Letting Go
One of the saddest things in the world of professional sports is when an aging athlete refuses to acknowledge the ravages of time and retire from the sport that made him so famous and wealthy. We saw it with Jerry Rice, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Evander Holyfield, Roger Clemens, and on and on. Sure there are exceptions. I thought Brett Favre should have retired a couple of seasons ago but apparently he had at least one great season, if not playoff run, left in him. But usually athletes end up playing longer than they should.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Shaquille O'Neal could miss as much as a month with acute inflammation of the left hip and quadriceps. The news wasn’t much of a surprise. Shaq has already missed eight games this season due to injury. However the news was a reminder that it really is time for Shaq to retire.
Shaq really has nothing left to prove. He’s been the most dominant force in the game and has four championships. While the Lakers might be in a better position than the Heat this year, Miami has one championship since the trade that sent Shaq to Florida while Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are still waiting for another trophy.
The Diesel is still putting up decent numbers with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks on 58% shooting, but there are too many games in which he shows that he is almost 36 years old and is in his 16th season in the NBA. Games like the last game he played when he got 10 points and 5 rebounds in 28 minutes or like his game against Washington on December 13 when he ended up with only 7 points and 6 rebounds.
But after reading this quote from a conversation with ESPN Radio’s Jack Ramsey, it appears that Shaq has ruled out any notion of retirement: “I am the son of an army drill sergeant, and when we enlist, we go full term. So I've got two years left on my term, and after that, I'll be looking to do other things.” Of course the fact that he is due $40 million over the next two seasons is also providing motivation for him to go full term. I can’t really blame him. Even thought he’s made millions already, it would be insane to walk away from that much money. But I’m hoping that if the Heat offer any kind of buy out of his contract, Shaq takes it and stops tarnishing the image he once had as the most feared force in the league.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Shaquille O'Neal could miss as much as a month with acute inflammation of the left hip and quadriceps. The news wasn’t much of a surprise. Shaq has already missed eight games this season due to injury. However the news was a reminder that it really is time for Shaq to retire.
Shaq really has nothing left to prove. He’s been the most dominant force in the game and has four championships. While the Lakers might be in a better position than the Heat this year, Miami has one championship since the trade that sent Shaq to Florida while Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are still waiting for another trophy.
The Diesel is still putting up decent numbers with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks on 58% shooting, but there are too many games in which he shows that he is almost 36 years old and is in his 16th season in the NBA. Games like the last game he played when he got 10 points and 5 rebounds in 28 minutes or like his game against Washington on December 13 when he ended up with only 7 points and 6 rebounds.
But after reading this quote from a conversation with ESPN Radio’s Jack Ramsey, it appears that Shaq has ruled out any notion of retirement: “I am the son of an army drill sergeant, and when we enlist, we go full term. So I've got two years left on my term, and after that, I'll be looking to do other things.” Of course the fact that he is due $40 million over the next two seasons is also providing motivation for him to go full term. I can’t really blame him. Even thought he’s made millions already, it would be insane to walk away from that much money. But I’m hoping that if the Heat offer any kind of buy out of his contract, Shaq takes it and stops tarnishing the image he once had as the most feared force in the league.
posted by The Pocho at 12:04 PM
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