MLB Going Overboard with the Shift

Picture of Paul Goldschmidt taken by Daniel Millhouse

A trend occurring in Major League Baseball is currently being used too often and to the point where it could even be detrimental to the teams. The shift.

These days, teams are stacking one side of the field with extra fielders to cut down on the possibility of hits falling in for particular pull hitters. Most of the time the shift is applied to left-handed hitters because teams are nervous to pull the first baseman too far from his base. When a lefty steps up to the plate, a shortstop (sometimes the third baseman) will shift over to where the second baseman would normally be set up at. The second baseman would then shift over to shallow right field to prevent line drives and bloops from falling in.

Now the shift isn't a new concept. It was applied in the 1920's against Cy Williams and once again used against Ted Williams in 1946. In the 1990's, current Cubs manager Joe Madden who was a bench coach for the Angels back then, asked the Angels manager Terry Collins if he could apply the shift against Ken Griffey Jr. and the rest is history.

Sabermetrics came into play as well as every mathematician started analyzing spray charts of hitters and coming up with ways they believed to stop pull hitters. Early adopter of sabermetrics, general manager Billy Beane saw his Oakland A's have some playoff success with a low payroll and other teams jumped on the sabermetrics bandwagon. This lead to the shift being used more frequently. How much more frequently? In 2010, the shift was used in 2,464 times. In 2014...13,296 times. There were increases in 2015 and 2016 has seen even more shifts being used in the small sample size that is available.

The problem is the shift is not the perfect answer to teams reducing runs. In fact it could actually be hampering them. Teams rarely practice the shift defense at practices or during Spring Training and confusion can often hit the players on the field about what their roles are. This is amplified when there are runners on base.

Many times when a lefty hitter is at bat and the shift is applied, a base runner could find himself at an advantage. Third basement don't practice turning double plays as a middle infielder so basic grounders that would have led to two outs lead to only one instead.

Other times a grounder that is hit into the shallow right field area leads to the runner taking TWO bases because a pitcher's first reaction is to move to first base. The shortstop/third baseman who is covering the left side of the field covers second base on a grounder to the right and now the runner finds himself with no one covering third. In a foot race between a runner and a fielder who also has to receive a throw from one of the other fielders, the base runner will almost always win unless they're a Molina brother.

Extra bases, especially if there is only one out usually equals runs.

"In my opinion, you shouldn't be able to have three infielders on one side of the infield," Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez once said in an interview with MLB.com. "That, to me, is an illegal defense."

The rule book barely touches on the placement of players on the field. Other than where the catcher and pitcher are placed, the rules don't mandate where the other seven fielders have to play. Now this is not to say that the shift should be made illegal, but taking a look at some of the evidence, it's easy to say that it's overused and isn't saving the runs that the MLB managers think it does. In fact a study done in 2014 says that at most, the shift may have save a total of 27 runs in the 13,296 times it was applied.

The shift has also taken away some big moments in player's careers. Nathan Eovaldi, a pitcher for the New York Yankees was tossing a no-hitter on April 25 this year. Taking it to the seventh inning, the Texas Rangers Nomar Mazara hit a simple ground ball that should have been out number one in the inning. Instead it went through for a base hit. It wasn't a hard hit grounder and what made the situation worse was that it would have been right at the shortstop if everyone was playing where they normally do. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. In fact it happens quite often.

In a bizarre incident, San Diego Padres Andrew Cashner was angry that a hitter on the St. Louis Cardinals actually tried to defeat the shift by bunting. In a game that Cashner pitched on April 22, the fielders shifted to the right side, leaving the third basemen manning the area between where the third baseman and shortstop normally cover. The hitter bunted the ball down the line and almost managed turning it into a hit, but it just barely went foul. Cashner who sprinted from the mound to the line and picked up the ball yelled over at the hitter and started pounding the ball in his glove. He clearly didn't like the bunt. TOUGH. If your team employs the shift then be ready for hitters to find ways to work around it and adapt. If the shift is fair play, so are bunts and going the other way with a pitch. Don't be a poor sport and whine when a hitter doesn't volunteer to hit into your shift.

