NASCAR can’t control the weather, but these fake-outs with the rain delay coverage have got to go. This Sunday’s Fox broadcast has hit a new low. I’d normally say that NASCAR should have blown off all the pre-race and gone directly to racing. But in this case, the track wasn’t ready from the start. They went through all the motions that they going racing even though there was no intention of doing so. Shots of the jet dryers still out working were apparently avoided from the beginning. It was only when all the ceremonies were finished and everything was ready for the command to start engines, that it was suddenly made clear that the cars weren’t even out on pit lane.
After some extended BS, another rain shower doused the track. At this point, there was no chance of any action. But there’s Fox, stringing everything along for another hour with replacement programming and updates, insisting they were close to starting the race. I’ve seen the “string along” before as well as the “start the race under caution” crap, but this was almost unconscionable. It’s obvious ratings have been really bad this year when they pull stunts like this in sheer desperation. If the coverage had started with images of the track being dried, every fan that’s had to endure a TV rain delay (and not writing a blog about it), would have tuned out immediately.
I’m going to have to stop ranting here, because I’m flat out of euphemisms and will soon have to resort to profanity. Okay, what can be done about this? One, NASCAR and their broadcast partners need to start being more honest. Two, if wet weather’s likely during the race and the track is still dry, start the race as soon as camera’s turned on and give the fans some racing. That’s it, but that’ll be enough. In the meantime, I’m not knowingly sitting through anymore rain delays like this if I have anything else to do. I recommend the same to everyone else. They’ll listen to the ratings.
I’ll go ahead and review the sham “pre-race.” Since some people have taken offense to me commenting on women’s looks in this NASCAR blog, I’ll only focus in men’s looks this time.
Jimmie Johnson looked terrible. That “beard” has been bad enough all season, now he’s got some horrible buzz cut on top of it. Unforgivably, Fox covered his haircut more than they did Jeff Gordon’s wife’s new hairdo.
Speaking of Jeff Gordon, he looked terrible. Nothing like listening to someone talk about their recent medical procedures and seeing the results. Jeff said it wasn’t painful to go through it, but he looked like he’d been run through the spin cycle with a sack of rocks. If Gordon decides to call it a career after four championships (as the broadcast crew was speculating), and stay at home and make more babies with his beautiful wife, who could blame him? He’ll be able to quit, secure in the knowledge that he has a ready successor for the role NASCAR’s most hated driver. That is, Kyle Busch.
Meanwhile, the sports’ most loved driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (NASCAR’s version of Danica Patrick, but thankfully without the swimsuit shots), looked terrible. He looked like somebody had shot his dog right before his “pre-race” interview. I wonder if Junior’s urine would test positive for anti-depressants? I hope so, and I’m glad the race was called, because racing is dangerous enough without a suicidal driver out on track.
Tony Stewart looked much better without that scruff on his face. Maybe he was forsaking shaving until he won, which happened last week. But he’s still fat. The only good thing about the Car of Tomorrow is that there’s more window clearance so that he can still squeeze in and wasn’t have to be forced into early retirement.
And this is why I generally don’t comment on guys’ looks in my blog.
Jeremy Mayfield’s urine was again the “glossed over” topic of discussion. Until NASCAR or Mayfield’s lawyers release all of the pertinent information, it’s difficult to say how serious this all really is.
Lastly, there was another Digger cartoon, a rerun. I’m suspecting he’s on his way out. We can only hope.
J.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Indy 500: Real Emotion
Indulge me for a moment here before I get to the Indy comments.
My first task Sunday morning was to find out who won the F1 race in Monaco, since I wasn’t able to see it. I missed the results on an auto racing update on a radio show, but thankfully ABC/ESPN posted the winner on their bottom line ticker. Congratulations Jenson Button! That’s five out of the first six races. For a team that was put up for sale last year by Honda and didn’t even have an owner a month before the season started, they are on an incredible run. F1 has been turned upside down this year. With next year’s rule changes, Ferrari and others may not even be running in the series, an almost inconceivable thought.
Jense is my favorite F1 driver, and I was really pulling for him to win this race. It is the Indy 500/Daytona 500 equivalent glamour event on the schedule, thus all the racers want this trophy on their mantle. In past years, I’ve seen him stick it on the pole and battle hard for a second place there. This season must be really sweet for Button. I hope he finishes it out with a championship.
On to the race I did actually watch.
I’ll put in my pre-race predictions as I wrote them, in spite of how much I’d like to edit them to make myself look better.
I picked Graham Rahal to win. This was an impulsive choice, done in complete disregard for his lack of oval experience and success.
The other drivers I picked to watch were: Ryan Hunter Reay, Will Power, and Paul Tracy. RHR is a good driver on road courses. Even though he started in the rear, I assumed he’d move up to the front quickly. Will Power was driving for his next job, as he’s the odd man out at Penske with Helio back. I put Tracy in, because I assumed he’d cause some huge wreck from being too aggressive with the “chrome horn.”
Of course the smart choices would have been any of the Ganassi or Penske cars. I was hoping for either of Target cars to win. Seeing Emma Dixon or Ashley Judd in the post-race would have been delightful. As it was, I did get Brienne Pedigo and Jamie Little. Not bad, though they both tone down their looks severely for work. I’ll be equal opportunity here for a change. Dario Franchitti looked good with his hair grown out. My dad made the comment that he looked like he had the hair of an Italian. That’s right. He is Scottish of Italian descent.
The pre-race set the stage pretty well. The Helio Castroneves profile was memorable. The tears flowed like a Barbara Walters’ Special. What can you say? He’s Brazilian. Thank goodness the trial turned out well for him. Otherwise, the man’s name would probably been verboten for the entire race.
Of other pre-race note, my parents had some incredible consternation over whether Jim Nabors would be singing or not. Of course he was. He still has a great voice and it’s tremendous to hear the crowd singing along. That was all mom wanted to see of the race. Speaking of the crowd, there were still plenty of good seats still available, especially behind pit lane. Even the announces noticed.
Let the heartbreaks begin. I’ll just hit a few of the highlights as they came.
Marco Andretti was wrecked early. This sucks, but there was a reason I didn’t bother picking him to win. At least you could still see him, shirtless even, in those razor commercials.
Early exit for RHR, but at least you could still see him in all those the Izod commercials.
So much for Rahal. He’s not in any commercials, so see ya next week, Graham. Thanks for making me look like a boob.
