Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXV

Welcome to the 25th weekly installment of the off-season Monday Morning Ramblings Series! I watched the Champ Car race from Cleveland yesterday on CBS. Nice win for Paul Tracy, one of the few racers of any worth still left in that series. He refuses to jump to the IRL because they don't race in Canada.

I didn't take advantage of the free ticket promo with my USGP ticket as I was in Wheeling on Saturday playing slots and dog races. I picked a $25 winner so that was nice. I enjoyed watching the dogs and found the race card very fan friendly. They move things along at a much faster clip than the horse tracks do.

I will have some exciting announcements for the Trojan Nation website later this week so stay tuned.

I'll keep this short but sweet this week as I'm getting ready for my first trip to RFK to see the Pirates take on the Nats. I will be attending the games on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. One thing I will encourage you to do is check out my friend Damon's new blog on Formula One. It was inspired by our trip to Indy but he plans on keeping it going. Also, enjoy our pictures from the weekend that wasn't!

Formula One Antics

Yes, it's two days removed from the USGP debacle and I'm beginning to think I'm siding with with FIA on this one. I've read numerous articles and scoured the message boards that I'm active in and the bottom line is it is their responsibility to have a quality product for their drivers at all events. Any concessions made would have been totally unfair to the Bridgestone teams. It's a shame for us fans (especially those of us that traveled) but hopefully lessons will be learned from these errors. Here are two good pieces I found scouring the net: Bob Kravitz of the Indy Star doesn't want F1 coming back and these are the letters that went back and forth between Michelin and the FIA.

Now I enjoyed Kravitz' work immensely and he's far from a mainstream sports columnist waxing on something he knows little about. Writing in Indy almost forces one to be knowledgeable on motorsports. I hope he's wrong on this one. However, his opinion is one in the majority that I have read over the past two days on this fiasco. If this incident prevents the USGP from running again at Indy that will be truly said indeed.

And for once, Tony George isn't the bad guy here! George has every right to be upset at the mockery that was made of racing at the world's most famous racetrack.

For conspiracy theorists, this may be just what Bernie wanted. He has been politicking HARD to get a race to Las Vegas. With dwindling crowds at Indy, a return to two United States races on the F1 schedule would just be a repeat of the mistake that had F1 leave the states to begin with. He would have all the ammo he'd need to pull out of Indy and get the US race moved to Vegas. It could be Monaco North America with all the casinos and beautiful ladies and whatnot. Who knows, maybe they'll dress in white like household appliances!

What really irks me is that Scott Speed is really making waves at Red Bull Racing. His Friday driving work in Montreal and Indy was highly regarding and many pundits have him being the first American in a long time to have a full ride in F1. How sad would it be if F1 pulls out of Indy, the Vegas deal falls through and there is finally an American driver in the highest level of motorsports in the world and he won't have a race on his home soil?

Formula One just doesn't translate to mainstream American racing fans. I say, it's their loss. People that watch stock cars go around in circles want to see pure racing, they aren't concerned with technology and the things that make F1 go. I'm not bashing Nascar, I've been to quite a few events myself (Dover, Richmond, Martinsville), it's just different strokes for different folks.

One thing that would make a lot of people take notice would be an American driver in F1. Similar to Danica Patrick getting attention as a female at the Indy 500, if an American got an F1 ride, excelled to podium finishes or even a win, this would be something that would captivate a mainstream American racing audience.

Let's hope that this snafu at Indy didn't destroy the chance of seeing an American driver race in his own country. Personally, I'd love to have a giant Red Bull flag intertwined with old glory! I can hear the air horns now. Sweet music to my ears!

Road Trip Ya'll!!!!

Man, my inbox and cell phone were buzzing with anticipation this morning as the Tribune Democrat dropped the news of a west coast swing that the Johnstown Chiefs will embark on shortly after Thanksgiving this year. The main stop on the trip: VEGAS!

