The Daytona...380?!

Ulgh...NASCAR is really starting to hack me off.

OK, they started a long time ago. I was talking to my buddy Josh, and I told him, "Ya know, I think I like the old NASCAR better, even though I never followed it back then."

You can just tell things are different. All the commercialization, the sponsors, the gimmicks, the tight rules, "this pit stop brought to you by [insert strange minor business here]," the cars, the engines, the rivalries...they've all changed.

I'll (try) to keep this post relatively short.

The Daytona 500 is NASCAR's premier event. They have their Superbowl at the beginning of the year. It's so unique that there's even a two-week qualifying process; "Speedweeks" they're called. It's a wild time with bands, infield parties, and more beer consumed in a two-week period than Anheuser-Busch produces in a year.

You get the idea.

So all of this Redneck madness culminates in the apex of stock-car racing. The Daytona 500. The "500" being 500 miles. That's 200 laps of Daytona's 2.5 mile track. Seems simple enough.

However, mother nature can, and has in the past, have her way with this event. These cars don't have the ability to run in the rain (yet) at these speeds (close to 200 mph in the draft), so they don't run in the rain. And that's where I have a problem. Several years ago, Daytona Superspeedway was retrofitted with lights, allowing racing during the night.

Ok...I'll cut to the chase. Today's race was shortened by rain. NASCAR says they will make all attempts to finish the race later if they can. (FYI: Once a race goes one lap over halfway the race is declared official.) So it starts raining on lap 152. So we have the Daytona 380 and waiting to finish. FOX walks up and down pit road doing a few interviews, always mentioning how, "If we can, we'll go back and finish the race." They cut back to their broadcast booth, about 30 minutes later and declare the race over.

Just like that...

The most anti-climactic ending to a race I've seen in a long time. (Let alone the "Superbowl" of racing.)

The track has lights! Tomorrow is holiday! PLEASE NASCAR...FINISH THE RACE TOMORROW!!!!

Nope. All done. Finished. Go home.

...weak.

(Congrats to Matt Kenseth for the win. Seriously. Just shows that the only lap you need to lead is the last one.)

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The A-Rod Thing...

As previously mentioned, I don't play sports.

If I do, I'm usually pretty bad. Except for Tiger Woods 2004 and Mini Ping-Pong.

However, if I were to play sports, (especially professionally), I would feel the need to produce and compete on a crazy high level. Between winning games, my contract, endorsements, kids looking up to me, one has to perform. Now would I ever cheat? Probably, but if I did, knowing me, it would probably be on accident. Whether I knew immediately it was wrong, or later after someone had told me I messed up, things would change. At that point I would ask for forgiveness, rectify the situation, and assure all parties it would never happen again. From then on, I would try my hardest to never repeat that action, or any other detrimental action again. 

Now if I were to cheat on purpose...that's a different story. Once I did it, I would just hope I never got caught. 

It's been almost a week since Alex Rodriguez (3rd Baseman, New York Yankees, 2004-present), said on an interview with ESPN's Baseball Analyst Peter Gammons, that during his tenure with the Texas Rangers (2001-2003) he tested positive for a banned substance. In the years following, his name, along with 103 other MLB players ended up on a list that tested positive for banned substances. According to the players, that list was to never be released to the public or any other organization. Earlier this week, A-Rod came out and stated that he had used the substances.

The full video interview is here.

I just wanted to briefly share my view, however skewed, on this "discovery."

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not dumb. I may be stupid, but I'm not dumb. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire...yeah...they juiced. All of them. They are freakin HUGE! There's no way they can do what they did, when they did them as a normal human being. The numbers they put up, their years in the league; they're not human. Unless you're Jeff Bagwell and stay with the same team and become some sort of indestructible robot baseball machine. But I digress.

The fact is, the "Steroid Era" of baseball is just beginning. Players, damn good ones, who did use these substances, (HGH, etc.) will eventually have to face the music and admit what they did and that they got caught. It's so sad. Kids, Teachers, Parents look up to these athletes for how to live right and give young kids dreams and aspirations for their future. And now they will have to have someone tell them that they didn't get to where they are naturally. That they cheated on purpose. If I were a father, I would never want to tell my child that story.

The only good thing that has come out of this is that A-Rod did what no one else has done. He came out and admitted he messed up. On his on free will. 

No one to this point has done that. Clemens, Bonds, & McGwire were all brought before a congressional hearing, and had to testify to congress that they had never used banned substances. Now it is my opinion that they were/are lying, they will get caught, and they will have purgery charges brought against them in the future. A-Rod has avoided this (for now) and has set himself apart from the rest of the pack, by coming out and telling everyone up front. 

Am I disappointed in A-Rod? Yes. 

Am I surprised? Sort of.

Is this the first of many "confessions"? Youbetcha

It's tough times in the world of sports. Let's just hope it gets better soon.