Baseball like many sports is an evolving game that adapts with the times. Unfortunately in this case it also appears to be taking the heart out of the defensive game. The intentions of the founders of the game, all several people who have some partial credit in inventing baseball, never meant for the fun to be taken out of the game. This is a concept that has been taken too far and to an extreme. I wouldn't suggest banning it, but I do suggest that sabermetrics not be used as the be-all end-all in baseball.

RIP Prince...Another Legend Passes

Screencap of Prince from his movie Purple Rain

At this point in time it does appear that God is trying to create a super band as another music legend passed away in 2016.

Prince Rogers Nelson, one of the few people who could get away with being called by only a single name (and at one time just by a symbol) mysteriously passed away in the elevator of his Minnesota home at age 57. News sources such as Fox News are reporting that he died of the flu while other sources are stating flu-like symptoms as a possible cause.

Whatever the reason, it feels almost unbefitting of such a rock legend to die by something that used to get me out of school for a day or two. People can die from complications due to the flu, but you usually think of people from third world countries or someone in their 90's.

Prince may have been known for being a singer, but he was so much more. Once, when asked how many instruments did he know how to play, he responded, "Thousands." On his first album he is credited with playing 27 different instruments. Now while some people might think this is just boasting, Prince was actually able to back this up. When people think of guitar legends they think of names like Hendrix, Van Halen, Satriani, but Prince is also on the level of these greats. He also played the bass, the piano, drums, the Linn drum, and much more.

Also not known to everyone is that Prince was one of the greatest song writers of his generation. He had released 104 singles in his life, 27 of which hit number one on the music charts. What a lot of people don't know is that he would constantly write so much music that he would give it to other artists to use. He wrote a large portion of Morris Day & the Time's music, and music for Sheila E., Sheena Easton, Vanity 6, Stevie Nicks, The Bangles, Sinead O'Connor, Chaka Kahn, Madonna, Pattie LaBelle, Tom Jones, and Alicia Keys.

For The Time he wrote "Jungle Love". For Stevie Nicks he wrote the music for "Stand Back" and she based her lyrics of his hit song "Little Red Corvette". For the Bangles he wrote "Manic Monday". Sinead O'Connor covered his "Nothing Compares 2 U". Alicia Keys recorded his song "How Come You Don't Call Anymore". For Chaka Kahn he wrote "I Feel for You". He even wrote the entire soundtrack for Tim Burton's Batman.

He was the most overall successful music artist in the 1980's, and tenth most successful in the 1990's. Overall he sold over 100 million albums in his lifetime, won 7 Grammy's, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. In 2004 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "There are many kings…but there is only one Prince," said Alicia Keys when she inducted him in.

During a contract dispute with Warner Bros. Prince changed his name to the unpronounceable symbol know as Love Symbol #2 (pictured right). During this time he would be referred to as "The artist formerly known as Prince." He claimed that they took his name, trademarked it, and used it to make themselves money. Later he changed it back to Prince and would sign with Arista Records.

Anyone that lived through the '80s and/or '90s usually can name at least one song that they like even if they weren't a fan of Prince. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was his first hit single and was released in 1979, but he had so many more. "1999", "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry", "Purple Rain", "Raspberry Beret", "Kiss", "Batdance", "Partyman", "Thieves in the Temple", "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", and more in '80s and '90s. This doesn't include songs like "Guitar" which shows off how good of a lead guitar player he was and "Musicology" which came out in the 2000's.

On February 4, 2007, Prince played the halftime show for Super Bowl XLI which many called the best halftime show ever. He performed "Let's Go Crazy", "Baby I'm a Star, "Purple Rain" and then performed cover songs of "We Will Rock You" by Queen, "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan, "Best of You" by the Foo Fighters, and "Proud Mary" by CCR. An estimated 140 million people watched the performance on TV.

He was so musically inclined that he had his whole house wired so he could record music from any room of his home whenever he felt inspired.

