Retire already… or don’t!

There are a couple of sports figures that need to retire but more than likely will not. Brett Favre insists that he’s done with football. All jokes aside as he has said he was done before but came back 20 times. I could see him coming back this year. If the season is shortened by the lockout thus he doesn’t have to go through mini camps and the season does not play out a full 16 games… watch out.

The Big Hurt (all the time!)

No not Frank Thomas, but Shaquille O’Neal. The Big Aristotle was a no-show during the 2011 playoffs. The once dominate big man is well past his prime and he can no longer contribute, even in smaller segments of time, due to injuries. I would not be surprised to see him sign another one year contract with a contending team for the 2012 season. Shaq, you’ve made your money. Stop chasing Kobe for the most rings of your generation.

Is he or isn’t he?

Phil Jackson is another guy playing the retiring card. Phil has been quoted saying, “I’m retired but I am unsure about the future. I can’t tell you where I will be in 6 months.”

I can tell you where he will be in 6 months, back on the Lakers bench if Bynum is traded to Orlando and Dwight Howard is playing for the purple and gold next season. Phil has never been one to step up to the challenge of coaching a team without 2 or 3 superstars. Should Howard get traded to the Lakers, Phil will have Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant (possibly Artest and Fisher as well). That’s a formable lineup in a weaker Western Conference. Just like Pat Riley, PJ wouldn’t pass up another opportunity to soak up all of the accolades of a championship.

The Lakers’ rumor mill is spinning out of control.

Rumors coming out of Lakers sources say Bryant had something to do with Gasol’s situation with his girlfriend, Silvia. I’m not sure what was bothering Gasol, but he looked like a lost man during the Dallas Mavericks series. Something big was going on with him. Will we ever find out? Who knows? Bynum made reference to people on the team not trusting each other, on or off the court. A major shakeup with the Lakers’ starters could happen in the off-season. There’s nothing worse than a teammate making time with your significant other. Just ask Ryne Sandberg why Rafael Palmeiro was traded from the Cubs to the Rangers.

Will he please retire into a life of a hermit!

The poster child for a downward spiral of a once promising career… Does anyone remember Jay Mariotti? His national claim to fame came as a regular on ESPN’s “Around the Horn”. Leading up to his stint on “Around the Horn”, Mariotti was a columnist with the Chicago Sun Times, a position which he resigned from after the 2008 summer Olympics. Jay began writing for “AOL Fanhouse” and continued to make appearances on “Around the Horn”. In August of 2010, Mariotti was charged with 7 counts of domestic abuse from an altercation in Santa Monica, California with his girlfriend. Once the story was made public, he was let go from ESPN’s “Around the Horn”. Mariotti was also promptly suspended from “AOL Fanhouse” once the details of his arrest became public. Mariotti would later plead guilty to a lesser crime and only one count of abuse serving out his sentence doing community service.

Well guess whose back on the wrong side of the headlines? That’s right, Mariotti. Mariotti has been charged with 3 felony counts of stalking, domestic violence and abuse after accosting his ex-girlfriend in front of a Los Angeles restaurant on April 15 by the Los Angeles police department. Some people will never learn. Let her go Jay, she obviously wants nothing to do with you nor does anyone else due to your horrible behavior.