I used to put these in all my NASCAR posts. I get them from Mike Smith, and editorial Cartoonist for the Las Vegas Sun. I emailed him once when i had first started blogging here after stumbling upon his cartoon archives at the Vegas Sun site. Great cartoonist and a nice guy. He does a new one each week during the year for the NASCAR season, and year round for political and other topics.
Here are a few recent ones pertaining to NASCAR for you to enjoy before you head off for Labor day BBQs, parties with friends, the lake, to watch the race with friends and family , or what-Not.
1.Dupont team finds a way to get back into the chase.
2. M&M Team prepares the hauler for Kyle Busch
3. NASCAR an Olympic Sport?
4. Phenom olympic swimmerMichael Phelps on NASCAR in the Olympics.
All Cartoons Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others. Always has some great stuff and very funny so go check him out when you have the time.
As many of you know the famous GGW Racing NASCAR team goes overseas for the first time this week as they head to Australia for Race 9 of the Show Your Moon Tour. Some of the them have never been abroad and are anxious to get going. The group is excited about the chance to show their racing skills to the Aussies and the rest of the world in their quest become the greatest drivers in the world. Most of the gang plans to just relax and see the sites, while a few are getting a headstart on planning for the next race. Little do some of them no that a few GGW members have concocted a plan to hi-jack the GGW cruise ship and take over the team in an effort to secure a treasure nearly as valuable as the Sprint Cup trophy:
And thus begins the Saga of "Mon-keys of the Caribbean-The Curse of the Golden Kitty."
Our journey begins on the coast of New Hampshire. The GGW flagship, known as the Santa Goreela will be carrying the crew to Australia and England for the next two races before returning Stateside. The cars, and pit crews are already on the way over the ocean so crews can get set up early before race time. The gang looks pretty excited as the ship gets ready to leave port and head down Under. Many of GGW's biggest fans showed up to give the team a big send-off.
The Famous Forensic2 even picked a few songs to sing for the gang as they prepared their journey. Yep, he dosn't just have the best playlist on Foxblog. He can actually sing and play all those songs too.
(If you are hearing the music, then pause here and wait for the next song before reading on)
Finally the Santa Goreela has left port and the GGW members are settled into their cabins. Some made plans for partying, some for relaxing, and some for just enjoying the ride.
Here we find lovebirds HotfootLori and Tony Stewart re-enacting their favorite movie scenes at the front of the ship.
Fever3Fan was roaming the deck looking for a place to relax when he came across Speedbeagle20 lounging in the sun wearing her lastest GGW swimwear designed by Moseby's new bride Frank Tixpiddle.
Now there's a good reason SpeedBeagle didn't stir even over 3fan's giggling. You'll find out soon what it is.
Party boys Jon464, future president Photogr T. Justice, and Moseby75 were at the back of the ship judging a Grid Gals bikini contest. The conversation was nearly as hot as the girls were.
Yeemum, Gerell, and Jokerswild were all at the indoor pool taking pictures for the 2008 GGW Drivers Calendar. Jokerswild was giddy about his new sponsor Mary Kay letting him test some of their newest products.
Gerell had been assigned to be the ship's Captain, but since the photo shoot came up, she decided to take a break and go with Yeemum and Jokers, leaving the ship on autopilot and no one on lookout. She would soon regret this.
Meanwhile, Hanahan was at the bar with his new bodyguards Winky and Stinky. He had to hire bodyguards because of the details of Jokerwild's cross dressing fetish among other things that leaked out earlier in the week during Hanahan's Roast of Jokers.
With the gang all occupied, and several members of GGW still no-where in sight, a fierce crew of Speedbeagle's henchmen that had appeared in a few races thus far showed on the horizon in the ghost ship, Black Pearl. No wonder she was so relaxed even with 3fan giggling at her doggy rear. Her plan was coming together nicely. Jbroomy, who has not been seen for weeks, was quickly getting Beagle' s band of pirates ready to strike the Santa Goreela.
Cannons roared at the GGW ship stunning all those on board except for the always calm Forensic2 who already had an idea what the pirates where looking for because of his past experiences roaming the waters as Captain Forensic Sparrow, the most feared pirate of them all in his younger years. His trusty bird Noahspop had intercepted a email converstaion with the help of Iowagirl about the other GGW members' secret plans.
