When we first announced Mike "The Destroyer" Roy's grip contest, we had some questions about the events, but most all, we wondered if he could pull off what he was trying to do.

After all, Roy was saying that he was going to take a backyard-level activity and give it the exposure and staging of a major strength contest, partly by selecting events that had historical significance and that would also look good to spectators, and partly by giving feats of grip strength and their top practitioners unheard of levels of visibility.

Roy succeeded in doing what he said he would: With a crowd estimated at 5,000 watching, grip events never got so much exposure, and a purse of this size had never even been imagined before. TV and newspapers covered the event, Roy's stock as a talk-show guest has soared and he just got a call from Ben Weider, who pledged his support.

Rumor has it that The Destroyer is already planning the 2005 edition of this contest, and given where he just set the bar, who knows what he might pull off next year.