It's always, shall I say, touching when the career of a sports figure comes to an end. Unlike the retirement of a business owner or politician, sports figures often go out in a flame of glory. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. Nonetheless, many a sports fan knows when the time is over for their beloved idols (unless their idol is Barry Sanders that is).

Recently, the world of sports has seen several sports figures say their goodbyes to their teams and their fans, ranging from Bill Cowher's resignation of head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Rocky Balboa taking his final curtain call (hopefully) in the ring. We've seen Tiki Barber announce that this will be his last season, a player who will be missed by Giants fans and football fans alike.

Being from the Youngstown, Ohio, area, I've spent my years growing up divided between Cleveland fans and Pittsburgh fans'quite the rivalry when it came down to football. Although I'm not a fan of the Steelers, mostly due to many of my friends from back home dancing around and bragging after their Super Bowl victory last year, I need to give respect where respect is due. Bill Cowher came to the Steelers organization replacing Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll (UD grad!) in 1992. Cowher finished with a 161-99-1 overall record. His resume consisted of eight division titles, six trips to the AFC championships game and two trips to the Super Bowl, winning Super Bowl XL against the Seahawks. Arguably one of the best coaches of his era, Cowher will undoubtedly be missed by many.

Having seen 'Rocky Balboa' the other day, I couldn't help but include Rocky in my list of notable retirees. I may be jinxing everything when I say that this will definitely be the last 'Rocky' movie, but I honestly can't see how they can make another one after my friends and I left the theatre in awe. UD sophomore Steve Schmidt, renowned for his film reviews, has dubbed this movie 'epic,' and few of us could argue otherwise. As long as you can pretend 'Rocky V' never happened, this is the perfect ending to the 'Rocky' series, as Rocky goes up against the undisputed champ, Mason Dixon.

Baseball fans said goodbye to the Houston Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell, and hopefully will be saying farewell to Commissioner Bud Selig in the next three years. Not that baseball fans wouldn't be happy to see him stay or anything'

While compiling my list of sports figures retiring, I decided to add a little twist, and maybe offer some suggestions to people who should be retiring. Topping my list is the head coach of Penn State, Joe Paterno. The 80-year-old coach actually plans to be back next season. Breaking a shinbone and tearing two knee ligaments Nov. 4 after a collision on the sideline in which he was too old to get out of the way, Paterno has failed to coach a game from the sideline since, and ended up spending the Outback Bowl in the press box. Don't get me wrong, Paterno is one of the best coaches college football has ever seen, but JoePa, it's time to give it up.

I've always liked Brett Favre, but I think it's his time to go as well. After 16 years in the NFL, the 37-year-old quarterback needs to throw in the towel, especially if he's going to have surgery on his ankle. As long as Favre continues to play for the Packers, he's not going to get another shot at a Super Bowl anytime soon, and I doubt anybody can imagine Favre in a uniform other than the Packers. Going out on a win is a great way to end a career, and being one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, there's no shame in calling it quits now.

I'm sure Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo wants to disappear from the earth right now after performing one of the all-time greatest blunders in NFL playoff history. Romo botched the snap as the Cowboys set up for a 19-yard field goal attempt that would have put their team up with minutes left to go in the game. Luckily for Romo, he has plenty of time left in his career to redeem himself. Drew Bledsoe, on the other hand, needs to go.

Shaquille O'Neil, center for the Miami Heat, has seen his glory days and should probably retire before his body falls apart. I think beating Kobe Bryant to a title after parting from the Lakers was the last thing he had to prove.

Julio Franco, first basemen for the New York Mets is now 48. Even though he was paid more than $1 million in the 2006 season for his two longballs and 26 RBI, he's another sports star that should watch the game from the stands sooner rather than later.

But hey, who am I to tell these guys when their time is up? Maybe they have 'something left in the basement,' just like Rocky Balboa did. To sum it all up, 'it ain't over 'til it's over.' Or is it?