Sports Nuts and Bolts

The History of Sport, Part 5: Columbus Blue Jackets

Sorry about the late arrival of this week's entry of History of Sport but I recently bought Mario Kart Wii and it's been keeping me pretty busy. I decided to go with the Blue Jackets since I'll be heading down to Columbus for a day visit during the Memorial Day weekend.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus, OH
2000-present
National Hockey League, Western Conference, Central Division
Arena: Nationwide Arena
No Stanley Cups, no Conference titles, no Division titles

Ever since the team’s founding in 2000, the Columbus Blue Jackets have not found any success in the NHL and have never qualified for the Stanley Cup Finals, the only team in the NHL to have never done so. In fact, this season (2007-08) they set a franchise record with the most points in a season with a measely 80 points.

Columbus' history with professional hockey began in 1966 when the Columbus Checkers of the International Hockey League was formed. Low attendance killed the team in the spring of 1970. Pro hockey would be dormant in Columbus for only one year when, in 1971, the IHL returned to Columbus with the Columbus Golden Seals, right, a farm team for the California Golden Seals (now the Dallas Stars), hence the oddball name. The Seals were not a success as they only won 15% of their games in the first two seasons. The team became even worse in its third season and the team was put up for sale. When the team was sold to a new owner in 1973, the name also changed to the Columbus Owls. The Owls enjoyed success under new ownership but problems with the team's facilities forced the team to move to Dayton, Ohio, after the 1977 season.

Fourteen long years would pass until professional hockey returned to Columbus. The Columbus Chill, left, of the ECHL was introduced in 1991. The team set an ECHL record almost off the bat with an 83 game sellout streak that still holds to this day. The Chill was a success, having won two division championships in 1996-97 and 1998-99. With the arrival of the Blue Jackets, the Chill was forced to suspend operations after the 1998-99 season and moved to Reading, Pennsylvania (pronounced like "redding." Yes, that's right, it's the "redding" Railroad in Monopoly) to become the Reading Royals. The Chill is credited for paving the way for an NHL team to take root in Columbus.

In 2000, the Blue Jackets joined the Minnesota Wild as one of the two new expansion teams for the NHL. Despite acquisitions of Rick Nash, right, Adam Foote, and Sergei Fedorov throughout the team’s history, they have never been competitve. They finished dead last their first three seasons and fourth in three other seasons. The team’s highest points finish, third, occurred in 2005-06 season. The Blue Jackets have also seen five head coaches in its 8 year history, including the lockout season of 2004-05.

One of the team’s positive highlights: after the 2003-04 season, Rick Nash received, along with Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers and Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames, the Maurice Richard Trophy for the most goals in a season.

Fun Fact: The Blue Jackets are named for “patriotism, pride, and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and city of Columbus.” It has nothing to do with some weird colored stinging insect.

Historical Fact: On April 3, 2007, the Blue Jackets broke the modern day record for most shutouts against in a season with 16. However, that same season saw a game in which the team scored five power play goals in one game against the Ottawa Senators on December 10, 2006.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Vroom Goes the Tiger with Red Wings

Hatred at 200 mph

Why did M&M's have to feature Indiana Jones on Kyle Busch's car? I hated having to root against such a classic film icon.

It took me awhile to even try to post the NASCAR update because the sport's most hated driver won the race at Darlington... after egging the crowd on like an idiot in the pre-race ceremonies. I did almost feel sorry for his mother, who was there since the race was over Mother's Day weekend. The moment Busch stepped out to be introduced, the crowd booed like I've never heard it boo before. Paced around the track on a pickup truck during driver introductions, he decided to enrage the crowd even more by flipping the bird, wiping away fake tears, and generally doing to immature things an arrogant 23-year-old would normally do when he thinks he's awesome.

Let's not forget how he whined about being wrecked at the Nationwide Series race the night before, vowing to pay back Brad Keselowski, right, for "wrecking him" when it was clearly a racing incident. Is it a coincidence that Keselowski drives for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?

The Sprint Cup race at Darlington was said to become a wreckfest, much like the Nationwide race before it. However, only eight cautions flew at the fast, newly repaved track in which Greg Biffle destroyed the previous qualifying record with his pole sitting run. It looked as if it would be wrecks galore when only two laps into the race, Elliott Sadler (19) got loose off a turn and rammed Tony Stewart (20) into the wall.

