Image via Complex Original
You like dunks? We got dunks: alley-oops from the most dynamic duo in the NBA, leap-frogging-over-defender flushes from the greatest player in the L today, a cartwheel-through-the-legs slam that's better than anything the NBA dunk contest has seen in years. Like game-saving catches? We got a couple of them too. No look goals, one-arm basketball players, cultural phenoms and more. They're all here, in the 25 Most Badass Sports Moments of 2012 (So Far).
25. One-arm High School Basketball Player
Date: 3/3/2012
The vast majority of us have two fully functional arms and still aren't that good at basketball (sorry to crush your hoop dreams, fam). So being able to hoop with just one arm is damn-near impossible then, right? High school player Landus Anderson is defying the odds. Anderson was born with a condition called Erb’s Palsy, which results in the paralysis of the arm’s main nerves but that hasn't stopped him from putting up 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game for his Florida High team. Now excuse us while we bump this and try to do something meaningful with our lives.
24. Super Mario's Super Bowl Catch
Date: 2/5/2012
He didn't pin it against his helmet like David Tyree four years before, but Mario Manningham's catch to get the Giants out of the shadow of their own goal post was just as important as Tyree's grab. Winning a Super Bowl is supremely badass. Never having to pay for dinner in New York for the rest of your life is very, very badass.
23. Josh Hamilton's Goes Reggie Jax
Date: 5/8/2012
Josh Hamilton was already a tattooed, recovered (mostly), Christian badass supreme. But then he went all Reggie Jackson on the game, hitting four home runs in a single tilt against the Orioles. How badass is four homers in four at bats by one player in one game? In 899 at bats in 28 games played by 25+ players in June, the Dodgers hit a grand total of six home runs.
22. The Cartwheel Between-the-Legs Dunk
Date: 6/23/2012
You know the NBA Slam Dunk contest has fallen off when amateurs like Justin "Jus Fly" Darlington are putting up dunks that shit on anything the pros did on All-Star weekend. Jus Fly threw this jam down at the Nike+ Basketball Slam Dunk Competition and the judges rewarded him with a perfect score. Since Bron Bron seemingly wants no parts of the Dunk Contest, think the NBA can give him an invite to next year's contest? #cmonstern
21. A Sudsy Souvenir
Date: 5/9/2012
Whenever something lands in your beer, chug it. You don't have to. In fact, you probably shouldn't for, like, health reasons. But badasses don't care about stomach worms or hepatitis which is why this Padres fan chugged his 16 ounce Budweiser after catching a foul ball in his beer cup.
20. The Backheel Goal
Date: 6/15/2012
Did you blink? Watch it again. That's why they call soccer the beautiful game.
19. Outfield Fences Are Nothing
Date: 5/26/2012
Derrick Salberg's catch wasn't only badasss, it won the game. In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, Salberg leaped over the fence and made one of the most breathtaking catches we've ever seen. There's been thousands of home run robberies over the years but you're either lying or exaggerating if you say you've seen anything like this. But one point of contention that keeps this play from being the baddest of the ass. Why is the fence, like, eighteen inches tall? Sure, he jumps the fence, but it's basically a croquet wicket.
18. Gregor Blanco Lays Out for Matt Cain
Date: 6/13/2012
Gregor Blanco is not a very good baseball player. OK, a clarification: He's a really good baseball player in the context of the general human population (certainly better than any of us), but in major league baseball? Nope, not that good. So not that good in fact that he didn't even play in the big leagues last year. However, for Giants fans, and Matt Cain in particular, Blanco was the best player in major league history for one play, single-glovedly saving Cain's perfect game. Hey, if you've got one great play in you, make sure to use it when it counts.
17. This Is How a Dunk Should Sound
Date: 3/24/2012
Here's how you know a dunk is supremely badass: Cue up the clip above, and just after you press play, close your eyes. Hear that KA-THUNK? Yup, badass.
16. Mike Trout Hits the Bleachers
Date: 6/28/2012
Bryce Harper is the best teenager in baseball, but he's not the best rookie. That honor belongs to 20-year-old Angels outfielder Mike Trout, who's currently leading the AL in hitting and stolen bases, and leading the world in I'm-just-gonna-reach-my-whole-fucking-arm-over-the-wall-to-snag-this-fly-ball catches.
15. The Best Football Catch in the Southern Hemisphere
Date: 5/22/2012
Megatron and Randy Moss better watch their back, Australian Rules Football players are coming with that heat! On this play Melbourne's Jeremy Howe scales the defenders back and proceeds to use him for leverage to make a crazy nice catch. He might as well have tee-bagged him in the process cause that defender's gotta feel like a bitch after that. #whitemencanjump
14. Strong Teammates FTW
Date: 5/28/2012
Rugby is the most gully team sport of them all. Reason No. 1,349 for that is this video. In this clip, Tendai "The Beast" Mtawarira assists his teammate by lifting him so can make the mark then gently places him back on the ground afterward. That's that Incredible Hulk steez right here, folks.
13. Fake Argument Free Kick
Date: 5/21/2012
For once acting in soccer wasn't something to change the channel about, but instead applaud and hopefully copy for years to come. On a free kick attempt the offensive team orchestrates a quick argument turned pushing match between two players looking to take the kick in order to distract the defense and Goalkeeper awaiting the play. Meanwhile a third player comes in for a quick strike and goal on the confused keeper. GOL GOL GOL GOL GOL!
