With music legend Michael Jackson's memorial service fresh in my mind, I can't help but think of sporting legends in New Zealand and internationally who deserve to be celebrated.
Jonah Lomu, someone worthy of legendary status in rugby and in life after recovering from kidney surgery, is attempting a rugby comeback at Marseille.
Some say enough is enough, but Lomu hasn't suggested he is trying to get back into a black jersey (although that might be easier now than it was in his heyday).
He just wants to play rugby, and if people are willing to pay him to be a part of their team because of the interest and publicity he'll bring, then he should take advantage of that.
We've all got to make a living somehow.
Another legend - cyclist Lance Armstrong - is making a strong comeback after three and a-half years in retirement.
The other Tour de France teams and cyclists must be wondering when this freak of nature is going to fade away.
Last time I checked he was in second place in this year's Tour, slowly picking off those in front of him like the main character in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The Texan appears to be more humble and is working as part of the Astana team to help Spaniard Alberto Contador to win.
With seven Tour titles already under his helmet, I'm sure he'll be chomping at the bit to take the lead.
Other legends are revered by thousands early in their careers, as was the case when football greats Kaka and Ronaldo signed with Real Madrid.
I don't know these players personally but they seem to be chalk and cheese when it comes to their public personas.
Kaka comes across as the boy next door, and Ronaldo as a bit of a player, both on and off the field, an image reinforced by his public frolics with Paris Hilton.
Either way, they are both phenomenal.
In tennis, Rafael Nadal's No 1 ranking was snatched away while he slept when Roger Federer became the most prolific winner of Grand Slam titles after claiming his sixth Wimbledon title.
Serena Williams also slammed home her status as a champion player when she outplayed sister Venus in the women's final at Wimbledon.
Why is it, then, that we question the quality of women's tennis because the Williams sisters are dominating at the moment, when we don't question the quality of sports such as golf, which Tiger Woods has dominated for so long?Yes, other female tennis players need to step up to the baseline and perhaps attack the net more tenaciously to match the athleticism displayed by the Williams sisters, but that shouldn't detract from the amazing achievements of Serena and Venus.
Their success is something to be celebrated, especially when you consider that, like Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe, they are trailblazers in tennis for women and African-Americans.
Closer to home, a quiet and humble netballer decided to announce her retirement without fuss at the Canterbury Tactix-Northern Mystics game, which the Tactix fittingly won 63-56.
Julie Seymour is an amazing role model who has proven that athleticism and leadership do not necessarily disappear as we age, get pregnant or have children.
To me, Seymour epitomises all that we would expect from a superwoman, and I wonder how she manages to fit all that she has into her life.
Let's celebrate legends like that more often and do it now rather than wait for some tragic ending or falling-out to acknowledge the efforts and achievements of some amazing individuals in sport.
The lyrics to Michael Jackson's song Gone Too Soon come to mind when I think about how we should appreciate sporting legends while we can, because in sport, where commercialism tends to create a high turnover of athletes, many legends are like a comet blazing across the evening sky.
Gone too soon, like the loss of sunlight on a cloudy afternoon. Gone too soon.
