Biggest blunder in sports history

[duff88]

What do you think are some of the biggest blunder in sports history?

I nominate these ones for hockey:

Steve Smith's own goal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DbP7wqCwq8)
Steve Smith, with the game tied 2-2 in the third period of the 7th game in the 1986 conference finals between Edmonton and Calgary, scores in his own net which will lead the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Tommy Salo's olympic choke against Belarus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdn8f58Y00A)
The largely favourite Sweden, one of the best hockey nations, were beaten by the underdogs Belarus in the 2002 Olympic quarterfinals after a 70-feet shot from defenseman Vladimir Kopat hit Salo in the mask and went into the net with the score tied 3-3 and only a few minutes to go. Salo was never the same afterwards.

Patrick Stefan misses an empty net (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDbEX666G3Y)
Not as costly as the two other ones, but it's one of the ugliest plays I've ever seen. Stefan steals the puck from a defenseman and comes in on the empty net with less than 15 seconds to play and with his team leading 5-4. The win is pretty much official. Stefan goes to the backhand, the puck bounces over his stick, he falls down, Edmonton takes the puck and make a bomb pass to Ales Hemsky, their most skilled forward, who comes in on a breakaway and ties the game with less than five seconds to go. Dallas finally won in OT, but Stefan, a former first overall pick, is now part of hockey history.

[Tyrith]

As a Stars fan that was watching that game that play by Stefan was BRUTAL, absolutely brutal. No wonder he's not very good at hockey.

[cthomer5000]

NFL thoughts:

Joe Pisarcik Giants fumble when trying to just run out the clock

Tony Romo fumbling the snap last year in the playoffs

[Mr. Wednesday]

There's a great Youtube highlight clip of such things for soccer. I don't remember any of the specific examples, though.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Tony Romo fumbling the snap last year in the playoffs

Dude, don't you think it's a bit early to go ranking Romo as one of the all-time greats? :D

[Pumpy Tudors]

Stefan's blunder is bad on its own, but his team won the game, so I don't think it's really that big of a deal. It's more of a blooper than a blunder, if that makes any sense.

[Groundhog]

Chris Webber calls timeout in the dying seconds (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Q4Et8BuaQ)

Go Wolverines!

[Tyrith]

Stefan's blunder is bad on its own, but his team won the game, so I don't think it's really that big of a deal. It's more of a blooper than a blunder, if that makes any sense.

Yeah, I can absolutely agree with that. It was the dumbest play in hockey history, maybe, but it wasn't the most important dumb play in hockey history, and that's a big distinction.

[Maple Leafs]

We should totally take turns drafting these sort of moments.

[Atocep]

Grady Little leaving Pedro in.

In the funny blunders category, Bill Gramatica blowing out his knee celebrating a field goal.

[lighthousekeeper]

Buckner.

Certainly one of the biggest in terms of its notoriety.

[Bad-example]

Jose Canseco taking a fly ball off his noggin and over the fence for a homer gets my vote for funniest sports blunder of all time.

[Rizon]

Chris Webber calls timeout in the dying seconds (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Q4Et8BuaQ)

Go Wolverines!

I remember that like it was yesterday. Felt so bad for the kid.

[Lathum]

We should totally take turns drafting these sort of moments.

zing!!!!!!

[Travis]

As much as you can point and laugh at Stefan, it was more a blooper than a blunder. The puck jumped on him just as he tried to shoot, the only thing he coulda/woulda/shoulda done differently was to come in slower, but who even thinks about something like that happening. The Smith own goal is a lot worse in my books not only because of the situation it happened in, but it was also a result of his own play.

What would have really been big on this list would have been if Smyth had broken his stick the way he originally intended to or he couldn't have spear headed that play to Hemsky for the tying goal.

[Chief Rum]

I remember that like it was yesterday. Felt so bad for the kid.

You shouldn't. He was being paid enough to know how many timeouts were left. ;)

[Vinatieri for Prez]

As much as you can point and laugh at Stefan, it was more a blooper than a blunder. The puck jumped on him just as he tried to shoot, the only thing he coulda/woulda/shoulda done differently was to come in slower, but who even thinks about something like that happening.

How about not going to the backhand. He was about 6 feet in front of the net when he did it. If he stays forehand, it goes in the net.