A lot of people didn't know that Prince was a philanthropist and supported many social awareness issues. He wrote a song called "Baltimore" after the murder of Freddie Gray and the riots that followed. He's donated millions of dollars anonymously to build libraries, help people start businesses, and save families from losing homes.

When asked why he never moved to Los Angeles or New York instead of living in Minnesota, he would cite that the state was his home and that it was where he belonged.

Another aspect of Prince's life that he was well known for was the amount of women he dated. Madonna, Carmen Electra, Apollonia, Kim Bassinger, Vanessa Marcil, Susana Hoffs, Misty Copeland, Ananda Lewis, Heidi Mark, and Marvin Gaye's daughter, Nona. His music was often centered around romance so it was no surprise that he found it easy to woo some of Hollywood's prettiest women.

With his death, it should be interesting now to see what the future holds for Prince's music. One of the oddities of his career was that he recorded so much music that he would produce albums that he would only keep for himself and lock away in a vault at his home. There's rumored to be hundreds of unreleased songs that people who helped him work on these songs said should be hits as well. He also recorded multiple music videos and made several movies that have yet to see the light of day. So with his death, the public could possibly see a flood of his work finally be released in the coming years.

Whether you're a fan of rock, R&B, pop, funk, or soul, Prince's work certainly reached you at some point. His work has inspired other music artists after him including Andre 3000, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, and more. He even inspired the costumes of the Hamilton: The Musical.

The Primary Process Needs to be Fixed

This is a screencap of the delegate distribution in Wyoming despite Sanders winning by over 12% of the state's popular vote

If you have a pulse and pay even the remotest attention to politics in the United States, it's safe to say that there is something about the Presidential Primary process that confuses you. If you watch interviews with people who are in charge of the process in their own states, even some of them aren't exactly sure how it's run. The problem is this process is alienating the average person from getting involved in the elections process let alone even caring about it.

So many people believe the process is rigged and examples in recent weeks have shown this to be true. In the Democratic Primary held in Wyoming, Bernie Sanders won the popular vote by over 12 percent, but walked away with 7 delegates compared to Hillary Clinton's 11 delegates. One of Clinton's supporters on CNN when asked if they felt this was fair answered, "Oh well."

Trevor Noah asked Debbie Wasserman Schultz on The Daily Show if this is a rigged process and she refused to answer the question directly. When pressed she made the excuse that superdelegates have been around for years and that nothing was wrong with the distribution process.

The process is broken. Superdelegates don't care what their constituents want. In the case of Clinton, after the very first primary held in Iowa nearly ended in a dead tie between Sanders and her, it was announced on every mainstream news station that she was up by over 400 delegates already. How is that not rigged? From day one it's very easy for a person to come to the conclusion that their vote doesn't count since Clinton was basically spotted 400 plus delegates. California is the largest state in the union and has 475. These 400 plus superdelegates that are now up to 477, means that 477 people have just as much power as 39 million residents of the largest and most diverse state in the country.

This creates disenfranchisement among a party and those who already feel disconnected to an overly complicated political system. The problem will never be fixed with people like Wasserman Schultz who are running the Democratic National Committee because there is a clear conflict of interest. She was a campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2008 and one of her best friends. The pro-Clinton Super Pacs are all run by people who also have superdelegate votes. All clear conflicts of interest especially against a candidate that doesn't have, nor want a Super Pac.

There is a DNC rule that states: "The Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that the national officers and staff of the Democratic National Committee maintain impartiality and even-handedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating process.”

Henry R. Muñoz III, who was President Obama's top fundraising manager is now the Chairperson for the Democratic Party's financial operations. He organized a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in San Antonio, Texas which is a clear violation of the impartiality rule. Wasserman Schultz when pressed whether she would reprimand and/or fire Muñoz for this avoided the question. Some speculation is because she herself had connection to this particular fundraiser. The leaders of DNC have made up their mind from day one that Clinton will be their nominee.

Everyone who holds high positions in both the Democratic and Republican National Committees are content to say that's just how the whole system works and nothing can be done about it. Of course something can be done about it, but both party chairs don't want to. You can't use the excuse that the system has been this way for a while, so what can you do?

The obligation to the American people should be to fix and simplify the process so it encourages more people to vote and be interested in the whole process. It can be done.

First, California should be moved up in the Primary schedule. The most diverse state in the union with the most delegates shouldn't be voting on the very last day. All of the Southern states voted before a single West Coast state (with exception to Nevada) even got to cast a single vote. The Primary schedule should be shuffled evenly across the country.

We have seen this personally affect Sanders' campaign because much of his base is within these Western and Midwestern states. By the time they get to vote, the appearance of a Clinton victory already seems inevitable especially with the addition of superdelegates added to the mix, discouraging voters in the West from even showing up to the polls.

Secondly, make the state by state Primary process delegation distribution purely based on the popular vote of that state. For example, if a state has 100 delegates and Candidate A earns 62 percent of the state's overall popular vote and Candidate B earns 33 percent, then Candidate A should earn 62 of the delegates and Candidate B should earn 33. This prevents issues such as what happened in Wyoming.

Thirdly, make the Primary vote an all-day process just as the National Elections are. Not between 5pm to 7pm or similar examples to this that have small voting windows. The law gives people the guaranteed right to vote on National Election days by making sure an employer grants their employee the appropriate time to get to their precinct and vote (although this isn't always observed by many employers these days), but this law doesn't grant the same right on Primary days.

A good example of this was what happened in Arizona. Garnering a stronger base among younger voters, Sanders' supporters found themselves in long lines when they showed up to their precincts. The law states that as long as a voter is in line in time their vote will count even if they haven't been able to reach the voting booth before the precincts are scheduled to close. With the precincts cut down to 60 from the 200 that existed in 2012 despite the projected voter count to rise from 200,000 in 2012 to 800,000 this year, lines in Arizona were longer than ever before. Instead of counting every voters ballot and following the law, the precincts were closed while people were still waiting in line. This gave the advantage to Clinton who won 56 percent to Sander's 41 even though he was projected to be the winner.

This decision to close the polls hurt Sanders because younger voters tend not to rush to the polls the moment they open. They're more likely to show up halfway along the process. Also because it was held on a weekday, younger people tend to be at school or stuck at work for the first portion of the hours that the Primary is open.

On the other hand, Clinton does better with older people and business owners/managers. Older people, especially those who are already retired, tend to show up early, often right when the precincts open. If they aren't retired, they are often in positions that they can cut out early for the day or schedule around the beginning of the Primary.

When precincts closed despite not letting those in line cast a ballot, Sanders lost any chance he had to win the state. Having an all-day long Primary allows for more of a chance for people to show up to cast their ballot.

Fourthly, I'm not even 100 percent against the concept of a superdelegate. There are just way too many. Limit superdelegates to surviving ex-Presidents and ex-Vice Presidents (unless they are running). Currently that would leave Democrats with superdelegate votes going to Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Al Gore, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Bill Clinton because of a conflict of interest would lose his superdelegate vote. On the Republican side this would leave George H.W. Bush, Dan Quayle, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney. Beyond that, we don't need anymore. Call it a benefit for winning the office of President in the past.

Fifthly, get rid of Super Pacs. They muddle up the process and make people with money count more than the average American. They also lead to bribery when they buy delegates votes in contested conventions. As CNN reported, Super Pacs are working on delegates now, offering them vacations, money, and other gifts if they cast a ballot for the nominee that the Super Pac wants if the conventions are contested. This year both the Democrats and Republicans could easily have contested conventions. Plus Super Pacs buy so much media that they can sway an election if their commercials reach the voters the way they want them to, once again meaning the voice of those with money mean more than the average voter.

Lastly, get rid of the electoral college. College Political Science professors let alone high school teachers have trouble explaining the process and why the district lines are the way they are. With gerrymandering rigging the whole process as it is, district lines are completely unfair. Of course you won't be able to ignore districts as a whole because they are needed to determine the members of the House of Representatives, but draw the lines cleanly and fairly, and leave the Presidential process open to an overall popular vote by the entire state.

