Mark Murphy made it clear that retiring Favres number and reconciling

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Got a bad case of lingering PMPD -- Post-Michael Phelps Depression? If you think his retirement from Olympic swimming is a bitter pill, then batten down the hatches for the imminent global epidemic of Lifes Hardly Worth Living Without Usain Bolt when he schmoozes out in a samba of sad emotion this week.Storms of Mo Farah Misery also are forecast. Having retained his 10,000-meter title at the Rio Games, the British runner only needs a repeat in the 5,000 on Saturday to give him a gold medal for each of his four children and a good excuse to close the curtain on the Olympics at age 33.Bradley Wiggins has ridden off into the Rio de Janeiro sunset, having become the only Brit with eight Olympic medals, all in cycling and from five games. The tick-tock of the Olympic clock would also suggest that these were likely the final games for 30-year-old Rafael Nadal, 34-year-old Serena Williams and the 2008 and 2012 Olympic womens 100-meter champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, finally overtaken at age 29 by another Jamaican five years her junior, Elaine Thompson. Evergreen gymnast Oksana Chusovitina is a notable exception, already eyeing what she hopes will be her eighth Olympics in 2020, when she will be, wait for it, 45.When, eventually, they all join Phelps in retirement, theyll be sorely missed. If sports teams are like a marriage, with us our whole lives, Olympians are brief but exciting recurring romances. By wowing and wooing for two weeks every four years, they can sink deeper hooks into hearts than footballers, baseball players and others who, by populating lives and screens 24/7, become part of the furniture. To twist the lyrics from the Girl from Ipanema, when Olympians pass by, all tall and tan and young and lovely, the rest of us can only go aah.As we age, Olympians just seem to get younger.First, they seed the gardens of our childhood imaginations, giving us an idea of who we want to be when we grow up. In our twenties, they are more like us, at the height of our powers, only with superpowers. In our thirties, they are what we would like to think we could be again if we shed pounds and unwrap those unused running shoes. But by middle age and beyond, their youth becomes insolent and their taut vigor becomes a mirror for what weve lost forever: You cannot take your eyes off them but looking hurts more than a little, too.Pass the cachaca, with a double dose of Prozac.Even Phelps seemed to feel morbiditys cold claw after his last Olympic race, saying at his last post-victory Olympic news conference that his baby son, Boomer, will likely inherit his 28 medals, 23 of them gold, when he dies.Phelps sank into his chair with the audible sigh of an old lion for his final Q-and-A.Its nice to sit down, he said, wearing all of his 31 years.Welcome to the club, Michael. Here, try the slippers, take the remote.The younger generations reading this wont yet fully understand how the retirement of an Olympian whose ups, many ups, and downs you have followed for such a large slice of life, through five Olympics, feels like the onset of grey hair, the wrong side of a watershed.At best, how many Summer Olympics do any of us get to witness? Fifteen, perhaps, 20 if were lucky? For 25 percent of that journey, Phelps has swum at our side, reassuringly constant, plying us with thrill upon thrill.By holding creeping years at bay for his last Olympic week, fueled by a love rekindled for swimming that hed lost ahead of the 2012 London Games, Phelps kept his eyes fixed on the here and now, on his next exploit and his late bloom into a more mature, thoughtful, and engaging version of the one-dimensional medal machine he used to be. By un-retiring for Rio, Phelps enabled us to pretend that this wasnt quite the end until, of course, it was.Now, we can only look back at what used to be. Being beaten by 21-year-old Joseph Schooling in the 100-meter butterfly and swimming his last gold-medal winning relay with Ryan Murphy, the 21-year-old who broke the world record for the first 100-meter leg of backstroke, were telltale signs that Phelps time is up. Both Schooling and Murphy have old souvenir photos they took with Phelps when they were youngsters and he was an upcoming Olympic idol. Now is their time to become idols to others.If these are the games of big-names retirements, headlined by the farewells of Phelps and Bolt, then logic dictates that the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 must be the games of renewal. New, as yet unknown stars will be born; there should be more medals to look forward to from Katie Ledecky, already the owner of five swimming golds at just 19, and others now carving out their place in Rio.But there will always be a void where Phelps and Bolt once lived so large.---John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester . See his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/john-leicester Doug Flutie Womens Jersey . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Bruce Smith Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. http://www.authenticbillsfanaticfootball.com/authentic-tre-davious-white-bills-jersey/ . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. Bruce Smith Youth Jersey . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Thurman Thomas Bills Jersey . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark".GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers will definitely retire Brett Favres No. 4. It just wont happen during the upcoming 2013 season. Speaking Tuesday after his annual meeting with reporters to discuss the teams finances, Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy made it clear that retiring Favres number and reconciling with the future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback is important to the franchise. But when asked if Favre could have his number retired this season, Murphy replied, "I dont anticipate that, no." Murphy did not rule out the quarterback making an appearance at Lambeau Field in another capacity, however, perhaps as an honorary captain or as part of the alumni weekend festivities "Well see," Murphy said. A cornerstone of the Packers renaissance in the 1990s, Favre was revered in the state after he led Green Bay to the Super Bowl title following the 1996 season. But he tested the patience of fans and franchise alike with his annual retirement watch late in his career, and his decision to retire and then unretire in 2008 prompted perhaps the messiest divorce in state history. The Packers had already made Aaron Rodgers the starter, and wound up trading Favre to the Jets during training camp.dddddddddddd After a year with the Jets, Favre infuriated fans further by signing with NFC North rival Minnesota. But Rodgers helped smooth the way for a reconciliation between Favre and the Packers, sharing the stage with his predecessor at the NFL Honors awards ceremony in New Orleans in February. Murphy, who has been in contact with Favre since then, said again Tuesday that the appearance was a "first step." Murphy recently said the team wants to make sure Favres number is retired before he would enter the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2016, assuming he is a first-ballot selections. "Were definitely going to retire his number. I really feel strongly that he deserves it," Murphy said. "(But) the timing has to be right." Asked what the holdup is if both sides are talking, and what would constitute the timing being right, Murphy was vague. "I cant tell you exactly what time might be right," he said. "But I am optimistic that you will see it. "We want to be an NFL team where all of our former players feel good about coming back. And hes a big part of that." ' ' '