On lap 11, another caution flew for Sam Hornish, Jr. and after that it was green flag racing for 124 laps.

Greg Biffle was the car to beat but, unfortunately like at Atlanta and Talladega, another race was handed to Kyle Busch as the most dominant car had troubles (Carl Edwards blew up at Atlanta and Tony Stewart wrecked at Talladega). In this case, Biffle's engine went sour and he ended up 43rd.

Despite wishes of Busch's failing brakes to completely fail or for one of his journeys against the wall to finally take him out, Busch still won the race. As he did donuts, no one in the crowd cared.

The impressive part of this rather dull race was the performances of David Ragan, left, and Travis Kvapil, right. Ragan has certainly become the most improved driver of the year. He's consistently a top 15 car and finished fifth at a track that eats up younger, not as experienced drivers. He's also made it into the coveted top 12, the drivers that make the Chase for the Championship. Let's see if he can hold onto it and continue his impressive performance. As for Kvapil, if this man doesn't get a sponsor soon, I don't know what he has to do to get one. He finished seventh at Darlington. Again, Kvapil has improved greatly while driving for a team that hasn't performed well since 2005. He's gotten his #28 Yates Racing Ford into the top 20 in points but is yet still unsponsored.

With Biffle's engine failure and subsequent chewing out of Roush Fenway Racing, rumors began to abound about him replacing Tony Stewart in the #20 Toyota. Biffle, left, has yet to re-sign with Roush and would be a free agent after this season. If Biffle doesn't re-sign, it would also solve Roush's problem of having to scale down from five teams to four teams after the 2009 season. We'll have to see as the season goes on what happens with Biffle and Stewart and where they'll race next year.

Night racing in May continues as the 17th brings the All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. As a non-points race, we'll see if Junior pays back Kyle Busch or see what other idiotic things Busch decides to do.

Mind Your Ps and Ds

The Stanley Cup Finals are nearing its endpoint as the Western and Eastern Conferences decides their respective champions. The Western Conference has pitted the hometown favorite Detroit Red Wings, left, against the Dallas Stars. The Red Wings have owned the Stars as they lead the series 3-0 and prepare for a sweep. On the other side of the country, the Pittsburgh Penguins continue their dominance and lead the Philadelphia Flyers (who beat my beloved Capitals in the first round) 2-0 in the series. It looks as if it'll come down to a Detroit/Pittsburgh game, leaving Ohio as the state caught in the middle. Hey, at least the teams won't have to travel very far.

Tigers Lose Their Roar

The Detroit Tigers, with starting pitcher Nate Robertson on the right, are still struggling to win games. They sit in last place in the American League Central Division, 4.5 games back from the Minnesota Twins. Yes, that means even the Kansas City Royals are ahead of them in the standings. But they shouldn't feel too bad. The sport's biggest budgeted team, the New York Yankees, are also struggling as they sit in fourth place, 4 games behind the Boston Red Sox. To add to the insult, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles are ahead of them in the standings. Can you believe Tampa Bay is only half a game out of first? Maybe for once the American League East won't come down to a Boston/New York showdown like it has for the past few years.

The National League's first place teams all have the same exact record - the Florida Marlins, left, Chicago Cubs, and Arizona Diamondbacks share 23-15 records among them. I guess the Marlins are celebrating the news of their new stadium and proving to their fans that they should be a team to watch... as long as the team's owners don't scuttle everything at the end of the season like they're so fond of doing after World Series wins.

~ Chris, guest blogger

The History of Sport, Part 4: Bluffton Beavers

With the completion of Bluffton's baseball season this week, this entry of the series will focus on a more regional sports angle.

Bluffton Beavers
Bluffton University
Bluffton, OH
School founded in 1899
NCAA Division III, Mideast Region, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Facility: Bluffton University Memorial Field

One of US News’ best colleges of 2008, Bluffton University offers athletics in baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. About 45 minutes away from Fostoria, Bluffton University was founded by the General Conference Mennonite Church in 1899 as the Central Mennonite College. The college was renamed Bluffton College in 1913. Bluffton College’s attendance grew by 1930 but fell to less than 200 because of the Great Depression. The attendance numbers fell even further, down to a low of 77, during World War II but as soon as the war was over, attendance exploded once more. The college became affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA in 2002 upon a merger and Bluffton College became a university in 2004.

