20 Most Bizarre Sports Plays of the Year

Was Central Michigan's Hail Mary the most bizarre play of the year? Or was it the final 13.5 seconds of that Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs playoff game? You know the one.

The truth is, there have been many bizarre plays in sports this year—that is to say, unusual, weird or even perplexing moments of game action.

The following 20 plays are not necessarily incredible feats of athletic intelligence and skill. More often, they are simply oddities of chance—a ball took an absurd hop or a player completely blanked on the rules of the game, for instance.

No, these are not the year's most amazing plays, just the weirdest.

Of course, what is weird to one person might be normal to another, so take the order with a grain of salt here. Rather, just enjoy the never-ending smorgasbord of goofiness that is sports.

Honorable Mentions

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

There were a lot of off-the-wall plays in sports in 2016. Here are a few that almost made the top 20:

• This game-winning two-point conversion from high school football in Oklahoma—a batted pass, a lateral and the "play of the year," per Jacob Unruh of the Oklahoman.
• Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedrioa "plays Twister," per Gemma Kaneko, Sam Blum and Bill Chastain of MLB.com, at home plate to score against the Tampa Bay Rays.
• Bulgarian boxer Stefan Slavchev is disqualified for lifting his opponent, Irishman Paddy Barnes, onto his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
• KHL goalie Andrei Gavrilov takes a drink of water—during live game action. Check out how close the call was here.
• An onside kick in a high school football game succeeds when the ball bounces off a member of the receiving team and lands with the kicking team.

Wild Pitch Takes a Wild Hop

It's funny how bizarre plays are often also lucky plays—or unlucky, depending on who you are.

During an April game against the Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer attempted to advance from first to second on a wild pitch.

And oh, the pitch was wild—so wild, it bounced straight up into the air and out of the sight of Angels catcher Carlos Perez.

Fortunately for Perez, however, the ball bounced back up into his glove, and he was able to nail Hosmer at second.

J.R. Smith Forgets He's in the Game

This one was like an adult version of picking grass on a soccer field. During a November game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith apparently forgot his duties as, you know, a professional athlete.  

As the ball was inbounded, Smith ventured over to the opposing bench and said hello to Bucks guard Jason Terry, who, unlike Smith, was not actually in the game. The Bucks scored on the possession.

Per Ananth Pandian of CBS Sports, Smith's explanation was, "I didn't even know I was in the game. My bad."

At least he was honest.

Michigan's 10-Man I

No one ever accused Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh of being boring.

His offense lined up in a highly unusual formation against Wisconsin in October. (It was later used again to score a touchdown against Illinois). Michigan calls the lineup—basically a 10-person I formation—"trains," according to ESPN.com's Brian Bennett.    

The formation as is would be illegal but is instead used to confuse defenses. Per Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press, Michigan assistant Jay Harbaugh borrowed the idea from a Colorado high school.

That school's coach, Bret McGatlin, said, per Snyder, "What Michigan was trying to do and what we try to do is we line up so quick that it makes it difficult for anybody for adjust to it. Our goal is to line up in less than three seconds. You really catch teams off guard. We run maybe two-to-three different formations out of it. It really is crazy."

Danny DeKeyser's Pool Shot Goal

Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser scored a wild goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in October that seemed to leave everyone confused, including Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop.

DeKeyser took the shot from center ice and watched as the puck bounced off the glass and Bishop's leg before finding its way into the back of the net.  

The NHL posted the footage on Twitter and made a joke about DeKeyser's pool game. On point.

Intentionally out of Bounds

Just because something is bizarre doesn't mean it's not also smart.

Specifically, Green Bay Packers kick returner Ty Montgomery was very smart during a September game against the Detroit Lions.

As a Lions kickoff sailed toward the sideline, Montgomery did something that probably perplexed some folks. He stepped out of bounds and then, with his feet still out, reached in and touched the ball.

For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of the NFL rule book (present company included), Jay Busbee of Shutdown Corner explained, "When a loose kick collides with an object out of bounds, the ball is placed on the 40. And although most of Montgomery was in bounds, his toes weren't, and that's enough to legally consider him 'an object out of bounds.'"

Umpire Collision

Umpires are technically considered part of the field of play in baseball, but this instance of umpire involvement seemed, perhaps, a bit more than incidental.

