Burger King...NASCAR King

Richard Petty is the original, I believe that Jimmie Johnson is the new king. He is now only 10 points back in the chase and has a great chance to win his fourth straight Sprint Cup championship. Johnson won this weekend's race at Dover presented by Burger King. He must battle Mark Martin who remains in first place while he finished second this weekend. Johnson led 271 laps this past weekend (he led 298 at Dover in May) and could not be "chased" at all. For my friends who do not pay attention to NASCAR, the double-file restart is one of the most electrifying things in the sport. The leaders of the race restart with #1 and #2 side-by-side. On most restarts, Johnson jumped ahead of the competition like he was shot out of a cannon. There is usually a battle for positions, but this weekend Johnson climbed to leads up to 3 seconds within a few laps. That is huge. Jimmy is huge. The #48 may be replacing the #43.


While Johnson was dominating the race, Joey Logano and the #20 Home Depot car had a scare. On lap 31, Logano was bumped from behind, got loose and was hit again and his car flipped seven times coming to a stop tires down. (To see video of wreck go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kHKvvKCVvw) Logano climbed out of the car and walked away. He was okay, yet a little frazzled. The crash was brutal but showed the safety in the vehicles now. Logano, who is only 19, doesn't want to see the replay of the wreck but is happy to be safe. The may be a reason that Dover is called the Monster Mile. Talladega is known as the most dangerous track when it comes to wrecks, just as Carl Edwards, and deservedly so. But with Logano's wreck, I keep the smile on my face...the racing is great and the cars are safe.



Carl Edwards' wreck at Talladega

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I know that a lot of sports radio shows do their version of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly; so I thought that I would do the same thing based on what I saw this weekend. It was a fun weekend for football fans.

The Good

1. SEC football...for the second week in a row 3 of the top 4 teams in the AP poll, with 2 more in the top 25. Florida remains the top seed despite losing Tim Tebow for a short time after a big hit. Tebow's concussion did not keep him in the hospital long, and Urban Meyer hopes he will return to the field in the next game against LSU on October 10.

2. University of Oregon's tight end, Ed Dickinson...the Ducks devastated #6 California this weekend 42-3. Dickinson was never quarterback Jeremiah Masoli's favorite receiver. But this weekend he lined up in multiple spots and had a career day. He caught all three of Masoli's touchdown passes, a total of 11 passes for 148 yards. In Oregon's previous 3 games, Dickinson caught 4 passes for a total of 58 yards. Keep an eye out for Masoli and Dickinson the next couple of weeks against Washington State and UCLA.

3. NFL Undefeated Teams...there remain 7 undefeated teams in the NFL: the Jets, Colts, Vikings, Giants, Ravens, Saints and Broncos. The Jets and Ravens are led by young quarterbacks, Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco; the Broncos are led by a under-appreciated Kyle Orton and the Colts, Saints, Vikings, and Giants are led by veteran success stories, the Mannings, Brett Favre, and Drew Brees. The victories in week three came in different ways including great defenses (Baltimore, New Orleans, NY Giants, Denver), good quarterback play (NY Jets, Indianapolis) and a great comeback led by none-other-than Brett Favre.

The Bad

1. Cleveland Browns...in the last nine games they have only score ONE touchdown. You read that right and by the way they have not won any of those games. It would be in Mangini's best interest to decide on a single quarterback. Flip-flopping from Brady Quinn to Derek Anderson and back again does not do anything for the Cleveland locker room or the Dog Pound. While everyone in the media is paying close attention to the Lions and their misery (see Washington Redskins), no one is paying attention to the Browns. they have lost 11 of the last 12. In the nine in a row, they have had four different passers...Quinn, Anderson, Bruce Gradkowski, and Ken Dorsey. While the QB is the focal point on the field, the Browns have let their running game slack. In the AFC North, teams play hard-nosed offense and defense. The run game is the most important part of the offense. With teams like the Steelers and Ravens who are historically running teams, the Browns fall well short of expectations. Jamal Lewis used to be a part of that run attack in Baltimore but in Cleveland he is struggling. It is plausible that the Browns could lose 16 in a row. Their coming games: Bengals, Bills, Steelers, Packers, Bears, and Ravens could all conceivably be losses. This would make their 16th opponent none other than the Detroit Lions. Could be an interesting wrinkle.

2. Washington Redskins...they lost to the Detroit Lions. That is the team that has lost 19 games in a row. Is Jim Zorn to blame? I don't think so...Daniel Snyder, you are. Is it amazing that the teams that the owner has too much control are not successful? I don't think so. The Redskins and the Raiders seem to have it worst. The Cowboys seem to win in the regular season but the playoffs are another story. The Redskins defense is on paper one of the best in the league. The first score for the Lions was a 99 yard drive that took 13 minutes. The Lions then made field goals on their next two possessions. That is right the Lions scored on three straight possessions in the first half...ended the half leading 13-0. And finally, the defense had a 47 yard pass interference penalty in the 4th quarter on 3rd and 9. This could have ended the drive and given them a win. Defense bad for Washington.

