Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 523 of 1503)

If NASCAR was hoping to acquire new blood, then Daytona 500 failed miserably

February 15, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

If someone were on the fence about whether or not to get into NASCAR, then Sunday’s Daytona 500 race provided enough reason to hop off and not think twice about leaving the sport behind.

If you thought NASCAR was boring when it’s just cars going around a track for three hours, try watching cars go around a track for three hours while also having a 2.5-hour intermission in between. Regular NASCAR fans could appreciate the racing that went on in between workers trying to fix a pothole on Turn 2 at the Daytona International Speedway yesterday, but if the sport was hoping to pick up new viewers then the “Super Bowl of racing” failed to deliver.

The Daytona 500 is regarded as NASCAR’s premier event. It’s the one race that is supposed to attract even the causal racing fan and considering it doesn’t have to compete against football for television viewers, it should be enough to attract new blood to the sport too.

But even the staunchest NASCAR fan would have to admit that Sunday’s Daytona 500 was a buzzkill. It should have been a monumental day for the race, with 21 different leaders (most ever at Daytona), 52 lead changes (third most at Daytona), and a winner in Jamie McMurray that led for only two laps (the fewest ever by a Daytona 500 winner). But with 80 laps remaining, a pothole emerged on the track causing two red flags to come out and 144 minutes of down time. A pothole killed an otherwise thrilling day of racing.

NASCAR remains one of those sports where you either love it or hate it. You have to go at least once to appreciate the noise and speed, but to actually get into the season and watch on a weekly basis NASCAR needs more action than what it got on Sunday. Granted, it was nobody’s fault that the track fell apart, although maybe somebody should have thought about repaving the damn thing after not doing so over the past 30 years. But if the Daytona 500 is the best NASCAR has to offer, then why would the semi-interested fan tune in next week?

True racing fans will always appreciate what the sport brings to the table – potholes or no potholes. But after yesterday, Joe Sports Fan probably won’t cry himself to sleep if he misses next weekend’s NASCAR event because the Daytona 500 probably did little to compel him.

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Auto Racing

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Bengals to give Graham the boot over Facebook message?

February 14, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Bengals aren’t expected to bring back kicker Shayne Graham because his franchise tag would cost too much. There is also some bad blood between Graham and the team after the kicker apparently ripped the Bengals on his Facebook page last year.

Graham was tagged by the Bengals last year for $2.483 million, and if they would chose to do so again this year it would be $2.814 million. After Graham was tagged last year, both sides tried to reach a multi-year agreement with no success. He goes into this offseason with a new agent, dropping Rob Roche in favor of David Dunn.
The lack of a new contract exasperated Graham. When the July 15 deadline passed, he ripped the organization on his Facebook page. We also never did find out if Graham thought if his two misses against the Jets in the AFC wild card playoff game were his last. Graham quickly left the locker room after the game and also ducked out of a side entrance the next day when players were departing for the offseason.

There might be nothing lamer than a kicker ripping an organization on his Facebook page. At least if he does it on Twitter, it’s considered hip and controversial. Doing it on Facebook makes him look like a 17-year-old girl that is angry because her parents wouldn’t give her the keys to their car for the night.

Shayne Graham says…I am sooooo mad about the Bengals 4 not giving me more $. Like, soooo mad. NBD though, bc I m going to ROFL when I kick well next yr. BBL…

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NFL

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Los Angeles to land NFL team by 2011?

February 14, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

The Boston Globe speculates that the city of Los Angeles could acquire a NFL team by the year 2011.

“I strongly believe an NFL franchise will play in Los Angeles for the 2011 season,’’ said Majestic vice president John Semcken. “I’ve been working on this for 14 years, and it’s been a long road. I know we’re very, very close.’’
It’s been a long road for the city as a whole, but there’s also plenty of reason to believe that Los Angeles’s latest shot at a team won’t be a blank as so many others have been.
Start with the stadium. Semcken’s term – “shovel-ready’’ – is meant to emphasize that as soon as a team commits to moving to Los Angeles, ground can be broken on the privately financed facility some 20 miles east of downtown.
That the effort to get a stadium built is so focused on one site is significant in this case, since there have been so many different venues proposed in the past (Chavez Ravine, Downtown, Anaheim, the Coliseum) and different groups battling over where the new place should be built splintering efforts to get a team.
Another significant victory came in October, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill exempting the site from state environmental laws. Financing remains an issue, particularly in seeking a naming-rights deal and sponsorships in an uncertain economy.

As a fan, I couldn’t care less if Los Angeles gets another team. Great, fine – whatever.

But as a fan, I also think 32 teams is more than enough and I’d rather the NFL concentrate on not having a lockout in 2011 than giving L.A. a franchise. But maybe that’s just me.

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Danica Patrick crashes in her NASCAR debut

February 14, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

Making her NASCAR debut on Saturday in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway, Danica Patrick ran outside of the top 20 for most of the event and then participated in a 12-car wreck to cap off a stellar day of racing.

From ESPN.com:

Patrick was hoping to learn as much as she could about a new style of racing. She ended up going to the school of hard knocks.
“It’s important to have realistic expectations,” Patrick said. “There’s going to be spikes in performance, I don’t doubt that. But there’s also going to be tough days. And today, I would say, was more of a tough day.”

After she finished sixth in last week’s ARCA event at Daytona, many people were encouraged about her debut. Obviously things didn’t go the way Patrick had hoped, but it’s only the first race of the season. She arguably has more pressure on her as well, given all the media attention she conjures up.

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Auto Racing, Women

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