Two months ago, I would have told you it was impossible. The Columbus Blue Jackets were 5-12-2 and had taken their projected spot near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Since that time, an incredible transformation has taken place and the Jackets are on the cusp of securing their second playoff berth in franchise history. Since February 24, the Jackets have posted a 17-5-5 record and currently hold the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Blue Jackets resurgence this season is a testament to what hard work and belief can do in professional sports. Most would agree that the Blue Jackets are easily in the bottom third of the league in terms of talent and skill, as evidenced by having the league’s worst powerplay. The Jackets are barely breaking even in terms of 5-on-5 goals for and goals against. The key to the team’s success is their effort level, which has been a nightly staple of this team since the first night of the condensed season.

More often than not, a team is only as good as their goaltender and Sergei Bobrovsky has been a good one. The acquisition of Bobrovsky in June 2012 for a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick has gone better than anyone could have ever imagined. Bobrovsky is garnering a lot of attention for the Vezina Trophy for the league’s top goaltender and has even been mentioned in the running for the Hart Trophy for league Most Valuable Player. Bobrovsky is fifth in goals against average, second in save percentage, and is tied for second in shutouts with four. Since the start of March, Bobrovsky is 16-5-3 with all four of his shutouts and just 39 goals allowed in 24 games.

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The contest for top honors at #41 in our series was really a two-man race between a pair of modern era Indians players, as both the Browns and Cavs had nothing but lesser-lights to offer as nominees...with all due respect to Ray Ventrone and Mark West, of course.

Victor Martinez and Charles Nagy were both fan favorites while they wore the Wahoo, and it could be said of both that they were one game away from even greater popularity...even reverence...in Cleveland baseball lore. Martinez was a victory in Game 7 of the ALCS away from making it to the World Series with the Tribe in 2007. And Nagy was one game...make that one half-inning away from a World Series championship a decade earlier in 1997.

In my mind, it’s Nagy by a nose for the top spot...someone’s picture has to go at the top...but your mileage may vary. We’ll give some love to both guys and let you make up your own mind.

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This is one installment in a team effort by The Cleveland Fan, highlighting the top local sports figures by jersey number. Please weigh in with your thoughts on the "Boards". As David Letterman would say, "For entertainment purposes only; please, no wagering"

So, the lasting memory of Bartolo Colon all comes down to which part you chose to remember.  Speaking in the context of the most successful era of baseball the Cleveland Indians ever played, you may see him as the gateway, albeit a brief one, away from the stop-gap measures of free agency and toward home-grown pitching talent to compliment an insanely potent offense in the late 1990’s.  Or, you might remember him as the last piece of that great era, for his departure was certainly the beginning of the end.  Other than possibly LeBron James, no other Cleveland athlete’s departure left quite the same lasting mark that the deal that sent Colon to Quebec did over a decade ago.

At the time, we could know it as nothing more than Colon for Lee Stevens and prospects, but it the future that made us forget the 34 year-old first baseman almost as quickly as we forgot that Tim Drew, brother of JD and Stephen, was also sent to the Expos organization in Mark Shapiro’s first real deal of significance on June 27, 2002.  The careers of Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, and Grady Sizemore would later tell us that the scales probably tilted in the Tribe’s direction for the 17-game rental on the Dominican ace, but that is merely the end of Colon’s story from a Cleveland standpoint. 

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Whoever plotted and carried out Monday’s bomb attack near the finish line of the Boston Marathon did their homework. If you’re going to attack a large sporting event, it’s hard to find an event more vulnerable than a marathon.

The vast majority of sporting events take place within the confines of a venue. Stadiums, arenas, even golf courses, have gates and gatekeepers. Security officials can keep a reasonably close eye on who comes in and who goes out. Bags can be checked, metal detectors can be installed, suspicious items can be confiscated.

Marathons take place in the streets. In the case of very large marathons, like Boston’s, hundreds of thousands of spectators line the streets to watch tens of thousands of runners. The crowd condenses near the finish line, as spectators pack into any available space to watch the winners break the tape, and watch friends and family members cover the final few hundred yards to the finish.

They stand five and 10 deep or more. They climb onto benches and light pole bases to get a better view. Children sit on the shoulders of their parents. It’s a celebration. It’s also a nightmare for anyone in charge of ensuring public safety.

With countless people packed into a small space, the opportunity is readily available for a person with nefarious intentions to hide in plain sight, plant a device, and slip away down an alley or through a building. That is reportedly what happened Monday, as the perpetrator (or perpetrators) allegedly dropped shrapnel bombs in garbage cans lining the race’s home stretch on Boylston Street, near Boston’s Copley Square. Two bombs detonated in rapid succession around 2:45 p.m., about an hour after the winner had crossed the finish line. Two more explosive devices were reportedly found nearby, undetonated.

The explosions injured hundreds of spectators, many critically or seriously. As of Tuesday morning, three people had died.

The attack was a manifestation of physical violence, but we know that terrorism is, at its bare essence, psychological warfare. It doesn’t matter if the perpetrator is of foreign or domestic origin, the intent is clearly stated in the root word: terror. And when we’re jolted out of our relatively peaceful American existence by an attack like this, the terrorists accomplish their mission. We may go on with our daily lives as usual, but our hearts beat a little faster, we tread into unsure situations with more caution, we worry more about the safety of ourselves and our loved ones.

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