In a time when globalization is now taking place, the electoral college process finds itself antiquated.

Make the elections more "user-friendly". Every American should be able to have their vote count just as much as the next person. Make every state a popular vote state that has an all-day long Primary. Get rid of 99 percent of superdelegates. Shuffle the states every election year so all states feel as their votes count as much as those in other states.

Taking these steps will help simplify the process and get more people personally invested in the process. Voter turnout in 2012 was at 57.5 percent for those who were eligible to vote, but other countries in the world have 80 plus percent turnouts. Americans are so jaded in the process that they believe that their individual votes no longer count. Get them re-involved in the process and let every possible voice be heard.

What Happened to...Sitcom Idols

Television has engrained itself into the fabric of America. People grew up watching iconic characters for year after year, almost feeling like they personally know the characters from the TV shows they watched. When you break down each decade in America for the past 70 years, one of the first things you think of when you look at each decade from a cultural aspect is the TV shows that aired during these decades. The problem is a show would run for a limited amount of time and even though each hit series had a finale, it would leave you with the question...what happened to (insert character name here) after the show ended.

A recent trend in television and now Netflix is to continue these series years later. Disney Channel has Girl Meets World which continues the storyline of Cory and Topanga from Boy Meets World. Netflix has Fuller House which continues the hit show from the '80s and now surrounds DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy's storylines who were originally the kids in Full House. Frasier sort of filled this "what happened to" scenario with Frasier Crane. Even though it was a spinoff, it took place for 11 seasons after Cheers ended.

But what about all those other characters out there that we all loved or hated that we never got an answer to the "what happened to..." question? Well I present to you a short list of hit characters and what I think may have happened to them. Not everyone of them has a peachy-keen story after their show ended.

1. Steven Urkel (Family Matters): Though socially awkward throughout the show and obsessed with the Winslow family, Urkel was a genius when it came to science. He in invented the Urkel Bot that actually displayed feelings and could be said to have reached sentience because it feel in love with Laura. He invented Boss Sauce which would work with his Transformation Chamber to change someone into someone socially different and even eventually led to the clone of Stefan Urquelle. He had entered negotiations to sell his invention of exploding veggies to the US Military and even invented a teleportation pad that zapped him to Paris.

So what happened to the genius? Well my take is that he did indeed eventually marry Laura Winslow. Happy ending right? Wrong...

Diving deeper into working on his inventions Urkel uses his previous military contacts to invent new types of weapons for them to use. He probably had something to do with that ray gun that when fired at people would give them the sudden urge to poop. I imagine since this gun is similar to the gun that makes you vomit, he probably had a hand in this too. Over time, he secretly amasses a fortune as the lead scientist for a weapons manufacturer. Being a pacifist and rarely seeing him anymore, Laura eventually divorces Urkel when he's not there for her when Carl Winslow is killed in a police standoff in Chicago. Laura takes half his fortune and Urkel dives deeper into isolation and the last we heard, he's working on a bomb that makes the nuclear bomb look like a spit-wad gun.

2. Norm Peterson (Cheers): Famously known as Norm! from the hit show Cheers, he was the most famous customer of the bar of the same name. Running tabs that ran into the thousands of dollars, Norm would often banter back and forth with Cliff Clavin and Frasier Crane. The last appearance of Norm on a television show was the spinoff of Frasier when Cliff Clavin is having a retirement party and Frasier along with his family fly to Boston for a conference, running into the outgoing postal worker.

So what happened to the lovable bar patron? Well he's dead.

How drastic you say! Yes, but take into account how much he drank, his diet, his weight, his lack of physical exercise, and his general outtake on life, he certainly drank himself to death by the time he hit his mid-60's. How did he die? Sclerosis of the liver. Not being able to give up his beer drinking habit, no doctor in their right mind would put him on the donor list unless he changed his habits. Unfortunately Norm couldn't and he passes away in St. Eligius Hospital, famously nicknamed St. Elsewhere which was another '80s show that George Wendt also guested on as Norm Peterson. In his will, he leaves a small amount of money to help pay off his bar tab with Cheers.

