Sports Nuts and Bolts

Follow the Leader Until He Wrecks

Last weekend's Coca-Cola 600 was surprisingly good, which is rare for a 1.5 mile track. It might have had something to do with just about every car that led the race ran into trouble so no one driver was completely dominant.

Kyle Busch was the pole winner and started the race leading many laps until he ran into a battery problem. Kurt Busch led a lot of laps and then found the wall when he tire blew. Brian Vickers, in the 83 car at left, also led a lot of laps, giving hope to the new Team Red Bull, until his entire left rear wheel came off. It bounced across the track, hit the hood of David Gilliland's car, and then bounced into the infield, landing on a grill being used by one of the campers. The mean NASCAR security took the tire away from the lucky campers, but Vickers promised they'd find the campers and give them a bunch of cool stuff. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (88) was given the five bonus points for leading the most laps but he, too, found the wall (and JJ Yeley [96] found him) when his tire also blew, right. It was Jimmie Johnson's turn, the driver who dominates at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Except his engine blew up. You want to know how rare that is for him? It was the first time Johnson had a DNF due to an engine in 96 races. That's almost three years. Tony Stewart then took off with the lead and looked to be on his way to winning his first ever Coca-Cola 600, the season's longest race. Those pesty tires sure don't like it when they're leading a race. Two laps from the end of the race, a tire also blew on Stewart's car, giving the lead to Kasey Kahne, left, who went on to back up his criticized All-Star Race win with his first points win in 52 races.

Again, I was very surprised that this race was enjoyable. I'd have to rank it as one of the top races this year, which include the Talladega and Phoenix races.

Now I have to say something about those two young punks at Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.

I already don't like Hamlin, right, but he made it worse at the Nationwide Series race on Saturday. At the end of the race under caution, Brad Keselowski gave Hamlin a little tap on the bumper, the same kind of tap Stewart gives the pace car when he rides around under caution. Which means it's not that big of a tap. Hamlin gets all mad and sideswipes Keselowsky, damaging the fender. This, in turn, angers Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who owns Keselowski's car and he also gives Hamlin a tap on the rear bumper. As far as I'm concerned, Junior should have turned the little snot into the wall. So after the race, a fight breaks out on pit road. Hamlin obviously didn't think through his thick skull that now the crew of Keselowski's #88 car has to fix the damage now and also he managed to tick off the most popular driver in NASCAR.

And apparently Hamlin doesn't know what racing is about. He complained that Keselowski was racing him hard. I may not be a racer, but isn't that what racing is all about? You just don't give in at the end of the race, you fight hard. Hamlin goes on to say that Keselowski obviously doesn't have any Cup Series experience. So, Hamlin, are you an expert in Cup racing now? Tell that to Jeff Gordon or Jeff Burton or Mark Martin. Or, heck, even Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin also seems to forget it won't be too long until Keselowski is in the Cup Series. Check out the video and see what you think.

As for Kyle Busch, he actually had the nerve to complain about Jeff Gordon battling him for third place at the end of the race. Do these Joe Gibbs guys really think everybody should just lay down for them? I think this is the real reason why Tony Stewart wants to leave.

Next week's race is at the Monster Mile - Dover International Speedway. Martin Truex, Jr., left, won his first career Cup race there last year.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Cup runneth over for Red Wings

Are the Red Wings really that much better than the Penguins?

I'm still not sure.

Yes, Detroit has dominated almost the entirety of the two games played in the Stanley Cup finals. But I keep thinking about the first period of the first game.

That period showed that if the Wings play the least big sluggishly, Pittsburgh is good enough to at least stay even. The problem, I thought, was while they played relatively well and showed they weren't scared of anything, they tried to win the entire Stanley Cup in 20 minutes.

Lesson: The horse that eliminates fastest doesn't do it the longest.

But now, I think the Penguins might be on the heels and lacking in confidence. Going home will help them, but they need get Crosby and Malkin going, and quickly, or these Birds will be cooked.

Three things I liked about Game 2 for the Red Wings:

1. They got after it early and never let up.

2. They continue to be stellar defensively and in terms of puck possession. You can't score unless you have the puck.

3. They'll answer most any physical garbage Pittsburgh tries, though I wish someone had taken a run at Gary Roberts after he unnecessarily clocked Johan Franzen, who was just back from concussion-related symptoms.

I'm rooting for a sweep and then a raucous, yet under-control celebration in downtown Motown.

-Scott

The History of Sport, Part 6: Detroit Red Wings

In honor of the Red Wings making the Stanley Cup Final.

