THE ROOKIE
3 OLDEST ROOKIES IN SPORTS HISTORY
Have you ever felt that fate meant for you to take a different path than the one you took? In some fields, making that change is possible, or even common — as any law student can tell you, where the “average” age of students is in their 30s. But other worlds, like the world of professional sports, are less welcoming to those over 25.
ethics of chewing up football players for three years and spitting them out, all in the name of entertainment, consider the case of another similar story that was turned into a movie, that of Vince Papale — played by Mark Wahlberg in “Invincible.” Of course, Papale — whose flag football prowess in his late 20s overrode his lack of college ball experience — signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1970s. Modern football has come a long way, critics will argue. But there’s no denying the old-school toughness and tenacity Papale showed in making it to the NFL. NBA player Pablo Prigioni’s career was twice as long as either Morris’ or Papale’s was, with four years in the big leagues starting in 2012 at age 35. But basketball is arguably less demanding on the body than football and even baseball if we look at the potential damage major league pitchers can do to their throwing arm. Their careers may not have been the stuff of dreams, but these three men showed something we all like to see: tough players hanging on long past their “prime.” And they lived the dream — if only for a while. We all love that!
Which only makes for a better story when it does happen, of course.
That’s what Jim Morris discovered when he signed with a Major League Baseball team in 1999 after his 35th birthday. Morris’ life became the subject of the 2002 Dennis Quaid movie “The Rookie,” filmed just after Morris’ major league career had ended. You might think that two years is a short time in the majors, but hey, you try throwing 98-mph fastballs for hours a week, 104 weeks in a row! Besides, the careers of pro athletes aren’t nearly as long as icons like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning would have you believe. The average MLB career may be a few years longer than Morris stuck it out, but in the NFL? Most players make it less than three years and quit, depending on the position. While you’re meditating on the
Is a Second Opinion From a Traffic Attorney Worth It?
When someone has a medical condition, you often hear, “Did you get a second opinion?” This is also true in the legal industry!
They know the court staff and judges and how they operate. They know many of the law enforcement officers (LEOs) who work in that area.
Should you hire a friend or family relative who is a lawyer? Yes, of course, provided they typically practice in the area of expertise you require. Hiring “Cousin Vinnie” to represent you in traffic court does not make sense if he practices divorce law. Many assume a lawyer is a lawyer. However, that’s as impractical as saying a doctor is a doctor. If you hire a psychiatrist to take out your appendix, things could go terribly wrong. The same is true of hiring a divorce lawyer to handle your speeding ticket; you could wind up paying a significant fine and a higher insurance premium, even though someone else initiated a road rage incident and you were merely trying to get away from them. Although Cousin Vinnie might be an excellent divorce lawyer, he might not do so well raising “reasonable doubt” about your reckless driving.
Therefore, if the LEO who arrested you doesn’t appear in court, they know to ask for a dismissal because you are entitled to confront your accuser. Likewise, a good traffic ticket attorney knows what to ask in regard to the circumstances surrounding your ticket, how much they charge (a flat fee or per hour), and to ask if you are willing to accept a reduced charge. Often, a reduced charge could cost you the full amount of the traffic ticket, but if there are no points, then you could save hundreds if your insurance premium does not go up. At Bigger & Harman, we are industry experts at traffic tickets in California. Don’t hesitate to give us a call for the second opinion you need!
Their time spent in traffic court benefits you and the traffic attorney because they hear thousands of cases similar to yours.
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