Poor Tony Kanaan. TK’s such a great driver. The year he won the championship, he completed every lap of competition, an almost unimaginable feat. From the in-car view, wow was that a hit! If you watch the replay closely, you can clearly see the track itself reaching up to take out his car. This is somehow a personal grudge with Indy.
Then there’s the Heartbreaker herself, Danica Patrick. There was continuous Danica coverage throughout the race, including the commercials. She’s like the IRL’s version of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Of course with all that Danica coverage, they had scrimp on covering a few other drivers, like about half the field. I saw that Scott Sharp was running. I don’t know what happened to him. Fan favorite Sarah Fisher? She got some airtime. Don’t know where she finished either.
Milka Duno must get some special props here. She only got called out by one wrecked driver. Milka may or may not have really had anything to do with the wreck, but if she’s in the vicinity, she’s going to get blamed. As far as I could tell, she finished last of the cars still running, one lap down. You know, she’s a very likable person (though Danica’s biggest mistake last year was trying to pick a fight with her), but she’s probably still in over her head in the league. And then there’s Milka’s sponsor, Hugo Chavez’s oil company. It’s a little hard to root for her.
Gutsy performance of the race? Whew, this is going to be tough. I gotta give it to Samantha Lloyd. First, her husband, Alex, is wearing a pink jumpsuit and driving a pink car, thus gaining the nickname, “Pink Lloyd.” Second, the surreal interview with the pregnant Ms. Lloyd, calmly announcing that her contractions were about 10 minutes apart. She planned on staying until the end of the race. “If the contractions get to about five minutes apart, I’ll go ahead and leave. Can’t have the pit crew trying to deliver a baby and change tires at the same time.” That’s dedication.
So who did she beat out for my prestigious award? Poor Vitor Meira. Figures, the guy’s never won, but has come in second like nine times. What happened to him? His car caught on fire in the pits. He even took some burn damage himself, but still managed to get back out on track and stay on the lead lap. For an encore, Vitor’s day ended with his car running sideways along the wall and backward. They had to take him out on a stretcher. He did get some respect. Before the end of the coverage, they announced he’d been taken to the hospital. They never said what happened to Sam. You kinda fell down on that storyline ESPN.
There was some false drama near the end with Weldon and Danica chasing down Helio. For the last 10 laps there was no coverage of anybody except Helio and his family. I think there were other people on track racing, but I can’t confirm that. There were no shots of the other finishers. I guess they were irrelevant. (Helio was pretty far out ahead. They would have had to have waited quite a while for the others to get there.) Paul Tracy turned out to not to be a factor, but he kept it cool and did okay. Will Power was in contention and finished well. Thanks Will, for not making me look completely ignorant about the league.
I’d comment on what a great and moving drama it was in Victory Lane, but you could see it all there with Helio burying his head in his hands and sobbing. This has to have been the most emotional win for a driver at Indy ever. The crowd gave him a good cheer on the final lap. And yes, he got a kiss from the trophy girl. As God intended for every race winner.
There were some surprises in the other post-race interviews I saw. I’d heard about a “mellower” Danica this season and there she was. I like this version better. Hopefully with this third place at Indy, she’ll be inspired to keep it up and maybe more good results will follow.
Then there was this “mature” Dan Wheldon? What’s going on here? This is the guy who was luridly asking to be interviewed by Jamie Little a couple of years ago, got his teeth fixed last year as part of his off-season training, and collects exotic shoes. Like Austin Powers in a race car. Maybe it was the marriage and new kid thing and being booted off the Ganassi team that’s changed him. Great to see the one-car team of Panther Racing do so well.
He was probably okay with second place, but probably more happy to have beaten Danica. Just a little backstory. Her rookie year, Dan had to wear a tee-shirt saying, “I was the one who actually won the Indy 500.” A couple of years later, she tried to start a fight with him in the pits over a racing incident. Wheldon, Briscoe, Duno, some of her teammates at AGR, and every other driver who’s not named Helio, who’s jealous of her fame. Yeah, she’s made some enemies, so her charm offensive is a good thing.
ESPN had a ticker of the finish, but I didn’t get to see it well to take notes on it. I did miss the last five minutes of the coverage getting home to watch the NASCAR race, which was starting in five minutes. So, if I’m short-shrifting their post-race, my apologies, but I kinda doubt I am.
Overall? The coverage was very pre-determined, storyline driven, so no points there. The pre-race did go well. There was Side-by-Side coverage, which was swell. I think the post-race would have been better, but the length of the race ended up cutting it short.
The race itself featured red and white domination. The only serious question was would it be Ganassi or Penske? Thanks to the fact that it’s a long race (especially as most other Indycar races are much shorter), there was still plenty of drama, with sudden reversals of fortune and displays of steady perseverance. Since it’s Indy and there are rookies and racers who shouldn’t be in the field, you’re going to get crashes. The restarts were interesting, but unfortunately just like NASCAR, the leader tended to fly away from the pack.
The car package needs to be open to more modification by the teams and more engine competition (Honda is actually very open to that). Unfortunately, that would add a lot more cost to the development, so who knows? I am heartened by Weldon and Panther’s performance. Hopefully, more teams will be able to get into the winning mix. Regardless, as long they’re putting on this show at Indy, I’ll be watching.
J.
My first task Sunday morning was to find out who won the F1 race in Monaco, since I wasn’t able to see it. I missed the results on an auto racing update on a radio show, but thankfully ABC/ESPN posted the winner on their bottom line ticker. Congratulations Jenson Button! That’s five out of the first six races. For a team that was put up for sale last year by Honda and didn’t even have an owner a month before the season started, they are on an incredible run. F1 has been turned upside down this year. With next year’s rule changes, Ferrari and others may not even be running in the series, an almost inconceivable thought.
Jense is my favorite F1 driver, and I was really pulling for him to win this race. It is the Indy 500/Daytona 500 equivalent glamour event on the schedule, thus all the racers want this trophy on their mantle. In past years, I’ve seen him stick it on the pole and battle hard for a second place there. This season must be really sweet for Button. I hope he finishes it out with a championship.
On to the race I did actually watch.
I’ll put in my pre-race predictions as I wrote them, in spite of how much I’d like to edit them to make myself look better.
I picked Graham Rahal to win. This was an impulsive choice, done in complete disregard for his lack of oval experience and success.
The other drivers I picked to watch were: Ryan Hunter Reay, Will Power, and Paul Tracy. RHR is a good driver on road courses. Even though he started in the rear, I assumed he’d move up to the front quickly. Will Power was driving for his next job, as he’s the odd man out at Penske with Helio back. I put Tracy in, because I assumed he’d cause some huge wreck from being too aggressive with the “chrome horn.”
