Wednesday's Hot Clicks: The 114 Best Sports Moments of 2014

Programming Note: There will be one version of Hot Clicks today, tomorrow and Friday. Please plan accordingly. The 114 Best Moments of 2014You know it's a
Wednesday's Hot Clicks: The 114 Best Sports Moments of 2014
Wednesday's Hot Clicks: The 114 Best Sports Moments of 2014 /

Programming Note: There will be one version of Hot Clicks today, tomorrow and Friday. Please plan accordingly. 

The 114 Best Moments of 2014

Odell Beckham Jr. :: AP

You know it's a good year in sports when something as atrocious as 50 Cent's first pitch (a.k.a. - the worst first pitch in baseball history) barely makes the list of top sports moments. We looked high (Paul Bissonnette's helicopter Ice Bucket Challenge) and low (tiny fist-bumping Bruins fan) to find the 114 most astounding, extraordinary, indelible, outrageous and unforgettable sports moments of 2014. Find out what made the cut.

Best Beard in Sports

Alexander Ovechkin's biggest fan made his return to the Verizon Center on Monday and his amazing 8-beard is doing better than ever.

A-Rod Back on the Market

Rumors are flying that Alex Rodriguez is a free man after ending his relationship with Torrie Wilson. And since it's nearly Christmas, here's an eggnog match between Wilson and Stacy Keibler from their WWE days.

Lovely Lady of the Day

Melanie Iglesias got into the holiday spirit with these Christmas GIFs, and any excuse to post Melanie Iglesias photos is one I gladly take (click here for full-size gallery). 

Jack the Bulldog

One Way To Celebrate Hanukkah

Eye in the Sky

The Rocks Says ... Merry Christmas

Odds & Ends

Glen "Big Baby" Davis accidentally kicked a fan in the head during last night's Clippers-Hawks game ... Great feel-good story about a high school student giving a classmate who was bullied new sneakers ... Ryan Lavarnway has been on four major league teams since Dec. 5 ... Serge Ibaka and LaMarcus Aldridge nearly came to blows last night ... 2014 NFL Pro Bowl rosters ... Puck Daddy's Hanukkah All-Stars ... My lovely wife Dori does not like grammar errors, especially at Whole Foods (It's a good thing she's more forgiving when it comes to Hot Clicks) ... Buy your Kansas City Royals: World Series Champions t-shirts ... The very first Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center (from 1931) ... More proof Mindy Kaling is funnier than you and I ... Allison Brie makes for a nice Santa Claus.

Athletes in Santa Costumes

Sports Figures in Santa Costumes

Joe DiMaggio (1941)

joe-dimaggio-santa-newborn-son.jpg
Sports Studio Photos/Getty Images

Babe Ruth (1947)

babe-ruth-santa_0.jpg
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Willie Mays (1977)

willie-mays-santa.jpg
David Pickoff/AP

Mark Messier (1991)

Mark-Messier-Santa.jpg
Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images

Andy Cole (1993)

Andy-Cole-Santa.jpg
Bob Thomas/Getty Images

Larry Bird (circa 1995)

Larry-Bird-Santa.jpg
Marc Hauser Photography Ltd/Getty Images

Joey Galloway (1995)

Joey-Galloway-Santa.jpg
Robert Sorbo/AP

Tony Adams (1996)

Tony-Adams-Santa.jpg
Popperfoto/Getty Images

Evander Holyfield (1997)

Evander-Holyfield-Santa-006274250hr.jpg
George Lange

Don King (1998)

don-king-santa-evander-holyfield-lennox-lewis.jpg
Neil Leifer

with Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis

David Wells (1998)

David-Wells-Santa-05784077.jpg
Michael O'Neill

Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe (2002)

Ricky-Hatton-Joe-Calzaghe-Santa.jpg
John Gichigi/Getty Images

Ervin Johnson (2002)

Ervin-Johnson-Santa.jpg
Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

Barry Switzer and Thurman Thomas (2005)

barry-switzer-thurman-thomas-santa.jpg
Ty Russell/AP

Kris and Anna Benson (2005)

Kris-Benson-Santa-wife-Anna-Mrs-Claus.jpg
Ron Antonelli/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

David Wright (2006)

David-Wright-Santa.jpg
Frank Franklin II/AP

Tommy Lasorda (2006)

Tommy-Lasorda-Santa.jpg
Jon Soohoo/WireImage

Bill Belichick (2007)

Bill-Belichick-Santa-075960685cov.jpg
Photo Illustration by SI Imaging; David Goldman/Boston Herald/Polaris (Belichick); Peter Gregoire (costume)

Glen Davis (2007)

glen-davis-santa.jpg
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Patrick O'Bryant (2008)

Patrick-O'Bryant-Santa.jpg
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

with Ray Allen, Glen Davis and Kevin Garnett

Mike Pelfrey (2008)

Mike-Pelfrey-Santa.jpg
Mike Stobe/Getty Images

with Francisco Rodriquez and John Maine

Chris Andersen (2009)

Chris-Andersen-Santa.jpg
Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

Monta Ellis (2010)

monta-ellis-santa.jpg
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

DeMarcus Cousins (2013)

demarcus-cousins-santa.jpg
Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

Nick Mangold (2015)

2015-Nick-Mangold-Santa-Claus.jpg
Julio Cortez/AP

From Joe DiMaggio to DeMarcus Cousins, here's a history of sports figures dressing up like Santa Claus.

Year-End Lists (sports-related)

Best sports memes ... Best sports media feuds ... Best athlete tweets ... Top 10 NBA Moments ... Best sports vines ... Top 10 WWE matches ... Best quotes ... Top 10 NHL players ... Best things that happened in baseball ... Worst sports-related commercials ... Top 10 college basketball moments ... Best NFL rookies ... Best troll jobs ... 10 craziest stories you never heard about ... Top 100 Wackiest Sports photos.

Year-End Lists (non-sports related)

Top 100 photos ... Top music news stories ... TV power rankings ... 20 best advertisements ... Most overpaid actors ... Top 75 albums ...  Top 25 TV moments ... Top 10 magazine covers ... 30 best TV shows ... (most importantly) The year in celebrity sideboob.

Vlade!

Former Lakers great Vlade Divac sinks a halfcourt shot for $90,000. The money will go to charity.

Deja Vu

Damian Lillard drilled a buzzer-beating three-pointer last night to send the Blazers to overtime against the Thunder. It's almost the same exact shot he converted in the playoffs to defeat Houston last year. This video is a side-by-side comparison of the two plays. (H/T FTW)

Troops Return Home For Holidays

A supercut of military members reuniting with their families. Grab your tissues.

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Published
Andy Gray
ANDY GRAY

A senior editor atSI.com, Andy Gray oversees Hot Clicks, Extra Mustard and the Swimsuit site. A Boston sports loyalist and Columbia graduate, he joined SI in 2005.