Bruno Perone’s flying kick breaks opponent’s face!

Another day, another kick to the face. This time, defender Bruno Perone of Brazilian Serie B side Icasa went for a head-high ball with a flying kick, turning his foot into a battering ram that connected with the face of Oeste player Jheymy. Perone was shown a red card and the unconscious victim was loaded into an ambulance an taken to a hospital.

Once there, Jheymy was treated for four facial fractures and required stitches for a large gash on his cheek. Here's what his face looked like after getting patched up...

(Ole)

Oeste's team doctor told Ole that they will operate once the swelling goes down and that Jheymy could return to the pitch in about two months (with a protective mask). Ole also reports that Oeste will ask that Bruno Perone be banned for as long as it takes Jheymy to recover.

Mike Piazza’s Derby interview was interrupted by a fight and a creepy video bomber

Mike Piazza, the former New York Mets star, joined the ESPN announcers during Monday's Home Run Derby and apparently adding him to the mix was too much for the Citi Field inhabitants to handle. It was like giving a mogwai something to eat after midnight. Things got weird.

First, a couple of dudes behind the ESPN set-up were caught in the middle of a fight. Our guess? Someone said David Wright should have picked Domonic Brown for the NL squad and things escalated from there. You know how those NL East teams feel about each other.

Then there was this kid, who creepily video bombed the Piazza interview, looking like he wanted to eat the soul of every TV viewer. Gasp!

There's obviously one lesson to be learned from this: Mike Piazza should not be allowed out in public. He inspires too many shenanigans.

Mariano Rivera pitches perfect eighth after memorable entrance to final All-Star game

Mariano Rivera enters the All-Star game on Tuesday night. (USA Today Sports)

NEW YORK — Jim Leyland made a promise that baseball fans would see Mariano Rivera no matter what during Tuesday night's All-Star game at Citi Field.

What the American League manager didn't tell us was that Rivera would be summoned from the bullpen in such memorable fashion during the AL's 3-0 victory over the National League. The New York Yankees closer ran onto an empty field to the familiar strains of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" after being called upon to pitch the eighth inning of the game. That approach allowed Rivera, who plans to retire at the end of the season, to bask in the spotlight himself before teammates took the field.

It also made for the signature moment of the 2013 Midsummer Classic, which had been largely non-descript until the entrance. After reaching the mound, Rivera doffed and waved his cap in an appreciative gesture to the roaring crowd of 45,186. Fellow All-Stars joined the ovation by crowding the railings of both dugouts and even hopped the barrier to get a better look at the greatest closer in the history of the game.

Rivera then gave his fans and teammates what they came to see, retiring Jean Segura, Allen Craig and Carlos Gomez in order to preserve the AL's three-run lead. He threw a total of 16 pitches, 11 of them for strikes and was named the All-Star MVP after the game.

"It's been a privilege," he told the fans that remained in the stands.
After he was finished pitching in the eighth, Rivera was greeted and congratulated by Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez. First baseman Prince Fielder presented him with the ball he had used and then fellow pitcher Justin Verlander approached him for a hug.

Some might wonder why Leyland elected for Rivera in the eighth instead of his trademark ninth, but the explanation seems pretty simple. Erring on the side of caution, Leyland avoided the chance that another pitcher or pitchers would give up four runs in the bottom of the eighth, erasing any opportunity to see Rivera one final time. That might draw him some criticism, sure, but it pales in comparison to what he would've faced had Rivera never had the chance to run out of that bullpen at all.

J. Meric/Getty

Pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen's first pitch goes terribly awry.

What do Mariah Carey, Carl Lewis, John Wall, Howard Stern producer Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate and Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory have in common with Carly Rae Jepsen?

As of Sunday they are all pretty much tied for worst ceremonial first pitch of all time.
Decked out in a No. 8 Rays jersey, the "Call Me, Maybe" singer held on to the chunk of rawhide a bit too long and pounded her attempt right into the ground. The ball rolled slowly across the first base line, bouncing off a cameraman's bag.

Jepsen reacted as only a pop princess could - she covered her face and giggled, finally throwing her hands up.
Oddly enough, Jepsen threw out a first pitch in Baltimore this season that was a strike.
Looks like this one, however, was a spike.

Driver tries to fight other driver, gets dragged along racetrack

Drivers, word to the wise: we get it that when you're ticked off at someone else, you want immediate and total retribution. However, you have to remember: your targets are often driving freaking cars. So if you go crazy trying to exact revenge, it may not work out exactly how you'd like.
Our scene: Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., scene of weekly racing. And in one race this past weekend, a fella named Derek Stoltz somehow decided to get an entire family mad at him.

On the race's final lap, he spun race leader Bryant Robertson, then turned Bryant's brother Mike.
During Stoltz's victory lap, Mike Robertson then decided to do what Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Danica Patrick and so many others have done before him: rage at Stoltz while the race is still going on. Unfortunately, Robertson got hung up on Stoltz's car and got flung into the wall. Bryant Robertson, meanwhile, was held up by security and unable to catch up to Stoltz.
Moral of the story, then: careful about when you fight somebody. Maybe wait until they're in the Port-A-Potty or something.

