Top 100 Sports Plays of 2018 (Part 4) PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 Well friends, here we are. It's the top 25 plays of 2018. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. If you skipped right to this section, welcome! You've reached the top of the mountain! Of the top 100 plays, this section of the list is a combination of both the best and the most iconic plays of 2018. Let's get right to it. 25. 9/24- Vance McDonald stiff arms defender and takes it to the house Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There are stiff arms, and then there is complete domination of your defender. Vance McDonald shows no mercy to Bucs FS Chris Conte and takes it to the house. Iconic.
24. 6/3- Bradley Zimmer dives to make a great flying catch Cleveland Indians vs. Minnesota Twins
You'll believe a man can fly after you watch Bradley Zimmer take flight to take an extra base hit away in this game against the Twins.
23. 11/14- Tom Kuhnhackl gets tripped, slides puck in the net from his back New York Islanders vs. Vancouver Canucks
This is absurd. This is some Alex Ovechkin-like nonsense. Somehow, SOMEhow, Kuhnhackl is able to put one in the back of the net from his dang back. You could probably try this again another hundred times and still not be able to replicate it.
22. 5/26- Gareth Bale game winning bicycle kick puts Real Madrid ahead UEFA Champions League Final Real Madrid vs. Liverpool
There's something beautiful about a good bicycle kick. Here, Gareth Bale puts Real Madrid ahead for good with this stunning kick that finds the top left corner of the net in the UEFA Champions League Final.
21. 3/1- LeBron dribbles through Tristan Thompson’s legs to himself Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Look at LeBron James out here nutmegging his own teammates. He's just so damn good, he owns God's username and password and will do with it what he pleases.
20. 7/13- Billy Hamilton reaches way over the fence to rob Matt Carpenter Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The dismount is a tad silly, but the catch is absolutely absurd, as Billy Hamilton climbs the wall and reaches over the fence to take a home run away from Matt Carpenter.
19. 4/16- Frederik Andersen paddles puck away from open net Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, Game 3 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins
On first glance it's really hard to tell just how wide open that net is for David Pastrnak to shoot at. But Freddie Andersen comes up with the save of the playoffs, sealing a much-needed win for the Leafs against their rival Boston Bruins.
18. 7/1- Kevin Pillar climbs the wall to rob Nicholas Castellanos of a home run Toronto Blue Jays vs. Detroit Tigers
I have said it before. I will say it again. Kevin Pillar is SUPERMAN. He's gonna climb the fence again (because what else is new) to take a home run away from Castellanos. Just a day at the office for Mr. Pillar.
17. 1/6 - Marcus Mariota throws touchdown pass to himself AFC Wild Card Game Tennessee Titans vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Brett Favre's first ever NFL pass was to himself. Who's to say that Marcus Mariota hasn't one-upped him here? The Titans QB scrambles and barely makes it to the line of scrimmage before his pass is batted... right back into his hands, where he dives toward the end zone to give the Titans a much-needed score.
16. 3/31- Zlatan Ibrahimovic blasts his first goal with LA Galaxy LA Galaxy vs. Los Angeles FC
Well, this one ain't fair. Zlatan is ageless, and he shows that by blasting his first goal in America from just over the mid-field stripe. He would add another header to put the Galaxy up 4-3, but this one to tie it just electrifies the crowd. LA FC got Zlatan'd on this day.
15. 3/21- Sidney Crosby bats puck to himself and scores Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens
What we've got here is your basic game of hot puck-tato. Sidney Crosby, in all his insanity, uses his excellent hand-eye coordination to tip the puck to himself, and rifle it past Carey Price for the goal.
14. 12/21- Sami Vatanen makes stop to keep it out of the net, Taylor Hall scores on breakout New Jersey Devils vs. Ottawa Senators
Now this is one hell of a sequence. The Devils make the stop not with their goaltender, but with Sami Vatanen. On the ensuing breakout, the Devils get the odd-man rush, with Taylor Hall scoring the goal, lighting a fire under both the crowd and the team. Watch it and feel the madness.
13. 5/31- Jayson Tatum dunks on LeBron James Eastern Conference Finals, Game 7 Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
This is your reminder that Jayson Tatum is really good at basketball. He makes a poster out of the King, slamming it home over LeBron James.
12. 6/4- Jessie Warren makes great diving snag off bunt and turns two Women's College World Series, Game 1 Florida State Seminoles vs. Washington Huskies
A DIVING STOP FROM OUT OF NOWHERE! Jessie Warren had to have known this bunt was coming, otherwise she wouldn't have made the excellent diving play. She also has the IQ to throw it to first and double up the runner. This is awesome.
