Sports fans, here is your opportunity to throw the object of your ire under the Bus. I only have one this week, so here goes.

NASCAR

Jimmie Johnson: I don't know why I didn't do this after the Sonoma race. He basically punted Kurt Busch FOR NO REASON at that race. Last night, he tried to do the same thing to Busch. But Busch retaliated. Good for him. Then Johnson had the GALL to whine and complain about it! JJ, what goes around comes around. When you do bush-league crap like that, expect retaliation. I don't know what's gotten into him this season--he's basically been a punk after being a class act all these years. The beard makes you look haggard--LOSE THE BEARD. JJ gets thrown under the Bus for trying to punt Busch again for no reason.

That's my one nominee for the week. Feel free to come in with yours. 

Once again, it's time for you, the sports fan, to call out those sports figures that have raised your ire. What sports figures have raised your ire this week? Time to throw these miscreants under the Bus. I have some that I'd like to throw under the Bus.

FORMULA ONE

Bernie Ecclestone: this blithering idiot stated that Hitler "got things done," among other ramblings. He also stated that "democracy hasn't done good for a lot of other countries, including this one", in reference to Great Britain. Time to put you out to pasture, B. But not before you get thrown under the Bus.

NFL

Calvin Pace: the New York Jets' LB tested positive for PEDs. He took a dietary supplement that he says was unaware the supplement violated the NFL's substance abuse policy. If you're unaware of something, ask your trainers. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, ask team personnel that work with the NFL office, or anyone with the NFL office until you get a good answer. Every player should know what supplements are good and bad. For violating the league's substance abuse policy, Pace gets thrown under the Bus.

MLB

Pittsburgh Pirates: for being a clearing house for teams like the Yankees and Braves. It wasn't that long ago, 2007 to be exact, they had the best outfield in baseball (LF Jason Bay, CF Nate McLouth, RF Xavier Nady); now NONE of them are in the Burgh. Earlier in the week, they traded a good OF prospect in Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals for that bum Lastings Milledge. (There's a DAMN GOOD reason Milledge has been shipped out by two of the worst teams in the NL!) Then they traded a solid veteran in Eric Hinske to the Yankees. They could have had this outfield: McCutchen, Morgan, and Hinske. That could have been one of the better outfields in the bigs. Hinske could have mentored the other two outfielders. The Pittsburgh Pirates: rebuilding since 1992. I throw the ownership and front office of the Pirates under the Bus for perpetuating mediocrity losing and for making excuses for rebuilding.

NASCAR

Bill Weber: the TNT announcer allegedly didn't play well with others when TNT was in Loudon, NH. He got into a heated confrontation with a patron at a restaurant the night before the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. As a result, TNT yanked him from its remaining telecasts. Yes, this is a week late, but better late than never to throw Weber under the Bus for not playing well with others.

Those are my nominees for the week. Feel free to come in with yours!

Of all my blog posts, this may be the first one exclusively dedicated to tennis. While I blog primarily on NASCAR and the NFL, with a smattering of MLB and NBA thrown in, I am dedicating this one to the epic Wimbledon Gentlemen's Final earlier today between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick.

Wow. What a final! In a match where both men were playing at their very best, throwing everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink at each other, Federer finally prevailed 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14. The match lasted 4 hours and 16 minutes; the final set ALONE lasted an hour and a half. It was the longest final and the longest fifth set in a final, eclipsing records that stood for 82 years. If last year's epic final between Federer and Rafael Nadal was breathtaking, this year's topped it. Federer now stands alone among men with 15 Grand Slam titles, surpassing Pete Sampras' 14.

Back and forth, back and forth, the two men slugged, sliced, whipped, and darted around Centre Court, painting a picture that Picasso would have been proud of. The display of shotmaking, athleticism, and mental toughness was something I've not seen ever on a tennis court, and I've seen many of the legends: Connors, Borg, McEnroe, Agassi, Sampras, etc. The athleticism was incredible, and the shotmaking was great (particularly on critical points).

What really stood out in my mind was the mental toughness aspect. Roddick showed me a mental toughness I have never seen from him up to this point. And Federer? What else can you say about him? His mental toughness is OFF THE FREAKING CHARTS. The new definition of mental toughness should be a picture of Roger Federer holding up the Champion's Trophy after this match.

As stated above, this puts Federer all alone in Grand Slam titles. We are witnesses to history, as Federer is now considered the best male player to ever pick up a tennis racket. Where does he go from here? If he were to announce his retirement tomorrow, I certainly wouldn't blame him. (And his fellow players wouldn't, either!) But I think he wants to put some distance between him and Nadal, as Nadal could close fast.

