As the 88th Academy Awards is set to get underway, we thought it'd be fun to honor (or dishonor) those in collegiate and professional sports who have angled for an Oscar of their own on the field, court or ice.
Here's a look at some dubious acting jobs from five different sports, all of which have taken place within the last 10 years.
Baseball: Brian Walker
The umpire wasn't buying what this Arkansas catcher was selling when he pretended he was hit by a pitch to get a free base. When he eventually struck out, Walker pointed his bat at the ump in menacing fashion, leading to his immediate ejection.
Football: Chase Thomas
The Stanford linebacker went down with a very temporary "injury" in a game at Oregon, in what Oregon fans believe was a deliberate attempt to slow down the Ducks' fast-paced offense.
At 1:55, you can see then-Oregon coach Chip Kelly tell the referee that Thomas would quickly come back into the game ("You watch," you can see Kelly mouthing to the ref). And as you'll see a few seconds later, Kelly was correct.
Basketball: LeBron James
He's arguably the best basketball player in the world, and in the eyes of fans, he might eventually surpass Michael Jordan as the best to ever play the game. But LeBron is also known for playing the refs like a fiddle.
Check out this compilation of LeBron's greatest hits -- or lack thereof.
Hockey: Alex Ovechkin
Yet another embellishment that paid off: Ovechkin is one of the NHL's best players, but he's quite the diver, as well, as you can see when he "draws" this penalty against the Montreal Canadiens.
Listen to the commentator speculate that Ovechkin might get fined for his performance. (He didn't.)
Soccer: Bryan Carrasco
There are plenty of dives to choose from on the soccer pitch, but we'll go with this one from the Chilean-born Carrasco, who took the phrase "stop hitting yourself" to a new level.
Of course, the ref bought it -- and as long as they keep doing so, this kind of silliness will continue.
