A Confession, And A Doorway

I have a confession to make.

And that is that, by and large, I’m a nice guy.

By definition of being a nice guy, that means that I tend to be a fairly affable person, try to be kind, considerate, and personable.  I try and treat others with humanity, and be the best type of person I can be.
And that works well, in particular for other people.  For myself, not so much.  And that is partially my fault.  In my eagerness to try and be kind, try and be helpful, try and do the right thing, I wound up only hurting myself.  I tended to be over eager, too willing to do what the other person wanted to do, and be more of what the other person liked.  The result was often friendships and relationships with people that were more than willing to let me handle the entire load.  And why not?  I had presented myself as being an awfully convenient subservient entity to them.  I was the perfect helot to their Spartans.  And all it really led to was hurt and heartache.

I also have a social anxiety disorder, one which can be paralyzing at times.  It results in me having trouble meeting new people.  As such, time passed, with myself having more and more of a need to meet new people through other friends introduction, feeling more and more alone at social gatherings, and a feeling on inadequacy, as I would look at a group of friends I wanted to approach and join in with, or at a particular woman who caught my attention, but couldn’t muster up the courage to approach her.

And this lasted for fucking years!

After my most recent heartache, which I am still attempting to move past, and am having a fair amount of success on doing, I decided to start trying something else.

I decided to change….or at least, try to change to a certain extent.  I cannot change completely who I am.  In a way, that would be murdering myself, which would be a tragedy of sorts, because I actually am happy with the type of person I am, my interests, and most of my ambitions and plans for my future.  And that isn’t the problem.  It’s how I act around people, and how I approach them.

The first item on the agenda is to overcome my social anxiety.  I’ve been approaching, introducing myself to random strangers, and by and large discovering that my irrational fear of being loudly and verbally rejected is not the case.  Rather, a good many people are actually like me: fair and decent.  Granted, some of them are bastards, but the good comes with the bad.  It all depends on focusing on the good, similar to when I’m doing a sketch and see a line, a curve, a shape that works, and ignoring or eliminating the bad, which is when I erase something that doesn’t work.

The second is to be less accommodating.  Be a little more selfish in terms that I should only extend help to those that deserve it, and try not to go out of my way for someone, not when it’s completely unnecessary, or for a reason that isn’t simply altruistic or genuine.  Simply put, I should do it either because I really love that person, or because it's good for the soul.

And so, here I go.  I'm going to try and rewrite my own personal script of sorts.  And I'll be sharing the progress, observations, and other adventures and shenanigans here.

My Continued Infatuation With Oh My Goddess!

When I was a stupid teenager, I fell fast and hard in love with anime.  It wasn’t hard to see why, as American animation, save for the DC Animated Universe, was in severe decline, and still is to a certain extent, no matter the amount of effort [adult swim] tries to convince you otherwise.  There was also a huge amount of exceptional anime out when I was in my teens as well.  I had my choice between the Gundam series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rurouni Kenshin (the Samurai X mini-series remains my favorite bit of animation ever made), as well as any number of other quality programs.  The original Dragonball series was beginning to hit in Mexico, and was a fun program, and even it’s much darker and less plot concerned successor, Dragonball Z, was excellent with it’s Spanish voice acting.  Ranma ½ was a quality series, and two other series, Hanna Yori Dango (Boys Before Flowers, which could outdo any English teen drama in terms of plucky heroines and social issues) and Trigun, which was really the last great anime I watched.  Oh, it was fun times, and great series’, many of which were watched with my little sister, who enjoyed the heck out of these programs as well.

Then, well, everything went to hell.  Several successor programs coming out of Japan began making their way here, and really, once the focus began to shift more on merchandising, and less on content, the quality of anime making its way over just crashed.  I also grew older, and found many of the series’ coming out to be more focused on cheesecake and fights than on the story (I’m looking at you, Bleach!)  Eventually, I returned to the world of comic books, which had greatly improved since my teenage years, and abandoned the world of manga and anime altogether.

Except for one series, which remains a must follow for myself, even today.  Kosuke Fujishima’s masterpiece, Oh My Goddess!

