Old Guys Rule

They come in with young legs, brash attitudes and a sense that the world will soon belong to them.

Those are the young players in any sport. Some are right, and some are wrong. Some succeed and prosper for years, others blow up in a haze of money and substance abuse.

So here’s a toast to Dirk Nowitzki of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and Jaromir Jagr of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Both started out young, carved out their place in their respective games and, with the wisdom of age continue to set records and achieve.

Nowitzki, 37, scored the 29,000th point of his illustrious career with the Mavs on Saturday night. He is sixth all-time in scoring in the NBA and roughly 2,000 points behind Wilt Chamberlain for fifth place. Will he catch Wilt? Perhaps, if he soldiers on. If not, he has still built a Hall of Fame career as an MVP and with a championship ring.

Jagr, 44, continues to be one of the many forces behind the resurgence of the Panthers. A 10-time All-Star, Jagr scored twice on Saturday night to notch his 741st NHL goal to pass Brett Hull and take over third place on the all-time scoring list. Only Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) have scored more NHL goals than Jagr. Jagr is in his 22nd season.

Young legs will carry teams, but old heads will teach them. Sports as a culture always skews toward the new and youthful, but no can break all-time records without hanging around long enough to proudly be called an old guy.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman