Over the last few days I’ve read in various sources that Mark Martin will announce this weekend that he is leaving DEI at the end of the year and will become a full time driver once again taking over the number 5 car with Hendrick Motorsports. He will state in so many words that he has come to the conclusion that he wants to make one more run at the Cup Championship and that Hendrick offers him the best chance to do it in the number 5 car. I may have missed it, but I haven’t seen anyone fanning the flames of this rumor here in the Fox Sports community…
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Hendricks has announced that they will be holding a news conference tomorrow in Daytona, which just happens to be where Mark Martin lives.
If the Mark Martin move comes to pass, this changes what many fans thought was Tony Stewart 's destination. So where does Tony go, especially if he cherishes Chevrolet? The Haas deal may just take a big step closer to reality with their Chevrolet connection.
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It seems like a natural for Tony, plus it would put him in the driver’s seat in more ways than one. Tony’s reputation and seemingly successful business history in the racing industry would go a long way toward attracting and maintaining strong sponsorships and that’s half the battle.
Will tomorrow's announcement be the first in a set of dominos to fall causing a ripple effect throughout NASCAR? If Martin does move will people construe this as yet another blow to DEI's credibility?
The Cup race in Loudon New Hampshire was being run in an opening between the thunderstorms that had plagued the New England area over this final weekend in June. As the race progressed a wary eye was being kept on a weather front as it approached the race track from the west. The TNT race commentators were discussing the chances of rain as the race wound down to the final few laps. Kyle Petty jokingly refered to it as approaching humidity as he hoped out loud that the race would be completed.
Just as the race had run relatively caution free and it was beginning to become apparent that the lead cars were going to be forced to pit for fuel as the final 30 laps neared, the weather front could be seen not far from the track and it was readily apparent from the televised view that these weren't just clouds, it would be raining shortly. Finally the teams leading the race were faced with making a call. Then the hoped for caution occurred as Dale Earnhardt Jr. was evidently down on the apron to be the first into the pit and here came Jamie McMurray running on the apron and paying more attention to who he was running with than to anyone that might be in front of him. He plowed into Junior, David Ragan got spun as a result and debris went everywhere. Now, with the yellow out, the question became do you make a mad dash into the pits for fuel, or play the odds that you might be able to make it without additional fuel. If a caution or two came out before the checkered flag flew, it could mean all the difference. These are the normal strategy questions these people should have been mulling before pit lane was opened. But what about the nearing storm front? The TNT commentators were saying that the radio traffic between the pit bosses and the drivers was not only about such things as fuel and handling, but also of the possiblitiy of rain. What would be the right call?
Here's a look at the radar weather picture taken just before the rain started falling that would discontinue the LENOX Industrial Tools 301...
The white dot is where the Loudon Speedway is located. Notice the yellow and red areas of intense storm activity and remember the storms were moving west to east. You can't tell me the crew chiefs in this race didn't have access to information such as this...
Pit lane opened and here came all of the leaders with only a handful of cars staying out on the track. The Hendricks cars that had run strong at or near the front most of the day all came in for a quick gas n' go, as did most of those pitting. The race leader, Tony Stewart, made a right sides only tire change along with fuel. Between the eight cars that didn't pit and the gas n' go cars, Stewart found himself clear back in fourteenth place when the cars lined up for the restart. This would be a two row restart making Stewart as good as buried in the middle of the pack after having made a great run racking up over 130 laps as the race leader. The decision these folks made to pit for fuel is one thing, but why the tire change too?
By the time the restart took place, the Miller Lite number 2 Dodge driven by Kurt Busch was in first place on a wish and a prayer that there would be more cautions or that the skies would open up before the cars that had run up front all day could catch him as they gambled on their fuel situation.
The race no sooner restarted with Kurt having to deal with lapped cars than another wreck occurred bringing out yet another caution at the end of this race. Then Kurt's brother Kyle, who had been running in the middle of the pack all day, got intentionally spun by Juan Pablo Montoya while the race was under caution... Each driver blamed the other for the incident and thank goodness no one else became collateral damage. There will be more on this I'm sure.
Then the rains came... It wasn't long before NASCAR stopped the race, handing Kurt Busch his first Cup win of the 2008 season.
The winner Kurt Busch being interviewed after the LENOX 301 was discontinued...
