10 Comebacks We Want to See in 2017
We often look ahead in the world of sports.
The latest massive event is always on the horizon. Passionate football fans are already reading 2017 NFL mock drafts. The UFC consistently advertises cards months in advance. Sports radio stations are discussing possible MLB free-agency transactions more than a month before the start of the upcoming postseason.
It's the nature of the business, and it's why September 2016 is as good a time as any to speculate about sports comebacks that may occur in 2017.
Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz has millions of reasons to return in 2017. Fight fans around the world hope to see Ronda Rousey back in the cage at some point over the next 12 months. You may struggle to remember when Tiger Woods last played in a meaningful tournament.
Everybody loves a comeback story. It's a well-known cliche repeated by sports personalities. Some comebacks go better than others, but each one that involves a famous athlete draws attention from media members and consumers.
Every potential comeback mentioned in this piece would generate headlines.
Matt Harvey
1 of 10
I was at Citi Field for Game 5 of the 2015 World Series between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals. Like others around me wearing Mets jerseys, I chanted Matt Harvey's name during the bottom of the eighth inning. I cheered with glee when Harvey emerged from the dugout to begin the ninth.
For those few minutes, Harvey was the biggest baseball star on the planet. Who could have imagined Harvey failing to close the game out on that chilly fall evening wouldn't be the worst moment of his career over the span of 12 months?
Harvey's 2016 season could not have gone much worse. Per Baseball-Reference.com, he won only four of 17 starts en route to finishing the campaign with a 4-10 record. The 2015 National League Comeback Player of the Year underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in July.
This is not the first time an injury sidelined Harvey. He missed all of the 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
When at his best, Harvey is capable of leading the Mets' rotation and competing for a Cy Young award. The 27-year-old has, however, only started 82 regular-season games since first joining the Mets in 2012.
Per Maria Guardado of NJ.com, Harvey is expected to be ready for next season. Maybe he'll be a two-time Comeback Player of the Year by the end of 2017.
Georges St-Pierre
2 of 10
Stars and big names sell fights.
Casual viewers who watched Ronda Rousey win and defend her UFC championship probably couldn't name the current women's bantamweight champion. I don't know who holds any championships in Bellator, but I know Rory MacDonald recently signed with the promotion.
Georges St-Pierre probably isn't the best fighter in the world anymore. He turned 35 years old this past May, and he last fought in November 2013.
St-Pierre is, however, still a star—a star who would sell pay-per-view buys and attract fans who otherwise may have decided to skip a particular event.
As Damon Martin of Fox Sports recently explained, St-Pierre is back in the United States Anti-Doping Agency drug testing pool. While this technically means St-Pierre could be ready for a UFC show before the end of the year, he has not signed a new contract with the promotion.
Every day he isn't signed is a day closer to 2017.
St-Pierre is one of the greatest fighters in UFC history and the promotion's best welterweight champion of all time. Fans have waited for years to see him back in the cage.
We can wait a few more months if that's what it takes to see St-Pierre headlining a future UFC card.
Martavis Bryant
3 of 10
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant is only 24 years old. His physical prime and the bulk of his playing career should be ahead of him.
However, Bryant is banned from playing in the NFL this season.
The league suspended Bryant earlier this year for repeat violations of the league's substance-abuse policy. Tom Pelissero of USA Today reported in March that one of Bryant's agents claimed the Clemson alum had a "depression issue" and also a "problem with marijuana."
We've seen plenty of players fail to make it in the NFL for off-field reasons. Joseph Randle, Johnny Manziel and Justin Blackmon immediately come to mind. Josh Gordon may physically be the best wide receiver in the NFL, but he is one mistake away from facing an indefinite suspension because of his inability to abide by the league's substance-abuse policy.
Assuming that Bryant's agent told the truth this past March, it seems Bryant is neither reckless nor blase about his playing future. According to Conor Orr of NFL.com, Bryant spent three weeks at a counseling facility in 2015. Pelissero reported he planned on entering rehab following his latest ban.
Bryant making a comeback in 2017 is about more than his career and what he can contribute to the Steelers. It would indicate Bryant conquered whatever issues have plagued him since he first entered the league.
Here's hoping this story has a happy ending.
