The most bizarre sports stories of 2015

The former NFL fullback was nine miles offshore, out fishing alone when a wave hit his boat and sent him overboard. Konrad then swam 27 miles, while staving off sharks, jellyfish and the onset of hypothermia, finally making it to shore 16 hours later. "I shouldn't be here," said Konrad at a press conference a few days later.

Pro golfer says he was kidnapped, robbed and beaten in Hawaii. Folks were skeptic of this claim, including Allenby's former caddie with whom he already had a contentious relationship with. The story ended up fading away without any real resolution, leaving many to wonder what really happened. 

The most controversial story from 2015 was also one of it's weirdest. The most powerful league in the world was pitted against it's poster child. The NFL, and Roger Goodell especially, ended up taking a massive PR hit here (just one of many in 2015) while Brady and the Patriots emerged looking stronger than ever. 

On the lighter side of Patriots news in 2015, their lovable tight end wound up as the inspiration for cheesy slash fiction internet romance novel, with Gronk even reading a passage during Super Bowl Media Day. 

Murray State pitcher John Lollar captured the internet's imagination for a day in March when this image of his absurdly high leg kick made the rounds on Twitter and Facebook. 

“They’re using my girl’s character, her style, her look and she’s not getting anything for it. They didn’t even change her name. And come on man, they’re really using a guy with a flat-top like me. Come on. That’s ridiculous. They never called us. We were blindsided."

The man on the left in this photo received over 60 million votes in the presidential election in 2012. Three years later, he's fighting retired boxers for charity. 

Welcome to baseball in Miami, where even the most simple and mundane tasks seem to confuse and bewilder the Marlins organization. 

So, the NYPD breaks the leg of a professional athlete in the midst of the playoffs, which may have had a hand on costing his team their series, and somehow this wasn't a much bigger story?

While the Knicks and their fans are currently experiencing the euphoria of Porzingis, last season was an abomination that the team and its supporters would soon like to forget. Especially Dennis Doyle, who spent around $26,000 to see EVERY game the team played in the 2014-15 season. Godspeed Dennis, godspeed. 

Come on, Masai Ujiri, we all know your hyped about the Raptors, but screaming "F*** Brooklyn!" to a sea of Toronto fans is not the best look for the general manager of an NBA team. 

Speaking of cursing, Masai Ujiri has nothing on Reds skipper Bryan Price who let out 77 f-bombs in one postgame tirade. Move over Earl Weaver and Lee Elia, when it comes to swearing amongst MLB managers, there's a new sheriff in town. Somehow, 

Explained via Larry Brown Sports: '[The game] went to international tiebreaker rules, which means each half inning begins with a runner placed on second. Camarillo, which was the visiting team, saw its runner advance to third on a wild pitch by [Rachel] Garcia and then score when the catcher threw the ball into left field trying to get her out. The Highland Bulldogs were unable to score in the bottom half of the inning and lost 1-0 in eight innings."

Somehow, the Brewers broadcast team (including the legendary Bob Uecker) locked themselves in the booth and had to be saved via ladder, all while a game was going on in the meantime. 

“I thought I was being friendly. She was rooting for LeBron the whole game so finally I was getting irritated and I said, ‘I’m the owner of the Warriors.’ She didn’t care, she just kept going. So finally I said that’s it, and I moved a couple seats down."

Angels pitcher CJ Wilson, after pitching a gem against Oakland: “I watched the last episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ today and I was really drained. It was very up and down. I was very worried it wasn’t going to turn out well for Daenerys Targaryen."

Parents can get quite protective of their children when it comes to how their coaches use them out on the field, even if those parents are iconic hip hop moguls. That said, even if you're Diddy (or Puffy of Puff Daddy) you can't just barge into practice and start swinging kettlebells all around. 

“Some of you guys have been doing the number two and not washing your hands. It’s not good. I noticed it even happening earlier today. So if you guys could just be better about it, that would be great.” Maybe this is the reason why Greinke left L.A. to sign with Arizona?

In this day and age, one pro team hacking another team was bound to happen, but who would have thought that a well-respected organization like the Cardinals would be the ones to get caught with their hand in the digital cookie jar?

In just six days, the veteran point guard went from Orlando to Memphis to Charlotte to Oklahoma City and then finally to Toronto, where he was eventually waived. Ridnour is currently sitting out the 2015 season. 

“When the new iPhone came out it was way bigger than the last one, and I think because I got that new phone, it was a strain to use it. You have to stretch further to hit the buttons, and I honestly think that’s how I ended up developing [tennis elbow].” Sounds legit to me. 

Aer Lingus temporarily 'misplaced' the clubs of PGA golfer Graham DeLaet just days before the start of the British Open causing DeLaet to have to scramble to find clubs for his practice round. The airline did eventually reunite DeLaet with his clubs, but when they did, they were covered in a weird gray dust-like substance. 

There isn't a scarier image from 2015 than the one of Mick Fanning totally unaware that there is a shark's fin just a few feet behind him. 

80s heartthrob Corey Feldman put on a bizarre performance during a game of a Cardinals affiliate, so much so that the team has to issue an apology, which of course Feldman took issue with in one of the more peculiar exchanges in the sports world this year. 

