Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Peyton Manning, Marshawn Lynch, Calvin Johnson, and David Ortiz. What do all those athletes have in common? They are all retired or, in Ortiz's case, finishing up his final season.

All those players I mentioned above were the faces of the franchises for which they played, and, in some cases, the faces of their respective leagues as well. Peyton Manning at one time was considered the face of the NFL just like Kobe Bryant was considered the face of the NBA, and David Ortiz at one point could have been considered the face of the MLB.

But I am not here to talk about any of those players, I am here to talk about a legend that is calling it a career and hanging up his cleats. I'm talking about the face of lacrosse: Casey Powell.

Casey Powell hails from a great lacrosse family that most lacrosse fans know as the Powell brothers, which consists of Casey (the oldest), Ryan and Mikey (the youngest).

These three names, when mentioned to lacrosse fans, are the names of some of the best players of lacrosse. And sadly, the last of the Powells called it a career playing in his final game--- this upcoming Saturday, August 6th against the Boston Cannons.

What Casey leaves behind is a great number of accomplishments that really makes me believe he is the best lacrosse player ever, or at least that I have seen. I grew up watching the Powell brothers. They were exciting, fancy and flashy, and they just made watching lacrosse entertaining.

Here are Casey's college accolades: as a freshman at Syracuse, he was a Second Team All-American, and in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, he was chosen as a First Team All-American. Casey accomplished two feats that have never been done in college lacrosse. He earned First Team All-American at more than one position--- he was selected as an Attackman in 1998, and in 1996 and 1997 as a Midfielder. Also, Powell became the first and only player to win the National Player of the Year award at two different positions. Not to mention he won the National Player of the Year two years in a row in 1997 and 1998. Powell also helped lead Syracuse to a National Championship in his freshman year. In his time at Syracuse, Casey wore the famous number 22 jersey, which is given to the best player on the Syracuse team ever year, and seemed to live up to the hype.

After his college career came to a close, Powell spent time playing box lacrosse and really trying to spread the game. Then in 2001, when the MLL had its first ever season, Casey hopped on board, being signed by the Long Island Lizards. He would help lead the Lizards to win the first ever Major League Lacrosse title in the first season. And that wouldn't be the final time Casey would give the Lizards a title. He helped the Lizards win another title in 2003. Following that season, Casey was traded to the Rochester Rattlers in a five-player deal. In 2005, Casey was named to the All-MLL team, and in the first three years of the MLL's existence, he was selected for the All-Star game. In the 2007 season, Powell had a good year and was named the MLL's Offensive Player of the Year for the first time in his career. In 2008, Powell helped the Rattlers capture their first-ever title, giving him his third career title.

After another title, Casey and his brothers sat out the 2009 season, and in fact didn't play again until the 2011 season. He only suited up in two games for the Hamilton Nationals. In that same season, Powell helped the Nationals get all the way to the title game, but he suffered a knee injury in the game and was unable to play in the rest of the game. The Nationals went on to lose that title game to the Boston Cannons. After just playing three games in 2012, Casey announced he was going to retire.

However, in 2013, the Chesapeake Bayhawks took a shot on Casey and drafted him in the supplemental draft, and just like Brett Favre once did, Casey decided to come back out of retirement. But unlike Favre, Casey brought home a title to the Bayhawks and got himself his fourth MLL title. That could have been the perfect way for Casey to sign off.

But, not so fast. Powell wasn't done. In 2014, there was an expansion draft welcoming a new team from Florida called the Launch. In the draft, the Launch selected Casey Powell and Powell has played for the Launch ever since. In the team's first year of existence, Casey Powell was named the MLL Player of the Year for the first time in his career.

As Powell's career is possibly finally over, he leaves behind greatness. 524 points currently good for first all-time, 264 goals, fourth all-time in MLL, and 254 assists, good for second in MLL history, are among his legacy.

The one thing I really haven't talked about is how big of an impact Casey had on the game of lacrosse. He inspired generations of kids to pick up a stick and try to play the game. Casey does a great job of connecting with the fans and interacting with those fans, whether it is via social media or in-person after games.

Casey has been a powerful face of the game. I mean, the first ever lacrosse video game came out this year and was titled "Casey Powell Lacrosse." Powell is still trying to do what ever it takes to spread the game of lacrosse.

So Casey, to you I say thank you for all that you have done in growing and spreading the game. You helped me fall in love with it! So, thank you! Best of luck next year as an assistant coach at the University of Jacksonville!

I leave you with the great Casey Powell highlight video, just to remember how awesome he was.