Usually thought of as the nice quiet ones of the bunch, newly recruited pirate mon-keys 24X2(Rhonda) ,Volfan69, and Dwindy rampaged the decks stealing everything they could grab. Show your Moon moonshine, drivers training tapes and log books, and even Jokerswild's trunk full of Fredericks of Hollywood lingerie.
What they were looking for was a treasure map that had been previously hidden for centuries in the free counter.com coding in Lisa H's blog profile.
The map contains the location of the Golden Kitty, a priceless giant pure gold cat statue worth billions that had been hidden by SweetKena and Texascudaguy for safe keeping.
It's location is Kong Island, a small island south of the Australian cost impossible to reach through the dense fog with out the map. It's also the summer home to Cuda and heavily guarded by Kong's followers and Kena's clan of giant warrior cats.
Well trained and ready for anything the Kena Kongs and Cuda Kongs would not be easy for the other GGW members to get past even if they did have the map.
Once Tylerhead realized the map was useless to him, he decided to take his frustration out on Klvalus, but he wouldn't get much.
Finally the voice of reason stepped in as Tezqm99 settled everyone down to resolve their differences and work together as a team again.
As the GGW gang set sail again for Australia in their quest for gold and NASCAR domination, Texascudaguy and SweetKena prepared for their arrival.
As we wait for race 9 hosted by Tez to see who will claim the TransPacific Traveler 150, and the Golden Kitty, we can only hope the race is as exctiing as GGW's journey to get there. The Aussies better be ready for this wild bunch because lugnuts will be flying the like cannons, and drivers will be stealing positions like the pirates they aspire to be in the next race of the GGW Show Your Moon Tour.
Thanks for reading this installment of "Mon-keys of the Caribbean-The Curse of the Golden Kitty." Feel free to add to the story and explain yourself if you were one of the pirates.
(Jokerswild- no explanation needed. We don't want to know what size thong you wear)
Stardate 20358.7. Captain's log 2218. The Chase, The Final Frontier. One warp speed jump to go and these Carfleet crewmembers will begin the battle for space and the journey to the uncharted edges of the Federation Territory and beyond.
Let's look at the top 5 contenders to lead the EOT (Enterprise of Tomorrow) into the outer reaches of Space.
Executive Officer "Spock" Busch would be the Logical choice, because of his increasingly strong Vulcan Death grip on the points standings. However, one would think it's highly illogical to think that his large vulcan ears would help his aerodynamics and this could play a factor later on.
Currently in second place, have Chief Engineer "Geordie" Burton, who always seems to see thing clearly around him each week and is consistent with his vision to reach the Chase. You never see him do anything spectacular, but he's always around.
In 3rd we have Leutinent Commander "Scotty " Earnhardt, Jr.. Scotty usually plays a larger factor in the popularity of the Enterprise crew than the captain does, and once every 76 episodes he is rewarded by briefly becoming a captain. His father "Scotty Sr." was a great Starfleet commander that lead many voyages to the vast regions of the Nebular Galaxy.
He sometimes has some overzealous fans that grace the Foxblog Interpanetary Zone whom you wish would just ask him to "beam them up" to back where they came from.
Holding on to 4th is Communications Offficer Uhura Carla Edwards. She is usually the one to "beam" the others to different places on the track with the "flip" of a switch.
In 5th is reigning Starfleet Captain Jimmy T. "Kirk . He has completed the journey to the end of the Chase frontier and is known for long time parternship with Klingon warrior Kongo Knauss. His prime directive is to live long and prosper by defending the Federation Championship this year.
The rest of the Federation members currently seeking a place on the Enterprise crew in the journey to the Chase are :
Leutinent Commander "Zulu" Gordon,
2nd Medical Officer Dr. Beverly "Biffle" Crusher,
Tactical Officer "Worf" Hamlin,
Navigations Officer "Chehkov" Kahne,
Chief Medical Officer "Bones" Bowyer,
Former Carfleet Captain "Jon Luc" Stewart,
and Chief Operations Officer "Data" Kenseth.
As they near the outer edges of Space in their quest to the final frontier, it will be an exciting voyage to "where no man has gone before" (ok well in a flying race car with photon torpedoes, that is.)
So get your tricorders ready, and set your phasers to stun. It will soon be time to begin the battle of Car Trek, The Final Frontier.
Thanks to our friends at the GRIN channel (Gor-rilla Racing Insiders Network), we are able to bring you an inside look at the the GGW Racing team that has taken the NASCAR world by storm. After this pasts week's race the Show Your Moon Miller Lite 150, we were allowed into the home of Klvalus for the after party to show the fans some of what goes on with this wacky bunch when they are away from their NASCAR headquarters.
