less than.

Sick of the COVID-related oddities? Sorry, however I’ve obtained not less than a couple of extra for you. This one was notably unlucky for the Denver Broncos. All of their quarterbacks have been unavailable as a result of they have been in COVID protocol, so Kendall Hinton, a practice-squad vast receiver who had performed some quarterback in school at Wake Forest, obtained the beginning. He was the primary non-quarterback to begin beneath middle in an NFL sport because the Baltimore Colts’ Tom Matte did so in 1965. Hinton, predictably, didn’t fare properly in opposition to the New Orleans Saints. He went simply 1-of-9 for 13 yards, and the Broncos obtained steamrolled, 31-3.

Most main school conferences canceled their postseason basketball tournaments on March 12, 2020. The Large East didn’t, not less than not at first. Creighton and St. John’s have been amid a decent, back-and-forth contest, with St. John’s holding a 38-35 halftime lead. Then the Large East opted to hitch the remainder of the game, and canceled their match on the spot, not even bothering to let the 2 groups end. It led to a really surreal second in Madison Sq. Backyard, the place the general public deal with announcer had the unenviable process of explaining the state of affairs to a crowd that was already restricted to a couple hundred individuals due to ticket restrictions.

Lastly, an odd sports activities story from 2020 that doesn’t contain COVID. Nope, this one includes previous case of the runs. Satirically, the stricken social gathering was a quarterback identified for his working. In what ended up an on the spot basic victory over the Browns, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson rapidly scurried off the sector and was seen awkwardly running to the workforce’s locker room. He was gone for a couple of minutes, then he got here again and led the Ravens to a win. America needed to know: Did Jackson should poop? He claimed he didn’t, and that it was a case of cramps. Do you imagine him? I don’t.

Quite a few oddball makes an attempt have been made to present sports activities followers one thing to observe within the early days of the pandemic, however NASCAR’s might need been essentially the most profitable. Utilizing the iRacing platform, the inventory automotive circuit, with broadcast assist from FOX, staged a number of races from March 22 till Might 9, with lots of the sport’s largest names partaking. There have been particular guidelines for these races, and whereas the idea of individuals watching their favourite drivers play what amounted to a online game may appear unusual, it positively had an viewers. Over 900,000 individuals watched the primary race, and 1,339,000 watched the second race.

Most individuals assumed, fairly understandably, that Jake Paul’s foray into boxing in 2020 was a publicity stunt. In any case, Paul was a YouTuber, and it appeared unusual that he would go all-in on fight sports activities. However that’s kind of precisely what he did, and he’s laughed all the way in which to the financial institution since then. Paul appears to be taking the entire thing very critically, combating to a 10-1 file, principally in opposition to past-their-prime MMA fighters, along with his solely loss coming by the hands of Tyson Fury’s brother, Tommy. Paul is, unsurprisingly, making a ton of cash from all of this, so perhaps he knew what he was doing all alongside.

A captivating factor in regards to the NHL is the league’s emergency goaltender rule, which basically stipulates that there be non-professional goalies in attendance at each sport to perform as emergency goalies for both workforce, if stated workforce’s goalies are all injured. David Ayres was one such participant, and on February 22^nd , he obtained an opportunity on the unthinkable. The Hurricanes’ James Reimer and Petr Mrazek each obtained damage whereas Carolina was holding a 3-1 lead on the street in opposition to Toronto. Ayres, a constructing operator for the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate, was pressed into motion with 8:41 remaining within the second interval. He allowed objectives on the primary two photographs he confronted, however then stopped the following eight, and Carolina gained the sport 6-3. Ayres was named the sport’s first star, naturally.