Bluffton University made national headlines on March 2, 2007, when a bus carrying the university’s baseball team plunged off an overpass in Atlanta, GA, when the bus driver thought he was in a carpool lane. The bus, carrying 35 people, crashed onto Interstate 75 and killed six people – four members of the baseball team as well as the bus driver and his wife. The other 29 people were injured, six of them seriously. One of those six seriously injured died a week later.

The Bluffton baseball team kicked off the 2008 season hoping to overcome the tragedy of March 2, 2007, and held a dedication ceremony on March 12, 2008, to mark the one year anniversary of the accident. The university also renamed the playing field to Bluffton University Memorial Field. They tried to repeat their success of the 2006 season but fell short.

While at one point in the season they enjoyed a 5-2 season, the losses soon came in droves. They finished the season on May 4 with a 15-23 record and a 7-15 record in their conference, losing their last four games.

Bluffton University has won championships in other sports, including a double-whammy in 2004 when the softball and women’s track field teams won the conference championships. It was the second time the softball team won the conference. The first time was in 1999. In 2000, the football team tied with Hanover College for the HCAC championship.

In the late 80s, Bluffton volleyball dominated the region, with the 1987, 1988, and 1989 teams, led by Deborah Hucke, right, winning the conference and taking a Division title in 1988.

Despite the tragedy of last year, Bluffton University will continue to mend and provide competitive athletics for its students in the future.

Fun fact: Jeff Timmons, left, the founder and former lead singer for the boy band 98 Degrees, played football for Bluffton University.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Kyle Busch: NASCAR's Most Wanted

After the Richmond race weekend, Kyle Busch, left, found himself #1... twice. Not only is he first in the Sprint Cup points standings, but he also became public enemy #1.

Kyle Busch has always been hated but he crossed the line - and not the finish line - at the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Speedway. Let us begin with the Nationwide Series race on Friday night.

All was fine in that race, Kyle Busch found himself a lap down but made it up and was third when the white flag waved. Due to typical last lap battling, Steve Wallace, right with his father Rusty, tapped Busch on the rear bumper, sending Busch up the track. Remember, Kyle Busch was in third when this happened. Kyle Busch regained control of his car and Wallace even let up so Busch wouldn't have to wreck him to get his spot back. When the checkered flag flew, Kyle Busch finished... third.

But the arrogant cockiness of Kyle Busch, believing himself to be superior to everybody else, decided to have a chat with Wallace after the race. He stuck his head inside Wallace's car and said some things which prompted Wallace - mind you he has ADD and Tourette's - to grab Busch's helmet. Busch yanked himself away and that was that. I have to ask, Busch still finished third and wasn't in contention for the win so why did he have to make a big deal about it? Because he's Kyle Busch, that's why. Judging by his actions, he's allowed to wreck everybody but no one is allowed to wreck him.

The real gem of this was Busch's interview. He used the clichéd "If you mess with the bull you get the horns" quote and then had the nerve to say on live TV, "I don't care, I'll wreck as many cars as I need to."

What?

That right there sets up everybody's perception of him for any upcoming race. Of course, Wallace gets the upper hand in his interview when he calls Busch a "little girl." Here's a video for some laughs.

Onwards to the Sprint Cup race. Denny Hamlin, left, started on the pole, after winning the Nationwide race, and led 381 of the first 382 laps in a 400 lap race. Very boring if you ask me. A huge wreck, top right, that took out the likes of Jimmie Johnson (48), Matt Kenseth (17), and Kurt Busch (2) mixed things up a bit and a sparky ride, bottom left, by Casey Mears (5) being pushed by Michael Waltrip (55) also changed tempo. But Hamlin was still leading a boring race where only AJ Allmendinger under caution had led a lap.

That all changed on lap 383. Hamlin's tire was leaking air and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch split Hamlin to fight for the lead. Junior won out and was well on his way to ending his 71 race winless streak when Hamlin's tire gave out and he stopped on the track to bring out a caution. Conspiracy theorist say Hamlin stopped on purpose to draw the caution to get Busch back onto Junior's bumper (Hamlin and Busch are teammates).

The race restarted on lap 395 with Junior in the lead. Junior and Busch battled each other for a few laps when they dived into a corner and Busch got loose underneath Junior. Yes, Kyle Busch, the most hated driver in NASCAR, wrecked the most popular driver in NASCAR.

Remember that comment he made in the Nationwide race?