Some interesting tidbits:

• Federer's lone service break came in the final game of the match.
• Roddick came into the Final with a 26-4 record in tiebreakers this year. He lost both tiebreakers in the match.
• This year's Wimbledon was almost devoid of rain. Only two matches were played while the Centre Court roof was retracted.
• Federer, with 50 aces, almost doubled Roddick's 27 aces. Federer was one ace shy of the Wimbledon record for a match.
• Federer will return to #1 in the rankings on Monday.

In conclusion, what an amazing final. For Roddick to play the best match of his career and still come up short is a testament to the greatness of Federer. Roddick has NOTHING to be ashamed of; I'm proud of him, and proud to say I was pulling for him. Federer is the game's all-time greatest champion, and I was a witness to history today.

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew presents the wine (or whine) and cheese version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, served up Northern California style.

THE GOOD

Kasey Kahne: as the race winner, he automatically gets first billing. He led the most laps in the race and had the best car out there. He was able to hold off a hard-charging Tony Stewart on several late-race restarts. The win was the first for Richard Petty as a car owner since John Andretti's win at Martinsville in April 1999. For Kahne, it was his first win on a road course, and he led the final 38 laps of the race. More importantly, the win moves him into 13th place in the standings. Good job Kasey!

Tony Stewart: Smoke had a strong car as well, as he led 11 laps. He kept waiting for Kahne to make a mistake, but it didn't happen. He was strongest in the middle thirds of the race.

Marcos Ambrose: he had to start at the rear of the field due to an engine change. But he kept plugging away and kept moving up. Plus he was the beneficiary of a caution flag that occurred shortly after he left the pits on a pit stop. He moved way up when several drivers ahead of him pitted during that caution, and he stayed out. He tied his career-best finish of third.

Jimmie Johnson: while he's not the best on road courses (he's never won at Sonoma or The Glen), he gets this spot because he dramatically improved on his average finish at Sonoma before this race. While he never led, he hung around and the crew kept working on the 48 to make it better, and the results showed.

Denny Hamlin: another driver with an unexpected result on a road course. Hamlin was stout, leading 33 laps and hanging around the top 5 much of the race.

Honorable Mention: Juan Pablo Montoya, AJ Allmendinger, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Elliott Sadler, Patrick Carpentier, and Max Papis.

THE BAD

PJ Jones: he did Todd Bodine one worse. He only completed TWO laps before he was done for the day, finishing in an amazing 43rd place. Dead Freaking Last. Dude, next time you pull this crap, give up your spot in the field to someone that wants to RACE. That was a disgrace to NASCAR and sports in general. That left a BAD taste in my mouth.

Dave Blaney: another S & P-this time he completed FOUR laps to finish 42nd and run off with his paycheck. Both he and Jones probably did faster times running off with their prize money than doing laps on the track DURING the race. Perhaps the FBI should issue posters with both Blaney's and Jones' faces on them with the caption: WANTED: ROBBERY AND GRAND LARCENY.

THE UGLY

Jimmie Johnson: it's rare that I put a driver in both the Good and Ugly categories, but I do this week. Johnson was trying to pass Kurt Busch in the esses. First of all, it's next to impossible to pass in the esses. Busch was running very well, and his chances of winning evaporated when Johnson punted him and sent him into the tire barrier to bring out a caution at Lap 90.

Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours! For all you fellow bloggers that made it to Sonoma, I had a GREAT time! Thank you for a memorable weekend!

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the Irish Hills of Michigan to bring you this week's version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Mark Martin: as the race winner, he automatically gets first billing. He led only the final lap of the race, but that was enough. He started 32nd; it was the first time in his CAREER he won a race starting that far back. The old man does it again! Good job Mark!

Jeff Gordon: he started at the rear of the field and steadily worked his way up towards the front. He didn't lead a lap; this was his highest position of the race.

Denny Hamlin: led a lap en route to a third place finish. He ran strong throughout the race.

Carl Edwards: he was in the top 10 for much of the race, despite struggling with the handling. It's a testament to how good a driver Edwards is.

Greg Biffle: he ran out of fuel halfway through the final lap, allowing Martin to win. He led 42 laps en route to his fifth place finish.

Honorable Mention: Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers, Clint Bowyer.

THE BAD

Jeff Burton: he uncharacteristically struggled to a 26th place finish, one lap down.

Sam Hornish Jr.: he had to start from the rear and never really got the car dialed in. He finished two laps down. 

THE UGLY

Attendance: the stands looked like they were half full. There were LOTS of empty seats masquerading as fans out there. This is a situation NASCAR has to address in depth at some point.

Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours.