Masters of Wrath: The Ten Greatest Sports Tantrums Available on the Internet

Serbian basketball forward Darko Milicic's recent post-game rant set me adrift on memory bliss. There have been so many great tantrums and tirades by our sporting entertainers over the years. Here I present my favorite ten (of those recorded and available on the Internet), which I shall call the ten greatest, if only to encourage debate. I've deliberately left off Mike Tyson, as he's a little too sad and disturbing for me to really enjoy. I've also omitted Phillip Wellman's famous tantrum, as it seemed a bit too calculated and playful, as well as the Jim Rome/Jim Everett debacle, for the same reasons. Be warned that the list contains NSFW/profane audio and text.


The Ten Greatest Sports Tantrums Available on the Internet


10. Mike Sanford

A top-notch sports tantrum can take many forms. Sanford decided to go the civil disobedience route after his UNLV Rebels football team lost to the Iowa State Cyclones. Sanford asserted (wrongly, as replays later showed) that a UNLV receiver had been inbounds when catching a potentially game-winning pass. Bringing Walden Pond to the breadbasket, Sanford stormed the field, telling his players "we're not leaving" and demanding a meeting with the Iowa State athletic director. He may trip and stumble, but in the end he takes a principled stand. Here's to you, Mike.



9. Lennox Lewis and Hasim Rahman

This one isn't much to look at---a kiss-me-or-push-me moment of truth, a lot of awkward grappling, and some crashing into tables. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a clip containing the lead-up. But here's what you need to know:

A few days before their fight, Lewis and Rahman were taping a promotional appearance on ESPN's "Up Close and Personal" with Gary Miller. Referring to previous comments by Rahman, Miller asked Lewis, "Did Rahman question your sexuality?" Lewis ignored Miller and glared at Rahman. "Why you starting that gay stuff? I'm not gay. Why you call me gay?" Rahman replied that Lewis' lawsuit to force a rematch between the two of them was a "gay move...I don't know why he was offended."

Declaring himself "100% women's man," Lewis offered to prove his assertion with Rahman's sister. Rahman took offense. The rest is below:



8. Dennis Green

Following a loss in which his underdog Cardinals blew a big lead, Green offered his thoughts on their more ballyhooed opponent, the Chicago Bears. He's like the middle school kid who had his lunch money taken and almost stood up to the big bad bully. Impotent Rage, thy name is Dennis Green. (Also, note the slight resemblance, at least in this clip, to The Family Guy's Cleveland Brown.)



7. Jim Mora

Mora has had a number of highly-regarded postgame rants, but this is his most famous. Enjoy the polite qualifiers ("In my opinion, that sucked") as well as the concluding Don Knotts/Barney Fife impression during the discussion of "playoffs."



6. Lou Piniella (and other baseball tantrums we don't get to hear)

It seems MLB has cracked down on game footage on YouTube, making it difficult to find some of Piniella's best performances, but one of his 2002 outbursts can be found on this compilation. We see a strong performance by Lloyd McLendon, but Piniella is the real star. Nobody looks funnier throwing a base than Lou Piniella.



5. Darko Milicic

Darko received a $14k fine for this outburst, though it probably should've been a grounding instead. Gone are the frosted tips and gangly physique, but Darko remains ever the teenager. With Larry Brown but a distant memory, Darko takes aim at another authority figure, the refs.



4. Tommy Lasorda

Next up, a dugout argument between manager Tommy Lasorda and pitcher Doug Rau during Game 4 of the 1977 World Series. This speech may be considered the forefather of George Bush's "I'm the Decider." The incessant organ music in the background gives it an air of carnival fun!





3. Hal McRae

An otherwise standard clubhouse tantrum, with a lot of profanity and throwing of random objects (note the reporter's bleeding cheek---the result of being struck by the flying phone), McRae's tirade is made special by his attire. His baseball pants and undershirt resemble a child's pajamas---just one step up from a onesy.



2. Lee Elia

In 1983, Elia managed a talented but not quite mature Cubs team that finished the season under .500. The next year, they went on to win their division (before blowing a 2-0 series lead to San Diego in the NLCS---still painful to think about). But in April of '83, few could see the good things to come. Cub fans, frustrated by the team's perennial losing, booed repeatedly during a 5-4 loss to the Dodgers that left the team's record at 5-14. Meeting with reporters in the clubhouse after the game, Elia unleashed a tirade for the ages.





1. Earl Weaver

One of baseball's all-time leader in ejections, Earl Weaver was a man before his time, engaging in the sort of rigorous statistical analysis that still eludes some managers today (see McLaren, John). Here he appears on The Manager's Corner, his weekly radio show. I'm not sure whether it's fair to classify this as a tantrum, but whatever it is, it deserves to be number one.

Topics: Glory Days

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