Who had the best out of retirement comeback?

[lleeder]

It can be an athlete or even a musician, or actor. Who had your favorite coming out retirement comeback?

[sailor]

lemieux saved his franchise and jordan's retirement wasn't real coming in his prime. unless you mean his comeback with the wiz.

[TheGameHHH]

lemieux saved his franchise

exactly, but i liked his first post-hodgekins comeback even better

[JackBurton Says]

exactly, but i liked his first post-hodgekins comeback even better

Exactly x2. He fought off cancer and came back to still be the top player in the league and the second time he comes back, he is STILL considered one of the best players again.

I like to give a honorable mention for Coutore as well. What was he like 50 and came back to move up in a weight class only to clearly just beat the piss out of Sylvia for the belt? Pretty impressive for an old guy.

[cougarjake13]

favre hasnt even comeback yet so how can you include him

[jonyrotn]

Maybe John Travolta when he came back around to do "Pulp Fiction"..

[TheMojoPin]

Jordan, easily. Not even close.

[JackBurton Says]

favre hasnt even comeback yet so how can you include him

Favre shouldn't even be on this list. Don't you actually have to retire and miss a season? This media attention whore would never allow himself to do that. And what? Tarnish that oh so glorious playing streak of his?! Heaven forbid.

[sailor]

Jordan, easily. Not even close.

such a homer. taking two years off at 30 isn't a legit retirement.

[underdog]

such a homer. taking two years off at 30 isn't a legit retirement.

Was it a retirement? Or a secret ban for gambling?

[TheMojoPin]

such a homer. taking two years off at 30 isn't a legit retirement.

Taking two years off is still two whole years off, plus he spent a lot of that time training for and playing (shittily) a completely different sport, plus retiring due to his dad being murdered, plus all of his shit on the side gambling like a madman and banging Kylie Ireland left and right. Then he comes back and wins THREE champsionships in a row? In the 90's NBA? That's amazing.

[TheMojoPin]

Was it a retirement? Or a secret ban for gambling?

Like Clemens' secret suspensions in the years he started later?

[sailor]

Taking two years off is still two whole years off, plus he spent a lot of that time training for and playing (shittily) a completely different sport, plus retiring due to his dad being murdered, plus all of his shit on the side gambling like a madman and banging Kylie Ireland left and right. Then he comes back and wins THREE champsionships in a row? In the 90's NBA? That's amazing.

his championships are impressive, but him coming back at what 32-33 is not. and is 90's nba supposed to be impressive as well? yech.

[TheMojoPin]

his championships are impressive, but him coming back at what 32-33 is not. and is 90's nba supposed to be impressive as well? yech.

Yech compared to what?

[IMSlacker]

I voted for Jordan too, because hockey doesn't matter.

[Hottub]

"Don't call it a comeback!"

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[sailor]

Yech compared to what?

80s? you implied that it was an ultra-competitive decade and i don't see it. who were jordan's big rivals that he overcame? ewing? karl malone?

[JackBurton Says]

I voted for Jordan too, because hockey doesn't matter.

Well not here in the US anyway...

[Recyclerz]

Jesus of Nazareth. None of the sports talk nabobs called that one.

[Bossanova]

How dare Lleeder put JAY-Z ad his abortion of a comeback on this poll? Jigga even knows that his last two efforts sucked

[TheMojoPin]

80s? you implied that it was an ultra-competitive decade and i don't see it. who were jordan's big rivals that he overcame? ewing? karl malone?

Really? The 80's had, like, Magic and Bird and that's it (yeah, I know, there were other names). The 90's had an explosion of great players spread across the league, and a lot more seriously competitive teams. Winning 2 trios of championships in THAT era is why those Bulls teams are ranked so highly as a championship dynasty.

[sailor]

Really? The 80's had, like, Magic and Bird and that's it (yeah, I know, there were other names). The 90's had an explosion of great players spread across the league, and a lot more seriously competitive teams. Winning 2 trios of championships in THAT era is why those Bulls teams are ranked so highly as a championship dynasty.

we'll never see eye-to-eye on this one. couldn't agree less.

[jonyrotn]

Hey! Who wants to have gay sex?

I do!


Alright..Fuck my asshole..

See if you can reach around and play with my cock a little while you're bangin' my ass..

Don't you think you should say please?


Come on man..Your dick is in my ass, and you want me to say please?

Hey! what are you guys doin' behind that dumpster?

I just thought if we said please to one another it would be more romantic this time..

We're fucking behind a dumpster..Romance is not an option this time either..

Okay but we will kiss on the mouth and and cuddle afterwards though, right? :wub:

This is what your bickering looks like to the rest of the world..:bye:

[Bossanova]

This is what your bickering looks like to the rest of the world..:bye:

Your dedication to your craft is untouched sir

[sailor]

Your dedication to your craft is untouched sir

craft or psychosis?