Lead reporter Crusty Wallack and his team of Foxblog cameramen bring you this very exclusive view of the Mon-keys on their own turf.
We followed the group around for the night during this post race celebration and as expected, these mon-keys are just as looney off the track as they are on it.
We were greeted in the driveway by GGW superstars Volfan69 and Hotfootlori admiring their new company cars provided by the always generous GGW.
Next we headed to Kristen's living room where we found the famous Forensic2 and a few pals dicussing last week's race... among other things.(Who's that in the pic on the wall? Could that be Kristen's darn baby pic again)? We also recognized a few familiar celebrity faces from the Show Your Moon Miller Lite 150.
Forensic was unavailable, or unwilling, to give us an exclusive interview so we moved on to the back patio where we found Presidential hopeful Photogr, Tophatal/rampantfan,part time GGW driver Frank, and the alluring Lindsey from the local Hooters lounging in the hottub area discussing politics, well mostly politics.
Not wanting this to look bad in his bid for Presidency , Mr Photogr pointed out that both gals have an IQ of over 65, which is at least more than most of GGW's drivers.
Next we decided to wander back to the den area where we found Moseby and Hanahan watching what we thought to possibly be a GGW training video at first, but soon discovered this was inaccurate.
Taking a peak inside Ms Klvalus's personal office, we found her inside reading her favorite blog on Foxblog, wearing her favorite cap, and preparing campaign funds for Mr. Photogr.
The GRIN Network, after a large contribution from Ms. Klvalus and GGW during this visit, will now carry all future broadcasts of GGW races and Mr Photogr's presidential debates as well.
Moving outside we found GGW driver and part time movie star, Texascudaguy, his fiancee Naomi Watts, and phenom points leader TezQM99 in the yard. Mr Cuda would not let us air the rest of their conversation for reasons that would be apparent after rumours of his alleged affair with the mysteriuos female driver Frank Tixpiddle.
Unable to get Tez's attention and unable to continue with Mr Cuda, we decided to see what was happening at the pool where we found jon464 showing Rookie of the Year driver favorites 24X2 and Jbroomy a few moves,
while MeanDovine relaxed in the pool.
For some reason, no one wanted to join Mr Dovine in the water.
Heading back out to the lawn, we discovered SweetKena, Frever3Fan, and MegaNASCAR star Tony Screwart shooting the breeze.
Brangelina? Don't you mean SmokeaFootie? Yeah. We don't think that works either.
Hearing a rumble coming down the street, we decided to see what the commotion was and found Tylerhead, and Dwindy bringing back some beverages to the party.
We also discovered Jokerswild in his usual state of consciuosness, eeermm......relaxing on the street?
After their little Car Wars episode in the previous race, we were not surprised to find these two wild ones driving what they were. As for Mr Joker, well... Ok we weren't surprised at all by his condition either.
Also in the driveway were Noahspop and Tsfanpc attempting to make a few upgrades to Tylerhead's transportation before he returned.
No word yet on whether they were successful with the um... alterations.
Finally we moved back inside where we found media favorites Yeemum and Gerell at the buffet discussing the state of GGW's popularity,,, or maybe it was the state of some driver's unpopularity.
After that, we decided to call it night. Thanks for tuning in to the Gor-rilla Racing Insiders Network for our inside look at the stars of GGW.
This is Crusty Wallack for GRIN saying " If it aint broke, then let's break it! Have a banana, and enjoy the ride. Good night race fans."
Just to let all the fans,members, and rookies of GGW know, I'm working on putting all the post links in one place for a second GGW Chronicles called the "FORENSIC FILES".
The first GGW Chronciles has the complete story up until October 07. The second installment will inlude everything from then til now. It may take me a bit to get this all together, because i have to search through the blog archives and find only the ones about GGW. Regular blogs about NASCAR that just have GGW category on them aren't part of the story and aren't included.
It will likely be 2 parts, because we currently have nearly 50 parts to the legendary story of GGW including my original GGW Chronicles which was the first 17 or so.
I was going to print the whole thing out from the Chronicles til now and read what i've missed for the last 4 months, so I'll save the links in word or excel as i go. I'll try to get this together soon and email it to those in the GGW Group board.
Aug 12 '08 will be the 1 year anniversary of Gorillas Gone Wild Racing.