Two races ago Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled a victory from the jaws of defeat by continuing his run while his fuel gauge screamed for more fuel, now the Miller Lite Number 2 Dodge team is able to also grab the golden ring under similar circumstances, only the rain made it an elementary decision in my opinion... Rolling the dice.
Congratulations to whoever made the call to stay on the track among the Kurt Busch crew... Maybe Klvalus can find out... This Miller's for you!
The conclusion of the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season took place June 25th in Omaha Nebraska. One of the most unlikely teams to ever win the championship came together and completed a run that will be talked about for years to come.
Fresno State University Bulldogs Win!!!
Bulldog Fans Celebrate in Fresno Pub Steve Detwiler is wired on right...
There were references during each broadcast of the games the Fresno State University Bulldogs played during the NCAA Regionals, Super-Regionals, and finally during the College World Series itself that tried to describe how low the Fresno State seeding into the tournament actually was. Fresno was compared to a thirteenth seed in terms of the NCAA National Championship Basketball Tournament regional of 16 teams, and then as the team continued to progress from one regional to another, they were finally said to be the lowest seeded team to ever reach the College World Series. The Bulldogs had a preseason ranking in the nation’s top 25, but a shaky start left this team scrambling the rest of the season to win their Western Athletic Conference championship. Winning the WAC championship was the only way the Bulldogs could make it into postseason play, where this unlikely championship run began 35 days and 18 games ago. They had to go undefeated in the WAC Championship Tournament, and they pulled it off. The newly crowned WAC champions sported a record of 37 wins and 27 losses (16-16 in non-conference games) as postseason regional play began. They found themselves as the fourth seed in the Long Beach Regional.
Georgia's Powerhitting Shortstop, Gordon Beckham
Fresno State's winning pitcher Justin Wilson
Fresno's College World Series Outstanding Player Tommy Mendonca receiving award
The team played and won 6 elimination games, including two against the eventual runner-up Georgia Bulldogs, as they ended by hoisting the NCAA National Championship Trophy.
I hope this helps to put what the Fresno State Bulldogs’ baseball team accomplished into perspective.
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So what exactly is the beauty of all this? Well I’m here to tell you… This, my friends, is the beauty of a tournament. Just as we’ve seen the moniker of “Cinderella” laid on this FSU Bulldog team that would not quit, and just as we’ve seen that name applied to many different teams year after year in the NCAA National Basketball Tournament, this is the stuff of a playoff. The championship being won on the field of play in an equitably seeded tournament is the essence of sports. All of the major sports’ champions in the NCAA as well as in the various major professional team sports are determined on the field of play in a tournament format with one exception. Why must we, as sports fans in America, be submitted to the antiquated bowl system in Division I college football?
There is an elitist element in college football that has, over the years, wedged itself into place by waving bushels of dollars in front of the universities involved in supposedly amateur athletics. The National Collegiate Athletic Association spends thousands of hours and I suppose millions of dollars each year to insure the amateur nature of collegiate athletics, but they have allowed the bowl system to usurp their authority when it comes to Division I football. I also believe this system is supported by the “major” and “traditional” Division I football “powerhouses”. I liken this to nothing short of pure greed on their part as they continually attempt to corner the market on high school recruits while jealously excluding the so-called “minor conference” schools as they attempt to assemble competitive football teams. The bowl system, their elitist backers, and the elitist “powerhouse” teams in Division I have formed an alliance designed to be unfair and inequitable. The fact that the Bowl Championship Series has worked to exclude 51 schools in five Division I conferences and three schools not affiliated with a conference from eligibility in the national championship process is all you need to know. How in the world did we get here???
There won’t be any Cinderellas in Division I football this year or at anytime in the future so long as the current BcS system continues to line the pockets of the “major” schools and conferences in Division I…
Congratulations to the National Champion Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team. You have done something I hope to someday see in NCAA Division I football. Your team is a true champion as it won the right to be called champion on the field, not because some pollster thought they should be in the championship game. The Fresno State Bulldogs have given hope to all the schools around our country as any can point to what they did and say “Why not us?”
If a BcS type system had been used in NCAA Division I baseball, the Bulldogs, also now known as the “Wonderdogs”, wouldn’t have even been in the game and all of the sports fans around the country would have missed out on a truly wondrous occurrence.
