The Best Sports Beefs of the Year So Far

Typically, sports fans are entertained with the competition on the court or field, with two teams giving their all in order to come out victorious.

Sometimes, though, we get a little bit more than we even expect, as the emotion and passion for winning gets the best of people, evolving into something that can be absolutely amazing—a full-fledged sports beef.

In the old days, a beef would always be settled during a game, with some high heat to brush a guy off the plate or a hard foul to send a message to a player. Not these days, though, with social media often being the main hub to punk the opposition out.

With so many already occurring this year, I'm giving you the best that we've seen, with plenty more to come before 2015 is over.

Chuck Knoblauch and, well, Anyone Who Would Pay Attention

Once considered one of the better players during his generation, former MLB second baseman Chuck Knoblauch's career derailed after he lost the ability to throw a baseball from his position to first base, racking up errors in some key moments.

Oh, but that's not where his story ends, as the Knobs has been twice accused of assault since calling his big league career quits.

And, for some odd reason, the dude wanted to remind everyone that he did, in fact, once play in the majors, creating a Twitter beef out of nowhere over the Fourth of July weekend by attacking baseball writers, fans and players.

Coming across as a spoiled and entitled old man, Knoblauch should have just piped down and faded into obscurity. Instead, he went and did something like this.

Charles Barkley and Gabrielle Union

Image via Twitter/itsgabrielleu

Charles Barkley is one of the top 50 players in NBA history, winning one league MVP and earning a Finals trip that same season as a member of the Phoenix Suns.

Sir Charles also happens to be one of the most outspoken athletes in recent history, which is a big reason he's so successful at his broadcasting career now.

That doesn't mean that everything he says will be accepted with open arms, though.

Barkley found that out when he criticized Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade's addition to the Eastern Conference's All-Star squad this past season—which didn't sit too well with Wade's wife, actress Gabrielle Union.

Taking to Twitter, Union crapped on Barkley for never winning a title in his playing days, saying him criticizing her husband's selection would be like Union comparing her own career to that of Meryl Streep.

The beef continued with a few back-and-forth swings before dying off over time.

Richard Sherman and Antonio Cromartie

Elsa/Getty Images

It doesn't seem to matter what time of year it is, Seattle Seahawks All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman seems to always get himself into some sort of beef with an opposing player.

This year it has been Antonio Cromartie of the New York Jets—formerly of the Arizona Cardinals.

Beginning when Cromartie said Sherman isn't anywhere close to the NFL's best corner, believing that he shies away from an opposing team's top wide receiver, this has just seemed to snowball from there.

Of course, Sherman wasn't going to sit still and be quiet with this one, responding in kind with a little jab toward Cromartie and mentioning that the whole thing was, "unfortunate," because Sherman "helped" Antonio get to the Pro Bowl last year since his Seahawks reached the Super Bowl—and players from those teams are kept out of the Pro Bowl game.

With these two no longer in the same division, it's actually unfortunate that we won't get to see how this beef plays out on the field.

In addition to his beef with Sherman, it seems that Cromartie has no issue stirring it up with his former teammates, too, as he did with Kellen Winslow Jr. when K2 defended Sherman as being one of the best corners in the game.

Seeing how Cromartie responded, I wouldn't expect he and Winslow to be hanging out and talking about the good old times anytime soon.

Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

John Locher/Associated Press

This is one beef that would absolutely be OK to see end up in a ring somewhere, as Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are two of the most well-known boxers of the past 25 years.

Unfortunately, we'll all just have to settle for a few words for the war.

After Mayweather touted himself as being better than Muhammad Ali, Tyson replied with a simple, "he's delusional," which sparked the flame between these two guys, continuing to denounce the undefeated fighter as his highly anticipated bout with Manny Pacquiao approached back in May.

Adding, "I try to stay as far away from dirt as possible," it was clear that Tyson wasn't a fan of the man they call Money.

So, where does all of this beef come from? According to USA Today, it stems from a September 2001 police raid on Tyson's house that he believes was caused by Mayweather.

Tyson told USA Today that people informed him that Mayweather told a woman to file a police report falsely saying she had been assaulted by Tyson.

Who knows for sure what really happened back then, but one thing is clear, Tyson is throwing verbal punches at Mayweather.

Steve Weatherford and Jason Kelce

One wouldn't think that an NFL punter would find himself involved in a beef with an NFL offensive lineman, but that's what unfolded between the New York Giants' Steve Weatherford and the Philadelphia Eagles' behemoth, Jason Kelce, after the punter's words were skewed in the wrong way.

After Weatherford made some honest comments about all of the Eagles quarterbacks—Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow—on the Boomer and Carton Show, he immediately took to Twitter to pump the brakes on things, saying his words were taken out of context and that he had nothing but respect for the players.