3. Balki Bartokomous (Perfect Strangers): The distant cousin of Larry, Balki intrudes on Larry's kindness and the pair become roommates in Chicago. The twenty-two year old is naïve and Larry is the one that takes it upon himself to help Balki adjust to the new settings of America which are far beyond that of the primitive country of Mypos. Originally the two work as clerks at the Ritz Discount Store, but by the time the series ends, Larry is a news reporter and Balki draws a weekly comic strip based on his stuffed sheep. Larry marries Jennifer and they have a kid named Tucker. Balki rushes into marriage with Mary Anne and the two have a kid named Robespierre.

So what happened to the lovable foreigner? Well he's now in charge of his own rebel group looking to overthrow the Myposian government on behalf of Islam.

Yes, I went dark on you. During his years in America, Balki tried his hardest to become more American-like, but never quite gets it. As many people do when they age he becomes more conservative and he reverts back to the teachings of his family while he grew up on the Mediterranean island just between Turkey and Greece. A culture that often is referred to being centuries in the past (so much so that it is alluded that pterodactyls are still alive there), the country has self imposed a ban on sciences and modern day electronics. Only one phone exists on the island for example. What is never said is that the island is under the control of an Islamic group that restricts technology within the country.

After 9/11 and other terrorist events, Balki starts becoming more fanatical with the cries of the people on his island to overthrow American values that he leaves his wife and child and returns to his homeland. Through his knowledge of American culture and his early weapons training as a child on Mypos, Balki rises among the ranks of the Muslim rebel group and overthrow King Ferdinand. Balki has resented the king since season 2 because the king tasked Balki in selling land to an American corporation to turn a large chunk of the island into a toxic dump. After seizing control of the government, Balki personally condemns King Ferdinand to death and rises quickly on the American most wanted list.

 4. Vicki Lawson (A Small Wonder): A robot created by Ted Lawson, Voice Input Child Identical (V.I.C.I.) was engineered to help children with physical handicaps. Ted brings the robot home to mature within a real family and as a cover, gives her the name Vicki to blend in with the rest of the family. She is 10 years old in appearance and during the shows 4 season run, Ted provides her with upgrades to continue to pass a human girl.

So what happened to this monotone robot? She's been dismantled by her evil twin Vanessa.

As the son, Jamie Lawson grew up, he found himself becoming more interested in the prospect of having a human-looking robot always around him and willing to do whatever he said. By the time they reach their college years, Jamie moves across the country to a small one bedroom apartment and takes Vicki along with him. At first Vicki gives him trouble because she no longer wishes to live in a closet, but Jamie refuses to share his personal space with him. He suggests that they could "share" a bed if she agrees to his sexual advances, but she rejects him. Remembering that his father also created Vanessa, Vicki's evil twin that was more human-like and spoke without the monotone voice, Jamie has Vanessa reactivated and sent to his apartment.

As the evil twin who is to take Vicki's place, Vanessa blindsides Vicki and deactivates her. Vicki is disassembled and Vanessa lives out the rest of her robot life as Jamie's servant/lover under the guise of Vicki.

On a side note, Jamie is the ancestor to a robotics expert named Noonian Soong who uses the V.I.C.I. plans to be the foundation of the three androids he creates, Data, Lore, and B4.

5. Bud Bundy (Married...With Children): Son of the famous Al Bundy, Bud was supposedly college educated, but never displayed this in the real world. The one thing that motivates him is sex. Maybe this is because of the women that his older sister, Kelly, would bring home and hang out with (played by actresses such as Lisa Boyle and Jennifer Lyons). When we last see Bud, he graduated college and worked for the Illinois DMV.

So what has Bud been up to since then? He became a porn producer, but is on the downside of his career now.