Of course the smart choices would have been any of the Ganassi or Penske cars. I was hoping for either of Target cars to win. Seeing Emma Dixon or Ashley Judd in the post-race would have been delightful. As it was, I did get Brienne Pedigo and Jamie Little. Not bad, though they both tone down their looks severely for work. I’ll be equal opportunity here for a change. Dario Franchitti looked good with his hair grown out. My dad made the comment that he looked like he had the hair of an Italian. That’s right. He is Scottish of Italian descent.
The pre-race set the stage pretty well. The Helio Castroneves profile was memorable. The tears flowed like a Barbara Walters’ Special. What can you say? He’s Brazilian. Thank goodness the trial turned out well for him. Otherwise, the man’s name would probably been verboten for the entire race.
Of other pre-race note, my parents had some incredible consternation over whether Jim Nabors would be singing or not. Of course he was. He still has a great voice and it’s tremendous to hear the crowd singing along. That was all mom wanted to see of the race. Speaking of the crowd, there were still plenty of good seats still available, especially behind pit lane. Even the announces noticed.
Let the heartbreaks begin. I’ll just hit a few of the highlights as they came.
Marco Andretti was wrecked early. This sucks, but there was a reason I didn’t bother picking him to win. At least you could still see him, shirtless even, in those razor commercials.
Early exit for RHR, but at least you could still see him in all those the Izod commercials.
So much for Rahal. He’s not in any commercials, so see ya next week, Graham. Thanks for making me look like a boob.
Poor Tony Kanaan. TK’s such a great driver. The year he won the championship, he completed every lap of competition, an almost unimaginable feat. From the in-car view, wow was that a hit! If you watch the replay closely, you can clearly see the track itself reaching up to take out his car. This is somehow a personal grudge with Indy.
Then there’s the Heartbreaker herself, Danica Patrick. There was continuous Danica coverage throughout the race, including the commercials. She’s like the IRL’s version of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Of course with all that Danica coverage, they had scrimp on covering a few other drivers, like about half the field. I saw that Scott Sharp was running. I don’t know what happened to him. Fan favorite Sarah Fisher? She got some airtime. Don’t know where she finished either.
Milka Duno must get some special props here. She only got called out by one wrecked driver. Milka may or may not have really had anything to do with the wreck, but if she’s in the vicinity, she’s going to get blamed. As far as I could tell, she finished last of the cars still running, one lap down. You know, she’s a very likable person (though Danica’s biggest mistake last year was trying to pick a fight with her), but she’s probably still in over her head in the league. And then there’s Milka’s sponsor, Hugo Chavez’s oil company. It’s a little hard to root for her.
Gutsy performance of the race? Whew, this is going to be tough. I gotta give it to Samantha Lloyd. First, her husband, Alex, is wearing a pink jumpsuit and driving a pink car, thus gaining the nickname, “Pink Lloyd.” Second, the surreal interview with the pregnant Ms. Lloyd, calmly announcing that her contractions were about 10 minutes apart. She planned on staying until the end of the race. “If the contractions get to about five minutes apart, I’ll go ahead and leave. Can’t have the pit crew trying to deliver a baby and change tires at the same time.” That’s dedication.
So who did she beat out for my prestigious award? Poor Vitor Meira. Figures, the guy’s never won, but has come in second like nine times. What happened to him? His car caught on fire in the pits. He even took some burn damage himself, but still managed to get back out on track and stay on the lead lap. For an encore, Vitor’s day ended with his car running sideways along the wall and backward. They had to take him out on a stretcher. He did get some respect. Before the end of the coverage, they announced he’d been taken to the hospital. They never said what happened to Sam. You kinda fell down on that storyline ESPN.
There was some false drama near the end with Weldon and Danica chasing down Helio. For the last 10 laps there was no coverage of anybody except Helio and his family. I think there were other people on track racing, but I can’t confirm that. There were no shots of the other finishers. I guess they were irrelevant. (Helio was pretty far out ahead. They would have had to have waited quite a while for the others to get there.) Paul Tracy turned out to not to be a factor, but he kept it cool and did okay. Will Power was in contention and finished well. Thanks Will, for not making me look completely ignorant about the league.
I’d comment on what a great and moving drama it was in Victory Lane, but you could see it all there with Helio burying his head in his hands and sobbing. This has to have been the most emotional win for a driver at Indy ever. The crowd gave him a good cheer on the final lap. And yes, he got a kiss from the trophy girl. As God intended for every race winner.
There were some surprises in the other post-race interviews I saw. I’d heard about a “mellower” Danica this season and there she was. I like this version better. Hopefully with this third place at Indy, she’ll be inspired to keep it up and maybe more good results will follow.
Then there was this “mature” Dan Wheldon? What’s going on here? This is the guy who was luridly asking to be interviewed by Jamie Little a couple of years ago, got his teeth fixed last year as part of his off-season training, and collects exotic shoes. Like Austin Powers in a race car. Maybe it was the marriage and new kid thing and being booted off the Ganassi team that’s changed him. Great to see the one-car team of Panther Racing do so well.
He was probably okay with second place, but probably more happy to have beaten Danica. Just a little backstory. Her rookie year, Dan had to wear a tee-shirt saying, “I was the one who actually won the Indy 500.” A couple of years later, she tried to start a fight with him in the pits over a racing incident. Wheldon, Briscoe, Duno, some of her teammates at AGR, and every other driver who’s not named Helio, who’s jealous of her fame. Yeah, she’s made some enemies, so her charm offensive is a good thing.
ESPN had a ticker of the finish, but I didn’t get to see it well to take notes on it. I did miss the last five minutes of the coverage getting home to watch the NASCAR race, which was starting in five minutes. So, if I’m short-shrifting their post-race, my apologies, but I kinda doubt I am.
Overall? The coverage was very pre-determined, storyline driven, so no points there. The pre-race did go well. There was Side-by-Side coverage, which was swell. I think the post-race would have been better, but the length of the race ended up cutting it short.
The race itself featured red and white domination. The only serious question was would it be Ganassi or Penske? Thanks to the fact that it’s a long race (especially as most other Indycar races are much shorter), there was still plenty of drama, with sudden reversals of fortune and displays of steady perseverance. Since it’s Indy and there are rookies and racers who shouldn’t be in the field, you’re going to get crashes. The restarts were interesting, but unfortunately just like NASCAR, the leader tended to fly away from the pack.