But this thread reminds me of Al Iafrate. He thought it was dishonorable to score an empty net goal, so if he was ever alone with the puck and an open net, he would shoot it into the corner. I don't remember if it ever bit him in the ass like this one did.

[Logan]

Backing out of a $27 million NBA coaching contract.

[MrBug708]

Lakers not making Shaq finish his contract out

[nilodor]

How about the whole Joe Smith fiasco. Paying a guy under the table, who hasn't amounted to much more than a role player and losing, two first rounders?

[Atocep]

How about the whole Joe Smith fiasco. Paying a guy under the table, who hasn't amounted to much more than a role player and losing, two first rounders?

Good one. They actually lost 4 and then Stern reduced it to 3.


EDIT: quick google says they were also fined $3.5 million.

[BYU 14]

Leon Lett twice:
1- The attempted blocked kick recovery against Miami.

2- Jaking it on that fumble return against the Bills in the Superbowl and getting his TD swatted away by Beebe.

[14ers]

King of the DNF at the 2006 games.

& Biggest bust in Olympic history... BODE MILLER:

[Surtt]

Herschel Walker trade.

this is something that killed a franchise for 10 years.

[rowech]

Merkle's Boner...how can you go with anything else when such a name for something exists?

[tanglewood]

Aston Villa's Peter Enckleman lets a throw in from his own player past him. Even worse it was against their arch rivals Birmingham.

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[MIJB#19]

Do referee blunders count as well? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slHZFzR4D5A, scroll to 1:21 mins for one of the most obvious off-side goals in soccer history. It was the (2-2) equalizer in the 2002 Dutch Cup Final, scored in the 3rd minute of added time to the second half.

[tanglewood]

Then there is Graham Poll booking a player three times in the same game at the World Cup last year.

[Toddzilla]

Aston Villa's Peter Enckleman lets a throw in from his own player past him. Even worse it was against their arch rivals Birmingham.Risking drawing the ire from baseball enthusiasts, every sporting event on planet earth should have English commentators. :)

[Ksyrup]

What about the dude from Columbia or whatever South American country it was that scored an own goal and got shot to death when he came home? From the blunderer's standpoint, it doesn't get much worse than that!

[Ksyrup]

From baseball, what about Lonnie Smith falling for the deke at second and failing to score in a game the Twins ultimately won 1-0 in 10 innings in Game 7 of the 1991 WS?

[Oilers9911]

What do you think are some of the biggest blunder in sports history?

I nominate these ones for hockey:

Steve Smith's own goal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DbP7wqCwq8)
Steve Smith, with the game tied 2-2 in the third period of the 7th game in the 1986 conference finals between Edmonton and Calgary, scores in his own net which will lead the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals.



Ugh, just when I had driven that from my memory banks.

[Ksyrup]

I can't see what happened there at all...did he put it in off the goalie?

[Oilers9911]

Hard to choose just one so i'll pick a few.

Hockey
Steve Smith own goal in the 1986 playoffs.

Baseball
Bill Buckner 1986 World Series
The Merkle Boner (1908?)

Basketball
Chris Webber's phantom timeout
Isaiah Thomas has his inbounds pass intercepted by Larry Bird.

Horse Racing
I can't remember the horse or when it was but there was a Kentucky Derbey way back where the jockey thought he had crossed the finish line and pulled up then realized the race wasn't over and he got passed and finished second.

[Pumpy Tudors]

King of the DNF at the 2006 games.

& Biggest bust in Olympic history... BODE MILLER:
This reminds me of Lindsey Jacobellis. While a snowboarding race isn't going to compare to something like the World Series or a basketball championship game, this fits into my definition of "blunder" perfectly, plus it cost her a gold medal.


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[Oilers9911]

I can't see what happened there at all...did he put it in off the goalie?

Yep, he came out from behind the net and went to pass the puck up the ice and banked it in off the goalie's leg. Bad part was it put them down a goal...even worse was it was game 7. However the Oilers still had alot of time left to tie it up and couldn't.

