Sports can change in a single play and that's what is so great (and cruel) about them. One minute you're on top of the world, the next you could be on the sideline with your leg half falling off. We can't predict the future, and athletes are aware of that and take that risk every time they lace 'em up. It's just part of the risk they take. These athletes put it all on the line for their cities, teammates and fans, although sometimes you can get unlucky and the unfortunate happens.

Football may be the first to come to mind when you think about sports injuries, but other sports like basketball, hockey and even baseball have many of their own injuries. Some injuries can be life threatening or career ending, while other players make remarkable comebacks.

Concussion facts are being uncovered daily and the true dangers of head injuries are surfacing which is causing increased awareness. Concussions are not necessarily gross, so they will not be making this list, but they are some of the most dangerous, especially considering the long term effects. These injuries look extremely gross and they may even be life threatening.

It is extremely hard to rank these injuries because they are all so gruesome. It's always scary to get injured, not to mention when you may think your life is ending. Many of these injuries on this list are leg injuries, but there are other injuries that may even be grosser.

WARNING: These images may be very disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

15 15. Russell Westbrook

Last season you may have seen Russell Westbrook wearing a mask. That mask was being worn to protect his face which he had fractured earlier in the season. Immediately after he got kneed in the head, you could easily see a dent in the side of his face. Adding insult to injury, Andre Roberson, his own teammate was the one to knee him. He required surgery after the injury and he made a full recovery (as you probably know). He only missed a few games and they said if it was the playoffs, he probably wouldn't have even missed a game. I think he even looked pretty cool with his mask. Nonetheless, his injury was extremely gross.

14 14. Jamal Crawford

When Jamal Crawford was playing for the Chicago Bulls, he jumped, got pushed up in the air, did half of a flip, landed on his neck and his legs went flying over top of him. It was a scary sight and it looked as if broke his neck. Although he didn't break his neck, he did sprain it and he spent some time in the hospital. He only missed two games despite how crazy his body contorted. This was such a freak injury that I don't think I have ever seen that happen before.

13 13. Dave Dravecky

Dave Dravecky, along with a few other pitchers, broke their arms in mid air. Everything looks normal throughout their windup and then all of a sudden they throw the ball away. You may not even notice why they threw it away until you see their forearm bend in the middle and then they scream in agony. As a pitcher you would never think about this happening but if it did, I don't know if I could ever pitch again. It's hard to understand how the arm just breaks in mid air, but it does and it's gross.

12 12. Andrew Bogut

Andrew Bogut is not the most graceful player in the NBA and that is evidenced in his disgusting injury while he played for the Milwaukee Bucks. He was on a fast break and what looked to be an easy dunk wasn't so simple for Bogut. He did make the dunk but on the way down he fell with his arm under his body and it ended up snapping. His entire body weight fell on his arm and it completely broke as you could tell by Bogut's reaction. He was rolling on the ground in pain with good reason.

11 11. Nick Chubb

Chubb, the running back for the Georgia Bulldogs seemed to be tackled on what looked like a normal play in football. Until, that is, he didn't get up. Chubb didn't even show emotion when he was sitting on the ground after he hyperextended his knee and tore multiple ligaments. His leg was bent at the knee, but not in the right direction. Just looking at the image of his knee freaks me out. He hasn't played in a football game since but his recovery is right on track and he is schedule to return for his first game next season.

10 10. Shaun Livingston

Shaun Livingston never lived up to his high expectations. That wasn't completely his fault however. Playing for the Clippers at the time, Livingston was a youngster trying to prove himself in the league. He was on a fast break, went up for a layup and landed on his leg awkwardly to say the least. Livingston's career never took off but at least he is playing for the defending NBA champion Warriors. I don't think that's too bad of a gig.

9 9. Paul George

Unfortunately for Paul George, he got injured in a game that was meaningless. While George was playing in an exhibition game with team USA, he compound fractured his leg on the stanchion of the basket. Since this was not an NBA game, the basket had no regulation distance between the base of the basket and the court. When his leg snapped, social media erupted, immediately comparing it to Kevin Ware's injury. Paul George missed almost the entire following NBA season but now be is back in full swing.