The car package needs to be open to more modification by the teams and more engine competition (Honda is actually very open to that). Unfortunately, that would add a lot more cost to the development, so who knows? I am heartened by Weldon and Panther’s performance. Hopefully, more teams will be able to get into the winning mix. Regardless, as long they’re putting on this show at Indy, I’ll be watching.
J.
Friday, May 15, 2009
NASCAR All-Star Race: Sheer Adoration
I don’t have cable, so I didn’t get to see the race. So that’s my commentary on that. Instead, I offer this: an Ode to Miss Sprint Cup.
Shiny hair dark as night
Smile like a searchlight
Warm eyes glowing
Would that your jumpsuit
Left more skin showing
Errr. . . You know my haiku skills are a little better than my rhyming skills. Let’s try this instead.
Wink to me trophy girl
Damn sponsorship obligations
Show me that you care
Oh, let’s be honest here. The main reason I’m watching these races isn’t to blog them, but because I’m totally hot for Miss Sprint Cup, Monica Palumbo. My recurring fantasy involves dousing her in champagne while undoing her Sprint Cup jumpsuit. “Ah, yes Monica. You’ve won and the champagne is all for you this time. Oops, your zipper has come undone.” Watching her take collateral celebration fallout, while trying to stay in the TV picture and flash her beautiful smile is about close as I’m going to get to that in real life. A zillion segments on Junior, and Fox can’t do one fluff interview with Monica. I may never really know anything about her. She did wink to me once in Victory Lane. I cherish that memory.
I hate to pick favorites. Anne-Marie Rhodes, the other Sprint Girl, is nice, but she appears to be married or engaged. Further, Tony Stewart made out with her after one of his Indy victories. (I’ve seen the pictures! She seemed surprised by the affection.)
The trophy girl is an outdated concept. There is no real place for it in today’s politically correct and morally ambiguous world. The drivers don’t even get a kiss anymore. I’m not even sure they’re allowed to talk to the drivers after what happened between Jeff Gordon and Brooke. Sprint would probably be better served promotion-wise by some goofy, child-friendly mascot character. (A gopher perhaps?)
But do you remember Nextel’s ill-fated tenure as title sponsor? There was no trophy girl. Sure, you only consciously missed it once or twice, but in the back of your mind, Victory Lane just seemed to be missing something. It’s inescapable. It’s history and tradition, for better or worse. Even if it’s Danica Patrick winning the Daytona 500 someday (however unlikely), there still has to be a trophy girl there with her. And if Danica and Monica want to kiss on stage, I . . . errr. . .
Monica, if you’re doing a vanity search and somehow stumble on this post (I’ve had that happen before), please know that I have nothing but the highest respect for you and job. Umm. . . How about an autographed picture? “To my favorite blogger, jdh417, xoxo (smooches) Monica.”
J.
Shiny hair dark as night
Smile like a searchlight
Warm eyes glowing
Would that your jumpsuit
Left more skin showing
Errr. . . You know my haiku skills are a little better than my rhyming skills. Let’s try this instead.
Wink to me trophy girl
Damn sponsorship obligations
Show me that you care
Oh, let’s be honest here. The main reason I’m watching these races isn’t to blog them, but because I’m totally hot for Miss Sprint Cup, Monica Palumbo. My recurring fantasy involves dousing her in champagne while undoing her Sprint Cup jumpsuit. “Ah, yes Monica. You’ve won and the champagne is all for you this time. Oops, your zipper has come undone.” Watching her take collateral celebration fallout, while trying to stay in the TV picture and flash her beautiful smile is about close as I’m going to get to that in real life. A zillion segments on Junior, and Fox can’t do one fluff interview with Monica. I may never really know anything about her. She did wink to me once in Victory Lane. I cherish that memory.
I hate to pick favorites. Anne-Marie Rhodes, the other Sprint Girl, is nice, but she appears to be married or engaged. Further, Tony Stewart made out with her after one of his Indy victories. (I’ve seen the pictures! She seemed surprised by the affection.)
The trophy girl is an outdated concept. There is no real place for it in today’s politically correct and morally ambiguous world. The drivers don’t even get a kiss anymore. I’m not even sure they’re allowed to talk to the drivers after what happened between Jeff Gordon and Brooke. Sprint would probably be better served promotion-wise by some goofy, child-friendly mascot character. (A gopher perhaps?)
But do you remember Nextel’s ill-fated tenure as title sponsor? There was no trophy girl. Sure, you only consciously missed it once or twice, but in the back of your mind, Victory Lane just seemed to be missing something. It’s inescapable. It’s history and tradition, for better or worse. Even if it’s Danica Patrick winning the Daytona 500 someday (however unlikely), there still has to be a trophy girl there with her. And if Danica and Monica want to kiss on stage, I . . . errr. . .
Monica, if you’re doing a vanity search and somehow stumble on this post (I’ve had that happen before), please know that I have nothing but the highest respect for you and job. Umm. . . How about an autographed picture? “To my favorite blogger, jdh417, xoxo (smooches) Monica.”
J.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Darlington Cup Race: Fizzle
Another Fox broadcasting baseball/NASCAR double-header. It’s a great way to kill an entire day in front of the TV. Unfortunately, the baseball game was a terrible disappointment in excitement, 8 to 0, Dodgers over Giants. All eyes had been on SoCal because of Manny Ramirez’s 50 game drug suspension. What little pre-game there was and the in game chatter about the suspension primarily focused on his return. I admit he was quite a highlight reel the last time the Dodgers were featured in the game of the week.
(I like color commentator Eric Karros, but his players’ union rep side is intolerable at times. “I say Manny should play in the All-Star game if he’s voted in by the fans.” “Well Eric, our Fox poll shows that the fans have voted 80% to 20% that Manny shouldn’t play in the All-Star game this year.” “Like I said, if the fans want Manny to play, then he should play.” This explanation went on for five agonizing minutes due to the blow out in progress. And, no, he shouldn’t play.)
What on earth does this have to do with NASCAR?
The abbreviated NASCAR Darlington pre-race briefly mentioned Jeremy Mayfield and a couple of crew members had been suspended for failing their drug tests and had been indefinitely suspended. I’d compare and contrast the drug situation with Man-Ram, but that tidbit was the whole story and discussion on the broadcast. No mention of what drugs were involved or discussion of NASCAR’s testing and suspension protocols. Unlike Shane Hmiel (not sure I’m spelling that right), I knew who Jeremy Mayfield was before the suspension. This issue merited some more coverage, but like I said, it was a short pre-race.