[Ksyrup]

Here's an interesting read on the Merkle Boner. Would be even more interesting to see how something like this would be handled today:



But despite all these notable dimensions, the most famous incident of the season occurred on September 23 when John McGraw's Giants met Chance's Cubs in New York. The incident is well-known. Rookie Giant firstbaseman Fred Merkle singled to right field with two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied. The next batter, Al Bridwell, hit a single to center which scored the baserunner Moose McCormick. Seeing McCormick cross the plate, Merkle - as was the custom of the time in such situations - headed for the Giant clubhouse in center field. Cub secondbaseman Evers - a stickler for rules - noticed that Merkle had not gone on to touch second. Evers called for the ball (whether it was the genuine ball that was hit is debatable), tagged second and appealed to umpire Bob Emslie who did not see the play and refused to make the call. He appealed to his partner, the famous Hank O'Day who granted Evan's appeal and called Merkle out on a force play. The Giants had left the field, celebrating their victory when umpire O'Day declared the game a tie. When the game was made up on October 8th with the Giants and Cubs tied in the standings, the Giants lost the game - and lost the pennant.

Writers labeled Merkle's acts as "bonehead" and "Merkle's Boner" became enshrined in baseball history. The play ruined his reputation as a ballplayer. Anderson tells more of this story, explaining how a similar play had occurred in a game the month before involving Pirate rookie Doc Gill. He faults McGraw for not stressing this game with his players who would then have been better prepared in the event of a similar situation.

Anderson also notes that this incident helped end the life of National League President Harry C. Pulliam. The rule that players must touch the next base when the winning run scored with two outs was on the books, but was not invoked in practice. It was commonly assumed that the game ended when there was no play on the winning run crossing the plate. Pulliam's indecision about what to do and failure to schedule a make-up game the next day prolonged the controversy over the play and led to his pilloring by the New York press. On July 28, 1909, he committed suicide by a gunshot wound to the head in the New York Athletic Club.

The Merkle incident so marred Fred Merkle's life that in the Foreword to this book Keith Olbermann recounts that Merkle's youngest daughter told him that in the 1930's, "a quarter century after that 23rd of September, 1908, a visiting minister had come to her family's church in Florida. 'I want to begin,' he chuckled from the pulpit, 'by admitting to you an ugly secret. I am from Toledo, Ohio; birthplace of the infamous Fred 'Bonehead' Merkle.' Fred Merkle silently stood up and led his family out the door."

[Mr. Wednesday]

What about the dude from Columbia or whatever South American country it was that scored an own goal and got shot to death when he came home? From the blunderer's standpoint, it doesn't get much worse than that!
That's true, but it's pretty pedestrian from the point of view of the play itself&mdash;Agoos had a more spectacular OG for the U.S. in 2002, and there are a bunch of other really spectacular blunders out there on video. It's the consequences (losing the game, failing to advance, getting shot) that separate it.

[Maple Leafs]

Not really the "biggest", but I always laugh at Larry Walker giving the ball to the fan with two outs and then having to run over and get it back.

[molson]

This reminds me of Lindsey Jacobellis. While a snowboarding race isn't going to compare to something like the World Series or a basketball championship game, this fits into my definition of "blunder" perfectly, plus it cost her a gold medal.



It's hard to get much worse than that - that's Leon Lett showboating and losing the ball except with the game on the line.

[Atocep]

For baseball fans, Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders is a fun read. He doesn't really rank the blunders, instead he chooses quite a few that he wanted to write about. Some of them are the Cubs hiring Dusty Baker, some managerial moves, an entire section on trades, and a bunch of others.

One of the more entertaining ones was probably the Cubs College of Coaches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Coaches


Anyways, its a quick read and a book I strongly recommend for Rob Neyer fans.

[albionmoonlight]

How about the whole Joe Smith fiasco. Paying a guy under the table, who hasn't amounted to much more than a role player and losing, two first rounders?

And making sure that you put the whole thing in writing so that there is no doubt about what you did.

[Kodos]

Leon Lett comes to mind. :)

I think whoever passed on drafting Michael Jordan has to get credit here too.

[Travis]

Maybe not during an actual play, but how about Gus Frerotte's little oopsie after a touchdown?

And I'll definitely vote for the Leon Lett/Don Beebe play, that was spectacular.

