Aerial Assault! The Top 10 Flying Pesks That Have Interrupted Sporting Events

By (Senior Writer) on November 2, 2009

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In the "You can't make this stuff up category," this Halloween a bat managed to interrupt a Spurs-Kings game, while the Spurs mascot was dressed up as Batman no less.

But the bat itself wasn't the memorable part, it was definitely Manu Ginobili swatting it out of the air to get the game going again.

This isn't the first time that a flying intruder has halted play before. Let's take a look at The Top 10 Flying Pesks That Have Interrupted Sporting Events.

No. 10: I Thought Birdies Were For Badminton

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Though not as impressive as Randy Johnson gunning down a bird with a 100 mph fastball, this tennis shot gets bonus points for landing in bounds. The other player had no idea what to do when the ball suddenly went by him on the opposite side that he was expecting.

Nice move by his teammate too, who wasted no time hamming it up by praying over the dead bird, then getting ready to start playing again.

No. 9: Yankees Buggin' Out

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This picture right here is enough to send any Yankees fan into a fit of anger. Playing the Indians in a crucial Game 2 in the 2007 playoffs, the Yankees held a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning when a plague of biblical proportions rained down on the Yankees and pitcher Joba Chamberlain.

The bugs so rattled Joba that he let a wild pitch get away, scoring the tying run, and the Yankees went on to lose the game in the 11th inning and the series two games later.

Chamberlain claims he shouldn't have let the bugs bother him, but just looking at the picture, there didn't seem to be much he could do.

No. 8: A New Meaning To Walk-Off

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The Indians get all the breaks when it comes to animal interference. See, all of those bugs that are near the stadium attract birds that want to eat those bugs. And sometimes the birds will just camp out in the outfield while they're waiting for dinner.

Playing the final game of a series against Kansas City, Shin-Soo Choo hit a rocket to center which may have resulted in a play at the plate, but the ball hit one of the seagulls, making a play impossible.

One of these days the Indians are going to end up on the wrong side of something like that.

No. 7: The Fan Man Can

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When I say "flying pests," I don't just mean the ones who were born with the ability of flight. Take for instance, the fan man, some guy who decided to parachute into a boxing match with a fan strapped to his back.

He ended up falling into the crowd, which was good, because boxing crowds are normally not violent at all. Oh, wait, they've just been watching two guys beat the crap out of each other and some idiot comes flying on top of them. He's going to get knocked out.

No. 6: Penalty For Excessive Cuteness

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If you think that you as a golfer have a hard time getting out of the sand trap, imagine how these ducklings feel.

And how about the golfer who tried to speed things along by helping them out getting attacked by the mother duck? Classic.

No. 5: Pop Fly By

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During a Dodgers/Diamondbacks game this year, a fan managed to sneak a toy plane into the game, where he flew it around for about 35 seconds before it crashed.

They're lucky it crashed, can you imagine if the guy was good at flying it, just sitting in the stands pretending to fiddle with his "radio" and keep that thing going with no one able to stop it for an hour?

I also love how the D-Backs player or coach steps on the plane and then promptly tears it in half. What? No sense of humor buddy?

No. 4: When Seagulls Attack

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Most of the time, I think horse races are pretty boring. But if something like this happened more often, I would watch all the time. Basically, the horses round the corner into a giant collection of seagulls who fly into the horses and knock four or five jockeys off.

The funniest part of this is definitely the super serious voiceover who makes it seem like everyone was lucky to get out alive. If only the jockey had admitted that his favorite '80s band was Flock Of Seagulls.

No. 3: Batmanu Ginobili

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Sports have seen rain delays, power outages, and even streaker delays, but a bat delay is one that we don't see that often. Luckily for the crew, Manu Ginobili was on hand.

As everyone raced around trying to catch the bat, Manu may have showed us some proof that he is finally healthy, because his reflexes looked awesome as he batted the bat out of the air.

This wasn't just an awesome play, but it also probably sent the PETA people into an outrage, which just makes me that much happier.

No. 2: Randy Johnson and the Explosion of Feathers

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The world already knew that Randy Johnson was a Hall of Fame pitcher, but what they found out this fateful day was that he was also a bird killer, or what we call a "birderer."

Johnson has a better chance of winning the lottery twice than doing that again. Ironically, the bird had just won the lottery and was excitedly flying home to tell him family and friends.

No. 1: So... Can I Get A Drop or Something?

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Hole 17 at Sawgrass is difficult enough. It's a tiny little island in the middle of a daunting water hazard. Either you stick the green or you're laying two off to the side. It doesn't need anything to make the hole more challenging.

Which is why it was so funny when Steve Lowery greened his shot, only to have a seagull start to roll his ball away, pick it up, then fly off with it only to realize, "Hey, I can't eat this," and drop it in the water.

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