**Ed's note - Today's post is a joint post by my main man Average Bro and myself. Make sure you check out his award-winning site, and enjoy today's post. Also, we will be launching, "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" a new online radio show which will air tonight at 11pm Eastern, 10pm Central, 6pm Hawaiian. Come check us out and call-in! Back to our regularly scheduled programming.**
Few things are sadder than watching a person outlive their usefulness. Sometimes you gotta know when to call it a career, cop your gold watch, and ride off in the sunset. But there are always folks who just don't know when to throw in the towel, often leaving us with disastrous results. I suffered through 2 seasons of the Wizards-era MJ, so trust me, I know that of which I speak, and it's often ugly. Here's a few other folks I wish would just hang em' up for once and for all.
Allen Iverson
Monday night marked the return of Allen Iverson to The City Of Brotherly Redemption. AI, if you didn't know, was actually retired for all of 3 days around the Thanksgiving, and might still be lighting up the Newport News YMCA had Sixers point guard Lou Williams not broken his jaw. Still, the fact that the struggling team that drafted him is the only one that was interested in bringing him back, and only then because their young PG is out for 2 months shouldn't be lost on The Answer.
Reality is, he was one errant Antawn Jamison elbow away from prolly hangin' em' up for good. His debut was up and down, and resulted in yet another Sixers loss. Best of luck, AI.
Ken Griffey Jr.
The original KG has been a legend for about 15 years consecutively, mostly with the Mariners and then injury-plagued years in Cincinnati. After moving from the White Sox and the Mariners in a 2-year period, he's been a shell of his former self. First off, the man doesn't even play center field anymore...which by all accounts is a travesty as he's probably the best OF and best defensive center fielder this generation has ever seen. In fact, look at his body (literally, pause) over the last 10 years and you'll notice he's no bigger than he was in 1999 as he is in 2009. Dude doesn't lift weights, eat right, or anything. He just shows up with the greatest swing in baseball history and hits parabolas into the stands.
For the season he hit .219 with just 19 HRs and 57 RBIs. He deserves better, and that better would be at the house laid up like the rest of us. Good luck in 2010 Junior.
Roy Jones Jr.
Ya'll musta forgot that once, long ago, Roy Jones (even with that bama-assed shag) was the most feared Negro on the planet. He's also one of the very few athletes to make a rap album that didn't make my ears bleed.
Apparently, Roy "musta forgot" that his a$$ is 40-something, and really has no business getting in the ring anymore. I can never figure out what it is about the sport of boxing that causes guys (Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, and yes, Ali) to stick around long after it's even healthy to still be fighting. Unlike, say, basketball, which is relatively kind on the body, boxing involves getting hit in the head, very often, and very hard. [||] You'd think retirement, a Pensacola mansion, and running your cockfighting ring (uhh, does Peta know about this, or do they simply not care about chickens?) would be enough to keep a man satisfied. But apparently, Roy just can't get enough, and last weekend, he found himself fighting some guy named Danny Green, somewhere in Australia. The results, shall we say, were less than impressive.
Ouch.
Shaquille O'Neal
Big Fella, what is going on bro? I swear is it me or that I hear more about the things you are doing off the basketball court than the things you do on the court. I hear you got dreams of being a police officer when you get done with basketball, cool I can dig that. However, you putting it down with Gilbert Arenas' wife is a different story. But hey, that's none of our business you do what you do. However, the simple fact that Erick(a) Dampier's numbers (6.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.1 bpg) are looking similar if not slightly better than Shaq's (11.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.4 bpg) is absurd and hilarious at the same time.
When you start getting blocked by Matt Bonner then there's a problem. More importantly, you are just another big guy in Cleveland. Zydrunas and Varejao but up better numbers on LeBron's team that what you're doing. Plus, it looks like you way about 375 pounds, therefore making it impossible for you to guard any type of pick and roll offense. (See the Memphis-Cleveland game from last night if you don't believe me.) I know you are getting that money, but after you get the end of it, go home and get on Nutrisystem, thanks.
WHO ARE SOME OTHER ATHLETES YOU WOULD WANT TO SEE RETIRE? SHOULD SOMEONE NOT BE ON THIS LIST? LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!
-Average Bro & ETSF
www.edthesportsfan.com
Comments
6 Responses to "You Gotta Know When To Retire..."If we can include wrestlers, I want Hulk Hogan to retire!! Dude has to be 90 years old! Without steroids, his body would collapse like a folding tent. SMDH
I think AI still has some in the tank. Shaq is on fumes and Roy is on them vapors.
I don't mean to be that guy and all, but I'm never a fan of telling someone else to retire. I'm all on board with saying people should be fired or traded or whatever, but who are we to tell an athlete that has done pretty much nothing but play his sport his entire life that he should hang them up? Seems a little pompous and self-righteous, no?
Especially when it's guys like Shaq, Griffey, Iverson, men who've done a lot for the sports they've called professions. If there is still someone, anyone out there that wants them to play and they still wanna play, why not? Wouldn't you rather still be playing ball and getting paid, even if you aren't the player you once were, if you could?
Sorry for sort of raining on this parade, but it's not my style. Understand people wishing guys like A.I., Jr. and Shaq could have gone out on top, but not anyone else's place to tell them to do so.
Ed, we already had this talk about The Big Aristotle, so nice try on comparing him to Dampier. In this case, it's another episode of "Numbers Lie." It only works on people who don't watch basketball.
Rev and I had a talk about telling players to retire, and I do see where he's coming from. However, I think it gets to a point when more harm than good is being done when some athletes continue to stay. Iverson is always a sensitive subject with me (as Rev and Ed are aware of). I'll just sit back, and continue to watch the dialogue...
1.I did not know the Jr was still playing baseball, umm I wish him good luck with that one. I loved his sneakers back in 8th grade though…
2.And YES!!! Shaq AKA Lard space needs to retire. He should’ve exited stage left after he got that ring with Miami.
*looking at espn.com* My Steelers' William Gay, LOL...I kid, I kid.
I see where Rev is coming from; it's hard to tell those who've had such a major impact on the game to hang it up. BUT, like on any other job, if your performance is declining, you're done. It's a tough call.
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