[Ksyrup]

The Lett/Beebe thing really didn't matter in the bigger context of the game, since it was a blowout. His blunder in the Thanksgiving snow game against the Dolphins changed the outcome of the game.

[SFL Cat]

Buckner.

Certainly one of the biggest in terms of its notoriety.

Seconded.

Also, Norwood's botched FG attempt that would have given the Bills a Super Bowl victory comes to mind, although in fairness, that might be considered more of a choke than a blunder.

[MIJB#19]

That's true, but it's pretty pedestrian from the point of view of the play itself&mdash;Agoos had a more spectacular OG for the U.S. in 2002, and there are a bunch of other really spectacular blunders out there on video. It's the consequences (losing the game, failing to advance, getting shot) that separate it.Good points, except that Escobar (the Columbian defender) was said to be killed in a drugs war shooting and it had nothing to do with the USA'94 disappointment. Now, I wasn't there myself either, so it'll probably remain one of those fairy tales about why he was killed.

[Ksyrup]

Good points, except that Escobar (the Columbian defender) was said to be killed in a drugs war shooting and it had nothing to do with the USA'94 disappointment. Now, I wasn't there myself either, so it'll probably remain one of those fairy tales about why he was killed.

Really? That's disappointing (you know what I mean...!).

[Huckleberry]

Some comments on things already mentioned:

1.) Two teams passed on drafting Jordan. However, one of them took Olajuwon. The other, Portland, took Sam Bowie.

2.) I remember hearing that the guy that shot Escobar shouted "Auto! Auto! Auto!" as he shot him.

3.) Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal. Hardly a chip shot. I wonder what the percentage on field goal attempts longer than 45 yards was in 1990.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm with our resident college football expert Huckleberry on one thing here. I've never understood why people rip on Scott Norwood so much. Even with all the good kickers who have come and gone since then, there are very few I would expect that kick from. Adam Vinatieri, obviously, and maybe somebody like Jason Elam or Morten Andersen in their primes, but who would really send Scott Norwood out for that field goal attempt and think that it's "lights out"? Gary Anderson's miss against Atlanta in the NFC championship game was a much bigger choke to me, just on a smaller stage.

Yes, Norwood could have made the kick, and since he was collecting a paycheck, you can say that he should have made the kick, but I just can't bury the guy for missing. For the past 15+ years, a lot of people have. That's a shame.

[bhlloy]

I think Buckner & Steve Smith have got to be the two worst of all time. I feel really sorry for Smith to this day - he was a great guy and a very reliable, stand-up for your teammates defensemen.

As for Norwood, yeah he blew it but it's a 47 yarder. I agree with Pumpy & Huck - it's a tough miss but it's not in the same category as the two above. I'd say Vanderjagt in the playoffs two years ago was worse where he nearly put it in the stands to the side of the field. The guy was the most accurate kicker in history for a while and he just freaking choked away a Super Bowl place.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'd say Vanderjagt in the playoffs two years ago was worse where he nearly put it in the stands to the side of the field. The guy was the most accurate kicker in history for a while and he just freaking choked away a Super Bowl place.
lol

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2945/hemissedit11zf.gifhttp://img15.imageshack.us/img15/1945/hemissedit22qs.gif
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/9598/hemissedit30as.gifhttp://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2426/hemissedit44lx.gif

[oykib]

I'm with our resident college football expert Huckleberry on one thing here. I've never understood why people rip on Scott Norwood so much. Even with all the good kickers who have come and gone since then, there are very few I would expect that kick from. Adam Vinatieri, obviously, and maybe somebody like Jason Elam or Morten Andersen in their primes, but who would really send Scott Norwood out for that field goal attempt and think that it's "lights out"? Gary Anderson's miss against Atlanta in the NFC championship game was a much bigger choke to me, just on a smaller stage.

Yes, Norwood could have made the kick, and since he was collecting a paycheck, you can say that he should have made the kick, but I just can't bury the guy for missing. For the past 15+ years, a lot of people have. That's a shame.

Well, Bill Parcells has said in numerous interviews that Norwood had never made a kick of 45+ yards on a grass field and that he wasn't concerned at the time.

If you look at his face in the replay, he doesn't seem to be.