During this melee, Clint Bowyer zipped by for the lead. The race ran under caution for a few more laps since fans were throwing things onto the track. On the green-white-checkered finish, Bowyer, left, had the help of Mark Martin trying to pass Busch to take the checkered flag for the second win of his career. I can certainly tell you I was torn with that wreck. On one hand I was angry Junior was wrecked by Busch, but on the other hand I was absolutely joyous that Bowyer took the lead since he's my favorite driver.

Cue the interviews. Kyle Busch did his best not to apologize for what he did. He sort of did but really didn't mean it. Someone needs to order up a punch in the face for him like Jimmy Spencer gave to his brother Kurt Busch. After that punch, Kurt Busch became a much better man.

With Junior's interview, he tried his danged best to not let his emotions get the best of him. It was one of the most depressing interviews I've ever seen. He didn't give blame to anybody, not even Busch, and took the high road. After that interview, you have to become a supporter of him if you weren't before. Not many drivers can control their emotions like Junior, pictured right, can.

The seriousness of Kyle Busch's situation was even stated by the race winner. Bowyer, being escorted into the press room by police, said that Kyle Busch needed the escort more than he did.

We'll have to see what happens with the younger Busch this Saturday as a repaved Darlington Speedway hosts another night race.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Local doings

With all that I have to pay attention to -- from NASCAR, which I really don't care for, to high school baseball, softball and track, which I really enjoy -- I admittedly sometimes lose track of things up until the very moment it happens.

Now, as I await the end of the Sharks-Stars overtime game in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it's just hit me. There's a heckuva spring going on for many of the teams right here within the city limits.

St. Wendelin's softball team is tied for first place in the Midland Athletic League with Carey. Always-mighty Mohawk has loss twice and is a game back with North Baltimore and New Riegel. Who'd have thunk it?

Fostoria High School's baseball team is tied for first place in the Northern Ohio League. That's not a who'd have thunk it. But should the Redmen win the league, that'll give them at least a share of league championships in football, baseball and basketball in the same season. Not bad, guys.

The FHS softball team, after a slow start, is on a rip right now, well over .500 overall and just a game behind Bellevue in the NOL race.

St. Wendelin's girls track team has been consistently finishing in the top five in invitationals with sophomores Jaunna Gase and Clare Berry piling up the points. It was particularly nice to see senior Alyssa Reiter be the hero of the Mohawks' second-place finish in the Boosters Invitational. She's been through the dismal times while being a good, consistent performer, and she's well deserving of now enjoying some nice team showings.

St. Wendelin's boys track team hasn't been bad either. These Mohawks are one stud shy of joining the upper parts of standings. Lots of good-but-not-great performers, though, have made them competitive.

I'm not going to lie. While local sports aren't about me, it is much more fun for your's truly to cover local and area teams when they're really good.

Enjoy the rest of the high school season, hopefully in sunny weather.

-- Scott

The History of Sport, Part 3: Cleveland Indians

The team I was going to talk about this week is going to be held off until next week or the week after so for now I give you the Cleveland Indians.

Cleveland Indians
Cleveland, OH
1900-present
Major League Baseball, American League, Central Division
Stadium: Progressive Field
World Series Championships: 1920, 1948
American League Pennants: 1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1997
Division Titles: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007

Commonly called “The Tribe,” the Cleveland Indians are one of the original American League baseball teams, founded in 1900 as the Cleveland Blues. Cleveland has had the same baseball team ever since its inception in 1900 leading to a large and vast history for the single team. Before 1900, professional Cleveland baseball took the form of the Cleveland Forest Citys in 1869 and joined the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1871, the nation’s first professional baseball league. The Forest Citys played horribly and were soon supplanted by the Cleveland Blues in 1879 when they joined the National League. Professional baseball was absent from Cleveland for two years until the Cleveland Spiders, right, joined the American Association in 1887. With the American Association crumbling, the Spiders jumped ship to the National League and enjoyed success there. However, the Spiders’ owner also bought the St. Louis Cardinals and was soon shipping Cleveland players to St. Louis. Eventually the Spiders were disbanded after the 1899 season. But Cleveland would have a new team the following year.

In 1900, the minor league Western League changed its named to the American League and moved its Grand Rapids ball team to Cleveland, becoming the Cleveland Blues. The next year, the American League angered the National League by becoming a major league. The Blues were one of the founding members.

