Two Well Deserving Gents and Various Records

Two well deserving gentlemen entered the immortal history books of baseball today. Craig Biggo became the 27th member of the 3000 hit club with a five-for-six performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Earlier in the day Frank Thomas became the 21st member of the 500 homerun club with a blast off of the Minnesota Twins. Both of these men have both played out their respective careers with grace and class, a rare quality nowadays; their numbers maybe impressive, but their attitudes and actions both on and off the field will surely seal their fate as hall of famers in Cooperstown.

Which record is more impressive though? Personally, I believe that the 3000 hit club is monumentally harder to join than the 500 homerun club, even though as of right now, there are more members in the 3K hit club. On top of that, Biggio is a second baseman, a position that is not renowned for sluggers and has accrued the most hit by pitches in his career. Thomas will surely enter the hall of fame on the first ballot due to the fact that he has never been connected or accused of using performance enhancing drugs. He is has also hit the most homeruns of any DH in history (248). But as every year passes, especially this year, the 500 homerun club will gradually become less prestigious, but still monumental.

Unless an individual has officially or by their own admission been linked to performance enhancing drug use, I still envision 500 homeruns a sure ticket to the hall. As of right now, Gary Sheffield (473), Manny Ramirez (481), Jim Thome (482), and Alex Rodriguez (492) will undoubtedly join the club this year or next year, which will bring the total to 25 men. In the future other potential members may include Andruw Jones (354), Vladimir Guerrero (352), Albert Pujols (266), and Ryan Howard (100 and fastest to 100). The ultimate measure of the homerun hitter may in fact now be the 600 homerun club. Sammy Sosa (601) became the fifth man ever to hit 600 and Ken Griffey Jr. (584) will join by the end of the year.

On the other hand, only 4 active players are in range of obtaining their 3000th career hit; Barry Bonds (2894), Julio Franco (2575), Steve Finley (2548), Omar Vizquel (2531), and Ken Griffey Jr. (2484). But the likely hood of any of these men obtaining the feet is slim. Bonds may have the best shot if his body holds up (or if he isn’t indicted), but the others, especially Franco (who has been playing since 1982 and is almost 50) will fall short. Young greats such as Albert Pujols may approach the “big 3K,” but predicting such things isn’t an exact science.

Pitching milestones are also on the forefront of MLB records this year. Tom Glavine will be the next man to join the 300 win club, as he is currently at 297 career wins. Randy Johnson, who currently owns 284 career wins, will eventually join the club. But the 300 win club may not be the sure fire measure of electing modern pitchers to the hall. Johnson may be the last 300 win pitcher we see in the live ball era due to the fact that the 5 man rotation is severely cutting down on the amount of wins that pitchers obtain on a yearly basis. Roger Clemens is back in the league for his 24th season, but has only one win this season, which puts him at 350 wins. The ageless Greg Maddux just obtained his 340th career win and very well may reach 360 by the time he retires.

A Disturbing Trend

Today the world found out that Chris Benoit, a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star is dead. Benoit, 40 was found in his rural Atlanta, Georgia home along with his wife and seven year old son. Police reported that Benoit strangled his wife and suffocated his seven year old son (placing Bibles by their bodies) before hanging himself from a weight machine in his weight room. Investigators have yet to decipher why Benoit acted the way he did, but they did find anabolic steroids in the house, which have the potential to cause something known as “roid rage” amongst other issues.

Benoit, a former World Heavyweight Champion was one of the most popular wrestlers in the WWE and was even scheduled to wrestle Sunday at a PPV event, but he called off, citing “personal reasons.” Needless to say, we will probably never know what was going through his mind when he committed this heinous act. Yet, one has to notice the disturbing trend amongst professional wrestlers, specifically the countless names that have died far too young.

Professional wrestling is a tough business, by far the most taxing of any professional sport. Wrestlers are on the road over 300 days a year, not to mention the toll that the sport itself takes on their bodies. Anabolic steroid abuse, pain killer addiction, and other various drugs allow most wrestlers relief from their jobs and pain. Wrestling is a multi billion dollar sport, with viewers from all corners of the world; the risk is big, but the reward is worth the risk to many. Sadly though, many that set out to seek that reward never live to see their dreams come to fruition.

A common side effect of anabolic steroid use is heart disease. Since 1997, at least 20 professional wrestlers under the age of 50, most of which were known or confirmed anabolic steroid users died of heart related ailments. The most recent of which was Eddie Guerro (38), another popular WWE superstar who was found dead in his hotel room prior to an event due to apparent heart failure in 2005. The other frightening figure is that at least 20 more professional wrestlers have committed suicide in a variety of ways since 1997, another common issue with anabolic steroid use and stress.