So what was on the pre-race instead? A quick Digger promo. A couple of tantalizing glimpses of Ingrid. Jeff Gordon and his mom made a pitch for his mom’s new cookbook, but carefully skirted the issue of Ingrid’s new ‘doo. (I’m still waiting for some in-depth coverage.) Then came one of the most pathetic moments in Fox’s NASCAR coverage history: DW practically begging Junior to win a race in an interview. Oh wait. That’s pretty much every interview this year. How sad.
Fox hasn’t yet figured out how to get Junior in Victory Lane, but has figured how to monetize their Junior coverage. At least for this race, the Mountain Dew cam showed Junior’s progress throughout the race, like him blowing yet another pit stop. I could pile on with the commentary, but I’ll stop here.
So the bout was set: the Tank of Tomorrow versus the Darlington wall. It was physical with plenty of hits and punches, and a few knockouts. Michael Waltrip Racing took it on the chin with three KO’s. Fox probably didn’t appreciate their pedal cam (and sponsorship) going up in flames.
It was a long race, but had lots of passing and wrecks. The sight of cars coming off Turn Four was breathtaking all night long. This Southern 500 was a race featuring a steady attrition of drivers being taken out of contention and the persevering endurance of the competitors putting themselves in a position to win.
There are good points and bad points to the typical lengthy NASCAR races compared to the IRL, ALMS, and F1 races that take under three hours. The good side is the drama. Over the course of a long race there may often be many reverses of fortune and sudden changes in strategy for any driver. Jimmie Johnson’s night was as good an example of that as anyone: starting in the back, using strategy to get up front, then going down a lap, and finally finishing second. The downside is that it’s an endurance contest for the viewers as well. Likewise, consider the argument for the DH in baseball: making the pitcher hit adds strategy to the game, but nobody goes to a game to watch the manager think. (And that is completely wrong, but this still isn’t a baseball column.) People generally watch races to see cars go fast, not crew chiefs making tough decisions. It’s hard to say definitely what sort of racing (long or short) is intrinsically the best. It really depends on the individual races themselves.
This was a generally lively race, up until after the final pit stop. Congratulations to a fine driving effort from Mark Martin. But let’s face it, any other driver up front in this one at the end probably would have won too. There was some false drama about fuel mileage, but the race was effectively over well before the end.
I’ll sum this problem up in three words: Car of Tomorrow. It’s becoming clear that, at many tracks, track position is now everything near the end. There is no other strategy. The leading car took off like it was shot out of a canon time and time again after restarts. Pit stops and wrecks were the only things slowing the leader down. I guess this feeds back into the strategy and fate issue. A short race with one or two pit stops with the COT would probably be far too predictable to be interesting.
The COT is not going to be changed anytime soon. (It would likely require some healthy car manufacturers in the series and some terrible deadly wreck. At which point they really might turn the car into a tank.) This competition issue might be fixable with the tires. They’d have to be tough enough to survive the heavy wear that the COT puts on them. (Remember all those exploding tires last year?) But their grip needs to degrade quicker, allowing car setup and driver skill a chance to trump track position. It’s a pity Goodyear has seemingly disappeared from NASCAR. With all the other product placements during a broadcast, the absence of any mention of the series only tire manufacturer is disturbing to say the least.
In two weeks, we go from endurance contest to outright marathon with the Indy 500 and Coke-snorting 600. No wait, Jeremy Mayfield won’t be there. It’ll just be the Coca-Cola 600. (Apologies if he wasn’t doing coke, the broadcast didn’t say!)
J.
(I like color commentator Eric Karros, but his players’ union rep side is intolerable at times. “I say Manny should play in the All-Star game if he’s voted in by the fans.” “Well Eric, our Fox poll shows that the fans have voted 80% to 20% that Manny shouldn’t play in the All-Star game this year.” “Like I said, if the fans want Manny to play, then he should play.” This explanation went on for five agonizing minutes due to the blow out in progress. And, no, he shouldn’t play.)
What on earth does this have to do with NASCAR?
The abbreviated NASCAR Darlington pre-race briefly mentioned Jeremy Mayfield and a couple of crew members had been suspended for failing their drug tests and had been indefinitely suspended. I’d compare and contrast the drug situation with Man-Ram, but that tidbit was the whole story and discussion on the broadcast. No mention of what drugs were involved or discussion of NASCAR’s testing and suspension protocols. Unlike Shane Hmiel (not sure I’m spelling that right), I knew who Jeremy Mayfield was before the suspension. This issue merited some more coverage, but like I said, it was a short pre-race.
So what was on the pre-race instead? A quick Digger promo. A couple of tantalizing glimpses of Ingrid. Jeff Gordon and his mom made a pitch for his mom’s new cookbook, but carefully skirted the issue of Ingrid’s new ‘doo. (I’m still waiting for some in-depth coverage.) Then came one of the most pathetic moments in Fox’s NASCAR coverage history: DW practically begging Junior to win a race in an interview. Oh wait. That’s pretty much every interview this year. How sad.
Fox hasn’t yet figured out how to get Junior in Victory Lane, but has figured how to monetize their Junior coverage. At least for this race, the Mountain Dew cam showed Junior’s progress throughout the race, like him blowing yet another pit stop. I could pile on with the commentary, but I’ll stop here.
So the bout was set: the Tank of Tomorrow versus the Darlington wall. It was physical with plenty of hits and punches, and a few knockouts. Michael Waltrip Racing took it on the chin with three KO’s. Fox probably didn’t appreciate their pedal cam (and sponsorship) going up in flames.
It was a long race, but had lots of passing and wrecks. The sight of cars coming off Turn Four was breathtaking all night long. This Southern 500 was a race featuring a steady attrition of drivers being taken out of contention and the persevering endurance of the competitors putting themselves in a position to win.
There are good points and bad points to the typical lengthy NASCAR races compared to the IRL, ALMS, and F1 races that take under three hours. The good side is the drama. Over the course of a long race there may often be many reverses of fortune and sudden changes in strategy for any driver. Jimmie Johnson’s night was as good an example of that as anyone: starting in the back, using strategy to get up front, then going down a lap, and finally finishing second. The downside is that it’s an endurance contest for the viewers as well. Likewise, consider the argument for the DH in baseball: making the pitcher hit adds strategy to the game, but nobody goes to a game to watch the manager think. (And that is completely wrong, but this still isn’t a baseball column.) People generally watch races to see cars go fast, not crew chiefs making tough decisions. It’s hard to say definitely what sort of racing (long or short) is intrinsically the best. It really depends on the individual races themselves.