Oh my Goddess, to put it bluntly, follows the story of a young college student, Keiichi Morisato, who accidentally calls the Goddess Relief Line, and given the opportunity to make a wish for anything he wants.  He accidentally winds up wishing for his goddess representative, Belldandy, to stay with him forever.  The wish is granted, and throughout the rest of the book, it details Keiichi and Belldandy falling in love, and their different adventures together as the years pass.  They are later joined by Belldandy’s older and younger sister, Urd and Skuld, who cause their own amount of mischief, for their own reasons.

It sounds simple, sounds so lame, and yet it’s quite engrossing.  Unlike most male protagonists, in comics from both sides of the Pacific, Morisato is an everyman, and not someone who is blessed with exceptional fortune, luck, or powers.  He simply is what he is, and that’s a good man who seeks to persevere and follow his dreams.  Belldandy is the all powerful, beautiful woman at his side, who is supportive and loving of the man she accidentally remaining with.  The supporting cast have their wacky quirks, but all at their core are fairly decent people, with the exception of the series’ few antagonists.

Like several other series creators, Fujishima pulls double duty in the series, doing both writing and illustrating.  In terms of artwork, you see the progression of Fujishima’s skills as time passes in each issue.  The beginning episodes are rather crude, when you look at them for the first time, and feel very busy.  However, as time passes, you see that constant repition and work have resulted in an ever improving style, and a steadier hand.  When you now look at the more current issues, you see that Fujishima has managed to create a beautiful, simple, but expressive style throughout his works, that feels visually pleasing, and compliments his writing well.

Fujishima’s style, so unique to him, was also one of the main reasons why I started learning how to draw.  The simple and beautiful renditions of Fujishima’s characters was so lovely and so pleasing to the eye, I wanted to see, could I try and do that.  Could I be able to draw similar to this man whose work I adored?  I look back and only say, “Foolish child.  Everyone’s work is unique.” And that was before I discovered other artists who I admired, actually received training on how to draw, and began to have conflicting schools of thought when I drew, resulting in my current hybrid style of work that is still very much in transition that you see in my artpage.

But, in the end, what continues to draw me into reading scanned and translated copies of Oh My Goddess online is that almost cheerful wholesomeness told throughout each issue.  It is, at it’s heart, a love story between two really nice people, and the surrounding people in their lives. While the story can at times trend a bit towards the dark, love does conquer all, and people at their heart are wonderful, nice, caring, and peaceful, in spite of their own little quirks.  And, in the end, it’s that lovely warm, kind little world that I’m drawn back to.  Maybe it’s too optimistic, or too simple, but in the end, it all comes down to one central reason why I continue to hold onto this series, years after I’ve by and large abandoned anime and manga as a whole:

Because I love it.

Kony Protest Methods Have Worked Before

My brother and I have an odd relationship.  Sometimes, we can have long and extensive debates about the weirdest of bullshit.   Other times, we are quite in sync with each other, and can have a fairly polite, opinionated, and intellectual conversation.  Yesterday was one of those moments.

Two things can be taken from that conversational piece:

1. My brother is a devilishly handsome son of a bitch.
2. Protests that garner public attention do work when it comes to bringing evil people to justice.

The Kony video, to boil it down to its basest components, details the rebel leaders numerous atrocities, puts a face to his victims, as well as features a call to action.  While the video does oversimplify the numerous other problems in the region, as well as does not call into question the government’s role in not stopping, but allowing an environment where such a man can exist, it is quite a powerful video.  And it’s effort to call the attention of the world through protests (which are beginning to form, judging from my Facebook events list) and the use of the media to call the attention of the powers that be to action against a horrible man reminds me of another incident like this that occurred several years ago.  In the case, it’s the efforts of Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, which eventually brought about the extradition, trial, and conviction of Klaus Barbie.
Barbie was a Nazi war criminal, whose actions while serving as the head of the Gestapo in the region resulted in the deaths of up to 14,000 people, earning him the nickname the Butcher of Lyon.  Barbie would later work for the United States as an intelligence agent after the war, spying on the Soviet Union in Germany before eventually taking advantage of the Nazi Ratline (Wikipedia lists it as US built line, while other sources have it listed as ODESSA).  Barbie would work for various South American dictatorships, including Argentina and Bolivia, running guns as well as serving as an advisor.  The 2007 documentary My Enemy's Enemy also raises the possibility that it was Barbie that helped orchestrate the capture and death of Che Guevara.