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Tim Tebow
4 of 10
We are fascinated by former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow. I don't fully understand why, but I know we are. I'll admit that I fall into the camp of intrigued observers whenever I read that Tebow is planning on doing something of note.
Imagine trying to explain Tebow's celebrity status to a friend who ignores sports. "There's this guy who isn't a good quarterback but who won some games during the 2011 season in exciting fashion. He hasn't been a starting QB since then, and yet he made headlines when he was third on the depth chart of the Philadelphia Eagles in August 2015. And he hasn't played in a regular-season contest since 2012."
Nevertheless, Tebow remains a unique star.
Tebow, now 29 years old, hosted a workout for MLB clubs on Aug. 30. Real teams scouted Tebow's workout even though he has never played an inning at any level of pro baseball.
He is now seemingly closer to playing baseball than to playing football in 2017.
Tebow making a comeback to pro sports is entertaining. Fans will spend money and flock to baseball parks in small towns if Tebow signs with a minor league club. The majority of those people would probably understand that Tebow will never be an MLB All-Star. They don't care. They just want to see a star.
I'd drive 30 minutes to see Tebow play baseball next year. I don't know why I would, but I know I would.
Jon Jones
5 of 10
It's almost a shame that Jon Jones is such a great fighter. His skills and dominance inside of the cage are why we want to see him make a comeback in 2017.
Jones has been more of a spectator than a competitor over the past two years. The UFC stripped Jones of his light heavyweight championship in April 2015 following his involvement in an automobile accident that injured a pregnant woman. What was supposed to be Jones' return to the title picture at UFC 200 this past July never occurred due to Jones testing positive for a banned substance before his match against Daniel Cormier.
It seems Jones will receiver another reprieve.
Ariel Helwani of SB Nation's MMA Fighting reported in August that Jones is facing a "maximum one-year suspension" rather than a two-year ban. While Jones' punishment is not yet known, Helwani's report suggests Jones will be available to fight at some point in 2017.
There is currently no indication the UFC is considering parting ways with Jones. He remains a massive draw. He is probably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world when at his physical peak. Jones may win a championship in one of his next fights if he remains out of trouble.
Jones is a frustrating headache for the UFC and fight fans. We feel anger toward Jones because we want to see him fight more than once a year. In a perfect world, Jones would be on his best behavior at all times and available to compete in 2017.
Make that world a reality, Mr. Jones.
Ray Allen
6 of 10
Veteran three-point shooter Ray Allen doesn't need to make a comeback at any point in 2016.
Nothing of merit is won during the opening half of any NBA regular season. Ask the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors what winning 73 regular-season games is worth to them now. For top-tier NBA teams, a regular season is about keeping stars healthy and rested and finding their top forms before the playoffs.
That's why Allen should wait until 2017 before he signs with a team.
Allen turned 41 years old earlier this summer. Per Don Amore of the Hartford Courant, Allen is working toward making a comeback. Amore mentions the Cleveland Cavaliers, Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics as potential destinations for Allen.
Those teams don't need Allen for an entire grueling and physical season.
Allen is arguably the greatest three-pointer shooter in NBA history. That aspect of his game likely isn't disappearing between now and the middle of February. Allen should require only a few months on a roster to get up to speed and be ready to drain shots from beyond arcs during postseason games.
Allen possesses a special skill set that makes him a nightmare for opposing defenses.
We don't need to see Allen playing on a random Tuesday night in November. We want to see Allen attempting threes when the games matter in the spring.
Tiger Woods
7 of 10
The PGA Tour misses Tiger Woods. Fans miss Tiger Woods. The sport of golf misses Tiger Woods.
Those are hardly hot takes. A simple Google search produces multiple stories about the decline in television ratings for golf events since Woods last played. Jordan Kobritz of the Daily Courier wrote in August 2016 about golf's overall decline since August 2014, when Woods last competed.
Woods turns 41 years old in December. His physical setbacks are known to even casual fans. Ali Stafford of Sky Sports offered an in-depth look at Woods' injury history this past spring.
We don't think of Woods as the veteran well past his best days who can no longer hang with the top golfers in the world. We instead choose to remember Woods for what he was when he dominated tournaments and ran away with titles.