[Snoogans]

Id have to vote Jordan just based on his first retirement come back when he won 3 more titles in the first 3 full years he was back

[Hottub]

Jesus Christ, rotn with a k.
Had to take knee on that one.

[DolaMight]

Israel.

[Hottub]

Lazarus.

[K.C.]

The correct answer, without a shadow of a doubt, is Randy Couture.


But, when Brett Favre suits up for the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on that first Monday Night Football game of the season...it will be the greatest thing in the history of sport.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f1/NWoformationBATB96.jpg/250px-NWoformationBATB96.jpg

[A.J.]

Dick Cheney: left government as a respected Secretary of Defense for winning the First Gulf War, made millions after leaving Halliburton and then became the most powerful Vice President in history getting us into that war with Iraq that he always wanted.

[TheMojoPin]

Had to take knee on that one.

Weren't you already down there? Seems like it's easier to be a creep from that level.

[sailor]

anyone voting for foreman must not have seen his "victory" over axel schulz. the mediocre german destroyed foreman. foreman was stripped of his title after refusing a rematch.

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/230931.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF1934A2752006EF5F0ED9694C68F0891CE4B 284831B75F48EF45

[TheMojoPin]

sailor, I gotta know...why do you think the 80's were more competitive or tougher than the 90's when it comes to the NBA? I think the 90's are more remarkable for the great players spread across the decade who were playing in their prime and dominated and still couldn't win it all becase Jordan and the Bulls took it to that much better a level. On top of that, the 90's was the era of smashmouth big men stepping up and completely changing the game. What was so dominating about the 80's?

[sailor]

sailor, I gotta know...why do you think the 80's were more competitive or tougher than the 90's when it comes to the NBA? I think the 90's are more remarkable for the great players spread across the decade who were playing in their prime and dominated and still couldn't win it all becase Jordan and the Bulls took it to that much better a level. On top of that, the 90's was the era of smashmouth big men stepping up and completely changing the game. What was so dominating about the 80's?

i just don't think the great players of the 90s were that great. i don't think jordan would have dominated the 80s. what you see as smashmouth, i see as thuggery and a me-first lack of team fundamentals (see u.s. team in international competition) where whoever has the best player will win. i did research on this yesterday and found out this is apparently a huge debate and each side thinks the other is crazy. i was a half-hearted follower of the knicks, but can't imagine they would have been serious title contenders in the 80s. yes, the 80s may have had less teams with a legit chance to make the semi-finals (i don't even know that that's true) but i really think those teams were of better quality than the top teams of the 90s. i'm rambling and am no basketball wordsmith. yech on me.

[TheMojoPin]

I hear ya. I can see what you're saying about the skills maybe being more "precise" before the 90's...but that said, there were just so many more gamechanging players in the 90's that had to be overcome.

[ahhdurr]

Props to Rotn - I couldn't believe it when I saw Travolta in the opening scenes of Pulp Fiction and even more couldn't believe his performance.

I'm predicting comeback for this guy.
<br>
<img src ="http://wheresmyamerica.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/1004craig.jpg">
<br>
As "leather guy"
<br>
<img src = "http://mloh2002.lynnsplace.ca/pridot28.jpg">

[TheMojoPin]

Props to Rotn - I couldn't believe it when I saw Travolta in the opening scenes of Pulp Fiction

Which one was she?

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/adc/10111293A~Pulp-Fiction-Posters.jpg

[ahhdurr]

you know - after all the surf music etc etc ... scenes, plural... there were numerous scenes and the discussion of Amsterdam was one of them (I'm pulling a Dave in hopelessly trying to defend this one)

[TheMojoPin]

Nah, I'm just bustin' yer ballz.

[ahhdurr]

it's interesting actually b/c when I wrote that post I started thinking - what are the opening scenes of that movie? Is it "honey bunny" in the diner or is it the Amsterdam discussion.

"I don't know - I didn't go to Burger King"

[TheMojoPin]

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[Dirtbag]

I would have said Couture, but the last year has proven that beating up Tim Sylvia really isn't that big of a deal.

[El Mudo]

sailor, I gotta know...why do you think the 80's were more competitive or tougher than the 90's when it comes to the NBA? I think the 90's are more remarkable for the great players spread across the decade who were playing in their prime and dominated and still couldn't win it all becase Jordan and the Bulls took it to that much better a level. On top of that, the 90's was the era of smashmouth big men stepping up and completely changing the game. What was so dominating about the 80's?



