Random Thoughts

« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 »

December 30, 2005

Photo of the Day - Ogunquit Sunrise

Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2004. The photos that I took that morning on Marginal Way were some of my best sunrise photos that I took anywhere with the possible exception of one morning in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Sometimes it's not the colors in the sky per say but the other elements. An extreme low tide that morning really made for some nice shots.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

Panoramic Images

Stock photography is a big business because there are always companies who are looking for certain types of photographs for publicity pieces and other uses and it's more cost-effective to buy the rights to a stock photograph than hire a photographer to do a shoot. There are a lot of large stock photo agencies that have thousands and thousands of photos in many categories but there are also some small stock photo agencies that specialize in one particular type of photograph or theme. Panoramic Images is one such smaller agency that specializes in yes, you guessed it, panoramic images. Poking around their website is pretty cool.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)

James Blunt - "You're Beautiful"

I've gotten really into this song. I think James Blunt has a very unique voice and sound. I listened to his entire album the other night via Rhapsody and it was really outstanding. I think I'm going to have to pick it up the next time I'm near a music store. It's been a while since there's been a new artist that I've gotten excited about.

James Blunt - You're Beautiful

My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
F**king high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

Teen Takes Unaccompanied Trip to Iraq

Sixteen year old Farris Hassan is a junior at a prep school in Florida where he was taking a class on immersion journalism. That is a writing technique by which a journalist involves themselves intimately in the lives of those that they are writing about to give their readers a more detailed and colorful story through a deeper understanding of the subject they are writing about. First, Hassan spent time at a muslim mosque talking all night with some men there about politics for a class assignment. Then Hassan decided to take things a little further. When his class was assigned to write editorials on an international topic, Hassan chose the war in Iraq and hatched a plan to fly to Iraq and go to Baghdad. Somehow with only $900 and the help of two friends, Hassan ended up in Iraq, his parents completely in the dark about his plan.

Hassan is lucky that he didn't end up being killed in a part of the world where many Westerners, including those much more experienced in Middle Eastern affairs than him, have lost their lives. I'm amazed that he thought this was a good idea. Aside from the risk to himself, he could have put countless other people's lives in danger as well, because if he found trouble it would have become any number of people's problem to try and get him out of it, something that might not be so easy. It's great to have strong beliefs, to make lofty plans and follow through on them and to try to do things that make a difference in the world. But one also has to have common sense and the ability to think things through carefully.

Hassan has gotten a significant amount of media attention for his actions because it's pretty unbelievable to everyone who has heard the story what he was able to pull off. My guess is that he will continue to be a media darlilng and will make many appearances on various media outlets to talk about his adventures. I think that's unfortunate because it may encourage other teens to make risky journeys without their parents knowledge or approval and their adventures might not turn out as well as Hassan's did.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2005

Happy Birthday to Me...

So today is my 32nd birthday which doesn't feel a heck of a lot different than my 31st birthday or my 30th birthday. A lot of people really freak out as the years go by but so far I feel no different at 32 than I did at 22. Obviously I'm in a different place in my life as I'm now married and doing different things now than I did ten years ago. But I don't feel older. Hopefully in another ten years I will feel the same way that I do now.

So both yesterday and today I did a little birthday shopping. Yesterday it was with my parents at the Woodbury Commons Outlets in Central Valley, New York. So they got me a few nice things highlighted by a very nice red crushed velvet jacket from the Bebe outlet. I don't think I would ever buy anything from a Bebe store that wasn't an outlet because the prices are usually more than I'd like to spend on clothes that are as trendy as what Bebe normally has but they do have some nice things. Apparently this fall Bebe was big into the trend of Renaissance themed clothes so they had lots of wonderful velvet and lace shirts and skirts. Unfortunately all the skirts involved huge amounts of fabric so I was completely swallowed by all of them but the velvet jacket fit perfectly. It was a great sale too as all the jackets were $39 regardless of how much they had originally been, which in the case of this jacket was almost $200. So that was a good deal. I also got another shirt, a velvet and beaded shawl and a gorgeous Swarovski bracelet.

Today I went to the Short Hills Mall which has a lot of upscale stores where I usually can't afford to get anything but I do enjoy looking in. That mall has two of my favorite clothing stores in it, Betsey Johnson, and Anthropologie. I almost never buy anything in the regular Betsey Johnson stores, instead only buying in the Betsey Johnson outlet in Woodbury Commons because as beautiful as her clothes are they are too expensive for me full price. Yesterday was one of the rare times that I didn't end up buying anything at Betsey Johnson. I did look in her store at Short Hills today though and I was suprised to see that it was virtually the only store that didn't have a single item on sale in any way, shape or form. Every other store in the mall had some sort of holiday sale going on, even if it was a minimal one. Granted Betsey Johnson clothes are still expensive even at 25% off but I would think even a small percentage off would encourage some extra sales since the mall was crowded with people looking for post-holiday bargains.

Anthropologie did have a big sale and I got a nice lacy, black jacket. Anthropologie's clothes aren't cheap either so as much as I love their clothes I can usually only buy things when they go on sale. I saw lots of great skirts on sale today but unfortunately nothing was in my size. That's the only problem with waiting for things to go on sale is that by then my size is often sold out. But I did well with the jacket and it was a nice birthday present to myself.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

December 28, 2005

Photo of the Day - Holiday Lights

Time Warner Center, New York, New York, December, 2005. I meant to post this before the holidays but better late than never right? A while back Jim and I visited the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle in Manhattan. The shops and restaurants inside were very high-end so I don't think we'll be able to afford much there though it was fun to look around. What was really cool was the way it was decorated for the holidays. Those big stars in my photo changed colors and it looked really awesome especially after dark. I wish I had been able to take more photos but the battery in my camera ran out. I was lucky I was even able to get this one!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)

Rafael Palmeiro: Miguel Tejada's to Blame!

Rafael Palmeiro is still insisting that he didn't knowingly take the steroids that caused him to test positive earlier this year but he does think he knows how the steroids got into his system. He doesn't have any proof but that's not going to stop him from accusing a former teammate, Miguel Tejada, of injecting him with a tainted vitamin B-12 shot. Palmeiro made the following comments to The New York Times:

"I wish I could pinpoint exactly what happened," Palmeiro told the newspaper. "I would think it was the B-12. I'm not certain of that; I can't prove it."

"I wish I could have turned in the vial for testing," Palmeiro said. "But when I found out, it was long gone and I couldn't come up with it. If something happened that I'm not aware of, an intentional act by someone else, I don't know. I can't rule out anything."

I'm truly amazed. Not only is Palmeiro claiming that Tejada shot him up with steroids, he's also claiming that he might have done it deliberately! With admittedly not a single shred of evidence to support what he's saying. I might be able to understand if Palmeiro is truly mystified that he would try to offer up a variety of excuses to try to clear his name just as every other player that tested positive has done. But to come right out and name names of the person he thinks is responsible? His crediblity in my book is very suspect to begin with and I'm finding it even harder to believe his claims when he calls out Tejada by name without any proof other than that Tejada gave him a B-12 shot.

What about the other players who Tejada gave B-12 shots? or Tejada himself? I haven't heard of any other players from the Baltimore Orioles who tested positive. It's entirely possible that's because none of them were tested or maybe some of them, even Tejada himself, were tested and their results were negative. We'll never know since only the positive test results become known when the players are suspended. But I would think that if Tejada was deliberately and routinely injecting his teammates with steroids disguished as vitamin B-12 shots that there might be a few other positive tests for steroids.

In addition, what's Tejada's motive for taking it upon himself to inject his teammates with steroids? Because he cares so much about his teammates that he wanted to give them every advantage possible? For the good of the team so that they would play better? Because he had an evil plot in which he wanted his teammates to test positive so that they would get in trouble? None of that makes sense to me. Illegial steroid use is serious business and someone who distributes or administers steroids could get into some serious trouble. The Balco case is proof of that. I don't see why Tejada would deliberately inject his teammates with steroids and risk getting caught at a time when the scrutiny of players as it relates to performance enhancers is far more than it ever has been. It simply doesn't add up.

What also doesn't make much sense is Palmeiro continuing to insist that he has no clue how the steroids he tested positive for got into his body or why he's continuing to accuse a former teammate of being responsible without any proof.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)

Not Much Else to Say...

If he didn't like what I said in this space, he should be glad that Deadspin, the snarky blog affiliated with Gawker, hasn't really discovered Nascar yet...

Posted by silverdsl at 07:59 PM | Comments (0)

December 27, 2005

Collapsed Natural Bridge Not Aruba's Only One

For years one of Aruba's biggest natural landmarks was the large Natural Bridge that was a major tourist attraction on the wilder, mostly undeveloped side of the island. But earlier this year in the early morning hours, the bridge collapsed leaving nothing but a pile of rock and coral as seen above. But this natural bridge wasn't the only natural bridge on Aruba. In fact there's a less scenic one that sits right next to the newly collapsed bridge. In addition, there are another five natural bridges along the same stretch of Aruba's coastline some of them so infrequently visited that even locals don't know of their existance.

When we visited Aruba we stumbled upon one of these lesser known natural bridges as we were exploring in our jeep. As seen below it's a pretty small bridge in comparision to the one that collapsed but never having seen one up close before it was still pretty impressive to me. I just wish I had been aware of the existance of the other bridges before we went to Aruba because I would probably have tried to find them. It's really fascinating to me to see the effects of erosion caused by wind and water on rock and coral.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

New Casino Operated by the Gaughan Family Opens

Owned by Boyd Gaming and run by the Gaughan family, who merged their Coast Casino properties with Boyd Gaming in 2004, the newest casino in Las Vegas, The South Coast, opened last week to a little more fanfare than wanted. A fireworks display to mark the casino's opening ignited building materials left on the rooftop of one of the hotel's towers which resulted in a visit by firefighters. Luckily, the fire was extinguished quickly with no injuries or major damage and the hotel/casino wasn't even evacuated. Not for lack of trying though - annoucements about a fire emergency were heard over the public address system but they were completely ignored, as were the firefighters entering the building. That's pretty scary. Fortunately it was a minor incident but what if it was a serious fire? Lives could have been lost because the majority of people were assuming that it was a false alarm which it actually wasn't.

Geared to the locals in Las Vegas rather than tourists like the other Coast Casino properties like The Orleans, The South Coast should be a big money maker for Boyd Gaming and the Gaughans. Of course there's a casino and 650-room hotel, seven restaurants, a 64-lane bowling center and a 16-screen movie theater. In May a 4,400-seat equestrian center and a second, 700-room hotel tower are slated to open. At some point in the future there will also be a nightclub/showroom but apparently Michael Gaughan, Jr., Brendan's brother and CEO of Coast Casinos, is still developing plans for exactly what it will entail. When I was in Las Vegas about a year ago we stayed part of the time at The Orleans and South Coast sounds very similar. The Orleans is nice but not as glitzy as the other hotel/casino properties directly on the strip on Las Vegas. The food at the restaurants was good but not quite as top-of-the-line as at the other casinos. Likewise, the rooms were comfortable, big and pleasant but less fancy than other properties.

What's amazing to me is that when Boyd Gaming aquired Coast Casinos in 2004 they did so for $1.4 billion dollars. Of course not all that money went directly into the pockets of the Gaughan family. But it's not an understatement to say that they likely made a significant profit on that sale. With that in mind, it's really hard for me to have too much sympathy for them in relation to the financial problems that Orleans Racing has been having recently that led to Steve Park being released and the #62 being parked four races from the end of the season. Yes, it's not good business to pour an endless amount of money into a business without making a profit and yes, the Gaughans can't just take money from any random place and use it to finance Orleans Racing. But after selling many of their holdings for $1.4 billion and presumably continuing to take in some share of the profits from the Coast Casino properties, including this one, I find it almost laughable that the Gaughans were crying poverty and talking about how they couldn't afford to race a second truck for four races until Scott Lynch showed up, money in hand. Maybe their money really was so tied up that they couldn't field a truck for Steve for those four races but on the surface it sure does appear that they have plenty of financial resources to play with.