Vince McMahon, chairman of WWE single handedly turned professional wrestling into the sport it is today. McMahon is known as a ruthless businessman and to many wrestlers, a callous soul who pushes his wrestlers to the limit and then some (obviously). I know that these men and women choose to wrestle; they are not forced into it. But if this disturbing trend continues, I have a feeling that professional wrestling in the U.S. and abroad may die a slow death. Government regulation may be the answer, but first, internal regulation needs to be attempted.

Are We Alone?

That is the very question that mankind has been trying to answer for countless millennia and up to this very moment in our history on this planet. From Galileo to the Hubble Telescope, our view of space has increased ten fold. Can you believe that it was just over 500 years ago that we believe the earth was the center of the solar system (Catholic Church propaganda)? Our current technology has given us an unprecedented view of our world and the worlds surrounding us, but we have a long way to go before we enter the “Star Trek” age of intergalactic exploration. Our view of the universe is still primitive, but progressive and that is what propels us forward in our search for the answer to the ultimate question.

But first, we have to scratch the surface of our own solar system. If you are alive and breathing there is a good chance that you have some basic knowledge of our solar system, i.e. the order of the planets, etc… We are just now investigating one of our closest neighbors, Mars (the red planet) more intensely and will undoubtedly be the first foreign world that mankind will visit. We didn’t get our first close up look at the outer planets until the early 1980’s with the Voyager missions. Voyager 1 is the furthest man made object from Earth (and still “talking”) at the very edge of the solar system, or the sun’s influence. Voyager 1 or 2 may very well be our introduction to a foreign world one day.

Oddly enough, I heard from one of Earth’s “outer cousins” the other night, Jupiter. Don’t worry; I haven’t completely lost it (yet). The next time you happen to find yourself on a deserted highway out in the middle of nowhere (where I’m at) and listening to AM radio, listen closely while browsing through the various stations. Mostly you will hear static, but on the off chance that you hear “radar like sounds,” pecking, pings, or other various high pitched sounds, it is indeed Jupiter “talking.” Specifically it is the remains of Jupiter’s massive 450 million mile magnetosphere. Bet you didn’t know that. Even one of Jupiter’s moons (there are 63 of them), Europa may harbor life in it’s oceans that are locked under ice.

Besides our own solar system, one needs to think even more abstractly to comprehend the odds that we are not alone. Our solar system is located on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, an absolutely massive collection of stars and other space objects. If you think our own galaxy is massive, there are millions of other galaxies out there. Earth is not the center of the universe, Earth just happens to be a planet that happens to have the proper ingredients conducive to life. I’d be willing to bet every dime that I ever make on the fact that there is another planet out there that is swarming with life, maybe even intelligent life. I guess the universe doesn’t revolve around us.

A Review: Death of a President

While carousing the latest line-up of PPV movies early this morning, I came across a controversial cinematic production released in 2006 entitled, “Death of a President.” The best picture at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival is a story addressing the hypothetical assassination of George W. Bush. Originally released only in Canada, the film is a powerful depiction of the times we live in, especially the prejudice that Muslim Americans have experienced since 9/11.

Without spoiling the film for those who wish to view the flick, I will say that it was well done, even though there were a few amusing moments of botched proletarian editing. I am not condoning assassinating a political leader in any way, especially the president of the United States. I live by the creed that one does not have to respect the man in the office. But we should all respect the office of the president of the United States.

Obviously, I am not a fan of George W. Bush’s anomalous foreign and domestic policies, but I do respect the fact that he is president of the United States. It was again the will of the people in 2004 (not mine) that he remain in office for a second term (even though many of those people are regretting their vote); the very core aspect that this republic was constructed upon. The film is a marvelous representation of the frustration that a majority of Americans are experiencing with Bush at the helm of the executive branch.

Ironically, the “assassination” takes place in Chicago, Illinois (my home state), a revered democratic stronghold. I believe that the writers of the film chose Chicago due to that very fact. Through interviews with presidential staff, witnesses, and secret service agents we find out what happened on “September 19, 2007.” I did disagree with the depiction that the secret service, the best armed body guards in the history of mankind (maybe except for the Swiss Guard who is charged with the protection of the pope) was inadequate in the protection of the president.

As I stated earlier, I will not spoil the film. But I would recommend that anyone who feels the way I do about the current direction of the country, should check this flick out.