GBU: The Autism Speaks 400 from Dover
The Good: A tremendous race from start to finish. The final 10 laps were amazing, first watching Tony Stewart catch Greg Biffle, and the Jimmie Johnson catch them both to take the win. Tremendous racing. Also, Dover’s new pit road debuted to what can only be called a tremendous success. Dover is basically my home track, and it’s great to see all of the improvements they have made to the facility of the past few years. If you get a chance to see one race a year, go to Dover and site between turns 3 and 4. You can see everything!
The Bad: The continuing struggles of Richard Childress racing. Even though they had three cars in the top 20 (Clint Bowyer finished 11th, Jeff Burton 16th and Kevin Harvick 17th), this has been one of RCR’s best tracks over the past several seasons. If a rebound was going to start, you would have thought it would have started this past weekend. After having three drivers in the Chase the past several years, RCR will probably only have one. You have to wonder if this was the result of going to four teams?
The Ugly: An early caution coming in the middle of green flag pit stops putting a bunch of good cars down a lap or more. You have to wonder if Biffle used up some of his stuff early in the race getting his lap back, which may have lead to Johnson being able to catch him in the closing laps.
GBU: The Southern 500!
The Good: Hendrick-mania. Hendrick and Hendrick affiliated cars dominated the late stages of the race, taking six of the first seven spots. The final shoot-out between Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson was fun to watch, but how weird was it to actually hear JJ throw in the towel. And speaking of Johnson, just the fact that he was up there shows that he’s still a championship contender and that Chad Knauss is still one of the, if not the best, crew chief in the biz.
And how about a great run from Joey Logano. He’s starting to show all of the promise that we heard of.
Great racing action all night, as the top 10 kept changing. Cars that were a lap down were all of a sudden in the top 10, and then vice versa. Great action, however . . .
The Bad: Too many cautions, and some that probably should have been. I couldn’t believe how many cars were in the wall where NASCAR didn’t throw a caution. Their had to be car parts everywhere.
The Ugly: Jeremy Mayfield getting suspended for substance abuse. I was always a big fan of his, but this is unacceptable, as NASCAR showed. Baseball and other sports, steroids and other “banned” substances are almost taken for granted, but those sports aren’t litterly life and death as it can be in racing. NASCAR has done such a good job with safety, as we saw at Talledega, that we take it for granted, but competitors never do. Which is why Mayfield should not be aloud back in the sports. It’s also ironic that earlier in the year he fired one of his crew members for the same thing. While we don’t know the whole story, and we might never know it, it’s really just a shame that such a good career should end this way.
CBU: Richmond
Better late than never folks!!!!
The Good: A great win by Kyle Busch. I know most people dislike him, but you gotta respect him. Three wins on one weekend, winning a charity race, the Nationwide and Cup races. The guy can just plain drive. And I also love that he’s having fun with the way the fans boo him. Heck, I think I may start to take a bow with him!
And how great is it to see both Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman running so well. Let’s here it for Stewart-Haas and all they’ve accomplished. Could Tony be running for a championship? I think it’s possible.
The Bad: What’s going on with Dale, Jr. I know everyone is asking this. The truth is that he is just having a bad season. It happens to everyone, so ease up on the guys.
What happened to Jimmie Johnson last weekend? Talk about a bad night, the winner of three of the four previous Richmond races wrecked, had a brake failure and got a speeding ticket. Not a typical night for the old 48.
The Ugly: Roush-Fenway. What the heck is going on there. We know it’s not the drivers, but after Matt Kenseth winning the opening two races of the season, the team has faded into the pack. Is this a new trend for RFR. After putting all five teams into the Chase in 2006, the team had a dismal 2007. I guess the RFR guys are just good in the even numbered seasons.
Kevin Harvick was having one of best runs of the season, his first since the crew swap with the 07, and then got caught up in a wreck and finished 34th. Can KH buy a break?
GBU: The Aaron’s 499 at Talladega
The Good: This was one of the most exciting races to watch in a long time as there was constant action. Cars were consistantly going from the back to the front to the back again. There were 57 lead changes and an exciting finish (more on that later).
It was also great to see a single car team in victory lane, and so many drivers not from the power teams in the top 20. A great day for the rookies as well with Brad Keselowski winning, and fellow rookies Scott Speed (fifth) and Joey Logano(ninth) finishing in the top 10. And how good is Marcos Ambrose. Another top 5 (fourth place) illustrates how good he can be once he gets some experience on these tracks. We will see him in Victory Lane at some point.