It's why millions of fans would tune in to watch if Woods flirted with winning a tournament on a Sunday.
Imagine what Woods making a successful comeback for even one major tournament would mean for golf. Close your eyes and picture Woods wearing his classic red shirt as he climbs up the leaderboard at the 2017 edition of the Masters. Even the notion produces goosebumps on the arms of diehard fans.
Woods may never win another tournament. It seems more likely he'll never again tee off at a major than win a title down the road. We've seen golf without Woods. It's not as fun, and the sport consistently fails to draw casual fans without him.
Woods is by far the main golfer we want to see return in 2017.
David Ortiz
8 of 10
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is worn out. Ortiz, per Ken Powtak of the Associated Press (h/t Mike Axisa of CBS Sports), recently admitted this following a game. Ortiz, who announced before the season that 2016 would be his last year as an active player, turns 41 years old this coming November. It's understandable he would be fatigued at this point of a grueling campaign.
However, you wouldn't know he is tired by looking at his numbers.
According to Baseball-Reference.com, Ortiz is on pace to finish a season with a batting average over .300 for the first time since 2013. Ortiz has already blasted 31 home runs, and he will enter September with at least 101 RBI. Ortiz should play in no fewer than 140 regular-season games so long as he remains healthy through the final month of the season.
Why shouldn't he come back in 2017?
According to Spotrac, Ortiz is making $10 million for his services this season. Even if the Red Sox dropped that number by a few million dollars, Ortiz would still earn roughly $1 million per month of play next year. That's a solid wage for somebody who only has to worry about taking a handful of at-bats per game.
It's easy to believe Ortiz is tired at the end of August. He'll have several months to rest and recover before he has to make a final decision on playing in 2017. Ortiz making a comeback next spring makes sense for him and for the Red Sox as long as he continues producing and still possesses a love for the game.
Peyton Manning
9 of 10
Stop rolling your eyes, critics and haters. Peyton Manning making a comeback in 2017 isn't as crazy of a notion as you may think.
Gary Myers of the New York Daily News speculated about a possible Denver Broncos return this past March: "I would rather have a physically limited Manning running the Broncos offense and going for a Super Bowl repeat than putting my trust in Colin Kaepernick or Robert Griffin III, who have each seriously regressed after early success. I would also rather have Manning in charge in Denver than Ryan Fitzpatrick."
Manning was physically a shell of his former self during his final season with the Broncos. The arm strength he possessed in his prime wasn't there. He tossed 17 interceptions and only nine touchdowns during the 2015 regular season.
But Manning also hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy in February.
Would a rested and healthy Manning, one who had over a year to fully prepare for a final run, be the worst starting QB in the NFL in September 2017? Would he be worse than Robert Griffin III, Blaine Gabbert, Colin Kaepernick or some rookie thrown to the wolves?
Manning loves football. You don't have to know the man personally to realize this. Myers speculated that Manning would have played for the Broncos in 2016 had both sides known in early March that Brock Osweiler was going to sign with the Houston Texans.
Manning completing a comeback would be a spectacle—one featured in prime time and one responsible for a noteworthy rating. We watch sports for such entertaining moments.
Maybe, just maybe, Manning believes he still has something left in the tank.
Ronda Rousey
10 of 10
Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey probably isn't fighting in 2016.
As Cindy Boren of the Washington Post recently explained, UFC boss Dana White announced earlier this month that Rousey won't be fighting at the UFC 205 show occurring at Madison Square Garden in November. That is likely the last big UFC show of the year, one fitting of a star such as Rousey.
Rousey last fought in November 2015, when she lost to Holly Holm.
We don't know if Rousey will ever return to the UFC or any fighting promotion. Unless she has made multiple questionable financial decisions over the years, she should be set for life. Rousey has earned acting roles in movies. She may have a spot on the WWE roster if she wanted to pursue such a career.
UFC fans want to see Rousey return to the cage for obvious reasons.
She is arguably the biggest star currently on the UFC roster—even bigger than Conor McGregor. No female fighter out there today is a bigger draw. Until the fight versus Holm, Rousey was an unstoppable machine who cut entertaining promos on talk shows and cable sports networks.
The UFC misses Rousey. The women's bantamweight division needs its biggest star back in 2017.
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