In this time of ever increasing salaries among professional athletes, it’s time to take a look at the tactics being used in the money game that has become the 21st century in American sports.
In March 2005 Plaxico Burress agreed to a six-year, $25 million contract with the New York Giants that included an $8 million signing bonus. After four years under the terms of this contract it suddenly isn’t good enough… Plaxico has decided to not participate in the team’s mandatory mini-camp workouts this spring even though he was in attendance. I expect to hear requests for a trade shortly… Anyone interested?
Chad Johnson is entering only the third year of a six-year 35.1 million dollar contract with the Cincinnati Bengals… In April of this year, Chad was interviewed on the four letter network about his desire for a new contract that the Bengals had refused. He said: "I was labeled selfish and a cancer, and it hurt...Fingers were pointed at me this year. If the team and the organization wants to further itself (make the playoffs), I think you need to get rid of the problem...It hurt me. To do me that way and not to have my back. Things were said, and nobody came to my defense." This was just two weeks after Bengal QB Carson Palmer had been interviewed on the same program and he stated he wished the team would honor Johnson’s request for a new deal. Today, Chad is attending the Bengals’ mandatory spring camp, but not participating in any drills.
Tommie Harris, an All-Pro Defensive Tackle with the Chicago Bears, is entering the final year of his rookie contract this season and negotiations were begun to get Harris signed into the future. The Bears reportedly offered Harris a seven-year 50.5 million dollar contract with close to $20,000,000 guaranteed. This was not good enough and negotiations have broken down…
Lance Briggs, Outside Linebacker for the Chicago Bears, made a spectacle of himself after the Bears’ Super Bowl XLI appearance skipping mandatory meetings and the team’s mini-camp. Then he ran from an accident after crashing his multi-hundred thousand dollar Lamborghini sports car on Chicago’s Edens Expressway in August of 2007. He wanted a new deal. He was being disrespected. The Bears’ management held their ground and Briggs eventually came to training camp and played out the 2007 season. Last March the Bears buckled under and signed Briggs to a six-year, 36 million dollar contract…
Marion Barber, Running Back, Dallas Cowboys. Barber, who split time with Julius Jones last season, hit the jackpot as his agent negotiated a seven-year, $45 million contract with $16 million guaranteed. Not bad for a part-time running back getting LaDainian Tomlinson type money. Does Jerry Jones know what he's doing? I guess we'll find out shortly...
The common thread here? Mega-agent Drew Rosenhaus represents each of these players… Name sound familiar? Yes… This is the same man who represented Terrell Owens as he put two different teams through gut wrenching, mud slinging times…
The Barber Deal...
Who else is in the Rosenhaus stable that is currently raising hell with their NFL teams?
Anquan Boldin, Wide receiver with the Arizona Cardinals. After teammate Larry Fitzgerald convinced the Cardinals to cough up a four-year, $40 million contract extension, Anquan suddenly has become fidgety. The Cardinals were now disrespecting the other half of this premier receiving corps. Bolden’s agent Rosenhaus lets it be known that Anquon wants to be traded, setting off interest around the league, and the joust begins…
Earnest Graham, Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Entering the final year of his current contract, Earnest is reportedly asking for a contract similar to Frank Gore’s five-year $28 million dollar deal. Earnest came on as a replacement for Cadillac Williams who suffered a season (and possibly career) ending knee injury. Graham’s situation is much more understandable than some of these players as he has been living off of a minimum NFL contract while initially serving as a special teamer on the Bucs.
Jeremy Shockey, Tight End, New York Giants. Entering the third year of a six-year, $26.38 million contract, Shockey, who missed all of the 2007 championship run made by the Giants, now wants to either renegotiate his contract or be traded. The Giants, who suddenly became unbeatable in the playoffs without having to listen to Shockey’s continual rant for the ball, have let Jeremy and his agent dangle in the breeze while his tirade continues…
Kellen Winslow, Jr. Tight end with the Cleveland Browns. Winslow is, in my humble opinion, a prima donna of the highest ilk. A first round draft pick in 2004, Kellen held out of training camp. In 2005 he tears himself up on a “super #### rocket” and then spends two seasons rehabilitating. He finally gets on the field last season and has a decent year. So what’s next? He skips the Browns OTA’s and the word is he expects the Browns to renegotiate his contract… Isn’t that something?
