CMT and Paramount video entertainment released a historical perspective DVD last Tuesday entitled The Ride of Their Lives, which chronicles NASCAR from its early southern roots in the 1950’s to its corporate juggernaut status of today. The pioneers of auto racing are brought to life through the words and memories of the men and women who were a part of the early days of NASCAR.

This documentary follows the evolution of racing through archival footage of NASCAR’s first 60 years in business and also documents the technological transformation that has occurred in the sport. Long-time fans will have the opportunity to reminisce once again about the days when racing cars had the same look and feel of the automobiles that were sold at their local dealerships. It was a time when drivers repaired their own vehicles without the assistance of a pit crew.

NASCAR is a way of life for some of the drivers as racing has been a part of their families’ lives for generations. This DVD gives an in-depth look at the history of the Petty, Allison, and Earnhardt families and delves deep into each family’s personal tragedies that have taken place throughout the years. You will also hear an emotional account of the life of Wendell Scott, the first African-American NASCAR driver and the gut-wrenching story of Tim Richmond who died from complications of the AIDS virus in 1987.

And no racing documentary would be complete without a video montage of spectacular car crashes. My favorite was a still picture collage of an on-track fistfight between the Allison brothers and Cale Yarbrough. It serves as a great example of how tempers can flare up when drivers are jockeying for position at high speeds with a large amount of money at stake.

Racing fans throughout the country are gearing up to converge on Daytona Beach, Florida this weekend to attend NASCAR’s equivalent to the Super Bowl — The Daytona 500 — so the DVD’s release is timely. And the interview with former NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr., where he recollects the early days drivers racing on the local Daytona beaches (prior to the speedway being built), will get fans primed for the big race.

North Carolina and Duke are located just eight miles apart, making their rivalry the most spirited in all of college basketball. This three-disc DVD set contains three of the Tar Heels’ most memorable wins over their hated archrival.

From the back cover…

March 3, 1984
Chapel Hill, NC
North Carolina 96 Duke 83 (2 OT)
The final home game for North Carolina’s Matt Doherty, Michael Jordan, and Sam Perkins, was a memorable one. #1 North Carolina looked to be finished down two with just second to go in regulation when Matt Doherty took the inbounds pass the length of the court and hit a 15-footer to force overtime. Michael Jordan opened the second overtime with an alley-oop dunk and Duke’s Johnny Dawkins came back to cut the North Carolina lead to 82-81 with a short jumper but Duke would get only one more basket as Jordan and Perkins carried the Tar Heels to the victory.

February 5, 1992
Chapel Hill, NC
North Carolina 75 Duke 73
A rough one between #1 Duke and #9 North Carolina that featured blood and broken bones. The teams would exchange the lead 10 times before a Thomas Hill baseline jumper gave the Blue Devils a 39-38 halftime lead. The second half was just as tight seeing the Tar Heels take a 75-73 lead on a pair of Derrick Phelps free throws with 44.5 seconds remaining. Christian Laettner had two shots to tie the game in the final 24 seconds, but missed both. The lasting image from this game had to be North Carolina’s Eric Montross, who took a couple of elbows to the face – looking more like a boxer than a center, as he sank two late free throws with blood streaming down his face.

February 2, 1995
Durham, NC
North Carolina 102 Duke 100 (2OT)
Duke seemed out-manned on their home court from the opening tip, falling behind 26-9 in the first half, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk from Carolina’s Rasheed Wallace and a reverse jam by Jerry Stackhouse over two Blue Devils. However, Duke rallied in the second half and led by as much as 12, before North Carolina staged a rally of its own. The two squads exchanged leads four times at the end of regulation before heading into overtime. With three seconds left in the first overtime Duke’s Jeff Capel hit a running, 37-foot heave that tied the game at the buzzer. With the game still tied late in the second overtime, Jeff McInnis stole the inbounds pass for an easy layup, putting North Carolina up 102-98. Duke answered with a basket of their own and had a chance to force a third overtime or win the game but fell short on Steve Wojciechowski’s missed jumper.

The Duke Blue Devils #1 goal every season is to beat North Carolina. The two schools are just eight miles apart and the players and fans hate each other (literally). This three-disc DVD set includes three of the biggest Duke wins in this storied rivalry from the full-length, commercial-free television broadcasts.

From the back cover…

February 3, 2000
Chapel Hill, NC
Duke 90 ∙ North Carolina 86 (OT)
The Tar Heels, unranked coming into the game for the first time since 1990, struggled in the first half. Shane Battier scored 14 first-half points for #3 Duke who jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead. Duke pushed the lead to 19 early in the second half before North Carolina turned the game around scoring on 19 of its final 22 possessions, including a Joseph Forte three-pointer with 5.2 seconds left to send the game to overtime. The Blue Devils scored on their first six possessions in overtime and got seven points from Carlos Boozer in the extra frame to hold on for the victory.

February 5, 2004
Chapel Hill, NC
Duke 83 ∙ North Carolina 81 (OT)
The first game in the rivalry pitting Mike Krzyzewski against new UNC head coach Roy Williams didn’t disappoint. #1 Duke turned up the defense late in regulation with a 10-0 run, taking a 72-69 lead on two free throws by Luol Deng. #17 North Carolina fought back hitting a game-tying three-pointer and sending the game to overtime. Duke’s Shelden Williams’ two blocks and aggressive defense forced North Carolina into a late turnover. Duke’s J.J. Redick made two free throws to take the lead before North Carolina’s Rashad McCants drilled a game-tying three. That set the stage for Chris Duhon’s reverse layup with 6.5 seconds left in overtime to give Duke the win.

February 9, 2005
Durham, NC
Duke 71 ∙ North Carolina 70
In arguably the most anticipated game in the rivalry since 1998, #2 ranked UNC came up Highway 15-501 to visit the #8 ranked Blue Devils for a heavily hyped, prime time broadcast. By keeping the game almost entirely in the halfcourt, the Blue Devils and their vaunted defense simply were too much for North Carolina. J.J. Redick scored 18 points and freshman DeMarcus Nelson added 16 for Duke who forced UNC into 23 turnovers to seal the victory.

The folks at Gatorade asked us to review a few of their new products and we were happy to oblige.

Why is Gatorade rolling out these new products? Chief marketing officer Sarah Robb O’Hagan explains:

“Just like any good athlete, Gatorade is taking it to the next level. Whether you’re in it for the win, for the thrill or for better health, if your body is moving, Gatorade sees you as an athlete, and we’er inviting you into the brand.”

(Click here to see the press release.)

Including yours truly, we had three different taste-testers give their thoughts about each drink’s taste and effectiveness.

Gatorade (lemon-lime)

Dan: “Tastes like a good lemonade…refreshing.�

John P.: “Light and tasty…not too strong of an aftertaste.�

John D.: “Good taste, refreshing and replenishing…it was a little sweet, too much sugar…used during training, weight lifting program.�

G2 (low-calorie grape)

Dan: “Very good…nice aftertaste…I’d definitely buy that one, especially since it’s low calorie.�

John P.: “Very smooth taste for a grape drink…not too sugary.�

John D.: “Love the grape flavored G2, and its idea of low carbohydrate drink…a top 3 pick for taste, and effectiveness…enjoyed the blend of vitamins and low sugar after weight training and cardio training…was equally useful in both applications.”