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Past their primes: Athletes who couldn't say goodbye
After retiring in 1997, Mario Lemieux returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2000 before finally retiring for good in 2006. DAVID MAXWELL/Getty Images

Past their primes: Athletes who couldn't say goodbye

Earlier this month, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard closed the door on his playing days in red pinstripes as the last player to be a part of a phenomenal run in Phillies baseball.

Howard, 36, did not retire, but his days in Philadelphia are all but assuredly over. With that, he became the last player on the Phillies' 2008 World Series team. Howard spent 13 seasons with the organization, entering as a chubby, but confident, first baseman in 2004 and becoming the NL Rookie of the Year a year later. However, while the front end of his career was filled with accolades, it was the latter years that found Howard a part of lackluster seasons or missing in action due to injury, the worst of it being in 2011 when he tore his Achilles on the final game (and at-bat) of the season.

Despite the injury, Howard signed a massive new deal and continued to limp his way through games despite his physical tools clearly deteriorating. The results have not been pretty, as Howard's production, playing time and numbers have all fallen precipitously since his glory days. Yet he continues to chug along while many outside observers suggest it's time to hang it up.

Howard, of course, is not alone. There have been plenty of players who just couldn't say goodbye soon enough. Here’s a look at some of those elder statesmen who should’ve perhaps seen the writing on the wall and put an end to their storied careers a little sooner than they did.

Brett Favre

From 1992-2007, Favre was the man behind center in Green Bay. Injuries plagued Favre, nearly nullifying the trade that brought him to Green Bay from Atlanta, though then-Packers GM Ron Wolf gamble would pay off in a huge way through the 1995-97 seasons. Favre earned a still-unmatched three consecutive MVP awards, leading the Packers to a Super Bowl XXXI victory against the New England Patriots.

Easily the team's most accomplished passer since the days of Bart Starr, Favre became a hero to the Packers faithful, despite a notable decline into the 2000s. When the team drafted Aaron Rodgers in 2005, it was clear that Favre's heir apparent would someday take the reins, though Favre's continued team success kept the Packers as a perennial playoff contender. After falling to the New York Giants in the 2007 NFC Championship thanks to a late-game interception, Favre announced his retirement during the offseason — only to waffle almost immediately and plot his comeback.

An awkward split with the Packers followed with Favre traded to the Jets, where a hot 8-3 start on the 2008 season ended with the team dropping four of its last five and Favre retiring yet again — only to come back and then sign with the Minnesota Vikings for the 2009 NFL season. Favre ended concerns over his health and ability to perform by leading the Vikings to a 12-4 season and an NFC Championship Game appearance, but the following season, announced as his last, saw injuries grind Favre down throughout, ultimately cutting his season short in mid-December, this time for good.

Kobe Bryant

If one was looking for a textbook example of an organization rewarding a player for past performance, the Lakers' monster $48.5 million, two-year contract extension to Kobe Bryant would be it. Wanting to see their superstar through to a full 20 years with the franchise, the Lakers made Kobe the NBA's highest-paid player through what would be his final two seasons in the league, despite a recent rash of injuries that seriously limited his ability to stay on the floor.

It's not hard to understand the rationale that Lakers brass followed in Kobe's case. After all, Bryant led the team to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, to say nothing of the three-peat with Shaquille O'Neal from 2000-02. Still, Kobe's contract severely hampered the Lakers' ability to procure quality free agents and maintain legitimate chances to compete with Bryant still on the roster. Despite a bevy of young talent joining the team (due to the Lakers' high draft picks in back-to-back awful season), Kobe's at-times abrasive personality (see his famous "soft like Charmin" harangue) probably wasn't the greatest fit to serve as mentor, though his team did allow him the joy of an all-time classic finale, in which he put up 60 points in a comeback win over the Utah Jazz.

Donovan McNabb

He was under center for 11 years in Philly (1999-2010), but it was the six additional seasons after leading the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004 that made many fans still question why Eagles brass thought it wise to keep him around.

After earning the job as full-time Eagles starter in 2000 in his sophomore season, McNabb led the team to four straight NFC Championship runs, culminating in the Super Bowl XXXIX loss against the Patriots. Always injury-prone and a magnet for criticism (unfair or not), even during those 2000-2004 days, McNabb locked down a 12-year, $115 million contract with the Eagles, binding him to the team for better or worse.

Despite some limited regular-season success and sporadic playoff appearances, McNabb wouldn't see anywhere near the success of his early run. After several up-and-down seasons (though with one NFC Championship appearance in 2008), the Eagles traded him to the division-rival Washington Redskins, where he was a shell of the player who wowed fans in Philadelphia. 

Michael Jordan

His Airness retired twice but came back. The first time he came back a little better, leading the Bulls to a three-peat the year after his father passed away, which sent Jordan away from hoops to take up baseball. He retired from the game in 1998 after the second three-peat, presumably bringing a close to an off-and-on 13-year-career in the Windy City.

But after three seasons watching from the sidelines, Jordan returned to the NBA with the Washington Wizards but was never the player he once was. Though clearly still game enough to be in the league, even as a 38-year-old, Jordan was a shell for his former self, watching as the younger legs passed him by. He hung on for two seasons before calling it quits for good in 2003.