Oh, but that didn't stop Kelce from laying into the punter, wondering why a radio station would even want to interview a player who can't even be touched in the first place, while coming to the defense of his mates.

By no means was it his intention, but I never thought I would see the day where a punter would mix it up with a guy in the trenches, yet that's what happened between these two—so we'll see if anything happens during the season to continue to spark this feud.

Joakim Noah and Cardale Jones

It's long been known that Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah hasn't exactly had the city of Cleveland high on his list of places he enjoys.

By extension, it seems that Noah just hates the entire state of Ohio, as he was pretty critical of the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes football team when it was introduced to the Cleveland Cavs crowd before a playoff game this past season between the Cavs and Bulls.

With breakthrough star Cardale Jones getting on the mic, Noah was, apparently, seen mouthing the words, "You ain't in the SEC," which has long been the top college football conference in the country.

Noah, who attended the University of Florida, apparently forgot the Bucks beat one of the SEC's finest, the Alabama Crimson Tide, during their title run.

Regardless, the comments didn't sit well with Jones once they were relayed back to him, tweeting out a few, harsh words to try to shut up the All-Star forward.

With the Cavs winning the series and the Buckeyes favored to repeat as national champs, according to Odds Shark, the Buckeye State continues to have the upper hand in this beef—for now, anyway.

J.J. Watt and Zach Mettenberger

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

In all of my years as a sports fan, I would have never guessed that a beef would be due to the amount of selfies a player takes.

Seriously, I'm floored by this.

Sadly, that's what it has come to between the best defensive player in the NFL, J.J. Watt, and backup quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

Here's the back story: After Mettenberger was starting for the Tennessee Titans last season, he posted a photo on Twitter of his new haircut. Not taking kindly to the pic—for whatever reason—Watt sacked the kid in the next game, mocking his selfie pose and adding afterward, via the New York Post, that it was a "reminder that this isn't high school," and was the signal-caller's, "welcome to the show" moment.

It would have been fine if that's where things ended. But, sadly, it wasn't.

With Mettenberger going after Watt after seeing a photo from three years ago of the defender wearing a letterman jacket, feathers were ruffled once again.

Watt downplayed the whole thing, though, taking to Twitter by saying that, "a lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of a sheep."

Looks like these two won't be friendly and pose for pictures together anytime soon.

Draymond Green and Everyone Associated With the Cleveland Cavs

Unless you've been absolutely clandestine for the past month or so, you've probably come to realize that Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green has really enjoyed his short time being an NBA champ.

Green is not one to keep himself silent on things.

He proved that at the Dubs' title celebration, where he continued to take shots at the Cleveland Cavaliers—whom the Warriors defeated for their title.

That wasn't enough for Green, though, as he continued to play the anti-Cleveland horn, going after a Cavs fan on Twitter by giving him a quick grammar lesson, per USA Today, reminding the guy the difference between "won" and "one."

Until the next NBA season starts, I'm not sure Draymond Green and his beef with the Cavs will end.

DeAndre Jordan and the Dallas Mavericks

Occurring just last week, the feud between recently re-signed Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan and the entire Dallas Mavericks organization—namely, owner Mark Cuban and forward Chandler Parsons—has become hysterical drama.

After getting a verbal commitment from Jordan during the first few days of the NBA free-agency period, the up-and-coming star reneged and got cold feet, literally locking down his house from anyone who wasn't a member of the Clippers.

Naturally, Cubes and Parsons weren't too happy about all of this, as reports surfaced of what may or may not have happened, with Cuban firing a few shots—erasing the name DeAndre Jordan from his memory and calling out ESPN reporter Chris Broussard.

Meanwhile, Parsons believes that Jordan couldn't handle the pressure of becoming a franchise player, feels disrespected and appears to have lost some love for D.A.

I mean, DeAndre is a good player, but is he enough for all of this?

Mark Cuban and Chris Broussard

I briefly referenced how Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban went ahead and beefed it with ESPN reporter Chris Broussard regarding reports of how Cuban's courtship of DeAndre Jordan actually went down.

Rest-assured, this is a Twitter feud that might not end anytime soon, either.

As if being spurned by a potential All-Star in Jordan weren't enough, Cuban had to deal with reports that he didn't quite agree with, calling out Broussard to identify the sources of stories the Mavs owner was doing anything he could to get ahold of Jordan and convince him to join Dallas.

While the two went back-and-forth a few times, Cuban appeared to get the last laugh, challenging Broussard to post proof from his sources of what was going on, with the billionaire offering to donate $100,000 to a charity of the reporter's choice if done.

"

Regarding my Wednesday report: I should have attempted to contact Mark Cuban before reporting what my (cont) http://t.co/xYeimqRQoq

— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 10, 2015"

Cuban even posted a description of everything on Cyber Dust, ensuring Mavs fans what was being reported wasn't entirely true, which promoted Broussard to issue an apology for his earlier report.