Juan Pablo Montoya is a danger.  He just wrecked my guy, Clint Bowyer...who was leading the Daytona 500 at the time.

This is not the first time JPM has wrecked someone.  But it's the first time he wrecked MY driver.  I was willing to give JPM a chance this year.  Chance over.

I hope that the powers that be at NASCAR do something drastic to reign that fool in.  However, what I'm really hoping for is a full season suspension.  Don't let him back on the track until he proves that he can quit wrecking people from behind.

So let's hear from all you JPM fans.  I want to hear your lame excuses for your lame driver.  And if he doesn't have the guts to face Clint after the race, get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness...then not only is he a lame driver, he'd be a lame human being too.

Go back to Columbia Juan.  Or go back to open wheel.  Go ANYWHERE but a NASCAR track.

Valentines Day.   What a joke.

A "holiday" created as an ode to "Love".  What a transparent cash grab.

Lemme ask you all this....do you need to have a "holiday" as an excuse to treat your significant other as you should treat them every day?  Do you need such an excuse to go out for a nice dinner, or a give a nifty little present?  I hope you answer "NO" to those questions.  

I know, I know.  I'm full of sour grapes about Valentine's Day because I'm in the process of a divorce.  Nuh uh.  Has nothing to do with it.  Truth.

I may not have a wife, but I do have someone...and I won't treat her any differently today than I do any other day.  I don't need this made up holiday to buy her flowers.  If I want to give her flowers, I give them because I want to make her smile...not because FTD says I need to be romantic today.  I guess what I'm saying is that for those of us in relationships...every day should be like Valentines Day.  I buy flowers, presents, nice dinners, and all that stuff....regularly throughout the year.

A dozen long stem roses, last week, cost $19.99.  Now the cost is $50.00.  Tomorrow it'll be back to $19.99 again.  Sounds like an oil company, no?  I call it disgusting.  My mother runs a commercial greenhouse.  She says that today and Mother's Day pay for their entire year.  So there ya go...you see the mentality that drives this particular holiday....business.  I can't think of two things more polar opposite than business and romance.

A box of Hershey's "A Pot of Gold" chocolates was 2 bags for $5.00 last week.  This week each bag is $6.99.  Supply and demand my butt!!!  That's a fleecing, is what that is.  If an individual tried to pull something like that, they'd be arrested for extortion!

And now we come to the Valentine's card.  What a crock.  Someone tell me why I need some stooge at a greeting card company to put my feelings about my lady into words for me?  I guess they feel that we are not capable of doing that ourselves.  My reply is that if you can't tell your partner why, and how much, you love them...then you probably shouldn't be in a relationship at all.  Here's an idea for you...write your own card this year, and don't give Hallmark $8.99 for something that you can do yourself.  And it will be obvious to your partner that you took the time and effort to think about them and how much they mean to you.  Now THAT is special.  Any knucklehead can buy a card...

Now, I have to say that I am an incurable romantic.  Perhaps this is why this "holiday" is so offensive to me.  Christmas is a big cash grab too, but I don't hate Chriastmas.  Folks we should all have Valentines Day in us EVERY day, and our partners should be treated like it's Valentine's day EVERY day.  I find it quite sad that so many people are wrapped so friggin' tight that they have to be reminded with a fake holiday to do something nice for their significant other.  We should all take the time...each and every day...to let our lovers know that we care.  You don't have to spend money...quality time is always more important than money anyhow.

So here's two big middle fingers to Hallmark, FTD, Red Lobster, Hershey Foods, Zales and anyone else who plan on turning our warm feelings for our lover(s) into cash in their bank accounts.  Treat your special someone like you will today, every day for the rest of the year.  Because that is the way it really should be.

Oh, and Clint Bowyer is going to win the Daytona 500.

Hey now...

Sorry for the unexpected absentee-ism...what can I say...life happens.

I'm getting divorced.  Seems my wife doesn't like my girlfriend.  Who woulda figured on that?  I was shocked.  Not. 

So I moved out.  I don't have 24 hour access to hi-speed anymore, so for the next few months I'll be a bit scattered.  But I did want to stop by and say this....The Bud Shoot Out was fun as heck.

I think I know why.  No, not that Jr put his 88 in the winner circle, first run outta the shoot.  Good on 'em and all that, but it's a non-points race, so whatever.  Good for building some Big Mo' though.

Nope, I think it was as much fun as it was because there were only 23 or so cars on the track.  Perhaps NASCAR should look at shortening up the field, especially at the big superemormospeedways.  It would certainly put staying in the lead draft at a premium.  Yeah yeah, but what about the little guys and struggling teams?  Well, to be blunt....f' 'em.  Miracles happen too infrequently to be of any consequence.  Send them back to Nationwide.  At least they'd be competitive there, and that series would benefit from having some good name drivers to attract ticket buyers.

Let's be realistic here.  I think that those of us who follow NASCAR could probably give you the top 15 finishers in each race...probably not in the right order...but we know who is fast.  And we also know who ISN'T fast, and who isn't going to be fast. 