It's amazing how this thing has grown.. Everyone should definitely give a huge percentage of their race winnings with GGW to Forensic for doing the awesome job he does to entertain us. Photogr, Gerell, Klvalus, Yeemum, Hotfootlori, and those scheduled for arranging the upcoming "Moon Tour" races all deserve praise as well. As for me, I'm just happy i have a lifetime supply of Bananas and "Show your Moon" Shine.
Here is the link for the newbies to the first GGW Chronicles. It covers the story up to October 07. The first Chronicles has a little overview of the story that played out in each blog. Might do that with the Forensic Files also if you guys think it makes it easier to read. Let me know on this, because with so many links, it might be easier to just paste the links for you on one blog where you can just read one post, click back to the Forensic Files, and go to the next one.
The majority of the posts are available in Forensic ,Photogr, or my archives but as we know, Forensic's archives are harder to gain access to than the mysterious NASCAR rule book. A few are also available in Gerell, Yeemum, and now Klvalus' archives.
Forensic also made a video about GGW on Youtube a while back. It's the story about the same timelines as the Chronicles. Check it out sometime if you haven't seen it already. When you get to it wait about 30 seconds when it starts and then it will play smoothly. It has a short glitch in the beginning because of some issue on Youtube with the longer videos. Trust me, its worth your time to watch it if you enjoy the awesome graphics Forensic works so hard to show us. Here's the link:
For me, this whole thing has been a ton of fun,a "barrel of mon-keys" i guess you could say, and one day i may want to look back on it. That's the main reason I am doing this, and I imagine some of you might want to have it around as well. I see it as almost like a continuous movie that we all write the script too and all star in. We just have a little more hair, bein Gor-rillas and Girl-rillas, then your average Hollywood stars do. When i disappearred again for nearly 4 months and then came back to see i was still included in this story during the whole time, i realized this is definitely an experience to rememeber and a priviledge to be included in.
Forensic, Again I thank you Sir for the time you've put into all this, and without you, none of it is possible. I know one day you'll get tired of humouring us with this Saga. I for one, truly appreciate all you've done and all that is still to come.
I'll let everyone know when i get all the links together and do an update for you, so if anyone else wants them to know how we evolved from 1 mon-key in a banana car to Death Star destroyers and beyond, let me know and i'll send ya the links.
I just wanted to let everyone know it's good to be back. I was away from Foxblog for a month plus a few to help a friend out. I've noticed some new bloggers generating some attention. Thats always good to see. I also noticed BOTD and some other things are missing. I won't even ask why. I've been told i didn't miss too much due to a "Whoops" issue that had everything around here in a state of chaos for a while. Again, I won't even ask what that was all about.
I'm sad to say my first day back to the site, i received news we lost our wonderful, sweet friend, Southern Cindi. God bless to all those who helped her in her struggles. I know she had a lot of friends on this site and she was one of those people that we all strive to be like. She will be sorely missed and can never be replaced with all that she gave to the Foxblog community and the frienships she made here. My heart goes out to all those that posted wonderful tributes to her memory and to anyone who was blessed to know her.
Basically, with this post i just wanted to say It's nice to be back, and I look forward to catching up on some of the great work people contribute to this site. It's been a while since i've posted but hopefully i'll have a few things up for my NFL and NASCAR friends fairly soon.
I'm working on a sequel to the STAT WARS NFL piece i did in November that everyone enjoyed. Hopefully i won't embarress myself and it will be even better than the first one.
I'm also working on some new posts for NASCAR. One gearing up for the Daytona 500 and the start of the '08 season and another just for my friends at GGW racing. Yeah those crazy folks in the Gor*rilla suits. Their kindness and creativity is unmatched by very few.
Anways, just wanted to let everyone know i'm back and I appreciate the emails and Welcome Back's that i recieved from some of the great people here.
Leave a comment, a cold beer, or some hate mail. Whatever floats your boat. It's all good.
Thanks for stopping by.
NFL Cartoon courtesy of Dan Gibson and Mike Smith. Dan Gibson is a freelance cartoonist most noted for his work at DAILYCARTOONS.COM.More of his work can be seen at http://www.gibbleguts.com/
NASCAR Cartoon Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others. more of his work can be seen at http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/opinion/smiths-wo rld/
Hey Folks. As some of you know, our fellow blogger and friend klvalus was selected to do a series of articles in NASCAR for Fox after the great job she did winning the Miller Lite Sportswriter Challenge here recently. She has been gracious enough to keep us up to date on her exeperience through a Journal on her blog, and Fox has finally posted her first of several featured articles. Congrats again to Kristen, and the hard work she put into the contest, and the well deserved rewards she is recieving.