In time though, Barbie would be hunted by the Klarsfelds, who are a rather interesting couple.  Serge was a Romanian Jew who lost his father to the Holocaust.  Beate was the daughter of a German soldier who, after moving to France and meeting Serge, decided to go to action against former Nazi leaders.   Their methods and some of their actions, to this day, remain controversial to a lot of people, both in and out of Germany.  However, in my opinion, they were very much in the right in going against Barbie.  The Klarsfelds pursuit of Barbie took place over two decades, both in the legal and public areas.  Beate oftentimes flew alone to the countries where Barbie was rumored to be hiding.  Similar to the recent Kony video, which details the atrocities of the rebel leader, Klarsfeld detailed Barbie’s numerous atrocities in a series of interviews with the print and television media, as well as organizing protests in front of government areas.  The protests were often alone, though as time wore on, she did see a swelling of support.  She also gave a bit of a face to the crimes Barbie perpetrated by having a mother who lost three of her four sons to Barbie’s programs and policy along with her on a few of the protests.  Often times, she was arrested, and due to their actions against hunting not just Barbie, but Nazi war criminals in general resulted in death threats and a failed car bomb attack.  In spite of that, the message did spread, and public awareness and outrage escalated over the war criminal, who was protected in part by the military regime at the time, in their midst.  In 1983, with a change in the regime in Bolivia, Barbie was arrested and extradited to France.  He was eventually put on trial, and in 1987, Barbie was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity, where he died four years later.

In closing, the use of media isn’t a new thing.  While you may question the motives, or even the organization broadcasting said message, the message itself is fairly clear.  It’s meant to draw attention to an unpleasant and perhaps evil man, and to try and stop him.

Cereals From My Childhood

I'm a bit of a breakfast cereal nut, specifically cereals that come from my childhood.  So, I thought in this post, I would go ahead and cover some of the more famous breakfast cereals I remember my parents bring home from the grocery store.

Cocoa Puffs

My favorite of these cereals, and more than likely the only one of the only ones that is still around, Cocoa Puffs is absolutely awesome.  Who doesn’t like a caffinated, chocolate cereal that turns the milk into chocolate milk?  No one, that’s who!  One bowl of this and you were jittery and energetic for the rest of the day.  Cocoa Puffs was the original energy drink, before the wonders of taurine and guarina were discovered.  I still buy Cocoa Puffs from time to time, but it’s strictly a late night snack food, and not the breakfast food it was designed to be.  Then again, who really thought that a cereal made from chocolate was a part of a balanced breakfast.  Again, no one.

Count Chocula

Now here’s the king of all cereals right here.  Take everything that I said about Cocoa Puffs, and then do something that makes it even awesomer:  add chocolate marshmallows to it.  Holy hell, I loved this damn cereal, though it wasn’t widely available.  That made it all the more awesome, as this was a rare and elusive treat.  I will say that I do prefer the more menacing looking Count on the box art, and not the kinder, more p.c. friendly one that was featured a few years ago.  I used to pick this up when I saw it, but it’s been years since I’ve seen a box of Count on the shelves.  I’m afraid that this vampire might have finally been staked.  He’s still more awesome than Edward Cullen.

Update:  According to Wikipedia, Count Chocula is now strictly a limited run, with him, Frankenberry, and Boo Berry only being made in the Fall-Halloween Season.

Frankenberry

The Count’s good buddy, he was a pastel pink Frankenstein whose cereal was essentially the same thing as Count Chocula, but flavored strawberry.  This was my sister’s favorite cereal when she was a kid and whenever my parents brought it home, it would promptly disappear.  I was never a fan, though, and years later, when my sister found a box of Frank at the local Wal-Mart, she said that she wasn’t anymore either after a nostalgia bowl.  Perhaps the reciepe had changed.  Or, like some things, the product tasted a lot better when you were a kid and less discerning.

