15 Sports Experiments That Failed Miserably

By Nick Villano

15 Sports Experiments That Failed Miserably

MICHAEL JORDAN WHITE SOX — Every single year, there are high ranking people who make some terrible decisions. They make us fans wonder how they even got their position in the first place. Some experiments are beyond dumb. They fail so miserably that they live on forever. Here are 15 of the worst in history.

15. Chris Hanson Chops Leg

15. Chris Hanson Chops Leg

15. Chris Hanson Chops Leg

15. Chris Hanson Chops Leg — The Jacksonville Jaguars thought it would be a great idea to have a block of wood for their players to chop. Let's let macho men who are almost never lumberjacks use tools they have never handled before when an injury can cost the team millions of dollars. Chris Hanson missed the wood with the axe and ended up chopping at his leg, needing surgery on his non-kicking leg. There are better motivating techniques, Mr. Del Rio.

14. Lockouts

14. Lockouts

14. Lockouts

14. Lockouts — Lockouts are terrible. They are on this list because it is an experiment, also known as a risk, by the commissioner and the owners to see if they can force the players' hands. What usually happens is fans realize they can live without said sport and they lose money in the long run.

13. Slamball

13. Slamball

13. Slamball

13. Slamball — Basketball with trampolines? That sounds awesome. Also sounds like something we could all do. This was one of those sounds good on paper but had no lasting ability ideas.

12. USFL Goes Head to Head With NFL

12. USFL Goes Head to Head With NFL

12. USFL Goes Head to Head With NFL

12. USFL Goes Head to Head With NFL — Competition usually drives ratings. Sometimes, however, it shows the epic flaws in one organization. The USFL got so desperate that they sued the NFL in an antitrust lawsuit. It was an epic fail from start to finish.

11. Baseball Talks To Congress

11. Baseball Talks To Congress

11. Baseball Talks To Congress

11. Baseball Talks To Congress — When the steroid scandal in baseball started, nobody knew how deep it would go. When Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Curt Schilling, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa spoke to Congress in regards to the issue, it became a circus. McGwire kept saying he didn't want to talk about the past. Sosa seemed to forget English. Palmeiro provided soundbites forever when he was proven to be a liar. It gained nothing but ridicule for most of these athletes.

10. Disco Demolition Night

10. Disco Demolition Night

10. Disco Demolition Night

10. Disco Demolition Night — For some reason, Steve Dahl thought it would be a great idea to have explosions in the middle of a baseball field in the middle of a double-header. It did not work out to well. Many fans charged the field, and there was a strong chance of serious injury. The Chicago White Sox had to forfeit the second game of a double-header because of the damage to the field.

9. NBA Gives ABA Lifetime Media Rights

9. NBA Gives ABA Lifetime Media Rights

9. NBA Gives ABA Lifetime Media Rights

9. NBA Gives ABA Lifetime Media Rights — When the Spirit of St. Louis missed out of the NBA-ABA merger, they were given compensation. They were awarded one-seventh of the NBA national media deal that the four teams coming in received. While it was small at first, it exploded once the NBA started making serious money. It ended up costing the NBA $300 million before having to spend $500 million additional dollars to get out of the deal.

8. Thursday Night Football

8. Thursday Night Football

8. Thursday Night Football

8. Thursday Night Football — The NFL continues to say they are looking out for the best interest of their players and they take concussions and long-term health seriously. Then, they make their players play this violent game on three days rest. It is hypocritical, to say the least. Got to love Roger Goodell.

7. Replacement Refs

7. Replacement Refs

7. Replacement Refs

7. Replacement Refs — How bad was this? Goodell thought that he could hire just about anyone to be an NFL referee. It was so bad that it became the biggest headline. Nobody cared about the matchups. It caused a crowd to chant obscenities on national television. They ruined a Monday Night Football matchup by calling an interception a TD catch. It was awful.

6. The Decision

6. The Decision

6. The Decision

6. The Decision — LeBron James broke the hearts of Cleveland when he signed with the Miami Heat. He spit in their face when he made it a nationally televised special. He went from one of the most loved players to public enemy No. 1 because of how he came off on this and with the conference where he claimed they would win nine championships. He knew real hate when he was violently booed in every single arena.

5. NBA Tries New Ball

5. NBA Tries New Ball

5. NBA Tries New Ball

5. NBA Tries New Ball — The NBA thought that it needed a new ball in 2006. They didn't. They thought this new microfiber ball would be better. It wasn't. Luckily, David Stern was not stubborn with his decision and yanked the new ball by December.

4. The Glow Puck

4. The Glow Puck

4. The Glow Puck

4. The Glow Puck — In the 1990s, the NHL thought it would be a good idea to make the puck glow on TV so it would be easier to see. It worked out for grandma and grandpa, but not for the typical NHL fan. It was so campy that it is now one of the infamous bad decisions in sports.

3. Michael Jordan Plays Baseball

3. Michael Jordan Plays Baseball

3. Michael Jordan Plays Baseball

3. Michael Jordan Plays Baseball — Some athletes stick around too long and end up sucking at their own sport. For one of the greatest athletes ever, that wasn't good enough. Michael Jordan wanted to try his hand at baseball. He did not succeed.

2. Babe Ruth Gets Traded For A Play

2. Babe Ruth Gets Traded For A Play

2. Babe Ruth Gets Traded For A Play

2. Babe Ruth Gets Traded For A Play — While the true reason that Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees is a mystery, the most common excuse is to start one of his theatre projects. He received 0,000 dollars for Ruth, on top of a mortgage on Fenway Park for 0,000. Of course, Ruth went on to be one of the greatest players of all time.

1. XFL

1. XFL

1. XFL

1. XFL — Vince McMahon and football just sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. It eventually happened. There were nicknames on jerseys. They didn't allow fair catches. It was an overall free-for-all. They played out the first season. Ratings went from optimistic to deadly in weeks. It was the worst of ideas.

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