3. Mississippi State play calling...you are playing at home against conference foe LSU with a chance to pull the upset win. The second to last series for Mississippi State was in LSU territory...including four plays on the LSU 2 yard line. Rush for 1 yard, rush for no gain, incomplete pass, and rush for no gain. Wow. Four plays to get two yards. Quarterback Tyson Lee could have extended his arms for a TD but he did not. Coach Mullen...please find a new way to score or teach your players to have desire to win. You are in the SEC it is a tough conference, wins are at a premium, home wins are a must.

The Ugly


1. Seattle Seahawks...Seattle gets this place for two reasons. To stay true to my blog title...Olinde Mare missed two field goals in the game. At the end of the first half, Mare missed a 43 yarder. And in the third quarter, he missed a 34 yard field goal. Your profession is to kick a ball through the uprights...you are paid to do it. Don't miss. Don't miss inside 35 yards. In the post game interview, Coach Jim Mora was ruthless about Mare's misses and said that he was willing to look for a new kicker. Since he has recanted his statements and Mare will be kicking in the next Seahawks games. I will give Mare a pass on the misses, he is a 80% kicker for his career (he is not Grammatica who tore his ACL celebrating a kick) but I also believe that he must make the kick.

The second ugly side for the Seahawks were their jerseys. Just look at the pictures...enough said. Most people believe that the northwest has ugly uniforms because of the University of Oregon. But the Seahawks fluorescent lime green uniforms trump all the Oregon jerseys.

Martin in...liquor out

So here it is, that Chase has started. I know that I am in the minority of my friends being a NASCAR fan but it is something that I cannot stop. I love the competition, the strategy, and the talent of the drivers. This is my first post dedicated completely to NASCAR and will keep going on Tuesdays until the Cup has been handed out.

Mark Martin was first as the Chase started after winning four races in the 2009 season. He went on to win the first race in the chase at New Hampshire. So of you may be wondering, who cares? What if I told you that Mark Martin is 50 years old and that 2009 is his first full season since 2006. In '07 and '08, Martin ran partial seasons and then signed with Rick Hendrick to run a full season this year. It is amazing to watch someone who many thought would retire lead all his competitors. He has been aided by his crew chief Alan Gustafson and the Hendrick Racing Team. The next 9 races are very important to Martin quest for his first title. He is 35 points ahead of 3 time defending champion Jimmie Johnson and Chesterfield, Virginia native Denny Hamlin.




The story that really intrigued me this weekend was Bobby Labonte. Labonte won the title in 2000 and is currently ranked #29 in the Sprint Cup standings. He has finished fifth once this season and sixth once, leading less than 20 laps in total for the season. His average finish is 25th. His two best seasons were 1999 and 2000 and has not been a top tier driver since. So you may be wondering why I would be talking about someone who has no real impact on NASCAR. Labonte qualified 8th for this past weekend's race and was excited for his chance to compete. But his team, TRG Motorsports, did not have the funding to compete in the race. Without funding Labonte would be able to start the race but could not reasonably finish. So his team went looking for money and in the two days before the race TRG was able to find funding from four northeast companies and raced all 300 laps. Labonte finished 22nd but that is not the point. In a time of financial constrictions, Labonte was able to find the needed finances to run. This shows me that NASCAR is on the right track and that people really want to see the underdog get a chance.

While Labonte was able to race because of sponsorships, two major sponsors have pulled out of NASCAR in the last couple of months...Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. As an avid bourbon and whiskey drinker and a NASCAR fan, I am sorry to see these sponsorships go. It is not the drinker in me that is saddened but the NASCAR fan that is. I hope that all the teams are able to find sponsors. I don't want drivers and teams who have worked hard and succeeded be hamstrung because the lack of sponsorship. Crown Royal has signed a multi-year deal with Roush Fenway Racing to sponsor Matt Kenseth's #17 car. So as big teams (Hendrick, Roush, Childress, Petty, Gibbs) get stronger the small teams are struggling to just get sponsors. I see the story about Bobby Labonte as a sign that NASCAR and its sponsors will keep this sport going for its fans.




Stay tuned to Dover for next week's race...

Sunday...it's for kickers

Most people don't realize the value of a kicker until he has to make a kick at the game for a win. But this weekend proved kickers are valuable to any team. This is proven by University of Washington's Erik Folk. He kicked the game winning field goal against #3 ranked USC. No one before the game would have thought of Folk as the key to UW's win.