Lucky Charms

Lucky Charms was actually a big favorite around the house.  The actual cereal itself always struck me as essentially bastardized Cheerios, but you didn’t get this for the cereal.  You got it because of the marshmallow bits.  And there in lies my current problem with the cereal.  How many times are you going to continue screwing with the marshmallow lineup?  Seriously, they could never leave the damn cereal alone, and probably should have stopped after they introduced the red balloons.  I have no idea now what’s in and what’s out of Lucky Charms, nor do I have any inclination to buy a box and find out.

Honey Smacks

This was bought on a few occasions, but there was a reason why we stayed away from it.  First of all, the frog was slightly demented looking.  Second, this cereal had the look of rabbit turds when you poured it out into your bowl.  Yummy!  Third, you had better eat this crap quick, because once the cereal and the milk started to interact, it would create a mushy, overly sweet concoction that would cause near instant diabetic comas.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  The Cereal!!!!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were quite possibly one of the biggest phenomenon’s of the late 80’s-early 90’s.   The toys were everywhere, of all variations, and Michelangelo’s mug was plastered everywhere from toys to bed sheets to evening wear.  So yeah, the cereal was blatent corporate whoring at it’s finest, or worst depending on whether you liked the cereal.  In essence, it was standard lucky charms style marshmallows combined with chex (or as the bastards called them, crunch ninja nets!).  I do remember Pizza marshmallows being added later.  There was never any prize package that I remember, just some cheap filler on the back of the cereal.  At the very least, I would have appreciated a cut out mask from the back of the box that I could have run around and gotten into trouble with while wearing.

Trix

Here’s how old I am now.  I still remember Trix before it was made in cutesy little fruit flavored shapes.  Back in my day, Trix were generically colored balls, which was cool.  It made your cereal look like a ball bin at the McDonald's playplace, except without that feet smell to it.  That said, Trix was cool, though you gradually felt a pity for the Rabbit, who was continuously denied the opportunity to enjoy the cereal that he had so lusted after.  I do remember they finally gave him a bone and let him have a bowl of the damn cereal, which promplty resulted in him going into sugar-induced rampage.  He never had the cereal again.  Though I did love Seth McFarland’s take in Family Guy with the Japanese Trix Rabbit, and his reaction to being denied the cereal.

Bill And Ted’s Excellent Cereal

One step above the Turtles Cereal, this was also a bastardized lucky charms gone wrong.  The only real difference were the shapes, and the marshmallows were meant to look like muscial notes.  It wasn't that great, as it went stale quite quickly.  No prizes except for the cassette case that you could send away for, which was made to look like the Bill and Ted phone booth.  Granted, it was cheap light blue plastic, but god damn it, I wanted it.  I never did get it, and no amount of Jose Cansecos could get other kids that got to carry their cards in this thing could convince them to part with it.  Lucky bastards.  I just completely went off on a tangent.  Moving on….

Sigh...

Batman:  The Cereal

Being the fan that I am, you knew this was going to make the list.  This came out around the same time as the movie came out.  I actually loved this cereal, as it kind of had a Captain Crunch type vibe to it, and in the shape of something supposed to be a bat.  Plus, some boxes came wtih a Batman coin bank, molded in the form of Michael Keaton in costume, his gericurl mercifully hidden from view.  This would later evolve into the Batman Returns cereal, before disappearing.  Pity.

The Nintendo Cereal System

This was actually two different cereals, and also paid kind of a homage to the Dual Pack game cartridge that you got with your NES console.  One cereal was Super Mario Themed, but instead of Duck Hunt:  The Breakfast, you got a cereal based on the Legend of Zelda.  I do remember having some sort of cards that came with the cereal, but I don't remember if it came seperately inside of if it was a cop-out prize that you had to cut out from the back of the box.  Everyone remembers the Mario side of the cereal, which had a Trix like taste to it.  I’m one of the rare people that did have a fondness for the Zelda side of the cereal, which had kind of a bastardized Crunchberries taste to it.  Surprisingly enough, there are still boxes of this sold on the internet.  While it would make for a nifty collectors item, I would strongly advise you to hold off against consumption.

