With the Major League Baseball’s trade deadline looming this month there’s always a chance that a player you like is going to get traded. Sometimes when this happens and you see the player in that new uniform it just doesn’t compute.

There are many other names I considered for this list, Scottie Pippen on the Houston Rockets; Babe Ruth on the Boston Braves, Bobby Hull as a Winnipeg Jet, Hakeem Olajuwon as a Raptor, Frank Thomas on the Oakland A’s, Franco Harris as a Seahawk; Thurman Thomas as a Dolphin, Art Monk on the Jets; the list really is endless depending on where your sports allegiance lies. However, for whatever reason, these 12 really stand out to me.

Of course, everyone has a player they’ve seen leave or get traded to a new team and it just never looked right to them, so if you have someone that stands out in your mind that just never looked quite right, please let us know about it in the comments. I’m sure the list will be quite endless and fun to read.

12 Joe Montana – Kansas City Chiefs

While Montana achieved some success in his two years with the Chiefs, 29 TDs and 16 INTs, while leading them to the AFC Championship Game in 1994, no one will ever look at him and not think of him as the Super Bowl winning quarterback of the Bill Walsh 49ers.

11 Willie Mays – New York Mets

The “Say Hey Kid” just couldn’t give it up and at age 41 was dealt to the upstart New York Mets in 1972. Willie slogged it out for a year and a half, batting .267 and .211 before finally calling it quits.

10 Karl Malone – Los Angeles Lakers

Karl Malone, desperate for his first NBA Championship, did the unheard of and left the Utah Jazz in 2003 to join Gary Payton (another guy who looked out of place) and the Lakers for one last gasp. Malone played 42 games, scored 13.2 points per game (the first time he’d even been under 20 ppg since his rookie year of 1986), failed to win that title, and retired.

9 Jerry Rice – Oakland Raiders

Jerry Rice playing for the Raiders was very strange, but it was the Raiders so I guess that was kind of cool. Plus he still had some gas in the tank, catching 83 and 92 balls in his first two years there. We might have forgiven him for that move. Unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. Jerry also played briefly for the Seahawks and almost played for the Broncos. Seeing him in Raiders gear was one thing, but after that it just made our brain hurt.

8 Joe Namath – Los Angeles Rams

“Broadway” Joe playing in California just didn’t make sense. The man who guaranteed a Super Bowl win for the Jets (and delivered it) spent his final season as a professional football player starting four games for the Rams, completing 47% of his passes, then hobbled off into the sunset only to later become known to a generation for trying to steal a kiss from Suzy Kolber on Sunday Night Football.

7 Robert Parish – Charlotte Hornets

“The Chief” on any team other than the Celtics with his buddies Larry Bird and Kevin McHale just did looked wrong. Even worse than that he was playing for a team not even the fans of the town they called home cared about. He didn’t exactly thrive there either, averaging 4.8 and 3.9 points per game, then joining the Bulls and averaging 3.7 ppg before finally retiring.

6 Johnny Unitas – San Diego Chargers

Johnny U in anything other than a Colts uniform is almost sacrilegious. The greatest quarterback of his generation (and some still say of all-time) is a Colt. Unfortunately Johnny wanted one more year. A year that saw him start just four games, complete 44.7% of his passes with 3 TDs and 7 picks before doing what he should have done the year before and retiring.

5 Patrick Ewing – Seattle Supersonics

When you think of Patrick Ewing and his teams you think of Georgetown and the Knicks. You don’t think of Ewing going to Seattle and averaging 9.6 points per game and then to the Orlando Magic where he lowered the bar to 6.0 ppg (the only two seasons in which he averaged less than 15 ppg).

4 O.J. Simpson – San Francisco 49ers

Since most people today only know “The Juice” for one uniform (an orange jumpsuit), many have forgotten that the legendary Buffalo Bill finished his career with two less-than-stellar seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. His knees were pretty much shot, but the future acquitted double-murder squeezed out 593 and 460 yards before hanging up his helmet and moving on to other, more pressing issues, like trying to find the real killer of his ex-wife and her friend.

3 Hank Aaron – Milwaukee Brewers

Hank Aaron had one of the greatest, if not the greatest, baseball careers of all-time, but seeing Hank hanging around, playing designated hitter for two seasons for the Brewers at age 41 and 42 is not the way his fans prefer to remember him. Nor do they like remembering the career .305 hitter batting .234 and .229 in his two seasons with the Brew Crew. Even the greatest sometimes don’t know when to say when.

