The re-booting of Generation X cartoons and a true “golden age” of characters…

Why are we so interested in retelling the legends and myths of our youth.  For thousands of years, mythology has been told and re-told in various stories of heroes.  In one generation, the heroes are without fault and the villains are pure evil.  In the next, the heroes are faulted individuals who must battle their own demons and an evil that appears to be a force of good on the surface.

Granted, the cartoon of Generation X (starting in the 1970s and going into the early 1990s) aren’t the first to have their mythology revised and reborn in numerous ways.  And yet it interesting to note that only a handful of the cartoon characters from our generation are recognize as some of the greatest of all time (at least according to a TV Guide survey in 2002) compared with the mid-to-late 90s successors like the Powerpuff Girls, Rugrats, Spongebob, and Cartman.  And yet, how many times have these cartoons of our generation been celebrated and reborn.  Spiderman, X-Men, Transformers, He-Man, GI Joe, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Inspector Gadget, and Voltron are the obvious examples of Generation X cartoons that continue to dominate our psyche and continue to be re-created with new takes on the original storylines—mostly without the critical acclaim.  Now you can add Thundercats and Smurfs to the list of re-created cartoons as Cartoon Network has re-booted the Feline series and the tiny blue creatures have hit the big screen.  The Hub network even shows classic Transformers, GI Joe, and now Jem and the Holograms.

Growing up as a Transformers fans in the 1980s, I have been fascinated as to how the story continues to be retold in new ways.  Since G1 left the airwaves in 1987, we have seen Beast Wars and Beast Masters, Robots in Disguise, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron, Animated, and now Prime as new creations of the old storyline.  That doesn’t even count the three live action movies or the Japanese storylines (such as Headmasters that just reached US shores).  I have my favorites (Beast Wars/Machines was probably the best storyline) and least liked (Animated somehow had to insert every character into the story and did so horribly), but overall I’m happy that Optimus is still Optimus, no matter whether as a tractor trailer, fire truck, or “Primal” ape—and that he deserves to be on the Top 50 list of Greatest Cartoon Characters of all time.

We all have our favorite 1980s cartoons.  What’s yours?  Maybe one day we will see the 1980s cartoon get the respect they deserve and recognized as a golden age of character creation.  I just don’t know how many re-boots its going to take for critics to see how special our cartoons were…

A Dream Poker Final Table

The World Series of Poker has just started the $10,000 WSOP World Championship Main Event on what has been a surprisingly successful WSOP.  I say surprisingly because of the fact that many of the players who might have played in the Main Event have been shuttered out thanks to the U.S. Government shutting down the top 3 Poker Gaming Sites in the country.  That shut down and its effects has led to top poker player Phil Ivey boycotting the entire WSOP and others to reconsider playing in the Main Event of the WSOP.  We do not know who will comprise the Final Table to be held in November in Las Vegas, but we will begin to find out live on ESPN2 and ESPN starting Thursday.  Still, the events of this year’s WSOP has led me to wonder… if there was a final table made up of the greatest poker players in the WSOP era (which began in 1970), who would be the 9 players at that table and how would they be seated?

After some quick thinking, I believe I have comprised a dynamic Final Table, which would be must see TV in any era.  So let’s reveal the table in order of seat position (not to be confused with where they might rank):

Seat 1:  Johnny Moss—One of only two players who can lay claim to 3 Main Event Titles, Johnny Moss’s 9 WSOP Bracelets make him a must have at the Table.  Moss played back in the period when few players could afford to play for the title, so in today’s Internet age, it would be doubtful in Moss could be successful.  Still, he was the WSOP’s first true Superstar, even if he was past his prime at the beginning of the WSOP in 1970.

Seat 2:  Chip Reese—Chip played very few WSOP events in his life, but the fact that he is regarded as the best high stakes cash game player in the modern poker age at any discipline gives him a spot at this table.  That and the fact he won the very first $50,000 HORSE tournament in 2006, the forerunner to the Poker Players Championship.  In fact, the trophy for this WSOP Title is the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, a testament to how much this player was respected by the poker community.