This was a generally lively race, up until after the final pit stop. Congratulations to a fine driving effort from Mark Martin. But let’s face it, any other driver up front in this one at the end probably would have won too. There was some false drama about fuel mileage, but the race was effectively over well before the end.
I’ll sum this problem up in three words: Car of Tomorrow. It’s becoming clear that, at many tracks, track position is now everything near the end. There is no other strategy. The leading car took off like it was shot out of a canon time and time again after restarts. Pit stops and wrecks were the only things slowing the leader down. I guess this feeds back into the strategy and fate issue. A short race with one or two pit stops with the COT would probably be far too predictable to be interesting.
The COT is not going to be changed anytime soon. (It would likely require some healthy car manufacturers in the series and some terrible deadly wreck. At which point they really might turn the car into a tank.) This competition issue might be fixable with the tires. They’d have to be tough enough to survive the heavy wear that the COT puts on them. (Remember all those exploding tires last year?) But their grip needs to degrade quicker, allowing car setup and driver skill a chance to trump track position. It’s a pity Goodyear has seemingly disappeared from NASCAR. With all the other product placements during a broadcast, the absence of any mention of the series only tire manufacturer is disturbing to say the least.
In two weeks, we go from endurance contest to outright marathon with the Indy 500 and Coke-snorting 600. No wait, Jeremy Mayfield won’t be there. It’ll just be the Coca-Cola 600. (Apologies if he wasn’t doing coke, the broadcast didn’t say!)
J.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Richmond Cup Race: One Too Many Mint Juleps
No, I wasn’t watching the Kentucky Derby before the race. Anticipating a caution/commercial filled race, I attempted to make the event more interesting with some liquid enhancement. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the race would be delayed. First up was the best pre-race show of the season where we watched the Mets walk in the winning run against the Phillies in the bottom of the 10th. Ah, that was just too bad for Mets. Then there was the caution/start, which made me wish that the baseball game had gone another inning. Well by this time, the mint juleps had overcome me. I could no longer pay attention or blog responsibly.
What I vaguely remember through the alcohol-induced haze and subsequent coma was a decent race. But let’s face it, last week was a tough act to follow, so I don’t really feel like missed anything. We’ll try this again next week.
J.
What I vaguely remember through the alcohol-induced haze and subsequent coma was a decent race. But let’s face it, last week was a tough act to follow, so I don’t really feel like missed anything. We’ll try this again next week.
J.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Talledega NASCAR Races: Airborne!
Well, what’d know? The COT can fly. I mean other than Michael McDowell’s memorable Texas’ qualifying wreck, the car generally sticks to the track. I’m sure Carl Edwards was as surprised as anybody to be reenacting Bobby Allison’s famous attempt to bring racing action closer to the fans. Thankfully, the track safety equipment worked the same now as then.
It’s very strange that a car that’s so aerodynamically unstable and hard to drive during a race, suddenly becomes manageable in situations that typically flip racecars right over. Ask Michael Waltrip, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex about that. Then ask Matt Kenseth, who ended up getting turned over easy in the old-style Nationwide car the day before.
Once again, I was reminded not to starting mentally writing these things before I’ve actually seen the race. I was planning on comparing and contrasting ESPN’s Nationwide coverage with Fox’s Cup coverage this weekend. This is moot. The races and broadcast styles were different, but ultimately the quality of the races itself was what determined the fans’ enjoyment. In these two cases, both races were good.
I would have to give the edge to ESPN’s pre-race. It was professional and energetic. Actually, Brad Daugherty can handle “energetic” by himself. I like Brad, and say what you will, he didn’t get the job through Affirmative Action, but from experience and sheer enthusiasm. The good attitude starts with Alan Bestwick, who sets the tone well. Andy Petree and Tim Brewer both did a good job of setting up the technical side of the race. The rest of the crew acquitted themselves well. (I’m being nice to Dr. Punch.)
On the Fox side, there was a Digger cartoon rerun, a pointless radio chatter feature, and a Talledega memories segment that didn’t seem to pay off. But, they did a good job of talking to several drivers. The Carl Edwards’ interview while he was showing off his flying skills race turned out to be unintentional foreshadowing. Anyway, as I’ve said before, NASCAR is personality-driven and all drivers have their fans. Giving Kyle Busch some promotion makes his fans happy and gives his legion of detractors more to hate. Everybody wins.
I can’t believe that Fox is even promoting Digger in their baseball broadcasts now. (Sidebar: Since I’m not covering baseball at the moment, I have to put this here. The best moment of that 4 ½ hour Yankees vs. Red Sox game had to come from a Sox’s fan. After Jeter had fouled one off, a heckler, either very loud or too close to the crowd mic, shouted, “That would have been a home run in your ballpark!” Good smack.) Frankly, Fox’s broadcast seemed like a steady stream of constant commercials and product placements, more so than ESPN’s.
For that matter, I have to ask, what is up with Goodyear? Not their tires, but fact nobody mentioned them during either broadcast (except for an Indy tire test story). Is there some sort of feud? Are they not paying enough to get mentioned, like Sunoco and their freaking race fuel? Toyo Tires was sponsoring the pit stops on ESPN! Goodyear must be gnashing their teeth like Sprint does during all those other those other cell phone company sponsorships that happen during the race. Apparently, Goodyear is going to have to start messing up their tire compounds again if they want to get any airtime.
The Nationwide race featured big three-wide packs and lots of mixing it up for the lead. Kenseth took flight, as no race at this venue is really complete until somebody gets flipped. The action was thick enough near the end that the broadcast team could hardly keep up with it. In good Talledega fashion, the winner was a mystery until somebody crossed the finish line. On another note, did I hear Michael Waltrip actually flirting with Jamie Little? I hope his wife wasn’t watching. He looked a little discombobulated after his wreck. Then again I remember Dan Wheldon in the IRL doing the same thing. Who can blame them?
The Cup race was a tale of big crashes. I picked the first one to be early, solely because there hadn’t been one the day before. I saw the second one coming right before it happened. The broadcasters seemed unsurprised when it happened as well. That typical Talledega mad dash for the checkers had a crescendo that no one saw coming. That wreck will be replayed for years to come. Fox reported fan injuries from the wreck, but gave no details. Thankfully, the injuries were later reported to be minor. Thankfully, this wasn’t another Dale Sr. moment for the network.