So this is my theory:

If NASCAR were to shorten Sprint Cup races to a field of 25, and eliminate all the back-markers...it just stands to reason that the racing would be better because the competition would be better.  Then we could get rid of the ridiculous "Chase" format.  The only car guaranteed to make the following year's Cup race should be the Champ.  Everyone else has gotta bust butt to be fast enough at speed week to get in the show.  That's right.  That's what I'm suggesting.  Only the Champ is safe.  Everyone else has got to prove that they belong...and they have to do it each and every season...or they are OUT.  Bad week?  Broke some parts?  Had a crash?  Made some bad calls in the pits?  Just can't get that speed up?  Or maybe you were just unlucky?  Gee, that chews cud,  but you messed up, and now you are in Nationwide.  Shut up and race.  Go fast and be competitive...or get "relegated" as our Brit friends would say.

Now, I know that will never happen.  Too much money from too many sponsors is up for grabs.  NASCAR will never jeopardize that.  But it sure was nice watching only 20+ good cars/drivers out there doing their thing without all the back markers clogging up the works and getting in the way. 

Sunday...watch the 07.  Clint looks racey.  Black-Chevy-Childress-Daytona....been a real good combo in the past.  Bowyer is in it to win it.  He can spread the gospel according to Jack Daniels a lot better from the winner's circle.  Go get 'em Clint.  Make my day....

As my ol' pal Keith Richards likes to say...."It's good to be here.  Hell, it's good to be anywhere!"

...clearly, and emphaticly, that I have never taken steroids, HGH, or any other banned substance during the course of my blogging career, or in fact, my entire life.

Also....I did not have sex with that woman.

I ask that you all refrain from a rush to judgement in this matter, until all the facts come out.  I will make a full appropriate statement written for me by an appropriate legal team at an appropriate time in an appropriate manner.  After all, that would only be appropriate in a situation like this.

Further, I must state that I was NOT involved with Lee Harvey Oswald, and in fact, had never met the man.  Also, I have no information on the location of Jimmy Hoffa's body.  I have never been to Area 51, and have no knowledge of the actual existence of such a facility.  Rumors of my pet Sasquatch, "Hairy Rocket", are greatly exaggerated.  It has never been proven that he is indeed a Sasquatch.  Besides, I wear bigger shoes than he does.

I hope this puts the mind's of my fans at ease.

Sean Taylor, hard hitting defensive back for my Eagles nemesis Washington Redskins, has passed away.  As an Eagles fan, Taylor was one of those guys that you just loved to hate.  We hated him because....he was damn fine at what he did.  I don't think that it's much of a stretch to say that Sean Taylor was going to be one of the premier defensive secondary guys in the NFC East...and the entire NFL as a whole.  And he was going to be around to give you a headache for many years to come.

Dearest readers....we have lost one of the good ones.

A rather famous sports entertainment guy by the name of Ric Flair had a saying that he always used in his promos...."If you want to be the man, you gotta beat the man."  Well, Sean Taylor was the man you had to beat to be the man.  The Eagles/Redskins rivalry was made infinately more interesting because of him.  You knew going into the game that Sean Taylor was going to make some big plays.  You also knew that he was gonna hand someone their hat...emphatically.  Man that guy could hit.

Now, I don't know that much about the kind of person Sean Taylor was.  But I do know that he was loved by his teammates, and respected by his opponents.  He was a football player's football player.  And that's good enough for me.  Really, what more do you need to know?

My heartfelt condolences go out to Sean's family, friends, teammates, and fans.  Redskins Nation...please know that there is at least one Eagles fan who has shed some tears with you today.  I'm sure Jerome and Reggie are happy to have him in the locker room.

To the law enforcement folks who are investigating his death....do your job well.  Quickly find those responsible for this terrible act.  Make your case airtight.  Put the sonofa#### who pulled the trigger behind bars for the rest of his/her days.  Justice NEEDS to be served.

Goodbye Sean Taylor.  I'll miss seeing you two Sunday afternoons each season.  Rest In Peace.

NASCAR has said that it is committed to making it so that any team, regardless of size and wealth, can be competitive for a championship.  They show us how serious they are about it by implimenting all sorts of rules and regs.  They force fed the COT to us.

But, of course, we all know that this is nothing more than lip service.  NASCAR profits greatly by having the same popular drivers winning races and competing in the Chase.  I really don't know who they think they are fooling.

Here's what NASCAR should do if they REALLY want parity, as they say they do.  It is a very simple fix.  They set a spending limit for each car's operations for a season.  They go to the teams, and look at the books.  They determine what the average median budget is.  They mandate that no team can spend more than that...including driver salary, travel costs, and testing.  Everything.  Each team is assigned a NASCAR CPA, and he is in charge of the books.  All expenditures go through him, and are recorded.  If you go over-budget, you get docked 10 owner points and 10 driver points for each $100.00 you are over the limit.  If you habitually go over the limit, or get caught cooking the books, or trying to get around NASCAR's bookkeeper...automatic suspension for the rest of the season for the entire team.  Get caught again after a season long suspension, and the owner is banned for life from NASCAR, and the team itself is banned for 5 years.  And I mean BANNED.  Banned from any and all NASCAR sanctioned racing series.  Not even allowed on track property during race weekends.

See how simple it is?  Give every team the same amount of money, and make the punishment for breaking the budget, or cookin' the books, so severe that no one will risk doing it.  Everyone is in the same car with the same equipment and everyone has the same funding.  Done.  Parity.

Of course, none of that will ever happen because NASCAR doesn't want any part of real parity.  They just want lip service parity so it looks like they do.  It's good PR to "look out" for the underdog.  But it's bad business.  And since NASCAR profits too greatly by having the big teams with all the popular drivers do well on a regular basis...parity is out.  The haves will continue to have...and the have nots will continue to have not.