Live TV can amp up already crazy sports moments.
Pro athletes stretch the limits of what seems humanly possible, and adding other humans
into the mix is like throwing sporty fuel on a dramatic fire.
Here are some unreal sports moments that were broadcast on live TV.
The 1994 NBA Finals have often been called the "Forgotten Finals."
In case you're one of the many who forgot what happened, the Houston Rockets, led by
Hakeem Olajuwon, squared off against Patrick Ewing and his New York Knicks.
On paper it was an awesome match-up between two of basketball's most towering figures.
In reality, it wasn't particularly exciting — until something happened off the court
that fans will never forget.
Police had recently charged retired NFL player O.J. Simpson with the killings of his ex-wife
Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
He was supposed to turn himself in, but instead he jumped into his now-infamous white Bronco
and fled at an almost leisurely pace along the freeway.
Watching an NFL Hall of Famer lazily evade capture was apparently more exciting than
whatever the Rockets and Knicks were doing, so NBC relegated the game to a small box in
the corner of the screen.
Mike Tyson was the type of boxer who wanted to eat his opponents alive, and in 1997 he
almost succeeded.
It all went down during the hotly anticipated sequel to his 1996 showdown with Evander Holyfield,
which Holyfield won in the 11th round.
Almost 1.9 million people tuned in to Showtime to watch the "Baddest Man on the Planet" try
to even the score with the "Real Deal."
What followed was 1,000 straitjackets' worth of crazy.
In Round 2 Tyson sustained a gash over his right eye after receiving what he considered
intentional headbutts from Holyfield.
Then in Round 3, referee Mills Lane gave Holyfield an earful for landing a low blow.
So Tyson, already incensed about the headbutting, soon gave Holyfield an earful of teeth.
Holyfield hopped with pained disbelief after having a chunk of his right ear dentally removed.
Shockingly, the fight was allowed to continue, and Tyson then bit Holyfield's left ear, triggering
a much-deserved disqualification.
Tyson was hit with a $3 million fine and an 18-month boxing ban.
Years later, he appeared opposite Holyfield in a Foot Locker commercial that featured
him apologetically returning the ear.
"My ear."
"I kept that in formaldehyde."
NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal was a special kind of huge.
The 7-foot-1 center resembled an oversized redwood tree on the court.
Even the by-no-means small Charles Barkley once said:
"I played in the NBA for 16 years.
Shaquille O'Neal is the only guy that I ever said, wow that's a big dude."
And how could Barkley not feel that way?
The first time they played against each other, Shaq attacked a basket so hard that it died.
The massacre happened in 1993 when Shaq was an NBA rookie with something to prove.
During a nationally televised match-up between his Orlando Magic and Barkley's Phoenix Suns,
Shaq made a thunderous dunk that caused the entire basket to collapse.
Incredulous viewers accused the NBA and NBC of rigging the basket to fall.
In reality, Shaq was just freakishly beefy.
In fact, later that year he ripped a backboard off the basket.
In response, the NBA had to create Shaq-proof backboards.
The NBA has seen more than its fair share of off-the-wall characters.
Among those odd ballers was Ron Artest, who now goes by "Metta World Peace."
A cursory glance at his basketball past will make you think his new name is a meta joke.
Back when he was an Indiana Pacer, the Artest formerly known as Ron was about as peaceful
as the Thunderdome.
The most striking example of this was the incident known as the "Malice at the Palace."
On November 19, 2004, the Palace of Auburn Hills became the site of a royal rumble between
the home team Detroit Pistons and the visiting Pacers.
With 45 seconds left in the game, the Pacers had a commanding 15-point lead.
But Pistons center Ben Wallace refused to go down without a fight.
After getting fouled by Artest, Wallace retaliated with a ferocious shove.
Officials and players quickly stepped in to prevent a fistfight, but Pistons fan John
Green reignited the spark by chucking his beer at Artest.
An enraged Artest lunged into the crowd, and two of his teammates followed him into the
fray.
Foolhardy fans engaged the Pacers in battle as other spectators hurled trash through the
air.
The entire debacle aired on a nationwide ESPN broadcast, which was a huge black eye for
the NBA.
In response the league suspended nine players for a total of 146 games, including 86 for
Artest.
When you truly love someone, you'll move heaven and earth to show them how much you care.
The same thing happens when you love a sports team, except it's creepier since most fans
don't know the players personally.
Nevertheless, a dramatic fan gesture can be insanely sweet, or at least insane.
One fan named Mike Sergio loved the New York Mets so much that he didn't just move heaven
and earth.
He moved from earth to heaven and back down again to show his support.
Sergio was no ordinary fan.
He was a rock musician, construction worker, soap opera actor, and amateur skydiver.
He knew how to make a dramatic entrance, and during the 1986 World Series he did just that.
The Mets had just lost Game 5 to the Boston Red Sox, and Sergio decided to cheer his team
on in the most scene-stealing way imaginable during Game 6.
With the aid of an accomplice, he parachuted into Shea Stadium with a banner reading "Go
Mets."
Spectators and players alike went wild, and it all ended with Sergio going to jail.
"Oh, are they up Saturday night at Shea!"
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