“An aged man is but a paltry thing,

A tattered coat upon a stick, unless

Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing

For every tatter in its mortal dress”. W.B. Yeats

Damn that Tom Brady. Because of the now-retired NFL GOAT it is widely believed that an athlete in his 40s can still triumph over younger men. That a good diet, plenty of sleep and keen desire can sustain you against twenty-two year olds. It ain’t so.

Those needing a reminder of what nature intends for athletes pushing their 40s— and later— got a sobering reminder the past while. First on the docket was Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champion and a man who inspired fear the way Taylor Swift inspires teenage girls and vapid prime ministers.

In an effort to shake his aging fist at time, the 58-year-old Tyson agreed to fight 27-year-old media-influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Tyson has been through a lot since his days when opponents barely lasted a minute in the ring with him. He lost his crown, married actress Robin Givens and had what was clearly a breakdown both physically and mentally.

In recent years he’s re-invented himself by playing Mike Tyson in movies (his tiger is stolen by a dentist in The Hangover) and on Broadway. He’s evolved into some sort of Cormac McCarthy sage, unflinching in the face of his mortality. Here he talks to a very young interviewer about his legacy and his wish to have no part of one. His precise words were, “”I don’t believe in the word ‘legacy.’ I think that’s another word for ego. Legacy doesn’t mean nothing. That’s just some word everybody grabbed on to.”

So the decision to take on Paul, who has only a dozen pro fights, in a Netflix special drew a lot of curiosity. With his facial tattoo and still-impressive physique he made many believe he could summon up enough to defeat a showboating Paul (El Gallo) who played the heel in the run-up.

Then Tyson had an ulcer flareup. Which caused him to lose half the blood in his body. The fight was delayed from July to November 15 at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Videos of Tyson training seemed to show that, even after the medical issues, he could still deliver enough firepower to make the fight credible. For good measure, Tyson slapped Paul during the weigh-in. Just like the old days.

On fight night sixty-five million tuned in. But the Tyson of old was now old Tyson. He had little to offer, and, by fight’s end, Paul was toying with Tyson. The unanimous decision was a forgone conclusion. Even in defeat Tyson declared himself satisfied having shown his family and himself he could credibly train for a fight after his medical problems.

But the big winner was Father Time.

The Big Guy is also wining in his bet with legendary QB Aaron Rodgers who vowed in 2022 to make the Green Bay Packers regret letting him go in favour of Jordan Love. Rodgers, who’s almost as quixotic as Tyson, signed with the New York Jets who felt themselves only a QB away from a playoff berth or even a trip to the Super Bowl.

That dream lasted just four plays into the Jets first game of 2023. The elusive, rifle-armed Rodgers sat pathetically on the turf, his season done with a torn achilles tendon and the Jets hopes delayed for a year. During his convalescence there were rumours of an early comeback. None came.

So this September the expectations were palpable for Rodgers, now 40, to finally lead their Jets to success. It took only a few games to note that, while he could still throw a great football, Rodgers could not move as he once had in the pocket. He was sacked pitilessly by opponents. The rival Buffalo Bills pounded the Jets, leaving them far behind the the AFC East standings.

At which point Rodgers’ enigmatic personality become the story in the catty New York press. As first the coach, Robert Saleh, and then the GM, Joe Douglas, were fired. Stories emerged that Rodgers was calling the shots with ownership. Fans turned on him. This past week the 3-8 Jets made the internal decision to cut ties with Rodgers at season’s end.

Will someone sign this version of Rodgers for 2025? Sure. And Joe Biden will regain his faculties. Rodgers’ hopes to “not go gentle into that good night” will not be his call.

Finally, there was the news this week that 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals had suffered a broken fibula and would miss 6-8 weeks. However you feel about Ovechkin’s friendship with Putin , there was admiration for his relentless pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s record for  most regular-season goals (894) in a career.

After a slow start the Capitals captain was on pace to break the record sometime in February. Then came the leg-on-leg collision with Utah’s Jack McBain. In his first 19 seasons Ovie had missed just 35 games to injury. Now this. But that’s how it goes as a 39-year-old playing a young man’s game.

There’s a good chance he now may have to wait till next year— when he’s 40— to break the mark. Ask Aaron Rodgers how that 40-something coming-back-from injury thing works.

At least there was one great athlete accepting the encroachment of 40. Rafael Nadal wound up his brilliant career at the Davis Cup after winning 22 Grand Slam tournaments. “I don’t have the chance to be competitive the way I like to be competitive,” he said in a news conference. “My body is not able to give me the possibility.”

The now-retired Roger Federer, who saw his lead over Nadal in Grand Slams go from 6-12 to 20-22, summed up Nadal.  “You beat me — a lot. More than I managed to beat you… You challenged me in ways no one else could.” You could also say he got out while the getting was good. For that, Rafa, clap hands and sing.

Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster  A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada’s top television sports broadcaster, he’s a regular contributor to Sirius XM Canada Talks Ch. 167. His new book Deal With It: The Trades That Stunned The NHL And Changed hockey is now available on Amazon. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his previous book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org . His 2004 book Money Players was voted sixth best on the same list, and is available via brucedowbigginbooks.ca.

In forty-years-plus of covering sports you develop hobby horses. Issues that re-appear continuously over time. In our case, one of those issues has been pro hockey’s development model and the NCAA’s draconian rules for its participants. Which was better, and why couldn’t the sides reach a more reasonable model?

In the case of hockey the NCAA’s ban on any player who played a single game in the Canadian Hockey League created a harsh dilemma for hockey prodigies in Canada and the U.S. Throw your lot in with the CHL, hoping to be drafted by the NHL, or play in a secondary league like the USHL till you were eligible for the NCAA.  Prospects in the CHL’s three leagues — the OHL, QMJHL and WHL —were classified as professional by the NCAA because they get $600 a month for living expenses, losing Division I eligibility after 48 hours of training camp. The stipend isn’t considered income for personal tax purposes.”

Over the decades we’ve spoken with many parents and players trying to parse this equation. It was a heartbreaking scene when they gambled on a CHL career that gave them no life skills or education. Or the promised NCAA golden goose never appeared after playing in a lower league for prime development years.

There were tradeoffs. NCAA teams played fewer games, CHL teams played a pro-like schedule. The NCAA awarded scholarships (which could be withdrawn) while the CHL created scholarships for after a career in the league (rules that players getting NHL contracts lost those scholarships has been withdrawn). There were more contrasts.

As we wrote here in 2021, it might have stayed this way but for a tsunami created by the antitrust issue of Name Image Likeness for NCAA players who were not paid for the use of their NIL. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the issue in 2015 it warned the NCAA that its shamateurism scheme had to change. That created revolution in the NCAA. Athletes now receive healthy compensation for their image in video and digital products. They can also take million-dollar compensation from sponsors and boosters.

Portals allow them to skip from team to team to find millions in compensation. One of the many changes in the new NCAA was its prohibition against CHL players. To forestall future lawsuits costing millions, it recently made hockey players eligible for the same revenues as football and basketball players. Now the NCAA has voted to open up college hockey eligibility to CHL players effective Aug. 1, 2025, paving the way for major junior players to participate in the 2025-26 men’s college hockey season.

Which, we wrote in 2022, would leave hockey’s development model vulnerable. “As one insider told us, “The CHL model should be disrupted. Archaic and abusive.” NIL won’t kill the CHL but it could strip away a significant portion of its older stars who choose guaranteed money over long bus rides and billeting with other players. It’s early days, of course, but be prepared for an NHL No. 1 draft pick being a millionaire before his name is even called in the draft.” 

As we wrote in May of 2022 “A Connor McDavid could sign an NIL styled contract at 16 years old, play in the NCAA and— rich already— still be drafted No. 1 overall. Yes, college hockey has a lower profile and fewer opportunities for endorsements. Some will want the CHL’s experience. But a McDavid-type player would be a prize catch for an equipment company or a video game manufacturer. Or even as an influencer. All things currently not allowed in the CHL.” 

Effectively the CHL will get all or most of the top prospects at ages 16-19. After that age prospects drafted or undrafted can migrate to the NCAA model. Whether they can sign NHL contracts upon drafting and still play in the NCAA is unclear at this moment. (“On the positive side, we will get all the top young players coming to the CHL because we’re the best development option at that age,” one WHL general manager told The Athleltic’s Scott Wheeler.

One OHL GM told the Athletic “As the trend increases with American players looking for guarantees to sign, does a CHL player turn down an opportunity to sign at the end of their 19-year-old year with the hopes that a year at 20 in NCAA as a free agent gives them a better route to the NHL?”

The permutations are endless at the moment. But, at least, players and their families have a choice between hockey and education that was forbidden in the past. Plus, they can make money via NIL to allow them to stay for an extra year of development or education. The CHL will take a hit, but most young Canadian players will still see it as the logical launching pad to the NHL.

Now, for once, families can come first on the cold, nasty climb to the top hockey’s greasy pole.

Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster  A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada’s top television sports broadcaster, he’s a regular contributor to Sirius XM Canada Talks Ch. 167. His new book Deal With It: The Trades That Stunned The NHL And Changed hockey is now available on Amazon. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his previous book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org . His 2004 book Money Players was voted sixth best on the same list, and is available via brucedowbigginbooks.ca.