Well, for example, look at the 1987 All Star Game, as documented by Bill Simmons (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070215):


Bench guys for the West: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (all-time leading NBA scorer), Joe Barry Carroll (once traded for Robert Parish AND Kevin McHale), Walter Davis (fell just short of 20,000 career points), Sleepy Floyd (star of "The Sleepy Floyd Game"), Alex English (25,000-plus career points), Rolando Blackman (most underrated 2-guard of the '80s) and Mark Aguirre (topped 25-plus in four different seasons).

Bench guys for the East: Robert Parish (Hall of Famer), Charles Barkley (top-five greatest power forward), Jeff Malone (averaged 19 a game for his career), Mo Cheeks (most underrated point guard of the '80s), Bill Laimbeer (most hated player of the past 30 years), Kevin McHale (top-six greatest power forward) and Isiah Thomas (greatest pure point guard ever).

Starters for the West: Tom Chambers (most underrated forward of the '80s), James Worthy (Hall of Famer, super clutch), Hakeem Olajuwon (top-five greatest center), Alvin Robertson (the "Paul Young leading off 'Do They Know It's Christmas'" of this game) and Magic Johnson (one of the top-five players ever).

Starters for the East: Dominique Wilkins (most exciting player of the '80s other than MJ), Larry Bird (top-five greatest player ever), Moses Malone (top-five greatest center), Michael Jordan (greatest player ever) and Julius Erving (top-five forward ever).

I mean ...

For the love of God, LOOK at those lineups again. You had Magic and Bird in their absolute primes. You had MJ during the season when he won the dunk contest, averaged 37 a game and put himself on the map as The Next Great Guy. You had Barkley and Hakeem in their breakout seasons. You had Isiah, McHale, Parish, Worthy and 'Nique at their absolute peaks. You had Moses, English, Cheeks, Davis and Kareem with something left in the tank. You had Doctor J in his final All-Star appearance. You had six guys who ended up making the NBA's "Top 50" list on the bench to start the game. You had John Stockton, Joe Dumars, Patrick Ewing, Fat Lever, Clyde Drexler, Terry Cummings, Sidney Moncrief and Karl Malone watching from home because THEY WEREN'T GOOD ENOUGH TO BE INVITED. Will we ever see anything approaching this again? I say no.

[A.J.]

Richard Nixon.

[TheMojoPin]

Well, for example, look at the 1987 All Star Game, as documented by Bill Simmons (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070215):


Bench guys for the West: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (all-time leading NBA scorer), Joe Barry Carroll (once traded for Robert Parish AND Kevin McHale), Walter Davis (fell just short of 20,000 career points), Sleepy Floyd (star of "The Sleepy Floyd Game"), Alex English (25,000-plus career points), Rolando Blackman (most underrated 2-guard of the '80s) and Mark Aguirre (topped 25-plus in four different seasons).

Bench guys for the East: Robert Parish (Hall of Famer), Charles Barkley (top-five greatest power forward), Jeff Malone (averaged 19 a game for his career), Mo Cheeks (most underrated point guard of the '80s), Bill Laimbeer (most hated player of the past 30 years), Kevin McHale (top-six greatest power forward) and Isiah Thomas (greatest pure point guard ever).

Starters for the West: Tom Chambers (most underrated forward of the '80s), James Worthy (Hall of Famer, super clutch), Hakeem Olajuwon (top-five greatest center), Alvin Robertson (the "Paul Young leading off 'Do They Know It's Christmas'" of this game) and Magic Johnson (one of the top-five players ever).

Starters for the East: Dominique Wilkins (most exciting player of the '80s other than MJ), Larry Bird (top-five greatest player ever), Moses Malone (top-five greatest center), Michael Jordan (greatest player ever) and Julius Erving (top-five forward ever).

Eh...a bunch of those guys were either just breaking in and others were on their way out or clearly in the decline if the end of their career. If anything, that's just showing the transition to how awesome 90's basketball was going to be. I mean, that's 1987: let's not act like that's all representative of the rest of the 80's. That's basically saying like 2-3 years of the 80's outweighs basically all of the 90's being the best, most competitive basketball ever.

[instrument]

The problem is that the superstars of the 90s suffered tons on injuries, think at the start you had that grant Hill guy, penny hardaway, that guy from the hornets that had that gramma schtick,
And the leftovers from the 80s like barkley malone magic bird etc.

I'm not a huge sports fans but yes there was a lot of talent around with jordan

[TheMojoPin]

The problem is that the superstars of the 90s suffered tons on injuries, think at the start you had that grant Hill guy, penny hardaway, that guy from the hornets that had that gramma schtick,
And the leftovers from the 80s like barkley malone magic bird etc.

I'm not a huge sports fans but yes there was a lot of talent around with jordan

And Jordan's era was the 90's, not the 80's. The 90's were simply just had many more competitive teams and many more "superstar"-type players spread out over them.

