Retirement is for the old birds

The nattering nabobs -- no, make that loquacious lamewads -- of the highly mediocre new ESPN show "Pardon the Interruption" were chatting the other day in light of Rickey Henderson signing a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox.\nThe question that they were addressing was, "Does Rickey Henderson have a positive or negative impact on team chemistry?"\nAll I thought while watching the show was that Rickey Henderson has been in the majors since 1979 and you guys are still wondering? You guys are the middle-aged ones, not me. You guys are the ones that get clubhouse access, not me. You guys hear all the juicy off-the-record gossip, not me.\nThen, I realized the issue runs bigger than that, and it is one that will only intensify over the coming years. It has to do with graceful endings.\nAs you may recall from last season, the final games for Cal "I Need a Separate Hotel From My Teammates" Ripken, Jr. and Tony "I Am to thank For the Popularity of the Chalupa" Gwynn got much attention and fanfare. Both announced well in advance their retirement intentions effective at the end of the season, giving us all plenty of time to blubber up and wonder if Chan Ho Park served one up on a platter to Ripken in the All-Star Game.\nThen there is Rickey Henderson. Rickey be Rickey, as he might say in his uncommon diction, and Rickey has 98 stolen bases since his 40th birthday. He is 12 stolen bases away from having fifty percent more than Lou Brock, who is number two on the all-time list.\nAnd Rickey will play until nobody wants him anymore. There probably won't be press conferences announcing his retirement, constant standing ovations or ceremonies in store. One day, he will just leave.\nHenderson will not be the only one who left this way. Carlton Fisk played until the White Sox released him in 1993 at age 45. He was an All-Star at 43, and anybody who saw him speak passionately about the game at his Hall of Fame induction speech knows that he would still play if his body would allow him.\nNolan Ryan pitched until his arm would not let him anymore, helped off the Kingdome mound by the trainer for the final time. He was fifth in the league in earned-run average in 1991, which is not bad considering he was 44.\nBob Gibson gave up a grand slam to Pete LaCock in 1975, walked off the mound at Wrigley Field for the final time and then knocked down LaCock the first time he faced him at an old-timers game a few years later.\nOf course, the trend extends to other sports.\nJust a couple of days ago, Dave Marcis raced at the Daytona 500. He's 60, and it was his record 33rd Daytona 500 start. He retired after the race, and while some might argue, "finally," I can only hope he got it all out of his system. He had not won a race since 1982, so the standing ovation he got at the awards banquet afterwards might have been for not being much of a threat as much as anything.\nHe must have loved it though.\nTennessee Titans center Bruce Matthews, 40, just completed his 19th National Football League season. He went to Southern Cal so long ago that when he says he is a Trojan, he is confused for somebody from the ancient city-state of Troy. You need more than two hands to count his Pro Bowl appearances, and if a guy wants to participate in a brutal sport like pro football, who is anybody to tell him when it is time to go?\nIt is extending to the coaching profession. Last Friday, the San Diego Chargers hired Bill Arnsparger as their associate head coach for defense. He's 76 and one of the great defensive minds of the game, the architect of both the No Name Defense and Killer B's of the 1970s and 1980s Miami Dolphins, respectively. And what an interesting contrast he might make with the offensive coordinator if one of the leading candidates gets the job. That would be Cam Cameron.\nMichael Jordan is the living embodiment of the point I'm trying to make. Why did he retire twice from the NBA when he still loved the game and could not find a reasonable substitute? Why retire over spite of a general manager? Why bathe in a silly little sideshow for a whole summer teasing the public whether you were going to come back or not?\nJust do it, Michael. You know you love the game. Don't leave with any regrets, and don't deny yourself.\nWhen you're really old, there's no going back.