Sunday was an even better day to look at the value of kickers. 4 games had more field goals than touchdowns including two games with only one touchdown. Scores of the games were rather low...Jets beat the Patriots 16-9 (it is the first time the Patriots have not scored a touchdown since 2006). The Redskins fared better than the Patriots with the same score 9, beating the Rams 9-7. So that is two teams with three field goals and opportunities in the red zone. The Raiders and Chiefs also had a game dominated by field goals with a final score of 13-10. With quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Mark Sanchez and running backs like Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson and Darren McFadden; one would assume that you could finish in the red zone.

To further the argument that kickers are football players, three games came down to field goals in the fourth quarter to win the game. Lawrence Tynes of the NY Giants ruined the NFL debut of the new Cowboy stadium with a field goal at the end of the game to win 33-31. Houston beat the Tennessee with a field goal on their second to last possession of the game. This field goal was the only score for either team in the 4th quarter. And finally, the Steelers/Bears game. Robbie Gould was able to make a field goal with 15 seconds left in the game to win 17-14. In the game, the Steelers' kicker Jeff Reed missed two field goals in the fourth quarter that could have won the game for the Steelers. Reed has a history of being a consistent kicker, with only two season below 80% conversion record and three season over 85%. Reed said after the game that if one player can be blamed for the loss that he would take it. Reed, Gould, and Tynes show the value of a kicker.

We will have to watch the rest of the season to see how the kickers impact the season. For kicker impact one needs only too look at Adam Vinatieri and his playoff heroics, the history between Florida State and Miami (wide right), and Scott Norwood and the Buffalo Bills.

Stay tuned for Tuesday posts for the next couple of months talking NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup.

I know it's cliche...

As the saying goes..."Offense wins games, defense wins championships". On my way to the beach this weekend, I had to listen to the 1:00 games on the radio. Being that my trip was to North Carolina, the Eagles/Panthers game was the easiest to find and the clearest reception. This game was amazing to listen to just look at the statistics for the defense: 5 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 touchdown, punt return for touchdown, and 5 sacks. But to really understand how defense changes a game, at the beginning of the second quarter Carolina was winning 7-3 with the ball on their own 25. First play: sack, fumble, defensive touchdown for Philly. Second series: punt after 6 plays, punt return for touchdown. Third series: interception on third play. First play for Philly is touchdown pass. 5:05 came off the clock in the second quarter and Philly was now winning 24-7, the Carolina fans were booing, and the Panthers were struggling. And let's not forget that Delhomme threw interceptions on the first two drives in the second half. I guess you could say the Eagles were playing for the memory of their former defensive coordinator, Jim Johnson, who passed away in July.

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I can say that my first post of the regular season is not going to be about defense but I probably could. But for once I want to talk about offense...and a few things that I found really shocking about week one in the NFL and the first two weeks of NCAA football. First, if I were to tell you that only 5 quarterbacks had 40 or more pass attempts, could you tell me who they were? If I were to think about it and just go based off past occurrences I would say: P. Manning, Brady, Warner, Brees, Ryan. I would have only gotten 2 right. Brady and Warner would be correct, the others may have been close but not quite. Now here are the ones you would not expect: Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, Joe Flacco. Leftwich was Roethlisberger's back up last year and has not been a regular starter since 2006. This is a little unexpected. The Ravens and the Steelers are the franchises known for a running attack; Baltimore led the league in rush attempts in 2008 while Pittsburgh did in 2005. These two teams are known for hard nosed football and I would not think that Roethlisberger and Flacco would be looked upon to throw this much. But I guess these franchises are changing (maybe just the offenses...don't try to run against their defenses).

But speaking about Joe Flacco, the other thing that really caught my attention in the last two weeks is the impact of rookies; players and coaches. While Michael Crabtree is crying at home and hoping to become a millionaire, his fellow rookies and sophomores are winning games and leading franchises. I know that most of the impact has been coming from quarterbacks. But he is losing out. I am sorry but taking a year off is not going to get you a high draft slot and millions of dollars guaranteed. Flacco, Matt Ryan, and Mark Sanchez are turning around franchises with the help of their rookie coaches. It is amazing that young coaches and players are having such an important impact on the league. Roethlisberger won a ring in his second year, so did his currect coach Mike Tomlin. While the league is usually predicated on the experience of the veterans, the last five years have been ruled by the talent and will of the young. Let's look at some stats and players:

-- Adrian Peterson was second and first in rushing yards in his first two years respectively.
-- Tim Hightower scored 10 TDs in his first year
-- Flacco and Ryan led their teams to the playoffs in their rookie year

And this doesn't just belong in the NFL, right now Michigan and Southern Cal are being led by true freshmen QBs.

We will have to see how the youngsters keep up...