Detroit Red Wings
Detroit, MI
1926-present
National Hockey League, Western Conference, Central Division
Arena: Joe Louis Arena
Stanley Cups: 1935-36, 1936-37, 1942-43, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1953-54, 1954-55, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02
Conference Championships: 1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08
Division Championships: 1933-34, 1935-36, 1936-37, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1991-92, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08

One of the Original Six teams - along with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks - of the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings has enjoyed immense success in the NHL and is arguably the most popular team in the league (although many Canadian fans would dispute that). The Red Wings have won ten Stanley Cup championships, which is the most in the NHL for a non-Canadian team (Montreal has 24 and Toronto has 13). Currently, the Red Wings have made the playoffs in 23 of the last 25 seasons and presently 17 in a row, including this season, which is the longest current streak in American professional sports history.

The Red Wings started in 1926 as the Detroit Cougars, left, which was created from the defunct Western Hockey League team Victoria Cougars, winners of the Stanley Cup the season before. With no arena available in Detroit at the time, the team played in Windsor, Ontario, at the Border Cities Arena (now the Windsor Arena). They would move into the Detroit Olympia, right, (aka Olympia Stadium) the following season. The Detroit team would call that home until December 15, 1979.

The Cougars reached the playoffs for the first time in 1929 but lost to the Maple Leafs. In 1930, the Cougars were renamed to the Detroit Falcons. The Falcons did not do well, finishing in the bottom of the standings most of the years, despite making the playoffs again once in 1932.

With the team unsuccessful, in 1932 it was sold off to James Norris, who named them the Red Wings, after Norris' early career as a player on the Montreal HC, nicknamed the Winged Wheelers. The new Red Wings immediately enjoyed success, starting a string of playoff success where, between 1933-34 and 1965-66, the team missed the playoffs only four times.

The Red Wings reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 1934, where they were beat by the Chicago Blackhawks. In 1936, the Red Wings would return and win their first of ten Stanley Cup titles by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs and then repeated as champions against the New York Rangers the following year. The Red Wings would reach the Stanley Cup Final three years in a row, from 1941-43, but only won one Stanley Cup, in 1943.

1946 saw the introduction of a young Gordie Howe, left, who would go on to become one of the greatest players ever in the NHL and lead the Red Wings to four Stanley Cups and seven consecutive playoff appearances from 1948-49 to 1955-56. The “Production Line”, right, was created in 1947 when Howe was teamed up with Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay to form the greatest line in NHL history. The name of the line had a double meaning, both for the production the three players created and for Detroit’s automobile assembly production lines. In 1952, the Red Wings would go undefeated in the playoffs, the first time in 17 years a team had done that.

With the death of James Norris in December of 1952, his daughter Marguerite became the first woman to head up an NHL franchise. Her reign didn’t last very long as a power struggle in the family caused the team’s control to shift over to her brother Bruce. The late 50s was a time of shakiness for the Red Wings due to odd trades made by general manager Jack Adams, right. 1959 would mark the first time the Red Wings failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. The Red Wings would rebound in the early 60s, making the playoffs four out of six years between 1961 and 1966 but could not win any Stanley Cups. In 1963, after 36 years as general manager for the team, Jack Adams was fired.

The next few decades would not be kind for the Red Wings.

From 1967 to 1983, the Red Wings were referred to as the “Dead Wings.” The team finished dead last only a year after making the playoffs. Detroit would make the playoffs only twice in this timespan and won only one series. The coaching situation was in a state of turmoil as 14 coaches would head the team, not even counting interim coaches.

Detroit superstars Frank Mahovlich, left with the Canadiens, acquired during the 1967-68 season, and Gordie Howe could not pull this team from the basement. Mahovlich tenure with the Red Wings was short lived as he was traded to Montreal in 1970. The make matters worse, Howe retired after the 1970-71 season.

This dark era did see the Red Wings moving from Olympia Stadium to the famous Joe Louis Arena, right, during the 1979-80 season.

The Dead Wings era effectively ended in 1983 when the Red Wings drafted Steve Yzerman, left, and led the team in scoring his first year, dragging the Red Wings up from rock bottom. Detroit made the playoffs that season, the first time in six years. In 1987, the Red Wings made the semifinals for the first time in the modern era of the NHL (starting in 1967) but lost to the Edmonton Oilers. Detroit won its first division title since 1965 the following year but again lost to the Oilers in the semifinals. Scoring 65 goals, Yzerman led the Red Wings to another playoff appearance in 1989 but exited after the first round. Despite scoring 62 more goals in 1989, the Red Wings failed to make the playoffs in 1990. It would be the last time the Red Wings would fail to make the playoffs.

Soon the Red Wings added Sergei Fedorov, right, Paul Coffey, Slava Kozlov, Vladimir Konstantinov, and Nicklas Lidstrom to Yzerman’s effective stick. The Red Wings would become the team to fear.