Of course the family being involved in a $1.4 billion deal makes Orleans Racing PR representative Mike Snow's comment about Brendan's 2004 Cup earnings that likely totalled several million dollars being "meager" make a lot more sense, though I think it still came off badly. But when the family is used to dealing in billions perhaps a couple of million dollars really doesn't seem like much at all.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2005

Photo of the Day - Infrared Ogunquit

Ogunquit, Maine, 2003. Today I discovered an old card full of infrared digital photos from a trip to Ogunquit, Maine from a few years ago. Looking at those photos it reminded me of how much I used to like taking infrared photos - I'm going to have to start playing around with talking those kinds of photos again.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)

Still Worried For Steve Park

I hate to get all negative-nellie about Steve Park again but it's December 26th and there still hasn't been an announcement about a ride for 2006. Of course there could be an official announcement tomorrow and just because there's not been any news doesn't mean that he's not working on anything but as I mentioned last week that there's been no announcement isn't a good thing. Many keep saying that Steve likely has a new deal completely in place and just hasn't chosen to announce it yet but frankly I think that's unlikely. We didn't see Travis Kvapil wasting any time to announce his new ride. To be clear, I do think it's possible that Steve knows what team he will likely be with in 2006 but if all the details were worked out and there was a signed deal I think the announcement would either have been made already or some rumor of it would have surfaced on Jayski's and so far there's been nothing. If his new ride is almost a certainty and Steve's been in the shop already working with his new team for 2006 then great, there's not much to worry about. But I can't help going back to my previous concerns - the closer to testing and the start of the season that Steve officially joins his new team the more difficult things might be for all parties.

My guess is that there likely won't be an announcement this week because there usually isn't much that happens between Christmas and New Year's in Nascar, though if there was an announcement it would certainly be a nice holiday gift for both Steve and his fans! The following week Steve will be in Upstate New York for the Bodine Bobsled event so my guess is that unless it's early in the week there wouldn't be an announcement then either. So that pushes an official announcement to the week of the 9th which is around when he made the announcement that he was joining Orleans Racing in 2004. Which happens to be the week that the trucks head to Daytona for testing. I suppose that would be good timing in some ways for an announcement about a new ride in the trucks series but bad timing if he's just jumping in a new ride the very week they head to testing.

When it comes down to it I think that part of the problem is that I don't have a good feeling about Steve's new ride. I guess some might say I'm a bad fan for not being more supportive or being so negative before he even gets on the track but other than his win in California I don't think there have been as many highlights for Steve on the track as he might have liked the past few years and I'm a bit concerned given what rides appear to be left about that trend continuing. Even some of the better rides that are still available, such as the #14 for Fitz-Bradshaw Racing in the Busch Series, or a second truck for Wyler Racing if that materializes might have their own issues. Of course few rides are perfect ones but I'd like to see Steve end up in a competitive ride with a strong supporting cast around him where he will race up front and contend for wins on a regular basis. I feel like the more time goes by the less chance there is of that happening.

It's funny because when it came to Michael Waltrip I had no problem waiting as long as necessary for him to announce his new ride. Where other fans were practically demanding Michael at least hint at where he would be in 2006, I was preaching patience. Since Michael started the process of looking for a new ride mid-season in 2005 I felt that time was on Michael's side and that it was a good thing that the announcement was being made later rather than sooner because it meant that Michael was probably evaluating all his options carefully, making sure all the details were worked out completely and making the choice that was best for himself and his career. I have no doubt that Steve is doing all of those things too of course but I feel like Steve's issue is that the choices that are available to him aren't as extensive as those that were available to Michael. Over the summer Michael's name was in the rumor mill on a regular basis for a variety of rides, I had the feeling that it was likely that NAPA and other sponsors would go with him to his new ride and I also knew that if worst came to worst Michael could field a ride for himself through Michael Waltrip Racing. I guess with Steve it seems like there's a lot less for him to fall back on professionally - I have no doubt he'll land on his feet in the end but I don't feel like there's as much security there for him as there is for Michael.

In the end Steve will likely announce a great new ride and everything will be awesome for him in 2006. I just can't help but worry because I want the best for him.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:50 PM | Comments (0)

Where Were the Chaperones?

There's a few things I never understood about the Natalee Holloway case. I got to thinking about this again this evening as I was reading an article about how Beth Twitty prepared her daughter for the trip by going to planning meetings, talking with Natalee about underaged drinking and other safety issues. Unfortunately none of that prevented Natalee from disappearing. Now Mrs. Twitty apparently did her job as a parent but why did this trip even happen in the first place? The Senior class trip when I was growing up was a day trip to a local park, Natalee's high school's Senior trip was to a Caribbean Island where the drinking age is 18, meaning that the majority of the kids on the trip were free to drink as much as they wanted, something which obviously they are not allowed to do in the United States. If that's not temptation for these kids I don't know what is.

But what really gets me, and I've heard absolutely nothing about how this came to be, is that these kids were out in a club at night without a chaperone - or at least if there was a chaperone there he or she wasn't keeping track of where the kids they were responsible for were. Some will say that it's night and the kids should be free to come and go as they please but every high school or synagogue sponsored trip that I've ever been on the chaperones are responsible for the kids on the trip 24-hours a day for the entire time of the trip. That means knowing where the kids are at all times and making sure that they stay out of trouble. When I was in Isreal where I believe the drinking age was also 18, the chaperones on the trip didn't let us go out drinking just because we could. It was still a synagogue sponsored trip and there were certain things we didn't have the freedom to do. Somehow I have my doubts about all the parents of all the kids on the trip that Natalee Holloway was a part of signing off on their kids going out at night partying on a school sponsored trip.

I've never understand why there has been no focus on that aspect of what happened. Lost in all the controversy over the actions of the Arubian government is the actions of the responsible adults on the trip and there had to have been some. How long was it before they even knew that Natalee was missing? That's not to say that the kids have to be on a leash every second of every day that they're on a school sponsored trip. But it is a trip that is held in conjunction with a school. There might not have been any kind of educational aspect to the trip but as soon as the trip is being run through a school it brings responsibilities that might not exist if the kids had organized the trip themselves completely independantly of the school.

Other parents might have sued the school district. Mrs. Twitty has instead choosen to focus her energies towards trying to get answers from the Arubian government which I suppose is commendable. But I'd like to hear a few more answers about the actions of the chaperones on the trip especially since it might be useful for other educators who take trips with high school students.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:53 PM | Comments (0)

Back From Upstate New York...

Jim and I went to upstate New York to celebrate Christmas and Hannukah with his relatives. For a change it was neither freezing cold nor snowing while we were up there! It did rain on and off for most of the weekend but I'll take that in comparision to the huge snowstorms that have struck on a few of the times we've been up there at this time of the year visiting! One fun thing that we did was that we visited a Christmas Tree farm and cut down our own tree to decorate. I had never done that before and it was fun, though going so close to Christmas meant that it was hard to find a good tree since many of the choice trees had already been cut down by others. In any event, I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and Hannukah!

Posted by silverdsl at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2005

Photo of the Day - Cape May Wave

Cape May, New Jersey, September, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)

A Man and His Monkey

Tony Stewart has a monkey. A Patas monkey, named Mojo, capable of running as fast as 35 miles per hour to be percise. And to be more percise it's not just Tony's monkey, he shares custody with his former girlfriend, Krista. Monkeys are a handful of course and Tony's monkey is no exception having gotten himself into his share of trouble including breaking open a pen and leaving ink-prints with his hands throughout the house. Tony and Krista are lucky in comparision to other monkey owners because they have the financial means to hire a nanny to watch Mojo when neither of them are around. Yes, a monkey nanny.

I don't doubt that Tony and Krista take exception care of Mojo as do the vast majority of other people who have pet monkeys. But I can't help but wonder, particularly given some of the stories of the trouble that Mojo finds himself in, if monkeys are really suited to be pets?

Posted by silverdsl at 03:17 PM | Comments (1)

Matt Lawton: Talking to Teammates Played Role in Decision to Take Steroids

I'm surprised that this has gotten so little attention. In a recent article by Bob Nightengale from USA Today Matt Lawton, who tested positive for steroids at the end of the 2005 season, claims that before he made the decision to use steroids to try to improve his playing for the New York Yankees, that he talked to teammates about what he should do, then made the call to get some steroids. In a major oversight by Nightengale, he never follows up on exactly what he talked to his teammates about and exactly which teammates he's making reference to. Perhaps Lawton only got advice on ways to improve his hitting by taking extra batting practice but if a teammate on the Yankees suggested that he shoot himself up with the veterinary steroid boldenone, which Lawton ultimately did, that would be huge news. Unfortunately we will likely never know because Nightengale chooses to focus on Lawton's search for a team willing to take a chance on him and how he tested positive after, according to Lawton, he only used the steroids once. I most certainly hope that the only advice that Lawton got from his teammates was the innocent kind and not about which steroids he should look into getting.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

Official: Travis Kvapil to the #32

No day would be complete without the required daily dosage of Travis Kvapil news and so it's been confirmed as has been rumored for a while that Kvapil is the new driver of the #32 Tide Chevy for PPI. Somewhere Bobby Hamilton, Jr., who Kvapil replaces, is making plans to party extra hard during the holidays because it was no secret that he wanted out from this ride due to how bad it was. Before race one of the 2005 season Hamilton, Jr. was complaining about how lousy the #32 was and in June his father, Bobby Hamilton, said that he flatout told his son to look for a new ride and fast. In addition, more recently Ricky Craven who has a good relationship with Cal Wells and Tide was in discussions to return to the #32 but only if PPI expanded their operation to a two-car team because that would be the only way to be more competitive. That Craven's not in the #32 and Kvapil is tells me that PPI won't be expanding any time soon.

With all of that in mind it's depressing that a former truck champion had to take this ride. Of course both Wells and Kvapil said all the right things about how they're going to be a competitive team in 2006. Kvapil said,

"I am honored and will do everything I can to become a part of the Tide winning tradition. All of the resources to succeed are in place here at PPI Motorsports, so I am excited to get the season started."

I hope I'm wrong for Kvapil's sake but my feeling is that he's unlikely to be continuing Tide's winning tradition. Not for lack of effort on his part or that of anyone at PPI since I'm sure that they all give 100% effort towards making the #32 the best that they can possibly make it. The problem is that independent single-car teams simply can't compete against the large, multi-car organizations with all their huge resources. Even Robby Gordon who had an excellent plan, lots of funding, good people at Robby Gordon Motorsports and supportive sponsors struggled mightily in 2005. In fact, he struggled so badly that they were forced to enter into some sort of deal with DEI for 2006 to get engines and I can't help but wonder if DEI will give them some help in other areas as well. So if Gordon can't do it, and neither can other similar teams, I'm not sure how much success PPI is going to have in reversing the slide of the #32 team.

Particularly towards the end of the season the #32 car was missing races so they aren't guaranteed a spot in the first five races of 2006. That's a pretty big problem because they will face some very stiff competition to get in from other quality drivers not guaranteed a starting spot. Kvapil will have to worry about making those races on top of adjusting to a new team that he joined so late and trying to coax good results out of a weak car. Not a good combination for any driver let alone a young driver coming off of a disappointing first season in Cup. Should they fail to make any of those first five races they will be even further in a hole and that will put the pressure on Kvapil even more.

Cal Wells talks about bringing in new crew members and how hard they're working to turn things around, the only problem is that he's been saying the same things for at least three years now. I know Wells has the best of intentions and that he would like the #32 to be in Victory Lane again but it seems like they're fighting an uphill battle that I'm not sure they have very good chances of winning. I've heard that Tide's contract with PPI only extends through the end of the 2006 season, though I don't know how true that is. but if that is true, if there aren't improvements to the performance of the #32 I have to wonder if Tide will stick around. And if Tide is gone I'm not sure PPI would be able to find a sponsor willing to take their place considering how much they've struggled the past couple of years. It's amazing really how far this team has fallen considering Craven was a winner in this ride not too long ago.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2005

Photo of the Day - Outer Banks

Outer Banks, North Carolina, 2003.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

Another Day, Another Travis Kvapil Rumor

From Jayski's:

UPDATE 3: hearing Kvapil will be named the new driver of the #32 Tide ride, could be as soon as today [Wed].(12-21-2005)

There isn't much more I can say that I haven't already said but it boggles my mind that Kvapil would even consider taking this ride. When a driver, Ricky Craven, who already had success in the #32, still has a good relationship with Cal Wells and is well-liked by the sponsor refuses to take the ride when he needs one unless they add a second Cup car and make other big changes it should be a warning sign about just how bad this ride might be. That the car isn't locked in for the first five races of the season should be an even bigger sign of trouble because missing any of those races, which is a distinct possiblity, would put them behind for the rest of the season. I suppose Wells would then do what he did last season which is buy a ride from an owner whose car does make the race and slap the Tide logos on and put Kvapil behind the wheel. But I think the competition to make races is going to be even stiffer next season and there might not be as many of those one-off and part-time rides to buy.