2 Emmitt Smith – Arizona Cardinals

It’s not that Emmitt did horribly once he left the Cowboys to play for the Cardinals, well okay, he did average just 2.8 yards per carry in his first of two seasons there, it’s the fact that some players are known for being with one team because they achieved greatness there and playing anywhere else just goes so against the grain. Mix in the fact that Emmitt went to the Cardinals, a team not even the hometown fans cared about at the time, and it almost just became sad.

1 Michael Jordan – Washington Wizards

For Chicago Bulls fans, the last game Michael Jordan ever played was when he drained that three over Byron Russell to win his sixth NBA Championship. The man who played for the Wizards three years later was someone else. I think I can understand where they’re coming from.

Oprah Winfrey is arguably the most successive talk show host of all-time. With over 4,000 episodes since 1986, Oprah has interviewed everyone from presidents, to singers, to actors, and even her fair share of athletes. So as Oprah’s last show is aired today, let’s take a look back at some of her more memorable moments with sports figures.

7 Oprah tries to wipe off Drew Brees’ birthmark

After a stunning win in Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints quarter Drew Brees hit the talk show circuit. Although, not necessarily a household name, Brees was considered one of the more recognizable quarterbacks the last few years in the NFL. Apparently though, Oprah’s staff did not do their homework. Watch as she mistakes Brees’ infamous birthmark for some lipstick.

6 Charles Barkley surprises Michael Jordan

For most of the 80′s and 90′s, Oprah and Michael Jordan were the King and Queen of Chicago. Naturally, the two got along great and despite Jordan’s reluctance to do many interviews, he did appear on Oprah a few times (he’s even rumored to be on her last show). One of the more entertaining moments was when gambling buddy Charles Barkley surprised MJ by modeling some of his Air Jordan outfits.

5 Marion Jones opens up about her “mistakes”

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney Australia, Marion Jones pulled off one of the most incredible feats for a female athlete by winning five medals in track and field. Years later, rumors abounded that she was associated with Victor Conte and the infamous BALCO lab and suddenly, the world came crashing down. After serving 6 months in a federal prison for perjury, check fraud and use of illegal drugs, Jones spoke to Oprah about the ordeal. Unfortunately, her lies continued on as she conveniently forgets what Conte gave her.

4 Serena Williams gives Oprah a pedicure

Serena Williams has spent almost all her formidable years playing tennis. It’s literally the only thing she did as a youth because her father Richard pushed her and her sister Venus so hard to excel in the sport. But on Oprah last year, Serena revealed that she another secret love—doing nails. And she gave the talk show host a pedicure on her show. Unless your name is Rex Ryan, I suggest skipping this video.

3 Michael Vick cancels appearance on Oprah

Not many decline interviews with the queen of daytime television–certainly many don’t cancel appearances less than 10 days out. But earlier this year, Michael Vick did exactly that after the Philadelphia Eagles and some of his PR people changed their mind about the message it would send. Oprah had asked Vick to come on to talk about his 18-month prison term for dogfighting and his attempts to revamp his image. But reportedly, a few weeks beforehand, Vick’s agent had found out that Oprah had a $320 wager with Piers Morgan about who could land the football star first. A misstep by both Winfrey and the Vick PR team.

2 Greg Louganis comes out, talks about being HIV positive

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis appeared on Oprah in 1995 to talk about his HIV positive status and to admit to the world that he was gay. It was not the first time a major athlete had come out to admit his sexual status, but it was one of the first times someone did it in front of a live studio audience.

1 Erin Andrews talks to Oprah about the infamous peephole video

ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews appeared on the Oprah show only months after a terrible incident involving a peephole video. The video, taken by a man named Michael Barrett, found its way to the internet in July of 2009 and became one of the most searched topics on Google for months afterwards. Andrews told Oprah, “I kept screaming: ‘I’m done. My career is over. I’m done. Get it off. Get it off the Internet,’” she says. “They thought I was physically injured, [that's] how bad I was screaming.”

In the never ending drama of Larry Brown’s career, he’s decided to call it quits as Bobcats coach. This means he either already has a job lined up somewhere else, or he just wants to take a buyout and work somewhere else next year.

They don’t call him “Larry the vagabond” for nothing.

Team chairman and CEO Michael Jordan made the announcement.

“I met with coach Brown two weeks ago about the team’s performance and what we could do to improve it,” Jordan said. “We met again this morning after practice. The team has clearly not lived up to either of our expectations, and we both agreed that a change was necessary.”

