ARK AFL's Blog: What Would Kornheiser Do?
Thank you, AndyI dare you to tell me you’re not excited about the potential blast from the past we’re going to feel when fifty stock cars take to The Rock today. We cannot thank Indiana Andy Hillenburg enough for putting up the dough to restore this racetrack. We should even consider ourselves lucky he could buy it, considering SMI’s abandonment of North Wilkesboro.

It’s worth noting that, despite the nationwide fan reaction, Rockingham was not selling out. It was out in the middle of nowhere, the economy was already starting to drop, and there was already another speedway just up the road in Charlotte. As much as we’d hate to admit it, the track was headed for elimination for years, it was all a matter of time.

But I hate the notion that once NASCAR leaves a track, it’s dead. The Rock is a perfect little track for ARCA, USAR, and any other mid-level racing league. Same for Texas World Speedway, which is just north of Houston, and must be an exciting race for a 2-miler with 22-degrees of banking. There are tons of racetracks out there that, given the proper care, could continue as stops on the lower tours. We just need a race like today’s that shows it’s possible.

It’s a shame… Again, it’s a Cup-free Sunday, and how many races are on today?

Just the one I mentioned. No IRL or ALMS. Grand-Am ran yesterday for some insane reason, and ChampCar didn’t have a race scheduled, either. You schedule makers are going to have to figure this out: if you want to be seen, you’re going to have to schedule on off days.
Posted: 5/4/2008 12:06:36 PM Total Comments: 1
I guess I should thank the Cavs for not killing the Wizards in Game 5.

ESPN had to bump the race to ESPN Classic, and to make sure everyone had a chance to see it, simulcast on Fox’s Speed Channel. Presented with a choice, I rediscovered one of my biggest pet peeves: the BottomLine news ticker.

ESPN had it for years with ESPN2 and ESPNEWS, but over the past six years, television has been inserting the little news ticker at the bottom of my screen. It’s distracting, and if you’re watching something on tape-delay, it often spoils the ending for you. And of course, there’s always that one headline you see is coming up, and you’re either waiting for it or just started reading it when they go to commercial, and you have to wait until it comes up again.

Why does every sports and news network think I need information fed to me underneath 24/7? Can’t I be left alone to watch my show without being bothered?

So last night, I watched Speed Channel without the annoying little BottomLine, when things got worse: ESPN now puts a news ticker in their scoring banner. So now I need to read up on a week’s worth of NASCAR news while watching the race.

Tomorrow morning, I’m putting duct tape over the top and bottom of my TV screen. I’m going 16:9 so I can at least watch television.

Things were going so well… Kyle Busch was having a fantastic year. Along with a ton of wins, it appeared his attitude had improved, and we were all loving his newfound enthusiasm heard over numerous radio transmissions.

Then he forced Steven Wallace into David Ragan over contact going down the backstretch at Richmond last night. And he continued the argument to pit road (By the way, I‘ve always been impressed when a driver picks a fight with another driver when he‘s still stuck in his car).

Hopefully that was just one short track incident and not a sign of the old Kyle Busch. And credit to Wallace who at least tried to take the high road, but ESPN had to keep poking him.

Overdoing it a bit? Texas Motor Speedway’s Eddie Gossage offered Dale Jr. $100,000 to race an IndyCar for the 550k race in June. Not only did Dale decline, it seems there are some lingering feelings between the two:

"He thinks I'm a cheap date, I guess," Earnhardt said. "I wouldn't be able to do it — my conscience wouldn't let me. If they offered me more money, my conscience wouldn't let me. I know his intentions are well. We had that discussion with the billboard thing, and I totally understand what his approach is to advertising now. If I was there testing my car, and somebody had their (IndyCar) there, I'd like to jump in and run a couple of laps, but that would be the extent of the adventure."

Looks like using Junior’s family feud as advertising has kind of set him off. Look, we all love the fun promoter who pulls in fantastic acts and stunts to bring in the crowd. Hell, it’s one of the things that makes Minor League Baseball so much fun. And we’ve all come to love Humpy Wheeler and his great ideas over the years.

