This weekend we have the most traditional, coveted race in the USA, known as the Indianapolis 500. They’ve been racing cars there since cars were made, in the early 1900’s, when the track was a brickyard. About 250,000 will show up to watch this event on Sunday.
Of course, the Indy Racing Circuit has had to deal with awful leadership over the last few years, being reduced to a minor league. The Indy cars have been overtaken by the popularity of NASCAR, so it seems as if these autos and this series are nothing more than piecemeal, for all intents.
But there is still excitement and interest in what will take place at Indy this weekend. The Indy cars race like rocket ships. There is a lot more speed than you find in NASCAR, which means there is more danger involved as well.
In the past, the names of the winners of this race have made Indianapolis what it is. Guys like A.J Foyt, Mario Andretti, and Al and Bobby Unser, were well known with the public. That has been missing in recent years.
But this year, things are different. For instance, we have THREE Andrettis racing, with John, Michael, and Marco. We will also see a Foyt (A.J. IV) and an Unser (Al, Jr.) competing. And now you can give a little notice to the female impact, with not one, not two, but THREE WOMEN, including Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher, and now Milka Duno racing for the Borg-Warner trophy.
So, let’s see what Indy can turn out for racing fans this weekend, as it tries to regain the prominence it once held.
We are now down to the two best teams in the NHL, ready to fight for the Stanley Cup. After a month of playoffs, it comes down to the Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators playing for the most impressive trophy in all of sports, period.
On the East Coast, we have the Senators, a Canadian team that has made a nice run through the playoffs, primarily due to their dominant line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza. Those three have simply overtaken all comers, scoring consistently and winning games.
Meanwhile, the Ducks have shown their size and strength in getting to the Finals. Anaheim displays strong talent, including Scott and Rob Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Ryan Getzlaf, and Teemu Selanne.
In all hockey contests, the play of the Goaltenders is crucial. For the Sens, watch Ray Emery do his work, while the Ducks counter with Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
This should be a great series, certainly worth watching if you are a sports fan.
Within the next week, we will see Roger Clemens return to the mound to pitch for the New York Yankees. At the beginning of the season, most baseball fans would never have expected the situation to present itself as it has. But the Yankees pitching staff looks like a total M*A*S*H unit, with five pitchers having been shelved for all or parts of the season. As a result, the Bombers have had a rough time retaining their winning ways.
And so now Clemens comes in, and a lot of Yankee fans are looking at him to be a savior. I think they better be just a little weary in realizing that, while the Rocket certainly can still bring heat and help produce wins, he will only pitch every four or five days, and it will still take a better effort overall by EVERYONE on the team.
That includes the DH/1B Jason Giambi, who has stirred up controversy with his mention of steroids, as if anyone needed to hear that. This whole steroid thing with Baseball has gotten ridiculous, with the media working it to the hilt. Combined with the continuing disturbance as to whether Barry Bonds did steroids or not, there is mention of it on a daily basis. Sooner or later, we are all gonna get tired of hearing about it, and caring, if not already.
This weekend, the boys will be in Charlotte to go 600 miles in a grueling race that does NOT include the Car of Tomorrow…for this year.
But starting next season, though, the COT will be used exclusively for all races. It sets up a lot of discussion and debate, with differing positive and negative opinions.
Most ownership groups have complained for a number of reasons, the main deal being that running two different car operations is too costly. Other complaints include the fact that the Hendrick boys seem to be dominating the competition with the new rides.
We’re down to four teams left playing in the Conference Finals. I’d be surprised if the Pistons and Spurs DON’T win their respective series, based on their depth and talent. A Detroit/San Antonio Finals would be a nice matchup.
Tom Weppel talks trash with Greg Larson, Ron Duguay, and Lonnie Marts on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
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