Epic Sports Meltdown Hall of Fame

Torii Hunter's recent strip-down at Target Field was epic, but it's a bit early to call it a Hall of Fame performance.

After all, there have been a crazy amount of epic meltdowns in sports. So many in fact, that it was very difficult to narrow it down to the 10 that would make up this fictitious Hall of Fame.

Nevertheless, the attempt was made using the following criteria:

These are not performance meltdowns (a la the 2015 Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA playoffs). These are behavioral meltdowns. Incidents were divided into categories and then examined for intensity, originality and notoriety on a scale of 1-10. Some have a dash of hilarity, but it wasn't a requirement.

Now, some of these could belong in several categories, so just go with it. And whatever you do, never cross John McEnroe.

Honorable Mention: Lone Reporter Incident

Warning: Video contains NSFW content.

This one goes to Chris Berman. In 2000, the Monday Night Football host went on a rant, apparently unaware there was a camera on. The subject of said rant: other people moving. How dare they!

Intensity: 6

Originality: 5

Notoriety: 5

Also receiving votes: Britt McHenry

International Incident: Rod Allen in Japan

OK so this is sort of a bogus category since there aren't a lot of these, but the originality is off the charts. Detroit Tigers announcer Rod Allen spent some time in Japan during his playing days. A lot of guys have charged the mound, but how often has the pitcher run away, inciting a twisting, turning chase all over the field?

Also, that dash of hilarity I mentioned? This has it. Just listen to that music.

Intensity: 5

Originality: 10

Notoriety: 2

Coach Interview: Hal McRae Loses It

Warning: Video contains NSFW content.

It's no secret coaches and players can get irritated with reporters at times. This happened to Hal McRae in a big way in 1993. One reporter made the mistake of questioning the then-Kansas City Royals manager about lineup decisions. McRae's response was crazy, but more than that, it seemed to come completely out of nowhere.

Intensity: 9

Originality: 5

Notoriety: 4

Also receiving votes: Kevin Borseth goes berserk over offensive rebounding on the Michigan women's basketball team, Jim Calhoun tells a reporter to "get some facts," Jim Mora can't believe a reporter asked him about the playoffs, Tommy Lasorda's opinion on Dave Kingman's performance

Player Locker Room: Sanders Douses McCarver

This one gets major points for originality. In 1992, Deion Sanders was a two-sport athlete playing for both the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta Braves. In October, CBS reporter Tim McCarver criticized Sanders for splitting time between both teams while the Braves competed in the MLB playoffs. 

Sanders didn't take too kindly to it. After the Braves clinched the National League Championship Series, he found McCarver in the locker room and doused him with several buckets of ice water. 

Intensity: 5

Originality: 10

Notoriety: 6

Also receiving votes: Ryan Leaf's locker room explosion

Soapbox: Mike Gundy Is 40!

Postgame press conferences have been the sites of some of the most memorable meltdowns the sports world has ever seen. Sometimes the interviewee breaks down in response to a question. Other times, he or she just uses the podium as one big ol' soapbox.

Take Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, for instance. In 2007, he used the presser as an opportunity to call out the media for an article he perceived as critical of the team's quarterback. Yes, he was standing up for his player, but man, he just went off. 

Intensity: 9

Originality: 6

Notoriety: 7

Also receiving votes: Herm Edwards on playing to win the game, Dennis Green says the Chicago Bears "are who we thought they were," Lee Elia's profanity-riddled tirade about Cubs fans

Random Aggression: Zinedine Zidane Headbutt

Unfortunately, violent and random acts of aggression are sometimes a part of sports meltdowns.

Zinedine Zidane's now infamous headbutt during the 2006 World Cup Final was as shocking as it was unusual. The retiring Frenchman, in what was to be the last game of his career, absolutely demolished Italy's Marco Materazzi after the latter apparently said something extremely offensive.

How often do you see someone just wind up and headbutt someone like that? And on the biggest soccer stage in the world, for that matter? 

According to Tracy Wilkinson and Achrene Sicakyuz of the Los Angeles Times, Zidane later voiced regret for his actions, but he also said, "You hear those things once and you try to walk away. You hear it a second time and then a third time.... I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that."

Intensity: 8

Originality: 6

Notoriety: 9

Also receiving votes: Izzy Alcantara kicks catcher Jeremy Salazar, NCAA soccer player Elizabeth Lambert throws punches and pulls hair, any one of several dugout meltdowns, the Jim Everett/Jim Rome incident

Yelling at an Official: John McEnroe Can't Believe It

So, it's one thing to yell at a referee, which many athletes and coaches have done. It's another to be made famous for it.

In 1981, notorious hothead John McEnroe became enraged when a line judge at Wimbledon ruled his serve out. He went on a heated rant that ended with him calling officials "the pits of the world."

Intensity: 9

Originality: 5

Notoriety: 8

Also receiving votes: Dennis Rodman head butts a referee, George Brett's "pine-tar incident," Lloyd McClendon steals first base during an argument with an umpire, Serena Williams goes nuts at the U.S. Open, Jim Schoenfeld follows a hockey referee into the tunnel

Throwing Things: Bobby Knight Chair Toss

This might not be the most fanatical tirade of all time, but it sure is well known. Bobby Knight was no stranger to these types of incidents in his coaching days at Indiana, but one moment in 1985 is particularly notable.

Knight's Hoosiers were losing early against the rival Purdue Boilermakers. Knight became enraged over a foul called against his team and earned himself a technical. That was, it would appear, his breaking point—not long after, a chair ended up on the court.

Intensity: 6

Originality: 8

Notoriety: 10

Also receiving votes: Tony Stewart throws a helmet at Matt Kenseth, New Jersey Devils coach tosses a bench onto the ice, Mississippi Braves manager throws bases, Roger Clemens throws a broken bat toward Mike Piazza

Obligatory Mike Tyson: Eat His Children

Warning: Video contains NSFW content.

Mike Tyson was a great boxer, but he was also a hothead, a big one. He went off on some epic rants during his career, the subject matter often veering into the strange and even scary. After defeating Lou Savarese in 2000, Tyson talked to Jim Gray about Lennox Lewis, and at one point said he'd like to eat Lewis' children. The threat of cannibalism might've been unprecedented in sports up 'til then. In fact, let's hope it was.

Intensity: 7

Originality: 10

Notoriety: 8

Also receiving votes: The press conference brawl, the press conference tirade, Evander Holyfield's ear

No Coming Back from That: Woody Hayes Punches a Player

Some meltdowns are funny, yes, but others have been very serious and very bad. In the 1978 Gator Bowl, Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes went way too far. Up 17-15 late in the game, Clemson's Charlie Bauman intercepted a pass to all but seal it for the Tigers. As Bauman got up near the sideline after the play, Hayes just outright punched the kid in the throat. It was unbelievable. Hayes was fired and never coached another game. 

Intensity: 10

Originality: 9 (in that this hardly ever happens)

Notoriety: 8

Also receiving votes: Jose Offerman ends Johnathan Nathans' career after hitting him with a bat

Ensemble Cast: Malice at the Palace

There was nothing funny about the Malice at the Palace, but it is one of the most famous sports meltdowns of all time. In November 2004, the Indiana Pacers visited the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. A fight on the court spilled into the stands after a fan attempted to involve himself.

Players entered the stands, and the fight that ensued was a disgraceful display of unsportsmanlike conduct. The incident later resulted in 146 total games of suspension, spread across nine players from both teams.

Intensity: 10

Originality: 8

Notoriety: 10

Also receiving votes: 1979 Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox playoff brawl (aka, Pedro Martinez vs. Don Zimmer)