The questions have seemed endless in the days leading up to the creshendo that was the Spurs 4th title in 9 years last night.  Are they a dynasty? 

To understand if they are or not, we must first understand what a "dynasty" is.

Webster defines "dynasty" as a succession of rulers of the same line of descent, or a powerful group or family that maintains its position for a considerable time.  The world of sports obviously uses the second definition when throwing around such a powerful word.  Are the Spurs a dynasty?  They are not even close according to Webster.

The key phrase in this definition is "maintains its position for a considerable time".  The Spurs have never even maintained their position as champions for two consecutive seasons.  San Antonio supporters may point out the overall depth and toughness of the West as support for their claim.  The mere fact that they've won the West so many times should count for something shouldn't it?  It does count toward their historical significance in NBA lore, but a dynasty they are not.

Sports fans and writers throw this word around as if it meant, "really good for more than a couple of seasons".  That only cheapens the few real dynasties the sports world has seen.  These are the only true dynasties in sports history:

1 - 1956-1969 Boston Celtics won 13 championships in a 15 year span including eight in a row from 1958-1966.  Loaded with Hall of Fame players, and the NBA head coach of all coaches, the Celtics defined dynasty for the NBA for all time.

2-  1936-1943 New York Yankees won 6 championships in eight years.  This stretch saw the end of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and the beginning of Joe DiMaggio.  Featuring Murder's Row and legendary pitching, the Yankees claimed the fans of New York from the Giants and Dodgers, never to give them back.

3-  1947-1962 New York Yankees won 10 titles in 16 years including five in a row from 1949-1953.  This era of Yankee dominance brought about Mickey Mantle, Maris' 61, Larson's no-hitter, and other moments that live forever in the annals of baseball history. 

4-  1964-1975 UCLA men's basetball cut the nets down 10 times in a 12 year span including seven consecutive titles from 1967-1973.  Jabbar, Walton, Johnson, Wooden, and others decorate the college basketball history books like no one has before or since.  They tought the people of Lexington, KY and the rest of the country what dominance really was.

5- 1956-1960 and 1976-1979 Montreal Canadians won five and four straight Stanley Cups respectively.  "Toe" Blake led the early version to success behind legends like Rocket Richard,  Jacques Plante, and Henri Richard.  Scotty Bowman raised the Cup behind the "new blood" of Guy LeFluer, Ken Dryden, and Rick Chartraw.  The Canadians and Yankees are the team with the best arguement of haveing two seperate dynasties, since some of the players carried over for the Yankees.

That's it.  That's the list.  Any attempt to include others only lessons the greatness of the aforementioned teams.  Many will try to include the Bulls of the 1990's, but the arguement would be better to support Jordan as an individual more than the team.  The two great Houston teams between their three-peats eliminates them from the conversation.  The Rockets were great in the middle, thus ending their run of a "considerable time". 

(Information was gathered from nhl.com, nba.com, mlb.com, and ucla.edu)

As a Yankee fan, I've had the priviledge of watching Mariano Rivera more than most people.  I remember him struggling as a young starter in 1995.  While setting up John Wetteland, he anchored a bullpen that allowed me to experience my first Yankee championship as a freshman in college in 1996.  Since becoming the closer in 1997, he's been on the mound in both my most charished and painful Yankee memories.  He's given up big hits to people like Sandy Alomar Jr., David Ortiz, and Luis Gonzalez to name a few. 

 Mo has also shut down these same men, along with literally hundreds of others in the same time period.  Mariano Rivera runs a close second to Derek Jeter as my favorite Yankee.  Metallica's "Enter Sandman" give me goose-bumps everytime I hear it both at the Stadium and in my car.  Mo is my guy!

It now pains me to publically admit what I've felt has been coming for two seasons now.  Mariano is coming to the end. 

The most remarkable thing about Rivera's career, in my opinion, is that he has had all of this success while basically using one pitch, the cutter.  When he first came into the league, Yankee fans remember, his style was to "stair-step" the four-seam fastball.  Strike one was at the knees.  Strike two was at the belt.  Strike three was a swing and miss at a letter high fastball.  It was about 1998 when the cutter came the pitch du jour, and the rest is history.  Now, sadly, Rivera may be as well.

When a pitcher throws one pitch, usually he's bagging groceries at the A&P.  However, Rivera was nasty enough to make it happen.  Now, the velocity is waning.  The desire to prove something is gone.  As the Barenaked Ladies sang, "It's all been done". 

Now the Yankees have done what they have refused to do in the Steinbrenner era.  They've held on too long to a player because of his past accomplishments.  Rivera hasn't yet had a season that doesn't meet his standards.  This may be the first, and because of that, it may be his last.  What a sad thing to say.