For Kvapil's sake I hope I'm wrong and the #32 is vastly improved over the way it's been for the past couple of seasons but my feeling is that if Kvapil does in fact take this ride his career is going to be headed in the wrong direction which is extremely unfortunate for a former truck series Champion who is so talented.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Johnny Damon Agrees to Four-Year $52 Million Deal With New York Yankees

Assuming he passes a physical, Johnny Damon is a member of theNew York Yankees. Last night Damon and the Yankees agreed to a four-year $52 million deal that may also include a partial no-trade clause. Many Yankee fans are up in arms about this signing but I think once spring training rolls around and Damon shows why the Yankees signed him I think he will quickly become a fan favorite. I suppose to some that seems unthinkable since he's been a member of the hated division rival, Boston Red Sox, but Damon is bringing a lot to the Yankees. He's a solid lead-off hitter, a good baserunner and oh boy does he hit! Last season he led the Red Sox with a .316 batting average. He had a .366 on-base percentage, had 197 hits and scored 117 runs. Granted the Yankees already had plenty of offense but I think he's a nice addition to the lineup especially considering two of the Yankees hitters are unknowns - Jorge Posada appears to be on the decline and despite an outstanding season there are likely still some lingering questions about Jason Giambi.

What Damon isn't is an outstanding defensive centerfielder. I don't think he's as bad as Bernie Williams was towards the end of his recently expired tenure in pinstripes. But Damon doesn't have a great arm, that's certain. So I'm a little disappointed that in addressing the centerfield problem the Yankees weren't able to get someone who is a strong centerfielder. However, I think he's a much better option than Bubba Crosby and certainly a better option than Williams as the everyday centerfielder. Crosby would probably be decent defensively but he would likely not hit very much. I suppose the team could have managed since there's so many other great hitters in the lineup but obviously he wasn't their first choice. And Williams, as much as I love everything he's done for the Yankees in the past, is simply not the player he once was either offensively or defensively. Playing him everyday, which surely would have been a temptation for Joe Torre, if Williams is in fact re-signed and Damon wasn't, would not have been a good idea. So Damon is definitely an upgrade at centerfield, even though there are some fans who don't want to admit that.

I'm not completely thrilled with the terms of Damon's deal. I would much prefer the deal to have been for only three years and of course for less money since I'm not a fan of big money deals. But the Yankees weren't going to get Damon to agree to a deal for less years or less money. Originally Damon wanted a seven or eight year deal from any team that signed him so compared to that four years looks good. There is the question of whether Damon will be worth the money by the time the fourth year rolls around, especially since he will be 36. But there's always a risk with any player when signing them to a long-term contract, even if they're younger than Damon, that by the end of the deal they won't be the player they were then they first signed due to injury or the natural decline every player goes through.

What I really don't like is the partial no-trade that Damon might have gotten. A partial no-trade would certainly be better than a complete no-trade but I never like those kinds of clauses on contracts because of how much it limits the moves that the team can make. The Yankees have quite a few big contracts that are already unmoveable, I hate to see them add one more. If Damon plays well but the Yankees have a big need down the road he could be moved for other players. Or if he struggles another team might be interested if they think that he might fare better with them. But with any kind of a no-trade it makes the possiblity of those things happening much smaller because Damon would have to agree to waive it.

I think that Damon is going to turn out to be a player that will be very popular with fans. I'm sure a lot of fans right now think that idea is outrageous - after all who could ever warm to an icky player who used to play for the Red Sox? While there are times when Damon takes his act too far, he's a goofy guy who seems to have a lot of fun playing the game. He will likely tone down his persona when he joins the Yankees but I think someone who might be able to loosen the normally rigid Yankees clubhouse might be a good thing. But more than that I think Damon is the type of player who will be able to develop a rapport with the fans. He has always seemed to enjoy Red Sox fans and having a relationship with them, so I see no reason why that wouldn't happen with Yankees fans.

Overall, a solid signing for the Yankees to go along with several other solid signings to improve the bullpen. The Yankees should be an improved team in 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

December 20, 2005

Photo of the Day - Red Shoes

Epcot, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)

Ultimate DEI Fan Package to Raise Money for Dale Earnhardt Foundation

DEI is holding an Ebay auction for an "Ultimate DEI Fan Christmas Package" to raise money for The Dale Earnhardt Foundation. Now I think that any effort to raise money for a charity is a good thing and this auction will surely raise a lot amount of money since it's already up to over $4,000 with four days left to go. But what do auction winners actually get? Well, the writer of the auction notes that fans have joked that just being allowed to sweep the floors at DEI would be like a dream come true. So DEI is going to literally make those dreams come true as it appears that the auction winner will get to be a glorified janitor/gopher at DEI for the day doing things like sweeping floors, polishing race cars and fetch tools.

Auction winners will also get a tour of DEI and they will get a private lunch with the DEI crew chiefs. The only thing is that the small print in the auction indicates that not all of the crew chiefs might be present for the lunch so instead of eating with Tony Eury, Jr., crew chief of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s #8 car, the winner might be eating with Tony Gibson who filled in as Michael Waltrip's crew chief at the end of this season. There's no guarantee that the winner will see any of the DEI drivers either. While the auctions says that there is always a chance that one or all of them might drop by the drivers are almost as busy in the off-season as they are during the season so the winners shouldn't count on say, running into Junior in the hall at DEI.

So it kind of amazes me that that this auction will surely go for more money than any of the Operation Marathon auctions that gave auction winners hot passes and the opportunity to be Michael Waltrip's guest at a race. The winners of those auctions were not only guaranteed that they would meet Michael but that they would see the inner workings of a race team and spend the race in the #15 pit. As a winner of one of those auctions I think it was one of the most outstanding and exciting experiences that I've ever done and may ever do. I can't even begin to put a value on all the unbelievably awesome things I got to do and see. If DEI were to do a package like that, even if it only had minimal participation by Junior or Martin Truex, Jr. I can't even begin to imagine how much money it would raise but it would surely be significant.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)

Alfonso Soriano Refuses Washington Nationals Request to Change Positions

Ever since Alfonso Soriano was traded by the New York Yankees to the Texas Rangers in the 2004 trade that brought Alex Rodriguez to the Bronx, many Yankee fans have wanted the team to reaquire him via another trade or by signing him as a free agent in the future. Given the Yankees current lack of a centerfielder some fans have dreamed of seeing Soriano switch positions from second base to the outfield. However, if Soriano is ever going to re-join the Yankees it won't be as an outfielder. When Soriano was traded to the Rangers they inquired if he would consider moving to the outfield and he refused. Last week when Soriano was traded from the Rangers to the Washington Nationals apparently the same request was made and once again Soriano refused.

Soriano said,

"I don't want to change. If I haven't done it before, I won't do it now."

Maybe that's why Soriano has been unable to reduce his strikeouts and learn how to take more walks - if he hasn't done it before why would he bother learning how to do it now? On one hand I actually am sympathetic to Soriano because I don't think it's as easy as some fans think for players to change positions and elite athletes take great pride in playing the game at the highest level possible which they might not do at first as they adjust to playing a new position. But on the other hand, Soriano is about to turn 30 and that's not too late to make adjustments to improve at the plate or expand his usefulness to the teams he plays with.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

Scott Wimmer to Morgan-McClure

Back in October Scott Wimmer was informed that his services would no longer be needed to drive the #22 CAT car for Bill Davis Racing. Unfortunately that didn't put him in a very good position for 2006 since by that point many of the best rides had already been filled. Which may be what led to Wimmer becoming the new driver of the #4 for Morgan-McClure Motorsports. One of the only positives about the #4 is that thanks to the demise of the #77, the #4 is locked into the first five races of 2006. Otherwise, the performance of the #4 was nothing to write home about. Which may be why at the same time Morgan-McClure announced that Wimmer would be their driver they also announced a new sponsor, Aero Exhaust, to replace Lucas Oil.

After Wimmer was informed by BDR that he was out as the driver of the #22 he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,

"I used to be at the top of the line, but now I'm behind everybody," conceded Wimmer, whose prospects depend on the decisions of other drivers. "If I've got to take a ride with a team that's not right up there. . . and can just stick it out, maybe one of these guys that's getting into these Cup cars next year won't do so well and I'll have a shot."

Seems to me that Wimmer getting into the #4 may very well be all about settling for a less-than-fully desirable ride to ensure that he stays in Cup and stays on the radar screens of those in the garage area. I'm not sure that Wimmer would ever be among the elite of all drivers but I think it's likely that he's a better driver than what the #22 allowed him to show. I doubt that the #4 will produce any better results for him either.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:07 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2005

Photo of the Day - Bear

National Zoo, Washington, D.C. July, 2005. You don't see bears like this wandering around the woods of the Northeast too often.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)

New Reality Show to Be Competition for Job at "Rolling Stone"

A week or so ago I was discussing what kinds of reality shows I might want to see in the future and lo-and-behold, MTV has one planned that has some similarities to one show that I had hoped to see. Apparently a future reality show on the network will feature a group of journalism students who are given internships at Rolling Stone. At the end of the show one intern will be selected for a full-time position as a writer for the magazine. I had said that I would be interested in a reality show that focused on the newsroom of a media outlet and while this isn't quite the same it should give a peek into how a major magazine chooses and covers stories.

Unfortunately, when a reality show is aligned with MTV there's the risk that it will disintergrate into nothing more than a constant stream of hook-ups, drunken escapades and fights - all in the name of capturing reality of course. But Jan Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone says that this show is meant to be different. They don't want all the interns living together in a place with a hot tub as is common on MTV reality shows like The Real World. Instead they want to focus on the interns as they stive towards developing their careers. It remains to be seen if they will be successful in making the show different from the standard fare on MTV but it might be interesting to watch.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

A Few Interesting Items From Nascar Scene

*Of course not a week can pass by without a mandatory update on the demise of the #77 team. What was most interesting to me in the article in Nascar Scence is that Penske Racing is apparently trying to help Travis Kvapil find a new ride and that they will honor the last year of his contract. I assume they really don't have much choice in that they either have to pay him what he's owed or at the very least some sort of severance depending on the terms of his contract. But that means that Travis will likely have the financial means to sit out a year if worst comes to worst and he can't find a decent new ride. I'm sure his preference is to race, and I have mixed feelings about drivers sitting out a year in the hope that better rides will become available to them in the future. I think it's a wise choice for older, veteran drivers but I'm not sure the same is true for younger drivers, especially those who might still be developing like Travis is in Cup.

*What doesn't bode well for drivers without new teams is that Travis said,

"It's wait and see. It's so late in the year that silly season has pretty much come and gone and all the seats for the most part have been filled."

That certainly seems to be the case in Cup where the only two rides that are up in the air seem to be the #4 which hasn't been a very good ride for a while now, possibly the #32 though it's been denied that there will be a driver change and the ride the Premier Motorsports will be fielding and it seems to me that this late in the game there are many unknowns with that ride. There do seems to be more open rides in Busch and Cup but I'm not sure how many of those are quality rides. So far Travis has been rumored for the #4 and the #32 but surprisingly I've not heard his name in play for rides on other levels so far. Ideally I think it would be good for him to go to Busch for a season then hopefully return to Cup if that's what he wants.

*Another worry is for teams who are currently without primary sponsors. Don MIller, President of Penske Racing South, apparently said that Penske learned that Kodak was going to pull their sponsorship too late to find a replacement. So what does that mean for the teams of David Reuitmann or Brendan Gaughan who both just found out that they lost their primary sponsorships? Or for organizations who are still looking for sponsors so they can run second teams? If it's too late to do anything about it in November and December those teams may be even worse off in January.

