Men's 4x100 Ranked Among Top Sports Calls

Earlier this month Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated put together a list of 32 great sports calls. If you're a sports aficionado like me, you'll appreciate each of the calls on this the well rounded list. And if you're a die hard swimming fan, you'll get chills reliving this Beijing moment. Enjoy!

18. Dan Hicks on Jason Lezak’s comeback to keep Michael Phelps’ dream of eight gold medals alive at the 2008 Olympics

What I love about this call is that Hicks, like the rest of us, is quite certain that the U.S. is going to lose. He only slowly figures out that Jason Lezak, against all odds, is gaining ground. And we figure it out with him.*

“The world record is absolutely going to be shattered here. The United States trying to hang on to second, they should get the silver medal. … Now, though, Lezak is closing a little bit on Bernard. Can the veteran chase him down and pull off a shocker here?… Bernard is losing some ground! Here comes Lezak! Unbelievable at the end! He’s done it! The U.S. has done it! (3:25 mark on the video.)

*This reminds me of the classic call of the Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. For seven rounds Ali basically leaned on the loose ropes and let Foreman hit him. It was such a shocking strategy that it did not seem possible that he was doing it on purpose. Who would let George Foreman hit him?

The announcer, Colonel Bob Sheridan, didn’t see it, couldn’t see it, he was like the rest of us. But late in the eighth round, it suddenly dawned on him. “Maybe,” he said, “this could be the tactic of Ali to let the man punch himself out.” Absolutely perfect. By the time Sheridan realized it, by the time Foreman realized it, by the time the rest of the world realized it, it was too late. Twenty seconds later, Ali landed his flurry, Foreman fell, and the fight was over.