It’s already common knowledge that Don Shula and the 1972 Miami Dolphins had to cash in their perennial meal-ticket, as they are no longer the reigning NFL team to go undefeated in the regular season. But some other recent farewells have slipped below the radar. French philosophers have lost their God-given right to chain-smoke in public, as a citywide smoking ban takes effect in Paris. In a changing media landscape, two daily papers — the Post newspapers in Kentucky and Cincinnati — have closed shop, ending a 126-year run. On the web, AOL pulled the plug on the Netscape Navigator browser and Wal-Mart abandoned online movie downloads. Macy’s, which recently went on a bender muscling out local favorites and converting them into their own brand of department stores, has announced they are already closing nine stores. Chicago and New York reached historic lows in homicides. And as far as losing all personal dignity is concerned, these four individuals competing to be the World’s Best Couch Potato are all winners.