*Something that went unreported in any of the previous stories that I saw about Nascar's new TV deal is that they've now got full ownership of Nascar Images production arm which had been half owned by FOX. Apparently they plan on using that aspect of Nascar Images for promotional and marketing purposes, including supplying video to news organizations. I assume that they were doing similar things to begin with but I imagine they will create more packages to promote the sport and certain drivers that they will use to pitch certain stories to news organizations. That will help some media outlets who don't have the personnel or the resources to covers races and the sport themselves so they can just run those packages, perhaps just adding their own voice-overs. However, the downside is that the message might be controlled entirely from Nascar rather than those organizations doing the reporting themselves.

*Pocono Raceway was going to build a casino on their property but they've changed their minds because what the family who runs the raceway would be required to do would be contrary to the way they've run their business investments. It would also cost at least $300 million and that's a hefty amount of money. Granted a casino would probably bring in revenue at times other than just when there's races, but I can understand why they might be cautious with that kind of investment. Especially since once a new track is built on Staten Island it's possible that Pocono might lose one of their dates.

*In an article about Ultra Motorsports switching from Dodge to Ford it was mentioned that it's likely that Jimmy Spencer who drove the #2 truck in 2005 will likely be in the Busch Series in 2006. Who will he be driving for?

*The morning of the Busch Banquet Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had minor elective surgery on his left wrist to take care of some fluid build-up. So when he went to the banquet that night his arm was in a sling leading to speculation that he had broken his arm which was entirely incorrect. Since this surgery was elective and he had to have known that showing up in a sling would attract a bit of attention why didn't he save himself from having to deal with it and get the producure done the following week?

Posted by silverdsl at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2005

Photo of the Day - Flowers

New Jersey Botanical Gardens, Ringwood, New Jersey, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)

Nomar Garciaparra Signs With the Dodgers

Although the details are still sketchy because it's not been officially announced, it appears that Nomar Garciaparra has signed a one-year deal to play first base for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Garciaparra will earn $6-8 million and could also see some time in the outfield. The New York Yankees had also been vieing for his services but Garciaparra wouldn't have gotten as much playing time, particularly at one position as he will likely get with the Dodgers. Since Garciaparra is trying to prove that he can still be the impact player he once was I'm not surprised he choose the Dodgers over the Yankees since he will surely want to show what he can do as an everyday player. In addition, Garciaparra lives in California so that likely played a role in his desire to play for the Dodgers. Another factor was apparently the intense media scrutiny in New York. Garciaparra didn't enjoy the way the media operated in Boston and it would likely have been very similar for him in the Bronx - I didn't think that would work very well for him, particularly while he's trying to focus on rebuilding his career. Though Los Angeles is a major media market as well, the media is a little more laid-back in terms of the way they cover the Dodgers and the players.

While I think Garciaparra would have contributed towards helping the Yankees win, I think they have other more important holes they need to fill, most importantly at centerfield. Yes, Garciaparra could have played in the outfield but I'd like to see the Yankees get an actual centerfielder rather than throwing Garciapparra out there or moving Matsui over and having Garciaparra in left. In addition, $6-8 million is quite a bit of money for a player who might not be an everyday player, especially one who appears to be as physically fragile as Garciappara has been the past few years.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

When It Comes to Finding a New Ride Time Matters and Other Concerns For Steve Park

As of this writing of this entry there has been no official announcement that Steve Park has a new ride for 2006. I phrase it that way because it's possible that Steve has a deal with a team but they are still working out the last few details before they make it official and announce it publically. But for all intents and purposes as far as is known right now Steve's search for a new ride is still in progress. I'm not ashamed to admit that worries me. Again, I phrase it that way because it's been implied by some that being anything less than overwhelmingly positive about that process is the wrong attitude to have. Of course, to me I think it's not being negative to express concern about whether Steve has a ride for 2006 and what kind of ride it might be but rather being realistic given the realities of racing in Nascar. It's also been implied that Steve wants his fans to be nothing but positive so therefore that's exactly what we should do - I say that I would hope that Steve respects his fan's right to think any way that they choose and express their opinions openly. To be clear, there is no wrong way of looking at Steve's situation - optimistic, realistic, pessimistic - all fans make a choice as to how they view their favorite drivers and there's nothing wrong with any of it, simply that it might be different than the choice of the next fan.

So without further ado, let me outline why exactly I'm concerned about the fact that it's late December and Steve doesn't have a ride yet.

First and foremost, I'm concerned because the more time passes, the more rides get filled. That's a problem because there weren't a huge amount of quality rides that were open to begin with. On top of that not only is Steve looking for a new ride but other drivers who are talented behind the wheel such as Travis Kvapil, a former truck series champion; Ricky Craven, also a winner in all three of Nascar's highest series; Ward Burton, a Daytona 500 winner and five-time Cup series winner; as well as drivers such as Scott Wimmer and Brandon Whitt, who are two young drivers who could have promising futures as racers if they are given the appropriate equipment to show what they can do. What that means is that Steve is competing for a small amount of rides with a lot of other drivers. I have no doubt that he's talking to teams, in fact it's known that he's talked with Bill Davis Racing and Wyler Racing about a possible truck ride. However, there's a difference between negotiating and actually having a signed deal. Things change rapidly in Nascar - what seems certain can be completely different a week later. Steve himself had a hand-shake deal with an unnamed team to drive in the Busch series in 2004 and re-neged on that to go race for Orleans Racing in the truck series. Mike Bliss thought he had a hand-shake deal in place to continue racing the #0 in 2006, only to find out weeks later that his services were no longer wanted.

I want to see Steve racing in 2006 but I'd also like it to be in a competitive ride that will give him the opportunity to race up front and win. Steve's been in way too many rides that are un-competitive from the #1 towards the end of when he was in it, to the #30 to the way things evolved for the #62 team as the season progressed in 2005. I don't have a preference for what series Steve races in or for what team - I trust that he will sign with the team that he feels will give him the best chance for success and happiness. But the more time that passes the harder it's going to be to find a situation that is almost perfect as opposed to having to settle for a ride that isn't as good as he might like. There's also the possiblity that Steve will find himself in the position of Ward Burton, being unwilling to compromise what he wants in a ride, which isn't an entirely bad attitude, and will find himself on the outside looking in when testing and the first race in Daytona rolls around.

But I'm going to assume that by the time testing starts next month there will be an annoucement about Steve officially signing with a new team. However, that still doesn't mean that I don't have some concerns. That's because time matters. Teams don't sit idle in the off-season. There's cars to be built and all sorts of plans to be made as to how that particular team is going to contend for the championship in the series that they race in. I would think that process is made more difficult when they don't know for sure who the driver is. In addition, there's the process by which a team and it's driver gets to know each other and learns to work well together. That's important. Being able to work well as a team together makes for much smoother races with better finishes. When Steve joined Orleans Racing in January of 2004, it was said by Steve and others that joining the #62 team so late put them behind the game when it came time to race because they were still getting used to working together. Ultimately Steve finished 9th in the points but the first half of the season had some speed bumps and I have always wondered if Steve might not have finished the season even higher had he not joined the team so late.

When a driver joins a new team there is always an adjustment period for everyone, just as there is in every new situation. Teams don't magically develop a good working relationship with each other or their driver. They need time to get to know each other. When Steve was with DEI's #1 team he said that he used to go during the off-season to the shop to spend time with his team, including going out to lunch with them. I suppose it seems silly to some that I would think that was important, but I believe that it was. That was the way that Steve got to know his crew not just as the people who worked on his car but also as human beings. I'm sure not every driver goes out to eat with their crew but I think that they all make some sort of effort to have a good relationship with their crews because of how it helps them to work together. It's a lot easier to get to know people when it's not a pressure filled race weekend. But it's not just for social reasons either, it's also for practical reasons such as learning about how Steve likes his car/truck set-up and potentially running through pit practice a few times.

Even more important is Steve developing a good rapport with whoever his new crew chief is going to be. Good communication between crew chief and driver is essential. In the past it's not always seemed like Steve has enjoyed a good relationship with some of his prior crew chiefs. But it's more than whether or not they like each other. It's about the crew chief believing in and supporting his driver and doing everything in his power to give them a car that can win races. If Steve has a opportunity to get to know and work with his crew chief a little during the off-season I think it will increase the chances that they will have a good working relationship in which the crew chief is willing to do things such as listen to Steve when he requests changes during races to believing that Steve can win races. After all, people are often more willing to go the extra mile for those they get along with.

There's also the question of the equipment that Steve races in. If the team is an existing one there will already be cars or trucks on hand for Steve to race and there will likely only be minor changes needed such as fitting a seat for Steve. However, if it's a new team cars and trucks will need to be built. I assume this process begins without the driver but I'm not sure how many will be built if they don't know for sure if they will even be fielding a team until they have a driver definitely signed. It it's an organization that has another team then presumably they will use some of that team's cars or trucks for Steve. But I look at Michael Waltrip's #55 team - he signed with BDR in September and they still don't have all his cars built. So imagine what happens when a driver doesn't officially join a team until a few weeks before testing and the season starts?

There's also the matter of who Steve's sponsor is. Correction, who Steve's sponsor is if his team has a sponsor. If they don't have a sponsor they will need to find one. Not having an outside primary sponsor is what led to Steve being released four races from the end of the 2005 season. So it's essential that Steve's new team has a primary sponsor. But if there's no driver officially confirmed, I think it's harder to lure a full-time sponsor. Particularly since there are many other teams who are also looking for sponsors. I think it sounds a lot better to a sponsor when there's a definite driver rather than talking about who might possibly drive for the team if they sign on. There's also the question of sponsors who might be interested that the team doesn't know about yet. An official announcement might prompt some sponsors to want to get involved with Steve's new team. However, the more time that passes by the more of a chance that those sponsors might align themselves with another team such as that of David Reutimann or Jack Sprague to name two drivers whose teams are looking for primary sponsors. Of course when a team does have a sponsor there are many obligations that a driver must fullfill for their sponsor. I would think that it would be a lot easier to take care fo some of those obligations during the off-season.

From a marketing and public relations perspective it's important for things to become official sooner rather than later as well. Depending on the size, every organization has either a public relations person or staff. Some have separate marketing and merchandizing departments as well. Then the sponsors, and sometimes the drivers themselves, also have public relations representatives. All of these people must develop a plan and strategies for the following season to best utilize their driver for the utmost visibility to promote the team, the driver and most importantly the sponsor. Some might say so what if Steve doesn't get the maximum amount of publicity right away? But that plan often also includes merchandise so the later that Steve joins his new team officially, the later merchandise for fans to buy becomes available. Of course that effects revenue, both for the team and also for Steve himself since he likely gets a percentage of the profits from merchandise sales. There are also things like not being able to work on updating websites until the announcement is official. I'm not just talking about a news story with an annoucement of who the new team is, I'm talking about a complete overhaul that reflect that Steve is the new driver or the team or on his own website reflects his new organization and sponsors. Those things take time, sometimes a lot of time, depending on how complicted the site is.

In addition, there's the matter of the media. It's a lot easier to pitch a story about Steve joining a new team in the off-season when there's not a tremendous amount going on. And again, for purposes of getting a sponsor visiblity or attracting a new sponsor it does matter if the maximum amount of media outlets carry stories about the official announcement. The closer it gets to testing the more teams are pitching stories about their own changes and outlook for the 2006 season which makes it harder to get coverage. I would like to see Steve get the most amount of positive media coverage as possible because it's good for him, good for his team and good for his sponsor.

Being concerned about when and if Steve finds a new ride for 2006 is completely separate from what I think about Steve as a race car driver and as a person. I think Steve is extremely talented behind the wheel and if he's given competitive cars he can race up front and win. I also think he's very fan-friendly and would represent any sponsor well. So it's not a matter of thinking that no teams would be interested in having Steve as their driver. It's simply that the more time that passes the more I can't ignore the unsettled feeling that I have about how Steve's situation is and will evolve. But it's not only for Steve. In fact, much of what I outlined can apply not only to Steve but to all the other drivers who are also still looking for rides. It's not just Steve who needs to find a ride as soon as possible it's Travis, Scott and Ricky as well.

