The Return of the Rocket and the Top 10 Returns in all of Sports and Entertainment!

As I’m sure all of you already know, and by all of you I mean our 7 loyal readers, that Roger Clemens has decided to return to the New York Yankees. Not surprises here as the Yankees were one of the three teams that Roger said he would only play for.

Now, it's important to note that I am indeed a Yankee fan and am extremely excited to see the Rocket back in pinstripes. The Yanks pitching has been so depleted by injuries and ineffective hurlers from the Far East that something needed to happen. And in typical Big Stein fashion, something did happen and it happened without anyone even knowing about it beforehand. That's the real story here. Not that Roger returned to baseball and chose the Yankees as many baseball people were prediciting that for the last few months. The story is how the Yankees unveiled their "new" starter to the public.

In a scene that is usally reserved for Monday nights at 9pm on the USA Network, Clemens return to the Yankees was more WWE than WWE is WWE. In the middle of yesterday's 7th inning stretch while 50,000 plus were singing, "Take me out to the Ballgame", the music went silent and the famous voice of Bob Sheppard hit the stadiums speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen...please direct your attention to the owner's box behind home plate."

Suddenly, the jumbotron came to life to aid those less fortunate people in the nosebleeds see what the commotion was all about. The camera focused and shockingly showed Roger Clemens standing in George Steinbrenner's luxury suite with a microphone in hand seemingly ready to talk. For the next 6 seconds, Clemens delivered a promo that only his mother and "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters could love. This was followed by an out of place and awkward fist pump and suddenly Roger Clemens was a Yankee again.

When has something like this happened in legitamite sports? Never has an athlete showed up during a team's home game, STOPPED the 7th inning stretch, and announced he is going to return to the sport and said team. Not even MJ back in 1995 got this type of return. It was dramatic and shocking and no one saw it coming. Not the media, not the fans, not even the Yankee players. It was as if Brian Cashman and Steinbrenner had a conference call with Vince McMahon that morning to discuss how to coordinate Roger's return.

Now if I had my way, here is how The Rocket's return would have went down.....

As Sean Green gets ready to start the 8th inning, his first pitch is derailed by the precisely timed thumping up of Roger's theme music which has just hit the stadium speakers. Before anyone in attendence realizes what is happening, Ol' Rog jumps the guardrail on the third base side and BMF walks his way to the mound. The jumbo-tron now focuses on Green's face as he performs the famous "Vince McMahon throat gulp" which Vinny Mac always did without fail whenever Stone Cold Steve Austin interrupted his interview segments.

As Green scurries away in fear, Roger grabs a mic and channels Scott Hall from 1996.

"Ju know who I am. But ju don't know why.... I'm here."

Now that my friends is how to script a return!

So all this talk about returns got me to thinking.....what are the greatest returns of all-time in sports and entertainment?? We've had too many to mention over the years, so in the interest of time, I have decided to only consider the last fifteen years. So without further adieu, I present to you my Top 10 Returns of the Last 15 Years in Sports and Entertainment....

The Top 10 Returns in Sports and Entertainment of the Last 15 Years

10)Bret Hart's faux return to WWE, Monday Night RAW August 2005

I know, I know, not good to start a "Top Ten Return" list by listing an actual non-return. But I had to include this "return" as the moment itself was simply brilliant in its execution. To set the stage, let me give you some background. Shawn Michaels is gearing up for his Summerslam match against the immortal Hulk Hogan and RAW is coming to us live from Montreal. Due to the Montreal Screwjob back in '97, HBK is more hated in Canada than Satan himself. So in order to make Shawn a little more heelish in his feud with Hogan, Vince has Shawn come out to the ring and bury Bret to the extent of saying that he would screw him again if given the chance. Suddenly, the Hitman's music hits and it's the first time in 8 years that any WWE fan has heard that tune. In the words of Pat Patterson, "the crowd simply went BANANA." I honestly saw grown men punching their children because they couldn't control their exitement. This level of hysteria qualifies this moment to be on this list. If you've never seen this segment, join me giving a big THANK YOU to Youtube as I've posted it below for your enjoyment:



Still not convinced it belongs?? Well, attached is another clip of a poor Canadian Bret Hart fan whose friends have decided to play an April Fools joke on. The subject? The return of Bret Hart via a video they made to screw with him. Watch and you'll see that number 10 truly does belong:



