Sports

Too hard to let go

Illustration by Christopher Cosenza/tbt* using photographs from Getty Images (center) and AP Emmitt Smith refused to be a backup for the Cowboys so he took his talent to Arizona. He was injured for most of 2003 but tallied 937 yards this season.

The Cardinals' Emmitt Smith ... wait, go back and read that again. It looks odd, doesn't it? His name should've never been preceded by Cardinals. And the NFL's all-time leading rusher obviously agreed, which is why he signed a one-day contract with Dallas to right this wrong and retire as a Cowboy. His tale is not uncommon, however. The departure of the Pensacola native and ex-Florida Gator got us to thinking about other greats who left teams with which they had become synonymous just to prolong the twilight of their careers. Some had success, some didn't, and some just embarrassed themselves.

MICHAEL JORDAN: No. 23 retired (a second time) with the Bulls after the 1997-98 season, but his competitive drive and enormous ego wouldn't let him stay home with his family. Is it any wonder he got divorced soon after? He acquired an interest in the Washington Wizards and joined the young team in 2001 to provide leadership while increasing the value of his investment. He got the Wizards thisclose to qualifying for the playoffs, which would be admirable in baseball, but in the NBA, every team but the Clippers makes the postseason.

JOE NAMATH: Broadway Joe, owner of tbt*'s No.1 Super Bowl moment of all-time (and we know that ranks right up there on his list of his accomplishments), spent 12 seasons with the New York Jets, winning the league title and the hearts of every single woman in the Tri-State area. But finishing out his career in the Big Apple was not meant to be, instead hooking up in 1977 with the Rams, where he threw more interceptions (five) than he had games played (four).

JOHNNY UNITAS: When you think about the Golden Arm, you think of him as a Baltimore Colt, right? He was there 17 years, but his career ended sourly with the San Diego Chargers. The lowest point came on Oct. 7, 1973 when the Steelers defense (on the verge of becoming the famous Steel Curtain) punished an already hobbled Unitas until coach Harland Svare yanked the QB at halftime.

JOE MONTANA: Bay area 49ers fans will never forgive ownership for pushing out the three-time Super Bowl MVP (bad elbow and all) to make room for the younger, more mobile Steve Young. But Montana clearly wasn't done, leading the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game, reminding everyone of his true greatness, before retiring in 1994.

BABE RUTH: After years of self-inflicted abuse, the Sultan of Swat left the Yankees in 1935 to join Boston ... no, not the Red Sox. It was the Braves, though still ironic. He was but a shadow of his former self, however, hitting just six homers and carrying a .181 batting average in Beantown. He had grown so large that he had to have a pinch-runner finish his home run trots.

GORDIE HOWE: Mr. Hockey spent a quarter of a century with the Red Wings before playing six seasons with the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers of the then-soon-to-be-extinct upstart World Hockey Association. He played one season with the Hartford Whalers, but that was pretty much to put fannies in the seats, not pucks in the net. He actually played a game in 1997-98 with the Detroit Vipers of the IHL in a poor publicity stunt.

RAY BOURQUE: The five-time Norris Trophy winner stuck it out in Boston for 21 seasons and never lifted a Stanley Cup. How'd he handle it? The defenseman joined the Colorado Avalanche and won it all in 2001, then he promptly retired.

O.J. SIMPSON: Before the tragic events that unfolded in 1994, the worst thing that happened to the Juice was finishing his career with the 49ers. The speedy running back, who was first to gain 2000 yards in a season, was an icon in Buffalo for nine years until he left in 1978 to become just an average back in San Francisco.