Married...With Children left off in 1997 at the end of the VHS era and going into DVD's. This was the perfect time for electronically inclined Bud Bundy to have a brain storm to shoot soft core porn starring Kelly's friends. This actually would work for a while since in previous episodes they don't require a lot of money to be motivated to do things that most people think would be overstepping their sexual boundaries. Also Bud is able to put on a good act and pretend that things are nicer/better than they really are or at the very least a professional quality like when he directed the workout video starring Kelly.

During this time, it would even be possible to believe that he might win an Adult Video News (AVN) Award and come into some minor fame.

The kick-in-the-head is with the free porn available on the internet, Bud's career will eventually crumble when he has a hard time making money from video sales. He'll glide by for a little by selling his clips online, but eventually this too will lead to a decline in sales, especially when Kelly's friends get older.

6. Sabrina Spellman (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch): After growing up and learning to be a witch with the help of her aunts Zelda and Hilda, Sabrina eventually graduates college and moves back into her childhood home along with her best friends Roxy and Morgan. From there she went to work for an entertainment magazine called Scorch and left her fiancé at the alter in favor of Harvey, her high school sweetheart.

So what happened to the good hearted witch? She tried to take over the world, only to be thwarted.

A couple of years after the television show ends, Sabrina will catch Harvey in bed with Roxy, who was about the only friend of Sabrina's he didn't date during the television show run. Furious, Sabrina's hair darkens instantly from blond to brunette and she cast a spell on them. The spell placed on Roxy places her on a stake and she is burned alive like a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. Harvey on the other hand instantly finds himself thrown into a dark room and is now transformed into the pet dragon underneath the staircase of a family called the Munsters.

With her fragile psyche now snapped, Sabrina decides to rule the world, appearing before a UN meeting and declaring that if they don't all pledge allegiance to her she will launch all the nukes in the world, thus killing off every living thing.

Displeased that she revealed that she was a witch to the mortal world, Drell (Penn Jillette) appears in front of the UN and throws Sabrina into the Other Realm. Once there the two of them battle, but it is apparent that being such a young witch, her powers are nothing like Drell's. He tosses her into a dungeon, where she is locked in a pillory for the rest of her eternal life for her indiscretions. Hilda and Zelda are thrown into the same cell with her, chained to the wall and voiceless since they are still considered responsible for Sabrina's tutelage.

7. Ross and Rachel Gellar (Friends): After years of pining for Rachel, Ross finally dates her on and off for the entirety of the 10 seasons of the show. At one point they even marry each other, although by drunken accident in Las Vegas. Toward the end they have Emma and Rachel must choose between being with Ross, the man who is willing to do anything to be with her, or her dream career in the fashion capital of the world, Paris. She chooses Ross and it is alleged that they will spend the rest of their lives together in New York while Monica and Chandler have moved out of the city, and Joey has moved to California to advance his Hollywood career. Sadly no one seems to care about Phoebe.

So what happened to Ross and Rachel after the show ended? Nothing.

After a couple of years raising Emma and Ross' son from his first marriage, Ben, Rachel snaps after Ross brings home another dinosaur bone and starts talking about the history of the particular dinosaur it belongs to. She hated dinosaurs, let alone science and has had enough of his geekiness. What makes matters worse is that she just rented the movie Captured at her local Red Box which starred Joey Tribbiani. This is when she comes to the realization that she played it safe--too safe--and settled for Ross. On a whim, she has Phoebe come over to her apartment to watch the kids and in the same fashion as when she flew out to London to stop Ross' second wedding, Rachel flies across country to declare her love for one time boyfriend Joey.

Finding him at his beach front apartment, she realizes that he is in a serious relationship with his neighbor Alex Garrett. Rachel pleads with Joey to leave Alex for her. Realizing that the two of them could be a power couple, the famous actor and his fashion mogul girlfriend, and also thinking back to how serious his feelings were for Rachel when he lived in New York, Joey accepts her plea and the two move into together...and live happily ever after.

*All photos are publicity photos or screencaps used in this post are from each character's respective TV show