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LIKE FINE WINE Tom Brady celebrated his 40th birthday last week like no one before him. Having won a fifth NFL championship ring and a fourth Super Bowl MVP at the age of 39, the New England Patriots quarterback has shown no signs of aging even as he inevitably gets older. Here are some of the active fortysomethings in sports, along with all-time greats whose careers stretched into a fifth decade: BASEBALL: Bartolo Colon, 44, is the oldest active player in the majors. But he is 2-9 with a 7.70 ERA. Ichiro Suzuki, five months younger, is a reserve outfielder for Miami. Carlos Beltran is a role player at 40, but for the best team in the AL. None of them is going to make anyone forget Satchel Paige, who, because of the color barrier, didn’t reach the majors until he was 41. He stuck around for five seasons, and then made a one-shot appearance at the age of 58. BASKETBALL: When you’re 39, like Manu Ginobili, every game can be your last. So San Antonio fans gave him a huge cheer when he was pulled from the playoff game against Golden State that eliminated the Spurs from the Western Conference finals. But Ginobili, who turned 40 a week before Brady, is coming back for a 16th season with his only NBA team. Vince Carter, already 40, will be back with his seventh team. They’ll have to keep it up to catch Hall of Famers Robert Parish, who played well after his 43rd birthday, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who started every game of his final season at the age of 42. HOCKEY: Jaromir Jagr, 45, is looking for a team after finishing his 24th pro season with the Florida Panthers, when he played every game and scored 16 goals with 30 assists. But the king of longevity on the ice is Gordie Howe. Mr. Hockey finished in the top 10 of the NHL MVP voting every year until he turned 41. He took one more spin around the league, scoring 23 goals, and then took a few years off before a comeback with the World Hockey Association that brought him to the age of 50. He made another comeback in the NHL at 51.