Only a select few ever get to play professional sports; even fewer ever get to experience the ultimate reward: playing on a professional sports championship team. Many great players have come up short in their attempt to reach that goal, but there's something especially heartbreaking about cases where the team wins a championship immediately after a longtime player leaves or is traded. One can only wonder what might have been.

With our most recent Super Bowl champion having lost its star player to retirement last offseason, I thought I'd compile a list of the top ten pro athletes who just missed getting to be part of the celebration. The focus of this list will be players who spent a considerable amount of time with the team before they left, not players who were only there for a few seasons preceding the championship. I'm also excluding players who ended up getting a ring with another team and ones who are still active. Now that we've established those criteria, let's get to the list.

10. John Vanbiesbrouck

Detroit-born John Vanbiesbrouck played his first full season as a goaltender for the New York Rangers in 1984-85. He wasn't the biggest goalie in the league, standing only 5'9", but he made up for it with his quick reflexes and aggressiveness. He had the best year of his career in 1985-86, when he won the Vezina Trophy, was named to the All-Star First Team and helped the Rangers reach the Conference Finals despite their losing record during the regular season. The popular goalie (known as "Beezer" to the fans in Madison Square Garden) required surgery for a lacerated wrist during the 1988 offseason. It was thought that he would miss several months of the 1988-89 campaign while recovering, but he ended up playing in the season opener. In the early 90's he teamed with Mike Richter to give the Rangers one of the league's best goalie duos.

Believing Richter could handle the goaltending duties on his own, the Rangers traded Vanbiesbrouck to the Canucks after the 1992-93 season. Just four days later he was taken by the Florida Panthers in the expansion draft. While Vanbiesbrouck helped the new team in Florida to a respectable inaugural season (and was named to the All-Star Second Team in the process) the Rangers went on to win their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. Vanbiesbrouck's popularity continued in the Sunshine State, and he played in three All-Star Games while a member of the Panthers. He helped the fledgling franchise reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, but they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. He made it back to the Finals in 2001 as a backup for the Devils, but once again his team fell to Colorado.

Vanbiesbrouck retired in 2002 holding the NHL record for most victories by an American-born goaltender with 374. He also tied Frank Brimsek with 40 shutouts, most among American NHL netminders. In 2007 he was inducted into the American Hockey Hall of Fame.

9. Billy Cox

You've heard of the famous Brooklyn Dodgers infield, right? Hodges-Robinson-Reese-Cox? All were great players, but one of them never got to be part of a World Series winner, and that was Billy Cox. A shortstop with the Pirates, the Dodgers acquired him after the 1947 season and moved him to third base. He was a dazzling fielder at the hot corner who once inspired Casey Stengel to say: "He ain't a third baseman. He's a [bleep]ing acrobat." The World War II veteran wasn't much of a hitter (lifetime .262 batting average, 66 home runs, .698 OPS), but he had a reputation for coming through in key situations. Cox played in three World Series with the Dodgers, but each time they lost at the hands of the New York Yankees.

The Dodgers traded Cox and Preacher Roe to the Orioles after the 1954 season (coincidentally, the same trade that had originally brought Cox to the Dodgers was the same one that had brought Roe). In June of 1955 the Orioles traded him to the Indians, but he chose to retire rather than report to his new team. Four months later the Dodgers finally beat the Yankees to win the franchise's first World Series title.





8. Paul Reinhart

In 1979 the Atlanta Flames used the 12th overall pick in the NHL Draft on a young defenseman named Paul Reinhart. Though defense was his primary job, Reinhart was also a strong puck handler who was versatile enough to play any position on the ice, and he developed into one of the best all-around defensemen in the game. With the Flames (who moved to Calgary after his rookie year) he had two Playoff hat tricks, made an All-Star appearance and helped them to the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals. For all his success, he might have accomplished even more had he not struggled with injuries throughout his career.

The Flames traded Reinhart to the Canucks before the 1988-89 season. At the time of the trade he was the last remaining player from the franchise's days in Atlanta, and he held most team records for defensemen. Despite playing in pain, he made his second All-Star appearance that year and helped the Canucks to a first-round Playoff matchup against his former team. The underdog Canucks stunned the Calgary crowd by winning Game 1 in overtime, with Reinhart scoring the deciding goal. The two teams battled their way to seven games, but the Flames ultimately weren't going to be denied their first Stanley Cup that year. Reinhart played one more season in Vancouver before his back problems forced him to call it quits at age 30. He finished his career with 133 goals and 427 assists in 648 games.