Shredded Wheat

My Mom did bring this a few times to the house, for reasons still known only to her.  Shredded Wheat is the bland older brother to the much more popular and exciting Frosted Mini Wheats, which are universally beloved.  In case you need to know what the hell it was, it was this roughly Walkman sized bale of wheat that you poured milk over and, essentially took scoups out of.  It was the basest of nutrition that you could possibly have, and perhaps one of the only foods that you can really say does not have any flavor whatsoever.  This was not a favorite of mine or my sister, and I think my father also had a hate of this abomination, as it was soon never seen again in our household.  Thankfully, I haven’t seen this in ages, so it’s possible that this was mercifully and quietly put down.

Croonchy Stars

The last cereal on our list is a Muppet Show tie in, with the Swedish Chef's own cereal.  That is the appropriately phonetically incorrect Croonchy Stars, which was essentially Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but in tiny star shapes.  I have to admit, this cereal was awesome, and didn't have the same milk sogginess that CTC suffers from.  Unfortunately for the chef, it only was out for a year, and then it was gone.  Pity.

Well, thank you for coming with me on my trip down memory lane.  While I'm sure there were plenty of other cereals I did try, these tend to the be ones I remember the best, for good and bad reasons.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Batman: The Cult. A Graphic Novel Review

Published In 1988

Written By Jim Starlin

Art By Bernie Wrightson

Despite my different rantings posted here about books, food, booze, and music, I’m a comic nerd at heart.  It was the first real illustrated and creative medium I was exposed to, and it’s the one thing that I can always say has influenced me in terms of other creative pursuits that I’ve done.  When I first began to try and write, it was with the influence of the iconic writer Jim Starlin in my mind.  When I first began to draw, Jim Aparo was in my head.

And so, I’ll be covering a series of graphic novels in my little soapbox on the internet (last I checked, it was Irish Spring).  If nothing else, it can serve as a sort of recommended list for you all if you have a lot of time to kill at a Barnes and Nobles, and are interested in reading something other than the vast amount of martyred trees that now are emblazoned with how you can get six pack abs in seven days or Oprah’s latest favorite things.

In Batman: The Cult, the story follows two different rises and falls.  The first is that of Deacon Blackfire in Gotham City, whose teachings have led him to acquire a large band of homeless people who have begun to met out their own vicious and bloody brand of social justice.   The second is that of Gotham’s iconic defender, the Batman, who while investigating Blackfire is captured. Batman, after a lengthy captivity in which he does suffer torture, brainwashing, drugging, and extreme dehydration and food deprivation, does indeed succumb to Blackfire’s teachings and becomes a willing convert.

Blackfire steps up his campaign to take control of the city, assassinating politicians and nearly assassinating Commissioner Gordon, who must be hospitalized.  The police, then the National Guard prove to be ineffective as the city descends into anarchy, until finally Martial Law is declared and the city is sealed off.  Batman is found by Robin, and only the sight of nearly seeing his apprentice nearly murdered does Batman take action.

After a short recovery, and some self reflection, Batman and Robin enter the city, where they engage in minor urban warfare against Blackfire’s followers.  They also witness the numerous examples of chaos, looting, careless murder and human depravity that have been done in the absence of authority.  Batman enters the sewer, where he bests Blackfire in combat, but does not kill him, eventually breaking the evil preacher and leaving him to be destroyed by his horde of followers, who have become so used to bloodlust that they find themselves overcome by it.

When I first picked up Batman: The Cult, I wasn’t expecting too much, with it being rendered into the bargain bin of my local comic shop.  Instead, what I found is a dark, vicious, but engrossing story that kept me glued from beginning to end.  This is classic Jim Starlin writing, who has crafted several of the most iconic Batman stories from the Bronze Age.  When you wanted a Batman story written, Starlin was the man.
In terms of overall tone, Starlin frames the story well, writing it as a disjointed, disturbed narrative.  In fact, the story itself begins with Batman hallucinating, with the rest of the story filled in as flashbacks and personal narratives.  The entire graphic novel is chaotic, and it shares a great deal in common with the Christopher Nolan films.  Another similarity to the Nolan films is that by and large, the villain is much more realistic.  A man walking around in a freezer unit: not Chris Nolan’s style.  A insane preacher pushing to spread anarchy over a metropolis?  Very much so.  Just as in The Dark Knight, Batman himself is forced to travel to the ends of human endurance and sanity in order to try and stop the threat.