During a September game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard grounded into what looked like an inning-ending double play.  

However, umpire Alan Porter and Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier had a bit of a run-in, and Howard was ultimately called safe.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was ejected over the incident.

Davontae Ginwright's Ill-Advised Save

Brain farts make for some truly bizarre plays sometimes. Consider Western Michigan defensive back Davontae Ginwright.

WMU led, 21-20, late in a September game against Northwestern. Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson kept the ball on a 1st-and-goal run, but the ball came loose near the end zone. 

Instead of letting the squibbling ball make its way safely out of bounds, Ginwright dove and threw the ball back into play.

Northwestern recovered for what looked like a touchdown, but as Sam Cooper of Dr. Saturday explained, "After a video review, the officials ruled that Ginwright still had possession of the ball as his foot hit the ground out of bounds — before he threw it back into the field of play. Because of this, the ruling of a touchback was upheld, and WMU regained possession at its own 20."

Western went on to an incredible 13-0 season, so, lucky break.

Cespedes Allows an Inside-the-Park Home Run

Sure, spring training games don't count. But big league ballplayers should still act like they sort of care, right? Give it the old college try?

Not Yoenis Cespedes.

In March, the New York Mets outfielder allowed an inside-the-park home run to Houston Astros first baseman A.J. Reed because, well, he simply chose not to field a ball.

Cespedes seemed to give a half-hearted effort to convince a nearby umpire the ball was not playable, but that just makes it all even more bizarre—because it clearly was.

Blake Bortles' Bizarre Fumble

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Poor Blake Bortles. The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback doesn't exactly get a lot of love in sports media. Then again, he has also thrown 11 pick-sixes in his first three NFL seasons, so.

And yet, Bortles' contribution to the most bizarre plays list is not a pick-six but a fumble. (It initially looked like an interception but was ruled a fumble.) See for yourself.

Against the Houston Texans in November, Bortles attempted to throw a screen pass into the ground. Instead, the ball hit the foot of Jags running back T.J. Yeldon and bounced directly into the arms of Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

It was the sort of bizarre bad luck that could have happened to anyone…right?

Ukranian Gymnast Throws Team Final

This one uses a liberal definition of "play," but it was definitely bizarre. 

During the men's team gymnastics final at the Rio Olympics, Ukrainian gymnast Maksym Semiankiv intentionally earned scores of zero on the parallel bars, high bar and floor exercise. (Video available here.)

It was perplexing to say the least, and particularly offensive to the team from Switzerland, who barely missed qualifying for the team final.

Ukrainian team member Oleg Verniaiev offered a subsequent explanation on Instagram. It didn't clear much up, but here it is anyway (via Cindy Boren of the Washington Post): "There was unpredictable circumstances. We found out that we won't be competing as a full team 15 minutes prior to start of the competition when one of our team members came back from the hospital. At that point we weren't able to change our line up."

Wainwright Loses His Glove

If Player A tags Player B with his glove, Player B is out, right? Well, only if Player A is actually wearing said glove.

In August, New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was called safe at third after St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright's glove slipped out of his hand on a tag. More accurately, Cespedes stood on the glove, effectively removing it from the pitcher's hand.

Wainwright was covering third on a Mets single to left. The throw from Cardinals outfielder Brandon Moss arrived in plenty of time to nail Cespedes, but again with that pesky glove.

It was weird.

Unknown Peyton Manning Skills

Peyton Manning retired in March but not before providing one of the year's most bizarre plays.

During a divisional playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in January, the then-Denver Broncos quarterback intentionally fell to the ground, seemingly to avoid a sack.

It would not have been weird if that had been the end of it. But, Manning took a beat, got up and completed a pass to Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

Manning later said, per Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports, "I don't really want to analyze this play too much. I'd kind of like it to go away, if it could."

Craig Smith Blocks His Own Shot

An NHL player has a shot at an open net from point-blank range, and he doesn't score.

That's weird, but it is even weirder to actually block one's own shot in that scenario (or at all, really).

And yet, that's exactly what happened to Craig Smith of the Nashville Predators in February. During an extra period against the Montreal Canadiens, Smith had the game-winner in the bag...until he didn't.

This sequence of events is completely baffling and something you have to see to believe.

Minor League Stare Down

Here's a real weird one courtesy of the Birmingham Barons, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

During an August game, Barons batter Courtney Hawkins grounded out to Chattanooga Lookouts pitcher Ryan Eades—pretty straightforward.

Except it wasn't.

Instead of accepting his out, Hawkins simply stood in the base path, staring Eades down in some sort of bizarre game of chicken. Finally, Eades managed a tag but dropped the ball! Hawkins miraculously made it to first base.

In case you're wondering about that whole staying-on-the-basepath thing, Matt Monagan of Cut4 clarified, "He did seem to stray far out of the baseline, but he didn't do so while trying to avoid the tag (and that rule is under the umpire's discretion)."

Header Interception

One of the most bizarre plays of the sports year happened during a D-III football game in September.

Dehstin Smart of Utica College intercepted a pass thrown by SUNY Cortland's quarterback, but it was so much more than that.

The pass was deflected and then took two strange bounces—off one player's back and another's helmet—before landing in Smart's hands.

Utica won the game, 24-13.

Goalkeeper Catches His Own Kick

Imagine a goalkeeper catching his own goal kick—weird, right?

This happened in Denmark in November with the help of some inclement weather. Johan Dahlin, keeper for FC Midtjylland, sent a goal kick straight into the wind during a match against SonderjyskE.

Incredibly, the ball floated back toward him, and he was forced to make a save.

Per official FIFA rules (via Nate Scott of For the Win), "if, after the ball is in play, the kicker touches the ball again before it has touched another player an indirect free kick is awarded."

Quite unfortunate for Dahlin. 

Central Michigan Hail Mary

This was one of the most memorable plays of the college football season, and it was also one of the most bizarre.

In September, Central Michigan upset then-No. 22 Oklahoma State, winning 30-27 on a last-second Hail Mary plus lateral.

The play itself was unusual, but it also never should have counted. Chase Goodbread of College Football 24/7 explained, "Oklahoma State's offense was flagged for intentional grounding on what could have been the game's final play. With no time left on the clock, officials awarded CMU an untimed down from its own 49-yard line. The Chippewas' miracle followed."

Officials later admitted the error—per Mid-American Conference referee Tim O'Dey (via Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman), "the game should end on an accepted live ball loss-of-down penalty with no time left." Still, the game result stood.

Wild Pitch in Chest Protector

Chris Landers of Cut4 wrote, "But even by the standards of #WeirdBaseball, where this Ross Stripling curveball ended up during the Dodgers' 14-3 win over the D-backs was ... new."

The curveball to which Landers referred landed smack inside the chest protector of Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal during a July game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

As a result of the ensuing confusion, D-Backs infielder Jake Lamb was able to score from third. Apparently, per the MLB Official Rulebook and via Landers, the play was scored as a wild pitch.

Wild, indeed.

Antoine Roussel's Lucky Bounce

The Dallas Stars defeated the Minnesota Wild in their first-round NHL playoff matchup in April. But before it was all over, Stars winger Antoine Roussel scored what Sean Leahy of Puck Daddy called the "weirdest goal of the playoffs."

Leahy explained, "Early in the second period, Marco Scandella's clearing attempt went off Ales Hemsky's skate toward Antoine Roussel behind the Wild net. Roussel attempted to settle the bouncing puck with his skate but it had other ideas. The puck would bounce up and over the net, off of Dubnyk's helmet and down his back into the net."

The goal was initially called off, but upon review, officials determined Roussel's movements did not constitute a "distinct kicking motion," and the goal stood. 

Teams could try to recreate that 1,000 times and have zero luck. Weird indeed.

Dion Waiters' Inbound

To call the final 13.5 seconds of Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals in May "chaotic" would be an understatement.

The Oklahoma City Thunder scraped by the San Antonio Spurs, 98-97, to even the series at one game apiece, but the win was not without a hefty dose of controversy.

It all started with an inbounds pass by then-Thunder guard Dion Waiters. What ensued was a series of sloppy passing and uncalled fouls that Rodger Sherman of SB Nation accurately described as "a total fiasco."

The NBA later announced officials had missed five (five!) calls during the final sequence, including a foul on Waiters and a delay-of-game penalty on Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, just to name two.