LeBron James, All-Pro Tight End: And Other Decisions Athletes Could Have Made

Ochocinco fakes left, takes the ball down the middle of the field, jukes right and……GOOOOOOOAAAALLLL!! You were thinking touchdown weren't ya? Well if Chad Ochocinco fulfills his lifelong “dream”, this may become a reality. Ochocinco is set for a four-day tryout with Sporting Kansas City of the MLS. Yea that's right, soccer.

Sports fans know Ochocinco is a headline grabber. He tries to be in the spotlight as much as possible, especially without knowing the future of football right now. The idea however, of him possibly playing soccer, does make you ask the question: What if other athletes chose to do the same in their careers? Not necessarily two-sport stars like Deion Sanders or Bo Jackson but just an athlete who could have picked another sport instead of what they did?

I did some research of both past and present and here is what I found:

Mickey Mantle: Football over Baseball

Mickey Mantle

Definitely old school but think about it, what would the Yankees be without No.7? Mantle originally was offered a scholarship to play football at Oklahoma. While at Oklahoma, Mantle had an experience that nearly ended his athletic career, and also his life. Kicked in the shin during a football practice, Mantle's leg soon became infected with osteomyelitis.

Mantle was treated with newly available penicillin, saving his leg from amputation. He suffered from the effects of the disease for the rest of his life, and it probably led to many other injuries that hampered his professional career even in baseball. Without the condition, Mantle would have been available for military service in the Korean War and who knows what would have become of his baseball career.

Obviously Mantle's decision to only play baseball was forced but if the incident with his leg had not happened, what would he have chose? Would he have been in the war? Would the Yankees have a beloved No. 7 to hang? I don't think so.

Michael Jordan: Baseball over Basketball

Jordan

As we all know Jordan did decide to play baseball for a few years but what if he had done it from the beginning? What if Michael Jordan never played basketball? Would Sam Smith have written The Barkley Rules?

While playing baseball, a lot of people said Jordan was decent and getting better in his time with the Barons but his heart just wasn't in it. Yea, no kidding. But what if it would have been?

Think about it. How much would be different? No second 3-peat? No Jordans? What?? Where would our athletic apparel be today without Michael Jordan. Would he have been a superstar at baseball or even good? What would the NBA have been like in the 1990's without Michael Jordan.

How would the careers of Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen be different. Is Pippen an NBA 50 Greatest player without Michael. Does Phil get 6 rings without him and is Phil considered one of the greatest coaches ever? Steve Kerr would probably be an elementary P.E. teacher right now without Michael Jordan. Shawn Kemp and Penny Hardaway as the saviors of basketball? I don't think so. MJ on behalf of all that is holy, I thank you for playing basketball.

LeBron James: Football over Basketball

How crazy would this have been?

James played football during high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary's. In his sophomore year he was named first-team all-state as a wide receiver, and in his junior year he led his team to the state semifinals. People speculate on whether he could have played in the NFL but wouldn't it have been great?

James, a 6'8, 260 lb. tight end? There was speculation just 2 years ago about the Cleveland Browns reaching out to him to play WR or TE. “I think he should come on down,” Eric Mangini, Head Coach of the Browns said, smiling. “I know he's pretty busy right now, but if he wants to give it a shot, the guy is gifted.”

What would we have done without “The Decision?” There would be no such thing as the Big 3 in Miami and Darko Milicic might have been the No. 1 overall pick? Oh Dear Sweet Lord Baby Jesus!! No commercials about Sprite or Bron being Bron. Cleveland fans would have been in denial for the past decade instead of the past year. And if they would have picked Darko, some of them might no longer be with us. Thank you for playing basketball LeBron, and giving us so many #SMH moments.

Jeff Samardzija: Football over Baseball

Samardzija

Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. If you would have decided to play football, at least 1 Notre Dame player would have had an NFL career. We all know Brady Quinn didn't…doesn't….whatever. Samardzija was a Freshman All-American in baseball for Notre Dame and was drafted by the Cubs in 2006. He was also a stud WR, who during his senior year, had 78 catches for 1,017 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He finished his career as Notre Dame's All-Time leader in reception yards. Sorry Tim Brown, sorry Rocket Ismail, but Jeff Samardzija beat all of you and he chose baseball!! Somewhere Knute Rockne is turning in his grave and Rudy wants to punch him in the face.

Samardzija has been a decent pitcher for the Cubs but has gone back and forth between the MLB and the minors with the Iowa Cubs. Again, I wonder what the biggest factor was, love for the game or career outlook? I hated him at Notre Dame, but I would have loved to watch him play more football.

Charlie Ward: Football over Basketball

Ward

You Heisman Trophy winning, dual threat running and passing, Michael Vick before Michael Vick amazing football player you. He decided to play basketball for the Knicks? Really? Was he that small as a QB? Did he know he wouldn't make it in the NFL or did his love for basketball outweigh his love for football?

Crazy to me how that worked out. Ward won the 1993 Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and Davey O'Brien Award as a quarterback for Florida State University, and then led the Seminoles to their first-ever National Championship when FSU defeated Nebraska in the 1993 Orange Bowl. Tommie Frazier would have loved to be in his shoes, literally. After he graduated from FSU Ward demanded that he be a 1st round pick in the NFL Draft or he would play basketball. Teams were reluctant to spend a 1st round pick on someone who might leave to go play basketball at anytime.

Ward was not drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft but Ward was chosen in the 1st round of the 1994 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. An inquiry was made during Ward's rookie year with the Knicks to become the backup quarterback for Joe Montana of the Kansas City Chiefs, but Ward declined. I guess basketball is a longer, less painful career choice. I'm glad for him but always wondered how good he would have been in the NFL.

Marion Jones: Basketball over Track & Field

Jones

On a more serious note, Marion Jones. Jones was a legend at North Carolina while winning a National Championship in basketball.

Jones' #20 jersey has been honored by the school and hangs in Carmichael Auditorium. At the same time though Jones was an All-American in Track. Jones missed the 1995 and 1996 seasons with a broken bone in her foot and she didn't play basketball again. She continued to focus on track and we all know how that ended up.

Jones won a total of three gold and two bronze medals at Sydney in 200, the most by any woman in a single Olympics. Unfortunately in 2007 Jones would admit to using banned substances during the Olympics and all of her medals would be stripped. The WNBA started in June 1997, the timing for Jones to be one of the first players and a superstar in the WNBA would have been perfect.

Since, she has actually joined the NBA as a 35 year old rookie, playing with the Tulsa Shock. If she had decided to play basketball from the beginning how would people look at her now? Would her legacy be different? Olympic cheater or WNBA pioneer? Unfortunately we know the answer.

These are just a few examples. Many athletes get drafted, especially in MLB when they are stars in other sports. John Elway, Drew Henson, Brandon Jacobs, Michael Vick and more recently Jake Locker were all MLB draft picks who ended up in the NFL.

Who knows what will end up of Ochocinco's try out, or Tom Zbikowski of the Ravens continuing his boxing career, but it's cool to think of the possibilities. Personally, I think Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez would have been great power forwards in the NBA…..ok maybe not.

HawkeyeBeat