"756" Tuesday August 8th, 2007

Again as I mentioned awhile back this month is pretty hectic for me so the Monday updates will be replaced by filler when I can get them done. This was another sketch that I made and turned into a full fledged drawing. I think Jules has come a long way since she first appeared way back in Chapter two. I feel Dave has come along as well, but he's lacked significant screen time since Chapter 3. Hopefully this will change in the upcoming weeks and months. Dave and Julienne are officially NS's first couple so I hold their relationship in high esteem. Look for it to continue to evolve as the story continues.

Okay, now I shall bore all of you with some baseball talk so for those of you who have no interest in such endeavors you may skip the rest of this rant...

Though he will never know, I still want to offer Barry Bonds all the congratulations on becoming MLB's new Home Run King. I was watching the game using MLBTV online even though the game was being shown on ESPN. I can't stand the ESPN announcers since they care more about the record than they do the game. At least the usual Giants TV announcers, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow talk about the actual game. I mean sometimes the ESPN announcers were so busy talking about something and miss plays. They'd be like "oh, and Omar Vizquel gets a hit.". Either way I'm glad I was able to hear Kruk and Kuip give the homerun call over the guys at ESPN. Plus it wouldn't have been the same had I not been watching the game with them calling it.

At any rate I'm not about to get sucked into the controversy surrounding the record. I'm not about to let people to take this joy away from me. You can count me as one of those people who will NEVER forget where he was, what he was doing, what the day had been like, what the game had been like, what it felt like to watch the historic home run. Maybe Giants fans are forgiving or looking the other way, but you couldn't beat being a Giants fan last night. Maybe A Rod will one day pass Barry, but regardless of where he does it, it'll never be like this for his home team's fans. Barry was born to be a Giant. He grew up from the area. His dad was a Giant. His godfather was a Giant. Giants fans accept or forgive Barry Bonds because he is a part of the Giants family. When Bonds signed with the Giants and left the Pirates, it felt like a son was coming back to the Giants family. Plus Bonds' signing helped keep the Giants in San Francisco when then owner Bob Lurie almost sold the team to some shmucks in Florida. (Those shmucks eventually got an expansion team and no it wasn't the Marlins). At any rate for a Giant fan, this record became something it had never been to anyone.

The home run itself was no wimpy dinger. It was as good as any Bonds home run I've ever seen. I won't forget it. It started with two balls and then a called strike. The next pitch was one Bonds JUST missed and fouled back for strike two. The next pitch was a ball. So then with the count full, you could almost feel it. Bonds had already gone 2 for 2 in the game. He was dialed in. Kuip called Bacsik (or however you spell his name) pitching with "here's the pay off..." and then Bonds ripped one foul again. Watching the replays, I always forget he fouled off the 6th pitch. You can hear the fans all cheering "Barry! Barry!" right before the next pitch. Chills. Then the Kuip calls the deal and you could see the location it was right in the inner middle of the zone and Bonds just crushed it. As a Giant fan, I've seen Barry hit a lot. You get to the point that whenever he makes contact you sort of think "maybe this is a homerun" regardless of how he hits it. I will tell you this. As soon as I saw Barry connect and that gall fly off screen, I knew the record was his. I mean there was no mistake. It wasn't one of those bloop home runs. This was a Barry Bonds lightning quick hand speed swing as his back leg kicks forwards to add power to it all launched BOMB. From there all I can tell you is that I was clapping like a mad man.

I just remember Kuip doing his awesome call with more power than I ever recall, "AND BONDS HITS ONE HARD... HITS IT DEEP... IT... IS... OUTTA HERE!!"

Then the whole celebration was awesome. I imagined that if the Giants ever win the World Series it would be like this, only better. Until then, this will do. I thought the video message from Hank Aaron was very classy and I think Barry was very happy to have been acknowledged by the Hammer. It was also great to see Willie Mays out on the field I think the part that got me is when he got choked up during his short message to the fans, his teammates, his family, and the Nationals. It was when he spoke to his dad and just couldn't get what he wanted out, till he managed to say thank you for everything. I mean even as a Giants fan you never, ever see Bonds almost lose it or get choked up. I think the way the Giants handled it was very classy and very respectful given that the game was not over.

Now I would be remiss as a Giants fan in saying that if I ever get to meet Kevin Correia in real life, I will beat him senseless. I swear every time I see that clown come in to pitch in relief, he coughs up the lead. So yes the Giants ended up losing the game and ending what could have been a storybook type of scenario in which Bonds 756 was also a game winner.

At any rate, I think what we saw tonight was Barry at his best. During the game AND off the field. If it was any other day he would have left the press conference once someone brought up the steroid thing. Instead Barry just said that he didn't want to talk about a negative thing when it was supposed to be something historical and should be respected. I mean I wish I could be more eloquent about this entire experience, but I am so amped up that I still can't put what I want to words. So again I wanted to thank Barry Bonds for what was probably the second most exciting baseball moment in my life. You will always have my support as a fan.

I think that's about all I got for now. I really wish everyone could be this excited, but again even if there was none of the controversy, unless you are a Giant fan, you can't understand how awesome this was.

"Where in the World is Misaki Yuki?" Contest Details

1. Here is the link again to the Misaki Yuki picture... High Res or Low Res. Download it and print it out. It should fit on a regular sheet of paper.

2. Take a picture of yourself, some friends with the Chibi Yuki, or just the Chibi Yuki in front of a local landmark with signage clearly visible.

3. Email me the picture at River@ninja-spirit.com.

4. If your entry is picked as a winner, I will contact you and ask you for shipping info so I can mail you your prize.

I think that's all I got for now. I am going to NJ to pick up my cousin's daughter at the airport first thing in the morning and I'll probably be spending time with her throughout the weekend. I hope you are all enjoying yours and I will see you hopefully on Monday.