7. Wilbur Cooper

Wilbur Cooper was a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Dead Ball and early Live Ball Eras. He once played for a minor league team owned by future U.S. President Warren G. Harding, and legend has it that Harding himself recommended Cooper to the Pirates. The left-hander had great control, a good pickoff move to third and was a solid hitter as well. The Pirates weren't a very good team early in Cooper's career, but as Cooper developed and the team around him improved his numbers got better. For eight straight seasons he won at least 17 games. The Pirates were annually in the first division, but the NL pennant always eluded them.

After the 1924 season Cooper was traded to the Cubs. The move was unpopular in Pittsburgh, and Cooper himself was disappointed to be leaving the Pirates. After winning 20 games the year before, he was nothing more than an average pitcher for the last-place Cubs, which translated into a losing record. Meanwhile, his old teammates took up residence on the opposite side of the standings, eventually winning the pennant by an 8½ game margin and overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the Washington Senators to win the World Series. 1926 was Cooper's last year in the Major Leagues, but he continued his career by pitching in the minors for several years after that. He remains to this day the Pirates' all-time leader in wins with 202.

6. Tiki Barber

Tiki Barber was a running back drafted by the New York Giants out of the University of Virginia. For the first three years of his career he was used mainly as a return man, a third-down back and a receiver out of the backfield, so his rushing numbers weren't particularly impressive. When he became a full-time starter in 2000 however, he emerged as a star and helped the Giants reach the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens. It would be Barber's only Super Bowl appearance. He built up an impressive résumé over the next six seasons, which included three Pro Bowls, three All-Pro selections and the franchise record for most rushing yards.

In 2006 Barber announced that he was retiring at the end of the season. Though still in his prime, he said that his passion for the game had decreased and that he was ready to move on. It came as a surprise to many fans, but he was committed to his decision. The Giants had an up-and-down year in Barber's last season, but their Playoff hopes were still alive going into their final game against the Redskins. With his team needing a win, Barber rushed for a franchise-record 234 yards to lead them to a 34-28 victory. After the Giants lost their Wild Card matchup with the Eagles and he made his final Pro Bowl appearance, Barber hung up his cleats just like he said he would.

The Giants went 10-6 and qualified for the Playoffs the next year. Though most observers didn't see them as a threat to take home the Lombardi Trophy, they did just that, winning three Playoff games on the road and then upsetting the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl.

5. John Franco

The Cincinnati Reds were a perennial second place team during the mid-80's, but those teams are mostly forgotten today. One of the players who helped them stay in the race every year was closer John Franco. After two years finishing games part-time, Franco became the Reds' main closer in 1986. For the next four years he was one of the best in the game, finishing in the NL's top five in saves each time and being selected to three All-Star teams.

After the 1989 season the Reds traded Franco to his hometown Mets for Randy Myers. Myers would join with Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton to form the "Nasty Boys" bullpen corps, and the Reds would win the World Series. Franco would spend the next 15 years in a Mets uniform, and he finally experienced his first postseason nine years after the trade. The Mets made it to the NLCS in 1999 and the World Series in 2000, but both times their season ended with a loss. Franco signed as a free agent with the Astros in 2005, but he was released in July of that year and hasn't returned to the Majors since. His 424 saves are currently 4th all-time.

4. Don Mattingly

Don Mattingly was called up by the New York Yankees in September 1982. Despite coming off a pennant-winning season the Yankees were struggling. The next year Mattingly would get some significant playing time and the Yankees would improve to third place. In 1984 he took over as the full-time first baseman and a star was born. For the rest of the decade he would be an All-Star every year, win five Gold Glove Awards, finish in the top 5 in MVP voting three times (winning it in 1985), finish in the top ten in batting average five times (including the 1984 batting title), lead the league in doubles three times, and win three Silver Slugger Awards. 1987 was notable for two accomplishments: he set a record (later tied by Travis Hafner) for most grand slams in a season with six, and he tied a record held by Dale Long with home runs in eight consecutive games. The Yankees were usually in contention during the 80's, but they always fell short of the Playoffs.

