And who could forget that January afternoon last year when Michael Jordan, generally considered the best basketball player in history and arguably one of the best athletes of the century, took his final curtain call.

All of these dramatic departures gave many young sports fans their first glimpse of fading heroes. Those in generations past know all too well that sports icons come and go, with the great ones always remaining wistfully in the national consciousness.

This longing led Simon and Garfunkel to pen the lyric, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you." Replacing DiMaggio with Jordan, Gretzky, Elway or Marino would convey that same emotion for a new era of Americans.

Even more tragic for sports fans in recent months, though, has not been the purposeful exit but the tragic passing of young and promising athletes.

This year alone, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas, Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills, and, as of last weekend, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Malik Sealy died in automobile accidents. All men were in their early thirties and they had promising careers ahead of them.

Unfortunately, again, premature and tragic deaths are not new to sports. On New Year's Eve 1972, in a visit to deliver disaster-relief supplies to his native Nicaragua, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash. Clemente had been named the World Series MVP the previous year and would become the first Hispanic player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The list goes on, with countless names from all sports adding to the squandered promise and unspeakable grief such tragic departures represent.