Bitter And Sweet Homecomings

SI Staff | Jan 29, 2014

Bitter And Sweet Homecomings

Tim Thomas

Elise Amendola/AP

The Boston Bruins showed no mercy for the departed goalie who led them to the Stanley Cup, spoiling Tim Thomas' first game in Boston as a visitor with a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers. Fans applauded lightly when Thomas was introduced as the starting goalie. But after Shawn Thornton made it 5-2 just more than 8 minutes into the third period, they derisively chanted, "Thomas! Thomas!" "I didn't really hear it too much," Thomas said. "There were really not a lot of feelings." Other than the heartfelt high-stick he delivered to the kisser of Bruins forward Carl Soderberg in the third period, or course.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images(2); Steven Senne/AP

Kevin Garnett stole the ball from his friend Rajon Rondo and put the finishing touch on an emotional night with a layup that helped him and Paul Pierce become winners in their return to Boston. It started with pregame standing ovations for the leaders of the Celtics last championship team and ended with an 85-79 win for the Brooklyn Nets after Garnett picked off Rondo's turnover and dribbled in slowly for an uncontested basket with 20 seconds left Sunday night. It was a rare highlight for the returning stars in a game in which they fought to control their emotions while still trying to contribute to their current team. Pierce, the second leading scorer in Celtics history, and Garnett scored just six points each, and Pierce missed eight of his 10 shots.

Peyton Manning

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

It was just Peyton Manning 's luck. On his first trip back to Lucas Oil Stadium, he and his teammates had an off night. His successor and his old team, they got it right. Andrew Luck threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score Sunday night, handing Denver a 39-33 loss - its first of the season - without even needing one of Luck's trademark fourth-quarter comebacks. Manning lost a fumble, threw an interception and was sacked four times - twice by Robert Mathis , one of the few remaining holdovers from the Manning era. While Manning finished with solid numbers, 29 of 49 for 386 yards with three TD passes, he certainly wasn't himself. Passes fluttered, passes sailed, passes were broken up. When Manning first ran onto the field, some sections in the lower bowl looked like a checkerboard of Colts blue and Broncos orange. They roared for No. 18 throughout a 90-second video tribute featuring some of his most memorable moments with the Colts including the record-breaking pass to Marvin Harrison for most TDs by a quarterback-receiver duo, the AFC championship comeback against New England and, of course, the evening when he finally hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in rainy Miami. Manning responded to the standing ovation by stopping his warm-up throws, taking off his helmet, waving to the fans and mouthing the words " Thank you."

Teemu Selanne

Lance Thomson/NHLI via Getty Images

Selanne scored the most goals by a rookie in one season with 76 back in 1992-93 with the Winnipeg Jets. On Feb. 6, 1996, leading the Jets with 72 points, Selanne was traded to Anaheim. The following summer, the Jets franchise relocated to Phoenix and became the Coyotes. It took 15 years for the Winnipeg Jets to come back (formerly the Atlanta Thrashers), and two years after that for arguably the franchise's biggest star to return. The 43-year-old Ducks' forward was given a standing ovation by a sold out crowd both during and after the game, and although he did not register a point in the Ducks' 3-2 win, he was named first star of the game.

Josh Hamilton

Tony Gutierrez/AP

The Texas Rangers gave their fans plenty of reasons to cheer in the home opener, beating Josh Hamilton and the Los Angeles Angels 3-2. Hamilton was a five-time All-Star and the 2010 AL MVP while with Texas before going to the AL West-rival Angels with a $125 million, five-year contract over the winter. He finished 0 for 4 - he was booed during pregame introductions and when he came to bat each time. Those boos became cheers when he took a strike on the first pitch in the second inning, and the sellout crowd of 48,845 erupted when he struck out swinging. After striking out again in the fourth, Hamilton lined out in the sixth and flied out in the ninth.

Dwight Howard

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/MCT via Getty Images

Orlando fans showed up in droves to express their displeasure with Howard, making signs calling him a coward and "Kobe's kid" and booing him every time he touched the ball. Howard responded to the animosity with one of his strongest performances of the year, scoring a season-high 39 points with 16 rebounds and tying his NBA record with 39 free throw attempts. At one point Howard jawed with the Magic bench, but the night ended on a kinder note as the Lakers center shook hands with the Magic's Jameer Nelson after Los Angeles' 106-97 victory.

LeBron James

AP; Greg Nelson/SI

When LeBron returned to Cleveland, the Heat were 11-8. Practices were stilted. Meetings were tense. Fourth-quarters were awkward. It's hard to imagine now, as the Heat puree the rest of the NBA, but they didn't like each other very much. When James landed in Cleveland, he fully expected the outpouring of vitriol he would receive from the 20,000 people at Quicken Loans Arena, the lusty boos and obscene chants, the Quitness signs and LeBum T-shirts. What he couldn't expect was the outpouring of support he would receive from the 14 people in his locker room. The Heat blasted the Cavaliers that night, 118-90, galvanized behind their vilified teammate. They didn't know James well back then, but they cared about him enough to treat his homecoming as their own, and ensure it didn't turn into a roast. James scored 38 points, Dwyane Wade added 22, Chris Bosh 15, and three transcendent talents merged into one. "This is the first time I've seen this connection," head coach Erik Spoelstra said at the time. The Heat won 19 of their next 20 games.