#24

Well, I’m back. I must apologize to anyone who has been checking in to see if I had actually written anything. As I sit here in my recliner typing dutifully, I look out across the living room at 5 children (my two plus three extra), none over the age of 4, and realize how family has always been my top priority. So between my crazy work schedule, family parties and emergencies, and life generally getting in the way, I apologize for cutting back on my blog production. Since I’m never really sure what number I’ll type about until I have an introduction in mind, sometimes until I’m halfway done typing out an introduction, I wasn’t quite sure where I was going to go with this one. But then I realized just how long it had been since I had typed a post-- days, weeks even. Twenty-four days to be exact.

#24

a.) Hopefully by now, everyone has heard of Felix Baumgartner. It took millions of dollars and 7 years of planning and research, but on October 14 Felix stepped out of his specially designed capsule and into all kinds of record books. Though technically a research mission to assist in the development of new space suits and other technologies, this was still a sky-dive and that qualifies it for a sports blog in my opinion. Either way, I decide what goes on here and I must say that watching this event live online was one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. I dare say it must have felt like watching man on the moon for the 1^st time. Possibly a little over dramatic, but consider this: Felix set the record for the highest manned balloon flight (128,100 ft.), the highest point of free fall (same height), the fastest speed ever achieved by a surviving human without mechanical means (834 mph, or Mach 1.2), and the 2^nd longest free fall ever (4:19). It’s still hard to believe that a human being fell fast enough to break the sound barrier and survived, plus it happened 65 years to the day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in an airplane. And how does this fit here today? Well, when you convert 128,100 feet, Felix fell for just over 24 miles.

 

 

 

b.) Hall-of-Famer Carl Hubbell was an outstanding pitcher for the New York Giants teams of the 1930s. He won a World Series in 1933, was a two-time NL MVP, a 9-time All-Star, and once pitched 46 1/3 scoreless innings including 4 shutouts. (Incredibly, 18 of those innings were in a 1-0 extra inning shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933.) Carl also holds the amazing distinction of once striking out 5 batters in a row during an All-Star game. But it wasn’t so much the number of batters that he struck out, it was the names of the batters he struck out: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin. All five of these men would become Hall-of-Famers, if not synonymous with baseball. Hubbell notched another amazing streak between 1936 and 1937, when he earned 24 wins in a row without a loss. Hubbell later became the 1^st NL player to have his number retired, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.

Greg Koldziejzyk and his bullet bike.

c.) In July of 2006, triathlete Greg Kolodziejzyk set out to break the 24-hour land distance record. Riding a specially made 70-pound bike equipped with bags for food, water, and, um, his waste, Greg covered 647 miles in 24 hours at a course in Eureka, CA. During the ride, Greg averaged just less than 26 MPH. There really isn’t much to add to this one as the numbers speak for themselves but just for perspective, it is also 647 miles from Albuquerque, NM, to Dallas, TX.

d.) Martin Brodeur is the only NHL goaltender to win over 600 regular season games. Martin Brodeur has played in 1,191 games, more than any other NHL goaltender, and he has done it while playing with only 1 team. Martin Brodeur is the only goaltender to ever score a game-winning goal. Brodeur has won every major award for NHL players except for the Hart Trophy (regular season MVP) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (outstanding player in the playoffs.)  In 2005, a new rule restricting goaltenders opportunities to handle the puck was nicknamed “the Brodeur Rule” because it was believed to be targeting Marty and his excellent puck handling skills. And in April of 2012, Brodeur broke Patrick Roy’s record for playoff shutouts when he logged his 24^th against the Florida Panthers. At age 40, and with the NHL currently in lockout, no one knows if Brodeur will ever have the opportunity to add to his total. But until then, here's a nice tribute to Martin’s Hall of Fame career.