I'm not going to snore you with that list so let's just say that he owns more NHL single game, season and career milestones than any other mortal who ever put on the suspenders. Of those fabled accomplishments there's one that seriously stands out in my mind and I only need to cite a few other 'quit when you're the king' retirement bonus questions for a quick comparison. Older or younger? When Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record of 714 did he accomplish the feat in a shorter time or longer? When Kareem Abdul Jabbar outlasted Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain to become the NBA's career scorer did he do so in fewer seasons or more? When Jerry Rice surpassed Jim Brown as the NFL's all-time point gatherer did Jerry catch Jim in fewer seasons? When Cal Ripkin became baseball's new Iron Man over Lou Gehrig did he have more gray hairs or fewer? The answers are longer, more, nay. and come on, he's a Q-tip.

Now for one final question. When Wayne Gretzky broke Gordy Howe's slew of NHL records along with everyone else's, during a career that redefined an entire sport, did he do so in the prime of his life or in his fifth decade of flicking a puck? Duh, and that is what blows me away. Most scoring records are made after an entire career of becoming one with your sport. Do you think Tiger Woods will ever win six Masters? Do you think Mark MaGwire will challenge Henry Aaron? It takes time to cultivate your skills in games that have evolved with experience since the turn of the century. A Martina Hingis may come out strong at the blocks, but will she last down the back stretch? A rainbow warrior may loom on the horizon but will he ever surpass the king's 200 NASCAR wins? Who knows, but it brings us back.

Isn't it quite fun when, every once in a while, a kid like Martina or Jeff comes along to defy the rules and makes them change? Take for example a mountain of a man in Wilt Chamberlain who scored 100 points in a NBA game to simply prove he could and changed basketball. Or a more modern hero in perfectionist Tiger Woods whose golfing distance and accuracy so dominated his Masters peers, Augusta National surgically altered the golf course to take away his edge. And then there's the unsung skinny kid named Dick Fosbury who changed his sport more with his mind than with his body, becoming an icon along the way, by simply turning his back to track's high jump bar, fluidly flopping over backwards on his butt.

Late bloomers, young pups, phenoms and all, no athlete in recent memory has so completely owned his sport than has Wayne Gretzky owned hockey. To his credit, he did so quietly without fanfare, except for a few hundred arm pumps along the way. And he did so with class. You never heard his name in the tabloids, on the scanner, or on trial dockets and he was always there as a role model for his game, his family, and his community. Joe DiMaggio died knowing baseball's 56 game hitting streak was still his. I have no doubt many of Wayne Gretzky's records will outlive him as well. Did you see that the hockey Hall-of-Fame waived it's usual induction waiting period from a few years to immediately. You think?

A few minutes into his extended lap around the Madison Square Garden ice the camera continually panned on Wayne's face and sweat- covered brow. Looking on, I sensed a moment in his glistening eyes, a realization, a sadness. It was really over. At that moment he could have been me or you, any jock hanging them up for the final time, that one last look at the cleats dangling in the locker. I saw all of us Sunday afternoon in Wayne Gretzky's sweat-streaked face, one that held its share of hidden tears. Clinging to those final memories, I'll bet all of us would have come out for a few more encores.