The 25 Biggest Sports Fails of 2011

Last week, we hit you with the Most Badass Sports Moments of 2011. And as all the athletes on that list can attest to, nothing endears you more in the public eye than a memorable moment. From an incredible run to an amazing knockout, certain people can grow into an iconic status with just one play. But as great as those moments are, our inner asshole (ayo! pause! etc.) loves to see epic fails by athletes, too.

What happens when a legend like Lionel Messi badly misses a penalty kick or Ryan Braun takes a falls flat on his face less than 90 feet away from getting an inside-the-park home run? It's these moments that make up our list of The 25 Biggest Sports Fails of 2011. Here, we take a look at the worst of the worst when it comes to the plays made on the field. So, sit back, relax and enjoy everything from the embarrassingly painful to the delightfully hilarious moments to happen this year in the world of sports...

Date: 3/14/2011
The Minnesota Wild winger tried surprising his opponent with a blindsided hit. Too bad he Clutterbuck'd it up. #seewhatwedidthere

Date: 8/27/2011
If we had no heart, we would have no problem saying "FOH" to Sogelau Tuvalu of American Samoa for competing in the100 meter of the World Championships. He finished with a time of 15.66 seconds, the second slowest in World Championships history. But we do have a heart, so we give props to Tuvalu for competing for his country and putting forth his best effort. That, and dude looks like he could hand out some mean ass whoopings. So yeah, we only have nice things to say about the homie.

Date: 12/17/2011
The Sharks' Martin Havlat just couldn't wait to get some time on the ice that he ended up injuring himself while in the process of making a line change. Welp, that excitement to hit the rink will just have to wait a little bit longer.

Date: 12/2/2011
Ever since that incident that we will no longer mention, Tiger Woods just hasn't been the same. That was until he hit the Chevron World Challenge and finally turned his luck around. But before he broke through and earned the W, Tiger had to hit a new low in the form of a swing reminiscent of Charles Barkley. Think he'll win a major in 2012? You've got questions, we've got the answers.

Date: 1/23/2011
As we all found out this year, Rashard Mendenhall isn't the type of person to hide how he truly feels. So, it should come as no surprise that when the Steelers stamped their ticket to Super Bowl XLV, Mendenhall could only thank his quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, by humping him. Accidentally sexual? Nah, the intent was pretty clear in this case.

Date: 1/19/2011
With FC Barcelona down by 2 goals, it was safe to assume that Messi would bring that deficit down to one after easily putting the penalty kick in the back of the net. But in a strange turn of events, the Argentinian striker actually sailed the ball over the net, much to his own disbelief. See even the greatest player on earth (FOH, Ronaldo) can look like he belongs in a Youth Soccer League sometimes.

Date: 11/27/2011
If you thought that epic flops only existed in the world of soccer, think again. Cincinnati's Jerome Simpson gives us a gem after the Browns' Scott Fujita nudged him ever so gently. We wouldn't have awarded that a 10 but when he convinced the refs to throw out the flag on Fujita, we had to give Simpson some high marks. The Academy has to add a category for this kind of unrecognized talent.

Date: 10/12/2011
We have no clue what the announcers are saying in this clip. But no translator is needed in this situation. Sonning has its own universal language.

Date: 12/11/2011
Even though they aren't the easiest jobs, an NFL kicker isn't asked to do much. In one of his few assignments all game long, the Chiefs' Ryan Succop actually had a swing and a miss on his onside kick attempt. And you wonder why kickers always get no love even from thirsty groupies.

Date: 7/11/2011
There's such a thing as too much of a good thing. For example, check out dude trying to get a little too fancy with the footwork and paying the consequences. The cost? His arm. The soccer Gods just weren't impressed.

Date: 5/8/2011
Yeah, you read that right. Ron Artest or Metta World Peace or whatever he goes by these days just never ceases to amaze us. And just when we think that we have Mr. World Peace figured out, he hits us with an unbelievable lay-up that gets nothing but iron. All those pointless lay-up drills make sense now.

Date: 11/12/2011
Yikes, this attempt by Stanford's Eric Whitaker would even make Scott Norwood blush a bit.

Date: 10/5/2011
Maybe some people *cough Phillies fans cough* will blame Shane Victorino's horrible throw on him losing his footing. But let's face the facts, Victorino's toss was like the Phillies' playoff run, real disappointing. Once a hater, always a hater.

Date: 9/10/2011
Once again: Kickers. Stay. Losing. #theend

Date: 9/15/2011
Maybe this isn't really a fail. Whenever you catch an innocent bystander with a soccer kick to the face, everyone wins. #seeyouinhell

Date: 12/18/2011
Down by 18 in the 4th quarter with 2:29 remaining in the game, Tim Tebow tried to make some late game magic happen once again. But instead of making something happen for his team, Timmy set the Patriots up in great field goal position after backing up further and further until he finally got caught with the sack. Unless there's a radical change in his style of play in the near future, this may be one of the few quarterback records he holds onto. Not good.

Date: 8/2/2011
How in the world did this woman make it to a national team? When Bart Scott mentioned a defense that "couldn't stop a nosebleed," he must've been talking about this girl. If the clip wasn't bad enough, the YouTube uploader just had to add the ridiculous yet appropriate soundtrack. SMH.

Date: 9/19/2011
Is there a sniper in the stands?! Nope, that's just Deon Grant and Jacquian Williams doing their best to buy the Giants extra time. Truly Oscar worthy stuff, folks.

Date: 11/13/2011
There's only one pass you get when your team goes for it on 4th down with the ball on their own 29 yard line, and that's when you're playing Madden. Luckily for head coach Mike Smith, the Falcons were still able to secure a playoffs spot and this brain fart did not end up coming back to haunt him.

Date: 8/31/2011
Up until a few weeks ago, 2011 had been quite a great year for Ryan Braun. The NL MVP had no problem launching homers but running the bases proved to be a bit more tricky. Hey, maybe those elevated levels of testosterone got in the way.

Date: 12/4/2011
No explanation can justify why Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett would ice his very own kicker. All we know is Tony Romo's got one hell of an alibi if Dallas fails to reach playoffs.

Date: 4/11/2011
The slam dunk is and has always been one of the most electrifying plays in sports. So, when a bench player like Von Wafer comes in and tries to stunt a little you can't blame him too much. Though next time, just make sure the ball actually went through the hoop, Von. #justsayin'

Date: 12/24/2011
There's a chance to tie the game and keep your team's playoffs hopes alive, and just like that your biggest dream of catching the game-tying TD turns into a nightmare. Early Doucet knows exactly what this feeling is like as he didn't get his hands on the ball. Little known fact: Doucet was born with two left feet. We kid, but from the look of things in the clip, is it really that unbelievable?

Date: 12/16/2011
If you have never seen a scorpion kick in action, this is exactly how it should look with the result being a lot different. Like, one thing, the ball shouldn't go into your own goal. Yup, that kind of skill (or lack there of) will get you over two million YouTube views and a ton of embarressment.

Date: 5/29/2011
Poor J.R. Hildebrand. The rookie race car driver could've made a huge splash and won the Indy 500 in his first ever attempt. But then he had to make that damn left turn...right into the wall. Drive slow, homie.