12. LeBron's Cramp Shot
Date: 6/17/2012
Everybody gets cramps, it's a natural occurrence for any athlete, and that includes the best basketball player on the planet, LeBron James. In Game 3 of the Finals 'Bron got a mean leg cramp and had to be taken out late in the fourth quarter. That wasn't gonna be how he let his night end however, as 'Bron came back into the game hobbling on one leg and hit a clutch three with the game tied at 94, giving his team the driver seat for the eventual win. No he didn't pull out the wheelchair like Paul Pierce in '08 for the extra theatrics, but a badass moment nonetheless.
11. Jalen Rose Puts Skip Bayless on Blast
Date: 4/10/2012
Skip Bayless pioneered the sports talking head practice of knowingly taking a ludicrous position and arguing it vehemently. He's done so much self-righteous scoffing in defense of things he doesn't really believe that he's lost touch with reality. When he sent out a tweet suggesting he was an elite basketball player in high school, Jalen Rose called him out—on live TV. In a bizarre and uncomfortable tongue lashing, Rose let the world know that Bayless was a pathetic, help-my-nose-is-bleeding scrub who averaged 1.4 PPG as a senior. First Take, for a moment, was watchable and Rose's check was bad ass.
10. D II Running Back Flips Over Defender
Date: 4/25/2012
Sure, it's just a scrimmage, and it's just Division II, and yes, we know the Bengals' Jerome Simpson did a flip in a game into the end zone (but that was last year). Still, dude flipped over a defender, and kept running. That's some video game/parkour shit. We can't even do a fucking cartwheel.
9. Mark Cuban Ethers Skip Bayless on His Own Show
Date: 5/23/2012
The day after Skip's least favorite superstar LeBron James finally won his first 'chip, the enigmatic Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban decided to stop by the First Take desk and drop some bombs. Saying Cuban ethered Bayless wouldn't be doing his appearance justice. His onslaught of attacks on Skip's basis for analyzing games as well as Cuban's experiences suggesting the lack of importance Skip's words really have on players left Bayless as close to speechless as he'll probably ever be. We're guessing LeBron caught this episode.
8. The Birth of Linsanity
Date: 2/10/2012
It wasn't Jeremy Lin's first game as a Knick, but it was the moment when Linsanity became a bonafide sensation. In his third game as a starter, and fourth playing significant minutes, Lin led the Knicks at home against the Lakers on a Friday night. Surely Kobe would put an end to the momentary silliness, right? Wrong. Lin outscored Kobe 38-34, capping one of the most badass weeks in sports history.
7. Mike Baxter Puts His Career on the Line for Johan Santana
Date: 6/1/2012
Almost every no-hitter and perfect game in baseball history has a defensive gem that made it possible for the pitcher and catcher to give each other a big hug on the mound after the last out. Suffice it to say none featured a defensive gem authored by a journeyman leftfielder who grew up in the shadow of the stadium he was playing in, and whose play secured the first no-hitter in team history. Mike Baxter's into-the-wall catch of Yadier Molina's liner saved Johan Santana's no-hitter—and was a serious blow to Baxter's career, putting him on the disabled list with a displaced collarbone.
6. Blake Griffin's Throwdown
Date: 1/31/2012
Dunk, not a dunk? Who cares. Blake Griffin continues to rewrite the rules of posterizations, one emasculation after another.
5. Dos Santos Pummels Frank Mir
Date: 5/26/2012
This list is full of posers who, like, caught a touchdown or made a three-pointer. Cool story. True badasses are too busy pounding people that they never learn how to chest pass or drag bunt. Such was the case with Junior dos Santos, who probably couldn't make a field goal to save his life but had no problem rattling Frank Mir's barn doors off. Think about that next time you make fun of the dude who gets picked last in gym class. He will channel that teenaged angst into a heavy bag and, eventually, clean your clock at a high school reunion.
4. Bryce Harper Welcomes Cole Hamels to the Bigs
Date: 5/6/2012
Bryce Harper is the cocky rookie that everyone hated until he entered the league. Turns out the guy is just a gamer who hustles hard and seems to say all the right things (so far, anyway). But that didn't stop Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels from beaning him with a fastball to "welcome him to the league" or to "police the game" or whatever stupid justification flamethrowers use to whip baseballs at teenagers on purpose. After taking his base, Harper hustled from first to third on a single and then pulled a Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez by stealing home. In that moment, a supposed student of the game became a teacher. Oh, and a badass.
3. The Durant-Westbrook Alley Oop
Date: 4/14/2012
Yeah, they came up just short of winning the title this year but Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are still the second-best duo in the NBA and they're not even 25 yet. This alley-oop is even more dope because it's Westbrook who actually goes up for the ill flush rather than 6-foot-9 KD. Westbrook's "Yeah, I used to ride the short bus—and what?!" celebration afterward only adds to the awesomeness.
2. Mario Balotelli's No-Look Goal
Date: 6/18/2012
There may not be an athlete out there that exudes "badass" more than Italian soccer star Mario Balotelli, and everything about this play says it for us. In the 90th minute of a game against Ireland in the group stages of the Euro 2012, off a corner kick, Balotelli shields off a defender and finishes a blazing volley as he fell to the ground putting his team up 2-0. What makes the play truly badass though? His post goal reaction. No running hysterically to teammates, no funny dance, not even any smiling. Just a slow walk paired with a blank stare to the crowd and eventual words that his teammate had to cover his mouth about. Gotta love it.
1. LeBron Leapfrogs John Lucas
Date: 1/29/2012
The fact that this dunk and Blake Griffin's facial on Kendrick Perkins were even being compared is ridiculous. The only professionals that see facials more often than NBA players are porn stars. Ayo! But completely jumping over someone for an alley-oop like it's a video game? #thenbawhereamazinghappens