9) Mario Lemieux's return to the Penguins, December 27th 2000

I've got to say that I've been lucky to live in a time when many legendary sports moments have occured. MJ's career, Tiger, The Subway Series, the list can go on and on. Here is another moment that I am particularly close to as I was attending college in Pittsburgh when it took place. To say Mario is a hero and legend in Pittsburgh is an understatement. Anyone who grew up or lives there will basically tell you that if you didn't or don't play for the Steelers then you really didn't or don't matter. Except for two individuals. These two individuals are two men whom are affectionately known by Pittsburgher's as Mario and Roberto. Super Mario's return in December of 2000 was speculated for a few weeks beforehand. The team was doing just fine in terms of W and L's, but was struggling with attendence and team identity as Jaromir Jagr was simply not suited at the time for the Captain's role. Enter Lemieux who became the first player/owner in the history of the NHL, helped steer the team to a 42-28-9 regular season record and established the Pens as must see attraction again. Enjoy the clip from that unforgettable night back in December of 2000.



8)Dylan McKay returns to 90210, September 1998

It had been 3 years since 90210 fans had last seen quintisential bad-boy Dylan McKay. After the death of his beautiful bride, Antonia, McKay literally rode off into the sunset on his motorcycle seemingly leaving Los Angeles and the ever changing 90210 gang behind in his dust on November 8th, 1995. Just a short three years later, after several TV and movie bombs, Luke Perry resumed his role as Senor Dylan by appearing as a more knowledgable and mature McKay. Having flown planes in South America and reaching the summit of K2 during his 3 years "away", Dylan returned to Beverly Hills just in time to save David Silver from giving his life away to drugs. The only man in history to have taken crystal meth while drinking orange juice. Regardless of the circumstances, Dylan was back and all 90210 fans rejoiced. I know I did. I'll spare you all a video montage as I guarantee my gushing over Dylan McKay has prompted you to consider NEVER visiting this blog again. We'll just move on to number 7.

7) Mike Piazza Returns to Shea Stadium, August 8, 2006

No one personified the New York Mets more than Mike Piazza over the last ten years. I was in attendence for his first game with the Mets against Milwaukee back in May of 1998 and the move made the Mets truly relevent again. Yes, it's true the team had won 88 games the year before and ended up winning the same amount of games the year Pizza arrived, however ask Big J, the feeling around the team and Shea had changed. In eight years with the Mets, Piazza made enough memories that he will always be remembered as one of New York's greatest athletes. Who can forget his dramatic game ending home run against the Braves in the first game in New York after 9/11? That's why when he returned as a member of the Padres in 2006, Mets fans packed Shea Stadium for his return to give a New York hero his due. Below is a clip of Piazza's return captured on video by a Met fan in attendence.



6) Mark Messier Returns to the Rangers, September 2000

When The Captain burst onto the New York scene in 1991, it didn't take long for Messier to become local cult hero. Embodying everything that is New York, Messier's hard noised style of play, determination to win and love of the nightlife turned him into a Broadway attraction. The Stanley Cup he brought to the Rangers in '94, the first Cup in 54 years, cemented his status as a legendary New York sports icon. The tears he shed when retuning to the Garden for the first time as a member of the Canucks only goes to show you that the love affair was mutual. There have been MANY tought tickets to get in New York over the years, and Messier's return to MSG in 2000 was no exeption. Sadly, I could not find video of this spectacular return, however, the video below is from his retirement ceremony on January 12, 2006. If this doesn't give you the chills.....then you flat out don't get sports.



6) Ric Flair Returns to WCW and The Four Horsemen, September 1998

In April 1998, Flair became embroiled in a dispute with WCW president Eric Bischoff when he failed to appear at a televised event. Bischoff had placed Flair on the show only three days prior, and Flair had earlier requested time off on the same night to see his son, Reid, wrestle in a Greco-Roman wrestling tournament. Bischoff filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Flair, and kept him off television for over 5 months. He returned on September 14, 1998 to reform the Four Horsemen (along with Steve "Mongo" McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit) in Greenville, South Carolina. During his return speech, Flair would shoot on Bischoff, saying that Bischoff didn't care about the fans and kept shouting the words "abuse of power" and "Fire me! I'm already fired!". Flair feuded with Bischoff for several months afterward, eventually winning the "Presidency of WCW" from Bischoff. (Credit: Wikipedia.org) This was a mixture of reality and storyline which was so prevelent in wrestling during the late 90's. Call wrestling whatever you want, but the genuine emotion on Richard Fliehr's face as he came out from behind the curtain to greet his fans deep in the heart of Flair Country was simply breathtaking.



