What could finally break the seemingly invincible New York Yankee reliever Joba Chamberlain? How about a few million gnats descending on the 22-year-old as he tries to hold the Yankees' 1-0 lead in the eighth inning of their Game 2 loss? Yep, that would do it. In honor of Joba and his newly eliminated Yankees, here are the top 10 collisions of the sports world and the animal kingdom.
10. Joba the Bug Magnet.
Joba could not handle the bugs in his eyes, mouth and all over his skin, and proceeded to give up two walks, hit a batter and throw two wild pitches to allow the Indians to tie the game, which they would then win in the 11th inning. Cleveland went on to take one of two at Yankee Stadium to win the NLDS.
9 Pooping Pigeons.
In one of the most bizarre stories so far in the 2007 NFL season, the Cincinnati Bengals' fans are suffering from air raids of pigeon droppings during home games at Paul Brown Stadium. Having heard the complaints, the team instructed employees to point laser pointers at the pigeons, which have been nesting in the rafters, hoping to annoy them enough to make them leave the stadium. After the Monday night loss to the New England Patriots last week, the team asked permission of city officials to use air-powered rifles to kill the birds, but now PETA is on the case of the team. Maybe the bird feces are a good excuse for their 1-3 start?
8. Gator vs. Gilmore.
This is why you don't play golf in Florida. Remember that scene in "Happy Gilmore" (1996) when an alligator appeared out of nowhere and ate Happy's ball? Realizing it was the same gator that stole his mentor Chubb's hand, Happy grabbed the gator, wrestled with him and ultimately triumphed with a stunning headbutt to retrieve his ball. Unfortunately, Happy did not have the same success against Bob Barker.
7. Tour de Armadillo.
Dan Schmatz and teammate Jonathan Garcia may have practiced their endurance, but apparently not their steering, as the professional bikers rode into an armadillo during the Tour of Missouri cycling race. Schmatz was hospitalized after falling off his bike during the collision with the wayward animal. Maybe this is why the Tour de France isn't held in the Midwest.
6. Killer Bees.
A 2005 spring training game featuring the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Colorado Rockies was called due to swarming killer bees terrorizing the players on the field. In Joba-esque fashion, the bees were particularly attracted to Rockies pitcher Darren Oliver, who blamed the insects' fascination with him on the coconut oil in his hair gel. You have to wonder why he felt the need to use the gel if he was going to be wearing a hat all day. We're not going to say he was asking for it, but to the extent that anyone plans their hairstyle on the possibility of a run-in with a swarm of killer bees, he was asking for it.
5. Smokey VI.
After a 1991 game against UCLA, the Tennessee Volunteers had an unlikely addition to their injury list. The team's Bluetick Coonhound mascot, Smokey, was the first dog to make the injury report after he suffered from heat exhaustion during the game. The Vols' opponents must have been relieved not to have to account for him in the game plan.
4. The Billy Goat.
Billy Sianis, a Cubs fan who owned what is now called the "Billy Goat Tavern," had two seats to Game 4 of the Cubs' 1945 World Series against Detroit. The second seat, of course, was for his pet goat, Murphy. After Sianis and his pet were ejected due to complaints of the goat's foul odor, he allegedly placed a curse on the team: that they would never win another pennant because of the treatment his goat received. Since then, the score is Goat 62, Cubs 0. The 37 years between the 1908 Word Series and the goat incident? Well...
3. The Black Cat.
Later in the Cubs' unforgettably unfortunate 20th-century history, a black cat found its way into Shea Stadium and circled Cubs third baseman Ron Santo while he was in the on-deck circle. The Cubs would then collapse in their 1969 season and allow the Mets to take the division, and then the World Series. "Miracle Mets" indeed.
2. Randy Johnson vs. Pigeon.
While the Big Unit was pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks, he threw one of the most memorable fastballs of his career - in a 2001 spring training game. Did it result in a crucial strikeout or an inning-ending double-play? No, it resulted in an explosion. A dove on an ill-fated flight path poof-ed into a cloud of feathers. The baffled umpire called it a "no-pitch."
1. "Larry" Bird.
In Game 2 of the 1991 Eastern Conference semifinals, the Detroit Pistons were leading with five minutes left in the third quarter. All of a sudden, a pigeon flew out onto the floor of the Boston Garden. Celtics fans began chanting, "Larry, Larry," for superstar Larry Bird as the pigeon was chased around by the officials. At the end of the shenanigans, the Celtics' own Bird ended up leading his team to a series-tying victory. Celtics forward Kevin McHale summed up the bizarre events by saying, "City pigeons must be smarter or something."
