The biggest sports comebacks of 2019

A former ace with the Reds, Bailey settled for a one-year contract with the Royals last season after four years of injuries. He managed to start 31 games between K.C. and Oakland and showed some of his old ability with 13 wins and a 4.11 FIP.

The NHL playoffs started with the bang for Columbus and Tampa Bay. The Lightning got off to a 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 1 in Round 1 of the playoffs and still led 3-1 going into the second intermission. The Blue Jackets scored three more unanswered goals in the third period, capped off by a Seth Jones power play goal to win, 4-3. Columbus won the following three games to complete a sweep of Tampa Bay.

In their first of two epic comebacks during 2019, the Clippers came back from 28 points down against Boston to win 123-112 on the road. Danilo Gallinari starred for the Clips with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors don't often lose at Oracle Arena, but they lost a 31-point lead to the Clippers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. L.A. went on a 13-1 run during the fourth quarter and scored 85 points during the second half to win 135-131. The Warriors would eventually emerge to win the series in six games.

After 2.5 years in Cleveland, Collins seems back home with the Patriots. The linebacker struggled after the Browns paid him, but he had six sacks, three picks and 48 tackles in his first nine games with the Pats. He's well on his way to making his second Pro Bowl.

Cook has shown some impressive flashes in his first two NFL seasons, but injuries have plagued him. 2019 has been as much a breakout as it has been a comeback for Cook, who has put hamstring issues behind him to lead the league in rushing through Week 9.

Darvish's first season with the Cubs was a nightmare, making only eight starts due to injury. He was able to rebound in 2019, making 31 starts and posting a 3.98 ERA and 229 strikeouts in 178.2 innings.

With less than 10 minutes remaining, the Blue Devils trailed Louisville, 59-36. Duke's young stars went to work from there, emerging with a 71-69 victory as Zion Williamson scored 27 points.

Philadelphia was heavily favored in Week 1 vs. Washington but trailed 20-7 at halftime. It was all Eagles in the second half, scoring 25 unanswered points to win, 32-27. DeSean Jackson had 154 yards and two touchdowns in his return to the Eagles.

Fournette rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his rookie season, but the power runner struggled in his sophomore year, playing only eight games. He's been recommitted this season, with 831 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry through nine games.

Garoppolo tore his ACL early in 2018, but he now leads the breakout team of 2019. The 49ers quarterback has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 2,054 yards through nine games, winning eight of them.

Jones is a story to pull for, and that story is going well so far. He battled leukemia last season, but the Texas star rebounded to score 20 points in the first game of the season for the Longhorns.

Kupp played only eight games in his sophomore season with the Rams after suffering a torn ACL. Coming back from the injury this season hasn't been an issue, as the wideout has 792 yards and five touchdowns through only nine games.

Leonard missed much of 2017-18 in San Antonio with a quad injury and was traded to Toronto following the season. His comeback couldn't have gone any better, as Leonard averaged 26.6 points for the Raptors during the regular season and led the franchise to its first NBA Title. He was rewarded with a three-year, $103 million contract with the Clippers in free agency.

Lynn had the worst season of his career in 2018, finishing with a 4.77 ERA between the Twins and Yankees after signing in spring training. He still received a three-year contract with Texas last offseason and made the team look smart, as he was 16-11 with a 3.67 ERA and 246 strikeouts in 208.1 innings.

D'Angelo Russell had one of the best games of his career, scoring 44 points in a 123-121 Nets win in which Brooklyn trailed the Kings by 28 points in the third quarter. Russell was 17-of-33 from the field and added 12 assists.

Detroit fans would argue that the refs handed Green Bay a win on "Monday Night Football" after several questionable penalties that went again the Lions, but the result was a 23-22 win by the Packers, who trailed 13-0 in the second quarter. Aaron Rodgers had a heroic performance after weathering several wide receiver injuries, throwing for 283 yards and two touchdowns.

One of the best games of 2019 was overshadowed by a controversial no-call. The NFC championship was a true classic in which the Rams advantaged 26-23 in overtime on a 57-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal. However, the game probably would have gone New Orleans' way had the refs called pass interference on L.A. cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman on Saints wideout Tommylee Lewis inside the 5-yard line when New Orleans trailed 23-20 with less than two minutes left. Instead, the Saints had to settle for a field goal to send the game to overtime. The no-call caused the NFL to make pass interference reviewable for the 2019 season.

The first win of the season for Miami looked well in its grasp after getting off to a 14-0 start against Pittsburgh. The Steelers defense woke up from that point forward, and James Conner and the Pittsburgh wideouts produced to win the game 27-14.

It was an improbable result for the Blues in 2018-19 en route to their first-ever Stanley Cup. The team was in last place in early January but got hot in the new year with interim head coach Craig Berube and improved play in goal with the emergence of Jordan Binnington.

The Kings made a habit of blowing big leads in 2019. They were up by 28 points in the second half against a Portland team that rested many of its starters. But the Trail Blazers stormed back, led by 37 points from Anfernee Simons. Portland used only six players in the game and had three players play all 48 minutes.

After years of injuries, many didn't believe Woods would have a realistic shot at winning another major. He proved the doubters wrong by winning his fifth Masters Tournament, in 2019, his first major championship win since 2008.

In a true classic if you like offense, UCLA picked up its first win of 2019 with a 67-63 come from behind victory over Washington State. The Bruins were able to overcome an unbelievable nine touchdown passes by Cougars quarterback Anthony Gordon as well as a 49-17 deficit in the third quarter. UCLA scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:07 remaining in the game.

A former sixth-round pick, Waller's football career was in the gutter in 2016 and 2017 due to substance abuse issues. The Raiders took a chance on him, and the tight end has been one of the most productive players at his position during the first half of 2019. So far, it's been an inspirational story.

Manager Dave Martinez's  job looked like it was hanging by a string when the Nats broke out of the gate in 2019 with a 20-31 record by May 24, trailing in the NL East by 10 games. On the strength of a good lineup and three ace starting pitchers, the Nats were able to win a wild-card spot with 93 wins. From there, they upset the Dodgers and Astros in the playoffs to win their first World Series in franchise history.