Top 5 Legends That End Up in Strange Places

Sometimes as a legendary career ends in sports, several wrongs can occur. You could have a guy hang on for entirely too long and be a shell of the legend they once were. You can have a guy be forced into retirement  a little too early by a team that wants to move on to a younger option. Or you can have a guy leave the team he's been associated with and go somewhere else. Now sometimes, this move comes early enough that it's not very strange; like Roger Clemens being traded to Toronto or Nolan Ryan to any of his other teams. Sometimes the move is late in a career and even though it takes a little bit, it looks right; like when Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers or Mark Messier went to the New York Rangers. But then there are those that just don't sit right. As a matter of fact, these moves are so strange looking to me that I still pretend they didn't happen. I'm actually looking at this piece right now as I write it, as a piece of fiction. So enjoy my imaginary list.

5- Peyton Manning going anywhere - Obviously this list was inspired by the talk over the past week of Peyton Manning possibly moving to another team next year in order to make room for Andrew Luck. I sat down and tried to think of a team that Peyton Manning would fit on and I'm sorry I just can't find one. I can't think of one uniform or helmet that I can see on Peyton's enormous head. Can you see Peyton taking the reigns in Tennessee (which is where he went to college)? Can you see him behind center in Cleveland? How about Miami? I just can't see it.

4- Dwight Gooden in Cleveland - Dr. K, as he became known as during his years in Queens, was the New York Mets ace for 11 seasons. When the strike ended and baseball returned in '96, Doc Gooden signed with the New York Yankees. Did it anger me? Yes. Did I view him as traitor? Yes. Was it weird? NO! Any ball player in the Yankee pinstripes looks right. I think that's part of the appeal of playing for the Yanks. You need proof? Ask any Red Sox fan if they would've ever imagined seeing Roger Clemens, Johnny Damon or Wade Boggs in pinstripes. I rest my case on this issue. But after two years in the Bronx, "Doc" took his deteriorating skills to Cleveland where he pitched for another two seasons. This particular entry to the list may be more personal than odd, but seeing Doc Gooden in an Indians jersey was very, very unsettling.

3- Wayne Gretzky in St. Louis - I still get confused when I see the occasional picture of "The Great One" in a Blues jersey. The Kings, and the Rangers made sense but St Louis? What a very odd place for Gretzky to end up? He only played like 20 games in St Louis, but it's still a very odd picture to see. It's SO odd, that seeing pics of Gretzky in an Indianapolis Racers jersey makes more sense.

2- Michael Jordan in Washington - This one was a toss up between Jordan in a baseball uni or in a Washington Wizards jersey. For some reason I get the sense that if they were still the Bullets at the time, it wouldn't have been as weird, but that goofy Wizards logo sealed the deal on how odd this was. Jordan sucked at baseball, there's no denying that, but he looked good. Jordan was an athlete, and could make most sports uniforms look good, but the Wizards? There is no helping that. The fact that Jordan came back after four years away from the game and was a shell of the Legend he was in Chicago may have contributed to the oddness of these pictures, but either way, Jordan in a Wizards jersey should not have happened.

1- Joe Montana in Chiefs Red - I was not a 49ers fans. I am not a football purist nor do I care about the sanctity of the game. I am, however, nostalgic about things from my childhood (note my current obsession with the Winnipeg Jets because of an odd childhood memory that I cherish). So with that said, seeing Joe Montana in a Kansas City Chiefs helmet was devastatingly weird for me to deal with. As a child of the 80's (my formative years, ages 4-14, were during that decade) Joe Montana defined what a QB should be. He was the best of the best, and he donned the Gold and Red of the San Fransisco 49ers. Then one day in 1993, my world was rocked. Joe Montana took the field in the Chiefs cherry red and white uniforms, and HIS NUMBER WAS DIFFERENT! WTF?! 19! Is nothing sacred? Not that I care because as I said before, none of this is real, but what a nightmare right? Montana, wearing number 19 in Arrowhead? What a messed up dream that was. He would probably take them to the playoffs or something.

Honorable Mention (if these actually happened it would be weird)
*Patrick Ewing as a Seattle Supersonic
*Darryl Strawberry as a Dodger
*Mike Piazza as a Florida Marlin
*Reggie Jackson as an Oriole
*Mark Messier as a Canuck
*Bryan Trottier as the Rangers Head Coach

Well, that's the list. Did I miss one? Let me know thesportsriot@yahoo.com or follow us on twitter @TheSportsRiot.