In 1902, the Blues changed its name to the Bronchos and played under that name until 1904. For the 1905 season, the Bronchos became the Naps, named after their new star player Napolean Lajoie, left. When Lajoie was shipped off to the Philadelphia Athletics (now Oakland Athletics) in 1914, the organization decided it was time for a new name. The name “Indians” was chosen in response to the Boston Braves (now Atlanta Braves) who were known as the Miracle Braves at that time.

The Indians won their first World Series in 1920 by defeating the Brooklyn Robins (now the Los Angeles Dodgers) five games to two. After that win, the Indians would become a mediocre team until 1936, where a 17-year-old pitcher named Bob Feller picked the Indians’ fortunes up and created a good team again.

However, it wasn’t long until the team fell apart again and a change in ownership and manager also signaled a change in venues as the Indians permanently moved to Cleveland Municipal Stadium from League Park in 1947 (the Indians had played weekend games in Municipal Stadium starting in 1932).

In 1948, the Indians were forced to play a one-game playoff with the Boston Red Sox for the American League championship. The Indians won and faced the Boston Braves, the team the Indians were named after, for the World Series. The Indians won in six games but the Indians have not win another World Series since then despite going to the Series in 1954, 1995, and 1997.

Then the Indians hit a low point in their history. From 1959 to 1993 the team could only manage one third-place finish and five fourth-place finish. All the other times they finished at the bottom of the standings. It was so bad that in 1966, the team was rumored to be relocated due to poor attendance but it never happened as the team was sold off once again. 1974 saw the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night, bloodied fan on left, in which fans rioted and forced Cleveland to forfeit the game to the Texas Rangers.

The film Major League came out in 1989, during the Indians’ slumping years, which showcased the Indians as a hopeless team that went from worst to first. In 1993, the last year of the slump, the Indians suffered a tragedy during Spring Training in which a boat carrying pitchers Steve Olin, Tim Crews, and Bob Ojeda crashed and killed Olin and Crews. Ojeda was seriously injured, did not play that season, and retired the next year.

The opening of the new Jacobs Field in 1994 was a sign of the new and improved Indians. They were only one game out of first place when the infamous baseball strike ocurred to wipe out the rest of the 1994 season. The next season, the first one after the strike, the Indians finished with a 100-44 record and won the first ever divisional title under the new MLB divisional system. The Indians lost the World Series in six games to the Atlanta Braves. In 1997, the Indians went to the World Series again but were defeated by the Florida Marlins.

In 2007, the Indians were one game away from advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1997. Despite being up three games to one against the Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox won the next three games and went on to win the World Series.

The Cleveland Indians was consumed by corporate sponsorship in 2008 and Jacobs Field was renamed to Progressive Field. The fans still refer to the stadium as “The Jake.”

Currently the Indians are in second place in the American League Central with a 12-14 record, three games behind the Chicago White Sox.

In the past decade, the Indians have been criticized for the use of the name “Indians” and their mascot Chief Wahoo, featured in the Indians’ primary logo. With a history deeply rooted in the Indians name and Chief Wahoo, it is unlikely the Cleveland team will change its name in the near future.

Famous players who played for Cleveland: Cy Young, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Tris Speaker, Satchel Paige, Tommy John, Dennis Eckersley, Frank Robinson, Kenny Lofton, Eddie Murray, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, and Roberto Alomar

Historical Fact: The Indians signed the American League’s first black player, Larry Doby, left, 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson signed with the National League Brooklyn Dodgers (now Los Angeles Dodgers). In 1948, Satchel Paige became the Major League’s oldest rookie and the first ever black pitcher. Then the Indians made records again in 1975 with the hiring of Frank Robinson as the Major’s first black manager.

~ Chris, guest blogger

 

Wreckers for the checkers

Kevin Lepage, left, needs to stay away from the NASCAR garage for awhile.

In the waning laps of the Nationwide Series race, Lepage was coming out of the pits while the gigantic pack of cars racing at 180+ mph were steaming down the stretch. NASCAR rules say a driver can't blend back onto the racetrack until the backstretch but Lepage didn't care and he, for some reason, thought 110 mph was the same speed as the pack of cars coming at him. The end result wasn't pretty. Take a look:

Then Lepage had the nerve to blame Carl Edwards and everybody else except himself for the wreck. Although Lepage later profusely apologized for everything after he saw the replay, it would probably still be a good idea to not race in NASCAR for awhile.

Onwards to the main event.

The Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway has taken the mantle of the best race of 2008, despite being seriously marred by Kyle Busch, right, winning the race under caution while Juan Pablo Montoya and Denny Hamlin were about to make their move to deny Busch the win.

Reed Sorenson and Matt Kenseth continued their 2008 struggles. Sorenson blew his engine only five laps into the race and Matt Kenseth blew a tire, hitting the wall, and finishing a miserable 41st.

For the beginning of the race, it was looking as if it was just going to be a boring, single file racing until Jamie McMurray and Denny Hamlin teamed up and rocketed around by themselves on the outside groove (in which Dale Earnhardt, Jr. jokingly said over the radio: "Rude."). Hamlin eventually took the lead and soon all heck would break loose. It wasn't long until the outside groove started moving and the rest of the race consisted of two- to three-wide racing, and sometimes even four-wide.

Tony Stewart was the car to beat in this race. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. For starters, he blew a tire and scraped the wall. Luckily he was far enough up on the racetrack that he didn't cause much damage. With the racing getting hectic, Stewart was moving up the field, but a gap he found to advance forward suddenly grew smaller and he bounced off the cars of Bobby Labonte and Junior, triggering a little Big One that collected Stewart, in his #20 Toyota left, Labonte, McMurray, Junior, Martin Truex, Jr., and Kurt Busch.

I did not want Kyle Busch to win but at Talladega when a driver is running in first when the white flag waves, usually that means that driver is not going to win. It's the finicky draft and the final turn passes that create this interesting dilemma. Kyle Busch was in the lead so it meant he wasn't going to win. Montoya was in second, hoping for his first oval win and proving road courses aren't the only tracks he can win.

Another Big One was triggered on the white flag lap - meaning no green-white-checkered finish to keep Busch from winning - when McMurray shot up the track and took out every car on the lead lap that finished 12th or back, which included points leader Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, pole-sitter Joe Nemechek, and a very surprisingly competive David Stremme, who had a car that could win.

Next week is short track racing under the lights at Richmond International Raceway. It was this race two years ago where Junior had his last win. Also winless in 2008: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch.

Smoke fires up the NASCAR rumor mill

Silly Season has already started in this young NASCAR season.

Tony Stewart, left, who has raced in the Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing since his rookie year in 1999 and current driver of the #20 Home Depot Toyota, apparently wants out of his contract next year and wants to head off to a new challenge - the challenge of ownership.

Haas CNC Racing, a race team that is more known for its mediocracy on the track than for fielding winning cars, is supposedly Stewart's target for a part-ownership deal. Haas CNC Racing currently fields the #66 State Water Heater Chevrolet driven by Scott Riggs and the #70 Haas Automation Chevrolet, right, formerly driven by Jeremy Mayfield. Haas CNC Racing has no wins to its credit and shows only ocassional flashes of potential but has never come close to winning a race. Could Stewart change the fortunes of Haas much like Joe Gibbs Racing gave Toyota a better future this year?

Many fans say a driver is only as good as his equipment. Looks like Tony Stewart is about to prove them wrong. On the plus side, Haas CNC Racing is basically a satellite team for the powerful Hendrick Motorsports. The team gets its chassis and engines from Hendrick.

A move to Haas would also mean a reunion between Stewart and General Motors. The two have enjoyed a successful relationship since the beginning and Stewart, according to sources, seems to be a bit miffed about Gibbs' switch to Toyota and wants to go back to being a GM driver, which Stewart deems to be very important to him.

If Stewart does indeed leave Gibbs after this season, that would leave the #20 Toyota's seat open for highly touted driver Joey Logano, left. As for Haas, that organization would gladly leave the seat of the #70 open for Stewart since Jeremy Mayfield left the team just before Phoenix two weeks ago.

First we had Dale Earnhardt, Jr. leave Dale Earnhardt, Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports. Now we have Stewart possibly leaving Gibbs. What's next? Jeff Gordon leaving Hendrick for Roush Fenway Racing?

