Tiger vs. Yang: Greatest Upset Ever?
In honor of Sunday's big upset, here's my definitive, bullet-proof, utterly unassailable ranking of the 33 Greatest Sports Upsets of the Last 100 Years (one for each of Tiger's putts on Sunday). Today, we count down from No. 33 to No. 17.
Did I shank any? Call me on it.
No. 33
Ben Curtis wins the British Open, 2003
Ranked 396th in the world, Curtis, right, became the first golfer since Francis Ouimet to claim the very first major he played in. His victory ushered in what would be known as “The Curtis Era” (in his house.)
No. 32
James J. Braddock defeats Max Baer for the heavyweight title, 1935
This turned into a Ron Howard flick, enjoyable if only because Russell Crowe gets beat up real good.
No. 31
Columbia over Stanford in the Rose Bowl, 1934
Lou Little's Lions shut out a Stanford team (7-0) that had only yielded four scores all season.
No. 30
Joey Chestnut over Takeru Kobayashi, 2007
Chestnut got the better of Kobayashi, the Tiger Woods of competitive hot-dog eating, at Nathan's Coney Island dog-chowing contest, 66 franks to 63. An upset (stomach) special.
No. 29
Man O' War loses to a 100-1 shot, 1919
The thoroughbred's only loss in 21 starts was to a horse named “Upset,” hence the iconic term.
No. 28
The North Jackson Chiefs win a basketball game with only 2 players, 1992
You must read Sports Illustrated writer Thomas Lake's brilliant “2 on 5” to believe it.
Nos. 27, 26
Denver Nuggets over the Seattle Supersonics, 1994
Golden State Warriors over the Dallas Mavericks, 2007
Two top-ranked NBA seeds go down to no. 8s.
No. 25
Orville Moody wins the U.S. Open, 1969
The Sarge's first, and last, PGA Tour win. Moody, who died last year, never loved Tour life. "We had more fun in the army," he told S.I. in 1970. "You don't realize the security there. I always had a place to sleep, a place to eat, and I always got paid... I was happier then."
No. 24
Milan High School edges Muncie Central, 1954
The inspiration for Hoosiers. I can buy a team from a school of 161 students beating Goliath H.S. for the state title. I can't buy Barbara Hershey being into Gene Hackman.
No. 23
Appalachian State over the University of Michigan at “The Big House,” 2007
Exactly 109,218 stunned Wolverine fans watched history: the first time a Division I-AA team toppled a ranked Division I-A team.
No. 22
The Boston Red Sox overcome an 0-3 playoff deficit to beat the Yankees, 2004
Bloody socks, bloody rivalry, bloody good show. Dave Roberts will never pay for a drink in Beantown again.
No. 21
The Soviet Union wins Olympic gold over the U.S. basketball team, 1972
Controversy on the court, at the height of the Cold War. We was robbed!
No. 20
Texas Western over Kentucky in the NCAA basketball finals, 1966
Starting five African-Americans for the first time in NCAA basketball history, the Miners shocked the heavily-favored Wildcats.
No. 19
Tom Watson (almost) wins the British Open, 2009
I threw Old Tom a bone. It's part of my 12-step post-Open recovery program. Tom, it still tears at our guts.
No. 18
Seabiscuit over War Admiral in “The Race of the Century,” 1938
The plucky thoroughbred defeated the Triple Crown winner by 4 lengths.
No. 17
Daniel LaRusso over Johnny Lawrence, 1984
Scrawny New Jersey native LaRusso won the Southern California All-Valley Karate Tournament over blonde bad-ass Lawrence, using the indefensible “crane technique.” Speaking of indefensible, three sequels followed.
Continue to No.s 16-1. Where will Tiger v. Yang fall?!
Photos: Robert Beck/SI (Curtis); Damian Strohmeyer/SI (Red Sox)
