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)
Sports Studio Photos/Getty Images
Babe Ruth (1947)
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Willie Mays (1977)
David Pickoff/AP
Mark Messier (1991)
Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images
Andy Cole (1993)
Bob Thomas/Getty Images
Larry Bird (circa 1995)
Marc Hauser Photography Ltd/Getty Images
Joey Galloway (1995)
Robert Sorbo/AP
Tony Adams (1996)
Popperfoto/Getty Images
Evander Holyfield (1997)
George Lange
Don King (1998)
Neil Leifer
David Wells (1998)
Michael O'Neill
Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe (2002)
John Gichigi/Getty Images
Ervin Johnson (2002)
Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images
Barry Switzer and Thurman Thomas (2005)
Ty Russell/AP
Kris and Anna Benson (2005)
Ron Antonelli/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
David Wright (2006)
Frank Franklin II/AP
Tommy Lasorda (2006)
Jon Soohoo/WireImage
Bill Belichick (2007)
Photo Illustration by SI Imaging; David Goldman/Boston Herald/Polaris (Belichick); Peter Gregoire (costume)
Glen Davis (2007)
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Patrick O'Bryant (2008)
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Mike Pelfrey (2008)
Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Chris Andersen (2009)
Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Monta Ellis (2010)
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
DeMarcus Cousins (2013)
Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
Nick Mangold (2015)
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.
