It's that time again for our favorite post of the year – the best and most memorable bloopers, gaffes, and screwups from the year that was in 2012. While I like to think we're able to cover a lot more ground than we used to, the heart and soul of AA remains the clips you'll see below. If you're super nostalgic, you can take a look back at the Top 10 gaffes of 2010 and 2011. This year though, it's such a stellar field we had to expand to the Top 12 for 2012 and even included some honorable mentions as well. Enjoy our gift to you this holiday season…
12) Phil Simms explains the mystery of the forward pass
"For it to be a forward pass… it's got to go FORWARD."
Of course! Genius!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bGvsWD29WSE
11) "True or Fart" debuts on ESPN
Live television is a difficult profession to master. You have to be at the top of your game at all times. One Freudian slip and any fool with an iPhone or laptop (like me) will make sure you're on Youtube within minutes. Robert Flores was attempting to ask a True or False question to his panelists one day on a fantasy football draft special, except that final word didn't come out quite right. Thankfully, he was able to take it all in stride.
10) Ladies and gentlemen, do NOT try this at home
Andrew "McLovin" Perloff of The Dan Patrick Show has the distinct and valuable honor of being the only person to make it on both our favorite clips of the year countdown and the bloopers of the year list. In this clip, Perloff attempts to spin a basketball on his finger before an appearance against the Harlem Globetrotters in February. In true McLovin fashion, the ball bounces off the wall and into his face, smashing his glasses. On the bright side, at least no mini helmets were hurt this time.
9) Tim McCarver pays tribute to Barry… Manilow?
Fox's Tim McCarver said a few things this year that left us with a puzzled look on our face, but none more than this comment during the World Series. McCarver associated the "Barry, Barry" chants ringing through San Francisco with singer Barry Manilow instead of that Bonds guy. Even Joe Buck sounded shocked at McCarver's absentmindedness. But hey, at least he didn't try to spell Manilow.
8) James Bates needs a stronger stool
CBS Sports Network play-by-play man James Bates took this fall while doing a live on-court intro before a Xavier-Dayton game in February. Thankfully, he's an ex-Florida football player, so he was able to bounce back up and continue the intro without a hitch. Before CBS wants to go and challenge ESPN though, they should really invest in some more sturdy furniture!
7) John Sterling at his finest
It wouldn't be a year-end list of bloopers without a Hall of Famer in that category – Yankees announcer John Sterling. This play from August contained so many screwups that it defies explanation. The breakdown from WFAN's Boomer and Carton makes it even better.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOhgFjm98AE
6) Ryan Lochte! Jeah!
College GameDay invited Olympic gold medalist and lovable jock Ryan Lochte on to be one of their guest pickers this year. Really though, Lochte deserves credit for completely botching only one game. C'mon, that's actually pretty good! He far surpassed expectations.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FFgDqg_YXUE
5) At least Liam Neeson is safe from TebowMania
The most disastrous of sports interviews this year came (surprise surprise!!!) in the midst of ESPN's non-stop TebowMania coverage. In October, ESPN's Mike Hill asked Irish actor Liam Neeson about the New York Jets and Tim Tebow because outside the ESPN bubble, nothing else really matters. Neeson should consider himself lucky he had no idea what in the world Hill was talking about. If he only knew our plight…
***BONUS CLIP***
Liam Neeson wasn't the only celebrity to casually swear on SportsCenter this year as The Rock also laid boots to the censors' asses with this soundbyte in February. Yes Dwayne, you are live.
4) Marty Reid forgets who he's working with
At Indianapolis in late July, ESPN NASCAR announcer Marty Reid totally forgot broadcast partner Andy Petree's name as he attempted to introduce him to the viewers at home. The awkwardness of this clip is unparalleled.
3) Rick Reilly had that first on Twitter
Former multi-time national sportswriter of the year (and contractual albatross) Rick Reilly was caught on live television pleading with Stuart Scott to be given credit for "breaking" news about Ben Roethlisberger on Twitter after the Week 10 MNF game. The premise itself was laughable, the fact that it mistakenly made air was fantastic. This video, viewed over 2 million times on Youtube, gave the blogosphere perhaps the most mileage of any blooper this year with weeks (if not months) of fun at Reilly's expense, "had that first on Twitter" jokes, and the infamous Steve Young death stare.
2) Mike Francesa falls asleep on air… no, wait, he was resting his eyes
WFAN grand poobah Mike Francesa must have needed a couple more Diet Cokes on this day in September when he momentarily fell asleep while interviewing Yankees reporter Sweeney Murti. Naturally, Francesa tried to say he was just resting his eyes, but the panicked look on his face doesn't lie.
1) Chuck Giampa's rough television debut
Who could possibly top Reilly and Francesa's career highlights? Chuck Giampa, of course! Who's Chuck Giampa you may ask? He's a former boxing judge who had the roughest television debut we've ever encountered for Showtime all the way back in January. Who knew going inside the mind of a boxing judge could be such a treacherous thing…
Honorable Mentions:
Samantha Steele tries to interview the wrong kid
"Get your sh*t together Vin!"
"Panthers Win… Buccaneers Win!"
Barry Claus
Amare Stoudemire's bulging di… not once… but twice.
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