1990 was when things started to go downhill for Mattingly, as he started suffering from back problems. He had the worst year of his career and the Yankees finished in last place. Though he (and the Yankees) rebounded over the next few years, he never reached the levels he did in the previous decade. The only awards he won during the 90's were four more Gold Gloves.

In 1995 the Yankees made the postseason for the first time in Mattingly's career by virtue of the Wild Card. They had a hard-fought five-game series with the Mariners, but in the end Seattle prevailed. Mattingly's .417 batting average and 6 RBI made him one of the hitting stars of the series, but it ended up being his last hurrah. Mattingly decided to sit out the 1996 season due to his recurring back problems and the need to spend time with his family. It was poor timing, as 1996 was the year the Yankees finally got over the hump and won the World Series. In 1997 he officially announced his retirement from baseball, and the Yankees retired his #23. He is the only Yankee with his number retired not to play for a World Series winner.

3. Bruce Armstrong

Can you name the only player who wore the current Patriots uniform design as well as the classic red uniforms with "Pat the Patriot" on the helmet? The only Patriot to play for both Raymond Berry and Bill Belichick? That would be offensive tackle Bruce Armstrong. Armstrong was New England's first-round draft pick in 1987 out of Louisville. He started his career at right tackle and moved to his more famous spot on the left side in his fourth season. He was a warrior, committed to playing every game he could. He started all 12 non-strike games his rookie year despite sustaining a shoulder injury in training camp that required surgery after the season. In fact, the only affliction that ever prevented Armstrong from playing came in a 1992 game when he tore three of the four main ligaments in his right knee. He was out for the entire second half of the season and his career appeared to be in jeopardy, but he came back next year and started all 16 games. Recognized leaguewide as one of the best, Armstrong was named to 6 Pro Bowls and 7 All-Pro Teams between 1988 and 1997.

After the 1999 season Armstrong was released by the Patriots due to his declining skills and his refusal to accept a pay cut. It was seen by many as a classless move, as Armstrong had played through the second half of the previous season with torn ligaments in his right knee, but new coach Belichick saw it as necessary. Armstrong eventually agreed to a one-year deal with the Patriots, but it was clear his time in New England was running out. Though Armstrong wanted to play one more season after 2000, the Patriots didn't re-sign him and he officially announced his retirement in September 2001. The Patriots honored him by retiring his #78 and inducting him into the team Hall of Fame. He remains New England's all-time leader in games played. A few months later the Patriots would win the franchise's first Super Bowl and begin a run that would lead to them being considered the Team of the Decade.

2. Nate Thurmond

One of the most underappreciated big men in NBA history, Nate Thurmond was considered the best defensive center of his era by many opponents. A backup to Wilt Chamberlain as a rookie, he helped the San Francisco Warriors make it to the NBA Finals in the 1963-64 season. The Boston Celtics were unstoppable in those days, so needless to say it wasn't the Warriors' year. Still, Thurmond played impressively enough to earn a spot on the All-Rookie Team. The Warriors traded Chamberlain in the middle of the next season, making Thurmond the new starting center. He finished the year averaging 18.1 rebounds per game and set an NBA record in February with 18 rebounds in one quarter. Over the next five seasons he would never average fewer than 17.7 rebounds per game, including two years averaging more than 20. He helped the Warriors get back to the NBA Finals in 1967, but once again they ran into an unstoppable team, this time the 68-win 76ers. Though Thurmond never reached another NBA Finals with the Warriors, his personal accolades with the team included two All-Defensive First Teams, three All-Defensive Second Teams, and seven All-Star selections.

After the 1973-74 season the Warriors traded the aging Thurmond to the Bulls for the younger Clifford Ray. While Ray didn't quite put up the numbers Thurmond did, he was valuable to the Warriors for his defense and his unifying effect on the team. Thurmond joined a Chicago team that had made it to the Conference Finals the previous season. They were an aging bunch, but they still had one good year left in them. In Thurmond's Bulls debut he racked up the first quadruple-double in NBA history (22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks) and set the stage for the franchise's first division title that season. The Bulls made it back to the Conference Finals and ended up facing Thurmond's old Warrior teammates. The series went seven games with the Warriors emerging triumphant in the end. The underdog Warriors went on to sweep the Bullets in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's first Bay Area title. Thurmond was traded to the Cavaliers in the middle of the next season, where he was part of yet another run to the Conference Finals, this one ending against the Celtics. He retired after the 1976-77 season with career averages of 15.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game. His #42 was retired by both the Warriors and the Cavaliers, and he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985. In 1996 he was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.

1. Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers out of Seattle University with the #1 pick in the 1958 NBA Draft. The Lakers franchise was struggling at the time, but Baylor gave them a superstar that restored their fortunes. With averages of 24.9 points and 15.0 rebounds per game, he easily captured the Rookie of the Year Award. The Lakers had been the NBA's worst team the year before, but he took them to the Finals that year, where they lost to the Celtics. In 1960 the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, where rookie Jerry West joined with Baylor to form what would be one of the NBA's greatest duos for the next decade.

Though Baylor never won an MVP or scoring title, his list of accomplishments is long. He was named to the All-NBA First Team ten times, the All-Star team eleven times, and averaged more than 30 points per game three times. He finished in the top ten in scoring ten times, the top ten in assists six times and the top ten in rebounds nine times. In 1960 he scored a then-NBA-record 71 points in a game. About the only thing he couldn't do was win an NBA Championship. Baylor's teams made it to the NBA Finals a total of eight times, but they lost each one. The Lakers made it to the Finals in 1965, but Baylor didn't play because of a knee he injured in the first game of the Playoffs. The injury carried over to next season, as Baylor had the worst year of his career to date. Fortunately, he bounced back. While he didn't play at quite the same level as before, he definitely reclaimed his status as one of the game's best. Injuries limited him to two games in 1970-71, but he attempted to keep playing.

Early in the 1971-72 season, after Baylor got off to a slow start, the Lakers asked him to relinquish his spot in the starting lineup to a young forward named Jim McMillian. Rather than accept a bench role (and the fact that he wasn't the player he used to be), Baylor retired. As soon as he was gone the Lakers went on an NBA-record 33-game win streak. They finished the season with 69 wins, another NBA record which stood for 24 years. The Lakers made it back to the NBA Finals, but this time they did something they hadn't done during Baylor's career: they won. Baylor finished his career with averages of 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game, and the Lakers retired his #22. He earned induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977, and in 1996 he was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.

Sometimes that elusive championship is so close and yet so far. These players may not have won championships, but none of them should ever be forgotten.

By now we all know that the Golden State Warriors have accomplished a rare feat: they beat the top-seeded team in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. While the Warriors are only the third team in NBA history to do that, this same franchise has dished out several upsets in its time. One only needs to look at history to see that the Warriors often saved their best ball for the times when they weren't favored. By the same token, they've also come up short when they were favored a few times. Let's take a look:

1975. The Eastern Conference was clearly the stronger one this season, with both the Celtics and Bullets winning 60 games while the Warriors led the West with 48 wins. After the Bullets beat the Celtics for the East title, they were heavily favored over the Warriors in the Finals. The Warriors ended up sweeping the Bullets for their only NBA title since moving to the Bay Area.

1976. As defending champions the Warriors looked even better. They went 59-23 to finish with both the NBA's best record and the West's best record by 16 games. Surely the Warriors were headed back to the NBA Finals. The Phoenix Suns had other ideas though, upsetting them in the Conference Finals.

Fast-forward to the Chris Mullin era.

1987. The fifth-seeded Warriors made their first Playoff appearance in ten years and beat the Utah Jazz. This one wasn't a huge upset, as the Jazz' record was only two games better than the Warriors', but they went to the second round for the first time in a long time and got to face the juggernaut Lakers in the Semifinals. They avoided a sweep thanks to guard Eric "Sleepy" Floyd's 51 points in Game 4, but the Lakers weren't to be denied that year.

1989. After missing the Playoffs the previous year the Warriors returned as the seventh seed in their first year under head coach Don Nelson. Again they faced the Utah Jazz, but this time the difference between their records was eight games. Interestingly enough, the Warriors were even more dominant this time, sweeping the second-seeded Jazz in three straight (the series had gone the full five in 1987). As they did two years earlier, the Warriors bowed out in the second round in five games, this time against the Suns.

1991. Coming off a season where they narrowly missed the Playoffs, the Warriors returned as the seventh seed. This time they went up against the Spurs, beating them in four games. Once again they were eliminated in a five-game Semifinal series to a Finals-bound Lakers team. This was the only Playoff appearance for "Run-T.M.C.", the Warriors' trio of high-scoring stars Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin.

1992. The Warriors finished with a 55-27 record and the third seed in the Western Conference. It looked like this young team was finally maturing and ready to move past "spoiler" status. This time though, the Seattle Supersonics did to them what they had done to other teams in the past: made them the victims of a first-round upset.

1994. After another year where they missed the Playoffs, the Warriors returned as the sixth seed with rookie sensation Chris Webber. Even though they were the lower seed, their record was only six games worse than the Suns', who were their first round opponent. There wouldn't be any upset this time though, as the Suns won the series in a sweep. Nelson would be fired as coach next season.

Now this year we've seen the Mavericks go 67-15 and get eliminated in the first round by this 42-40 Warriors team. Nelson is back as coach and seems to be picking up where he left off. Perhaps it was in the Warriors' best interests that they got into the Playoffs thanks to a late-season surge, because if they'd played this well all season they might've fallen victim to their franchise's habit of choking. Will the Jazz or Rockets dispose of Golden State in the next round in five games? Will the Jazz avenge those first-round losses from the 80's? Will the Warriors make it to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1976? There are so many questions to be answered, and we'll have to wait to find out. Stories like these are why I always look forward to the Playoffs.

The Portland Trail Blazers recently announced that they planned to retire the number of former guard Lionel Hollins at their last regular-season game this year (April 18 against the Warriors). Hollins will become the sixth member of the Blazers' 1976-77 NBA Championship team to have his number retired, and the franchise's eighth retired number overall. I know that that championship team means a lot to Blazer fans, but the level of number retirement given to them borders on ridiculous. Let's look at the other "immortals" from that team who've had their numbers taken out of circulation:

Dave Twardzik, #13: Played four seasons with the Blazers. Averaged 9.5 points per game, 3.4 assists per game and 2.2 rebounds per game while playing just 24.7 minutes per game during that time. He was a very good shooter for a 6'1" guard, with a .552 field-goal percentage, but other than that his stats aren't anything special.

Larry Steele, #15: Spent all nine seasons of his career with the Blazers. Averaged 8.2 PPG, 2.8 APG, 2.9 RPG while playing 24.2 MPG. He was a good ball thief, averaging 1.79 steals per game, but again, his stats are nothing special overall.

Maurice Lucas, #20: Had a 14-year pro basketball career, spending 4½ of them in Portland. His Blazer averages are 15.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG. He's one of the better players on this list, but I would've expected a player who had his number retired to play with the team longer.

Bill Walton, #32: The only Hall of Famer on this list, Walton had a good career limited by injuries. In four seasons with the Blazers he averaged 17.1 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 4.4 APG and shot .510. This core of players didn't stick together very long, did they?

Lloyd Neal, #36: Spent his entire seven-year career with the Blazers. Averaged 11.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and .92 blocks per game.

As you can see, most of these number retirements are questionable, as not one of these players spent even ten seasons with the team, and some of them were basically role players. Now they're adding another to the mix:

Lionel Hollins, #14: Spent 4½ seasons in Portland. Averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.4 APG during that time. Pretty good, but hardly great.

It's just my opinion, but if you retire a number it should be someone who played with the team a long time and was consistently productive during that time. If you retire the number of someone without those credentials, he should be someone who meant a lot to the franchise. Like I said earlier, I know that the Blazers' lone championship team means a lot to them, but I have to wonder how much each of those guys individually means to the fans and the franchise. Let's look at another player whose number the Blazers have retired:

Clyde Drexler, #22: Spent 11½ seasons with Portland. Averaged 20.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.7 APG, and 2.07 steals per game over that period. He never led the team to a championship, but did take them to the NBA Finals twice.

That's the type of player who should have his number retired: a Hall of Famer who was the face of the team for a decade. The Blazers can certainly retire any number they see fit, but if I were running things, most of their retired numbers would still be available.

I'm a Bulls fan, and though my team has won six championships, only two players from that era have had their numbers retired: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (unless you count B.J. Armstrong's #10, which was retired in honor of Bob Love). In my opinion, the Bulls have got it right. We don't need to retire the number of everyone who played a significant role on one of those teams. Steve Kerr, Horace Grant, John Paxson, Toni Kukoc, Dennis Rodman, etc. were all important to our success, but retired numbers should be reserved for the elite players.