The Bad: The Big One times two. Let’s be honest, casual fans love the wrecks and that’s why they love restrictor plate racing, even thought most of them don’t know a restrictor plate from a dinner plate. Personally, I would rather see the kind of passing we did Sunday. The first of the Big Ones happened so early and took out so many good cars. On the other hand, it also played havoc with the points, so maybe that’s a good thing.
The Ugly: The Finish. Yeah, it was crazy to watch and Carl was great jogging to the finish. Also, he showed a lot of class in his post race interview. But we can all be in awe of this because there were no serious injuries. One thing I don’t understand is why no one really talked about Ryan Newman after the race. Carl’s car came down on his windshield, thankfully on the passenger side. I didn’t see an interview with him until Monday night. Of course, the crash also illustrated how seriously NASCAR takes not only driver, but fan safety. The fact that the most serous injury was a broken jaw (according to news reports) is really a testament to that. And you know NASCAR is now working on a safer catch fence.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Subway Fresh Fit 500
The Good: Mark Martin showing that being the youngest doesn’t mean your the best. It was so good to see Mark win again, for the first time since Kansas in 2005, seeing all he has done in the last couple of years. And how cool was it to see all of the people who came to congratulate him in Victory Lane, include the Cat in the Hat Jack Roush. I wondered what their relationship was given Mark’s retirement and unretirement, and I think that gives us our very positive answer.
Mark Martin in Victory Lane
And another great run by Tony Stewart. It’s only a matter of time until he puts his team into victory lane. Tony is class act, and a racer, and what he has done since taking over at HAAS CNC is nothing short of amazing.
The Bad: Lack of racing action. There just didn’t seem to be a lot of side by side racing last night. Usually, it happens back in the pack, but it didn’t even seem like that was happening last night. Even lap traffic was in a line. This is one thing I know we don’t have to worry about in ‘Dega next week.
The Ugly: Junior. Another bad pit stop put him back in a pack and he got wreck because of it, but the extracurriculars after the race with Casey Mears was unneccesary. Yes, Casey wreck him, but it didn’t look intentional and was basically a racing thing. And good for Casey not taking that crap once the race was over.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Samsung 500
The Good: Jeff Gordon breaking a 47 race winless streak at the only track he’s ever finished last at. The bottom line, weather you like Gordon or not, he’s a hell of a driver and, to echo the thoughts of ESPN reporter Marty Smith, having Gordon winning is good for the support and makes great rivals. Let’s be honest, it’s as much fun to cheer for someone as it is against them (i.e. Kyle Busch, who I happen to cheer for).
The Bad: See above!!!
The Ugly: Carl Edwards final pit stop cost him a shot at winning the race. I’m not sure what happened, but you could see how ticked off Carl was about it. This just reinforces how much of a team sport racing really is.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Food City 500 at Bristol
The Good: All things Busch, as in the Busch brothers. Kyle dominated the race and showed real patience in doing so. Two years ago he would have wrecked half the field. Brother Kurt had a ho-hum 11th place finish, but did it with a wrecked car. Speaking of wrecked cars, how about Marcos Ambrose finishing 10th despite being down two cylinders.
The Bad: The last ride for Travis Kvapil and the Yates 28 team due to a lack of sponsorship. Travis is a really good driver who just never got the chance with a good team. He proved that by keeping the 28 out of the dreaded go or go homers last season. Lets hope the team kind find sponsorship or Travis can find a ride.
The Ugly: Juan Pablo Montoya. JPM should have been parked for intentionally spinning Jamie McMurray. I know what you are all thinking, but it was pretty obvious and could have caused a huge wreck at such a small track. JPM, not so obvious next time. And don’t bitch when JamieMac get you back!
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The A-10 Finals, Temple vs. Duquesne
The Good: Where to start, Dionte? Sergio? LaVoy? The Fans!!!! Lets start with Dionte, who showed the heart of a champion and that all great players come out of there slumps when they’re in the spotlight. His 20 first half points paced the Owls when others struggled, and game high 29 came when the team needed it. Fellow senior Sergio Olmos proved that he will be a professional basketball player for a long time (in Europe, don’t get carried away!!) by providing the two in the Owls one-two offensive punch in the first half. He also had a huge day on the boards, with 9 rebounds, six on the offensive glass. Speaking of rebounding, LaVoy Allen was a force on the glass. Whenever Duquesne had a chance to get back in the game, it seemed that LaVoy (14 rebounds, 5 offensive) cleared the glass keeping Duquesne to one and done. LaVoy also had 10 points to give him yeat another double-double this season.
