George ForemanCameron Ross

Great athletes usually retire when they are still near the top of their game so they aren’t ending their careers as benchwarmers.

This is not the case for George Foreman, the guy who sells his patented grills on consumer shopping network television.

His 76-5 career record is impressive, as are his 68 wins by KO, but his later years were sad as the ballooned, round-faced old man tried competing for a title belt.

It is evident that he’s been hit in the head too many times by the fact that he has five sons named George. He also has five daughters, one of them named Georgetta.

There should be no problem carrying on the family name since there are now five more George Foremans in the world.

Had any of his sons become professional boxers, they may have retired before George Sr.

His rise-to-success story is very touching because he was once a “street thug” and slowly made his way into national celebrity status by way of boxing.

As a businessman, he’s in his prime, selling George Foreman Grills and his very own version of barbecue sauce.

A lot of boxing critics believed his reign ended once he lost to Muhammad Ali in 1974’s the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Congo (then Zaire).

Somehow he managed to come back and win several fights before retiring for the first time in 1977. He returned to action in 1987.

In 1994 he regained the IBF and WBA heavyweight titles by knocking out Michael Moorer?who? At 45, he is the oldest fighter ever to win the world heavyweight title.

Foreman lost the title to Shannon Briggs in 1998 and came back to reality. He planned a comeback bout against Larry Holmes in 1999 but the fight was canceled.

He should stick to being an HBO boxing analyst and start cooking his food on his own fat-burning grill. Then maybe he could stop wearing his own clothing line sold exclusively in “Big and Tall” clothing stores.

Joe NamathJose Martinez

“Broadway” Joe Namath is more famous for guaranteeing his victory over Don Shula’s Baltimore Colts and his white fur jacket than his “fabulous” career with the Los Angeles Rams.

After playing for the New York Jets for 12 years, where he won one Super Bowl, went to multiple pro-bowls and won American Football League’s Most Valuable Player award twice, Namath was let go by the Jets and instead of retiring he chose to sign with the Rams in 1977.

The Jets let go of Namath due to various nagging injuries that he was dealing with including bad knees, a bad hamstring and dealing with playing professional football for so many years had grown on his body.

But Namath was determined to revitalize his career by moving to Los Angeles and joining the Rams.

The Rams didn’t need too much help to make it to the big show; the year before Namath’s arrival the Rams had made it past the divisional round of the playoffs before losing to the Minnesota Vikings.

Apparently, Rams ownership was willing to take a gamble on the seasoned veteran, and decided that Namath could be the one to push the team over the hump.

Wrong. In his first and only year with the team Namath saw minimal action due to injury. He started only four games, managed a mere three touchdowns and threw five interceptions.

Namath’s Rams career only amounted to a gamble gone wrong by the team’s ownership and an end to his career on a sour note.

Regardless of Namath’s poor play the team had again made it to the playoffs with little help from “Broadway” of course.

In the third quarter of the team’s playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, Namath could see his storybook ending coming near.

Starting quarterback Pat Haden was struggling and head coach Chuck Nox seemed ready to insert Namath, hoping to re-energize the team and the crowd at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Only down by a touchdown Nox decided not to pull starting quarterback Haden, leaving him in only to take the 14-7 loss, ending Namath’s career on a poor note.

Knowing when to call it quits is vital in professional sports, but it seems people think they got one great year left?when in reality, they don’t.

Sam CassellAlexander Villanueva

The one player that truly stood out in my mind as someone who has played too long has to be NBA player Sam Cassell.

Sure, he may not seem like someone who has played too long, but in fact he has been in the league for about 15 years and is 38 years old.

Throughout Cassell’s career he has made a huge impact during the first year of every new team (about six) that he has been on.

And after Cassell cleared waivers from the Los Angeles Clippers, he was signed by the Boston Celtics who needed another point guard to help the young Rajon Rondo develop into a great player.

At this point in his career, Cassell just wants to get that third championship ring that has eluded him for many years, and he is hoping that the Celtics are the team to help him.

But as I recall, players like Gary Payton and Karl Malone had unsuccessfully tried to get a championship the “easy way” by signing with the Los Angeles Lakers who ended up losing to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals.

Payton, eventually, received his championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, and Cassell is trying to get his championship by playing along side All-Stars, such as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

This is something that really makes my stomach cringe, and that is good players riding on the success of excellent players. I just hope that the Celtics lose in the playoffs to make him earn that title himself.

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