So the clock continues to tick and testing, as well as the first race in Daytona, continues to get closer and closer. It may only be a matter of time before Steve gets a new ride for 2006 but I hope that it happens sooner rather than later for the sake of Steve and his new team.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:32 PM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2005

In the News: Michael Waltrip (12/16)

Unfortunately Michael Waltrip tops a list that I'm sure he would rather have no part of. According to statistics complied by USA Today Michael led all Cup drivers with at least 30 starts with being involved in the greatest percentage of accidents as compared to starts made. In yet another sign of just how dismal his season ended up being, Michael was involved in 19 accidents or spins over the course of 36 races for an overall percentage of 52.8%. That more than doubles the amount of wrecks he was involved with in 2004 when he had only 8 accidents for a percentage of 22%.

Of course the article fails to note that many, if not all, of the accidents that Michael was involved with were not of his own doing. He was deliberately wrecked twice by Jeff Green, ran over by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, got wrecked by Greg Biffle when Biffle cut a tire, was in the wrong place at the wrong time at Talladega and ended up being flipped and had a number of wrecks caused by blown tires. In all those cases those wrecks were completely out of the hands of Michael and his team. He had no control over what other drivers do, he can only look our for himself. As his 2004 statistics show Michael is usually a cautious driver who doesn't get involved in a tremendous amount of incidents but he was certainly in the wrong place at the wrong time quite often in 2005. I hope that his luck turns around in 2006.

Michael isn't the only member of his household who is endorsing a company these days. His wife, Buffy, is featured on a billboard and in the holiday catalog for Fink's Jewlers, a jeweler with 14 locations in Virginia and the Carolinas. Apparently Buffy has a friend who manages one of their stores and she suggested to her friend that she be used to advertise their product. Which is an idea that Fink's apparently liked. Aside from the holiday catalog and the billboard, Buffy has also made appearances on behalf of Fink's. She doesn't receive money but she does recieve a discount on jewelry which could end up being just as good as receiving financial compensation for her services if she's big into buying jewelry. If only the next promotion will be to offer members of Michael's fan club a discount!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:10 PM | Comments (0)

Brendan Gaughan Loses Jasper as His Primary Sponsor

Sponsors come and go all the time in Nascar and the latest to terminate their sponsorships is Jasper Engines and Transmissions who will not only cease to have a Cup sponsorship but are also ending their sponsorship of Brendan Gaughan's #77 for Orleans Racing. By the time testing in Daytona rolls around Brendan might have found new sponsorship for his truck but as of now I think Orleans Racing is in an extremely bad situation. Not only did they have to park the #62 for what they said was financial reasons but they lost the primary sponsor on their other truck and Dodge has withdrawn their support. So other than whatever associate sponsors Brendan has, Orleans Racing has no outside funding coming in as it stands now. And they don't have a lot of time to resolve that problem either given how little time there is between now and when testing starts.

As if it wasn't already obvious based on how poor the performance of the #62 was in 2005, it appears more and more that Steve Park and Orleans Racing going their separate ways was a good thing. I still take issue with the way Orleans racing released Steve with four races to go but to me Orleans Racing appears to be an organization in trouble. They had a significant amount of problems last season fielding competitive trucks and that was with support from Dodge and money from Jasper. I don't see how they can improve on last season if the financial means to do so aren't there. And if the performance isn't going to be there it's going to be very hard to attact new sponsors, something that Orleans Racing struggled to do when Steve was in the #62, no matter how dynamic of a personality Brendan is. A few weeks ago Brendan had said that Orleans Racing would be retiring the The Orleans as a paint scheme for any of their trucks but they may have no choice but to advertise one of the Gaughan affiliated properties unless they want to run a blank paint scheme if there's no primary sponsor.

I can't help but wonder what this means for the future of Orleans Racing. Assuming they can't find a new primary sponsor for the #77 will they fold that team as well and suspend operations, at least temporarily? After all, they pulled the #62 off the track until they found someone willing to pony up the necessary money to keep it going. So if they were in such bad financial straits that they said weren't going to be able to run the #62 for the last four races of the season until Scott Lynch came along how would they be able to field the #77 a full season without support from Dodge or a primary sponsor? Of course with Brendan behind the wheel it's a slightly different situation than it was with Steve since Brendan is the owner's son and general manager. They might decide to spend the money out of their own pockets so that Brendan can continue to race. But for how long?

Brendan isn't the only driver in the truck series to find himself in need of a new sponsor for 2006. NTN Bearings has decided to terminate their primary sponsorship of the #17 driven by David Reutimann for Darrell Waltrip Racing. That decision boggles my mind. Unless the company is having some sort of financial problems it doesn't seem to make sense to me. While Reutimann only finished 13th in the overall points he had a solid season, winning one race, two poles and racing his way to six top fives and nine top tens. In addition, being associated with DW has to have brought NTN a tremendous amount of visibility separate from Reutimann. So I would think that their financial investment would have paid dividends for them but apparently not, or at least not enough.

It should be noted that Jack Sprague and other drivers are looking for primary sponsors as well. So the competition for sponsors has got to be tremendous. Sprague, Reutimann and Brendan are all "name" drivers and it's almost unthinkable that at least as of now, none of them have primary sponsors for 2006. And if those three drivers have sponsorship woes what does it say about the chances for smaller teams with less known drivers to find and keep sponsorship?

I think it speaks to the problems that exist in Nascar currently when it comes to sponsors that even in the truck series, where it is significantly less to sponsor a truck, that there are problems finding and keeping primary sponsors. Teams must be successful unless they want to find themselves in a situation like Penske Racing with Kodak and they have to hope that the companies that they affiliate themselves with are in a good place financially. Some fans feel that the sponsors have too much influence over what the drivers, team and Nascar itself does. But I don't see what choice there is. With the costs of the sport continuing to increase in all kinds of ways, if the teams don't do things to keep their sponsors happy they might find that those companies don't choose to stay which could leave them with a lot less money coming in than they had. Which could then effect how successfully they can field a strong race team or teams.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:54 PM | Comments (1)

Chicago Bar Offers $950 Drink

Pete Gugni manages the Reserve Club in Chicago but before he did that he was a jeweler. So he got the idea of creating a very memorable specialty drink, one that features a one-carat, grade-A ruby at the bottom. The cost? Just a measly $950. Surprisingly the club has already sold three of the drinks, naturally to men looking to impress their dates. The Ruby Red, as the drink is called, actually sounds like it might taste good. It features Grey Goose L'Orange vodka , Hpnotiq cognac, orange juice, Pama (pomegranate) liqueur and a splash Dom Perignon champagne. There's a version without the ruby that goes for about $120 to pay for the cost of the Dom but thus far no one has ordered it. I don't think I'd order either version - that's way too much money for me to pay for something that you drink, even if it does come with a real ruby.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)

Alex Rodriguez to Skip World Baseball Classic

But not for the reasons one might think. Alex Rodriguez isn't worried about possibly injuring himself in games that don't count in the New York Yankees quest for winning another World Series. And he's not concerned about missing time in Spring Training to go to the World Baseball Classic. Instead A-Rod can't make up his mind which team to represent, the United States or the Dominican Republic, and to avoid offending anyone he will choose neither. A-Rod said in an interview with The New York Post,

"When faced with the decision to choose between my country, the United States of America, and my Dominican heritage, I decided I will not dishonor either."

Ridiculous. A-Rod isn't concerned with dishonoring either the United States or the Dominican Republic, he doesn't want to open himself up to criticism from those who will say that he's un-American or un-patriotic if he doesn't play for the United States or those who will say that he's forgotten what his heritage is if he doesn't play for the Dominican Republic. If there's one thing about A-Rod it's that he's incredibly image conscious. What A-Rod and his handlers are worried about is that a controversy over which team A-Rod plays for will overshadow anything he might do on the field during the WBC and that could reflect negatively on him.

I'm astonished. Earlier in the week A-Rod was on WFAN talking about playing in the WBC and how he was likely going to represent the Dominican Republic. So what changed his mind between now and then? I think if he wants to play he should have made a decision, stuck to it and let the chips fall where they may. There is no way to avoid all controversies when one is in the public eye - A-Rod certainly knows all about that. But I think sometimes he tries so hard to say and do the right things to avoid controversy that he opens himself up to more of it. The reality is that no matter what A-Rod does there are going to be some who take issue with his decisions, just as I am right now in relation to his decision to withdraw from the WBC. There is no way of pleasing everyone, all the time, though A-Rod certainly seems to try. In the end had he played for one team or another, though he might have been critcised for it by the time the regular season rolled around it would be forgotten in the face of what he does on the field to help the Yankees win.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)

"Walk Tall" - John Mellencamp

I was listening to this song this morning. (It's on John Mellencamp's Best of album, Words and Music, a very awesome album because it has all of his best known hits, many of which I love!). The lyrics from this one stuck with me so maybe they'll unstick if I post 'em here...

Walk Tall (single version)

Written by: John Mellencamp

The simple minded
And the uninformed
Can be easily led astray
And those that cannot connect the dots
Hey look the other way
People believe what they want to believe
When it makes no sense at all

And I wish you a long sight line
And the strength to walk tall

Walk tall
Yeah walk on
Through this world
Walk tall

Somewhere out in the distance
Is the death of you and me
Even though we don’t think of it much
It’s still out there for us to see
If you treat life like a ballroom fight
You’ll die stinking of gin
No drunkards are allowed in heaven
No sinners will get in

Walk tall
Yeah, walk on
Walk tall
Through this world
Walk tall

So be careful in what you believe in
There’s plenty to get you confused
And in this land called paradise
You must walk in many men’s shoes
Bigotry and hatred are enemies to us all
Grace, mercy and forgiveness
Will help a man walk tall

So walk tall
Yeah, walk on
Walk tall
Through this world
Through this world
Yeah, walk tall
Then walk on
Walk tall
Then walk on
Through this world
Through this world
Through this world
Through this world
Walk tall
Walk tall
Then walk on
Walk tall

Posted by silverdsl at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2005

Photo of the Day - Las Vegas

Ceasar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, January, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:46 PM | Comments (0)

Testing Starts In Daytona in Less Than a Month...

...and some drivers who are looking won't have rides by the time testing rolls around. An unfortunate reality is that when testing in Daytona for the various Nascar series starts in early January and the Daytona 500 after that there will be some familiar faces who will be missing. Some by choice in the case of Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd but others because they couldn't find a new ride. The only question is which of the current drivers on the unemployment line will be the unlucky ones? Of course it's unthinkable to fans that their favorite driver won't be on the track for testing. How could a Ricky Craven or a Steve Park not have a ride? Well, I'm sure Ward Burton fans were certain that he would have a ride for 2005. After all, Burton won the Daytona 500 in 2002 and he's won five Cup races during his career. If not a Cup ride, then surely he'd be in a good Busch or Truck ride. But none of that was to be and not only did Burton sit out all of 2005 but it's looking like he might sit out 2006 as well.

Of course Burton sat out partially by choice. He felt that it was best for his career if he didn't take a non-competitive ride just to stay in Cup and he wasn't willing to settle for a Busch or Truck ride even though teams in those series came calling. I can't say that I disagree with Burton's decision not to take a poor Cup ride just to be on the track. In a perfect world everyone from fans to the media to those in the garage area would take into account various variables that might cause a driver to finish poorly in the final points standings. But that's often not the way it works. A lot of times people only see that a driver finished 30th and assume that it's because of a lack of driving talent when the reality is that the car they were in didn't allow them to race up front and compete for wins. I do think that Burton should have considered a Busch or truck ride - there is some stigma in some people's eyes to going from Cup to one of those series, but the reality is that the racing in the truck series at least is excellent and the competition level in all series is tremendous. A competitive ride in Busch or Trucks would be better than an inferior ride in Cup. But Burton opted not to take any of the rides that were offered to him, wishing to hold out for better rides in the exact situation he wanted.