But Gossage is trying a little too hard. Offering drivers to throw their helmets (clearly violating NASCAR rules) and the previous billboard incident skewer the line of good taste. Offering the IndyCar ride thing to someone like fellow promoter and friend Tony Stewart probably would’ve been better, but to wave cash at the sports biggest star seems kind of tacky, and I can’t blame Junior for declining. Spend a little more time with Humpy, and maybe you’ll figure out some better promotions.
Posted: 5/3/2008 4:09:36 PM Total Comments: 0
As evil as rock & roll!On Micheal Irvin’s radio show on ESPN Radio 103.3 in Dallas, Mavericks forward Josh Howard admitted to smoking marijuana during the offseason. Starting with the afternoon SportsCenter, everyone (mostly Stephen A. Smith) is shocked and offended because Josh Howard smokes marijuana Basically, this makes Howard a drug kingpin.

Now, let’s not give Howard a complete pass:  He did just admit to smoking marijuana on the radio. It’s illegal by law, and by NBA rule, and he may be facing counseling soon. But we don’t need to assume his house turns into an Amsterdam McDonalds every June, especially if he claims he waits until the off season. And what’s really ignorant is ESPN acting like this is such a huge realization: everyone already knows half the NBA is on weed. Why doesn’t Stephen A. Smith? The NBA has long been known for it, and in my opinion, the only reason ESPN is acting so surprised is because of that fat contract they have with the NBA.

After the huge ordeal over Aaron Fike by ESPN a few weeks ago, I guess it’s now official policy to turn small confessions into a huge crisis. It’s not steroids or hardcore drugs: it’s just another NBA’er who sparks up.

Oh, and Josh Howard: Next time someone asks you if you smoke weed on live radio, don’t say you smoke weed. Have some common sense…

DON'T TALK TO ME, ALRIGHT? KNOCK IT OFF!Why does Chris Berman think he needs to guess the picks? It’s time for the NFL Draft, the offseason fix of NFL action that gets blown out of proportion. Believe me, I’ll watch, but the Draft is not that important. Out of all the first-round draft picks, there’s only a couple of Adrian Petersons or Ben Roethlisbergers every year. It takes a couple of years for players to adjust to the NFL, and who knows what changes can happen to a team by then? Nowadays, free agency is the way to improve your team, and that change can happen immediately.

Of course, Mel Kiper, Junior., (by the way, who the hell was Senior?) has rode this horse into the ground for about twenty-five years now. The proclaimed “draft genius” doesn’t even have that good a record. I’ve heard that as many as 26% of his picks are wrong, and he’s picked Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith, and Mike Williams as high prospects.

It’s not that Kiper is just wrong, it’s just that he’s just about guessing at it as we are. And why do we need to ask him what the draft looks like every single day for the month leading up to the Draft? What could the players do to cause their stock to fall? Someone trips over the ottoman and sprains their knee?

Wok-a-wok-a-wok-a-wok-a-wok-a… I’m not that keen on the PacMan Jones trade to the Cowboys, but I’m not seeing it as the complete disaster others do.

For one thing, the Cowboys will be able to write up their own contract. That means they can put in clauses that they can use to CYA, and in turn be able to cut him without much damage to themselves. They’re only giving up a fourth-round pick for him, and the trade agreement includes a provision that the Cowboys only have to give up another late pick next year if he plays. If he’s not reinstated, or if he goes knothead again, the Titans will have to forfeit an undisclosed pick to Dallas.

Really, it’s a pretty safe gamble. And whoever says he’ll be a clubhouse distraction clearly hasn’t been watching the Cowboys for the past two years.
Posted: 4/26/2008 2:05:19 PM Total Comments: 1
Grin, mother******Everyone in America is celebrating your firing, Isiah Thomas, as something that should’ve happened long ago. But where’s the praise? Where’s the acknowledgement of all you’ve accomplished? Everyone complains of “East Coast Bias,” but who in any corner of the country couldn’t enjoy the always-surprising train wreck that is your post-playing career?

