The Funniest Dives and Flops in Sports History

Fresh in the aftermath of another Academy Awards, I am reminded that year after year the Academy fails to recognize the best acting on the planet.

While Colin Firth may have knocked it out of the park pretending to learn how to talk in the The King's Speech that is mere child's play when compared to the acting chops displayed across the sporting universe.

This travesty is that the higher quality of the acting the more unrecognizable it becomes, because a good flop is undetectable

This list is more like the Razzies of sports acting, because these flops are anything but undetectable, and our funny bone is the beneficiary.

This list highlights the divers and floppers that make us do everything from chuckle to piss our pants laughing.

So put on your diapers and behold...

The Pungent Post

Dirk Nowitzki has a body odor so abrasive it is a low post move.

That is what knocked Kirilenko over right? Or more likely that odoriferous odor stems from the fumes of flop.

I really can't believe AK47 got the call for this one.

While it can be hard for a ref to tell if contact has actually been made it is fairly obvious that Dirk's soft rotation of the elbows was not enough to knock over a baby on a unicycle.

Tripping on Caution

What you have to admire about Alsonso pulling this dive off is that he did so despite everyone trying their hardest to avoid contact.

Just look at the goalie. He was tip-toeing around like Bill Clinton answering questions about cigars and dry cleaning bills.

That didn't stop Alsonso from buckling over like his legs stopped working.

This dive would be worthy of top considerations had he not used his hands to break his fall and come up with a face full of sod.

Sorry Fernando, it takes a little more to be a champion.

Premature E-Flop-Ulation

The other floppers and divers on this list are certainly no stranger to poor timing. However, this punter is unique.

This guy must have been a boyscout, because he was so prepared to flop he was falling before the defender got to him.

I can see his teammates pumping him up on the sideline by yelling and head-butting, then sending him out onto the field with the chant: "Do what you do and go get your flop on!"

If at First You Don't Succeed, Flop, Flop Again

Once Manu decides he is going to flop, he is going to flop. At first he chases Smith out onto the wing and stumbles and then almost flops, but realizes he won't get that call.

So he stops mid-flop. He then hustles and puts himself in a much better position to flop the second time.

On his second attempt, he goes for the more traditional, "I've been hit by a car" back-flop.

Neither of his efforts got the call.

A confused Manu can be seen telling the ref after the play, "but I floppe...I mean he knocked me over twice."

Silly Manu, hasn't anyone ever told you that the third time is the charm?

Be Still, My Beating Heart

This is what happens when a good diver really gets taken down.

"Ooh my ankle. Is it still there? Oh it's moving to my heart! Come close...I have...to tell you...something before...I...ughhhhhh."

Big Flop Bob

Carlos Boozer never stood a chance in this one. When it comes to the basketball court Robert Horry is encircled by a holy light of awesomeness.

Horry knows it. So when Boozer put his hands on Horry's side, Horry first remained unmoved, but then he said to himself, "Hey, you're Robert Horry...use that."

And he made himself into a human flopping projectile.

Boozer was lucky he didn't get a lifetime ban for the egregious offense.

Battle of the Diving Stars

When Ronaldo realized he was going to be late to the point of attack he began to get out of the way.

This violent and aggressive act to not make contact knocked poor Gerrard clean off his feet and caused him to tumble head over cleats.

Ronaldo certainly has no room to complain. He could win a lifetime achievement award for his flopping efforts.

Jumpin' Johnny Two-Step

This video proves that diving knows no bounds. It can strike in your local Sunday league as readily as it does at the World Cup.

While the diving on the field is epic, it's got nothing on my man Johnny.

He is like the Flavor Flav of rec league. He doesn't do much, but somehow it just ties it all together.

He hustles for the ball as it rolls out of bounds—please notice how he ditches his flip flops without breaking stride.

Then—and this is the impressive part—he makes it back in time to call out the diver like he was Charlie Sheen and he just walked into a crack convention.

Stay gold, Johnny.

Can We Go Now?

Oh this is a classic boxing dive—just look at the body language.

The diver approaches with the grim resignation that he is going down and throws a half-hearted body shot that says, "Okay, it's go-time. Flash that speedy, but light-handed combo and I'll go down like Sully Sullenburg is flying me over the Hudson River. "

He then sprawls out on the canvas like he is out cold, but as soon as the refs waives off the fight he lifts his head up to see if he can go home now.

To his credit Augustus admits taking a dive—not for money, but out of frustration. He said he felt his gloves were too soft.

"That was a mistake that I made early in my career because of me being stupid and big-headed," Augustus later said.

Don't be too hard on yourself, Augie—it was good enough to get you on this list.

Wide Left? Ow!

This video has a lot of lead-in, but to get to the flop-tastic goods go to the 1:20 mark.

The kick was close enough that the kicker thought it might go through. So, as the defender almost grazed his foot, the kicker got in a balanced two-foot stance in case he need to break out "The Dougie" in celebration.

Instead he narrowly missed and half-heartedly fell like someone told him to drop and give him twenty. And the refs called it!

Ball don't lie. He missed the next one, too.

