Le Magnifique...by Apollo

Most of the working classes of the world look forward to retirement and the day when they no longer will need to answer to someone else's rules, schedule, or demands. Indeed, we spend the vast majority of our lives working and earning a living in the hope of one day retiring so we won't have to work anymore. As with most things, the world of professional sports is different. Retirement is met with wistful nostalgia and often quite a few tears. Such was the case today, when Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Mario Lemieux announced his retirement from hockey.

Lemieux has retired before, and staged an inspiring comeback recently which culminated in serving as captain for the winning Team Canada Men's Hockey Team at both the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. In his prime, when he was leading the Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships in the early 1990's, Lemieux was simply unstoppable. The puck seemed glued to his stick like in some early Nintendo hockey game, and his combination of size and speed allowed him to move past even the best of defencemen and make goaltenders look like pylons. If not for a bout with cancer that forced him to miss several years and ultimately retire for the first time, Lemieux would have given a serious run to the lofty records of Wayne Gretzky. Many hockey fans, including the 2 Wise Men, can still wax poetic about the incredible 1987 Canada Cup where Lemieux wired a top corner championship winning goal off of an exquisite drop pass from Gretzky to defeat the Russians.

In recent years, Lemieux has fallen from his throne as being the most talented player in hockey. Age, and lack of speed, have made him look positively ordinary from time to time, particularly playing alongside phenom Sidney Crosby this season. Lemieux admitted that the new NHL is geared more towards speed and youth, two traits that have unfortunately declined in him to the point he felt he could no longer compete at his lofty standards. If he wanted to, Lemieux could very easily continue his career for another two seasons exclusively as a power play specialist. Despite the lack of speed, the lightning quick hands and incredible vision remain. Ask the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens, or any number of struggling NHL franchises if they could make room on their roster for the Magnificent One and the answer would be a resounding yes. However, as when most of the greats retire, it has been extremely difficult for Lemieux to leave the game, and in the end it was not because he could no longer play, but rather because he could no longer play like Mario Lemieux. A salute then, to easily one of the top 4 players in the history of the sport, and set the TiVo's and PVR's for all the Lemieux retrospective highlights that are sure to be shown in the next few days.