By now, everyone knows that there is no more self-righteous, self-absorbed, and ridiculously arrogant entity in the world of sports than the Baseball Hall of Fame and all that it entails.  It routinely plays God, passing eternal moral judgments on people like Pete Rose, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, and the most recent heathen, Mark McGwire.  Today, two of baseball's most recent saints (and very deserving players) were promoted to the third heaven in the angelic forms of Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn.  No one disputes the fact that these two deserve their wings.  However, who are you, Major League Baseball, to #### the gavel of justice like you know anything about people like Mark McGwire?

Who else shall you shun, oh judge of judges?  Do A-Rod and his imposing figure deserve your ire?  We all know that Rafael Palmeiro will feel your wrath, oh mighty smiter!  Now that Jason Grimsley has proven that your "banned substances" are not limited to hitters, shall you pass your judgment on the great Roger Clemens, whose physical conditioning despite age and years of use, seem to defy the very laws of nature that you so quickly embrace as law.  Have you gotten to the point that all it takes is to be born at the wrong time and you are suddenly guilty because you performed in the alleged "steroid era"?  You are the same people that have embraced casino employees (Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays) in a time when baseball was much more sensitive to gambling.  You have endorsed users of other illegal drugs (Fergie Jenkins among others), womanizers (Babe Ruth), racists (Ty Cobb), drunks (pick a Yankee from the 50's and 60's), as well as many other participants in a variety of moral "transgressions".  Where is your line?  What is your standard?

In the United States of America, as well as Canada (that covers the Blue Jays and Expos), there is a presumption of innocence until guilt is proven.  You obviously are above that!  You can sit on you little perch and call people like McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds guilty, while pronouncing so many others innocent.  The rest of the human race wishes it could be so careless and indiscriminant in its judgments!  Not only are you punishing those who have been proven anything but guilty, but you yourself, Major League Baseball, have perpetuated this very problem!  It's your inactivity that led to the problem you had in the 1990's.  You had labor issues.  Your game was struggling.  So you sold your soul to the needle-packing devil, and now you have the gall to stand and pass judgment on the very people that you needed to survive through your darkest hour?  How dare you?  How dare you?

If all this isn't enough, you've robbed Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken of the greatest day of their individual careers.  Instead of writing about going to Memorial Stadium as a kid and Camden Yards as a teen to see #8, I have to talk about this.  Instead of paying homage to one of the greatest hitters I've ever seen, my generation’s Ted Williams, I'm left to bloviate about the crime and the shame that you have dragged some of your brightest stars through.  Why?  Why have you done this to our game?  If you would've done something about these steroids when you should have, we'd be talking about the greatest Hall induction class since the very first one.  However, we are not!  We're talking about steroids!   I blame you Major League Baseball!  I blame you! 

It seems that just about everyone complains about media bias.  Conservatives hate all of the major news media outlets because they are too liberal.  Liberals hate Fox News and talk radio because it is too conservative.  Moderates hate them both because both are too over-the-top for them.  Everyone agrees that there is media bias no matter what side of the political isle they are on.  However, why do the sports media get a pass?   Outrageous statements, foolish predictions, and pointless comparisons have become par for the course for the sports fan who is simply trying to keep up with the happenings in his/her favorite hobby.  The U.S. government knows that competition in our economy is good, and a company having a monopoly is bad for the consumer.  Knowing this, I wish someone, anyone, would step-up and challenge the “worldwide leader in sports”.  I’m so sick of that network I could scream.  However, what other choice do I have to keep up with the only hobby I’m truly passionate about, sports?  Every night, during that “news” program that they air at 6 p.m., I must watch a stupid top-ten list that I, nor anyone I've ever met, care anything about.  I have to listen to speculation about who had the best draft, who will pitch to Barry, and will Kobe score 60 points tonight.  I have to listen to Sean Salisbury talk about how foolish the Texans are to draft a defensive end over Reggie Bush.  Then, literally 45 seconds later, he is asked "what is the most important position on an NFL team other than QB", and he answers a pass-rushing defensive end.  Doesn’t anyone see how stupid these people are on this channel?  Sure they do, but what other choice do they have?  Earlier this week, the “worldwide leader” had a link to a story on their website that read, “Jeter is no Honus Wagner”.  Who cares?!?  Can we please just watch these guys play and not put them in a historical context?  Derek Jeter is in the prime of his career.  Why do we have to put him in the Hall of Fame already?  Let the man do his job.  Comparing players across generations is impossible.  Sure it’s fun to talk about with your friends, but I don’t want to read or hear about it when this program is supposed to be informing me.  If ESPN was a newspaper, the news would be on one page and rest would be a bunch of bloviating editorial garbage.  So please, someone, anyone, compete with these people.  Fox, CBS, NBC, or someone, give us an alternative.  We need it.  We want it.  If they can support five different channels, I’m sure you can support one.