He has received numerous awards. As a columnist, he has covered the World Series, Super Bowls, the US Open golf tournament, Summer and Winter Olympics, NCAA Final Fours, the NBA championship series, Davis Cup tennis, the Indianapolis 500 and bowl games. But the high profile player's greatest regret has to be that he'll never find this sweet a deal anywhere else. The money's wonderful, the fame is flattering and breakfast is free on game days. Another world Jocks all say they miss the camaraderie and the competition the most, but the average citizen would tell them they can achieve one by joining the Lions Club and the other by struggling to raise four kids on a single paycheck.
Some athletes find retirement so difficult they keep doing it until they get it right.
We constantly eavesdropped on conversations between Reggie White and his Maker as he turned leaving into a cottage industry, and Sugar Ray Leonard hung up his gloves so often the laces were frayed. Jordan keeps finding things he can't do, which would explain why he's so uncomfortable leaving what he did better than anyone else. Barkley is forever threatening to enter politics, presumably to follow in the footsteps of Jack Kemp and Bill Bradley, who never won the big one, either. It would appear easier to find honest work, particularly for people with built-in name recognition. No profession provides its fallen members with softer landings than sports.