11. 5/5- LeBron goes off the window for game winner Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 3 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors
We all know that Toronto didn't have a prayer in this series. When LeBron's shot kisses the glass on the way in, you could hear all of Canada's collective hearts breaking, as the King had once again ripped them out of their collective chests.
Also, LeBron totally knew this was going in as soon as he let it fly. 10. 1/8 - Alabama wins national championship on bomb from Tua Tagovailoa CFP National Championship Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia had Alabama on the ropes. It was 2nd and 26. Bama was out of field goal range. And yet, this guy, who came into the game midway through and started dominating, throws a 41-yard bomb to DeVonta Smith, winning the national title for the Crimson Tide. Georgia should be ashamed of themselves.
9. 2/27- Mikael Granlund bats puck in after it bounces off his chest Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues
I see players bounce pucks on sticks all the time. It's not often you see a player full on soccer-ball it from his chest, and bat it into the net. That's exactly what Mikael Granlund does here. Electrifying and truly stunning.
8. 9/23- Tiger wins his first tournament in five years with tap in putt TOUR Championship, Final Round
That's right, nerds. The golf shot of the year is a two-foot tap in putt from Tiger Woods, who, with this putt, claimed his first PGA Tour victory in five years. Also, come for the putt, stay for the thousands of people following Tiger around as he walks up the 18th fairway at East Lake. No one makes golf what it is like Tiger does.
7. 2/22- Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson’s shootout goal wins gold medal for US 2018 Winter Olympics- Women's Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game United States vs. Canada
It came down to a shootout for the United States and Canada, and this delicious goal from Jocelyne Lamoureux dekes Shannon Szabados out of her skates, serving as the golden goal for the Americans, as goalie Maddie Rooney would stop the next Canadian shot. The U.S. women won the gold medal, four years after blowing a 2-0 lead to Canada in the gold medal match in Sochi. This one is all about redemption and finesse.
6. 2/28- James Harden crosses up Wesley Johnson, stares, drains 3 Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Let me walk you through this one: James Harden crosses up Wesley Johnson so badly that Johnson falls down. Johnson fell down so hard that Harden STARED AT HIM AND WAITED FOR HIM TO GET UP BEFORE DRAINING A THREE IN HIS FACE. James Harden has ice in that beard. Cold. Blooded.
5. 12/9- The Miracle in Miami: Dolphins double-lateral touchdown to beat Pats Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots
We don't have to talk about this one.
Fun fact: The Patriots radio call of this play features 35 seconds of stunned silence. Fun fact: The Dolphins didn't make the playoffs. 4. 10/17- Benintendi robs Alex Bregman to win game 4 American League Championship Series, Game 4 Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros
At least Alex Bregman didn't leave us waiting, as he swung on the first pitch from Craig Kimbrel, hitting it into shallow left field. With the bases loaded, anything could have happened if the ball had gotten by the Red Sox left fielder. But it did not, and Andrew Benintendi came up with one of the best plays of the year, winning game four for the Red Sox.
3. 2/4- “The Philly Special”; Eagles pull off trick play pass to Nick Foles for TD Super Bowl LII Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots
We don't have to talk about this one either.
2. 3/31 and 4/1- Arike Ogunbowale's back-to-back buzzer-beaters win Title NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament- Semifinal and National Championship Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Connecticut Huskies and Mississippi State Bulldogs
Never had a player hit buzzer-beaters in both the semifinal and National Championship game before. Arike Ogunbowale made herself into a household name when she hit one with one-second to play against UConn... and then did it again to win a National Championship with an even crazier shot against Mississippi State. Thanks to Arike, Notre Dame are your NCAA Women's basketball champions.
1. 1/14- "The Minneapolis Miracle"; Stefon Diggs 61-yard walk-off touchdown NFC Divisional Playoff Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints
And finally, our number one play of 2018.
All Marcus Williams had to do was not duck. Had he not ducked, he probably would have made the play on Stefon Diggs, and we wouldn't be sitting here talking about this play. Instead, we are. Stefon Diggs' 61-yard touchdown won the game for the Vikings, and, since it has its own nickname, etched itself forever in NFL history, and on this year's list of top plays. And with THAT, we have reached the end of the top 100 sports plays of 2018. Are there any that we missed? Leave a comment down below. <<< PART 3 (49-26) Also, be sure to check out the rest of According to Andrew's Best of 2018 spread by clicking HERE.
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