Hey, look! It's a weekend update!
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The Mavericks are predicting they'll face a Shaq attack tonight in Game 2 of the NBA finals.
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With the additions of DeAngelo Williams & Keyshawn Johnson, the Dallas Morning News calls the Carolina Panthers the best NFL team on paper. Rick Gosselin writes, An unstable running back situation was settled with the selection of NCAA rushing champion DeAngelo Williams in the first round of the draft. The Panthers also signed wideout Keyshawn Johnson in free agency to give quarterback Jake Delhomme a possession receiver.
Indy, Pittsburgh, Seattle & Miami round out his top 5. The Raiders, Jets & Texans are at the bottom.
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Open wheel racing vs. NASCAR is a debate that has raged for years. NASCAR is not only the top motorsport in the U.S., but one of the top sports overall when you consider ticket sales, merchandise sales & TV numbers.
Still, it doesn't take much work to find a newspaper columnist out there that sings the praises of open wheel racing as more exciting & better personalities. The latest example comes from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram where Jennifer Floyd Engel offers, IRL is a sleeping beauty that needs a little Kiss.
She writes, To say the Indy Racing League is better than NASCAR is like saying a Kincaid's burger is better than a Mc-whatever. Obviously. Duh. Of course.
Part of her reasoning as to why she believes the IRL is so cool is because a handful of Hollywood stars show up. Yeah, that'll get the fans excited. The other thing she says is lacking is the number of cars. Now she's on to something.
The problem with open wheel racing in the U.S. right now is the split between CART & the IRL. The average race fan got confused by it when it happened. Why try to keep up with who was racing where? If the two series can merge there will then be more than enough quality cars to complete a full field for any race. Competition will improve & numbers will increase.
That doesn't necessarily mean NASCAR will then fall from its no. 1 spot.
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Meanwhile, NASCAR is not without its own contraversy. Larry Woody of the Tennessean is the latest to weigh in on the so-called BushWhackers = that would be Nextel Cup drivers stepping down & dominating the Busch series.
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The Memphis Grizzlies aren't expected to spend any money to improve their basketball team until something happens with the possible sale of Michael Heisley's ownership in the team. That could all be resolved by next month. Meanwhile, it must be noted the Grizz already have the seventh highest payroll in the NBA... how much do you have to spend to win ONE playoff game?
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The Arizona Diamondbacks say they'll withhold the rest of Jason Grimsley's salary after it came to light earlier this week he's been busted for steroid use. "This guy did no less than steal from us," team managing general partner Ken Kendrick said Saturday night.
The Diamondbacks released the relief pitcher Wednesday, a day after federal agents searched his home & it was reported an investigation into Grimsley started in April.
posted by Forrest Goodman @ 9:53 AM
1 Comments:
The Busch wacking is going to eventually hurt the Cup Series... and it never should get to that because its easy to fix.
Team owners should wise up and realize that they must have future drivers who know what they are doing - or else you end up with a NBA like problem where folks who don't have a clue what is going on are your new crop of stars. NASCAR must find ways to consistently field a fresh young crop of drivers and crews. And to do this they must start by KEEPING THE BIG BOYS OUT OF BUSCH. (unless you want to cut the number of Cup teams and thats a different issue altogether)
The bush series is the future of the cup and if they continue to artifically restrict the number of new teams and drivers they will end up wattering down their product. Busch Wacking may be fan friendly but it will end up costing teams what they need the most - good experienced drivers.
I have no problem with a cup racer stepping down and doing 2 or 3 busch races each year... but some of thes guys are racing both events every week and thats just silly. Keep the value in both and limit the number of "wackings" any driver can drive in per season.
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