[Ksyrup]

You guys don't know your choke from a hole in the blunder. :)

Seriously, the whole choke/blunder line is getting pretty blurry in this thread. And why Norwood is being discussed as either is confusing, too.

[Atocep]

Blunders are a "what the hell was he thinking?", not a "I can't believe he missed that".

[Pumpy Tudors]

To be fair, even though SFL Cat brought up Norwood, he admitted that it was a choke instead of a blunder. After that, the rest of us just kinda chimed in on how Norwood maybe doesn't deserve all the grief he got over his miss. It ended up kinda being a segue into my mention of Gary Anderson and bhlloy's mention of Vanderjagt. I'm not so sure that any of us are really referring to those things as blunders. :)

Of course, this leads me to ask about Buckner. Did Bill Buckner commit a blunder? Yes, the ball went through his legs, but it's not like he was trying to barehand the ball unnecessarily. He just missed it. Maybe the manager made a blunder by leaving Buckner in the game, but I don't know if Buckner's error itself was a blunder.

Leon Lett in the Thanksgiving game against Miami was a blunder. Lindsey Jacobellis showboating and costing herself a gold medal is a blunder. Steve Smith banking the puck off his goaltender (even by accident) is a blunder. I guess the difference between these things and Buckner's error was that everyone but Buckner could have made a clear alternate decision. Lett could've stayed away from the ball. Jacobellis could've stayed upright. Smith could've sent the puck the other way or just held on to it. Buckner just... missed it.

Anyway, perhaps I'm analyzing this way too much. To add content, I'll throw in the end of the New Orleans/New York AFL game that was on ESPN2 last week. The VooDoo, down by 6 points, had 1st-and-goal at New York's 1 with 40 seconds to go. They got stopped on first down, but on second down, the quarterback had a clear path to the end zone. He could have walked in. He could have crawled in. He chose to down the ball because he wanted to make the Dragons use their last timeout. On third and fourth downs, the VooDoo got stuffed at the goal line, and the Dragons got out of New Orleans with a 69-63 victory.

Biggest blunder in sports history? No. Biggest blunder in AFL history? No. Biggest blunder that made me throw something across a room? Absolutely. :)

[Dr. Sak]

The one blunder I can think of (and it hurts me to say this because he's my favorite golfer) is Phil Mickelson taking a driver out on the 72nd hole of the US Open last year.

[Ksyrup]

Of course, this leads me to ask about Buckner. Did Bill Buckner commit a blunder? Yes, the ball went through his legs, but it's not like he was trying to barehand the ball unnecessarily. He just missed it. Maybe the manager made a blunder by leaving Buckner in the game, but I don't know if Buckner's error itself was a blunder.

Leon Lett in the Thanksgiving game against Miami was a blunder. Lindsey Jacobellis showboating and costing herself a gold medal is a blunder. Steve Smith banking the puck off his goaltender (even by accident) is a blunder. I guess the difference between these things and Buckner's error was that everyone but Buckner could have made a clear alternate decision. Lett could've stayed away from the ball. Jacobellis could've stayed upright. Smith could've sent the puck the other way or just held on to it. Buckner just... missed it.

Anyway, perhaps I'm analyzing this way too much.

No, I think that's where I was going with my comment.

[BrianD]

The one blunder I can think of (and it hurts me to say this because he's my favorite golfer) is Phil Mickelson taking a driver out on the 72nd hole of the US Open last year.

Jean VandeVelde (sp?) in the British open a few years ago doing the same thing was pretty bad...especially since he wasn't nearly as big a name and won't have chances like this as often.

[Jas_lov]

Jean VandeVelde (sp?) in the British open a few years ago doing the same thing was pretty bad...especially since he wasn't nearly as big a name and won't have chances like this as often.

I remember watching this and thinking what the hell is this guy doing? He had a 3 shot lead on the 18th hole and all he had to do was hit an iron down the fairway, but he used his driver and missed the fairway. He then tried to hit the green on his next couple shots and ended up hitting the grandstands and landing in really deep rough, landed in the water and took a penalty shot, landed in a sand bunker, and finally putted for triple bogey and a playoff, but lost it. This incident is all that Van de Velde is known for so I think he'd have to be high on the list of sports blunders.

[Tigercat]

"Oh my God, how could he do that?!"

