Justine Henin Retires for Second Time

Former No. 1 Justine Henin retired from tennis for a second time Wednesday, citing a lingering right elbow injury that cut short her comeback from a glittering career that included seven Grand Slam titles.

"I have undergone several tests the past few days, confirming that my elbow has sustained a lot more damage during my adventure in Australia," the 28-year-old Belgian said on her website.

She made the announcement five days after losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 7-6 (8) in the third round of the Australian Open.

"The past few weeks, there was a little bit more pain every day, but I thought my willpower would prevail. Today, the tests and my doctors are adamant," Henin said.

She was ranked No. 1 when she abruptly announced her retirement in 2008, only to return 20 months later and reach last year's Australian Open final. She partially tore a ligament in the elbow in a tumble at Wimbledon last year and hasn't been the same since.

"It is clear now that I have to accept that my career ends for good," said Henin, currently ranked No. 13. "Even if it is hard, very hard, at a time when I came back with enormous fighting spirit."

She had been slated to face the United States in a Fed Cup match along with Kim Clijsters next week.

Henin won her first Grand Slam at the French Open in 2003 and fell in love with the tournament, taking the clay title three straight years from 2005 to 2007. She also won the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2007 and the Australian Open in 2004.

Her comeback last year centered on winning a first Wimbledon title, but instead it became her downfall, crashing on her elbow in a fourth-round loss to Clijsters.

"We have all been fortunate to once again have had the opportunity to witness the beauty of her game during these many past months, and no doubt we will miss seeing her on court competing like only Justine can," WTA CEO Stacey Allaster said in a statement. "Justine Henin will go down as one of the greatest female athletes of her era."

With Henin, tennis loses a finesse player with perhaps the most lethal backhand in the game, and one-handed at that. Petite at just under 5-foot-5 and 126 pounds, she would often struggle in the power game that women's tennis has become but was an underdog people could root for.

Willpower made up for her lack of physical brawn and mediocre serve. Her stubborn determination and clenched-teeth demeanor often made it difficult for fans to love her, especially in a nation enthralled with the carefree and ever-cheerful Clijsters.

Henin acknowledged as much to the fans in her farewell letter.

"If there is one thing I could regret, it is that I protected myself too much and could not be closer to you. I hope you will forgive me," she said.

Gil Meche Retires from Baseball

Kansas City Royals pitcher Gil Meche retired on Tuesday at age 32, walking away from a $12 million salary rather than face shoulder surgery that could have ended his season before it ever started.

Meche signed a $55 million, five-year deal with Kansas City as a free agent before the 2007 season. But the right-hander had shoulder problems last year while going 0-5 with a 5.69 ERA.

There was a chance Meche could undergo surgery and come back in the bullpen. There was no guarantee, however, that he would be able to pitch at all in 2011.


"I didn't want to go try it again for another season and be the guy making $12 million doing absolutely nothing to help their team," Meche said. "Yeah, a lot of people might think I'm crazy for not trying to play and making this amount of money. I don't think I'm ever going to regret it."

Meche's decision drew a predictable reaction from some of his friends.

"I told a lot of people, the first comment when they heard this come from my mouth was, `$12 million," he said. "My first reaction is I'm not a guy who's going to sit here and play baseball for the money. I know you hear a lot of athletes say, `It's not for the money, it's not for the money.' Actually, it wasn't.

"And hopefully this does show a lot of guys do feel the same as I do. Yeah, I've made a lot of money in my career and I know I'm financially good. My kids are good. That's comforting for me. I'm not a guy who's going to go and blow money. The money wasn't ever, ever a factor in my decision."

Royals general manager Dayton Moore said he's never heard of another player making a similar move.

"I think it really reaffirms and validates why we signed Gil Meche," Moore said. "The integrity and the class, and the respect that he's displaying. We appreciate it very much. He's walking away from the final year of his contract. That's very unique."

Meche was the Royals' opening-day starter in 2007, '08 and '09. His best season was 2008 when he was 14-11 with a 3.98 ERA, but the Royals still finished 75-87.

He retires with a 84-83 record in 10 seasons with Seattle and Kansas City. With the Royals, he was 29-39 with a 4.27 ERA in 111 games, including 100 starts.

Meche went 6-10 with a 5.09 ERA in 2009 while limited by back and shoulder problems. He pitched in 20 games last season, including nine starts.

"After a lot of thinking and prioritizing of issues in my life I have decided to retire from baseball," he said. "I want that team to win, and hopefully this helps them."

Shut out of the postseason since 1985 with an overmatched low-payroll team, Royals fans hoped Meche's signing would encourage owner David Glass to begin increasing payroll. To some extent, he did, signing free agent outfielder Jose Guillen to a three-year, $36 million deal before the 2008 season. Guillen, after spotty success in Kansas City, was traded last August to the San Francisco Giants.

Many have tried to trace Meche's decline to June 16, 2009, when then-manager Trey Hillman let him throw a career-high 132 pitches in a complete-game shutout of Arizona.

Soon after, Meche began experiencing back and shoulder problems, and Hillman was criticized for overworking him. But Meche said Tuesday that game had "absolutely nothing" to do with his shoulder problems.

"I would have loved to go out and make this amount of money but I wanted to be healthy at the same time," he said.

Brett Favre Retires (Again) ... In Writing

This time Brett Favre means it -- he's retiring from football ... and he's gone so far as to file paperwork with the NFL saying he's done ... TMZ has confirmed.

TMZ confirmed with the Minnesota Vikings that Favre filed the documents.

Of course, this is just a technicality. The 41-year old future Hall of Fame QB could still decide to return next season -- as he did the last three years.

Then again, Favre's never been this beat up -- he didn't even play in the Vikes' last two games.

So, we gotta ask...