Players Rosenhaus represents that have recently signed as free agents with new teams include Bernard Berrian, Wide receiver with the Minnesota Vikings (Chicago Bears) and Jevon Kearse, Defensive End with the Tennessee Titans (Philadelphia Eagles).
In 2007 Running Back Willis McGahee was traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Baltimore Ravens for draft picks. Although nothing came out publicly, if the truth was known, I’d be willing to wager that the Rosenhaus full court press was about to descend upon the small market Bills, so they traded him. The Ravens reportedly signed McGahee to a seven year, 40.12 million dollar contract making him one of the highest paid backs in the league. This for a running back having questionable stamina…
The only amicable signing this season was the Terrell Owens – Dallas Cowboys deal signed June 2nd. Terrell got a four year contract that reportedly will pay him 34 million dollars of which 13 million is guaranteed…
I find it interesting that the words “disrespect” and “hurtful” are liberally used when describing the treatment these poor guys have received. This when they busily pull every string possible to squeeze as much money out of their teams, even while a bona-fide contract is in effect…
How did we get here? Ask the men like Rosenhaus and the contract lawyers that they employ, all to the ultimate detriment of the game.
What can you say about this man? Here he is two months off of his third surgery on the left knee, the pain is registering on his face and demeanor shot after shot as he torques that knee again and again, he’s made more double bogeys in this U.S. Open than all of the other major title matches he’s played in, combined, and he’s made miracle shots to claim the lead on the final hole he played on the third round… The man is simply amazing as he limps toward his fourteenth major championship.
If you are an outdoorsman, then you know that an animal is most dangerous when it has been wounded, and it appears that this may just be the case when it comes to this type of Tiger too.
Woods will be paired with Englishman Lee Westwood as the last twosome to step off in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines this afternoon. Can he pull off this unlikely win and add yet another epitaph to his ever growing legend?
I’m here to tell ya folks, this is the greatest golfer to ever come down the road, and we all get to watch him play!
I’d hate to see this die for the lack of interest because I know that’s not the case… I’ll run my third Trifecta of the season this weekend, but I’d like to see it done on a rotational basis into the future if everyone is willing…
So here are the three races being run tomorrow and Sunday!
ALL
The Craftsman Truck Cool City Customs 200 at Michigan International Speedway!
The Track:
Distance / Track Type 2 Mile Oval 18-degree bank
The Best Reconds
Craftsman Truck Top Race Speed 154.044 by Brendan Gaughan on 7/26/2003
Craftsman Truck Top Qualifying Speed 181.612 by Kyle Busch on 6/18/2005
We're going to change the rules set up by William by popular demand (or whining if you want to call it that! lol).
Let's do away with the 5 point penalty for choosing someone else's driver at a later time. Let's just see who can pick the winners and in case of a tie, everyone give me who they think will come in second in the Sprint Cup race. Your second place drivers' actual finishing positions will be tallyed and that will yield the ultimate winner if need be. So I'll need one pick for both the Truck and Nationwide races and your first and second place drivers in the LifeLock 400 on Sunday...
Who wants to step up next week? HotfootLori, William and I are (as 3fan says) out...
Last night Ken Griffey Jr. knocked the 600th home run of his career, is this a harbinger of great things for the Juniors of this world? This coming Sunday is Father’s Day, are the stars lining up? What could be more fitting than to do something fantastic on Father’s Day when your name is followed by the term Junior? Ken Griffey Jr. has set the pace… Who are the other Juniors that could do their Dads proud this week?
There are many in baseball, but since Ken Griffey Jr. has already stepped up, we’ll concede baseball to him.
The NBA Finals are on the schedule, but neither the Celtics nor the Lakers have any Juniors on their rosters… Whats up with that?