The Flopping Ghost

This was about two steps away from being an excellent flop. Of course, those were two very revealing steps.

It's hard to sell a good dive after you resume running post contact. It was obvious that what really tackled him was the realization he could no longer catch up to the ball. 

My favorite part about this is the announcer. What language do they play soccer in?

He described the fall as occurring posthumously. I mean, if that dive occurred under my understanding of posthumous, I am really going to rethink things.

22-Stunt-Gap-Flop

The Oregon Ducks' speed attack offense has given birth to a whole new kind of flop.

You can't blame the young man for this memorably unconvincing performance. Defensive linemen never expect they are going to have to flop.

I've seen better acting in any number of free internet "movies."

This young man is in on the tackle. He then jumps up, high-fives teammates, does some leaping roundhouse kicks in celebration, lines up for the next play, looks over to the sideline and POW!

He all of a sudden remembers that he broke his body on the previous play.

I wish we could see the sideline on this. What hand signal did the coaches devise for the the flop?

No Stopping the Flopping

Vlade Divac is to flopping as amino acids are to life.

He is the unquestioned king of the art.

Divac never met a post move that couldn't be stopped with a flop. He never ran into a piece of air that couldn't knock him over and he never met a ref that wouldn't fall for it.

When it comes to flopping, it is Vlade's world, and we're all just falling in it.

Don't Touch Me!

Some people just need their bubble of space. Granted, athletics may not be the best choice for those people, but others should still try to respect their boundaries.

If not, you get an instance like this one. This guy obviously could not handle his bubble being burst.

Maybe the explanation is more simple. Like the assailant has really long fingernails and he secretly inserted them into the victim's brain through his ear hole.

What is much more likely is this player is utilizing the ol'  "he touched his finger to my temple and now my brain is about to explode like I am in Scanners" dive.

Flop Harden' in the Garden

Ron Artest has the only flop that requires tickets—and they are in the mezzanine.

When Ron Artest decides to go into the stands memories ensue. While this is not as famous as the Malice in the Palace, it is far funnier.

In typical Artest fashion, he could not simply flop to the court like normal basketball players. He decided to crash into row 127.

As a testament to Ron's legacy the Boston fans quickly helped the Laker to his feet and back onto the court without any trash talk or flying liquids.

If this was any other Laker—he'd be a missing person.

Down Goes Bosh!

If Chris Bosh's nose was as long as mine this would've been a legitimate tumble. It's not though. It is fairly normal-sized, which means this is a super-sized flop.

It was a fiercely swung elbow. Maybe the force of the wind made Bosh's head whiplash back like he was tied to a car that just started a drag race.

The comedically delayed reaction and poor flopping trajectory suggests otherwise.

To become an elite flopper Bosh needs a better understanding of physics. You can't go straight back when you are hit with a cross shot Chris!

Do I Have to Do Everything Myself?

How do either of these guys maintain a straight face? If someone grabs my hand and throws it into their face I am at least going to turn and look. I guess he was just intent on the action.

I have no idea how Carrasco (the diver) was able to do this straight-faced, however.

He was so anxious to take a dive here that he actually starts leaning back before he strikes himself with Montano's hand.

Then he rolls around on the ground like he is pain. I'd be doubled over too...in laughter. Maybe these guys really do have a career in acting.

What the Duck?

This was an amazing flopping effort. The defenders weren't even going to come close to him.

That is until this punter had the presence of mind to throw his plant foot forward about eight feet.

He must have practiced this move. If he came up with this technique on the fly this guy is the Eminem of freestyle flopping.

Adding to the believability he actually trips one of the defenders to create a sense of chaos.

I can't believe this got a flag. If anything, this was running into the defender!

Flop-off

Have you ever wondered what happens when two floppers almost collide?

If you guessed it would be a race to hit the ground, you are correct.

Albert Streit decided to slightly push his head into Meier as he invaded his space. This either made a bomb explode in both of their heads or they decided to flop.

At first, Meier tried to push him away, but when he realized Streit was already in the process of knocking himself over, this quick thinking diver gave his own "oh my god I've been shot" routine.

The results are epic. It is a dive-down for the ages.

The ground was only big enough for one of those floppers. Two men entered, only one stayed on the ground the longest. Only one man was able to flop away from this one. Okay...I'll stop now.

Mr. Efficiency

Paul Briggs doesn't mess around we he takes a dive. Well he messed around for 29 seconds, but that was just because the bum he was fighting refused to throw a punch.

Let me take you inside Briggs' head at the sound of the opening bell.

"(With slight melody) Takin' a dive. Takin' a dive—dive-y-dive-a-deedly-do.

"Man, throw a punch at my head chump! I gotta get to the locker room before The Real Housewives of Orange County starts. Ooh he's throwing a jab!

"Damn it! I ducked it.

"Wait, it grazed me. I am going down. No, I better not. Oh too late now—I guess I am really doing this."

And do it he did. The fight was over and not a person in the arena was convinced it was legit.

You know it is a sad dive when even your opponent is pissed off. Check out Green's post-fight interview at the five minute mark.

For slow-mo replay's of the dive go to the 1:50 mark.