The Coolest Tricks in All of Sports

Matt King by Senior Analyst Written on June 22, 2009

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How many times in the past has someone tried to explain something amazing to you and then gave up because you have to see it to understand how great it is?

Those conversations continue to happen, but now they all end with, "Just look it up on YouTube."

I love the Internet.

Here are The Coolest Tricks in All of Sports that you have to see for yourself.

Josh Womack's Bat Trick

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Another recent addition to the inter-webs, minor leaguer Josh Womack is creating a huge stir with his famous bat trick.

In the video (below, left), as you can see, Womack starts his swinging motion, snaps his wrists to fling the bat around, then catches it and finishes his swing.

I'm sure this isn't exactly what the Mariners had in mind when they drafted him in the second round in 2002, but hey, more people have seen this video than have seen the Mariners play this season.

Jordy Smith's Rodeo Flip

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Pro surfer Jordy Smith just executed what many people are already calling the greatest surfing move ever.

What is even greater than the actual move are the other airhead surfers trying to describe it.

One even called it "the gnarliest flip I've ever seen. For true."

For true.

Tiger Woods' Golf Ball Trick

FARMINGDALE, NY - JUNE 21:  Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the 11th hole during the continuation of the third round of the 109th U.S. Open on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park on June 21, 2009 in Farmingdale, New York.  (Photo by Andrew Redingt

When this commercial came out, it prompted thousands of young kids to head to the links and start to annoy all of the older patrons by attempting (and failing miserably) to bounce a golf ball off of their clubs.

Come to think of it, if Tiger would have spent a little more time practicing real golf shots, maybe he wouldn't have come up short at the U.S. Open this year.

Get your priorities in line, buddy.

Chris Ferguson Slices Fruit with Playing Cards

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And people say that poker isn't a sport.

Ferguson's trick may be cool, but I wouldn't go as far as saying it's intimidating.

The ability to give someone a bad paper cut at any given moment just makes him a much less cool Gambit.

Rasheed Wallace Makes Two Balls at the Same Time

AUBURN HILLS, MI - APRIL 24:  Rasheed Wallace #30 of the Detroit Pistons looks across the court in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at the Palace of Auburn Hills on April 24, 2

Rasheed Wallace is awesome.

If you ever had any doubt of this, or if you have only gotten to experience him now at the end of his career, you need to watch this video to properly appreciate him.

It's not just the cool shot either; it's how angry he gets when he's missing and his teammates are giving him a hard time. If you get the chance, stay til the end of the video when he yells at Tayshaun Prince after hitting a long shot while Prince is giving an interview.

"What you got to say about that, Tay?!?!"

Chris Barnes' Flying Eagle

WICHITA, KS - OCTOBER 26:  Chris Barnes eyes the pins during the finals of the PBA World Championships held at the Northrock Lanes on October 26, 2008 in Wichita, Kansas. (Photo by Craig Hacker/Getty Images for PBA)

You have to hand it to bowling. They realized that nobody actually cared about watching it on TV, so they set up a trick shot challenge, which was way more interesting than regular games.

Chris Barnes has the best trick shot with his "Flying Eagle." Just watch his competition's face after he realizes he has to try to hit the same shot.

The Air Up There's 720 Dunk

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TJ Fontenette, aka The Air Up There, made me do a literal spit-take when I saw the video of his 720 dunk.

You have to hand it to the crowd—when they see something like this, they know right away it is their responsibility to rush the court and stop the game so they could fully appreciate the moment.

It's dunks like this that make me sad to watch the NBA Slam Dunk Contest (Presented by Sprite!) and know that it could be so much better.

Rob Hisey's 360 Between the Legs Lacrosse Shot

LONDON, CANADA - OCTOBER 30:  Rob Hisey #26 of the Erie Otters eyes the play from the end boards during the Ontario Hockey League game against the London Knights at John Labatt Centre on October 30, 2004 in London, Ontario, Canada.  The Knights defeated t

The mark of a great trick shot is when I watch it a dozen times and afterward still have really no idea what just happened.

Such was the case for Rob Hisey's goal in the Skills Competition. How someone thinks this stuff up, much less executes it, is beyond me.

Jason Williams' Elbow Pass

MIAMI - MARCH 9:  Guard Jason Williams #55 of the Miami Heat heads down court against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the American Airlines Arena March 9, 2007 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/

In the Sophomore vs. Rookie game at All-Star weekend one year, Jason Williams unleashed the craziest pass ever in basketball.

It doesn't matter that the play wasn't converted; the fact that the pass got there at all was incredible enough.

Just like Tiger's trick, this inspired wannabes everywhere to try this in pickup games and make me want to punch all of them in the face when the ball went flying out of bounds.

Pacman Jones Catches Six Punt Returns in a Row

CLEVELAND - SEPTEMBER 7:  Adam Jones #21 of the Dallas Cowboys looks on during the game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 7, 2008 in Cleveland, Ohio.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

In his brief stay in Dallas, Pacman Jones made few good plays, but by far his greatest contribution to the team was in the offseason.

During HBO's Hard Knocks, Pacman manages to catch six punt returns while holding all of the balls from the previous catches.

It is much harder than it looks to catch just one punt return with both your hands available. This was just nuts.

Too bad that there is no actual application for this sort of thing.

Other than the "Pacman made it rain" jokes that inevitably followed, of course.

Wait for the 1:22 mark in the video to see the catches

David Beckham's Bend It

LONDON - MARCH 28:  David Beckham of England looks on as he makes his 109th international appearance passing the record of 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore during the International Friendly match between England and Slovakia at Wembley Stadium o

There was once a time when you could say "Bend it like Beckham" and be referring to an awesome soccer shot instead of a stupid chick flick.

Not the first to do this shot, and certainly not the last, Beckham was the most famous example of this sick and twisted shot that makes me so happy that I decided not to be a goalie.

Gabriela Sabatini's Saba-Tweenie

3 JUL 1995:  GABRIELA SABATINI OF ARGENTINA HITS A BACKHAND RETURN AGAINST LISA RAYMOND OF THE USA AT WIMBLEDON. SABATINI WON THE MATCH IN THREE SETS 6-0, 3-6, 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Clive Brunskill/ALLSPORT

Gabriela Sabatini's famous shot is similar to Beckham's. Plenty of others have done it, but Sabatini gets her name on this list for having the coolest nickname for it: The Saba Tweenie.

This is the great demoralizer. Not only do you think that they're not going to get to your shot, but then if you actually get beat by a between-the-legs shot, you'll need to call a timeout to pick up all the pieces of your broken ego.

Japanese Pitcher's Behind the Back Pitch

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I don't know who threw this pitch or what the circumstances were, but I do know that was the greatest frame job by a catcher in history.

That was definitely not a strike.

Cool pitch, though.

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written on June 22, 2009 Rankings/List


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