Bernie Williams No Longer a Yankee

It didn't take long for me to witness the final farewell of a legendary athlete, as one of my first sports memories featured the National Basketball League's current all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, receiving an overwhelming and raucous sendoff by the Laker fans at the Forum at the start of Game One of the 1989 finals. My safe presumption at the time deduced that Jabbar could never return to the game as his decision to retire was basically set in stone.

That misnomer died in '95 when Michael Jordan returned from his one-and-a-half year absence from the game to collect three more titles before ultimately displaying human qualities during his failed run with the Wizards. Fortunately I only caught few of the highlights with a beefed-up Jordan backing down smaller opponents in the post, and furthermore, I completely eradicated the memory of New York Knick great, Patrick Ewing, playing out his finals days on the Sonics and Magic.

Fans know certain players crave the spotlight and easily rescind their announced retirement based mostly on egocentric motives rather than for financial worries. Deon Sanders redefined the role of a shutdown corner with deceiving speed for the Falcons, Niners and Cowboys. But after struggling in D.C., Prime Time returned to the league as a seldom-used nickel back for the Ravens, never displaying the glossy flair that set him apart during his earlier days.

Many odious and mocking fans fixate on the last, and possibly the most embarrassing stint of a superstar's career. Recall the Broncos cut Jerry Rice from training camp and recently the Texas Rangers signed Sluggin' Sammy Sosa to a minor league deal. Whether humorous or pseudo- tragic, many athletes cannot stay removed from their passion.

The constant indecision among aging athletes merit guidelines for how and when one should go about their last hooray.