Yesterday, Bloomberg News committed a fatal blunder when it prematurely released an obituary for Apple Computers co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs. Problem is, Jobs is still alive and pushing iPhones stronger than ever. But that got us thinking - are there any sports figures that we once left for dead, only to find that they had a little something left in the tank? Here’s 10 we came up with. Did we forget someone? Let us and the world know at InGameNow!
How do you know when someone has athletically been left for dead? When they are bagging groceries at their local store after having failed with the local arena team. Then after turning to god and his flat-topped lover, Kurt Warner preyed on a dirty Trent Green knee injury during the preseason… enabling him to rise into the starting role for the St. Louis Rams from 1998-2003. He won two NFL MVP awards in 1999 and 2001, as well as the Super Bowl MVP award in Super Bowl XXXIV. Behind Steve Young and Peyton Manning, Warner is ranked third all-time in career passing rating (93.2). He also holds the distinction of being the second-most accurate quarterback in NFL history, with a career completion percentage of 65.1%, behind Chad Pennington of the Miami Dolphins.
Josh Hamilton’s story has been told and retold so many times this year that I’m half convinced “Josh Hamilton Studies” will be added to the University of Miami curriculum this year. So here’s what you need to know for the final: Hamilton was taken first overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1999 Draft. Just a few years later, however, he fell victim to drug addiction, and several attempts at rehab caused him to abandon baseball completely from 2004 to 2006. Face it – there’s just no way you can make up for that much lost time in a sport where you’re expected to consistently turn on 95 MPH fastballs. Unless you’re Hamilton, who’s considered a MVP favorite just a year after returning to the field.
Rick Ankiel broke into the Major Leagues in 2000 as a starting pitcher with a bright future. As a rookie, he posted an 11-7 record with a 3.50 ERA and a whopping 194 strikeouts in just 175 innings pitched. But then something snapped and he lost his control, going Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn on the good people of St. Louis. Then the comedic happened – Ankiel announced that he would give up pitching, and that he’d try to make it back to the Show as a slugging outfielder. Really, a pitcher wants to make it in the Bigs as a hitter? Please, that’s just dumb.
Fast Forward to 2008: .270 average, 24 HR, and 68 RBI in 393 at-bats, and a rocket arm from centerfield to boot.
In a league where Marty Schottenheimer can get canned after a14-2 season, there’s not much hope for a head coach who goes just 9-23 over two seasons. Well, unless you’re Norv Turner, apparently. When Turner signed on to lead the San Diego Chargers, the football world joined in on a collective “WTF?!?” The reaction then became “Told You So!” after the Chargers opened the season at just 1-3. But then something happened – Norv Turner had the Chargers playing good football, and led them to a 10-2 record the rest of the way. Oh yeah, he also did something Schottenheimer never could – win a playoff game.
During 2005 and 2006, Brett Favre seemed to be through as an elite quarterback. In 2005 he threw only 20 touchdown passes and had a league-leading 29 interceptions. Then in 2006, Favre suffered his first career shutout against the Chicago Bears and, later in the season, the New England Patriots shut out the Packers again. There were calls for his retirement and Green Bay wanted to turn to the kid in waiting… Aaron Rodgers. But we know how things turned out: he had a sensational year in 2007, took the Packers to the NFC Championship Game and eventually had a team named after him: the New York Bretts. We forget how bad Favre was during the 2005 and 2006 seasons because he was so good last year.
Randy Couture
When Randy Couture lost the UFC Light Heavyweight title to Chuck Liddell at UFC 57, it appeared to be the end of an already legendary career. Couture apparently thought so, too, announcing his retirement at the age of 42. The Natural, however, subscribes to the Brett Favre retirement plan as he came back to the octagon just a year later, reinventing himself at the heavyweight level. But there’s no way a 43 year-old Couture could hang with Tim Sylvia, right? Wrong. Couture became the Rocky Balboa of the UFC when he won by unanimous decision and was awarded the UFC Heavyweight title. He’d go on to defend the title against Gabriel Gonzaga before engaging in his much-publicized stand-off with the UFC. Rumors are now swirling that Couture has agreed to come back for one more fight, and indications are he might square off against newcomer Brock Lesnar.
Once the face of the southside, Frank Thomas quickly became the scapegoat. After a couple hobbled years where Thomas would hit “just” 30 combined jacks between 2004 and 2005, it seemed like the Big Hurt couldn’t get out of Chicago fast enough. And the World Series Champion White Sox were happy to oblige. Thomas landed in Oakland in 2006, signing an incentive-laden contract. The A’s hit the free agent jackpot with the low-risk, high-reward signing, as Thomas turned in an MVP-caliber season, hitting .270 with 39 homeruns and 114 RBI.
Upon arriving in San Francisco in 1997, Garrison Hearst hit his stride. In his first year in the Bay, Hearst would rush for over 1,000 yards, the first 49er to do so since Ricky Watters. But it was in 1998 that Hearst emerged as an elite runningback. That year, he logged just under 1,600 yards and crossed the goal line 7 times. It was in the 1998 playoffs, however, that Hearst faced a career threatening injury. In fact, Hearst suffered the same injury that cut Bo Jackson’s career short. That didn’t slow down the former Georgia Bulldog, though. Hearst would return to the NFL in 2001, rushing for over 1,200 yards.
It’s not so much that we thought Randy Moss lost a step. It’s just that a wide receiver needs a quarterback who can throw the ball SOMEWHERE in his general direction to be effective. Kerry Collins did an adequate job in 2005, at least getting Moss to the 1,000-yard mark. But it was Andrew Walter who put Moss’s career in serious jeopardy after a dismal 2006. Things were so bad that even Al Davis had to show some compassion, as he jumpstarted Moss’s career by giving him away to the Patriots. Moss would go on to have a record-breaking year, notching almost 1,500 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Most guys leave the court when they can no longer keep up. They leave because of the wear and tear on their bodies. Or, if you’re Michael Jordan, you might leave because of gambling accusations. But in the case of one Earvin “Magic” Johnson, you’re pushed off the court because of a virus virtually unknown to the public. In 1991, one of the greatest players of all-time was forced to retire from the NBA when he announced that he had HIV. He couldn’t watch from the sidelines forever, though. In 1995, he returned to the hardwood with success, pouring in 14.6 points per game and dishing out 6.9 dimes in 32 games.
Tags: Brett Favre, Frank Thomas, Garrison Hearst, Josh Hamilton, kurt warner, Magic Johnson, Norv Turner, Randy Couture, Randy Moss, Rick Ankiel