Although constant playoff contenders, the Red Wings could not win a Stanley Cup. It wasn’t until the 1996-97 season with the additions of Brendan Shanahan and Larry Murphy that the Red Wings scored their first Stanley Cup in 43 years, the league’s longest streak at the time.

Six days after their win, Konstantinov suffered a brain injury in a limo accident, which ended his career. The following season was dedicated to Konstantinov which saw the team defending its championship by winning another Stanley Cup. Konstantinov, right, was on the ice the day the Red Wings won it and was able to hold Lord Stanley's Cup.

Chris Chelios was added to the team for the next season, hoping to three-peat as champions but lost to the Colorado Avalance in the semifinals. This would be the beginning of a rivalry with the Avalanche that would play out over several years.

The 2001-02 season introduced goalie Dominik Hasek, left, to the team as well as Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, and Pavel Datsyuk. The Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup that season but saw the loss of Hasek with his retirement. The following season Henrik Zetterberg joined the team. In that playoffs that year, the Red Wings were upset by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now the Anaheim Ducks) when they swept Detroit in the first round.

For the 2003-04 season, Fedorov left the Red Wings to join the Ducks while Hasek came out of retirement to play for the Red Wings. However, Hasek’s playtime was cut short after 14 games with a groin injury. Robert Lang was acquired at the trade deadline that saw the Red Wings reach another playoff. However, in the second round of playoffs against the Calgary Flames, Yzerman was sidelined for the rest of the playoffs when he was hit in the eye with a puck, right. The Red Wings were eliminated from the playoffs in the next game.

The 2004-05 season was lost due to the NHL lockout. Brett Hull left the team to sign with the Phoenix Coyotes.

The end of the lockout signaled a new era for the NHL. Goalie Chris Osgood returned to the Red Wings. The Red Wings started the new era with a playoff appearance but were eliminated by the scrappy Edmonton Oilers in the first round.

After the 2005-06 season, Brendan Shanahan left the team for the New York Rangers but, for the third time, Dominik Hasek returned to pay for the Red Wings. The most shocking news, however, came with Steve Yzerman’s retirement, a Red Wings player for 23 season and the longest tenured captain in NHL history. His number was retired the next season and Yzerman passed the captain torch to Nicklas Lidstrom, left. Yet again, the Red Wings made the playoffs but could still not reach the Stanley Cup Final.

For the 2007-08 season, Detroit easily dominated in its conference and had no trouble advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2002. They will play the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Stanley Cup starting May 24.

Fun Fact: The Legend of the Octopus started in 1952 when an owner of a local fish market threw an octopus onto the ice. The eight legs symbolized the eight games needed to win the Stanley Cup at the time. Since then it has become an unofficial mascot of the Red Wings. Joe Louis Arena is normally adorned with giant octopus during the playoffs. The octopus is named Al, after the head ice manager Al Sobotka, twirling an octopus at right. The NHL has tried desperately to end the octopus throwing tradition but fans have learned how to get around the rules, especially with the help of other fans. And, yes, real octopi are thrown onto the ice.

Historical Fact: On November 21, 2005, Detroit player Jiri Fischer, left, suffered a seizure which caused the postponement of the game. His heart had stopped but was successfully resuscitated. It was the first time in NHL history a game had been postponed due to an injury.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Enough with the Yankees!

Due to tons and tons of running around today, I won't be posting History of Sport today and I'm not exactly sure when it'll be up but I will have it up this week, I promise.

Today I wanted to rant about the biased coverage of the New York Yankees.

As a Baltimore Orioles fan, I loved the Orioles' annihilation of the Yankees tonight with the score of 12-2, including a seven-run first inning in which Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina was pulled after only two-thirds of an inning. After the game is over, I like checking Yahoo for the recap of the game. But who played the Yankees again? According to Yahoo Sports, the "wonderful" Alex Rodriguez, #13 left, hit a two-run home run against an invisible team! Wow!

Yahoo recap headline: "Jeter hurt, A-Rod homers in Yankees' 12-2 loss"

So what if it was A-Rod's return to the lineup? The Orioles had two home runs in that game, by Kevin Millar and Luke Scott, right, along with a 3 RBI double by Adam Jones. Oh, don't forget about the RBI triple by Brian Roberts. Then there's also Daniel Cabrera's third straight win as he walked no one. Last year Cabrera led the MLB in walks and losses. Talk about improvement.

Instead they focus on A-Rod hitting a two-run home run while the Orioles were up by ten runs.

And the headline on the main Yahoo MLB page for the game? "Alex Rodriguez homers in return to Yankees' lineup"

I don't know about anybody else, but I'm pretty danged sure other players have hit home runs in the first game back from an injury.

