Teams and Athletes Looking at Last Chances in 2016
Every professional athlete eventually runs out of chances to win championships and achieve great accomplishments.
Then-39-year-old Peyton Manning cashed in on his last opportunity to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy this past February. Michael Bisping won Ultimate Fighting Championship gold for the first time at the age of 37 years old. Tim Duncan, meanwhile, came up short in his pursuit of a final National Basketball Association title of his legendary 19-year career at the age of 40.
Multiple athletes across different sports face similar scenarios in August 2016.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, 33, hopes to silence critics and prove he can lead the New York Jets into the playoffs. After his four seasons in Washington ended in disappointment, Robert Griffin III is attempting to save his career with the Cleveland Browns. CM Punk, 37, is a different case in that his first chance to impress inside of the cage may be his last if that upcoming fight goes poorly for the former World Wrestling Entertainment performer.
There is no overtime period for sports entities staring down last chances. Championship windows shut for good due to a variety of reasons. This finality makes such plots so compelling for fans and observers who have no direct ties to the players and teams involved.
Who among the athletes and teams featured in this piece will be the biggest winners of them all 12 months from now?
CM Punk
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UFC competitor Lorenz Larkin doesn't respect CM Punk as a fighter.
Larkin made that clear while speaking with TMZ Sports about Punk this past July. The welterweight did not take any personal shots at Punk. Larkin merely compared Punk making the jump from the WWE to the UFC to a contracted UFC fighter trying to earn a spot on a National Football League franchise.
Larkin likely isn't alone.
Think back to February 2008 when Brock Lesnar debuted in the UFC. WWE fans tuned in to see if Lesnar could hang in a real fight against Frank Mir. Others wanted to watch the "fake" wrestler lose to a proven commodity. Mir defeated Lesnar in that first encounter, but Lesnar went on to quiet all doubters, become a UFC champion and cement himself as a top draw for the promotion before returning to the WWE.
Punk is not Lesnar in multiple ways. Punk's resume is not filled with amateur wrestling accomplishments and national championships. Lesnar, in his prime, possessed physical attributes unlike any UFC fighter in history. Punk cannot match those traits today or at any point in the future.
The UFC announced the signing of Punk in December 2014. Punk's first official fight is scheduled for September 10, 2016 at UFC 203, roughly 21 months after his introduction as a UFC performer. The shine is already off the figurative apple. Punk turns 38 years old this fall, and thus it is not a stretch to suggest his physical prime is behind him.
What's next for Punk if Mickey Gall dominates him at UFC 203?
Punk remains well-known among fans and potential viewers. One loss should not finish Punk's fighting career. A quick and embarrassing defeat to Gall could, however, mean the end of Punk's chances of fighting on pay-per-view cards.
New York Knicks
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Give the New York Knicks for not conceding the Eastern Conference to the Cleveland Cavaliers and for not wasting whatever is left of Carmelo Anthony's prime. After winning 32 games last season, the Knicks acquired Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah during the offseason. New York also added Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings to a roster that featured Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, who impressed during his rookie year in the 2015-16 campaign.
New York's starting lineup is terrifying for opponents if the versions of Rose and Noah from several years ago show up to play home games at Madison Square Garden. It's 2016, though, and both Rose and Noah sacrificed years of their bodies and careers to Chicago Bulls teams that won nothing of merit.
Rose's injury history is well-documented. Scott Chiusano of the New York Daily News provided a list of Rose's injury woes from over the years for New York fans who can stomach such a read. Rose played in 66 games during his last season with the Bulls, and he averaged 16.4 points per game. Via ESPN.com, Rose last averaged at least 20 points per game during the 2011-12 campaign. He played in only 39 games that year because of injuries.
Rose will never be an all-time great. That's not a prediction, a hot take or a criticism of Rose. Rose's body simply betrayed him too many times. Every season Rose is healthy and able to play in even dozens of games is a gift for Rose and for the Knicks.
Noah, like Rose, is also attempting to find his youth as a member of the Knicks at the age of 31. Knee and shoulder injuries affected Noah in each of the past two seasons, during which his offensive production dipped dramatically. As Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal explained in July, Noah is not known as a great scorer when he is healthy.
Remember, also, that Anthony is not your typical 32-year-old NBA player. Anthony entered the league back in 2003. He is a veteran of 14 seasons. Anthony is set to play in the upcoming Olympics, a tournament that will put additional wear and tear on his body.
The Knicks are built to win now, if only because one cannot count on this roster remaining intact past the spring of 2016.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
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New York Jets quarterback Fitzpatrick bet on himself.
Get used to seeing that phrase throughout the rest of 2016.
The contract dispute between Fitzpatrick and the Jets ended during the final week of July when Fitzpatrick and the club agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $12 million. As Bob Glauber of Newsday explained, Fitzpatrick snubbed offers worth more guaranteed money but included reduced salaries in later seasons to return to the Jets.
In reality, the contract Fitzpatrick signed makes sense for all involved.