Kristen and her Dale Jr. Bears
Her first article is about the NASCAR experience behind the scenes from a fan perspective.
Please stop by the above link and give Kristen a read and some props for a job well done. She's too bashful to post a link here on the blogs, so i thought i would just do it for her(please don't run me over witha Bud #8 Chevy Kristen) She deserves every bit of it. Awesome job on the article and we are proud of you.
A Short Time From now ..... In a galaxy very close ........ to Indianapolis,
a relentless army of Brady Clones will arrive by way of the Patriot Death Star for an epic battle of the two greatest forces the Gridiron Galaxy has ever seen.
The Dark Force is strong with their leader Darth Belichick, and his young apprentice, Sith Brady.
Darth Belichick is known throughout the galaxy as a evil emperour out to destroy the universe, and has extensive knowledge in the ways of the dark side . His evolution to leader of the Galactic Empire is well documented by intergalactic Senator Princess Lea Mangini of the New Yorkion Region. Together with his protege, Sith Brady, they have pillaged the galaxy devouring everything in their path. They employ renegades and rogue warriors wherever they can find them, most notedly the fearless Oaklandonian Dessert Raider, Sidius Moss.
The Evil Empire seeks domination of all in their path, and have not taken any prisoners in their journey to this point. They have spared no life, not even the all-knowing droid known as the "Original c3p-81" nor his trusty companion R-2-Romo.
They have spilled the blood of 8 worlds and left not a single enemy alive, and until now no one has been able to stop them.
The One true hope for the survival of the Gridiron Galaxy is a Jedi Fighter named Peyton Wan-Kenobi.
He will not be alone in his quest to save the NFL Republic. Jedi Master Tony Windu has great knowledge of the Force and and is an expert in Jedi Mind tricks.
Fierce warrior, Joseph Yodai, is a master of the pigskin saber and the talented Hans Harrison precisely pilots the fighterships better than anyone in the Republic after learning the ways of the Jedi from the great Jerry Ricewalker.
Together with Peyton Wan-Kenobi, They are preparing for a battle to the death with the Dark Lord and his Brady droids. Anyone left alive if the Dark Side is victorious will be fed to the slug-like alien gangster John Madd-a-Hutt.
It is crucial to the survival of the NFL Republic and Gridiron Galaxy that the Jedis are victorious in this epic battle of Good vs. Evil. They are the last hope for good to prevail, and the republic of the NFL is counting on them.
In the words of the late C3P-81, "Getcha Popcorn Ready!"
Coming This Sunday to a theater near Indy.
Note: Epsisode II "Stat Wars- Revenge Of The Skins"
is available pre-release by special request through VBchickRedskinsfan only on BlueRay Disc.
After DEI's struggles this year with engines, and the announcement that Dale Jr. would be leaving to go to Hendricks after '07, things have gotten even worse for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. This past week Director of Competition Steve Heimel announced he was leaving DEI as well to join Chip Ganassi. 5 years ago, DEI was still considered one of the top teams/companies in NASCAR. How Quickly things have gone bad since the loss of Dale SR, and fankly, the loss of true direction and leadership at DEI.
Today's race showed us Nothing can go right for DEI these days.
Martin Truex had a great car all day running as the leader and hanging around the top 5. With 5 laps to go, after the final pit-stop, Denny Hamlin , who had stayed on the track for postion as everyone else pit, ran out of gas on the restart. Truex, who was boxed in behind him, slammed into the back of Hamlin, and his day was done.
Then Dale Jr who also had a strong car most of the day and had worked hard to fight from a lap down to make it all the way back up to 3rd place behind JJ and Carl Edwards, losses his left rear wheel on the Green/White/checker restart without any contact except the asphalt beneath him.
We've seen blow outs and track bars break, or damage caused from hitting another car cause top 5's all year for Dale Jr. to end up as DNFs, but for the whole wheel, tire, and all to just fall off, is ridiculous. Surely he had all the lugnuts on or NASCAR would have brought him back in after the pit. DEI's engines falling to peices all year, and now the wheels are breaking apart.?
What a mess!
Junior finally released some of his frustration earlier this week about having top 5 cars all year, and so many freak things turning this year into a Big dissapointment.