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3859613640694138236&q=river+city+relay

I vote the end of the River City Relay, one of the craziest plays in NFL history. If the Saints would have won this game played towards the end of the season, they would have gone to the playoffs. They needed a miracle in their own territory down by 7 with only a few seconds left. They got their miracle on offense, only to miss overtime because one of the most consistent kickers in the NFL somehow missed an extra point.

[JeeberD]

The Lett/Beebe thing really didn't matter in the bigger context of the game, since it was a blowout. His blunder in the Thanksgiving snow game against the Dolphins changed the outcome of the game.

We still won the Super Bowl that year, so how much did that loss really matter?

[dime]

uh...I'll take "not drafting micheal jordan" for $100, alex.

[DaddyTorgo]

shit dime. You beat me by 16 minutes. I was just about to say that

[DaddyTorgo]

that and "trading babe ruth to the yankees"

[Groundhog]

For a fun "what-if", imagine a wing-tandem of Jordan-Drexler.

[Karlifornia]

Plaxico Burress spiking the ball before the whistle blew.

[Groundhog]

lol

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2945/hemissedit11zf.gifhttp://img15.imageshack.us/img15/1945/hemissedit22qs.gif
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/9598/hemissedit30as.gifhttp://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2426/hemissedit44lx.gif

That is one of the greatest things I've ever seen...

What's Manning saying, looks like "That piece of shit..." to me.

[stevew]

Fred Brown to James Worthy.....horrible quality, but I'm sure a ton of us remember this play.


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[Vince]

That is one of the greatest things I've ever seen...

What's Manning saying, looks like "That piece of shit..." to me.

"He missed it..."

You gotta give it to Manning for smiling, though.


Though they might not fit the definition of 'blunder,' I'm surprised it took so long to come up with Bill Buckner and Wide Right.

[JeeberD]

uh...I'll take "not drafting micheal jordan" for $100, alex.


As a Rockets fan, I have to disagree with you, Kodos, and DT. I'm perfectly happy with the franchise's decision to draft (H)Akeem Olajuwon...

[MIJB#19]

As a Rockets fan, I have to disagree with you, Kodos, and DT. I'm perfectly happy with the franchise's decision to draft (H)Akeem Olajuwon...And what was the Portland Trail Blazers excuse?

[JeeberD]

Did any of them specifically say that they were only talking about the Jailblazers?

[Pumpy Tudors]

Great call on the Fred Brown blunder, stevew. I'd forgotten about that. That's got to be one of the biggest blunders in sports history, and certainly one of the biggest in the past 30 years. For me, that play is one of the most difficult things for me to watch, because it looks like Fred Brown realized his mistake at the very instant that the ball left his hands. If he had noticed a fraction of a second earlier, he could have maybe pulled the ball back in.

My goodness, it hurts me to watch that one, even 25 years later.

[Mr. Wednesday]

"He missed it..."
Maybe, but it doesn't look quite right for that.

[DaddyTorgo]

As a Rockets fan, I have to disagree with you, Kodos, and DT. I'm perfectly happy with the franchise's decision to draft (H)Akeem Olajuwon...

so you're happy with not having won a slew of titles and having had some of the greatest teams in history?

sidebar: my grandmother used to work out with Olajuwon at the University Club in Houston. Said he's a real nice guy.

[Huckleberry]

so you're happy with not having won a slew of titles and having had some of the greatest teams in history?

sidebar: my grandmother used to work out with Olajuwon at the University Club in Houston. Said he's a real nice guy.

He was the hometown kid and led the franchise to multiple NBA titles, ending his career as one of the best centers to ever play the game and a no-doubter inclusion in the Top 50 at 50.

So, no, that doesn't qualify as a blunder. But if you want to then we can include every team that didn't draft Tom Brady, multiple times, and even the Patriots for the picks before Brady. And every team that didn't draft Walter Payton and Jerry Rice. And that didn't draft Rickey Henderson and Greg Maddux and Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, etc.

[Warhammer]

so you're happy with not having won a slew of titles and having had some of the greatest teams in history?

sidebar: my grandmother used to work out with Olajuwon at the University Club in Houston. Said he's a real nice guy.

First, let's not forget that Houston won back to back titles with him.