COVID derailed the NBA, NHL, and school basketball whereas all three sports activities have been within the midst of their seasons. It stopped MLB chilly in spring coaching. Solely the NFL was spared a disruption of its sport schedule. After all, the NFL Draft has been a significant occasion in and of itself for years, one thing that was simply as true in 2020. Having the same old blowout draft was after all not potential. What to do, then? Why, have Roger Goodell announce the picks from his man cave, after all. It was bizarre, it was surreal, and by some means, all of it ended up figuring out, and managed to make the commissioner look like a considerably regular man, albeit a man with a person cave that 99.9% of the inhabitants can solely dream of.

Bert Smith was officiating an Elite Eight conflict between Gonzaga and USC from Lucas Oil Discipline Home when he abruptly collapsed and hit his head off the courtroom. He was rapidly attended to and regained consciousness earlier than being wheeled off on a stretcher. It turned out that the autumn and subsequent hospitalization might need saved his life. After initially returning to his lodge, he went again to the hospital to be checked for a concussion, the place a number of checks revealed a blood clot in his lung. Smith was positioned on blood thinners and discharged two days later. What began as a particularly scary incident ended as one that may properly have saved Smith’s life.

Stage 1 of the 2021 Tour de France noticed almost the whole peloton go down in a heap. What was the reason for such a harmful crash? A lady with a home made cardboard signal, who apparently wasn’t aware of the truth that actually dozens of cyclists have been bearing down on her, after all. The signal was a mix of French and German and stated “Allez Opi-Omi,” which implies “Go grandpa-grandma!” The lady was ultimately fined however confronted no jail time. Hopefully grandpa and grandma obtained the message.

Brown’s spectacular, weird profession got here to a becoming finish because the Bucs battled the Jets in Week 17 of the 2021 season. Brown, who had been inactive for a number of weeks earlier than returning the prior week for a 10-catch, 101-yard efficiency in opposition to Carolina, argued with head coach Bruce Arians on the sideline earlier than ultimately taking his jersey and pads off and jogging/skipping off the sector whereas taking part in to the gang. Arians stated he advised Brown to enter the sport and Brown refused, and Brown later claimed that the Bucs have been masking up a extreme ankle damage of his, which he stated would require surgical procedure. Brown, after all, by no means performed one other down {of professional} soccer.

Fantasy soccer can get intense, notably for those who’re taking part in for a wholesome sum of cash. Even for those who aren’t, disputes over guidelines and conduct can get nasty. And so it was that Tommy Pham, then with the Reds, approached Joc Pederson, then with the Giants, and slapped him throughout batting observe earlier than the groups have been set to do battle. Pederson claimed that Pham accused him of dishonest by stashing gamers on his bench, however stated that the league’s guidelines vindicated his ways. What’s most amusing about the entire altercation, not less than to me, is that the 2 had by no means spoken in individual earlier than the altercation. Can’t think about they’ve spoken an entire lot since.

2022’s Winter Basic, contested at Goal Discipline between the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues, was so chilly that the NHL’s operations crew was pressured to heat up the ice. Factor is, the optimum temperature for ice is evidently 22 to 24 levels; if it will get any colder, it could actually chip simply and get very uneven, jeopardizing the taking part in floor. The warming was essential as a result of the temperature at puck drop was -8 levels, with wind chills sitting round -20 levels. Not that it wasn’t already apparent, however the sport, gained 6-4 by the Blues, was the coldest in NHL historical past.

I’m going to exit on a limb right here, and you’ll suppose me loopy for this, however for those who’re going to present your quarterback a $230.5 million extension, with $160 million assured, it is best to in all probability re-think your decision-making course of if it’s important to additionally embody a clause requiring stated quarterback to do “unbiased examine” for not less than 4 hours per week, lest he void a number of the assured cash. Naturally, the contract particulars leaked out, and followers and commentators lambasted the Cardinals (and Murray), and the clause was swiftly eliminated. Form of makes you surprise why they bothered with it within the first place, doesn’t it?

