Open-Mic: Athletes & Retirement: The Selanne Syndrome

I'm sick and tired of athletes inability to make up their minds on whether they should retire or not. Brett Favre, for instance, has had a great career in the NFL, but as far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter anymore now that he's always making headlines about whether or not he's finally going to call it quits. It's a term that I like to call "Selanne Syndrome", after Anaheim Ducks superstar Teemu Selanne.  After capturing an elusive Stanley Cup championship, the former 76-goal scorer took half the season off before finally making up his mind to play with the Ducks again. Teammate and captain Scott Niedermayer did the exact same thing and was stripped of the captaincy because of it. Don't get me wrong, it's a big decision in these players lives—to stop playing the game they grew up loving and did for over 10-15 years.  Yet, some players need to know when their time is up. Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player ever to play, knew when it was time. ... (link)