So let me get this straight, Michael Jordan made yet another unwise move as GM of the Bobcats? I’m shocked I tell ya, shocked. You have to wonder how he flies under the radar so much for his monumental failure as a GM. I mean, if this was Isiah Thomas, that’s front page news folks.

But hey, MJ makes fun Hanes commercials and has top notch shoes made by little kids in Malaysia. That should get him a free pass from the media for at least another twenty years or so.

Brown resigns as Bobcats head coach [Miami Herald]

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/22/1985311/brown-resigns-as-bobcats-head.html#ixzz18slYvHuL

74

The St. John’s basketball staff has a new addition in the form of 74-year old Gene Keady. He’ll act as an advisor to head coach Steve Lavin. Keady, who has been out of the coaching game since his retirement from Purdue in 2005 will stay with the Red Storm from October to April.

8

T-Mac assures Pistons fans that he is fine and will play in the regular season opener. But for now, he’s opted to sit out the remaining games of the preseason. His sum total of minutes thus far in a Pistons uniform…8 against the Miami Heat. Oddly enough, that’s also the Vegas line for number of games he will play for the rest of his career.

100

Michael Jordan certainly isn’t shy about his abilities. Speaking on the NBA’s leniency for defense and the less physical nature, MJ had this to say…”Based on these rules, if I had to play with my style of play, I’m pretty sure I would have fouled out or I would have been at the free throw line pretty often and I could have scored 100 points”. Nevermind that the highest point total he ever produced was still 31 points away from that mark. On behalf of NBA fans everywhere, shut up Michael.

1,000,000,000

If the NFL has a lockout for the 2011 season, the repercussions will be felt league wide. From players to owners to stadium staff to vendors. Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal citing NFL sources said that the cost of a lockout could mean as much as one billion dollars. Yea, good luck recovering from that.

650,000

As somebody who has visited more than a few gentleman’s club establishments, I can verify what those ladies do on the pole is considered sport. Much more so than bowling, golf, or at times baseball. So consider this one of the largest out of pocket settlements in sports history. A stripper named “Suki” at a West Palm Beach club accidentally punctured a man’s eye socket with her high heel. The man suffered broken bones because of the ordeal and yesterday received $650k as a result. We hear he plans on making it rain sometime soon.

23

On August 17th, Brett Favre decided that his retirement was a bit premature. After texting teammates earlier in the month telling them his career was over, Favre found himself at Vikings headquarters singing a different tune. And now, just 23 days later, Favre will face the defending Super Bowl Champions in the NFL opener. A far cry from his days hunting armadillos.

50,000

Bond posted by Lakers forward Matt Barnes after a domestic dispute with his supposed girlfriend He took to Twitter to plead his case: “DON’T LET YOUR EARS WITNESS, WHAT YOUR EYES DIDN’T SEE!!!”. He also tweeted his location which oddly enough, was not the county jail.

33

Though Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki were able to advance in last night’s matches, they did so amidst some of the worst conditions in U.S. Open history. Facing wind gusts up to 33 mph, players had to deal with mishits, poor serve tosses and at times, debris flying on the court.

700,000

Former Wolverine basketball player Rumeal Robinson, whose two free throws clinched the 1989 NCAA Championship over Seton Hall, was found guilty of 11 charges ranging from bank bribery to wire fraud and securing a loan for 700k. But that’s not the worst part. Robinson was also accused of scheming to sell his adopted mother’s home and subsequently, was evicted before she even know what was going on. One of the saddest stories you’ll ever read.

100

Charles Barkley once said that his buddies Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan were two of the cheapest people he ever knew. Apparently, hockey great Wayne Gretzky believes the same. In this hilarious story via Deadspin, a Vegas insider said that Jordan tipped a cocktail waitress five dollars. When “The Great One” saw what happened, he grabbed a 100 dollar chip from Jordan’s stack and handed it over to the woman. “That’s how we tip in Las Vegas, Michael.” Wow!

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Pitches Aaron Cook threw before an errant line drive caught him in the leg last night. The injury seemed harmless enough but x-rays later revealed a fracture of his right fibula. Bad news for Cook and the Rockies as he had just came off the disabled list 5 days earlier and had pitched well in consecutive starts.

38

38 years ago tomorrow, in perhaps the greatest tragedy in Olympic play, USA basketball was stripped of an outright win against the Russians in the gold medal game. Trailing by 1 with 3 seconds remaining, Russia was inexplicably given three chances to inbound the ball. On the final one, after a mad scramble underneath the basket, they finally scored. Till this day, the scar runs deep for USA basketball. So deep that Coach K took a shot at “Russian” coach David Blatt yesterday.