There could be other drivers who follow this route, Ricky Craven being one of them. Craven has said that he will only take certain kinds of rides and won't settle for just anything. At one point I thought that Steve Park might be one to follow that lead. While he was in the truck series he was asked about returning to Busch or Cup and he said only if it were in a competitive ride that would offer him the opportunity to win. But after being released by Orleans Racing Steve's tune changed. He said that he would consider a ride on any level as long as the team was committed to winning. Not that the car or truck was competitive, just that the team wanted to win as much as he did. I would guess that most teams want very much to end up in Victory Lane so that means that Steve is likely considering a lot more teams that he might once have. I can't help but wonder if he looked at Ward Burton and realized that if he limited himself too much he might end up sitting out 2006 and that didn't hold much appeal to him. Afterall, Steve is younger than Ward and doesn't have a family or a foundation to take up all his time. That's not to say that Steve is going to take a lousy ride just to ensure that he's on the track racing but given how difficult it is for drivers to find and keep rides as well as how stiff the competition is with a lot of good drivers looking for new rides at the same time it might be necessary to consider situations he might not have in the past.

Of course it could turn out that Steve ends up sitting out 2006 anyway but not by choice. There will be some drivers who do everything they can to find a new ride but nothing pans out. I hope with all my heart that doesn't happen to Steve and I have no doubt that he's talking to a variety of teams. But testing isn't all that far off and so far there's been no official announcement about Steve's new ride and not only that other than some vague rumors about a second truck for Wyler Racing, he's not even in the rumor mill. Of course the announcement that Steve would be in the #62 for Orleans Racing in 2004 didn't come until the first week in January of that year. So an announcement of Steve's plans for 2006 might not come for several weeks. But there will be some drivers who will be on the outside looking in during testing and I hope that Steve isn't one of them. Time is growing short, especially when one considers that much in Nascar will slow down for the next two weeks around holiday time. That doesn't leave a lot of time to start working with his new team before testing starts - Steve said in 2004 that joining the team so late put them behind the game at least for the first half of the season because they had to take the time to gel and get used to working together. I'd like to see Steve's new team be strong right out of the box, though that's probably expecting too much.

Wondering whether Steve will have a ride in 2006 and what kind of ride it might be isn't being negative as some seem to feel that it is. That's being realistic. Steve is an outstanding driver and I believe 110% in his ability to race and win when he's given a competitive car. But just because I believe in Steve and so do a lot of other fans doesn't mean that the teams that Steve wants to drive for will believe in him in the same way or their sponsors for that matter. Nor does it mean that even if there is interest from teams that Steve will be able to come to terms with them or that necessary factors like sponsorship will exist to make the ride a viable situation. There's also other quality drivers such as Travis Kvapil who are available and with there not being a tremendous amount of good rides available at this late date, Travis, Steve and others may be talking to the same teams. I only hope that a solid team who will be supportive of Steve and will give him a good chance of getting to Victory Lane chooses him. They'd be making a good choice of a driver who will race his ass off and give everything he has to getting the best finish he possibly can in every race plus someone who has a strong fan following and will represent any sponsor well.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)

December 14, 2005

Photo of the Day - Rocking Chair

Cape May, New Jersey. September, 2005. I'm always drawn towards taking photos of rocking chairs on the porches of the houses in Cape May. I always wonder how many people have sat in those chairs over the years and rocked, rocked, rocked...

Posted by silverdsl at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)

More on Milton Bradley

Just two entries ago I was talking about how happy I was that the New York Yankees didn't trade for Milton Bradley and I'm even happier after reading Scott Miller's column on CBS SportsLine.com in which he says that the A's might get more than they bargained for with Bradley. Miller says that despite how well Bradley plays baseball he comes with a tremendous amount of baggage,

But this is a deeply disturbed young man who was jettisoned from one organization -- Montreal -- when executives deemed, according to sources, that he couldn't get along with white people (among other problems); was moved from another organization -- Cleveland -- because he couldn't co-exist with an authority figure (manager Eric Wedge); and now has been traded away from Los Angeles, his hometown, because of his rage at teammate Jeff Kent.

And why might you ask did Bradley give as a reason for why he had a problem with Kent? Because Bradley said, Kent can't get along with African-Americans. I have no idea how much truth there might or might not be to that but it's a little ironic for a player who was traded because his team had concerns about how he dealt with white people to be accusing someone else of having problems dealing with people of different races.

Miller's article features a few more quotes from Dodgers GM, Ned Colletti. Including this one:

"I went into this trying to keep this guy as a Los Angeles Dodger. I was trying to remedy it. And I got no glimmer of hope that it would work."

Normally teams are willing to overlook almost anything if they think a player could help them win. But obviously Bradley's issues, whether it's his personal issues or those with teammates, are too great for them to ignore even i the face of his talent as a baseball player. Which indicates that those issues must be serious indeed.

Of course Bradley doesn't think so. He said when asked about what happened to led to the Dodgers deciding to sever ties with him,

"Nothing went wrong for me. The only thing that went wrong was I got injured. My finger, and then I hurt my knee at the end. That's all that went wrong for me."

That's someone who is in a serious state of denial. Because his injuries were probably the least of his problems. I find it incredible that he doesn't think screaming matches with reporters, conflicts with teammates and the police visiting his house multiple times to investigate domestic abuse being things that might have gone wrong for him.

But it gets better. When talking about the anger management counseling that he went to he says,

"I did (undergo anger management counseling) but, really, I did it to please others," Bradley said. "As far as me and my life and everyday dealings, there's nothing that's a problem or angers me.

"When I feel disrespected or someone in authority abuses that authority, then I don't react well."

That's astonishing. Because Bradley is essentially saying that he sees nothing wrong with his behavior. And if that's the case he might have been sitting there at anger management counseling every day but it's not going to do one bit of good if he doesn't want to change his behavior. In addition, dealing with authority figures is part of life. If he thinks that it's okay to act out when he feels disrespected or someone abuses their authority then I'd say that it's definitely only a matter of time before he lashes out again.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)

"My Fair Brady"

Over the weekend I couldn't sleep so I decided to watch some TV. Unfortunately it was 1 a.m. on a Saturday night so there wasn't much on. I ended up watching My Fair Brady on VH1, which is a reality show that follows the relationship between Christopher Knight, best known as Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch and Adrianne Curry, who won the first season of American's Top Model. Are you wondering where these two met? Probably not but I'll tell you anyway - while filming another VH1 reality show, this one The Surreal Life. The episode that I watched was apparently the last MFB of the first season and oh, was it painful to watch! Curry makes ultimatums and carryies on about how she wants Knight to marry her. Of course in the end Knight presents her with an engagement ring but the process by which that happened was cringe worthy. And based on some of the espisode summaries that might have been one of the better episodes! There will be a second season of MFB that focuses on their engagment and wedding - my guess is that season three may focus on their divorce. The next time there isn't much to watch on TV I think I'll opt for watching the rodeo.

Of course reality shows are fairly cheap to produce but it's a sad commentary on the state of TV when this show is picked up for another season but Arrested Development has been cancelled.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)

Milton Bradley Traded to A's, not Yankees

There had been some talk that the New York Yankees were interested in trading for Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Milton Bradley but thankfully that didn't turn out to be anything more than talk. Instead Bradley has been traded to the Oakland Athletics and to the A's I say: "Good luck!" It's not that Bradley isn't a talented player - he is and he's only 27. But quite simply Bradley is a powder keg waiting to explode. No matter how many assurances there are that he's been through anger management and all his incidents ranging from run-ins with his former manager on the Cleveland Indians, Eric Wedge, that led to his trade from that team to being suspended for five games in 2004 for a incident with a fan to his more recent dispute with teammate Jeff Kent, there's no doubt in my mind that the A's will eventually decide he's more trouble than he's worth just like the other teams he's been with. Most troubling is that over the summer Bradley was investigated twice for domestic abuse against his pregnant wife, who has since given birth. While he was never arrested and his wife also got physical with him in at least one of the incidents, that should give any team pause about whether that is the kind of player that they want on their team no matter how talented he might be on the field.

After undergoing surgery for a knee injury in late August, Bradley never played again for the Dodgers in 2005. Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said that there was no choice but to trade Bradley,

"I went into it with the idea of trying to keep him a Dodger. It was clearer and clearer there was no way to make this thing work. At every turn, I just got stopped. I got it from a lot of different places including inside the clubhouse, outside the clubhouse, people who have known him very well and have known him for a long time."

While I don't know exactly what Colletti is referring to in terms of why Bradley remaining with the Dodgers wasn't going to work, though I imagine it might have something to do with his dispute with Kent, that's a pretty telling comment about Bradley that even in his own clubhouse the sentiment was that he was better off being traded.

I don't like every player who puts on pinstripes. In the past I haven't liked Chuck Knoblauch or Roger Clemens. Currently, I don't care for Gary Sheffield. However, I've always been able to put my distaste for those players to the side and cheer for them like I do any other Yankee. I also appreciate their contributions to the team and how they help the Yankees win. But it would be different for me with Bradley. I think he would be one of the few players that I would have trouble supporting or cheering for no matter what he did on the field for the Yankees. I have a problem with someone who is a possible domestic abuser and coupled with his other anger management issues, I think that Bradley would have been one of the rare cases in which what a player does off-the-field matters.

None of the players are saints. They drink, they party, some of them aren't faithful to their significant others, they get into trouble off-the-field sometimes. I don't care for some of that kind of behavior but I accept that they have their flaws and that they are going to make mistakes and sometimes do or say things that I don't like. Most of the time I can overlook it. But Bradley's behavior to me crosses all sorts of lines that I wouldn't be able to ignore. So I'm very happy that the Yankees didn't trade for him.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2005

Photo of the Day - Ogunquit Flowers

Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2005

Posted by silverdsl at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)

David Starr Finds a New Ride at Brandon Whitt's Expense

Until this week Brandon Whitt thought he had a ride with the #38 Toyota for Red Horse Racing, the same ride he had in 2005. Unfortunately for him David Starr parted ways with Spears Motorsports which paved the way for him to take Whitt's place in the #38. Apparently this bit of news came as a surprise to Whitt as he found out that he was being released on the same day that RHR announced that they were hiring Starr. The timing is extremely unfortunate for Whitt because being released a week and a half before Christmas and just over a month away from when testing starts in Daytona for 2006 means that he doesn't have much time to find a new ride.

Whitt was told that the change was made

"to enhance the team's business opportunities."

That probably has something to do with the lack of a full primary sponsor for the team in 2006. Though Whitt won the race at Memphis and got two poles, two top-fives and five top tens, he finished the season just 18th in points. Meanwhile though Starr had no wins in 2005, he won two poles and had four top fives but also raced his way to ten top tens and at the end of the season was 7th in points. Finishing 7th in points is significantly better than finishing 18th in points and that makes a difference to sponsors. In addition, Starr is more of a "name" and is also extremely fan friendly so it's possible that from a marketing point of view those things make him more attractive to sponsors as well.

But it seems to me that Whitt is a driver who is still developing. He's only 23 and this is only his second season racing full-time on this level. That he won a race, got two poles and finished well in other races indicates that he knows how to race his way up front and obviously get to Victory Lane. In Cup the teams seem to expect almost instantaneous results from young drivers otherwise they are deemed a failure but I hadn't thought that had yet spread down to the truck series. But maybe it has. I didn't follow Whitt closely so I can't say that I know why he finished the season 18th in points nor do I know what other factors might have led to his release. But it does give me pause that RHR is taking out a driver they know can win for them and put in a driver who didn't win at all in 2005. Of course Starr has three truck series wins in the past but who's to say that Whitt doesn't have that many or more wins in him?

It does make me wonder what's going to happen with Steve Park, if a driver who also won a race but finished above him in the points got released. Yes, Steve finishing 22nd in the points isn't of his own doing but I think it's hard to explain to teams and sponsors that points finish because saying that he got released never sounds good regardless of what the reasons are. In addition, many look no further than the stats. Even if Steve wasn't released he wouldn't have finished high in the points and all the reasons why - mechanical problems, getting wrecked, his team running him out of gas, poor trucks, etc... don't show up in the cold, hard numbers. Steve is apparently talking to teams so it's not that I think that no one is interested in his services for 2006, it's just that I wonder whether the ride he's going to get is going to be the kind that will allow him to really show his full talent behind the wheel.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:19 PM | Comments (0)

Robinson Cano Disses Fans at Autograph Signing?