The U.S. Open is on this week. I suppose many look at the game of golf as an uppity endeavor and based on the fact that I couldn’t find a single “Junior” in the field, this may be an indication. The fact that there are two with the “III” at the end of their names goes a long way toward reinforcing that uppity moniker… The two “high brows” are Davis Love III and Charles Howell III, well la-de-dah… Personally, I grew up with a guy who had the “III” behind his name and if he was any indication, then the uppity thing works… Remember the old MASH sitcom with Major Charles Winchester III? Now that’s uppity personified…
Davis Love III and Charles Howell III
So that boils the week’s sporting events on this Father’s Day week down to racing. No, the Formula cars and the Indy cars will be idle this week. NASCAR will be on the docket with the Trucks and Sprint Cup cars running Friday and Sunday at Michigan International Speedway (the Cool City Customs 200 and the LifeLock.com 400, respectively) and the Nationwide cars will be running Saturday at Kentucky Speedway in the Meijer 300.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
There will be two Juniors trying to qualify for the Truck race as Ron Hornaday Jr. and Scott Lagrasse Jr. are among the drivers there. There is only one Junior trying to qualify for the Nationwide field in Kentucky. Bobby Hamilton Jr. will be looking for a top finish there. That leaves us looking at the Sprint Cup LifeLock.com 400 on Sunday. There will potentially be three Juniors in this field as Martin Truex Jr., Sam Hornish Jr. and finally, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be in the qualifying.
Ron Hornaday Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. and Bobby Hamilton Jr.
So which of these racing Juniors is the most likely to once again bring glory to the name he proudly wears?
After looking at their histories on the tracks being run and with careful consideration into who is due to win, I’ve got to believe that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most likely to win in their respective races this weekend…
To all you fathers out there, have a Happy Father’s Day, and may the best Junior win!
Since the beginning of the modern sports era, and with the exception of 2007-08, there have been 1,641 NCAA Division I National Champions. Today there are 36 such championships awarded each academic year. Since the NCAA National Basketball Tournament when I noticed the UCLA Bruin’s men’s team uniforms were slightly different from normal, I decided to take a look at who has won all of these NCAA Division I National Championships. This then led me to break the country into regions and finally to look at it in terms of the Division I conferences.
Single season UCLA phenom, Kevin Love... Notice the "C".
The thing that caught my eye about the Bruin’s uniforms was that the “C” in UCLA instead of being blue like the other three letters, was gold. After a little research I found that the gold C represented one hundred NCAA National Championships. UCLA is the first school to get that many titles and they were happy to use this avenue to gain national recognition.
So what did I find? Well 168 schools share those 1,641 national championships. I thought about posting them all with their titles but reason got the best of me. If you know the universities in your home state, you should be able to figure out which schools have won championships over the past 107 years. If you need specific information, ask in the comments and it will be provided. Here is a breakdown by geographical region and state…
Boston Col. Men's Hockey, Syracuse Men's Lacrosse, Brown Women's Rowing Crew
NORTHEAST Schools Titles
Connecticut 2 38
Delaware 1 2
Maine 1 2
Maryland 3 35
Massachusetts 5 20
New Hampshire 2 5
New Jersey 3 24
New York 10 54 3.29%
Pennsylvania 7 65 3.96%
Rhode Island 3 7
Vermont 1 5
Washington DC 3 3
41 24.40% 260 15.84%
North Carolina Field Hockey, Wake Forest Soccer, Georgia Women's Gymnastics
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for caution occurred as Dale Earnhardt Jr. was evidently down on the apron to be the first into the pit and here came Jamie McMurray running on the apron and paying more attention to who he was running with than to anyone that might be in front of him. He plowed into Junior, David Ragan got spun as a result and debris went everywhere. Now, with the yellow out, the question became do you make a mad dash into the pits for fuel, or play the odds that you might be able to make it without additional fuel. If a caution or two came out before the checkered flag flew, it could mean all the difference. These are the normal strategy questions these people should have been mulling before pit lane was opened. But what about the nearing storm front? The TNT commentators were saying that the radio traffic between the pit bosses and the drivers was not only about such things as fuel and handling, but also of the possiblitiy of rain. What would be the right call?
each of these players… Name sound familiar? Yes… This is the same man who represented Terrell Owens as he put two different teams through gut wrenching, mud slinging times… 
knee, the pain is registering on his face and demeanor shot after shot as he torques that knee again and again, he’s made more double bogeys in this U.S. Open than all of the other major title matches he’s played in, combined, and he’s made miracle shots to claim the lead on the final hole he played on the third round… The man is simply amazing as he limps toward his fourteenth major championship. 
