Wide World of Weird

People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history”

-Vice President Dan Quayle

Well, if anyone would know…

While his spelling of a spud was one of the strangest things about V.P. Quayle, his gift for malapropism serves us well in this context. Sometimes, a someone or something gets a little weird in this world, and something unexpected pops out. Sitting on the mountain of stats, chances, and personalities it does, no place is more rife for a little weirdness than sports. Here’s a few oddities for your brain to chew on over the weekend.

How many balls?

The average Major League Baseball lasts five to seven pitches. If we average that out to six,  and know that an average baseball season can see around three-quarters of a million pitches thrown, that means that MLB goes through something in the neighborhood of 125,000 baseballs each and every season.

Right place, who’s the real Babe?

In his 15 seasons with the New York Yankees, Babe Ruth won four World Series with the team, and is probably the most iconic figure associated with the illustrious franchise. In his 18 seasons with the Yankees, Yogi Berra won 13 World Series.

So, wait, the OW rules are OW what?

Shin-kicking is a sport from England that dates bate to the 17th Century. Opponents take turns kicking one another in the shins until one of them falls down. Proof that boredom really can turn into anything.

It’s good to get there first

Remember Roger Bannister? Most of the world will, as the man who finally broke the “unbreakable” four-minute mile. Shattering that psychology for others meant that many more achieved the feat quickly, so much so that Bannister’s world record only lasted for 46 days. Remember who broke it? Yeah, me either.

What are they doing with the rest?

There are 18 total minutes of action in the average three-plus hour Major League Baseball game. The average NFL game is closer to 11 minutes of actual action.

But if you want action…

In a 1984 women’s tennis match, there was a single point that took 29mminutes to play, with the ball crossing the net 643 times.

How about now? Can you see it now?

Rasheed Wallace had his NBA Championship ring re-sized to fit his middle finger.

Kneeling from the adrenaline rush

When Tim Tebow stepped in for the 2011 Denver Broncos and brought them seven wins to get them into the playoffs, six of the seven were come-from-behind victories.

Who wore it best?

While my wife tells me that David Beckham has dimples you could park a milk truck in, he still cannot compete with the average golf ball, which packs 336 dimples into those few inches of surface.

The juice! It’s loose!

China didn’t win a medal in the Olympics until 1984. When the games were held in Beijing in 2008, they won 100.

Hi, I.Q.?

The bearish pro hockey club from the New England area that won the 1971-72 Stanley Cup has their name stamped into it, like all the others. But theirs reads “BQSTQN BRUINS”.

Back in black

Major League Baseball umpires are required to wear black undies to work. Not because it torments and thrills their spouses at home, but simply in case their pants rip.

Foul, but not foul

Bubba Wells would out of an NBA game in less than three minutes. Wilt Chamberlain never did it in 1,045 games.

Upper 48

Neither Alaska nor Maine have ever sent a team to the NCAA tourney. Every other state has found a way.

Shut. It. Down.

Starting in 1990, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls didn’t experience a three-game losing streak for eight years.

There’s just a few. What’s weird in your wide world of sports, DNVR Nation? What was weirder than anything I listed here?