8 8. Anderson Silva

When Anderson Silva, attempted to kick his opponent's leg, his own leg snapped. It was incredibly disgusting. I don't even think Silva could believe it. He even tried to stand back on his leg when it was dangling, only being held on by skin. When watching the video, you can see his leg wrap around his opponents leg and it's nasty. The fight immediately ended and Silva thought his career was over. During his recovery he suffered from some post traumatic stress disorder. He had to see a psychologist to get over his fears of getting back in the octagon.

7 7. Marcus Lattimore

While playing running back for South Carolina, standout star Marcus Lattimore destroyed his right knee while getting hit on a play. His legs were bending in opposite directions and it was quite disgusting. He tore every single ligament in his knee and dislocated his kneecap. He got drafted by the 49ers while still recovering and was planning on making a comeback, but his knee had other intentions. He never made it back onto a football field after his injury and he ended up retiring without playing a single snap in the NFL.

6 6. NaVorro Bowman

Bowman's injury looked similar to Marcus Lattimore's. His knee bent to the left and his ACL completely tore along with partially tearing his MCL. His ankle was being smushed under a Seahawk player's body in the NFC championship. Bowman was back playing in 2015 after missing the entire 2014 season because of the injury. I think it's a miracle players can come back to playing such a physical sport even after tearing multiple ligaments. Some players don't get as lucky as Bowman.

5 5. Richard Zednik

Zednik is the first hockey player on this list which is surprising. Hockey is a very physical sport with two razor-sharp blades on each and every player's feet. Zednik got stabbed in the throat by a skate from his own teammate! His teammate was tossed up in the air by an opposing player and his skates flew upward. Unsuspectingly, Zednick skated right into it slashing his neck open and in less than a second blood was squirting out. He skated himself off of the ice immediately and left a trail of blood behind him. Every time his heart pumped, blood would squirt out. I'm surprised that he lived to tell about it. Every player and fan in the whole building was horrified.

4 4. Willis McGahee

Before even making it to the NFL, McGahee suffered a disgusting injury at the University of Miami while playing Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Like a lot of the other injuries on this list McGahee's knee bent in the wrong direction which is I guess is pretty common in football. It is extremely disgusting either way and no matter how often I see these injuries they are still awful. In McGahee's case he tore his ACL, MCL and PCL. These guys put in so much hard work just to get back on the field and McGahee made it to the NFL. He had a successful career playing 10 years in the pros.

3 3. Joe Theismann

Theismann's injury is probably the most notorious injury in all of sports. Lawrence Taylor came barreling in on Theismann's blind side after the flee-flicker play. Taylor, the best defensive player of all time jumped in the air and all of his body weight landed right on the weakest part of Theismann's lower leg. At the time not many people had seen this type of injury and there wasn't much they could do to help him recover compared to today. Theismann never played another snap in the NFL, but i'd bet if he had the same injury today, he'd be back on the field for the next season.

2 2. Kevin Ware

Kevin Ware's injury was eerily similar to Theismann's and Theismann even reached out to Ware a few days after his horrific injury. Social media erupted with graphic images of Kevin Ware's bone sticking out of his knee just like when Paul George suffered his injury. Ware was just jumping to block a shot and when he came down on his right leg, there was too much pressure and it snapped. He was right in front of his bench at the time of the injury and the entire bench reacted when they saw how his bone was exposed. I felt extremely bad for Ware because he wasn't even getting paid yet. I thought his career would be over, but he transferred from Louisville to Georgia State University where he currently plays.

1 1. Clint Malarchuk

Clint Malarchuk's neck was the original skate to the neck incident. As a goalie Malarchuk was in goal and defending a breakaway. When someone's skate went up too high, it slit his jugular vein and blood squirted out like it was a hose. Malarchuk just sat there in shock letting an enormous puddle of blood spill out onto the ice. Just watching the incident, 11 fans fainted, 2 others suffered heart attacks, and three players barfed on the ice. Incredibly, he survived considering the amount of blood he lost. In total he lost 1.5 liters of blood from the 6-inch gash in his neck. After the medics sewed his neck together using 300 stitches he asked if he could make it back in time for the 3rd period, like any true hockey player would. Miraculously, he returned to the ice just 10 days after the injury.

Following his retirement, Malarchuk battled alcoholism and depression and eventually became suicidal. On October 7th 2008, Malarchuk shot himself in the head, but survived. He said he had suffered from anxiety since he was a child but the crazy thing is, Malarchuk seems to be invincible. How many lives does this guy have?