Fitzpatrick played better in 2015 than at any prior point in his NFL career. No other QB on the New York roster deserves to start over Fitzpatrick heading into the preseason. It is no wonder Fitzpatrick held out up through late July. The Jets weren't presented with a plethora of other options over the past several months.
The Jets, meanwhile, played it safe by refusing to tie up millions of dollars of cap space long term on an unproven QB. Fitzpatrick is a journeyman who failed to keep jobs with teams such as the then-St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans. One solid season that included zero playoff games doesn't erase Fitzpatrick's history.
Fitzpatrick turns 34 years old this fall. Fitzpatrick's age and current contract make the 2016 season an audition during which Fitzpatrick will either earn a better contract or fall flat on his face. No other QB in the league faces more pressure as it pertains to his future.
Fitzpatrick went all-in on himself in contract negotiations with the Jets. He has four months to prove doing so was the right move.
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Carlos Beltran
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Carlos Beltran received a chance to play for a winner on August 1 when the New York Yankees dealt Beltran to the Texas Rangers.
Beltran turned 39 years old this past April. You wouldn't know that, however, by looking at his offensive production since the start of the 2016 Major League Baseball season. On the day the Yankees traded Beltran to Texas, the veteran slugger led New York in home runs (22), RBI (64), hits (109), batting average (.304), slugging percentage (.344) and OPS (.890) among everyday players.
This past June, Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com touched upon Beltran's possible induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. As Bloom said without directly saying it, Beltran is a "should" more than a "sure thing" to get into the Hall. Cormac Gordon of SILive.com referred to Beltran as a "probable Hall of Famer" in a piece published on August 1.
Heading into the first night of August, Beltran is 76 blasts away from hitting his 500th career home run. Beltran may need to play another four full seasons to have even a chance of accumulating 3000 career hits. Beltran never won Most Valuable Player honors during his prime.
Beltran is also without a single World Series championship. That could soon change, though, now that Beltran is a member of the Rangers.
Texas began August atop the American League West division standings, six games ahead of the Houston Astros and the owners of the best record (62-44) in all of the AL. The Rangers then made big splashes before the trade deadline by acquiring Beltran and two-time All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy on August 1.
Beltran can still play in the outfield, but he means more to a team as a designated hitter in the twilight of his career. This limits Beltran's options if he wishes to continue playing past this fall. Beltran should cherish the opportunity that the Rangers presented to him.
This may be his last chance to win a World Series.
Arsenal
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When will Arsenal and manager Arsene Wenger part ways? Fans and Premier League observers have wondered this for years.
That's understandable. Wenger last guided Arsenal to a Premier League title in 2003-04. The Gunners are more known these days for managing to finish a season in the top four of the league table than for coming close to winning the Champions League. Arsenal enjoying stability at the manager position is a positive to a point, but the club's ambitions need to go beyond what Wenger has achieved since the rise of teams such as Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
As David Hirshey of ESPN FC explained near the end of July, Arsenal wasted the club's best chance in over a decade to win the league last season. Manchester City barely qualified for the Champions League. Chelsea recovered only to respectability following a lousy start to the campaign. Manchester United settled for a spot in the Europa League. Tottenham ran out of gas in the final month of the season.
Injuries plagued Arsenal throughout 2015-16. That, as Hirshey wrote, does not excuse Wenger's inability to propel Arsenal past Leicester City during the January transfer window:
"Wengerphiles (I have been one for far too long) claim that he cannot be blamed for all the key players who missed large swathes of the season because of various physical problems, but after hearing the same song now for more than a decade, they simply haven't grasped the meaning of Wenger's lyrics.
It is exemplified by the combination of his innate frugality and imperiousness that manifests itself annually, most notably when Arsenal distinguished itself as the only major club in Europe not to buy an outfield player in the January transfer window. Never mind that the Gunners' two chief scoring threats, Olivier Giroud and (Theo) Walcott, were in the kind of form that they couldn't finish a sandwich or that at one point Arsenal were so bereft of defensive midfielders (thanks to injury) that the Gunners were forced to take Mathieu Flamini out of bubble wrap and rely on the Frenchman who had not played a single minute to shield the back four.
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Enough is enough.
Every team in every sport faces a "win or bust" year now and again. Arsenal are there. Wenger is a club icon, and he deserves a standing ovation from an adoring crowd of supporters on his final day.
Arsenal nevertheless need to begin a new era if the Gunners again fail to win the Premier League and/or the Champions League in 2016-17.
Robert Griffin III
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Odds are that NFL fans know all about Cleveland Browns quarterback RG3.
Griffin earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors for his efforts as the starting QB of the Washington Redskins in 2012. Griffin's Washington career went downhill from there. He started in only 20 regular-season games in the following two seasons, via Pro-Football-Reference.com, due to injuries and injury concerns. Jay Gruden, hired as Washington head coach in January 2014, replaced Griffin with Kirk Cousins at the start of the 2015 campaign.
Griffin didn't take the field once last season. The Redskins released Griffin this past March.