From your start as co-owner of the Raptors, stirring up trouble by passing out free tickets and other merchandise to college players, you’ve made sure your stupidity was noticed. When you  were ran out of Toronto, you moved  right into the broadcast booth, doing your best to be as boring as possible. Hell, Bill Walton on the ganj’ seemed hyper next to you. NBC thought you were boring, and they’ve kept Pat Hayden and Pierre McGuire as analysts.

No, I will not come there.But what I think really sets your career apart from anyone else are the CBA years. Remember when you purchased the entire Continental Basketball Association, then the official d-league for the NBA, and decided to run it as a single entity? After slashing salaries and pushing out veterans, the NBA offered the league for a ton of cash, and you declined. Shortly after that, the NBDL was formed, and you couldn’t sell the joint to anyone. So you jumped for the Pacers’ coaching position, leaving the league to fend for themselves as they quickly went bankrupt. There are execs who have brought down teams, but how many have killed an entire league? An entire league! That deserves praise, Isiah. No one will ever be able to top that.

Then you spent the next three seasons with declining success with the Pacers after taking over from Larry Bird (whom you had said about his playing days, had he been black, “would just be another good guy.”) Bird came back, fired you, and the Knicks picked you up, making you Head of Basketball Operations. And here’s where your legend was realized. Number 1 media market, one of basketball’s premiere franchises, and the harshest media and fan base in the nation.  And you never stopped being controversial.

You built up the leagues highest payroll, you signed mediocre players to fat contracts, and you even traded two lottery picks for Eddie Curry. You brought in Stephon Marbury, an egotist who makes cheap, ugly shoes and who this year sat out about three months for “bereavement.” You brought in Larry Brown, and he couldn’t even take your team anywhere. Then your boss, James Dolan, fired him and forced you to coach the horrible team you put together. You did well enough to make it to playoff contention, earn a contract extension, and then tanked, making sure your legacy would not be spoiled.

Leering during your sexual harassment trial?But this season could very well be your career year. You started out with an epic sexual harassment case, with a woman that, by the looks of her , you were hoping for a slump buster. Not only did you (allegedly) tell her you didn’t care for those "[expletive] white people" or these "[expletive] season ticket holders," but you called her that fabulous five-letter curse word, and backed it up with one of the most ridiculous excuses while playing the race card. Then, after tying for the teams worst record, 23-59, you were finally fired.

So now everyone is kicking you while you‘re down. Some hate you because you should’ve been fired long ago. Some feel sorry for the poor dumb soul who will have to clean up your mess. But I choose to salute you in your ability to leave a path of destruction that no one will be able to top. Unless, of course, Britney Spears continues her career for another five years….
Posted: 4/19/2008 6:47:51 PM Total Comments: 1
Last week, the IndyCar Series ran their season premier at Homestead, and everyone’s response was that open-wheel racing is back, and that you could already feel the tide turning. We’re now back to the old days of when IndyCar was the premier racing series in America.

No, we’re not.

That was an IRL race Saturday night. And it will be at St. Petersburg today, and will continue to be for the rest of this season. Let’s face it, there were no big stars or big teams coming over. Just about any star Champ Car had has either jumped to F1, NASCAR or were already in IndyCar. The only major team was Newman-Haas, post-Sebastain Bourdais . The only other significant Champ Car principle was Gerald Forsythe, and he commited Hari Kari as soon as the deal was announced. And IndyCar has already signed classic circuits like Mid-Ohio and Milwaukee. And for the last time, they didn’t merge: Champ Car died.

Now, next year, if they add most of the Champ Car calendar including Road America, Cleveland, and Long Beach, we can say American open-wheel racing is coming back. Especially if there are thirty teams every week. But until then, IndyCar has about six or eight new back markers.