If there's one kind of athlete behavior that tends to irk me it's when an athlete doesn't seem to have too much respect for their fans. I'm not talking about when a player or driver is having a bad day, is preoccupied with more important matters than signing autographs or is put in a position where there's no way that they can make every fan happy. Any or all of this may be what happened to Robinson Cano when he appeared to be very disinterested in interacting with fans at a recent autograph signing in Scarsdale. It's also possible that the writer of this article slanted things in a more negative way than they actually were because he was upset about being denied an interview with Cano after he was promised one. But if it's true that Cano rushed through the signing and was more interested in talking on his cell phone at times than posing for photos or shaking hands with fans I'd be less than impressed, particularly when one considers that each of the fans who were present at the signing paid $50 for his autograph.

Of course it's certainly possible that Cano had personal issues to attend to or some other reason why he rushed through the signing. But particularly at a paid autograph signing it seems to me that athletes owe their fans the decency and respect to not be talking on the phone if at all possible and to take an extra second to at least make eye contact and smile. I think that athletes owe their fans very little. As such I keep my expectations very low in regards to how much a player or driver is going to interact with me when I see them. That's especially true at an event where there might be hundreds of people there - it's going to be impossible to satisfy every single person in the way that they might all want and by the end of the signing the athlete is sure to be tired. But there are some who are definitely better than others at handling themselves and interacting with the fans at these kinds of signings.

I've been to three baseball signings where I've paid money to get an autograph. I don't like paying for autographs, especially since each time I had to pay around $125 an autograph. But I had photos that I had taken of the players that I wanted signed and since it's very difficult to get free autographs from members of the New York Yankees I had no choice but to pay the price at those signings if I wanted my photos signed. Not only did I pay the price but at each of these signings I waited for several hours, something that I'm not sure I'd be too keen on doing again unless it was for a very special signing.

Sad to say but one of my favorite Yankees was the least impressive to me. By all accounts Tino Martinez is an extremely good-hearted and nice person but the day that I went to a signing that he did it seemed as if he would much rather have been anywhere else. Tino barely looked up, didn't say a word to me and based on his body language seemed a little put out that I asked to take a photo with him, even though that was something that was being allowed at the signing. Afterwards I heard other similar stories from other appearances which is unfortunate because I think the way he is at some signings at least may give some a bit of a negative impression about him that might not be entirely correct. While I wasn't disappointed by Tino exactly, I definitely wasn't impressed either.

Paul O'Neill was excellent. There was a tremendous turnout at his signing since he has always been a tremendously popular Yankee but he was gracious, smiled, shook hands and had a word or two for everyone. That was surprising in a way because while Paul is known as a good guy, he has always had a reputation for not always having a tremendous amount of patience and to be frank had been known when he was an active player to get surly when things didn't go his way on the field. So I figured that at a long autograph signing he might get worn out easily and might not interact with fans as well as some others might. But that definitely wasn't the case. Paul did things exactly the right way. As each fan came up to him he smiled and said "hi." No big conversation but an acknowledgement that there is a real human being standing in front of him.

Far and away the best was David Cone. In fact out of all the sports figures that I've met he was probably the most impressive this side of Michael Waltrip. Coney made an effort with every single person, young and old, to make their brief time in his presence memorable. He had a conversation with virtually everyone, high-fived kids, shook hands with everyone and overall made every single person feel like at least for the 30 seconds they stood in front of him they mattered. I've seen him at two signings and both times I was incredibly impressed with his way with people. From start to finish Coney acted like he was in good spirits and having a good time meeting his fans, even though in reality signing autographs for hundreds of people probably wasn't the ideal way he would have liked to have spent the day. From what I've heard Coney was just like that when fans encountered him randomly out and about. He was always friendly and nice, as hard as it might have been at times. A player that truely got it when it came to the fans.

Then we have Robinson Cano. Of course I wasn't there so I don't really know what Cano was really like other than what the article says. But his demeanor as described in the article certainly sounds vastly different than Paul or Coney. Some of that might be due to a language barrier between himself and many of the fans which makes it hard to connect. But a smile is a smile and has the same meaning in any language. 2005 was Cano's rookie season so he is still learning all of the ropes when it comes to being a major league baseball player. I hope along the way if his normal behavior when it comes to interacting with the fans is like it was described in the article, some of his teammates will teach him about the importance of showing his appreciation for the fans when he can, even if it's in the smallest of ways like with a smile.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)

December 12, 2005

Photo of the Day - Nap Time

National Zoo, Washington, D.C., July, 2005. This guy looks like he's about to take a nap... or maybe do some meditating.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)

Yankees Won't Let Posada Play in the World Baseball Classic

Fans rejoice! The fan response to the World Baseball Classic which will be played during Spring Training has been overwhelmingly negative to say the least. So it's not a surprise that most fans are pretty happy that the New York Yankees have blocked catcher Jorge Posada from taking part in the WBC by saying that playing might add to the already heavy workload he has to endure during the season and could increase the chance that he will become injured. I think that the Yankees have a valid concern as it relates to Posada since he's getting older and it does seem that every season he has a tendency to wear down and appear tired as the season goes on. But many fans feel that the Yankees should block the rest of their players who are slated to participate - Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriquez, Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui from playing as well and I can't agree with that.

The most common argument is that by playing they will put themselves at risk for suffering an injury. But if the players weren't taking part in the WBC, they would be playing in games during Spring Training where they could be injured just as easily. Or they could suffer a serious injury on day one of the season as Derek Jeter did a few years ago. On top of that it appears that the physical health of the players is of concern to the powers-that-be who are in charge of the WBC as there are limitations in place in terms of how much players on the 40-man roster of a MLB team can play. Beyond that if there are concerns that players are too fragile to play at maximum an extra eight games if I'm understanding the format correctly if their team advances to the finals, perhaps there should be concerns about whether or not they will be able to play through an entire 162-game season successfully as was apparently the case for Posada.

Many fans are also trying to dismiss this tournament as meaningless. I don't agree with that point of view. Many of the players didn't wait to be invited to play, they expressed their desire to represent their countries in the WBC. That's because representing their country on the world stage would be a source of great pride. Posada said,

"I wanted to play since my family is from Puerto Rico, it's where I am from and I was excited. "I was the first one to ask for the documents. I can't do anything about it. The Yankees have the last word. I respect that and I will prepare for spring training like I always do."

and Sammy Sosa said,

"It would be a great honor to represent my country."

So to those players like Posada and Sosa who feel it is an honor to play for their team, the games are most certainly not meaningless. Some fans seem to view it as if the players are being forced to play but it doesn't appear to me as if that's the case.

I also think that promoting the game, which is a major reason why the WBC was created in the first place, is important as well. The fact of the matter is that without kids becoming interested in the game of baseball and deciding that they want to play the game, there would be a dearth of new players coming into the minors. Of course there are many economic reasons why MLB wants to expend it's reach and be as successful as possible on a world-wide basis. It's necessary for the health of the sport to ensure that interest remains high in baseball both in this country and throughout the world. So I can't fault Bud Selig or anyone else in baseball for coming up with the WBC. Nor can I fault the players who are playing for wanting to take part.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

Travis Kvapil to the #32?

From The Sporting News via Jayski's:

Kvapil to PPI? Travis Kvapil recently received his release from #77 Penske Racing, but he is not expected to be out of work for long. Kvapil, 29, is the latest candidate for the #32 PPI Motorsports ride. Bobby Hamilton Jr. has not been re-signed.(Sporting News)(12-12-2005)

Oh, Travis I implore you, just say no! I realize that it might be the last available full-time Cup ride but the #32 Tide ride at PPI may very well be the only full-time ride in Cup other than the #4 that's worse than the #77. At least at Penske Travis had teammates and was a part of a large organization where there was the possiblity that more resouces could be allocated to his team. But at PPI, in spite of trying to get a second team going for the past few years, it's a single-car operation. While I'm sure they are doing everything they can to improve their fortunes I think PPI isn't in a great place in terms of what they are able to do as a single-car operation that isn't affliated with a larger organization and I think that might limit how much they can do with the #32 in terms of making it better. Travis finished 33rd in the points in the #77. Bobby Hamilton Jr. finished 36th in the #32. To illustrate how poorly the #32 car performed, Mike Wallace in the #4 was able to finish the season in 35th place in the points despite having started five less races than Hamilton, Jr. Perhaps the biggest reason for Travis to have second thoughts about the #32 is that with how far down they finished the season in owner points (37th) that car isn't locked in for the first few races of the season which could put them behind the ball all season if they don't make some races. And I don't think that finishing the season far down in points, in a poorly performing car, is going to do Travis any favors in terms of his Cup career.

Of course this item might have no truth to it. And in the end the drivers know much better than any fan does about what the right decisions are for their careers. So if Travis chooses to go to the #32 I'm sure he has good reasons for doing so. But I hope his reasons aren't that he thinks he should take any ride in Cup just to stay in Cup out of fear that if he goes to another series it will be viewed as taking a step backwards. I think that going to an even worse car than the #77 could be a bigger step backwards if the performance isn't there in 2006 than taking a ride in the Busch or Truck Series. In either of those two series he could end up with a much more competitive ride that will give him far more opportunities to end up in Victory Lane than he would likely get in the #32. In the #77 Travis had two top tens, Hamilton, Jr.: zero. Laps led for Hamilton, Jr. in 2005 - exactly one. Laps led for Travis - 36 which isn't too great but at least it was something. Unless PPI makes some major promises to Travis about improvements to the #32 for 2005 it seems to me that if he was unhappy with the #77 he's not going to be much happier in the #32.

Maybe it illustrates how few competitive rides there are available on any level in Nascar if a former truck series champion might have to take the #32. Which of course doesn't bode well for Steve Park, unless he's got a deal for his 2006 ride all set already. Which may be the case, I just hope it's a step forward from the #62 for him, just like for Travis's sake I hope that the next ride he takes is a step ahead of the #77.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2005

Photo of the Day - Elephant

National Zoo, Washington, D.C. July, 2005. I wasn't a big fan of the National Zoo in comparison to the Bronx Zoo because I felt like some of the animal enclosures were cramped but I suppose that if a wild animal is in any kind of enclosure they're probably not as happy as they would be in their natural habitat. In any event, I did get a few good photos and here's one of an elephant in the process of giving itself a drink of water.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

Most Outspoken Sparkie

Sparkies are Steve Park fans and over on Steve Park Central a completely unscientific poll for "Sparkie Awards" such as "Most Popular," "Best Photographer," etc... has resulted in me being named "Most Outspoken Sparkie." Anyone who knows me, even casually, whether it's online or offline, probably isn't very suprised by that! The vast majority of the time what's said on a message board is of zero consequence but it's very important to me to speak my mind in every situation that I'm in, even if I'm the only one who thinks as I do. Censoring my opinions out of fear of what someone else might think or for other reasons would mean that I would not be true to myself. Of course often I'm not actually the only person who shares similar opinions to me, but there are times when I'm the only one who is willing to put themselves on the line, at least at first. So if I help encourage someone else to speak up that is a good thing, particularly if it relates to things that happen in real life when what one says and does really matters.

If I'm outspoken my Mother is twice as outspoken and her example is why I don't shy away from saying what I think. In my Mother's case she's been in the position where standing up for what she believes in has had a real effect on people's lives in a positive way. She has also not been afraid to say and do the right thing even when it might not make her popular or goes against the grain of what the majority would do. I've always admired that quality about my Mother so from a very early age I've not been afraid to speak up about what I think about things based on her example.

Which hasn't always won me friends of course because there are some who feel, particularly online in certain fandoms, that there are only certain acceptable ways of thinking or behaving and that doing or saying things differently should be discouraged. But I've got plenty of friends who understand that the world would be a very boring place if we all agreed about everything. It's a fact of life that not everyone is going to like each other either. While I take great pains not to deliberately say anything to offend or hurt someone's feelings it's more important to me to be true to myself than fit myself into a mold that will make me popular. One of my favorite quotes that I've mentioned on this site before is by Dr. Suess and it goes,

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

Indeed, those who matter understand and don't mind.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)

December 09, 2005

Photo of the Day - Camden Hill State Park

Camden Hills State Park, Camden, Maine, July, 2002.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)

Reality Shows I'd Like to See

Of course many reality shows don't actually fully reflect reality but they can still sometimes be interesting if they're done well and here's a few I'd like to see...

