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Don’t call it a comeback/ I been here for years.” – L.L. Cool J “Mama Said Knock You Out”

It’s official: Michael Vick’s back, y’all.

After dazzling performances in Week 1 and Week 2 of the young NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback got the nod Sunday ahead of Kevin Kolb, who was inked in as the No. 1 QB at the beginning of the year.

The resurgent Vick delivered under the pressure and bright lights in yesterday’s game against the Jacksonsville Jaguars. The three- time All-Pro quarterback went 17-for-31 for 291 yards and 3 TDs in the Eagles’ romp in Jacksonsville.

After serving a 23-month federal sentence for his role in an illegal dog fighting ring, most thought Vick would never return to his electrifying self on the Gridiron after he was released from federal prison in March 2009. Through three games, Vick’s proved the haters wrong and if he keeps it popping this NFL season he appears on the verge of perhaps completing the biggest comeback story in pro football history.

However, Vick’s not the only former sports superstar to surprisingly regain his glory and old form after missing significant action during their beloved careers. Here are four other big comeback stories in professional sports throughout the years. Please enjoy and drop a comment.

Mike Tyson (boxing). After serving three years for raping beauty contestant Desiree Washington, Iron Mike initially came back knocking out dudes. He first beat Peter McNeely by disqualification (Round 1), then KO’d Buster Mathis, Jr. (Round 3), then KO’d Frank Bruno (Round 3) to win the WBA heavyweight championship, then KO’d Bruce Sheldon (Round 1) for the WBC title. And then … he met Evander Holyfield.

Ted Williams (baseball). This is my oldie but goodie on my list. Not once, but twice one of the best sluggers in baseball history left the sport to serve in the U.S. military as a Marine pilot. Williams, a two-time American League MVP, snagged his second Triple Crown in 1947, one year after serving three years in War World II. Then in ’58, five years after serving 15 months in Korea, the “old man” led the league in hitting (.328 average) at the age of 40.

Michael Jordan (basketball). To the astonishment of NBA fans, No. 23 bounced from the game on Oct. 6, 1993. But he gloriously returned on March 18, 1995. It took a quarter- of-a season and summer break for the five-time league MVP to regain his full magic, but once he got it back he torched the league and led the Chicago Bulls to its second three-peat of NBA titles (1996, 1997 and 1998). M.J. was great before that comeback, but he became the NBA’s greatest after it.

Muhammad Ali (boxing). “I got nothing against no Viet Cong,” Muhammad Ali said notably about the possibility of him fighting in the Vietnam War in the 1960s. “The Greatest” was bold for standing strong for his beliefs, but he was stripped of his license and couldn’t box for over three years. Once reinstated, he beat down heavyweight bruisers like Ken Norton and Joe Frazier and eventually capped things off by KO’ing George Foreman in the historic, thrilling “Rumble In The Jungle” in 1974 to regain his world championship belt.

Besides blogging for the Urban Daily, Dwayne C. Nelson is also a featured arts and entertainment and sports contributor for Associated Content from Yahoo! Click here to check out some of his online stuff.

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