In this season of the HBO series Game of Thrones (which you should all be watching and if your not then delete something on your DVR immediately) the city of Qarth was introduced. The city's moniker is "The greatest city there ever was or ever will be."

Mariano Rivera is the Qarth of relief pitchers.

If this freak injury to his ACL while doing something he's done for the past 17 years really is the end of MO's unparalleled career, then it's been a complete honor to watch this man do his thing in the greatest sport there ever was or ever will be.

Hopefully the great Rivera's unmatched work ethic and competitive fire will overtake any lethargic "everything happens for a reason" religious overtones that might be floating around his brain and he'll take the rehab as just one more challenge so he can come back and go out on his own steam.

In any case, he'll be one of the guys I get to blather "in my day . . ." to my kids about.