Second, I'm not sure that the Bulls win in 94 even if they had Jordan. That Houston team was awesome. Would have been the most difficult matchup the Bulls would have had in any of their championship runs.

[wishbone]

uh...I'll take "not drafting micheal jordan" for $100, alex.

From http://bigbluehistory.net/bb/bowie.html

Of course in hindsight, the choice to pick Jordan over Bowie would be made by anyone. However at the time, the Trailblazers did not have a crystal ball. Indeed, no one forsaw the mercurial rise of Jordan. Even the Bulls did not know what they had and were considering trading the pick for a center such as Jack Sikma or Tree Rollins. The article above of June 17, 1984 in the Chicago Tribune just prior to the draft is no longer on-line, so below are some excerpts:

"The Bulls' decision to select Jordan, a 6-foot-6-inch All-America guard with unlimited potential was dictated by their No. 3 position in the draft order. Lack of a dominating center is the major reason they have lost 111 games in the last two seasons, but there are only two can't miss pivotmen this time - and both will be gone by the time the Bulls make their choice."

.....

"Frustrated in their bid to land center Jack Sikma from Seattle, the Bulls again went after ex-De Paul star Terry Cummings last week. A proposed three-way trade involving Cummings' Los Angeles Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks and the Bulls reportedly fell through."

....

"That left only two established starting centers available: Tree Rollins of the Atlanta Hawks and Joe Barry Carroll, a free agent anxious to leave the Golden State Warriors. Carroll's agent, Howard Shusher, is demanding a long-term contract at $2 million a year. 'Atlanta is willing to trade Rollins to us but the asking price is prohibitive,' Thorn said. 'We might consider giving Carroll an offer sheet.'"

The Blazers picked according to their needs and the evaluation of the talent as they saw it. Portland was a team on the rise. They did not gain the second pick due to a poor record, instead they were in the enviable and rare position of having the second pick to add to a winning team. They had the opportunity to draft a top-notch player to complement their team and put them over the top. Their main need was at center. At the time, the Pacific division was still dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers and the inside presence of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Blazers' Mychal Thompson was a good, active inside player but he did not have the necessary bulk to play center. It was thought Thompson would do better at the power forward position if they could add a force at center. One major strength of the team was in their shooting guards. They had an all-star in Jim Paxson along with a great athlete and budding superstar in Clyde Drexler. To top that off, they had just acquired high scoring Kiki Vandeweghe as their small forward. Simply put, Portland was stocked at the shooting guard position and had plenty of scorers. Their need was a defensive presence who could dominate the lane and rebound.

[stevew]

Great call on the Fred Brown blunder, stevew. I'd forgotten about that. That's got to be one of the biggest blunders in sports history, and certainly one of the biggest in the past 30 years. For me, that play is one of the most difficult things for me to watch, because it looks like Fred Brown realized his mistake at the very instant that the ball left his hands. If he had noticed a fraction of a second earlier, he could have maybe pulled the ball back in.

My goodness, it hurts me to watch that one, even 25 years later.

Yeah, that one was sheer pain. I know that guy probably has nightmares about it, to this day. You can just tell he wanted the pass back the second he threw it. I know the Webber thing was more recent, and it was a big boner of him. But Georgetown still had a time out I believe, plus had Sleepy Floyd and Ewing on that team. They surely could have gotten a better play together than that, and had a chance to win.

[Fonzie]

Do referee blunders count as well? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slHZFzR4D5A, scroll to 1:21 mins for one of the most obvious off-side goals in soccer history. It was the (2-2) equalizer in the 2002 Dutch Cup Final, scored in the 3rd minute of added time to the second half.

If official blunders count, I'd nominate Mr. Don Denkinger:

http://redbirdnation.blogspot.com/denkinger295x374.jpg

[daedalus]

With the second pick of the 1984 NBA draft, the Portland Trailblazer selects . . .

[Maple Leafs]

Ladies and gentlemen, you're 2007 Stanley Cup winning goal...

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[Dr. Sak]

Can you imagine if he did that at home in Ottawa. It would've been a perfect setup for a Southwest Commerical...going anywhere?

[Huckleberry]

Ladies and gentlemen, you're 2007 Stanley Cup winning goal...

I am?