5)Roger Clemens Returns to the Yankees, May 2007

Okay, okay, I know. This just happened and you already spoke about it ad nauseum, how can it already make the list? I agree completely but I have to include the Rocket's return on this list AND at number 5 because it was the first return of it's kind in mainstream sports. Like I said a bunch of paragraphs above, no sports team had ever introduced a player with quite this way. Was it pretentious, sure. Was it pompeous, absolutely. Was it hokey and contrived, you betcha. Was it shocking and brilliant, damn right. And that folks was what it was supposed to be. To Big Stein and Cash...mission accomplished.

4) Magic Johnson Returns to the Lakers, January 1996

Magic returned to the team that had made him a household name for the final 32 games of the 95-96 NBA season after retiring four years earlier due to the HIV virus he had contracted. I remember the day that I heard Magic had HIV back in '91. I was coming back from a school field trip in Philadelphia and I saw footage of his announcement on the evening news when I got home. I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach. Magic....AIDS? How? The realities of the disease did not hit home for most Americans back in 1991 as AIDS was still considered a homosexual or drug addict's disease. Magic changed all that. And, yes, even though I grew up in New York I was still a HUGE Magic fan as he personified the flash and pizazz that was "Showtime". Everytime Magic suited up and played in front of Jack, Diane and Penny.....it felt like an event. So it was with great pleasure that I watched Magic's short comeback in '96 during my first year in college. I looked at it as a gift as I felt Magic's career had been robbed from me a few years earlier. Here are some highlights from that historic return against the Golden State Warriors.



3) Triple H Returns to the WWF/E, January 2002

Out nearly a year due to a quad tear, The Game, Triple H, returned to the WWE in the only arena perfectly suited for this type of event, Madison Square Garden. Now, I'm sure you non New York readers are by now firmly pissed off at the sheer number of New York events and athletes on this list. And I apologize. But then again....this is MY list, so I actually apologize for nothing. If you don't like, write your own damn list. Okie-dokey....now that I got that off my chest....back to HHH. This return was extra special and really cemented Hunter as a future WWE Hall of Famer because he was a heel before his injury. The babyface pop he received the night he came back can be best described as the fans outpouring their true feelings and emotion for a man who has given his body to entertain them since 1995. No storylines, no gimmicks....just one man returning to the sport he loves and the fans letting him know they never forgot him. Sit back and enjoy because I don't think I've seen the Garden this electric EVER.




2) Hulk Hogan Returns to Wrestlemania, WM X-8 April 2002

Oh man, two wrestling returns in a row. Yeah, well, this is justified. This is the greatest crowd reaction to any one single human being in the history of ALL SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT. Period. There is no debate if you think otherwise, you lose. And, yes, I know that Hogan actually returned at the No Way Out PPV, but this is Hulk Hogan returning to the event HE made famous. This is the only match I can think of where the crowd not only switched the babyface and heel mid-match, but also was the determining factor in why storylines were re-written and Hogan was turned face so quickly during his comeback. Look at the reaction when Hogan flexes.....UNREAL. I honestly thought when watching this live 5 years ago that those crazy Canadians were going to storm the ring. Believe it or not, this is actually my favorite match of all-time and I've been watching wrestling for about 24 years. So I know a thing or two about a thing or two. Enjoy this compilation video soundtracked by Aerosmith's "Dream On."



1) Michael Jordan returns to the Bulls, March 1995

Arguably the greatest athlete of all-time makes his return to a sport that wasn't the same without him. And that's coming from me, a die-hard Knicks fan, who Jordan destroyed over the years with clutch performance after clutch performance. But I'd be a fool if this moment in NBA history wasn't my number #1 return of all-time. I'd be a fool and I'd be a liar because MJ's return was more than a sports story. It was a news story. After a 17th month absence and a failed baseball career, basketball's Babe Ruth returned home on March 18th, 1995 to a sold-out Market Square Arena in Indianapolis as his Bulls took on the Indiana Pacers. Yes, some may say Jordan really returned a few weeks later when he dropped 55 on the Knicks at the Garden, but this is the original. Come take a walk with me down memory lane and enjoy this rare video from a time when Michael wore number #45 for a little bit and reminded us all just how great he truly was.



Well, that does it for "My Top Returns in all of Sports and Entertainment in the Last 15 Years." Hope you enjoyed it and I would really love to hear your feedback on this list. Hell, I would love you to submit your own or you can just critque mine. Whatever's clever.

Please send all emails, notes, comments etc....to bigjandmax@gmail.com

Until next time.....keep coming back!

Max