Not surprisingly, the MGM corportation is facing an investigation after allowing Michael Jordan’s 19-year-old son to gamble in one of their casinos.

On Aug. 20th, Marcus Jordan tweeted how he was living the high life at Haze in Las Vegas.

Last night was stupid… 35K at Haze–Totals 50K something the whole day

This will all more than likely end with a fine paid by the casino. A fine that Marcus’ father Michael will gladly reimburse MGM for on his next high stakes visit to their establishment.

What’s that you say? An NBA owner shouldn’t be seen gambling in Vegas. Pssh.

Marcus Jordan’s Las Vegas Partying Under Formal Investigation [Huffington Post]

Here’s the actual interview, at approximately the 2:06 mark.

It’s quickly becoming apparent that the Heat are going to be the most hated NBA team this coming year and possibly for many more to come. Dwyane Wade certainly didn’t help the cause yesterday by comparing a Heat losing streak to the World Trade Center coming down.

“We enjoy the bullseye. Plus, there’s going to be times when we lose 2-3 games in a row, and it seems like the world has crashed down. You all are going to make it seem like the World Trade is coming down again, but it’s not going to be nothing but a couple basketball games.

To his credit, he was originally misquoted by Fanhouse in what they called a “transcription error”. However, the quote still reeks of ignorance and stupidity. Whatever support he may have had from flag waving middle-America is long gone.

He loves Root Beer. I smell a Twitter hack or a terrible gorilla marketing technique.

So, in the middle of the night, those dastardly Swoosh devils changed the logo. Corporate espionage at its finest folks

What’s the over/under on the age of the Malaysian kids Nike told to do this? Given their history, I’m going to go with 9.5.

Any takers?

Jordan statue’s skates changed to Nike {Chicago Breaking Sports}

Far it be for me to outright accuse the NBA of favoritism, but I find it highly odd that gambling sensation Michael Jordan was given ownership of a team without much scrutiny

It’s not as if it’s a secret either. The stories of Jordan gambling hundreds of thousands of dollars in Vegas, on the golf course, and pretty much anywhere a card game can be played are quite notorious. In a league that is desperately trying to distance itself from the Tim Donaghy scandal, this move makes little to no sense.

Here are just a few of the strange circumstances regarding Michael Jordan over the years

-Richard Esquinas claimed Jordan lost $1.3 million to him in golf bets during a 10-day period in 1991. He had cancelled cheques as proof.
-In 1992, during a police investigation into the death of a man named Eddie Dow, three checks from the superstar totaling $108,000 were found – more gambling losses.
-Under oath Jordan had to admit he’d lost $57,000 to a man named Slim Bouler, who was on trial on drug and money-laundering charges. Initially, Jordan claimed that money was a loan.

This doesn’t even touch the constant sordid rumors surrounding his mysterious first retirement or the random murder of his father. I question if somebody with a similar ugly past, like Isiah Thomas, would be welcomed with such open arms. But then again, this is a league that continually referred to Tim Donaghy as a “rogue referee” and a “bad apple in the bunch”. Thus, performing a Pontius Pilate hand-washing and absolving themselves of any blame.

After all, The NBA, its FANTASTIC!

Every time I think South Park can’t get any better, they come up with yet another gem. Last night’s episode entitled “Sexual Healing” was an all-time classic. Not only did they poke fun at the Tiger Woods sex situation but they had several guest appearances from David Letterman, Ben Roethlisberger, Bill Clinton, Michael Jordan, and Michael Douglas.

You know things were going to be good right off the bat as South Park opened with this hilarious re-enactment of the car accident/club beating incident Thanksgiving Night.

You have to love the butchered accent from Elin Nordegren. They also made her a bit uglier than was necessary, although, the golf wielding was spot on.

The clip though doesn’t do the entire episode justice so I suggest you watch it. Even if it’s just to hear Bill Clinton deliver this absolutely hilarious line in sex rehab.

“Putting cigars in girls vag—-”

Six NBA titles. A 72 win season. Five MVP awards. 10-time All-NBA First Team. Nine-time All-Defensive First Team. 14 NBA All-Star Game appearances. Three All-Star Game MVP awards. 10 scoring titles. Three steals titles. Six NBA Finals MVP awards. One NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Highest career regular-season scoring average. Highest career playoff scoring average. North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN. And today, Michael Jordan is an NBA Hall of Famer.

To honor His Airness I compiled some of the most interesting and amazing videos of Michael Jordan and collected them here for you to enjoy and remember the greatness that was Michael Jordan.