Pushing 50

Tom Brady and me. (And you.) Also, 7 other things worth your time.

Today we’re going to talk about Tom Brady of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but you don’t need to care about football or sports in order to get something out of it.

Let’s start with some sports history, in no particular order:

• In 1980, Gordie Howe retired from the National Hockey League for good. He was 52.

• In 1965, Satchel Paige played one game for the Kansas City Athletics. He was 55. But that was a publicity stunt; he’d retired “for real” from Major League Baseball in 1953.

• In 1997, Robert Parrish played his final game in the NBA. He was just shy of 44.

• In 2006, Martina Navratilova won a share of the mixed doubles title at the US Open, marking her 59th major title at age 49.

• And in 1975, NFL kicker (and former quarterback) George Blanda played his last pro football game. He was 48.

I’m rattling off these numbers to put in context the fact that Brady, 44, winner of seven Super Bowls including last year’s with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is now talking about trying to continue to play until …