The Best Sports Figure Spoofs and Parodies

Dating back to Abbott and Costello, we have always seen comedians embrace sports. Clowning on athletes is a vital part of the creative process.

Over the years, television's biggest programs and networks have released tons of quality sports-themed comedy pieces. The goal of this list is to weed out all of the junk that's out there and give you 10 of the funniest skits, sketches and TV shows of all time.

From Key & Peele to Saturday Night Live, here's a look at all of the madness that has ensued to date.

ESPN: Ron Burgundy Interviews Peyton Manning

Will Ferrell's iconic Ron Burgundy character interviewing Peyton Manning is a match made in football heaven. Ferrell's comedic chops and Manning's infectious personality work to perfection in this segment.

Ferrell is able to break Manning down with his quick barbs and snide remarks. The entire conversation is great, but when Ferrell talks about the lost Manning brother—Danieal Manning—that's when Peyton loses it.

Even if you're not a Denver Broncos fan, you can't do anything but appreciate how spectacular this is. Hopefully we will get a longer follow-up interview between these two legends when Manning decides to walk away from the game.

MADtv: Heat Exhaustion

The melodic tones that golf announcers broadcast are among the biggest reasons the sport is calmer than lapping water on television. Falling asleep on your couch for a few hours during any PGA Tour event is always a good way to get your day started.

MADtv took everything we love about those announcers and threw its own warped spin on things. This skit is all about how those guys handle the crippling world of heat exhaustion in the created "Desert Classic."

Whether you like golf or you can't stand it, you still can appreciate all this skit has to offer.

Saturday Night Live: Bob Swerski's Superfans and Michael Jordan

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"Da Bears!"

It's a line fans of Saturday Night Live will never forget. Bob Swerski and his band of superfans were spreading their love for Coach Ditka, cold beers and artery-clogging meats well into the '90s.

This time around, the skit took things in another direction when it welcomed Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan into the fold. Instead of focusing on "Da Bears," the gang went all-out for "Da Bulls."

Relive this moment in history, and watch as Jordan joins in on all of the Chicago shenanigans.

Key & Peele: East/West College Bowl

Comedy Central's hit show Key & Peele is known for churning out great material. When comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele put their minds together and write sports sketches, the results are usually special. 

Their "East/West College Bowl" skit is the best one they've produced to date.

In it, both men create a myriad of characters with extravagant names. The deeper we get into the skit, the crazier the names become. This isn't just clickbait. It's one of the funniest sports-themed skits to come out in a very long time.

Saturday Night Live: Ray Romano as Chet Harper

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Alongside Tim Meadows, Ray Romano makes an appearance on Saturday Night Live portraying a SportsCenter anchor named Chet Harper.

Harper is new to the ESPN family, and unlike his peers, he has a difficult time keeping up with all of the explosive lingo they use on the air.

Meadows plays a version of Stuart Scott who's obsessed with the catchphrase "boo-ya." Harper, on the other hand, decides to dish out uncomfortable analogies and catchphrases, keeping Scott off-guard.

This is nothing more than a classic back-and-forth exchange between Romano and Meadows. And for everyone who watched SportsCenter in the '90s, this skit is a throwback to simpler times.

ESPN: Richard Sherman Mockumentary

Richard Sherman's infamous rant after the 2014 NFC Championship Game spawned a ton of buzz on social media. ESPN and comedian Frank Caliendo took that buzz to another level when they created this faux documentary.

Caliendo's impressions are flawless. Whether it's Jon Gruden, Mike Ditka or Bill Belichick, each one is delivered with precision. Leave it to Caliendo and ESPN to manufacture this masterpiece.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: NFL Superlatives

Being an alumnus of Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show is all about skits.

One staple of his late-night program has been superlatives. Basically, what you'd find in your high school yearbook. Class clown, most athletic—and the list goes on and on.

Fallon and his writing team have done a great job of making those superlatives outrageous. Here's an example of that using professional athletes as unsuspecting comedic victims.

Saturday Night Live: Stephen A. Smith

Jay Pharoah's impersonations on Saturday Night Live have been his calling card ever since he joined the cast in 2010.

Pharoah's characters range from President Barack Obama to controversial ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. No matter who he's pretending to be, Pharoah is at the top of his game.

Instead of showing the original skit, check out this video, in which Smith reacts to the amazing performance displayed by one Jay Pharoah. He may be laughing on the outside, but you know seeing this had to bother him just a little bit on the inside.

Seinfeld: George Costanza and the Yankees

Seinfeld was hands down the best sitcom ever pieced together. Every episode stands on its own merit, and to this day—16 years after it last aired—Seinfeld is still a major draw on various networks.

One of the show's perennial characters, George Costanza, spent time working with the New York Yankees.

The time he was employed by the Bronx Bombers was one of the best periods in Seinfeld's rich history. Take this clip, for example: Even though the Yankees had just won the World Series, George decides to teach a young Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams about hitting.

Key & Peele: East/West College Bowl 2

Warning: Video contains NSFW language after the skit concludes.

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are back. This time, they're bringing another classic with them in the form of the "East/West College Bowl 2" sketch.

Like the first one, Key and Peele come up with outlandish names for players and disperse them onto the general public. You would think after a while the creative well would run dry for this type of sketch. Based on this second clip, though, that is definitely not the case.