Semaj Inje proved that scoring the basketball isn’t the only way to contribute to a team, and his contributions were huge. 8 assists, 5 rebounds, a block and a steal all when it mattered most. And let’s not forget Ryan Brooks. Ryan hit some early shots and then went quiet until it was needed, hitting a huge three at crunch time.
Finally, a not about the fans. They were amazing and could be heard loud and clear over the radio. Finally, Temple is building a fan base that will propel this program for years to come. I couldn’t be prouder of the students of TU!!!!
As for the Bad and the Ugly, there really is none. Back to back A-10 champs!!!
Some final thoughts:
Congrats to Duquesne University and their Head Coach, Ron Everhardt. To make it to the finals only five years after the tragic shooting of five players on their team, and after no real success in over thirty years is an amazing triumph for them. And to do it with such a young team!! This team is going to challenge for many an A-10 championship in the future, and I pitty the teams that have to play them in the NIT.
Coach John Chaney should get some of the kudos, as Temple’s seniors, Dionte, Sergio and Semaj, lead this team all year. Coach Chaney’s legacy will be with this program for a long time, and it’s nice to know that his final group could go out the way so many of his other players have, as Champions.
Also, how about Coach Dunphy. He is proving that his success at Penn wasn’t because he played “softer” teams in the Ivy league. I still think Coach needs to change some of the things he did at Penn, but this season Temple had it’s most successful home season, despite only 11 home games, in years (9-2 at home), but another amazing tournament run. The sky’s the limit for Coach Dunphy on North Broad street and he’ll continue to have my support on North Broad, no matter how good, bad and/or ugly!
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: A-10 Semi Final, Temple vs. Xavier
Before I get into it, and in effort to make full disclosure, I am a proud graduate of both Temple (Comp Sci, ‘92) and Xavier(M.Ed., ‘95), however, while I hope the best for X, I bleed Cherry and White that said . . .
The Good: This was a heavyweight championship fight between two of the A-10 elite. The truth is the top 5 teams
in the A-10 (Temple, X, Dayton, Duquesne, URI) this season are about equal, and I believe all of these teams, with the exception of X, are VERY underated. However, tonight was the Owl night, as they did it with their best defensive game of the season, holding Xavier to season lows in points, 53, and shooting percentage, 34.5%. Temple also struggle to make a shot until late in the game (X plays tremendous defense), but senior Dionte Christmas showed what a tremendous play he is, making two long threes and hitting a foul shot to seal the win. It would have been very easy for Dionte to pack it given his struggles for the first 50 plus minutes of basketball he had played over the first two days of the tournament, but instead he wanted the ball as all great players do, and he delivered.
The Bad: It’s really hard to find anything bad about this game. As I said, this was a great basketball game between two really good teams.
The Ugly: Despite this win, the Owls could still be left out of the NCAA tournament if they don’t get the automatic bid by winning tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don’t see the A-10 getting 4 teams in, so if Duquesne wins tonight the winner of tomorrow game would be in and the looser in the NIT. That said, let’s hope the Owls take care of business in what should be a very partisan Temple arena tomorrow night.
GO OWLS!!!
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Temple-St. Joe’s 3, the A-10 Tourney
The Good: As always, beating St. Joe’s is always good. This time it was done by great team scoring lead by Ryan Brooks 19 points (6-12 from the floor, 3-4 from 3 pt range) and 14 from Senior Center Sergio Olmos, who has done a great job scoring the basketball of late. If Sergio averages 14 points over the next two days, the Owls will win the tournament. Also, a great rebounding day for the Owls, as they outrebounded the Hawks 42-37. Lavoy lead the way with 13 boards (5 offensive) despite only playing 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Craig Williams and Juan Fernandez were also huge coming off the bench, with Williams hitting several threes when the Owls trailed 12-6 early, and Juan making several great passes for assists.
The Bad: Unfortunately, there’s no other way to put this but Dionte Christmas was just horrible shooting the ball, making 1 field goal on 10 attempts. He also commited some bad fouls that forced him to the bench for much of crunch time when St. Joe’s made a run. Unfortunately, this far overshadows the great job he did in creating easy shots for his teammates throughout the day.
The Ugly: Five turnovers on five straight possesions late in the game, giving St. Joe’s hope late in the game. This kind of play tomorrow against an aggresive Xavier team will lead to a blow out loss for the Owls.
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