The artwork is fantastic.  Berni Wrightson’s work reflects the disjointed and maddening tone meant to be told in the story.  From the different pastel colors used to illustrate Batman’s hallucianations, the red toned water colors used to illustrate Batman’s return to Gotham and his discovery of the carnage that has been inflicted, to the peaceful, neutral colors used to illustrate the brief interlude at Wayne Manor, where Bruce attempts to patch together the broken pieces of his soul, Wrightston worked hard on this project, and pulled it off spectacularly.

Starlin’s writing perfectly captures the Dark Knight’s descent into madness, as well as his eventually mental collapse.  During his captivity, Batman is constantly exposed, through brainwashing and neglect, to Blackfire’s message, preaching justice, but at the cost of a great deal more brutality than even Batman is willing to go.  Over time, even Batman succumbs to the vicious gospel being preached, even to the point where he violates his own principles.  He uses a gun, something he pledged never to do because of how his parents were murdered, and he takes a life. Granted, while the murder itself was committed while Batman was hallucinating (he thought it was the Joker), the fact that even his principles and judgment could be compromised so much haunts Batman.  So much so that even after he regains control, it takes him some time before he can recover from being broken.

The Cult is also one of the few appearances of Jason Todd as Robin, the much maligned successor to Dick Grayson, the original Robin.  While the majority of Todd’s appearances as Robin from his post-crisis introduction show him as a angry youth determined to push the limit, while his subsequent appearances portray him as little more than an annoying idiot, The Cult is different.  Starlin, who would later script Todd’s demise in A Death In The Family, portrays Todd as a competent crime fighter, a loyal assistant, and, refreshingly, a genuinely caring human being.  It’s quite refreshing, and is perhaps the only real favorable presentation of Todd in comics other than his appearance in Gotham County Line, which also shares some similarities in tone with The Cult.

Blackfire himself is quite the character.  He is portrayed as a charismatic, energetic, and high manipulative leader, seeking to push his ultimate agenda of achieving power, chaos and destruction.  While Blackfire does spread a story about being an immortal Indian shaman who discovered the secret of eternal youth, whether or not he truly was or this was simply a part of his scheme is left up to the reader.  For a one shot villain, Blackfire is remarkably effective, and instantly loathable as you see him go from cult preacher to the leader of a violent army.  Seeing his ultimate end is rather satisfying as you see Batman earn a bit of payback by breaking the evil preacher, then watching as his hoard turn on him.

All in all, The Cult is a wonderfully satisfying tale to read from beginning to end.  While it’s not normally found in Barnes And Noble, a few dog eared copies appear in Barnes and Noble on occasion.  Give it a shot if you read it.  It’s darkly good.

Ten Unbreakable Records In Sports

With yesterday being the anniversery of Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game, and the question of whether or not the record will be broken (I think it will, as Kobe almost did it a few years ago), I thought I'd post ten records I don't think will ever be broken.

Cy Young’s Win, Loss and Complete Game Total

• Wins:  511
• Losses:  316
• Complete Games:  749

No player will ever be a bigger winner, loser, and horse than Cy Young.  Let’s begin with the complete games.  Young threw 749 complete games, the most among any pitcher.  There is no way in hell this would be broken.  In Young’s day, not only were offenses a lot worse, and the mounds a lot higher, but the rise of bullpen specialization in baseball means that this is never going to happen again.  Managers nowadays are trained to give the ball to their closer for the final inning, no matter how well a player is pitching.  Not only that, but in Young’s day, pitchers were generally allowed to pitch through their mistakes, allowing them to take credit for their effort, or own up to their mistakes.  This in turn, impacts the win total for pitchers.  Nowadays, the starter is usually pulled by the manager at the first sign of trouble.  With fans and industry people wondering if even 300 wins by a starting pitcher is even possible anymore, there is no way that a pitcher can even get within shouting distance of Cy Young’s record.

