Hockey fans were robbed of a memorable moment last week when a scuffle broke out in the game between the St Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.
Having conceded his fifth goal of the night, Blues goalie Jordan Binnington snapped and started to attack Wild player Ryan Hartman.
The Wild’s netminder Marc-Andre Fleury skated down the ice to defend his teammate by fighting Biddington (as is allowed in the NHL) however the referees would not let the two consenting participants go at it… killjoys.
Whenever the goalies opt to drop the gloves it is a special occasion that goes into the memories of anyone who was lucky enough to see it.
Whatever sport you follow there are plenty of rare, wonderful and occasionally bizarre moments that you have to find a way to see live at least once.
NHL: Goalie Fight
Fighting as a practice has started to work its way out of hockey as the league starts to move away from the physicality that punctuated the game for so long.
But in the era of emphasising player safety, encouraging guys to punch each other in the head is not a behaviour that they are willing to promote unless it is necessary.
However when the goalies do go at it, it is a sight to behold.
NHL: Goalie Goal
Goalies can do more than just stop goals and occasionally throw some punches, every so often they can score too.
There is a fairly high level of risk when a netminder opts to have a crack at scoring because they very rarely leave the immediate area around their goal and the odds of scoring from 60-odd metres away with an opposing goalie in the way are marginal.
However when the opponent pulls their goaltender and leaves an empty net, sometimes the temptation to take a shot, even at the risk of giving up an icing call is well worth it.
Just ask Boston’s Linus Ullmark.
NHL: EBUG Saves the Day
Hockey goalies are a unique breed, after all, these are the guys that are happy to have a piece of frozen rubber hurled at them around 40 times per game so it’s no surprise that all of the weird and wacky hockey moments revolve around them.
But one of the NHL’s more unique rules involves the Emergency Backup Goalie (EBUG) which usually sees some unknown thrown into the mixer on very short notice and not knowing what team they will be playing for.
Most teams will travel with two goaltenders but in the event of a late injury or illness, each arena has a local guy on call to serve as the replacement.
Perhaps the most famous instance of the EBUG came in February 2020 when Toronto local David Ayers was forced to fill in for the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.
He came into the game as an injury replacement in the second period and on debut at age 42, helped the Hurricanes to a 6-3 win.
NFL: Offensive or Defensive Lineman Touchdown
There is a general rule in the NFL, if a lineman on either side of the ball has scored, something has not gone the way it was expected to.
When a lineman lines up on a play they are expected to block for the ball carrier, but every so often a team decides to get a bit tricky and throw them the ball.
Should that pass result in a score, like this one from the Tennessee Titans, it usually sparks wild celebrations all around.
On the defensive side, a lineman will be lucky to touch the ball five times in their whole career, but when they do, they have one thing in mind, taking it to the house.
And sometimes, an opportunity to do just that lands right in your hands…
NFL: Last Play Lateral Touchdown
When a team is forced to resort to a series of laterals on the final play of the game, it usually does not end well (see above).
However when everything goes perfectly, it produces a memorable finish that lives long in the memories of those watching.
The most famous example of this came in January 2000 when the Tennessee Titans got creative on a kickoff return to steal this game from the Buffalo Bills.
Dubbed the Music City Miracle, many Bills fans will claim the pass from Frank Wycheck was forward but the complaining will not change the outcome over two decades later.
Then in 2018, the Miami Dolphins needed a miracle of their own to win a late season game against division rivals New England and with the Patriots seemingly caught out by the play call, the Dolphins stunned the eventual Super Bowl champions with this play.
It was the highlight of the Dolphins season that year and rumour has it there are still some Miami Miracle t-shirts still up for sale somewhere in the depths of the internet.
NBA: A Travelling Call
If you are new to basketball you might be surprised to know that a player is only able to take a small number of steps before it is called a travel.
Although looking at the NBA in general, that appears to be more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule.
LeBron is hardly the only player to be guilty of these infringements, but there’s no shortage of videos of him channelling his inner rugby player carrying it.
Count the steps here.
NBA: A Broken Backboard
The NBA is full of big players and sometimes, their dunks carry a little bit of extra authority.
Eventually the NBA started to reinforce the whole structure, but not before the players had a chance to flex.
Even his royal airness Michael Jordan has a broken backboard on his resume from this exhibition game in Italy.
AFL: A Drawn Match
In a high scoring sport like Aussie Rules draws are not that common given the perfect mix of goals and behinds has to occur.
However to kick off season 2023, Richmond and Carlton played out a game where spoils were shared with neither side able to secure a victory.
AFL: Milestone Goal
Ask any long-time Aussie Rules supporter and they will happily tell you that the days of the true marksman up front are gone and we won’t see many more players kicking 1000 goals in their career.
That’s what makes achievements like Buddy Franklin’s in 2022 so memorable now since these are going to be fewer and further between.
Rugby League & Union: A Forward That Kicks
The specialised nature of kicking in both rugby codes has made it almost the exclusive domain of the halfbacks and five-eighths with the occasional winger or fullback getting in on the act.
Long gone are the days of a forward being the teams primary option but when one of the big boys has to step up, you hope you’ve got someone like John Eales to call on.
Rugby League & Union: Double Doink Shot at Goal
Normally you don’t want any of your shots at goal in a rugby game to hit the post but seeing your game winning field goal attempt bounce off one upright, then the other before sneaking over the crossbar.
Darren Lockyer produced this match winner back in 2007 and just about every Broncos fan can recite this sequence of events in great detail on call.
Football: Goalkeeper Goal
There are a few ways this can come about and all are suitably unique and out of the ordinary to land on this list.
The most obvious candidate is the keeper coming forward for a late corner in a desperate gamble to steal an equaliser.
So when the gamble pays off and the keeper scores the equaliser (or winner), the wild celebrations are always justified.
Or when the keeper just decides to launch it as far as possible and it catches their opposite number napping.
Tennis: Default
Homer Simpson might have called “default” the two sweetest words in the English language, but in the world of tennis brats, it’s essentially an expletive.
For a tennis player to throw a tantrum so egregious that the umpire says “right, you’re out of here” they have to go pretty far considering what we have seen allowed on the court in the past.
Cricket: The Bails Stay On
Some days things just don’t break your way, just ask these bowlers who did what was asked of them and bowled a delivery that struck the stumps.
Unfortunately for them, the bails were not dislodged so the batter dodged a massive bullet and was able to continue their innings.
If you’re lucky enough to be at the ground for one of these occurrences, you can actually see the joy of cricket leave the bowler’s body in that exact moment.
Cricket: Diamond Duck
It’s the ultimate humiliation for any batsman, because not only have they been dismissed without the opportunity to face a ball, but at least some blame lies with their partner for getting them run out.
Bowling: Perfect Game
12 strikes in a row, it seems easy enough but if you happen to stumble upon a bowler going for a score of 300, you know you have to stop channel surfing and watch it.
Everyone remembers where they were for the most memorable perfect game in history that occurred in Springfield USA.
It’s just a shame we didn’t see Homer channel this all-time celebration.
Baseball: Perfect Game
The baseball version of the perfect game might be going the way of the dodo with analytics and sports science limiting the in-game workload of pitchers more than ever before.
If a starter happens to get on a heater and the manager tells the stats nerds to shove it by leaving the ace on the mound, it becomes a must watch proposition.
Racing: A Jockey Rides the Card
The only question for punters when a jockey is in the midst of riding the card is when do you throw out the form lines and just start backing the hot hand?
Any Sport: Out of Position Fill Ins
In any sport that requires positional specialisation, things get thrown for a loop when a team’s stocks are depleted.
This is something that can happen across the board, but we’ve seen more than a few outfield players forced to don the gloves in football when the goalkeeper gets sent off or injured.
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in a European match and had to finish the match as a fill-in keeper.
And when a baseball game goes to extra innings and the manager is out of relief pitchers, there’s always an outfield player that will get thrown in the deep end (no pun intended).
But one of the most specialised sports out there is American Football and out of position players are always an amusing sight.
Especially when they have to fill in at quarterback or kicker like Denver receiver Kendall Hinton in the 2020 seaosn.
Unfortunately it did not end well for him or the Broncos.
Any Sport: A Walk-Off Tantrum
Antonio Brown walking out on the Buccaneers mid-game because he wasn’t getting the ball thrown his way enough anyway?
Any Sport: Teammates Fighting
We had to finish this list with the Lee Bowyer & Kieron Dyer clip.