Worst Calls In Sports History

[Schmidty]

Michigan State-Georgia Tech, 1990 Sweet 16.

I still say Kenny Anderson hit that damned shot after the buzzer. I think I threw up, I was so pissed.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

???

huve

[stevew]

The one where derek fisher got a shot off in .4 seconds.

Nope.

[Mustang]

No one commented on -


Mike Renfro's Out of Bounds

The Houston Texans receiver appeared to catch the tying touchdown in the 1980 AFC Championship Game against Pittsburgh, but was incorrectly ruled out of bounds. (AP Photo)

[mckerney]

Drew Pearson not getting called for pushing off on The Hail Mary.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

Michigan State-Georgia Tech, 1990 Sweet 16.

I still say Kenny Anderson hit that damned shot after the buzzer. I think I threw up, I was so pissed.

Well, I was there, and I may be a bit biased. A very close play, which CBS replays broke down ad infinitum. Even with the super slow, white noise machine on, you couldn't really tell if he beat it or not. Because it's so close, you can't really say it's the worst call in sports history.

And if your best player had hit a free throw...

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by digamma

Well, I was there, and I may be a bit biased. A very close play, which CBS replays broke down ad infinitum. Even with the super slow, white noise machine on, you couldn't really tell if he beat it or not. Because it's so close, you can't really say it's the worst call in sports history.

And if your best player had hit a free throw...

Yeah, I was holding off on commenting because I'm obviously biased towards Tech here. The consensus on all of the various sports shows for the next week was at best it was inconclusive. I have no idea if he did get the ball off in time, but I honestly haven't seen anything yet that makes me think that he didn't.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Mustang

No one commented on -


Mike Renfro's Out of Bounds

The Houston Texans receiver appeared to catch the tying touchdown in the 1980 AFC Championship Game against Pittsburgh, but was incorrectly ruled out of bounds. (AP Photo)

Probably because it didn't deserve to be in the list. No doubt Renfro made the catch and it was a bad call. But it was very close and this was in the days before replay. Refs missed calls like this occasionally and that was the reason before replay. Also, it would have only tied the game in the 3rd quarter - it's not like the catch cost the Oilers the game as the Steelers scored the last 10 points to win the game by two touchdowns.

(and yea, I get the Houston Texans thing)

I'd argue that the Giant/SF (non-interference) call and the Music City Miracle (forward lateral) were far worse calls in recent history.

[stevew]

The Polamalu interception overturn was horrible.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by stevew

The Polamalu interception overturn was horrible.

Yep. The NFL actually apologized for that one.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I'd argue that the Giant/SF (non-interference) call and the Music City Miracle (forward lateral) were far worse calls in recent history.

The Music City Miracle was actually a great call. It was not a forward lateral at all.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I'd argue that the Giant/SF (non-interference) call and the Music City Miracle (forward lateral) were far worse calls in recent history.

Problem is the lateral was legal and not forward.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

The Music City Miracle was actually a great call. It was not a forward lateral at all.

+1

The ball was about a foot over the line when it was thrown and the same, or slightly less, when it was caught.

The only thing that makes it look bad is that the person throwing had his feet on one side of the line when he threw it (but his feet don't mean anything) and the player catching it had his feet upfield coming back to the ball, but the location of his feet don't matter.

[TroyF]

Matt Holliday being called safe in the one game playoff vs. the Padres.

You can essentially pick any of about 40 calls in the final quarter of the Kings/Lakers game six. Still the worst reffed sporting event I've seen in my life.

A couple of thoughts about other ones on the list:

1) The Miami PI call was 100% correct. I can't believe there is still debate about that one. It would have been a crime if that call would not have been made.

2) The tuck rule was called correctly and is still a rule.

3) The fifth down game has always been interesting on a ton of levels for me. Look at all of these factors:

CU had plenty of time to get the play off. You can see the QB look at the downs markers before spiking the ball. Had he looked over and seen a 4, he'd certainly have ran a play.

The CU QB probably never crossed the plane on the fifth down play, which was every bit of as bad a call as the down marker being screwed up.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

The Music City Miracle was actually a great call. It was not a forward lateral at all.

I guess that's why it's one of the most controversial calls in NFL history. I have no dog in the fight - TN and Buf aren't my teams - but here are the facts that any replay will bear out. When Wycheck throws the ball, both of his feet are on the TN side of the 25. When Dyson catches the ball, one foot of his is on the 25 and one is on the 26 yard line. He catches the ball between his legs, closer to the 25. This really isn't in dispute. I suppose the question is did Wycheck's arm cross the 25 enough to make it lateral or not? Frankly, I don't really know. Still, the Bills should have known better and should have been on the lookout for something like that. That no one was over there is a breakdown of epic proportions.

I always thought the non-interference call in the Giants/49ers game was the worst call in the last 20 years or so...even worse than the tuck rule (which ranks up there in absurdity).

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I guess that's why it's one of the most controversial calls in NFL history. I have no dog in the fight - TN and Buf aren't my teams - but here are the facts that any replay will bear out. When Wycheck throws the ball, both of his feet are on the TN side of the 25. When Dyson catches the ball, one foot of his is on the 25 and one is on the 26 yard line. He catches the ball between his legs, closer to the 25. This really isn't in dispute. I suppose the question is did Wycheck's arm cross the 25 enough to make it lateral or not? Frankly, I don't really know. Still, the Bills should have known better and should have been on the lookout for something like that. That no one was over there is a breakdown of epic proportions.

Your description alone makes the play ineligible for being considred one ofr the worst calls in history. To be a bad call, the general opinion would have to be that the call was wrong.

[Dr. Sak]

Feet have no bearing on anything. Arm motion has no bearing on anything. It is where the ball is released and where it ends up.

In High School the initial motion of the ball tells you whether or not it is forward or not. By rule in college and above you have to account at what yardline it was released and then note the ending point to determine if it is forward or not (this does not include deflections).