Muhammad Ali

By 1976, the "Rumble in the Jungle" and "Thrilla in Manila" were well in the rearview for Ali. A trio of uninspiring fights later saw Ali involved in a couple of professional wrestling events — one apparently unscripted and the other planned. The first saw Ali confront WWWF's (predecessor to the WWE) Gorilla Monsoon in Philadelphia and ended when Gorilla dodged several Ali punches and then slammed the champ to the mat. The second saw Ali participate in a Japanese wrestling exhibition bout in Tokyo as a publicity stunt, though the kicks and strikes from Antonio Inoki proved legitimately detrimental to Ali's health. Ali was later to have found to have suffered bruises, blood clots and an infection in his legs.

The real disappointment came later, when Ali made his return to the ring. His health and conditioning were by this time particularly poor, and despite a couple of decision wins over Ken Norton and Earnie Shavers, his 1978 bout versus Leon Spinks exposed Ali's deteriorated condition. He lost his title by split decision, and while Ali would later reclaim the title by unanimous decision (becoming the first heavyweight champion to win the belt three times), the uninspiring fight prompted another retirement in July 1979.

However, in need of money, Ali came back once again, this time to take on 31-year-old Larry Holmes for the title. Despite serious red flags by the Nevada Athletic Commission over Ali's physical and neurological condition, as well as Holmes' and Ali's camps' misgivings, Ali pushed for the fight and was dominated by the younger Holmes. Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee, threw in the towel in the 11th round, making the bout the only one Ali lost by knockout. After ignoring pleas to hang it up for good, Ali would fight one last time in 1981, a loss by decision to Trevor Berbick.

Manny Pacquiao

Despite his advanced age (for a pugilist, at least), Manny Pacquiao still possesses a considerable percentage of his power. A famously aggressive, go-for-broke fighter, a case could have been made for Pacquiao to hang it up after he was dropped by Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth meeting. Certainly, with his career as a politician in his native Philippines, Pacquiao had a ready-made reason to exit his boxing career on that infamous note.

Instead, Pacquiao would go one to take on Brandon Rios, Timothy Bradley (in their first meeting) and Chris Algieri, beating them all, before losing to Floyd Mayweather in their highly anticipated (if five years too late) bout in 2015. Pacquiao would then face Bradley again in April 2016, retiring after his victory... only to announce his comeback two years later.

Allen Iverson

A true iconoclast, Allen Iverson's brilliance served as the quintessential representation of an at-times ugly era of post-Michael Jordan pro hoops. His on-court brilliance would lead him to the Hall of Fame, and his hip-hop fashion sense would make him a divisive figure to the league and its casual fans, and a focal point for how the NBA was perceived in the early 2000s.

Forever associated with the Philadelphia 76ers for his dazzling on-court performances and for leading the Sixers to their first NBA Finals since the early 1980s as league MVP (and singlehandedly winning the only game of the series for Philly against the Shaq-and-Kobe Lakers), Iverson would become disillusioned with the team after coach Larry Brown's departure in 2003 following a playoff exit. Iverson would clash with Brown's successors, though finding a rapport with Maurice Cheeks. Despite this, a lack of on-court success and missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons saw Iverson demand a trade in his 10th season with the Sixers.

Iverson was sent to Denver, where his per-game averages largely took a hit. Injuries took their toll on Iverson's athleticism, and after back injuries kept him out of the 2008-09 season (he only played three games), he was shipped to Detroit for one season, then Memphis,and finally back to Philly, with ever-diminishing returns. He would leave Philly again in 2010, citing his daughter's health, and later that year signed a two-year deal in the Turkish Basketball League, playing in 10 games before finally hanging it up for good, officially retiring 2013.

Mario Lemieux

Super Mario's credentials as one of hockey's all-time greats are impeccable, and his impact on the sport rivals that of his contemporary Wayne Gretzky, as well as past legends like Bobby Orr. A terrific skater and playmaker, Lemieux's early career overlapped with the primes of Gretzky, Mark Messier and Mike Bossy, but the young Lemieux would soon find himself elevated into the league's upper echelon after earning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season and rivaling Gretzky in yearly point totals. In his fifth season (1988-89), he notched 199 points, becoming the only player to come close to Gretzky's 200+ points seasons.

Soon after, the first of many back injuries that would plague Lemieux cost him a considerable amount of the 1990-91 season. The Pittsburgh Penguins bolstered their roster in his absence, and upon his return he would lead the team in scoring and assists throughout the playoffs and eventually led the team over the Minnesota North Stars for Pittsburgh's first Stanley Cup. Despite an injury-plagued campaign the following season, Lemieux would lead the Penguins to their second Cup, but the years to follow saw injuries and Hodgkin's lymphoma put Lemieux's career in doubt. He would retire for the first time in 1997 after an early playoff exit to the rival Philadelphia Flyers, whose notoriously hostile home crowd sent him off with a standing ovation.

After his retirement, Lemieux became owner of the Penguins after their previous owners mismanaged the team and declared bankruptcy in 1998. As owner, the Penguins would win the Cup in 2009, though before that the lure of the ice was too much for Lemieux to resist. He would make his comeback in 2000 and was able to summon some of the touch he possessed in his early days. However, injuries had largely broken down his once formidable abilities past the point of no return, and his ability to stay on the ice was inconsistent. The combination of various physical ailments and an irregular heartbeat would force Lemieux to retire for good in 2006.

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