Debating Sports Records Mark Purdy, sports columnist for the San Jose Mercury News in California, compiles a list of sports records that he believes will never be broken and a separate list of records that he thinks are soon to be eclipsed.

« UCLA’s dominance of NCAA men’s college basketball in the late 1960s and early 1970s will never be matched.

With John Wooden as coach, the Bruins went from1967 to 1973 without losing a tournament game.

Wooden built a dynasty around a system that stressed team play and solid defense, anchored by standout centersLew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton.

The Bruins’ ten straight appearances in the Final Four (1967-1976) will alsobe tough to top, given that today’s college players tend to leave school early. Wayne Gretzky’s 894 career goals With play in the National Hockey League (NHL) slowing down and becoming more claustrophobic, today’s goal scorers have to fight through stick-checks that inanother era would have been called hooking penalties.

Even if the ice suddenly opens up, it’s doubtful we will see a man who could match Wayne Gretzky’s scoringtouch night after night for 15 seasons or more, which is what it would take to catch him. Records that won’t last Jack Nicklaus’s 18 major golf championships Once upon a time, observers regarded this record as a mountain too high for anyone to climb.

Then along came Eldrick (Tiger) Woods, who brought a whole new setof tools with which to climb the mountain.

Woods captured five major golf titles by age 24, which means that he should break Jack Nicklaus’s mark of 18 majorseasily by the time he reaches 40.

The only things that could stop him would be injury or a bad love affair. Johnny Vander Meer’s back-to-back no hitters It’s a wonder this baseball record still stands.

Vander Meer, a good but not spectacular pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, threw consecutive no-hitters in June of 1938.No one has done that before or since.

Granted, the pitching in today’s game isn’t what it was 50 years ago, but the best pitchers—such as Randy Johnson and GregMaddux—are clearly a level above the rest.

One of them will catch fire for a week or two and finally pull alongside Vander Meer.

Or pass him by throwing three in arow. Margaret Smith Court’s 24 Grand Slam titles As women’s sports keep producing tougher competitors with better coaching and fiercer attitudes, Margaret Smith Court’s record is bound to go by the wayside.

Ifthey stick around long enough, one of the Williams sisters, Serena or Venus, could be the one to do it. The Chicago Bulls’ 72-victory season The 72 wins the Chicago Bulls racked up in 1995-96 astonished many basketball fans.

But people were equally amazed during the 1971-72 season when the LosAngeles Lakers went 69-13.

The Bulls, who lost only ten games in their finest season, deserve full credit for their consistent excellence while performing under themagnifying glass that Michael Jordan created.

However, assembling a superior team in the NBA is easier than ever because a team just needs two or three superstarplayers.

A few decades ago it took four or five players with superior abilities who played as a team to get the job done.

Don’t be stunned if a team wins 75 games oneof these seasons. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.

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