The Iron Men Streaks Of Brett Favre and Cal Ripkin Jr.

• Favre:  297
• Ripkin:  2632

We’ll start first with Favre, who officially retired last year in 2010 in a year marked by injury, ineffectiveness and pecker photos.  Football is a grueling sport, and with there only being 16 games each year, it’s astounding that Favre was able to remain active and playing for as long as he did.  It’s safe to say in a league where it’s acronym is amusingly and truthfully said to stand for the phrase Not For Long, that nobody is going to reach Favre for a long, long time.
Ripken’s streak of 2632 games is perhaps even more impressive.  While baseball is not as physically taxing as a football game, keep in mind that football at the very least has close to a week off in between games.  Baseball has virtually no off time, so if you have even a moderate injury, you are essentially screwed, as you have to miss time.  Plus, with the amount of money in contract that is paid out to baseball players, very rarely will a team allow a player the risk of aggravating said injury into something severe.

Boston Celtics 1959 to 1966 Championship Run

• Championships Won:  11

Like the Yankees in the 50’s and 60’s, the Celtics were equally nasty in the 60’s, winning 8 straight championships.  No one will ever achieve this again.  In any sport.  Simply put, the games have changed.  For starters, there are more playoff rounds now in all sports than there were in the earlier part of the last century.  It’s much harder for a team to run the gauntlet, especially in multiple seven game series.  Second, free agency has changed the landscape of sports.  Players have much more freedom to leave, and plus with the amount of money paid out to players in terms of contracts, it’s not feasible for teams to keep entire squads together year after year.  Plus, the competition is just better now.  Front offices are smarter, player evaluation is better, and bigger, richer teams aren’t able to take advantage of smaller teams as badly as they used to.  To go back to the baseball example, the Yankees virtually used the Kansas City Athletics as a farm team in the 1950’s and early 1960’s.  That can’t happen anymore.

Nolan Ryan’s Career Strikeout Total

• Total:  5714

Nolan Ryan is possibly one of the most enduring starting pitchers in the history of the sport.  While he is often lambasted for having a career win-loss record around .500, Ryan spent much of his career pitching for some horrid Angel and Astro teams.  Ryan’s career path was much more based on comfort of his surroundings, rather than championships (though he did win one in 1969, with the Miracle Mets).  It’s highly possible that if he did choose to chase championships, Ryan would probably have a lot more wins.  Ryan’s career strikeout record of 5714 is far and away the most ever by a pitcher, and still light years away from the second person on the list, Randy Johanson, who clocks in at 4875.

Nolan Ryan’s Seven No Hitter

There are several hall of fame pitchers that have gone their entire careers without recording a No-Hitter.  Ryan did it seven times in his 27 career, with the Angels, Astros and Rangers.  That is astounding, especially when you consider that the next highest pitcher on the list is the immortal Sandy Koufax with four.  There are teams that don’t even have seven no hitters in their entire existence!  Safe to say, this record appears safe, though it’s possible that Justin Verlander, the current favorite to pitch a no-hitter any time he’s on the mound, could surpass Koufax.

Emmitt Smith’s 18,355 Career Rushing Yards

Smith’s all time record of 18,355 rushing yards is another one that’s going to stay unbeaten, at least for a while.  Again, like Young’s records, this is also due to changes in the game.  Smith played from an era when every team typically went with a one back system.  Running backs were typically coveted, and were locked up for long periods of time.  Nowadays, running backs are among the most disposable positions in pro sports, with teams employing multiple backs, and notorious for axing a back once he outlives his usefulness.

Bill Russell's 11 Championship Rings

Like the earlier Celtics mention, this will never happen again, for the same reasons mentioned earlier.  First of all, you would need to have an excellent franchise player stay with said successful organization.  Second, said team will have to have a unprecedented run of success and one of the savviest front offices in their sport.  Of any franchise since then, only the Jordan and Pippen Bulls could match this distinction, and they’re not even within shouting distance