Hold On, It’s Gonna Be a Bumpy Ride!

The Tribune-Democrat ran a news story last week about the proposed renovations for Point Stadium. One of the amenities that will not be compromised according to certain council members is artificial turf. I think this is a good thing, only if it is of the field turf variety and not the hard, burn inducing rug you still see at Mansion Park in Altoona. Getting an artificial surface could be instrumental in Johnstown getting some revenue from PIAA football playoff games. Johnstown very well could be a good neutral site for teams deep in the bracket towards the end of November, beginning of December.

Speaking of Mansion Park, isn’t it high time that they go the route of field turf? I’m not sure how feasible of a project that would be because I do not know if the city of Altoona or school district owns the stadium. If anyone remembers how beautiful Mansion Park looked with natural grass (yes, I realize that’s a LONG time ago!) you’d understand my point better.

The Pirates split a four-game series with the Expos in Puerto Rico going into the All-Star Break. Home Run Derby is tonight and the game is tomorrow from Houston’s Minute Maid Park. Not much to say about the Expos series because I was out of town for most of it and only caught scores and newspaper accounts of the games.

Mark Recchi is a Penguin again although it’s probably much ado about nothing with the pending work stoppage, lockout, strike what have you.

Tony Stewart got caught up in controversy yet again yesterday in Chicagoland. He spun out the race leader Kasey Kahne during a restart. Tempers flared in the pits as the crews from the #20 and #9 cars tangled following the incident. The procedural fines from Nascar I’m sure will be coming. I never saw a car get to the winner’s circle so fast! I did hear some boos but I guarantee if it would have been the #24 car causing the spin out there would have been another bottle barrage!

I didn’t get a chance to watch the British Grand Prix but after hearing and reading the account of yet another Ferrari one-two, well, I’m sure I didn’t miss much!

I mentioned last week about Sean Miller and the coaching job at Xavier and it turns out he did get the job. With his father being a highly successful coach at Blackhawk he’ll have a great advisor to turn to. Good luck to a guy with a very high “Basketball IQ”, I’m sure he’ll do a fine job.

Tim Montgomery failed to qualify for the 100 meters in the Olympics. Hmm, his girlfriend Marion Jones failed to qualify for the women’s 100. Hmm, both are involved in the BALCO controversy. Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm! Call me un-American but I could give a hoot, our track sprinters are the most cocky, arrogant selfish athletes in the world and it serves them right.

I’ve done some follow-up on this competitive eating craze. Here’s some food for thought (yes, pun intended!) the world record for eating soft tacos is 43 in 11 minutes! And… it’s held by a woman who barely weighs 100 pounds.
The Rigas’ were found guilty in the Adelphia case. I’m glad some of these corporate crooks are getting theirs. I just hope this doesn’t change my cable service. Say what you will about Adelphia and this scandal, but they are by far the best cable provider I’ve ever done business with.

If you’re a fan of roller coasters do yourself a favor and schedule a trip to King’s Dominion in Virginia. This is the second year in a row I’ve gone with some family members and it’s great. The park is a fantastic combination of wooden and steel roller coasters. My personal favorite is the Volcano. If you’re familiar with Cedar Point, it’s like the Iron Dragon, a coaster where your legs are dangling and the track is above you. I think you really get a more intense ride this way.

Bye now.