Sports Blue Balls

"And now here's Ken Rosenthal, joined by Tommy Lasorda."

 

The fair catch. A punt return by a lethal open field runner is about the most exciting play in football--if not ruined by that damn fair catch signal.

 

Disagree. A block is always exciting, and if it preserves a win, even more so.

 

Any pivotal football play that gets delayed because of a false start, or a great play that gets negated because of a penalty.

A tight NASCAR race is into the last 3-5 laps and someone has a wreck or car trouble, bringing out the caution. Which of course happens in every race.

Big baseball at-bat being interrupted by pick-off attempts.

 

Two-minute warning in the middle of a game-winning drive ...

 

I don't mind it so much on field goals of normal length (under 50 yards, let's say), but when someone lines up for a 65-yarder I want to see them get a clean look at it. Even if it misses, that's still an exciting play.
Now, the exception to that is if the team returns the blocked FG for a touchdown. Those are always awesome, too.

 

I'm with you on that. I was thinking more of the normal length FGAs (I'd say under 54 yards) because they're just not blocked often.

 

Every timeout and forced free throw
in the last five minutes of a basketball game.

Let 'em play. This ain't a chess match.

 

Mickelson rimming out his putt for 59 was a HUGE one for me last year.

The inbounds play where a college basketball underdog is down 2 with under 5 seconds to play ... Knowing they'll hoist a 3 and it ends up rimming out.

rb

 

A gutless third-base coach who holds a runner at third with two out in the bottom of the ninth, down one run and the hottest pitcher in baseball on the mound, when said runner was halfway between second and third when the left fielder picked up the ball near the wall and the cutoff man was in shallow left field.

Especially when the next batter weakly fouls out to third.

 

A home run that curls just foul. Very rarely does the same batter come back and hit one fair.

I remember Chipper Jones did it for a walk-off homer in a 15-13 game against the Phillies a couple of years ago, and it was incredible.

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=320502115

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqSDJnG1ybo

But this is perhaps the all-timer. In 2003, the Saints executed a multi-lateral touchdown on the last play of the game against the Jaguars to get within 20-19 ... then John Carney missed the extra point:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/0ap2000000263575/Saints-vs-Jaguars-Multi-Lateral-TD-Missed-Field-Goal-12-21-03

 

Darryl Motley in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vK5p3_G5wM