Sport: Right place, right time

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) pulls in a touchdown pass against the Dallas...
New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) pulls in a touchdown pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of their NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Photo by Reuters

You know the saying - catches win matches. Odell Beckham jun's staggering touchdown catch for the Giants earlier this week made the Otago Daily Times sports department reminisce about other great catches. Here are some of the best.

The greatest catch ever?
Who: New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham jun.

When: Monday, against the Dallas Cowboys.

What: On the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Eli Manning rolled right and lofted a 43-yard pass to the front right-hand corner of the end zone.

Despite being fouled by Cowboys defensive back Brandon Carr, Beckham jun stretched out and made a miraculous one-handed grab over the back of his shoulders to score. The rookie showed amazing athleticism to snaffle the ball with three fingers and come down a yard inside the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.

The catch set social media alight and has widely been called the greatest catch of all time. Post-match, Beckham said he hoped it would not be the greatest catch ever as he hoped to better it.

The helmet catch
Who: New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree.

When: Super Bowl XLII, February 3, 2008.

What: On the biggest stage possible, Tyree made arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history. With his Giants down 14-10 with 1min 15sec left on the clock against the New England Patriots, it was Tyree's time to shine.

On third and five on their own 43-yard line, quarterback Eli Manning somehow escaped heavy pressure and threw a 37-yard bomb to Tyree. Despite having safety Rodney Harrison draped all over him, he went up and snatched the ball from Harrison's grasp, holding it against the crown of his helmet to secure it.

The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl 17-14 and Harrison later confessed to being haunted by the catch for months.

Toe-tapping Super Bowl winner
Who: Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio HolmesWhen: Super Bowl XLIII, February 1, 2009.

What: With his side trailing 23-20, Holmes made the title-winning touchdown catch with 35sec left on the clock.

Facing second and goal from the six-yard line, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger brought himself some time with his feet before throwing a dart to the back right-hand corner of the end zone.

Despite triple coverage on the play, Holmes watched the ball sail over the outstretched fingers of Ralph Brown, before snatching the perfectly thrown ball and toe-tapping an inch inside the end zone for the score.

The Steelers went on to win the game 27-23.

Skippy's stunner
Who: In-and-out Black Cap Mathew Sinclair.

When: 2004.

You would be slightly overselling it to suggest all New Zealand cricketers rise to the occasion when they tackle Australia. And you'd be hauled off to the Commerce Commission if you suggested Mathew Sinclair thrived on playing Australia, with batting averages of 14.82 in tests and 13.30 in ODIs against our neighbours. But he brought his fielding A-game to Melbourne's Docklands Stadium in 2004.

Bully-boy Australian opener Matthew Hayden latched on to a short ball from Jacob Oram and sent it hurtling out towards square leg like a ''tracer bullet'' (to steal a Martin Crowe line).

''Skippy'' Sinclair was a man on a mission, though, sprinting to his left, throwing himself even further to the left with flagrant disregard for his own wellbeing and plucking the ball - with his left hand, it must be added - from its intended journey to the hoardings.

Catch of the century
Who: Australian cricketer Adam Dale.

When: 1997.

Dale's effort for Queensland against New South Wales was pretty special. New South Wales was just 19 runs from victory when Phil Emery tonked Scott Prestwidge back over his head, and the ball looked certain to be heading to the ropes to speed the run chase up. Dale, whose bowling was based around precision, accuracy and sticking to his well-tried outswing, threw out his textbook with utter abandon, hurling himself to his right - and a little bit back - to clutch the white leather projectile with one hand.

World class
Who: Japanese rugby player Yoshihito Yoshida.

When: 1992.

The All Blacks are all-conquering, right? Not quite. Yoshida found a soft underbelly in the 1992 side when he turned out for the World XV in awful Harlequins-style jerseys. However, Yoshida was more than just a token player chosen from a minnow side to take part in the NZRFU's centennial celebrations - he could play footy as well as anyone.

The All Blacks were trying to scramble the ball away from their line but after a wobbly clearing kick to the 22m line, the ball ended up with Jeremy Guscott and - being an English back - he elected to put in a kick of his own. The perfectly weighted mini-bomb was set to land just over the line smack dab in the middle of the in-goal area but the zippy Yoshida launched himself near the line and timed his dive perfectly to score a memorable try.

The Bartman ball
Who: Steve Bartman, a baseball fan.

When: October 14, 2003.

It is a date that lives in infamy for fans of the ''cursed'' Chicago Cubs franchise. The Cubs, seeking a first World Series title since 1908, were leading the National League Championship Series 3-2 and were 3-0 up in the eighth inning of game six against the Florida Marlins at famous Wrigley Field.

Florida batter Luis Castillo whacked a foul ball that seemed certain to be caught by outfielder Moises Alou. That would have been the second out, leaving the Cubs just four outs from the World Series.

Bartman, a fan, reached out to catch the ball - other fans were doing the same, it should be noted - and deflected it away from Alou. The Cubs then collapsed, lost the game, and lost game seven the following day.

The aftermath of the ''catch'' was flat-out nasty as Bartman had to be escorted from the ground and protected from angry Cubs fans by security guards. He was later placed under police protection, proving again that sports fans are completely nuts. Bartman has turned down multiple interview requests and commercial opportunities since that day, and has never returned to the stadium.

The ball was sold for more than $US100,000 and - this is no joke - ''publicly detonated''.

ESPN produced a great documentary, Catching Hell, on the incident. It is a fascinating but disturbing insight into the mob mentality of a sporting crowd.

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