A document stolen from a baseball field. A car moved by rugby players. A umpire lifted like Simba in The Lion King. Overview of the most unusual stories of a sporting year like no other.
The villain of the year
Suriname vice-president Ronnie Brunswijk found himself on the pitch in a CONCACAF Champions League game – and it wasn’t to hand over a trophy.
L’homme de 60 ans a acheté le club Inter Moengotapoe, s’est autoproclamé capitaine et a inscrit son nom dans l’alignement partant.
Le pire ? Avant la partie, il s’est rendu dans le vestiaire du club hondurien Olimpia pour corrompre ses adversaires. Le pire du pire ? La scène a été filmée. Le pire du pire du pire ? L’Inter Moengotapoe a quand même perdu 6-0 !
L’espion de l’année
Kevin Kiermayer, rapide coureur des Rays de Tampa Bay, est capable de voler des buts… et des documents secrets. Il l’a démontré en septembre au cours d’une partie contre les Blue Jays de Toronto. À la suite d’un contact avec le receveur, Kiermayer a subtilement ramassé un morceau de papier échappé par son adversaire. Qu’y avait-il sur cette feuille ? Des petits secrets sur tous les frappeurs des Jays. Ces derniers ne s’en sont rendu compte que le lendemain. Ils étaient furieux. Leur réplique fut moins subtile que le geste initial : Kiemayer a été atteint d’une balle (rapide) dans le dos.
Le but de l’année
Ça n’aura pas pris un, ni deux, mais trois joueurs du club anglais de Plymouth pour pousser le ballon dans un filet déserté par le gardien. Un but qui ne coulait pas de source.
La défaite de l’année
Le club de soccer Tarbes Pyrénées a été éliminé de la Coupe de France… par un « s ». L’équipe était attendue au stade de Vabres-l’Abbaye. Sauf qu’un dirigeant a demandé au chauffeur de l’autocar de mettre le cap sur Vabre, sans « s », situé 90 kilomètres plus loin. Lorsqu’il a réalisé l’erreur, le chauffeur a rebroussé chemin vers la bonne destination. Sauf qu’il a été ralenti par une course cycliste, avant d’être carrément bloqué par un pont trop exigu. Les joueurs ont terminé le parcours à la course. Trop tard. Leurs adversaires avaient déjà gagné par forfait.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
L’étourderie de l’année
Une autre histoire de GPS ? Au terme du camp d’entraînement, l’espoir des Red Wings de Detroit Jonatan Berggren a été assigné aux Griffins de Grand Rapids. Il a donc inscrit le nom de la ville dans son GPS et a pris la route avec sa copine. Deux heures plus tard, arrivés à destination, ils ont été surpris par le centre-ville. Ou plutôt, l’absence de centre-ville. « J’avais lu que Grand Rapids était une grande ville, a-t-il expliqué à un journaliste suédois. Mais là, ça ressemblait plus à un village. Des fermiers nous ont accueillis. On a regardé [sur l’internet]. It was a village of only 700 people. ” What happened ? Berggren and his girlfriend traveled to Grand Rapids, Ohio, rather than Grand Rapids, Michigan. “My girlfriend told me I should have let her drive. I felt a bit like a character from the movie The bell and the idiot … ”
PHOTO IVANOH DEMERS, PRESS ARCHIVES
Grand Rapids Michigan
Teamwork of the year
The players of the Castres rugby team wanted to go to the stadium in Clermont-Ferrand. A badly parked car blocked their coach. A problem ? Not really. The players simply lifted the one-ton vehicle, moved it to allow the coach to pass, and then put it back exactly where it was. With them, no foolishness, it moves!
The red card of the year
There are plenty of ways to celebrate a victory. By lifting a player, a coach, a cup, a trophy. But a referee? This is what rugby player Josaia Raisuqe did, after a close game between the clubs of Nevers and Béziers. The scene was reminiscent of the film finale The Lion King – except that the official did not particularly like being in the role of Simba, and took out the red card.
Ball of the year
In Game 1 of the season, Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a home run over the fence. Except that his teammate Justin Turner, believing the ball had been caught, hiked the trails the wrong way … and passed Bellinger on his way. What was the arbitrator’s decision? Answer at the end of the chronicle.
PHOTO KIRBY LEE, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers
The little beast of the year (third place)
At the Monza Grand Prix, Montreal driver Nicholas Latifi had to ease off on his last lap in Q1 to avoid running over a rabbit. Consequence: he was ousted from Q2 by 36 thousandths of a second. This is called having a rabbit pose.
The little beast of the year (second place)
An animal on the ground? Well, that’s nothing to whip a cat – unless the cat gets comfortable in the field and forces the game to stop. This is what happened in August during a meeting between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees. The cat fled between the legs of the security guards, like a little greased pig. “MVP! MVP! MVP! Chanted the crowd. After three minutes of the cat-and-mouse game, the feline finally fled through an open door.
The little beast of the year (first place)
On October 30, the Marshall University football team beat Florida International 38-0. The star of the match? A squirrel, who traveled 65 yards, from the center of the field to the end zone, under the encouragement of the delirious spectators. Asked to comment on the rodent run, Marshall’s head coach Charles Huff said: “It is not yet clear whether he will play on offense or defense. He has the speed of a cat, very good control of his movements and he is able to change direction. We will continue to assess it. ”
Object of the year
The shoes of Tony Gonsolin of the Los Angeles Dodgers. With cat hair. Really, it’s the foot!
PHOTO BRETT DAVIS, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
The shoes of Tony Gonsolin of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Worst uniform of the year
In recent years, minor league baseball clubs have been competing in daring to find THE ugliest costume in history. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos dethroned all title contenders last summer with their “Crabzilla” uniform, which has a crab sandwich printed behind the players’ pants – up to the buttocks. Why there ? “Because when the players run on the field, it’s like crabs are walking,” enthuses the designer.
Fan of the year
Jean Guichard wants to work for the Lens soccer club in France. He went to great lengths to be noticed by the team’s staff, by showing up to a match at the Bollaert stadium with a giant flag on which was printed … his CV! A brilliant marketing stunt. The young man has also received offers from several professional clubs.
SCREENSHOTS OF VIDEO BY JEAN GUICHARD
Jean Guichard’s CV, displayed on a flag
Injury of the year
Detroit Tigers prospect Spencer Torkelson missed a week after cutting his finger. How? ‘Or’ What ? By making tacos for his teammates. “I was responsible for the supper. The guys were hungry. For my corn salsa, I had to open a can of beans. Except that in our Airbnb, there was no can opener. So I had to improvise… ”With a small knife, inserted into a corkscrew. Bad idea. The blade pierced his skin. Let’s say that that night, Torkelson wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer …
PHOTO IVANOH DEMERS, PRESS ARCHIVES
When you have a craving for beans …
Answer: Turner was able to turn around and come and score. But Bellinger, who passed him, was automatically withdrawn, and credited with a single and an RBI.
Sources: Detroit Free Press, Aftonbladet, Associated Press, Rugby Dump, France Info, The Parthenon