Yes, I know the Yankees are one of the most marketable teams in the MLB and that A-Rod is a money machine, but sometimes people just get sick and tired of hearing about them all the time, especially when the media somehow finds a way to put such a minor accomplishment on a pedestal when the team played the rest of the game poorly like they have all season.

Hey, the Yankees are in last place and have lost four in a row. Give it a rest.

~ Chris, guest blogger

All Star All Boring

This year's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (formerly The Winston and, as recently as last year, the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge) was the most boring All-Star Race I've ever seen.

First let me take you through who makes the race so I can get the confusion over with. Drivers who have won this year or last year make the race. Car owners who have won this year or last year make the race, which means if a driver who has won leaves a team, that car the driver formerly drove is still eligible. Past Cup Series champions in the last ten years are eligible along with any past Winston/All-Star race winners from the past ten years. That sets the base lineup. There's more to come.

The Sprint Showdown (formerly The Winston Open and, as recently as last year, the Nextel Open) is the race where drivers who meet none of the criteria above can try to make the main show. The top two finishers of the Showdown along with a driver voted in by the fans also make the main event.

The Showdown was actually interesting, although there weren't too many wrecks. A highlight was pole-sitter Elliott Sadler (19) being wrecked by AJ Allmendinger (84), picture right. Sadler said some mean things about Allmendinger afterwards but I guess Sadler forgot that he took out Tony Stewart at Darlington last week with a similar "rookie" mistake. However, the interesting part of the Showdown came from the two most unlikely drivers. AJ Allmendinger won the race, the driver who failed to make the first three races of the season and then was replaced for five races. Right behind him in second was Defiance, Ohio, native Sam Hornish, Jr., his #77 Dodge on the left, whose car was yawed out so far it looked like he was driving sideways the entire race (as the picture on the left shows. His car is going straight despite what it looks like). It helped, though, because he had the fastest car on the track and would have won the event if not for spinning the tires on a restart.

So those two winners just about fill out the field for the All-Star Race. The next driver to make it in is from the fan vote. It was no surprise Kasey Kahne won, considering his large fanbase (even I voted for him, he was more deserving to be in the All-Star Race than Allmendinger and Hornish).

Onwards to the main event!

Kyle Busch had won the pole for the event and was booed tremendously when he was introduced, right. Even perrenial boo-ee Jeff Gordon didn't get any boos. Apparently all the boos were saved for Kyle Busch. They reserved the last introduction for Dale Jarrett. Although he raced in five points races earlier in the season, this race marked his final race in the Cup Series forever (or so he says). To top it off, he finally drove the truck! After years of commercials detailing his quest to drive the famous UPS truck on the track, he was able to for his final race. It was pretty neat.

The race began... and Kyle Busch immediately ruined it by running away from the field to lead all 25 laps of the first segment. After a brief caution to start the second segment, Kyle Busch ran off with the lead again. But the NASCAR gods were smiling that night when Busch reported his engine was going sour. Rejoice!

Carl Edwards took the lead away from Busch's ailing car and... sailed away with the lead, winning the second segment. Kyle Busch nursed his car to the end of the second segment where a ten minute break would determine his fate. Just as a pit reporter asked Busch if they could fix it, over the radio his crew chief informed Kyle Busch: "We're done."

The sweetest words I have heard this season. And even a sweeter sight: Kyle Busch's car being pushed to the garage, right, amid a chorus of cheers and boos.

On to the third segment. Greg Biffle got the lead... and no one else had a chance. So he won the third segment easily. The caution came out to mark the transition between segments where Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson gambled and took only fuel on their mandatory pit stop.

Many thought Biffle, with fresh right side tires, would easily overtake Kahne. However, Kahne, left, held on with old tires while Biffle's car tightened up. So Kahne had a huge lead, just like Busch, Edwards, and Biffle did the first three segments, and won the All-Star Race, which also guarantees him a spot in the field for ten years. He also became only the third driver, after Michael Waltrip and Ryan Newman, to transfer from the Open/Showdown and win the main event, and the first driver to even win the fan vote and go on to win the All-Star Race.

To underline the monotony of this race, there were zero cautions. ZERO! The cautions for the segments don't count since they mark the segments and are planned. What happened to the all-out wreckfest of past All-Star events? Where money is more important than points and making friends on the track? Where is the drama of last year, picture right, where Kyle Busch (5) took out himself and his own brother - Kurt Busch (2) - for the sake of one million dollars? At least Hornish proved his second-place finish in the Showdown wasn't a fluke with a seventh-place finish in the All-Star Race, despite smacking the wall earlier in the race and finding himself two laps down.

With the All-Star Race also run at Lowe's Motor Speedway, let's hope next week's Coca-Cola 600 - the longest race of the season - is not as boring as this race was.

~ Chris, guest blogger

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