Let's get this straight. The Denver Broncos, after scoring in the final seconds of their Week 2 matchup with the San Diego Chargers, just one extra point away from forcing overtime in a 38-37 game, did what?
Yes, they did. They went for two, gambling to win the game right there, rather than prolong the game and put the Chargers away in overtime. Coach Mike Shanahan, the savvy 16-year veteran that he is, expressed no remorse after the fact, simply saying that "sometimes, you have to go with your gut."
Perhaps that's because it worked. In honor of Mr. Shanahan, here are 10 more of the sports world's biggest "luckboxes."
10. Matt Cassel. Wanted: one quarterback to inherit the defense, special teams, offensive line and ridiculous receiving core of the NFL's best team. High school diploma preferred. No experience necessary. Really. Absolutely none.
9. Francisco Rodriguez. He should probably send Mike Scioscia a Christmas card. Or, rather, 58 of them.
8. Joe Morgan, Tim McCarver, John Kruk, Jeff Van Gundy, John Madden, Skip Bayless, Woody Paige and Stephen A. Smith (eight-way tie). This is what counts as an "analyst" these days? How do they get these jobs? Are they just handing them out on the street or something?
7. Ned Colletti. This is the man who looked at his 54-54 Dodgers team at the trading deadline and said to himself, "Yes, mortgaging my team's future for two-month rentals of Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake just to get swept by the Cubs in the first round of the playoffs does look like a good idea." And he comes off looking like a genius!
6. Danny Ainge. Which award sounds catchier -— NBA Executive of the Year, or NBA Guy Who Answers the Phone, Listens to an Offer of Kevin Garnett for Six Nobodies, Shrugs, Says Okay, and Wins a Ring … of the Year? We guess it's the first one.
5. David Beckham. What does the aging English soccer legend do when he starts to, well, age? Oh, he just hops over the pond and lands in Hollywood. Did you say the L.A. Galaxy want to pay me $250 million to play in the vastly underwhelming MLS? Of course!
4. Anna Kournikova. Hmm, why do we get the feeling that Ms. Kournikova doesn't exactly deserve all the attention she receives? Perhaps, it's because the only Grand Slam titles she can call her own aren't really her own. Martina Hingis helped Anna snatch up her only two big-time wins, at the Australian Open in doubles play in 1999 and 2002, and I'm more inclined to believe that certain other "assets" may be to blame for Kournikova's ridiculously high number of Google hits.
3. The U.S. 4x200 Olympic relay team (the members not named Michael Phelps). We know Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay are Olympic gold medalists, but let us not forget that the final piece of the Beijing quartet has a knack for winning the gold. Phelps finished a full second better than anyone else on the team and, ahem, sort of carried them to victory.
2. Carl Pavano. For a man that once gave up six earned runs on six hits in zero innings against the Red Sox in ‘03, it is hard to believe we call this man lucky. Yet he did impress the Yankees enough to earn a ludicrous four-year, $40 million deal. Twenty-six appearances later, Pavano still hasn't earned anything he's being paid for. May we all be as lucky as Mr. Pavano.
1. David Eckstein. Wait, so all I have to do is hit .285 for my career, with no power, no speed and average defense, and I can be a two-time All-Star and a World Series MVP? And people will think I'm gritty, scrappy and smart when I'm really just short, white and funny-looking? Awesome! Where do I sign up?