There perhaps wasn't a weirder day on the sports internet than when Deandre Jordan reneged on his deal with Dallas to stay with the Clippers. There were emojis, chairs against doors and rumors of Mark Cuban driving around sobbing trying to get in contact with Jordan to name just a few of the odd elements from this event. 

NFL players did not have the greatest Fourth of July in 2015. The Giants Jason Pierre-Paul and the Bucs C.J. Wilson each lost fingers due to fireworks accidents. JPP eventually did get back on the field for New York, but Wilson retired shortly after his incident. 

And you thought Gregg Popovich gave the NBA sideline reporters a tough time...

The NBA superfan played the role of superhero, after someone tried to break in to his apartment, he chased down the perp and held him until cops were able to arrive. Don't mess with Spurs Jesus!

A baseball game being postponed because a giant circus tent setup nearby was distracting to the batters is now easily the oddest reason why any sporting event has ever been postponed. 

Oh, those poor New York Jets and their long-suffering fans. Just when it seems like the franchise is on the verge of becoming a real contender, an unknown fringe roster guy goes and breaks the jaw of the team's supposed franchise QB over a reported sum of $600. Just the latest embarrassment in a long line of Jets football embarrassments. 

Just goes to show you how massive the NFL is when a hastily-drawn courtroom sketch of one of its stars can become the only thing the internet talks about for 24 hours straight. 

Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes says he is dating the pop star, while Rihanna lashed out only as Ri-Ri could saying she had no idea what Barnes was talking about. Months later, no one is still quite sure what happened between these two. 

Sadly, it's official. To everyone under the age of 21, Michael Jordan isn't the NBA G.O.A.T. Nope, to those kids, he's someone you mock to up the number of loops of your Vine channel. Poor MJ. 

George Karl has been the Kings coach for less than a year and in that time, the team has become even more of a laughingstock around the league than before he arrived. Wearing your disgruntled superstar's jersey to a fundraiser isn't going to magically soothe things over and only really makes Karl look totally inept and desperate. 

Please for love of God, Segway cameraman, do not run over the legs of the fastest man in the history of the world. 

The KSU band claimed that formation on the right is supposed to be a spaceship, but that sure does not look like any spaceship I have ever seen. The band director apologized and was later suspended.

All throughout the Deflategate saga, Donald Trump repeatedly name dropped and defended Tom Brady, claiming that he was close friends with the Patriots QB and as it turns out, Trump may not have been totally exaggerating when he made that claim. Although, Brady did make it clear later on that he didn't explicitly endorse Trump (or anyone else) for president. 

A high snap, followed by a panicked jump throw into triple coverage that caroms off one receiver into the arms of another for a 66-yard touchdown. Yup, just like they drew it up in the huddle. 

In the matchup of fireworks vs. all things NFL in 2015, fireworks remained undefeated throughout the month of September. 

It's a tale as old as time. Reporter breaks story about athlete. Athlete calls him a liar. Reporter threatens athlete on live television by saying 'You do not want to make an enemy out of me'. Welcome to journalism in 2015. 

With the Mets having made the World Series, it would seem like all is forgiven between the Mets and their young ace, but the Mets and their fans alike are still not quite sure why Matt Harvey was late to the ballpark that day. 

Nothing screams 'team leader' like your team leader screaming “Enjoy your practice squad paycheck, enjoy your practice squad trophy” to practice squad players who get the best of him. 

Excessive hyperbole has become the standard in sports media today, but calling this the worst trick play of all-time is pretty much objectively true at this point. 

Even if no good at all comes out of the FIFA corruption scandal, we will always have Jerome Champagne, Sheikh Salman and of course...Tokyo Sexwale. 

The Carolina Panthers play in Bank of America Stadium. Some people have a problem with some things Bank of America has reportedly done in the past, so hey, what better way to voice that displeasure than by rappelling down from the upper deck in the middle of Monday Night Football game?

"I had made a promise to myself I would sleep with the trophy that night. Nicole [Lacob's fiancee] and I did sleep with it. I'll leave it to the imagination. We had a lot of fun with it." Too. Much. Info. 

NBA games in the past have been delayed by bats flying into the arena, by mascots getting injured, by the halftime pyro starting a fire, but a fan throwing a pickle onto the floor midgame? That's a new one. 

So, Ray-Ray Armstrong barked at a police dog at Heinz Field...which is certainly peculiar behavior but not illegal apparently. Even so, the Raiders decided to move on from Armstrong, which in itself is bizarre, since Oakland has long been the place where the NFL's bad boys seek one last chance to stay in the league. 

There might not be a more bizarre piece of sports footage from 2015 than seeing an overmatched and defeated Ronda Rousey wondering what in the world just hit her. (Hint: It was Holly Holm's foot. And then her fists.) 

Derek Jeter is currently in the midst of a lawsuit, after an underwear company claims he backed out of an endorsement because he said fellow endorser, 50 Cent, was "too urban" for the brand. 50's response, “Wow, guess I'm not a Yankees fan anymore.”