...Eric believes that nothing will tarnish the new home run record.
755. It’s the most powerful number in all of sports. Not 100, not 63, not 99, not 2,632. Sports starts and ends with the number 755.
This number soon will cease to have any meaning. One man (at the time of this writing, sitting at 753) will have the pleasure of rendering what was the most famous number in sports, at least for the last 33 years, completely obsolete. Now, it could be argued that Barry Lamar Bonds, the future “black sheep” of baseball history, doesn’t merit the title of baseball’s Home Run King, as allegations of steroid use haunt him to this day. And whether or not he actually used performance-enhancing drugs to boost his soon-to-be record-breaking numbers may remain a mystery, locked in the vault of unknown history forever.
When Bonds breaks the record and becomes the all-time home run king, he will be loved by some, hated and persecuted by many, and threatened by many more. But he will have earned the most hallowed record in sports, and until evidence to the contrary arises, no asterisk, blemish, or blip should be put next to his name. After 21 years of constantly fighting off adversity, negativity, and even death threats, Bonds has rightfully earned his place in history as one of the five greatest players to ever knock the dirt off their cleats.
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Thursday, July 26, 2007
When the Record Falls...
Monday, July 9, 2007
State of the Ivy Address - All-Star Break, 2007
Eric uses the All-Star Break to give a status report on his favorite team.
On Sunday afternoon, the Cubs ended the first half of the season the way they started it: in an inferior opponent’s ballpark, with their ace on the hill, losing by five runs. Carlos Zambrano was out-dueled in the season opener in Cincinnati by Aaron Harang, while LSU graduate Shane Youman, in his second start after replacing DL-bound Zach Duke, pitched impressively to earn his second straight win for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs, other than NL All-Stars Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee, will get three days of well-earned rest after winning 12 of their final 16 games to pull within 4.5 games of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. There are 75 games left for the North Siders, and with the All-Star Break in full swing in San Francisco, now is a good time to take stock of this roller-coaster first half of a season, and predict what the future holds.
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