The Highlight

ESPN became big because it introduced and mastered one thing: the highlight. The worldwide leader in sports has long been and will forever be (hopefully) the mecca of sports entertainment. The highlight is what propelled it to such heights and as sustained it power. Sportscenter has allowed viewers to watch a 60 second montage of a game and see all the best plays. This fits in perfectly with our 'have it in an instant' nation. I can watch any sports highlights. I know Sportscenter is only going to show great plays that I will enjoy. I can appreciate even the lamest of sports as long as its just highlights. Here are my best highlights for each sport. I decided that it has to be a play that can happen at any time in a game. So no "Walk off homeruns" or "Hailmary touchdowns". The event can happen on any given sequence.

Tennis: Between The Legs Shot This never gets old. Anytime I play tennis (very rare) I give this shot a try. The pros only do it when its the best shot available...which is crazy. They are running full speed and swing a racket through there legs as hard as they can (scary for a guy) and still manage to keep it between the lines. Great highlight.

Baseball: Robbing A Homerun There are 3 things that make a good homerun rob:

1. Full speed running. None of this hangout by the wall...wait...wait... now jump and catch.

2. Bending arm. Anytime it looks like there might be a dislocated shoulder, hyperextended elbow or a broken wrist...then it's getting good.

3. Hat falls off. Truly a good catch when you hit the wall hard enough for the hat to pop off.

Basketball: Alley Oop Maybe my favorite overall highlight. So fun to see some body emerge from a crowd and throw it down. Best duo I've ever seen was Jason Kidd to Vince Carter. Kidd would throw from halfcourt and Carter would just go get it no matter where it was.

Golf: Errant Shot Hits Tree It looks like a terrible shot and then...bonk...the ball rolls into the fairway. The golfers don't celebrate enough. They stay mad at themselves. This is like banking a free throw. Don't be mad, be happy you got lucky.

Racing: Crash If there is any other reason to watch NASCAR highlights then I don't know about it.

Hockey: Fist Fight If the NHL wants me to watch their games, then they need to guarantee me at least one fight per period. I could endure everything else to watch those fights.

Football: Halfback Pass / Reverse This is perhaps the trickiest of the highlights. It's great athletes making great plays. These are HUGE game-changers that often result in points. I hated when the Seahawks got scored on in the Superbowl on a trick play...but it was an epic highlight.

Soccer: Bicycle Kick This is something I have never done. To have a ball come swinging in and you decide to flail your body and kick the ball while upside down is INCREDIBLE. I'm starting to enjoy soccer and I didn't realize how really rare this play is. It's downright enjoyable when it happens.