Between November 29 and December 6 the Chiefs will take on the Las Vegas Wranglers, San Diego Gulls, Bakersfield Condors and Fresno Falcons. The full schedule is right here.

Although I'm still up in the air if I'll be able to make the voyage, it certainly is inviting. If anyone from the Jtown area is thinking of making the trip or organizing something please get in touch with me through this blog. Thanks.

LET'S GO CHIEFS! LET'S GO CHIEFS!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXIV

Yes, I realize it's Tuesday afternoon smart guy! It's just that I needed time to recover and regroup from this past weekend's trip to Indianapolis for the US Grand Prix. I have time to read some articles and watch some of the practice and qualifying on my DVR and I'm still up in the air with how I feel about what went down.

Sure, I'm pissed that I was basically ripped off but hey, F1 is global, people traveled from all over the globe to come to Indy to see this race. It would be selfish of me to gripe about a nine-hour trip from Pittsburgh so I won't. It does go to show you how fan-unfriendly F1 really is. I cannot imagine a stunt like this going down in any other racing outfit or any other sport for that matter.

What bothers me is that if the tires (or should I say "tyres") were so bad, why did the teams feel safe enough to qualify on them? Sure they tinkered with the air pressure at Michelin's request but the cars still were safe enough to qualify. No tires failed on the hot laps, in fact, qualifying was pretty uneventful. There were no real incidents, the Minardis and Jordans were at the back like usual and the usual suspects (Kimi, JPM, Truli, Alonso, the Ferraris) were quick. In fact, Michelin tires were on the pole so I'm not so sure what the deal really is/was.

As for the request of adding a chicane on Sunday morning after the cars have been practicing and qualifying is just plain silly. If that's the best compromise that could be reached I'm glad it was shot down.

Hey, maybe the FIA should have let Michelin ship the tires in, maybe Michelin should have had better product, maybe the teams should have done their homework better on the track. It was re-surfaced (at least the oval part) recently and may have caused problems with the tires. I don't know, I don't care, I just want my money back.

Rumors have been floating around that the promoters of the Grand Prix of Cleveland (Champ Car) may offer a free ticket to anyone that presents a stub from the USGP. Ironic enough for me as that is a race I used to attend reguarly (back when CART was still around and real drivers were in the circuit). Also, I was going to return to that race this year but opted not to since we would be heading to Indy. More to come on this for sure.

Needless to say, this will be talked about for years and years to come by F1 enthusiasts. The silver lining is I can say I was there. I was there when the Ferraris, Jordans and Minardis did 73 test laps and they called it the USGP!!!

I will be posting some pictures from the Indy weekend, including a stop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton as soon as possible so stay posted.

In other sports news the Pirates appeared to have been starstruck by their recent trip to baseball meccas Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park as they won a whopping one game over the seven-game roadie. Things didn't get any better last night on the return to PNC as they dropped the first game of a three-game set against the Nationals. I'm afraid the good feeling I had about the Buccos becoming respectable is going to be a sinking feeling and I'll be calling for Lloyd McClendon's head again.

Pitt's Carl Krauser will announce his future plans today at 5p.m. He was strongly advised by NBA types at a pre-draft camp that he's not quite ready for primetime. I think I'm the only person in Pittsburgh that would love to have this guy back on the Pitt roster. I don't get why the sports media in this town doesn't embrace this guy. He's friendly, outgoing a great quote, everything these guys normally enjoy. However, most media peeps are sour on Carl, saying he's too flashy, too streetball. According to the Post-Gazette, he's going to stay in the draft. If he doesn't go to the NBA, there is still the D League and Europe. There's also the And 1 tour!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXIII

Michael Jackson not guilty on all ten counts. Wow, big surprise. Another rich defendant gets off, another D.A. is pissed and the beat goes on. I'm sure if I was charged with child molestation that people would be cheering for me during my trial.

