September 22, 2006 - As hype and disbelief surround Jackass's antics (which has a second movie being released today) it's easy to forget that truth is stranger than fiction--er, at least, staged events. Here are three of the most infamous injuries in sports.

Clubbing Kerrigan
Tonya Harding infamously plotted to take out rival Nancy Kerrigan in one of the most televised ordeals. The attack, which occurred on January 6, 1994 at a practice session, was ordered by ex-husband Jeff Gilooly, who hired Shane Stant to club Kerrigan on the knee. Kerrigan ultimately finished 2nd in the Olympics that year while icy Harding finished 8th.

The drama continued, however, as Harding then became entrenched in a scandal involving a sex tape with her ex-husband. Following the media fallout, she then boxed Paula Jones in the Fox TV network Celebrity Boxing event, winning the match. She then went pro in 2003, stalling with a mix record of 4-3-0. Not surprisingly, rumors spread that the skater-to-bruiser resorted to boxing out of a desperate need for money.

Zidane's "Heroic" Head-butt
Nobody suspected in the closing moments of the 2006 World Cup finals that France's Zinedine Zidane would snap and head-butt Italy's Marco Materazzi. His shocking ejection was followed by France's loss in penalty kicks, thus giving an ignoble end to Zidane's illustrious soccer career. Materazzi was uninjured (save for his ego), who apologized for smack-talking about the French/Algerian's sister. The French rallied behind Zidane with president Chirac hailing him as a "virtuoso", and he was awarded the Golden Ball as best player in the World Cup in spite of the controversy.

Although some publications criticized the star French player, the PR loser in the end turned out to be Materazzi, who already garnered a bad rep for slugging a player after a Serie A match.



BMX Biker Meets Death
Matt Hoffman justifies the word extreme. The fearless BMX rider has had 16 major surgeries in his 16 years of riding, including a ligament replacement surgery done on his knee with no anesthesia. The worst fall occurred in 1993 during a practice: after jumping 23 feet in the air from a 21-foot ramp, Hoffman took a bad fall, rupturing his spleen. His heart actually stopped beating due to excessive internal bleeding, and doctors diagnosed that he had 20 minutes to live. After recovery he went on to continue in X Games, and also starred in the first Jackass movie. Now that's hardcore.