"The Braves brass summoned the proud old pitcher to a private meeting, one of those high-ranking huddles where nothing good ever happens.

They dropped the news on him like a falling baby grand.

Whatever the words were, this is what the pitcher heard: You've had a great career, old sport. You've meant the world to us. Yadda, yadda. But you're useless to us now. Gotta get younger. You're so yesterday. Nothing personal. And don't let the door hit you on your wrinkly backside on the way out.

"That hurt bad," said Phil Niekro, the Hall of Fame knuckleballer who at 44 was cast off by the Braves at the close of the 1983 season. After 25 years with the organization, no less. "I thought I was going to end my career with the Braves.

"What struck me is that they [then-owner Ted Turner and then-GM John Mullen] said, 'We know you can still win, we know you can still pitch in the major leagues, but we're going to go with the youth.' "

What, you thought Tom Glavine or John Smoltz invented the whole wounded-icon genre?

Practically no one is immune to the ugly ending in the sports business. No matter how long and how well the athlete might have served one team, no matter how much goodwill he generated, chances are good he one day will face a bitter last act.

There is a litany of such controversies throughout Atlanta sports history.

Good grief, the greatest of Hawks, Dominique Wilkins, was sent off to the Elba of the NBA - the Los Angeles Clippers - just so the Hawks could rent Danny Manning for a few months in 1994.

Today is all about transitions. Yes, the Braves already this year have parted unceremoniously with two of the cornerstones of their long run of titles, Smoltz and Glavine. One a noted postseason performer and most versatile arm these Braves have known. The other, a World Series MVP who one-hit a fearsome Cleveland lineup for eight innings in winning the last game of 1995.

Yet, the team Sunday afternoon also trots out Tommy Hanson, whose major-league pitching debut is being treated like a Hollywood premiere. It is believed, however, the Braves will forego rolling out a red carpet from the dugout to the mound.

Enjoy every moment, kid, because there are any number of one-time Atlanta stars who will tell you the career is too brief. And there often is a crash waiting at the finish."