Seat 3:  Erik Seidel—Erik is one of the greatest players never to win the Main Event title, but he’s done just about everything else.  Erik’s 8 WSOP Bracelets brings him to this table.  He closest chance to the Main Event Title when he finished 2nd to Johnny Chan.  Seidel is still dominant and the recent heater he has been on in 2011 show even today he is one of the greatest players in poker.  Speaking of Chan…

Seat 4:  Johnny Chan—“The Orient Express” was the first player to win 10 WSOP bracelets and was the last player to win back-to-back Main Event Titles in 1987 and 1988.  Johnny’s playing skill was immortalized in the 1990s movie “Rounders”, where Matt Damon broke down Chan’s final hand with Seidel.  At his prime, few players could match wits with this Hall of Famer.  One of those few stopped him from winning 3 Main Events in a Row in 1989, and that player is sitting next to him in Seat 5…

Seat 5:  Phil Hellmuth—The “Poker Brat” became the youngest champion of the WSOP Main Event in 1989 beating Chan heads-up.  He held the youngest Main Event Champion distinction for almost 20 years, and during that time, Phil has gone on to win a record 11 WSOP bracelets, cashed a record 84 times, and holds the all-time record for Final Table appearances.  His greatness is tempered by his temper, especially when he takes a bad beat and also by the fact that all 11 bracelets are in Texas Hold’Em.  He claims if it wasn’t for luck, he’d win all the bracelets and he frequently belittles his opponents.  There is one player, however, that would even intimidate Phil...

Seat 6:  Stu Ungar.  The original “Kid” in Poker, Stu Ungar is the other 3-time WSOP Main Event Winner.  And he was dominant when he was at his best.  There is no question that in this day and age of Poker, Stu would dominate.  The 1997 Main Event is a perfect example of Stu at his greatest.  However, drugs and a hard lifestyle led to his early death in 1998.  Had Stu not encountered drugs, it’s safe to say, he might have 15 bracelets and a 4th Main Event Title.  Stu may have even staved off the Internet boom for a couple of years.

Seat 7:  Scott Nyugen.  If you’re going to have any player play behind Stu, it has to be “The Prince of Poker” Baby!  Scotty succeeded Stu as Champion in 1998, and talkative style and imagination makes him the final player at this table.  Scotty is also the only player in WSOP history to win the Main Event and Chip Reese trophy when he won the 2009 $50,000 HORSE event, although that title was tainted by his unusually angry demeanor at that final table.  Still, you need Scotty at this table to provide some light-hearted trash talking.

Seat 8: Phil Ivey—Considered “The Tiger Woods of Poker”, Phil has dominated the poker game at many disciplines and stakes. Phil is the only Superstar of this group to have been a part of the WSOP November Nine, and his 8 bracelets at such a relatively young age makes him a threat to become the all-time bracelet winner one day. Ivey can intimidate even the best players in the game.

Seat 9:  Doyle Brunson—You really thought I would not include a Final Table of Greatest Poker Players without the Living Legend, “Texas Dolly”?  Brunson is one of the biggest reasons Poker is popular.  His book, “Super System” is the foundation for many of today’s Superstar players.  He is well-respected in the game.  Oh yeah, he’s won 10 WSOP titles, including back-to-back in 1976 and 1977.  So, it’s only appropriate he gets Seat 9.

So how would this Final table go down?  Here’s a likely scenario… 

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The action at the dream Final Table began fast and furious as many of the all-time greats jockeyed for chip advantage.  Early on, Phil Ivey was eliminated when his A-K was eliminated Stu Ungar, who turned 9-7 suited into a straight.  Almost immediately following Phil was Erik Seidel, who still can’t solve the mystery of Johnny Chan after Chan’s A-10 cracked Seidel’s pockets Queen’s.  Phil Hellmuth followed shortly after.  After being constantly raised and outplayed by Stu Ungar, Hellmuth picked up pocket Jacks, only to be eliminated by Ungar’s pocket Kings.  Hellmuth left muttering under his breath about how Ungar couldn’t play the game the right way.

