Maxx Wolfson

I was depressed last night.

I realized I was getting old, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I have reached the age: 20, I turn 21 in less than three weeks -when players I grew up watching are beginning to retire.

Last night was the final basketball game for one of my favorite players of all time: "Thunder" Dan Majerle.

He is not the first childhood hero who has retired in my two decades of sports watching - Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Pedro Guerrero, Sedale Threatt, Robert Brooks, Reggie White, to name a few - but Thunder Dan is one I will always remember.

I think the reason I took such a liking to Majerle is because he was somebody I imagined myself being if I ever made it to the NBA. I mean, I could do no-look passes on the playground, but, no matter how many I could do, I would never be Magic.

That's the thing about Majerle: Every 6-foot-something white kid with a good shot pictured himself being like the sharp-shooter from Central Michigan.

He was white, a great shooter, loyal, slow, injury-prone, would dive for loose balls - all qualities that made him a fan favorite.

Last night, he ended his 14-year career in the same city where it all began: Phoenix. The Suns played the Dallas Mavericks last night, and he was given the start at a position where his career all started, as a shooting guard.

I have never been a Suns fan, but there was always something about Majerle that made me cheer for him and just for him. As many times over the years that the Los Angeles Lakers punked the Suns in the playoffs, Majerle was always the guy knocking in the last second shot to beat them.

The most recent time was in 1995, and he did it twice. One of the shots was in the fifth and deciding game in the first-round series between the two teams.

Even though the Lakers lost, there was still something inside me that was happy for Majerle.

The often-injured shooter has played with three different NBA teams in his career - Phoenix (twice), Cleveland and Miami - but was always a Sun at heart.

The three-time all-star signed a one-year deal with the Suns in the off-season so he could end his career with the same team he started it with. There's loyalty in Dan the Man.

Age has not only caught up with me, it has also caught up with Majerle. He was the prototypical shooting-guard for his entire career. He was able to slash to the basket and also able to step out and hit the 3-point shot - until this season.

Majerle was unable to stick with the quicker, more athletic two-guards in the league like Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Jason Terry and Vince Carter, so he moved to power forward where he used his added bulk to bang with the bigger players.

He had become the Suns' best option at the position with injuries to Tom Gugliotta, and received playing time over Alton Ford, Bo Outlaw, John Wallace and Jake Voskuhl.

The most classic Majerle moment was his dunk over 7-foot-7 Manute Bol, which didn't count because there was a charge called on the play. Fourteen years later, he still denies that it was a charge.

I had a friend growing up who idolized the 6-foot-6 player more than I did.

He had jerseys, posters and even a personalized autograph, one that he treasured more than his Sandy Koufax one.

I tried calling him last night, but he did not answer his phone. I assume he didn't want to talk to anybody because he felt the same way I did: old.