MUST SEE - Fox sideline reporter gets run over by WR prospect at major summer event

Amy Campbell is on the road to being a big-time sports reporter. She's already on Fox Sports, she has all the makings of a potential future Erin Andrews. And the athletes she deals with as a field reporter for Fox Sports Next (i.e. Fox Sports' recruiting coverage) seem to genuinely like her. That's a good start.

Now, Campbell can say she's finally made it as a reporter. She's been completely dump trucked by a player who was rushing toward the sideline while conducting an interview.

The on field obliteration -- which was brought to Prep Rally's attention by Bob's Blitz -- occurred during The Opening, a Nike-backed prep football combine and training session in Oregon. While Campbell was interviewing a Fox Sports recruiting analyst, rising senior Ermon Lane, one of the top receiving prospects in the Class of 2014, came rushing toward the interview while running out a play.

What happened next was practically made for TV history. Lane and Campbell collided, and when Lane and Campbell collided there could only be one winner.
If you have to guess who would come out on top there, let's just reconsider that Lane is 6-foot-2 and 172 pounds. Campbell is 5-foot-not-a-lot and even less on the scale.
Luckily, Campbell popped back up and, like a Timex, she kept on ticking. Right on cue she kept delivering news, on Twitter and online and other sources all over.

That's the sign of a real reporter.

New York Jets already seem intent on screwing up Geno Smith, toying with ‘change-of-pace’ role

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(USA Today Sports Images)

We already know the New York Jets have struggled a bit to develop quarterbacks.

At least drafting Geno Smith in the second round was a chance for the Jets to hit the reset button, and start over. Maybe mold the quarterback who looked so good at times at West Virginia into a player they could build around. Learn from their mistakes and do it the right way with Smith.

But no, this is the Jets. They apparently figure that Smith might work well as a "change-of-pace" quarterback as a rookie. Because they used Tim Tebow so well in that role last year.

It's almost like the Jets are actively trying to screw up the process of developing a quarterback.

As you read this tidbit from ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini, it's practically impossible to not shake your head while you do so:

"The coaches are toying with the idea of turning Smith into what Tebow was supposed to be last season -- a change-of-pace quarterback (assuming he doesn't win the starting job). Smith would have a package of plays, mainly read-option runs that could exploit his speed," Cimini wrote.

What??? The only appropriate response to this is: No, no, no. A thousand times no. Someone please step in and stop this.
Smith is not a runner. That's not a small thing, when your plan is to use him as a runner. He rushed for 342 yards on 245 college carries. Yes, Jets, that 1.4-yard average surely does scream "change-of-pace read-option quarterback," but resist the temptation.

Not only would this use Smith completely out of position (he was a pocket passer who threw for 73 touchdowns the last two seasons and ran for four), but it stunts his growth. Having Smith learn to run a package of read-option plays just to get him on the field as a gimmick would take up a huge part of his rookie season. When he should be, you know, learning to play quarterback in the NFL.

The best coaching staffs understand their players' strengths and put them in the best position to succeed. The Jets have apparently never seen Smith play, because based on this plan for him they have no idea what he does well. They're considering forcing him into a role that doesn't fit anything he did in college, while pretty much wasting a year of development for a player they desperately need to become a franchise quarterback. You should mock this just like if the Eagles were thinking about playing Matt Barkley at receiver as a rookie. It makes no sense.

Good luck, Geno. If the Jets actually follow through on this horrendous plan, you're going to need it.

Second place IndyCar trophy crashes in Toronto

The IZOD IndyCar Series' much-hyped introduction of standing race starts never materialized, but the finish of the Honda Indy Toronto made up for that disappointment.
Scott Dixon and Target Chip Ganassi Racing continued their resurgence as Dixon won for the first time in Toronto, pulling away to lead Sebastien Bourdais of Dragon Racing across the line by 1.7007 seconds following a green-white-checkered finish. Dixon backed up his victory last Sunday at Pocono Raceway with the 31st victory of his IndyCar career.
Remarkably, Dixon shared the podium with Bourdais and Dario Franchitti on a day when he tied both on 31 victories.
Four-time IndyCar Series champion Franchitti crossed the line in third place, but as he was celebrating on the podium, temporary Race Director Brian Barnhart announced that Franchitti would be penalized by 25 seconds for blocking Team Penske's Will Power on the last lap, dropping him to 13th. Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti inherited third place.

As the celebration on the podium started-up once more, it was Bourdais who retained second place who took the spotlight, but his trophy didn't fare so well. Check out what happens as he receives it.

Bobby Keppel’s catch in a Japanese League game is amazing

While Arizona Diamondbacks third base prospect Matt Davidson earned Futures Game MVP honors at Citi Field Sunday, former New York Mets minor leaguer Bobby Keppel was making news half a world away. Making his first start since April 2012 following shoulder surgery, the 31-year old right-hander took the mound for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japanese League Sunday in a game against the Chiba Lotte Marines at the Sapporo Dome. As you can see from this clip, Keppel's reflexes are as sound as ever.