By now, you no doubt have heard the news: there will not be another Brett Favre comeback. Well, probably not: "I really believe this is it," said Favre. "I truly, truly believe it's over. But if someone calls Nov. 1, who knows?" Okay, clearly Favre is never, ever leaving our lives. For now, at least, any attempts at another comeback have been put on hold. But his would hardly have been the first.

Players who have long since hung up their jersey, taken their final jump shot, or thrown their final touchdown pass settle into retirement, and quickly discover that it is...boring (or take a glance at their bank statements and see that those millions they made are quickly disappearing). The itch to return and play again starts small at first, but then grows into an irritation that simply cannot be scratched while fishing, hunting, or owning used car dealerships.

Eventually, it becomes too much to bear and the one-time star athlete sets out to attempt a comeback, and recapture some of that past success. Lance Armstrong just completed his own return in the mountains of France, where he earned a 3rd place finish in the chase for the Yellow Jersey. With Roger Goodell's blessing, Michael Vick will attempt a comeback later this year, and would anyone be surprised if newly elected Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson announced a return to baseball? He certainly wouldn't be the first to do so. But not all comebacks are successful.

In fact, some are downright disappointing. Just ask Dave Cowens, Jim Palmer, or even the Greatest of All Time, Muhammad Ali.

"Honestly, I don't know why I returned." At least Dave Cowens had no exaggerated opinions about his failed comeback attempt.

Cowens, a center, played 10 seasons for the Boston Celtics, from 1970-1980, was the 1971 Rookie of the Year, 1973 MVP and a seven-time NBA All-Star. He eventually retired, but it didn't last long. In 1982, after just one season away, Cowens gave the Association another try, convinced by former teammate and new Milwaukee Bucks head coach, Don Nelson. He appeared in just 40 games, and retired for good at the end of the year.

What is it about Hall of Famers that prohibits them from just walking away? Jim Palmer won three World Series, three Cy Young awards and was elected into Cooperstown in 1990. But still he wasn't satisfied. In 1991, he attempted a comeback, six seasons after he had retired, at 45 years old. While working out at the University of Miami, one of their coaches approached Palmer and said, "You'll never get into the Hall of Fame with those mechanics," to which Palmer replied, "I'm already in the Hall of Fame."

The Orioles felt obliged to give him a chance during Spring Training, but after giving up five hits and two runs in two innings of work, Palmer subsequently gave up on his comeback, and retired.

But it's not just centers and pitchers who hung onto
those dreams of past glory - so too did the Greatest of All Time. Muhammad Ali returned to boxing in 1980 after retiring the previous year. But he could no longer float like a butterfly nor sting like a bee, as he quickly lost back-to-back matches.

In 1980 he fought Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title. Ali was looking to win the title for the fourth time in his career but instead he was handed the first TKO of his career. The following year he lost a unanimous decision to Trevor Berbick and Ali finally called it quits. At nearly 40 years old and close to 60 fights under his belt, it's no wonder Ali could no longer compete with the best, but to see Ali no longer dominant was disappointing to all boxing fans.