Here' s the link courtesy of Fox and Associated press to Dale Junior's take on how '07 has gone for his team:
With DEI's luck this year, and obvious issues in the garage, maybe its time to just park the cars, send Teresa to the Antarctic, and rebuild the company from the ground up.. Or better yet, sell it to Richard Childress. DEI is a mess and I only see things getting worse as Junior moves to Hendricks after this season ends. You have to feel bad for Truex. He's stuck in a bad situation now that only looks to get worse.
Cartoon Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others.
If you watched the Broncos/Raiders game during week 2 of this season, the Raiders/Browns game the following week, or Monday Night's Cowboys/Bills game, then you saw a team kick a late field goal to supposedly win the game. The kick went through the uprights and fans cheered or booed as their team won or lost.
After experiencing all the emotion of the team pulling out the victory, or the agony of the loss, you realize they have to kick it all over again, because the opposing coach called a timeout just before the potential game winning feild goal kick occured. In the Cowboys/Bills game, the kicker was able to make the kick again and this tactic failed, but both previous times the team's kicker missed the second kick, and the team lost the game.
"Icing" the kicker by calling a timeout just before the kick attempt is something that has been done for decades, and teams today expect the opposition to call a timeout if they have any remaining in that situation. There is nothing wrong with that at all. It's just considered part of the game.
But, There is a big difference between calling a timeout a couple seconds before a feild goal attempt in order to "Ice" the kicker, and the tactic Shanahan, Kiffin, and now #### Jauron have used.
The issue is not the act of using the "Icing" tactic, its about WHEN they are doing it . The method they are using is to call the timeout just as the deep snapper raises his head a split second before releasing the ball for the attempt. The play is theoretically already in motion , but if the ball hasn't been snapped yet, the timeout is allowed and the play has to be tried over again. For now, they say its perfectly legal, although nobody from the NFL has clarified why it is allowed and isn't considered an unsportmanlike attempt to gain advantage over another team.
Should it be legal?
The NFL rulebook has examples of similar plays where an unsportmanlike play is not allowed and the action results in a penalty.
First is the rule that states a defensive player can not induce an offensive player to false start by flinching, jumping back and forth into the neutral zone, or simulating the snap count with grunts,chants, etc.. in an attempt to get the offensive player to move before the snap. This "neutral zone infraction" results in a 5 yard penalty to the defensive team.
"Delay of game" is another example. If a play ends,the whistle blows, and the opposing team does something such as spiking the ball or laying on the offensive player so he can't make a reasonable effort to get in place for the next play, the defense is given a delay of game and 5 yard penalty.
Even excessive crowd noise by the defensive team, although very rarely enforced, is a 5 yard penalty and considered one of those "unsportmanlike" plays by NFL rules.
"Unsportsmanlike" plays such as these that are deemed an un-fair advantage to the defense, are considered penalties and illegal in football. I don't see how calling a timeout just as the snapper lifts his head to snap the ball to the holder should be considered fair, or good sportsmanship relating to the nature of the game.
Sure it's legal for now , but it's nothing more than a ticky-tac attempt to gain an unfair advantage, just as the neutral zone infraction and delay of game are, yet neither of those are allowed.
We will probably see this several more times this year now that every coach in the league watched the Monday night game . Hopefully, the Superbowl doesn't come down to a field goal attempt, or the whole world will have to go through the emotional roller coaster twice, as fans of the Broncos,Raiders,Browns,Bills, and Cowboys already have.
Personally I think its a cheap tactic, and the way Shanahan and others have used it this year takes away from the efforts and fair play that other coaches/teams preach as part of building a respectable team.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. blew his 6th DEI/RCR engine of the year in today's race. Along with him were teammate Martin Truex Jr and Richard Childress driver Jeff Burton blowing up using the same engine package.
I'm betting Dale can't wait to get some Hendricks horsepower. Every single time he has had a car good enough to win this season, it's gone up in smoke because of motor troubles.
Talk about bad luck. Your thoughts?
Cartoon Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others.
Great Read if you get the time. It made me think of Sports fans and how easily they jump ship when their team goes into a funk, but more importnatly it reminded me of why i love sports.
A true diehard sports fan sticks with their team through good years and bad years, troubles and triumphs. Some are born into sports families . Others are gifted athletes that almost made it to the big leagues and continue to follow their favorite sport. Some are just along for the comradery and fun.