[sailor]

the fact that lemieux is tied and basketball is a couple dozen times more popular just proves how much more impressive his comeback was.

[El Mudo]

And Jordan's era was the 90's, not the 80's. The 90's were simply just had many more competitive teams and many more "superstar"-type players spread out over them.


But the counter to that is the expansion that took place in the 90s, and the subsequent dilution of talent, not to mention added rules to help offences (like the cup under the basket, and the hand check rules) that contributed greatly to making players "superstars" in that era.

Hell....the moving pick has pretty much become legal these days. How much more offence could guys in the 80s with the type of rules today put up? Its a similar question to how much more NHL superstars of the 80s would have done if clutching and grabbing were enforced like it is today (and they already put up MONSTER numbers...we'll never see another 150 point scorer again, much less anyone scoring 92 goals and 212 points like Gretzky in 82, where he also had 50 goals in 39 games)

[El Mudo]

the fact that lemieux is tied and basketball is a couple dozen times more popular just proves how much more impressive his comeback was.



His numbers are astounding. I see that 2000 season, where he put up 76 points in 43(!) games, and 2002 when he put up 91 points in 67 games, or I read about how he finished up his chemotherapy, and then went out and had a goal and an assist against Philadelphia the same day, and I just shake my head.

[TheMojoPin]

But the counter to that is the expansion that took place in the 90s, and the subsequent dilution of talent, not to mention added rules to help offences (like the cup under the basket, and the hand check rules) that contributed greatly to making players "superstars" in that era.

True, but then I'd also argue that the game wasn't ever played harder than that decade in terms of the physicality between players. You had some signs of that towards the very end of the 80's (basically the Pistons vs. anyone), but for most of the 90's they went all out. If you wanted to win and put up big numbers you had to earn it in pain.

Plus the "dilution" argument is countered by pointed out the sheer number of great players that decade, plus it wasn't just a very select few teams that dominated the best players as in decades past. You had more championship-caliber teams out there practically every season than ever before. Look at how many guys DIDN'T get rings who everyone thinks should have and if they had played in years past would have been a lock to get them because most of them would have been on the same teams.

I don't know, I just rarely see the argument that the 90's WASN'T the most competitive and challenging decade for the NBA. That's why the Bulls' dynasty that decade is usually propped up among the very best or even above all others in American sports: specifically because they did it in the 90's.

[El Mudo]

True, but then I'd also argue that the game wasn't ever played harder than that decade in terms of the physicality between players. You had some signs of that towards the very end of the 80's (basically the Pistons vs. anyone), but for most of the 90's they went all out. If you wanted to win and put up big numbers you had to earn it in pain.

Plus the "dilution" argument is countered by pointed out the sheer number of great players that decade, plus it wasn't just a very select few teams that dominated the best players as in decades past. You had more championship-caliber teams out there practically every season than ever before. Look at how many guys DIDN'T get rings who everyone thinks should have and if they had played in years past would have been a lock to get them because most of them would have been on the same teams.

I don't know, I just rarely see the argument that the 90's WASN'T the most competitive and challenging decade for the NBA. That's why the Bulls' dynasty that decade is usually propped up among the very best or even above all others in American sports: specifically because they did it in the 90's.


I feel like less expansion = more gooder, because there's going to be better competition with fewer teams, because there's less jobbers taking up space. I mean, it would have SUCKED to have Magic, Worthy, and all those other guys from the Showtime Lakers on different teams.

The 90s were "competitive" in a sense that free agency leveled the playing field to an extent, and players were more free to chase lucrative contracts, but part of what makes a game/team fun to follow/watch is seeing the same guys out there playing with each other year after year, and getting to associate them with a single team/community. It sucks to have to completely relearn everything about your team every year because the faces change so much; its exhausting to follow (which is why I no longer follow the NFL).

The Bulls dynasty is an exception because Jordan became such a super huge massive mega star, and I would dare to say he's the most famous and popular athlete of all time (and that includes soccer people).



Here's another article from Simmons on 80s basketball (http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/030225)


I know its comparing the 80s to today's brand as of the early 00's (which is awful) but I think a lot of the same comparisons still apply.

[TheMojoPin]

Sorry, look at the shorts. 1980's = FAIL.

[Snoogans]

Duh

http://www.everyjoe.com/emqb/files/2008/08/brett-favre-jets-debut_nc.jpg


It was my favorite one, anyway

[El Mudo]

Sorry, look at the shorts. 1980's = FAIL.


I prefer to think of a much simpler time....a time when Tom Chambers struck a blow for pasty white guys everywhere

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/15/20042777_b003d0c205.jpg

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[TheMojoPin]

That looks so creepy and unnatural.

[jonyrotn]

Jay-Z......Toss me the keys AJ...

I'll lock it up myself...