15 Reasons Why 2015 Is Already the Craziest Sports Year Ever
The Toronto Blue Jays are favorites to win the World Series, the New York Yankees are "underdogs" and the year's biggest sports scandal revolved around deflated footballs.
It's been a crazy year, to say the least.
The following 15 facts, stories and incidents are each odd or unique in their own way. Each represents an unexpected turn of events or simply a bizarre set of circumstances. When you first read the headlines, four-letter words and question marks will probably leap to the forefront of your mind.
Yes, 2015 has been a crazy sports year, and it's only October.
Honorable Mentions
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A lot of crazy stuff happened this year in sports. Here are a few stories that just barely missed the cut (but were still wild):
- Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy planned a "females-only party."
- Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill made demeaning comments toward practice squad players after they made him look bad. Per Aaron Wilson of National Football Post, he said, "Enjoy your practice squad paycheck, enjoy your practice squad trophy." Again, this was Ryan Tannehill of the 1-3 Dolphins.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates turned the first 4-5-4 triple play in MLB history.
- Australian surfer Mick Fanning fought off a shark attack on live television.
- Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett said of QB Jay Cutler, "They threw rocks at Jesus, and Jesus was an excellent guy who did a lot of awesome stuff," according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
OSU Won It All with a Third-String QB
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When Ohio State started the 2014 football season, its quarterback depth chart looked like this: Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett and then Cardale Jones (who?).
By season's end, Miller and Barrett had both suffered injuries, and Jones was at the helm. He started just three games all year, but they were the three most important.
Jones led the Buckeyes to a victory in the Big Ten Championship Game and two College Football Playoff wins. It all culminated with a victory over Oregon to take the national championship in January.
Geno Smith Sucker-Punched, Papelbon Choked Harper
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Teammate altercations are unfortunately not unprecedented in sports history, but 2015 has produced two pretty crazy ones.
In August, then-New York Jets linebacker IK Enemkpali sucker-punched quarterback Geno Smith during a locker room scuffle. Smith got a 6-10 week trip to the bench, and Enemkpali was released from the team. The argument was reportedly over $600, a sum that would seem measly for professional athletes.
In September, just after the Washington Nationals had been eliminated from playoff contention, Nats teammates Jonathan Papelbon and Bryce Harper got into it in the dugout. The ugly scene ended with Papelbon choking the young outfielder and shoving him against a wall. Papelbon was suspended for the remainder of the season.
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The Clippers (Sort Of) Took over L.A.
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For years, Los Angeles has been a Laker town. From Wilt Chamberlain to Magic Johnson's showtime teams and Kobe Bryant's reign, the Los Angeles Lakers have owned the city despite the existence of another NBA team.
Yet, the Lakers have struggled the past two seasons as the perennially sad Los Angeles Clippers surged. Questions about who really "owns L.A." have abounded since 2013.
The nail in the coffin came in April, when the Clippers used the Lakers' locker room as an owner's lounge during the playoffs. After another disappointing campaign, the Lakers didn't make the postseason, but their Staples Center roommates did.
Note: An epic collapse in the Western Conference semis does leave the door open for Kobe and Co. to retake their place at the helm in 2015-16.
Andrew Luck Last in Passer Rating
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was the league's worst starting QB, in terms of passer rating, through the first three weeks of the NFL season, according to Michael David Smith of Profootballtalk.com. Luck missed the Colts' fourth game with a shoulder injury.
The NFL calculates passer rating based on completion percentage, average yards gained per attempt and the percentage of touchdowns and interceptions per attempt.
Through Week 3, Luck's rating stood at 65.1. As a point of reference, according to NFL.com, Luck's rating for the 2014 regular season was 96.5, barely less than Tom Brady's 97.4 and higher than the ratings of Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers and Joe Flacco.
A Rapper Cursed James Harden
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Rapper Lil B has been beefing with basketball players for some time now, dating back to a feud with Kevin Durant that started in 2011.
During the 2015 NBA postseason, however, Lil B took on a new enemy: James Harden. Harden's offense was, apparently, stealing one of Lil B's dance moves. The rapper subsequently put a curse on the Houston Rockets guard.
Curses may or may not be real, but the Golden State Warriors did take just five games to dispatch of Harden and the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. You be the judge.
Marlins Made General Manager the New Manager
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Front-office-to-coaching transitions aren't unheard of in baseball, but they certainly aren't the norm.
In May, the Miami Marlins fired manager Mike Redmond and replaced him with general manager Dan Jennings. This was particularly odd because, according to Ted Berg of For the Win, Jennings had zero experience playing or coaching at the professional level.