The COT gave a good report of its self in the race. Sort of. Plenty of pluses for safety. While the old-style car flipped at the first opportunity, the COT passed up on all but one, and Carl Edwards not only walked away, but jogged. After that first Big One, it’s amazing how many cars involved were competitive afterward. Chalk that up to toughness. On the other hand, the car is an aero brick in undamaged form, so even at a super speedway, it’s not that surprising that they’re still racy after being damaged. While the Nationwide cars could run most of the race three-wide without incident, the COT could not maintain that formation for long without either wrecking (the first Big One), or reverting to double or single file racing. I’m not sure if this is good or bad. Take your pick.
One race later, I’m already lifting my ban on Junior coverage. He ran up front and finished well, so I don’t feel too bad about this. He got plenty of attention. In both pre-race interviews, Junior was way too uptight. Even Matt Kenseth was more lively when he was interviewed. As the in-race reporter in the Nationwide race, Junior did an excellent job of explaining the differences in drafting between the Nationwide car and the COT. Not surprisingly, he liked the Nationwide-style car better. Junior finally lightened up after blowing yet another pit stop by missing his stall on Saturday. After the Cup race, he looked much more relaxed as well. Did he, “Get his mojo back,” as Dr. Jerry Punch said repeatedly? Stay tuned. As the Junior turns.
There’s a lot of racing kudos to spread out here. Congratulations to a pair of first time winners in David Ragan and Brad Keselowski. Both were involved in wrecks that took another driver out, but neither intentionally. Both handled the post race well. How great was it in Cup to see somebody not on a big team win?
Congrats also to Aussie Marcos Ambrose, Scott Speed, and Jeff Burton for their top ten finishes. Burton certainly made some new fans. Not so much coming back from three laps down, but for spinning out Kyle Busch from the lead. Speed did very well considering he started the race from pit lane.
Special praise must go to Carl Edwards. He executed a race-long strategy on the last lap that came oh-so-close to paying off. He’s easily in the lead for the stunt crash of the year award, and Edwards is also in the lead for the showmanship award for crossing the finish line on foot after that crash. He’s made the Talledega historical reel forever.
While NASCAR may be basking in the glow right now, this race has exposed a couple of issues.
For the lesser matter, we return to Scott Speed. His car was tricked out for qualifying and had to be reset for the race. If the initial adjustment hadn’t been done, likely a “start and park” team would have gotten in and would have dropped out after a couple of laps. As unfair as the top 35 rule may be, a fully funded team, who intends to run the full race, that is knocked out by a team that is essentially funded by NASCAR to fill the field is worse. This issue is complicated and I don’t have a solution, but I’m sure others do, and they should be considered.
The more serious matter is safety at Talledega. No, it’s not the fences or the cars. The unanimous opinion of drivers, commentators, and myself is that it’s the double yellow line penalty. Regardless of how many times it’s explained, it sure looked like Tony Stewart got away with one last year but pushing Regan Smith below the lines. Keselowski and Edwards were certainly watching last Fall’s race and the result was predictable in the same situation. It’s also predictable that there’s going to be plenty more close finishes at this track. NASCAR needs to make a rules adjustment. Giving the drivers the whole track to work with in the tri-oval area on the final lap seems like the easiest solution.
Do a couple of great Talledega races make up for a so-so season to this point? We’ll see.
J.
It’s very strange that a car that’s so aerodynamically unstable and hard to drive during a race, suddenly becomes manageable in situations that typically flip racecars right over. Ask Michael Waltrip, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex about that. Then ask Matt Kenseth, who ended up getting turned over easy in the old-style Nationwide car the day before.
Once again, I was reminded not to starting mentally writing these things before I’ve actually seen the race. I was planning on comparing and contrasting ESPN’s Nationwide coverage with Fox’s Cup coverage this weekend. This is moot. The races and broadcast styles were different, but ultimately the quality of the races itself was what determined the fans’ enjoyment. In these two cases, both races were good.
I would have to give the edge to ESPN’s pre-race. It was professional and energetic. Actually, Brad Daugherty can handle “energetic” by himself. I like Brad, and say what you will, he didn’t get the job through Affirmative Action, but from experience and sheer enthusiasm. The good attitude starts with Alan Bestwick, who sets the tone well. Andy Petree and Tim Brewer both did a good job of setting up the technical side of the race. The rest of the crew acquitted themselves well. (I’m being nice to Dr. Punch.)
On the Fox side, there was a Digger cartoon rerun, a pointless radio chatter feature, and a Talledega memories segment that didn’t seem to pay off. But, they did a good job of talking to several drivers. The Carl Edwards’ interview while he was showing off his flying skills race turned out to be unintentional foreshadowing. Anyway, as I’ve said before, NASCAR is personality-driven and all drivers have their fans. Giving Kyle Busch some promotion makes his fans happy and gives his legion of detractors more to hate. Everybody wins.
I can’t believe that Fox is even promoting Digger in their baseball broadcasts now. (Sidebar: Since I’m not covering baseball at the moment, I have to put this here. The best moment of that 4 ½ hour Yankees vs. Red Sox game had to come from a Sox’s fan. After Jeter had fouled one off, a heckler, either very loud or too close to the crowd mic, shouted, “That would have been a home run in your ballpark!” Good smack.) Frankly, Fox’s broadcast seemed like a steady stream of constant commercials and product placements, more so than ESPN’s.
For that matter, I have to ask, what is up with Goodyear? Not their tires, but fact nobody mentioned them during either broadcast (except for an Indy tire test story). Is there some sort of feud? Are they not paying enough to get mentioned, like Sunoco and their freaking race fuel? Toyo Tires was sponsoring the pit stops on ESPN! Goodyear must be gnashing their teeth like Sprint does during all those other those other cell phone company sponsorships that happen during the race. Apparently, Goodyear is going to have to start messing up their tire compounds again if they want to get any airtime.
The Nationwide race featured big three-wide packs and lots of mixing it up for the lead. Kenseth took flight, as no race at this venue is really complete until somebody gets flipped. The action was thick enough near the end that the broadcast team could hardly keep up with it. In good Talledega fashion, the winner was a mystery until somebody crossed the finish line. On another note, did I hear Michael Waltrip actually flirting with Jamie Little? I hope his wife wasn’t watching. He looked a little discombobulated after his wreck. Then again I remember Dan Wheldon in the IRL doing the same thing. Who can blame them?
