Monday night, Devin Harris of the New Jersey Nets hit what might be the shot of the year. With 1.8 seconds left in the game and the Nets down by one, Harris received the inbounds pass at New Jersey’s own three-point line, took a few dribbles and desperately threw at the rim from half-court.
Despite the fact that his initial shot was blocked, and despite the fact that he had less than two seconds to put a basketball through a hoop from more than 47 feet away, Harris nailed it to win the game.
Luck? Probably.
Skill? Maybe a little.
Elation? You better believe it.
It’s a scene that most of the time takes place in the imaginary world of a kid playing on his driveway.
From the half-court game-winner, to the walk-off grand slam, someone out there is practicing and imagining. They’re trying to capture Harris’ excitement Monday night. They’re trying to envision how they might trot the bases if they just watched their ball fly over the left field fence with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
And so, I pose a question to you: If you could choose one sports feat, which would it be? From football to fútbol, what game-winning/gravity-defying/you-couldn’t-do-that-again-no-matter-how hard-you-tried act would you choose?
Tough call. I’ll try to lay out some of your options:
The two-minute drill: You’re Ben Roethlisberger in Super Bowl XLII with 2:47 left. You just watched Larry Fitzgerald sprint past your entire secondary and now you are down by three. On adrenaline and toughness, you lead your team downfield and find yourself inside the opponents’ 10-yard line. On third and goal, you take the snap, drop back, avoid the rush and throw the Super Bowl winning touchdown pass to your triple covered receiver in the back of the end zone.
The thing about successfully executing a two-minute drill is that it shows you can operate in the toughest of circumstances: You are tired; your team is down; you are being blitzed and chased ... all in the biggest game of the year. It is a different type of feat than hitting a half-court prayer. It may not be as flashy, but it surely is gritty.
The World Series walk-off: There are two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Your team is down by three runs and, conveniently, the bases are loaded as you step to the plate. After working the count full, you get a fastball. Step. Swing. Gone.
You flick your bat and start your trot. The beauty of the walk-off home run is that there’s so much to work with. You can glare at the pitcher as you start your victory lap. You can admire the ball as it sails out. You can pump your fist as you round third, toss your batting helmet and somersault into home. It really doesn’t matter — but you have some time to soak it in.
The poster shot: Let’s pretend for a minute that you have been injected with some athleticism. Now, instead of going in for the lay-up, you opt for the dunk. Forget the runner in the lane — the two-handed reverse jam is now within reach. No need to try to draw the foul or worry about getting blocked. Just raise up and posterize your poor opponent. But you can only do it once.
You have a lot to think about here: Would you go with a dunk like Michael Jordan’s in the 1988 dunk contest? Or do you go for power instead of grace, like Vince Carter leaping over Frederic Weiss in the 2000 Olympics?
The thing about being given the chance to dunk is that it’s fleeting. You raise up, throw down — and that’s it. No home-run trot or touchdown celebration. It is arguably one of the more athletic feats, but it’s not the most long-lived.
The diving save: Let’s turn the table. Instead of doing the scoring, someone else is trying to score on you. Now, you are a goalie in a World Cup match. After a tie, the match goes into penalty kicks. The situation is simple: You save it, you win; if the ball gets past you, the penalty kicks continue.
You stand there looking the opponent in the eye, trying to guess if he’s going to shoot right or left, high or low. He makes his approach. You go left. He shoots left. You reach out with one arm and barely get a hand on the ball as it dribbles just wide of the post. You lie there as your team rushes the field in celebration.
Unlike the dunk, the soccer save is much more nerve-racking. Your teammates are putting the entire game on your shoulders as someone shoots from point-blank range. Add an element of poker to the mix — like trying to read the shooter — and you have yourself quite a feat.
If I could choose, though, it wouldn’t be hitting the game winning home run or throwing the Super Bowl winning pass. It would not involve dunking and it would not be saving a penalty shot to win the match. It would not even be making a half-court desperation shot as time expires to win the game.
Rather, it would take place on a football field with me lining up as the strong safety. Tinted Visor? Check. It doesn’t matter what team I would be playing on; the only important thing would be Terrell Owens as the split end for the offense. The quarterback hikes, drops back and goes through his reads. Owens runs a deep post and appears to be open. The quarterback lofts a pass down the middle of the field. Owens, looking the ball into his hands begins to plan his touc — BAM.
Incomplete. Owens down. Rowen standing above, waving a finger Mutombo style.
All I want is one good helmet-tumbling, mouth-guard-dislodging, jaw-jarring, star-seeing hit on TO. I don’t want to cause injury — just embarrassment.
It’s a feat that few have achieved. It might even cause me some pain.
But God, it would feel good.
Read More
With last-second three-pointer, SMU silences men’s basketball
By Michael Liebermann and Thomas Baxter | 3 hours agoThe late shot crushed a bouncing arena.
With dominance and high hopes, women’s tennis opens the spring season
By Gracie Genereux | 4 hours agoA commanding opening victory set the stage for the season to come.
No. 6 women’s squash falls to No. 5 Stanford in first match of the new year
By Peter Kratz | YesterdayThe Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in conference play after their first clash with the Cardinal.