When you concentrate on it, there’s something poetic and delightful a couple of Invoice Belichick-coached workforce making a blunder so colossal, so unimaginable, so downright hilarious that it prices them the sport and has individuals speaking for days afterward about how ridiculous it was. The Raiders had simply tied the sport with 30 seconds to go, and the Patriots appeared content material to run a couple of performs and get to time beyond regulation. Rhamondre Stevenson took a handoff and obtained a stunning chunk of yardage, and he will need to have felt like he may make a spectacular play, as a result of he lateraled the ball to Jakobi Meyers, who tried to lateral it once more – with disastrous results.

Therapeutic vomiting? Ayahuasca retreats? Darkness retreats? Numerous different actions and statements? Decide your poison with Rodgers, who has revealed himself as one of many strangest and most attention-hungry athletes of the 2020s.  

Watch this Hail Mary try by the Cowboys, and for those who may give me a believable clarification of what Dallas was going for, or what they thought would occur, I will probably be impressed. In any other case, for those who’re a Dallas hater, simply watch it and laugh.

Hey, Nikola Jokic! You simply gained the NBA Championship and are the unquestioned greatest participant within the league, to not point out a person quickly climbing the checklist of all-time greats! What do it’s important to say about all that?

It in all probability takes loads of self-discipline and expertise to change into the best discipline hockey participant within the historical past of a faculty like North Carolina. Matson was completely that when her Tar Heels profession ended. It additionally in all probability takes loads of self-discipline and expertise to teach a championship-caliber discipline hockey workforce at a faculty like North Carolina. Matson did that as properly instantly after graduating. She took over because the Tar Heels’ coach on January 31, 2023, succeeding Karen Shelton, who was on the job for 42 years, and, at 23 years previous, instantly gained this system’s 11^th nationwide championship and 26^th ACC championship, each of that are all-time data. Fairly good, I’d say.

The way it began: A bit of public flirting from a well-known athlete to an ultra-famous singer. The way it’s going: Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are an unstoppable energy couple, and Swift’s presence at Chiefs video games, as much as and together with the Tremendous Bowl, which she flew from Japan to attend, helped the league’s scores, and uncovered it to an entire new group of shoppers – Swifties. Swift’s rabid followers embraced the connection, and whereas NFL followers groused about it now and again, the entire state of affairs, whereas positively slightly surreal at instances, has been remarkably…regular and pleasurable?

School soccer is each gloriously insane and gloriously dumb, and people are options, not bugs. The story of Michigan coach Connor Stalions, who was accused of buying tickets to video games of future Michigan opponents, and sending individuals to these video games to file indicators digitally, is each very insane and really dumb. (In-person scouting has been unlawful since 1994, by the way in which.) The sign-stealing scandal rocked school soccer, and Stalions resigned in November. By far the strangest a part of the entire saga was a set of images of a person who seemed similar to Stalions wearing Central Michigan gear on the Chippewas sideline throughout a September sport in opposition to Michigan State. Nearly a yr later, nobody has definitively stated if the thriller man was Stalions, nevertheless it certain seems like him!

Typically talking, for those who’re taking part in within the NCAA Match, you are taking some issues with no consideration. Like the hampers being 10 ft off the bottom, for instance. Or the three-point traces to be uniform, and the proper distance from the basket. The 2024 Girls’s NCAA Match didn’t bat 1.000 on their three-point traces in 2024. The Portland regional featured a line that was 9 inches wanting regulation. I’m undecided what’s crazier – the truth that this really obtained screwed up, or the truth that it took till the fifth sport was performed on that courtroom earlier than everybody realized it.

Tom Kim and Scottie Scheffler have been locked in a tense duel on the 18 ^th gap of the Traveler’s Championship. Kim wanted a birdie and a Scheffler par to ship the match to a playoff, and he had simply caught an method shot 10 ft away. As Scheffler was lining up his putt, a bunch of local weather protestors obtained onto the inexperienced and dumped powder throughout it. Scheffler ultimately missed his putt, Kim made his, after which Tour officers determined to recut a brand new gap for the playoff away from the place the injury occurred. The playoff went way more to script, with world primary Scheffler taking house the title.