Larry Brown Sports

19-year-old Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper decided to get in on a softball game in Washington, D.C. while sightseeing on a day off Monday.

“I hadn’t seen the Lincoln Memorial before so I wanted to go over there and check that out,” Harper said before his game with the Nats on Tuesday. “I was just walking through and they asked me if I’d take a few hacks.”

Harper politely declined at first, but then he accepted the invitation.

“I was trying to interact with the community, the fans a little bit. I like doing that kind of stuff,” Harper said.

According to the DC Sports Bog, the softball game was between the World Wildlife Fund Fighting Pandas and the Alliance to Save Energy Killer Watts. They tell a slightly different story from Harper, saying that he offered to jump in.

“We didn’t ask him to play; he just wanted to jump in,” Fighting Pandas center fielder Nick Conger told DC Sports Bog. “He couldn’t help himself.”

Harper took a few cuts, including one where he shockingly whiffed. He did get his swing together and launched a bomb later in the at-bat. What’s surprising is that he’s not the first star MLB player to do something like this. Remember when this guy did it?

Thanks to Nats Enquirer via Deadspin for the video

The college baseball game between Nebraska and Cal. State University Bakersfield was rained out on Sunday, so the teams did their best to make the rain delay entertaining. In a tradition that’s become as popular as players using pine tar on bats and donuts in the on-deck circle, the schools began entertaining the crowd with a variety of skits. Highlighting the rain delay were the schools’ attempts at bowling, curling, sumo wrestling, rodeo riding, a shake weight ad, bullfighting, and a dance-off. It was as amusing as these rain delay videos tend to be.

H/T Hardball Talk

During a timeout in Game 1 of the Bulls-Sixers series on Saturday, CSN Philly’s Molly Sullivan was giving a report on Elton Brand while the lovable ball of red fur known as Benny the Bull could be seen meddling in the background. At first Benny was protecting Sullivan’s blind side. From what exactly, I don’t know. (Probably from Lil’ Benny.)

But the instance “Boom Boom Pow” started pouring out of United Center’s speakers, Benny busted into full-on dance mode. It’s almost like he’s been hypnotically trained to do that. This reminds us: A member of the Bulls dancing in the background of a live news report? Where have we seen that before?

H/T Sports by Brooks Live

Illinois high school baseball pitcher Ryne Elvers will now go down in history along with greats like Randy Johnson. That’s because the sophomore managed to do what so few players who have toed the rubber have done before him: pick up a birdie while playing baseball.

Yes, Elvers nailed a bird with a pitch during Sacred Heart-Griffin’s game last Wednesday against Southeast High. The explosion happened on an 0-1 pitch in the fifth inning. Somehow the bird managed to survive, with the exception of a few lost feathers, according to The State Journal-Register. What’s even more notable is that Elvers managed to keep it together to earn a win despite the horrific ordeal.

H/T Bro Bible via Bob’s Blitz

Pacers forward Danny Granger had a bad finish to Game 1 of his team’s Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Magic, and Chris Duhon was there to hilariously remind everyone about it. Not only did Granger miss two free throws with just over a minute left in the game, and then a layup, but he also traveled with 7.5 seconds left. Duhon, on the Magic bench as a backup guard, busted out a fantastic dance that should merit him consideration for “Soul Train.”

Here it is in spectacular GIF form:

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Making a half-court shot is difficult enough as is, but it’s even tougher when you’re going underhanded. But that didn’t stop Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) from delighting the kids at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center by knocking down a shot from long range on Friday.

According to Cape Cod Today, Brown was in Hyannis meeting with officials from the center. They say he toured the facility and then stepped on the basketball court with third-grade students from the Barnstable Community Horace Mann Public Charter School.

The students lined up to attempt half-court shots, but none of them made it. That’s when Brown stepped up and nailed his.

The only downside is Brown won’t get a free car out of it, though he does get some nice publicity.

BYU defensive lineman Jordan Richardson earned some serious creativity points for his marriage proposal last weekend. The senior-to-be from Idaho Falls, Idaho proposed to girlfriend Chelsea Young after she completed a 30-or-so mile race.

Young was running in the Ragnar Relay SoCal event, according to CNN. When she crossed the finish line, a banner saying “Will U Marry me?” was waiting for her. Richardson, wearing a suit and tie, then got down on his knee and proposed. She said yes and they shared a kiss.

How does that stack up with some of the other great sports-related proposals we’ve seen?

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Depending on how Virginia Tech running back David Wilson turns out as a professional, the NFL may have to consider adding backflips to the scouting combine next year. Wilson is projected to be drafted within the first two rounds either Thursday or Friday, and his freak athleticism is one of the reasons why. As you can see from the video above that SI Hot Clicks shared with us, Wilson may want to consider the Olympics if football doesn’t work out for him.

If you remember, Jason Pierre-Paul also pulled off the 13-backflip routine in the months leading up to the NFL Draft two years ago. His NFL career has turned out quite well thus far, so maybe the number of backflips a player can do correlates with how successful they will be at the NFL level.

This dude can do 13 backflips and whips this sick car? Sounds like a first-round talent to me.

A couple of Texas Rangers fans pulled a major no-no at Wednesday night’s game: They kept a foul ball from a young kid. Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland tossed a foul ball into the stands, and the typical mad rush for the treasure unfolded. One couple came up with the ball, but they left the young child next to them in tears.

According to Jimmy Traina, who shared the video with us, the young boy ended up with a ball, but not that one. He says a different fan gave it to him. At least the kid eventually got a souvenir.

I only have one question for you. Which is worse? These Rangers fans who made the kid cry, this awful woman, or this evil man? They’re all pretty bad.

You are looking at a video of the unorthodox batting stance for Alex Buccilli, a DH and outfielder at Coastal Carolina. We’ve seen plenty of players with extreme open stances (think Andres Galarraga or Tony Batista), and we’ve seen guys in a ridiculously low crouch (think Jeff Bagwell or Kevin Maas), but this dude incredibly combines both aspects to form one of the weirdest stance you’ll see.

But here’s the thing: It’s not just for show. Oh no. Buccilli is actually good.

Busted Coverage, which spotted the stance, tells us Buccilli is batting .313 with three home runs and 20 RBIs on the season. His .461 slugging percentage is second on the team. So even though the stance looks, it’s actually pretty effective for him.

Big League Stew did a little more research on Buccilli’s stance and learned that it’s a product of working with a sports psychologist. According to Myrtle Beach Online:

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