Sports fans come in all shapes and sizes, all ages, and all ethnicities. Its one of the few things about American culture that we all have something in common. The love of the game.
I'm a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan of about 20 years, Notre Dame fan, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fan. (yeah I know, strange combination.)
My first encounter i remember in the sports world that really stuck with me was when i met Bobby Allison and Richard Petty as little boy. Both were some of the kindest, most generous people I've ever met and I was hooked on NASCAR since that day.
The men of my family were always " Good Ole Boys" and i see a lot of that in Dale Jr. Maybe thats the connection,along with being about the same age but can't say for sure on that one.
The man that made me care about football was a guy named Joseph Clifford Montana, Jr. who played QB for Notre Dame, and later when on to become arguably the greatest QB professional football has ever seen.
When i was old enough to know enough about football to understand it, I idolized "Joe Cool" and have followed Notre Dame ever since, even through the many dark recent years. LOL (although as a Cowboys Fan, I'm not allowed to say anything good about the 49ers. We sign a contract.)
I played football through high school although we never had a great team, but my coach is still someone i look up to 20 years later and taught me a lot growing from a boy to a man. Most young men learn almost as much from their coaches during adolesecense as they do from their fathers. At least it seems that way in the small towns on the plains of Texas. Football is a passion and a part of every town here.
As for the Cowboys, My family, all being from Texas used to have a big tradition of Watching the Cowboys/Oilers Thanksgiving games. Later when i moved Dallas and began working at a Country Club and serving a man named Pat Sumerall and his pal Troy Aikman every Friday night in our restaurant, i became a part of the Cowboys family. I was priviledged to meet many great Cowboys players form the 90's Superbowl teams, along with past greats, and almost all the 70s Steelers players during a few banquets we held for them. NFL was part of my life and It always will be.
Whats your story?
How did you become a fan of your favorite team? Were you born into a sport family. Parents that had you dressed like it was Halloween on gameday? Family tradition?
Maybe its the Lights and the Sounds at the Ballpark that you enjoy or the smell or burning rubber at the track and the roar of the engines. The swoosh as the ball goes through the net?
Maybe you met someone that inspired your sports passion.
Was it the team colors or the personality of the players that drew you in?
Or do u just enjoy the team concept and friendships that you've gained through the years through sports in highschool, college, or beyond?
Are you an extreme fan?
Do you have all the gear, the posters, the face paint? Is your car an advertisement for your sports passion?
Do you obsess about your team to the point it controls your life or dress your own kids or pets to match your favorite team?
The term "fan" is short for "Fanatic" and some people obviously take sports more serious and incorporate it into their lives more than others. But Hey, It's all good. As long as you stick around for the long haul.
Why do YOU love your team and how far do you go to express it?
Please feel free to share your story or explain how you became a fan. Even Hockey fans are allowed, if they could read of course.
When i returned to Blogsville today and discovered that some here had suggested i was missing or lost, i decided i should post an expanation before i get back into the swing of the sports happenings.
First off, Forensic, This was not me. I've read several reports that someone saw Bigfoot in the woods and suggest it was myself or another missing blogger. You were almost right though !
I was doing at Test Session over a month ago for GGW Racing and got hold of some of that so-called quality Moonshine which i thought was iced tea. It turned out to be Waltrip racing fuel, and by the time i woke up i was in the Bahamas with the hot blonde girl with a guy's name.
Let's just say that Frank Tixpiddle knows how to party! That bikini is all the poor girl owns.
photogr's pops
I also got to know Photogr's sister really well during my vacation. His dad wasn't a very happy camper when he found out about this, and I hope Photgr is in a good mood before he sees it.(I don't remember any of it.)
It took me 3 weeks to remove the #### race suit. Damn Forensic! You owe me Man!
Cannons roared at the GGW ship stunning all those on board except for the always calm Forensic2 who already had an idea what the pirates where looking for because of his past experiences roaming the waters as Captain Forensic Sparrow, the most feared pirate of them all in his younger years. His trusty bird Noahspop had intercepted a email converstaion with the help of Iowagirl about the other GGW members' secret plans.
"Jimmie, you're goin' down in '08!" 
Kristen and her Dale Jr. Bears
It's titled "NASCAR garage through a fan's eyes."
I've read several reports that someone saw Bigfoot in the woods and suggest it was myself or another missing blogger. You were almost right though !
Let's just say that Frank Tixpiddle knows how to party! That bikini is all the poor girl owns.
photogr's pops