Johnny Moss was eliminated next.  His tight style was no match for the wild play of today’s players, but he was eliminated by fellow peer Doyle Brunson when the A-Q couldn’t crack the pocket 10’s of Texas Dolly.  Scotty Nyugen was knocked out next.  Despite giving Ungar havoc after Hellmuth’s elimination, Nyugen ran into Stu holding pocket Aces at the worst moment.  Scotty tried to bluff with 8-3 off suit, but got caught.

Down to 4 players, Chip Reese was the next elimination as Johnny Chan’s A-Q bested Chip’s A-J.  Then Doyle Brunson was eliminated when he tried to win holding his favorite hand, 10-2 off suit.  Stu saw that hand coming, and his pocket 9’s survived.

So it came down to heads up with Ungar holding a 3:2 chip edge over Chan.  After a ferocious final table that went back and forth with the chip lead changing hands 12 times during a 6-hour showdown, Ungar finally picked up A-4, then caught the wheel straight on the flop.  Chan’s pocket sixes failed to improve and Stu ended up with the Title of Greatest Poker Player of the Modern Era.

The day when the World met the Peachtree Road Race…

In Atlanta, the 4th of July has meant one thing… one of the world’s best 10K road races, the Peachtree Road Race, is run through the streets of downtown Atlanta in the early morning hours.  Begun in 1970 with just 150 runners, it has grown to well over 60,000 elite and weekend runners racing from the city, nation, and world.  Most of the runners are interested in getting one prize:  the T-shirt that every runner who completes the race gets.  That’s not to say there is prize money involved, and it has drawn the best in the world in the hopes of conquering the 10K hilly course.

For the Walker family, the Race for many years was an annual tradition.  Although my immediate family never raced in the Peachtree, we got many T-shirts through our volunteer work with the Atlanta Track Club, mostly under the leadership of Julia Emmons.  My father volunteered in the 1980s and 1990s, usually working the area around the Colony Square Hotel.  For 7 of those years, I worked with my dad, and both of my sisters also assisted in the race, either pre-race or during the race.  One of cousins ran the course three times, placing in the top 500 in his first trip back in 1981 and being invited to the 1982 Peachtree Road Race.

In the early years, the Peachtree was dominated by American runners, winning 12 of the first 13.  In 1976, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution became the title sponsor of the race.  With the Peachtree T-Shirt firmly entrenched to anyone who finished the race, the Peachtree expanded to 25,000 runners as many people wanted to finish and achieve the coveted wear.  The best American runners started competing in the event.  Between 1979 and 1981, Craig Virgin of Illinois won the race each year, setting the then-course record of 28:03 in 1981.  No other male runner has won 3 Peachtree Road Races. 

It was against this backdrop that an international field started to show interest in the competitive race.  Little was known about the international contingent.  It was rumored that runners from Kenya were invading the Peachtree field, but very little was known about how good these runners really were.  In 1982, the city of Atlanta would get a glimpse of the potential.

That Sunday Morning was a confluence of events.  With my cousin running in the competitive division, my dad volunteering in his first Peachtree, and the biggest threat to Virgin’s dominance, my family gathered near the finish line in Piedmont Park.  It was a long wait, and we first had to cheer on the first ever wheelchair race into Piedmont Park.  As we closed in on 8 am, the first runners began to approach the finish line.  It was clear that Craig Virgin was not in the lead group (he wore 1 in the race), but it was 2 Kenyans and an American battling for the title.  In the end, the American John Sinclair won the race, but the Kenyans had served noticed.  From that moment, Kenya dominated not just in Atlanta, but everywhere.  They were here to stay and one year later, Michael Musyoki won the Peachtree, beginning the Kenyan winning machine that continues to this day.  Musyoki would also become the first runner to break 28 minutes in the Peachtree, winning the ‘85 race in 27:58.  As for my cousin, he struggled in the race and failed to finish in the top 500.

It’s amazing to look back and see that we were seeing the future of long-distance racing on that Sunday morning.  But now looking back, I am proud to say I was there when the Kenyans first invaded the Peachtree and showed the world a glimpse of the future.