Tale of two spring football leagues: over the weekend, the two spring football leagues that pigskin addicts have to hold them over until NFL Training Camp begins held their championship games. The Arena Football League held ArenaBowl XIX and it was a huge success. The game came down to the last play and was as exciting as the previous week's conference championship games. It was also the first ArenaBowl to be help at a neutral site: the Thomas and Mack Center in Vegas while the teams playing were Colorado and Georgia. The league, its teams and players as well as NBC have to be thrilled with this past season. Even in light of the tragic death of Al Lucas of the Los Angeles Avengers, the league had great success on and off the field this year.

On the flip side, the World Bowl XIII was held in Holland over the weekend to determine the NFL Europe League Champion. Although this game also came down to the last play, it just was a boring style of football. Watching the games that the NFL Network played during the season, it just didn't do anything for me. I rank the excitement of play up there with the NBDL and watching paint dry. Sure, NFL squads love the league because it's their minor league system if you will but there is a reason AAA baseball isn't on TV regularly.

One interesting thing I did not know is that field goal attempts of over 50 yards, if successful, count for 4 points. Very interesting rule but I'm not sure how much it comes in to play.

Afleet Alex, well, just give him horse of the year right now. What a dominating performance is the giant-killer 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes. Tom Durkin couldn't have called it better as A.A. did pass Giacomo like he was standing still. I had to watch a replay of the race just to see where the horse came from. Congrads to the local connections, both trainer Tim Ritchie (Ross) and jockey Jeremy Rose (Bellefonte) have local ties.

Off to Belmont again for the Breeders' Cup Classic? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, at least according to the Daily Racing Form, Afleet Alex's next start will be the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth on August 7.

Who would have thought that the Pirates would be entering their interleague series with the Yankees actually having one less loss than the Bronx Bombers. The Pirates nearly swept the lowly Devil Rays over the weekend and previously took 2 of 3 of the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the week. They truly are playing the best ball the city of Pittsburgh has seen in quite some time.

Talk to you all next week, I'll have stories from my trip to Indianapolis and the United States Grand Prix. I'll also be taking in an Indianapolis Indians game, they are the AAA affiliate of the Pirates.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXII

The dirty birds of Baltimore are due to make their first appearance in Pittsburgh since the '79 series tonight. This is first meaningful game the two teams have played since Omar Moreno squeezed the final out in Game 7 of that World Series. The Pirates have been playing well, not great but good enough, only a handful of games below .500. They have many of the doomsayers in the "if it's not about the Steelers than I'm negative" Pittsburgh media eating crow. They just done taking 2 0f 3 from Atlanta over the weekend right after taking 3 of 4 from Florida.

Danica Patrick's career is over just after it really got going. Seeing that she's on the cover of SI she'll no doubt suffer from that jinx. Seriously though, it must be nice finishing 4th and getting the cover! How's the winner of the race... what's his name, doing?

In the "fruit doesn't fall far from the tree" category, can anyone that sawKellen Winslow's performance with the media be surprised at the lack of maturity and class that his seed has displayed. And this is a guy who works in the sports media for FSN during their college football broadcasts. I've thought for years that Winslow and Dan Fouts didn't get along in San Diego and that, coupled with a lack of defense is the reason why those Air Coryell teams don't have rings. You don't think defense wins championships? Food for thought: Trent Dilfer has a Super Bowl Ring, Dan Marino doesn't. Need I say more?

The jury is out on the Philadelphia Public League's initial season as PIAA members and the peeing contest between media outlets in the east and west continues. While the Philly scribes remain to keep their glass half full, writers elsewhere have a different opinion. I truly believe that writers in the west thought that Philly schools would make much more of an impact in basketball. I thought George Washington made a great showing in AAAA football and that has gone unappreciated.

Needless to say, everyone in the commonwealth needs to relax, the Philly schools will make their mark in basketball, but this is just one season. A notably down year in the Pub for Boys' Basketball, at least accoring to Rob Parent of the Philadelphia Inquirer who, along with Sam Carchidi and Ted Silary, is a premier preps writer on all things Philly.