Gravy Train Update: Give it up to Micheal Waltrip Racing for always finding the worse ways to find the headlines. SportsCenter has pretty much worn out the tape of their new driver Michael McDowell turning right and tearing out the SAFER barrier in Turn 1 at Texas. But that is nowhere near as horrible as the fact that MWR is heading back in the field as they did last year. After some success at Daytona, the team is just where we left them. And after Dale Jarrett retired, UPS showed what we all knew: they were more interested in DJ than MWR, and as soon as that relationship was over, they wanted out. Moving promising driver David Reutimann into the seat was a good decision, but it may not be enough, especially considering the team failed to qualify this week. After last weeks’ sway bar controversy, coupled with the jet-fuel/sterno/unknown substance fiasco the team started off with, UPS may just want to avoid any more bad press. Toyota chose horribly for their factory team, and are no doubt quickly embracing Gibbs as they continue to win race after race as MWR sits in the back. And if UPS is bailing, how much longer can Micheal expect to sell auto parts and used furniture? Because if he’s not careful, he’s bound to wind up as the Knicks of the Cup Series.

I think I tried that logic when I was five: I have to admit, I loved Greg Biffle yesterday. When confronted with the accusation of tying up Carl Edward’s transporter driver’s bike to the fence yesterday (which, by the way, was only horrible because of that Rutledge character), Biffle said it wouldn’t have happened had he had something to do Saturday‘s, such as race a Nationwide Car…
Posted: 4/6/2008 1:50:07 PM Total Comments: 0
[img=http://holydogwater.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/titanic4.jpg] With the recent changes at R1, and the fact that my previous posts and brackets are now dead, I could just ignore the fact that every bracket of mine is busted. Unfortunately, I have issues, including some horrible impulse to put myself up for ridicule. Maybe my mother never loved me or something, Hell, I don’t know….

Right now, we’re all just riding Davidson’s high. Another reminder of that Cinderella cliché used every year. And yes, it’s been a week since my last post. I do have a life, which will sound surprising after the jump.

SECOND ROUND

Hits: UNC beat Arkansas (although I couldn‘t watch it all), Oklahoma and Kansas moved on as well, and Memphis, Texas, and Marquette made it to the South Regional. UCLA, with or without help, are also in their regional.

In the NIT, I correctly called victories for Dayton, Ole Miss, Florida, and Arizona State. In the CBI, I called Houston’s victory over Valparaiso and Virginia’s over Dominion. At that point, I had to find out what the Final Four was to complete my bracket, as the CBI reseeds and they don’t list the seeds anywhere. For all I know, they pulled straws…

Misses:  Didn’t have Duke loosing to West Virginia, although I still enjoyed it. And after the first round, that was actually the only match-up of original teams in my entire bracket. In the NIT, I went broke with VaTech beating UAB, Cal losing to Ohio State, and Syracuse beating Maryland. I didn’t have Tulsa beating Utah, or Bradley beating Ohio in the CBI.

REGIONALS

Hits: Although I’m disappointed to see them lose, I still had UCLA correctly moving on over Western Kentucky. In Friday night’s slaughters, Kansas and Memphis continued on, and UNC continues their dominance. And Texas is still alive as my championship pick.

In the NIT, Ole Miss beat Va Tech to move on to New York.

Misses: Tennessee’s loss to Louisville is about the only bust that’s original. In the NIT, I lost my championship team when Arizona State lost to Florida. And both my CBI picks flopped, with Tulsa and Bradley beating Houston and Virginia, respectively. Those teams will face off in a three game series next week.

So it looks like after the NIT championship next week, I’ll be shredding my brackets, thanking God that I never put down a wager.
Posted: 3/29/2008 12:46:34 PM Total Comments: 0

Report Inappropriate Content

Select the reason that best describes why you think this content is inappropriate, and then click Submit. We'll review the content to determine if action is required. Thanks for your input!
 
Submit
Cancel