A Game Was Delayed Because of a Fire on the Field
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In September, a small fire started on the turf at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis prior to a game between the Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The flames were a result of a problem with pregame pyrotechnics, and no one was hurt. The subsequent cleanup, however, did cause a delay of roughly 30 minutes to the start of the game.
Blue Jays (and Royals) Are World Series Favorites
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While MLB gears up for postseason play, Las Vegas makes betting odds. According to Odds Shark, as of the completion of Game 162, two of the top favorites to win the World Series are the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals.
The Royals aren't as shocking, given of their Cinderella run last year, but the Blue Jays? At 3-to-1, they have the best odds going into the postseason, and rightly so. The Blue Jays haven't made the playoffs in more than 20 years, but this year, they won 93 games en route to an American League East title. Before 2014, the Royals hadn't made the playoffs since 1985.
A-Rod Good, Yankees Are 'Underdogs'
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Just a year ago, Alex Rodriguez was a "washed-up" ballplayer with declining numbers, injury problems and the longest performance enhancing drug suspension in league history. In 2015, he looks like this.
A-Rod came out of nowhere in 2015, contributing 33 home runs and 86 RBI to the New York Yankees season.
Almost as unbelievable as A-Rod's resurgence is his team's underdog label heading into postseason play. The Yankees haven't made the playoffs since 2012, but "underdog" is not a word often used to describe the 27-time world champions.
Emojis Took Center Stage in NBA Free Agency
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The free agency period always produces drama in sports, but in the case of NBA center DeAndre Jordan, 2015 was particularly strange.
The gist is this: Rumors surfaced in July that Jordan planned to leave the Los Angeles Clippers and sign with the Dallas Mavericks. More rumors indicated the Clippers weren't going down without a fight and planned to meet with Jordan in Houston in an attempt to convince him to stay.
2 NFL Players Lost Fingers in Fireworks Accidents
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Injuries are nothing to joke about, but it is a fact that two NFL players lost fingers in fireworks accidents over the July 4 weekend.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback C.J. Wilson lost two on his right hand, an injury that ultimately forced him into retirement.
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul lost one finger to amputation but continues to work toward recovery and a possible return to the field.
Orioles and White Sox Played in an Empty Stadium
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In April, riots broke out in Baltimore related to the death of Freddie Gray and allegations of police brutality. It's important to note the events in Baltimore, along with their root cause, stretch far beyond the importance of a baseball game.
That said, an eerie and bizarre thing occurred during those days of turmoil. The Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox played a baseball game in an empty stadium. Two games were cancelled at Camden Yards during the riots, and a third was played but closed to the public as part of continuing safety precautions.
According to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, Orioles pitcher Zach Britton said, "It was tougher to stay focused on the game than I thought it would be. You could hear a pin drop, and the noise just echoed off the [B&O] warehouse and the entire stadium. It's almost worse when you're standing out there on the mound and you can hear yourself think. It makes you appreciate the fans who come out and support you."
Actual Headline: 'Kurt Busch Testifies Ex-Girlfriend Is Trained Assassin'
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What? This headline is from a story on usatoday.com, but versions of it appeared all over the Internet in January.
NASCAR driver Kurt Busch really did say his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, is an assassin. The testimony came during a hearing related to a domestic violence accusation made against the driver by Driscoll. Jill Martin of CNN wrote, "Busch said that Driscoll is an assassin for the U.S. government who would go on covert missions around the world."
Martin reported Driscoll is a defense contractor and that her attorney, Carolyn McNeice, said, "Police officers, correction officers and military personnel are trained to use weapons. They're not assassins."
One of the Biggest Scandals Involves Deflated Footballs
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No sports fan with a pulse needs to be reminded of the Deflategate scandal. Even non-sports fans have likely heard the tale—New England Patriots quarterback and NFL golden boy Tom Brady may or may not have had something to do with under-inflated footballs used in the 2014 AFC Championship Game.
He destroyed his cell phone, maybe/almost divorced his supermodel wife and became the subject of the most famous courtroom sketch in the Internet era. The saga raged all summer, looking a lot more like a soap opera than a sports story. And it's not even over yet.
The Other Resembles the Plot of a Mob Movie
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In May, several senior officials at FIFA were arrested on corruption charges brought by the U.S. Justice Department. The charges included "racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery," according to Martin Rogers and Kim Hjelmgaard of USA Today.
Part of the alleged bribery involves the selection of tournament locations. According to a now-infamous Washington Post article by Christopher Ingraham, the choice to name Qatar host of the 2022 World Cup has led to significant suspicion, given human rights issues and questions of labor conditions there.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter hasn't helped matters with the incessant back-and-forth regarding the little matter of his resignation.
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