It was a rough week to be a Republican. Not only did the Democrats take back a majority of the states' governorships and control of both the House and Senate, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also shocked the world by resigning Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the Democrats declared victory. That got us at the Daily thinking ... who in the world of sports is as cowardly as Rummy? Surely, athletes can be quitters just like high-ranking cabinet officials, can't they? Yes, as it turns out, they can. Take, for example, these 10 beauties:
10. Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Liriano and Jered Weaver. This year's AL Rookie of the Year race was shaping up to be competitive ... until these three quitters ruined it. Papelbon and Liriano got hurt, and Weaver just ... stopped pitching like a major leaguer. What a letdown.
9. The Tennessee Titans. Did anyone see the Titans collapse against Baltimore this weekend? We're not sure who's a bigger quitter ... everyone on that pass defense for letting Steve McNair walk all over them or Vince Young for giving up at halftime.
8. Adrian Beltre. In a contract year in 2004, the guy finally lived up to his hype, smacking 48 homers and finishing second in the NL MVP voting. After signing a $64 million contract with the Mariners that offseason, the third baseman decided he could ... just stop trying. He hit just 19 home runs, and his batting average plummeted 79 points. Steroids much?
7. Boris Diaw. Diaw was voted the NBA's Most Improved Player at the end of last season. But so far this year, his points, rebounds and assists have all dropped dramatically, and his Suns are in last place at 2-5. Good thing there's no Most Disappointing Player award. He could win that one too.
6. Sandy Koufax. Koufax made six straight NL All-Star teams, won three Cy Youngs and an MVP and threw no-hitters in four straight seasons, culminating in a perfect game in 1965. So what did he do in '66, go to Disney World? No. He retired. That's right, he retired at age 30. Give me a break.
5. Barry Sanders. Just like Koufax, he retired way too young. At the end of the 1998 season, Sanders was 30 and less than 1,500 rushing yards away from Walter Payton's career record. Sounds like a perfect time to ... quit?
4. The Florida Marlins. The Marlins have won the World Series twice, in just 14 years of existence. But after each championship, what do they do? Hold a firesale. After 1997, they unloaded Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown, Moises Alou and Bobby Bonilla. Then after 2003, off went Derrek Lee, Pudge Rodriguez and Ugueth Urbina.
3. Steve Young. Who retires after just seven concussions? What a wuss.
2. The 2006 Red Sox. The Sox looked ready to win the AL East this year. Until August. Then came the Boston Massacre, part two. August saw the Sox lose David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, Alex Gonzalez, Wily Mo Pena, Coco Crisp, Curt Schilling, the aforementioned Papelbon, Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield to injury. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Talk about a collapse.
1. Michael Jordan. The only thing Jordan loved more than appearing in underwear commercials? Quitting. First he retired from the Bulls in 1993, then again in '98. He then quit for a third time in 2003, as a Wizard. And when he wasn't quitting basketball, he was quitting baseball. Come on, MJ ... make up your mind.
- by Evans Clinchy