The Cup race was a tale of big crashes. I picked the first one to be early, solely because there hadn’t been one the day before. I saw the second one coming right before it happened. The broadcasters seemed unsurprised when it happened as well. That typical Talledega mad dash for the checkers had a crescendo that no one saw coming. That wreck will be replayed for years to come. Fox reported fan injuries from the wreck, but gave no details. Thankfully, the injuries were later reported to be minor. Thankfully, this wasn’t another Dale Sr. moment for the network.
The COT gave a good report of its self in the race. Sort of. Plenty of pluses for safety. While the old-style car flipped at the first opportunity, the COT passed up on all but one, and Carl Edwards not only walked away, but jogged. After that first Big One, it’s amazing how many cars involved were competitive afterward. Chalk that up to toughness. On the other hand, the car is an aero brick in undamaged form, so even at a super speedway, it’s not that surprising that they’re still racy after being damaged. While the Nationwide cars could run most of the race three-wide without incident, the COT could not maintain that formation for long without either wrecking (the first Big One), or reverting to double or single file racing. I’m not sure if this is good or bad. Take your pick.
One race later, I’m already lifting my ban on Junior coverage. He ran up front and finished well, so I don’t feel too bad about this. He got plenty of attention. In both pre-race interviews, Junior was way too uptight. Even Matt Kenseth was more lively when he was interviewed. As the in-race reporter in the Nationwide race, Junior did an excellent job of explaining the differences in drafting between the Nationwide car and the COT. Not surprisingly, he liked the Nationwide-style car better. Junior finally lightened up after blowing yet another pit stop by missing his stall on Saturday. After the Cup race, he looked much more relaxed as well. Did he, “Get his mojo back,” as Dr. Jerry Punch said repeatedly? Stay tuned. As the Junior turns.
There’s a lot of racing kudos to spread out here. Congratulations to a pair of first time winners in David Ragan and Brad Keselowski. Both were involved in wrecks that took another driver out, but neither intentionally. Both handled the post race well. How great was it in Cup to see somebody not on a big team win?
Congrats also to Aussie Marcos Ambrose, Scott Speed, and Jeff Burton for their top ten finishes. Burton certainly made some new fans. Not so much coming back from three laps down, but for spinning out Kyle Busch from the lead. Speed did very well considering he started the race from pit lane.
Special praise must go to Carl Edwards. He executed a race-long strategy on the last lap that came oh-so-close to paying off. He’s easily in the lead for the stunt crash of the year award, and Edwards is also in the lead for the showmanship award for crossing the finish line on foot after that crash. He’s made the Talledega historical reel forever.
While NASCAR may be basking in the glow right now, this race has exposed a couple of issues.
For the lesser matter, we return to Scott Speed. His car was tricked out for qualifying and had to be reset for the race. If the initial adjustment hadn’t been done, likely a “start and park” team would have gotten in and would have dropped out after a couple of laps. As unfair as the top 35 rule may be, a fully funded team, who intends to run the full race, that is knocked out by a team that is essentially funded by NASCAR to fill the field is worse. This issue is complicated and I don’t have a solution, but I’m sure others do, and they should be considered.
The more serious matter is safety at Talledega. No, it’s not the fences or the cars. The unanimous opinion of drivers, commentators, and myself is that it’s the double yellow line penalty. Regardless of how many times it’s explained, it sure looked like Tony Stewart got away with one last year but pushing Regan Smith below the lines. Keselowski and Edwards were certainly watching last Fall’s race and the result was predictable in the same situation. It’s also predictable that there’s going to be plenty more close finishes at this track. NASCAR needs to make a rules adjustment. Giving the drivers the whole track to work with in the tri-oval area on the final lap seems like the easiest solution.
Do a couple of great Talledega races make up for a so-so season to this point? We’ll see.
J.
How I spent my Spring Break
I’ve made a decision. I’m quitting work. I’m off to Hawaii to become a private investigator. I’ll live in bungalow on a palatial estate and drive a Ferrari. I’ll have string of disastrous relationships with an unending series of beautiful women. (I won’t need any practice on that last part.) Most of all, I want a Detroit Tigers hat.
I know what you’re thinking. Yeah, I was watching Magnum p.i. on the Retro Network, among my many other official vacation duties. (You can guess how important the rest were given that clue.) The show holds up remarkably well for being for 20 years old. Perhaps because of the great scenery and because it was so personality driven. Magnum versus Higgins banter never gets old.
Okay, I can live without the rest of it, but I want that hat. I used to have one during the 80’s. The Tigers were my favorite team and Magnum was one of my favorite shows. Time and usage caused me to love said hat to death. In 2006, I almost got a new hat for Christmas from my parents, if the Tigers would have won the World Series. (Likewise, I’ve been promised Rockies and Rays’ hats if they had won. I’ve been thoroughly blued the last three years.) Somehow it doesn’t seem right to just go out and buy the hat. It’s like it has to be earned on some level. Unfortunately, the Tigers are unlikely to do well this year. Indeed, the entire city of Detroit may be taking after the Lions and their historic ineptitude last year.
One of the Magnum episodes I saw involved him turning 40, and how he was worried about a dramatic change in personality and lifestyle to follow. I can sympathize. I doubt I’m going to look like Tom Selleck three months from now, even if I grow a mustache.
(Sigh.)
I want that damn hat.
J.
I know what you’re thinking. Yeah, I was watching Magnum p.i. on the Retro Network, among my many other official vacation duties. (You can guess how important the rest were given that clue.) The show holds up remarkably well for being for 20 years old. Perhaps because of the great scenery and because it was so personality driven. Magnum versus Higgins banter never gets old.
Okay, I can live without the rest of it, but I want that hat. I used to have one during the 80’s. The Tigers were my favorite team and Magnum was one of my favorite shows. Time and usage caused me to love said hat to death. In 2006, I almost got a new hat for Christmas from my parents, if the Tigers would have won the World Series. (Likewise, I’ve been promised Rockies and Rays’ hats if they had won. I’ve been thoroughly blued the last three years.) Somehow it doesn’t seem right to just go out and buy the hat. It’s like it has to be earned on some level. Unfortunately, the Tigers are unlikely to do well this year. Indeed, the entire city of Detroit may be taking after the Lions and their historic ineptitude last year.
One of the Magnum episodes I saw involved him turning 40, and how he was worried about a dramatic change in personality and lifestyle to follow. I can sympathize. I doubt I’m going to look like Tom Selleck three months from now, even if I grow a mustache.
(Sigh.)
I want that damn hat.
J.
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