"It's painful to watch the precipitous decline of gifted athletes, especially ones who ran circles around opponents, leaving them grasping at air.

For years, we basically committed to memory the jukes from Brian Westbrook as he eluded defenders for the Eagles, and the rocket-like speed of the 76ers' Allen Iverson.

No doubt, we took it all for granted, thinking to this day that somehow, some way, Westbrook or Iverson would find that magic in the final minutes to rescue the team from certain defeat.

Then just like that, it was gone.

It's never a gradual decline for stars like these. Think of the painful images of watching Willie Mays play center field for the Mets in 1973, or Michael Jordan coming out of one too many retirements to play for the Wizards in 2003.

The mind is willing, but the body no longer is able.

We have seen this since the Sixers signed Iverson in December. It's not just that he's averaging 13.9 points and 4.1 assists this season, well off his career totals of 26.7 points and 6.2 assists.

It's that the explosiveness that he once had is gone. Iverson can't drive past defenders at will like he used to. So instead, he stops and either passes or pulls up for a jump shot, which was never that reliable even when Iverson was in his prime.

On defense, he's a step slow, so instead of stealing the ball and getting a layup at the other end, he's become like a matador, giving the opponent a free pass to the basket.

Iverson is now on an indefinite leave of absence to be with his 4-year-old daughter, who's suffering from an undiagnosed illness.

But do you really think that if Iverson was at the top of his game that he'd want to take an indefinite leave? This is not to diminish his daughter's illness. But remember, this is a guy who played with a separated shoulder, broken fingers, sprained ankles and an elbow that needed surgery."