~ Chris, guest blogger

The History of Sport, Part 2: Toledo Walleye

Welcome to the second part of this series. Today is the history of the Toledo Walleye, formerly known as the Toledo Storm

Toledo Walleye
Toledo, OH
1991-2007 (as Toledo Storm), 2009-future (as Toledo Walleye)
ECHL, American Conference
Arena: Toledo Downtown Arena
Championships: 1992-93, 1993-94
Conference Championships: 1992-93, 1993-94
Division Championships: 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 2002-03, 2005-06

Before talking about the Storm and the Walleye, the link between Toledo and hockey has to be discussed first. The city of Toledo has a history of hockey going back to 1947, when the Toledo Sports Arena, right, was first opened. The first team the arena held as tenants was the Toledo Mercurys, from 1947 to 1962. Playing in the now defunct International Hockey League, the Mercurys had the distinction of being the first team to win multiple Turner Cup championships, and the first to do so consecutively. In fact, the team’s first championship came in its first year of play in the 1947-48 season. Briefly, in the 1949-50 season, the Mercurys switched to the Eastern Amateur Hockey League and became the Buckeyes but returned to its previous league and team name the next season. The Mercurys won the championship two more times in the 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons before folding after the 1961-62 season.

The Toledo Blades replaced the Mercurys in the IHL for the 1963-64 season. The Blades played in the Arena from 1963 to 1970. The Blades enjoyed the same success as the Mercurys by winning the Turner Cup in its first year and winning it again in 1967. In 1970, the Blades changes its name to the Hornets, playing under that name until 1974 when the Hornets became the Goaldiggers (get it?). The Hornet years didn’t see as much success until the name change to Goaldiggers. As the Goaldiggers, the IHL team scored four more championships, in 1975 (team pictured right), 1978, 1982, and 1983. However, hockey would leave the Toledo for a few years when the Goaldiggers moved after the 1985-86 season to Kansas City where the team was once again known as the Blades.

The Toledo Storm entered the East Coast Hockey League, now simply the ECHL, in 1991 and proved to be a strong team right off the bat, repeating the early successes of the Storm’s two predecessors. The Storm had won their conference in its first year in play, although the Storm didn’t make the championship game after being defeated in the first round. After that year, for the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons, the Storm won two consecutive championships. Those two seasons were the only ones where the Storm scored a championship.

In its 16 seasons of play, the Storm have not made the playoffs only three times – 1999-00, 2001-02, and 2003-04.

In 2007, the Toledo Mud Hens bought the Toledo Storm and decided to build a new arena for the team, replacing the aging Toledo Sports Arena, which was razed in 2007 after 60 years of hockey. The ECHL agreed to suspend operations of the Storm while the new Toledo Downtown Arena, concept art pictured left, was being built. During this suspension of operations, the team also underwent a name change. In February of 2008, the Storm officially became the Walleye and will begin play for the 2009-10 season.

Historical Fact: In 1996, the Storm featured the first woman, Erin Whitten, right, to play a professional hockey game in a position other than goalie. Although she was indeed a goalie, she played as a forward for 18 seconds in a game. She was also the first US-born woman to play pro hockey and the first female pro goaltender to record a victory - in 1993.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Prelude to a Prelude

NASCAR drivers go dirt track racing.

On Wednesday, June 4, many NASCAR drivers and a couple of NHRA drivers will take to the dirt at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, in the Old Spice Prelude to a Dream. I'm excited for it because I just bought tickets for the race and will get to see some of my favorite NASCAR drivers, such as Clint Bowyer, two-time champion Tony Stewart, and Carl Edwards, up close and personal on a tiny half-mile clay oval. Carl Edwards won this race last year in a thrilling battle with Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon.

Other drivers participating in this race are four-time champion Jeff Gordon, reigning two-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, champion Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, champion Bobby Labonte, JJ Yeley, current points leader Jeff Burton, Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman, champion Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, Aric Almirola, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, former NASCAR driver Red Farmer, Gillett Evernham Motorsports co-owner Ray Evernham, and NHRA drivers Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon.

This event is more than racing for fun. The ticket proceeds will go towards charity, particulary the Victory Junction Gang Camp and the construction of a new Camp in Kansas City. Tony Stewart, the owner of Eldora Speedway, has put this event on since 2005, benefiting the Camp and the Tony Stewart Foundation. Many may know Stewart as the hot headed driver of the #20 Home Depot Toyota but he is the most charitable driver on the circuit and I applaud him for that. And I have to take my hat off for the other drivers - yes, even Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin - for taking the time out of their schedules to race in such a worthy event.

General admission tickets are only $23 for ages 16 and up, $13 for ages 12-15, and $8 for ages 0-11. Reserved seating is $2 extra for each age group.

The event will be an interesting experience and I suggest you race fans should take the decent two-hour trip to Eldora for some dirt track action starring your favorite NASCAR drivers.

~ Chris, guest blogger