Griffin is now with the Cleveland Browns. The Browns last had a franchise quarterback in the early 1990s and before the team relocated and became the Baltimore Ravens. Needless to say, Cleveland fans are hoping for the best but expecting the worst from a version of Griffin, who is but a memory of the QB who seemed to be a future star four seasons ago.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported in late July that there is not "much of a competition" for the Cleveland starting QB gig between Griffin, veteran Josh McCown, rookie Cody Kessler and journeyman Austin Davis. Cabot even referred to Griffin as the "hand-picked guy" of Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson.
That's fine for now. Griffin's current Cleveland contract is, per Spotrac, worth little in guaranteed money after 2016. The dead cap value of that deal drops from $6.75 million to $1.75 million next season, meaning the Browns can move on from Griffin without suffering any serious financial setbacks.
Backup QBs find homes in the NFL every summer and every fall. Some team somewhere will likely take a flier on Griffin if he flops with the Browns. Griffin may, however, be entering Week 1 of a season as a starter for the last time if he fails in 2016.
Alistair Overeem
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Stars, not championship matches, sell fights. It's the nature of combat sports.
Passionate UFC fans recognize Alistair Overeem, but Overeem is not a mainstream personality. Overeem is not a proven draw among casual viewers as are Ronda Rousey, Lesnar and Conor McGregor. Overeem is a great fighter, but skill alone is not enough to get fans to spend money on a pay-per-view card.
That is one reason why Overeem's last chance to win a UFC title may occur at UFC 203 this coming September.
Overeem, 36 years old, is a veteran of a heavyweight division that lacks star power heading into the fall months. Stipe Miocic, who will defend his title versus Overeem in September, will receive a hero's welcome when he makes his way to the cage in his home city of Cleveland, Ohio, for the main event of UFC 203.
Truth be told, the UFC needs Miocic to defeat Overeem. Such a victory could help Miocic become more than a faceless champion among those who watch only a handful of UFC shows each year.
Overeem's fighting career should continue if he loses to Miocic unless Overeem decides that enough is enough. With that said, the UFC stands to gain little, if anything at all, by keeping Overeem in the title picture if Overeem cannot beat Miocic in September.
The good news for Overeem is that he will be a hated heel among the Cleveland faithful on September 10. That crowd will likely erupt in a chorus of boos if Overeem beats Miocic. Such a reaction, if that result occurs, may help make Overeem become a bigger star and bigger draw in the long run.
David Ortiz
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We know Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is looking at his last chance to win a World Series. Ortiz announced last fall that he is retiring following the 2016 season. While Ortiz is experiencing an incredible walk-off season, fans should not expect Ortiz to second-guess his decision down the road.
Ortiz, per Nick Schwartz of FoxSports.com, told reporters after the MLB All-Star Game last month that he does not intend to change his mind.
The 40-year-old is, to his credit, doing his part to help the Red Sox compete for postseason baseball. Ortiz, via ESPN.com, is second in all of MLB in RBI (85) as of the afternoon of August 1. Ortiz is batting .320 with 25 home runs. The beloved figure among Boston fans blasted three homers during the second half of July, an indication that Ortiz isn't slowing down anytime soon.
Ortiz can only do so much to help Boston at this point of his career. The Red Sox can start Ortiz at first base in a pinch or during a World Series, but Ortiz is mostly a designated hitter these days. Like anybody else in any lineup, Ortiz only receives so many at-bats in any game.
Ortiz obviously isn't going anywhere before this fall. He is the emotional heart of Red Sox Nation, and Boston is alive in playoff races at the start of August.
Ortiz produced numbers worthy of Most Valuable Player votes during the first half of the season. He may need to be better in August and September if he is to earn even a few more postseason at-bats before calling time on his career.
Tom Brady
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You take New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for granted, even if you think you don't.
It makes sense. Brady is synonymous with the NFL. There are some football fans out there who can't remember seeing anybody else start at QB for the Patriots minus the season Brady lost because of injury.
Charles Curtis of USA Today reminded us all this past March that Brady turns 39 years old before summer ends. Brady will serve a four-game suspension at the start of the 2016 campaign due to the Deflategate matter, but those four weeks alone only add so much sand to the hourglass counting down the years, months and days remaining in Brady's career.
Age is the great equalizer in sports. Father Time eventually caught up to Brett Favre and Manning. NFL QBs in their 40s only win so much before their bodies betray them. Remember that the defense of the Denver Broncos carried Manning to the last title of his career before Manning's 40th birthday and after his best playing days diminished.
The Indianapolis Colts replaced Manning with Andrew Luck in the spring of 2012. Luck is good, but he isn't Manning yet. Luck may never get to such a level.
New England fans expecting Jimmy Garoppolo to be Brady 2.0 need to pump the breaks. Garoppolo remains a work in progress on the field.
History tells us that the championship window for the Patriots with Brady lining up under center is closing. One hit or one wrong step could theoretically sideline Brady for more than a week or two at this stage of his career. Brady is looking at his last chances to win championships before he rides off into the sunset.
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