*A show which follows the process by which a driver finds a new ride. ESPN did a baseball version of this a few years ago in which they followed Manny Ramirez's agent while he was negotiating a new mega-deal for his client. It was fascinating and I'd love to see how the process goes in racing. For example, do drivers have agents who take as active a role as the agents do in baseball? Or do the drivers negotiate a lot of their deals themselves, then run it by a business manager or lawyer?

*A show which follows a few of the Yankees, similar to Nascar Drivers: 360 so that fans get a peek into not only what happens on the field but also in the clubhouse and away from the stadium. What do the players do in the time after they arrive at the stadium but before the game? How do they prepare for a game other than take batting practice? What happens after a game? What do the players do in their downtime?

*Behind the scenes in a news room, either TV or print. I had thought that there were plans in the works a couple of years ago for a show like this that focused on the news room of a newspaper but I don't remember the show ever airing anywhere. It might be interesting to follow the process by which reporters cover stories, especially major news stories. The problem is that there aren't always major news stories so a lot of what happens might not be that exciting.

*Instead of always focusing on the drivers, an episode of 360 that focuses on Nascar officals and/or the powers-that-be in Nascar during a race to depict what they do. Fans think that Nascar does a lousy job of running things but it might be interesting to see if that perception might change if they saw a show from their point-of-view.

*A show focusing on an awards show like the Grammys or Emmys. How the show gets put together and what happens behind-the-scenes that viewers never see.

*A show depicting a young driver' s struggles to get noticed and make it into Nascar. Maybe a Winston West or modifieds driver?

*On a similar theme, a show following a minor league baseball team.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:18 PM | Comments (0)

December 08, 2005

Photo of the Day - Come On In...

Cape May, New Jersey, September, 2005

Posted by silverdsl at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)

It's Official: Kvapil Won't Be Back in the #77

On November 16th of last year, the title of one of my entries in this blog was It's Official: Gaughan Won't Be Back in the #77. A little over a year later almost the exact same fate has befallen Travis Kvapil. Finally Penske Racing made official what has been widely rumored for almost a month - the #77 will not be on the track in 2006 and Kvapil will need to find a new ride. It's very unfortunate for Kvapil that he's getting released in mid-December instead of a few months ago when he would have had more time to find a quality ride for next season. It's humorous that Penske isn't calling Kvapil's release what it is, instead they are saying that he is "free to explore other opportunities." As if he has any other choice if he wants to keep racing.

So where does Kvapil go now? I think it's likely that he won't be in a Cup ride in 2006 unless he ends up in the #32 or the second team that there's a slight chance PPI might field next season. Unfortunately unless another driver gets released or there's a ride I'm forgetting about all the Cup rides are pretty much taken for next season. So Kvapil will likely go back to the Truck Series or perhaps into a Busch ride. I think it would be good for him to be in the Busch Series but as a former Truck Series champion he will probably be in demand in that series. Which may spell bad news for Steve Park since they may be competing for some of the same rides unless Steve's new ride is already a done deal. Kvapil raced for Toyota previously so he had ties to that manufacturer and Steve is being considered for at least one Toyota ride.

Let's review - Jayski reported on November 16th that the #77 team would be dissolved at the end of the season because Kodak was leaving as a sponsor. A day later both Penske and Kodak denied that there was any truth to this rumor, a denial we know now was false because there was a great deal of truth to the initial rumor. At the last race in Homestead there were signs up at Kvapil's hauler stating that the #77 would be on the track in 2006 with Kvapil as the driver. That was false. On November 29th PRN and Jayski's reported that according to their sources the #77 would be shut down because Kodak decided not to re-up. A statement was then released that said that Penske and Kodak would be announcing their 2006 Cup plans soon. Of course in reality they had no plans for 2006 unless one considers not fielding a team to be plans. On December 5th The Sporting News also reported that the #77 team would be shut down. Yesterday Kodak announced that they would not be sponsoring the #77 in 2006 and finally today Penske confirmed that Kvapil was out of a ride.

While I understand that the situation was likely complicated and there were probably many on-going discussions to determine what would happen with the #77 team in 2006 and beyond, it seems to me that the decision to shut this team down was made before the season ended. So Penske denied the rumor, all the while knowing that it was true, at least in part. So yet again what is denied and said to be fiction is actually fact. Which once again that makes it impossible to ever know whether anyone in Nascar is telling the truth when they deny that a rumor is true or any time really. It boggles my mind sometimes. I'm surprised that when Penske denied this rumor initially they didn't do so by wagging their finger at Jayski and criticizing the media for reporting rumors as fact. The reality is that as much as some don't like to admit it, what Jayski reports on his site, often from other media sources, frequently has at least some grain of truth to it. That doesn't mean that those who stop by at Jayski's should take everything on his site as gospel but if I had a dime everytime some rumor on that site eventually turned out to be true in some form or another I'd be a rich woman right now.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:56 PM | Comments (0)

More on the Partnership Between Michael Waltrip Racing and Fitz-Bradshaw Racing

From Nascar Scene via BGNracing.com and Jayski's:

UPDATE 3: Michael Waltrip Racing has moved its Busch Series equipment into the FitzBradshaw Racing shop and the two teams will partner next year with the #99 car. The car will run the entire season with Waltrip as the main driver and carry sponsorship from Aaron's and Best Western. FBR sponsors - possibly JaniKing, Cottman Transmissions or Goulds Pumps - will fill out the rest of the schedule. The car will have FBR's #40 owner points and all three teams will use Evernham engines. Charles "Cully" Barraclough will be the crew chief of the #99 car. MWR will still operate its Hooters Pro Cup teams out of its original shop. (NASCAR Scene via BGNRacing.com)(12-08-2005)

I haven't said much about the partnership between Michael Waltrip Racing and Fitz-Bradshaw Racing that was mentioned last week on NBS 24/7 because details were rather sketchy to say the least and I found it confusing trying to sort out the particulars of what it might entail. But this item makes things a little clearer. In 2005 Michael's Busch program was not what it once was to put it kindly and they failed to qualify for a number of races, partially due to the changes in qualifying this season. So it appears that this partnership is all about ensuring that the #99 is in every race in 2006 since they will use the owner points from the #40 which was 25th in points as compared to the #99 which was 40th in owner points. Thus, the #99 will be guaranteed a spot in the first few races of 2006 and every race after as long as they remain within the top 35 in points. If they finish the season in the top 35 they will then have that same guarantee for 2007. I think having the #99 in every race in 2006 and not having to worry about making races is going to be a huge help for MWR in terms of getting their Busch program back on track, especially since they will be assisted by FBR and Evernham engines. I'm also very happy that Michael will be the driver for the #99 for the majority of races since I wasn't sure what the plan was going to be. It will be interesting to see who ends up behind the wheel for the remaining races - David Reutimann? Jimmy Spencer? Dave Blaney? Johnny Benson?

I heard an interview that Michael did on XM the other day and he talked about MWR moving into the shop at Waltrip World once it's completed in 2006 so I imagine that this is only a temporary partnership until the end of the season when they will likely move the Busch operation completely to Waltrip World. My only question for next season is about any other Busch cars that MWR fields as well as when they field Cup cars - where will those be built? It makes sense for secondary Busch cars to be built over at FBR but that might not be true for Cup cars. There will apparently still be a functioning shop at the current MWR shop since the Hooters Pro Cup teams will still be based there so I guess the Cup cars could be put together there as well. Or perhaps they plan on doing what they did in the latter half of 2005 where it seemed as if MWR was leasing or working with a variety of other Cup teams.

In any event, I think this partnership is a positive for both organizations. FBR's sponsors will benefit when they are on the #99 because Michael certainly knows how to get his sponsors the maximum amount of visibility possible. The FBR drivers, depending on who they are, will likely also benefit because Michael is another veteran driver who they can go to for advice and support. MWR will benefit since I think this will go a long way towards building MWR's Busch program back into what they once were - a strong Busch team that was extremely competitive more often than not. In addition, if Michael will be on NBS 24/7 that will also benefit his sponsors who will get even more exposure than they do already. All in all, while the FBR and MWR teams may not be at the front in every race, I think both organization's teams will improve on their 2005 performance. Overall, I'm excited and I hope that it means that Michael might once again contend for some Busch wins!

ETA: From the complete article in Nascar Scene the other item of note is that Ty Norris's official title at MWR is General Manager and he will be working out of an office at FBR. I don't think I ever got around to saying much, if anything, about Ty being hired by Michael. Many of Michael's fans strongly disliked Ty because they felt that he didn't treat Michael right when he was a Vice President at DEI. In addition, many Steve Park fans also feel that Ty mistreated Steve as well. However, my guess is that Michael wouldn't have hired him if Ty was really as bad of a person as some fans seem to think. Regardless, one thing has always been evident about Ty - he knows what he's doing when it comes to marketing and motorsports so he will be an asset to MWR, particularly as they expand in the future and as Waltrip World is built.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:40 PM | Comments (0)

John Olerud Retires

After sixteen years of playing Major League Baseball, first baseman John Olerud has retired. Although Olerud only played for the New York Yankees briefly in 2004, he has always been among my favorite players even prior to when he put on pinstripes. There was something about the way that he played the game that always appealed to me. Olerud was solid at the plate and in the field, the type of player who fans felt confident in when he came to the plate in a big spot that he would get the job done more often than not. But Olerud wasn't flashy or flamboyant like a lot of players are. A very quiet person in general, Olerud always let his bat and his glove do the talking for him. An All-Star in 1993 and 2001, Olerud also won the American League batting title in '93 with a .363 average. In addition he was part of two Toronto Blue Jays World Series winning teams in 1992 and 1993. He is also the winner of three gold gloves - in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

When Olerud became a Yankee in 2004 I was estatic even though it was apparent that his skills were starting to decline and that he was nearing the end of his career. But after joining the Yankees he showed that he had a little something left, hitting .280. Unfortunately Olerud's tenure in pinstripes was cut short by a post-season ankle injury but I was very happy that I got to see him play in person one more time as well as watch him on TV in games more often than I did when he was with the Seattle Mariners. In 2005 Olerud joined the Boston Red Sox and did a nice job as a part-time player for them as well.

I wish Olerud well in all his future endeavors and I hope that he enjoys his retirement!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)

Bernie Williams Likely to Be Back in Pinstripes in 2006

I guess I should be happier about the news that the New York Yankees and Bernie Williams apparently have a handshake deal that will lead to a one-year deal for Williams to return to the Bronx in 2006. After all, Williams was outstanding for much of his career as a Yankee and was a key part of their success in from 1996-2001. But I actually find it disappointing to hear that the Yankees offered Williams arbitration and he turned it down because they already have the parameters for a deal for 2006 in place. Supposedly the deal will be a major pay cut for Williams and he will accept a part-time role. However, if the Yankees don't find themselves a new centerfielder and start the season with Bubby Crosby out there I suspect before too long Torre will be platooning Crosby and Williams. Which could eventually led to Williams being back out there full-time. The reason being that I have significant doubts as to whether Crosby will be able to hit enough to justify keeping him in the lineup every day.

Many fans would be thrilled to see Williams return as the full-time centerfielder. Not this fan. Williams simply cannot play centerfield any longer to the point where I think he's a liability out there. Strong pitching and a strong offense are important but I think players who are solid defensively are almost as important. In addition, Williams' production at the plate has declined as well so I'm not sure how much the Yankees will realistically get out of him. Which makes it even more ridiculous to sign him in my opinion because if he can't play centerfield and doesn't hit enough to make him useful as a designated hitter or pinch hitter then just exactly what role is he going to have on the team? He's not even a good baserunner so you can't even slot him in as a pinch-runner! Many fans couldn't tolerate the thought of Williams playing for a team other than the Yankees in 2006 but there may come a point next season when they can't tolerate the amount of playing time that Williams is getting for the Yankees either. I'm all for players and teams showing loyalty to each other, especially when we're talking about a Yankee as awesome as Willams once was, but it should make sense to show that loyalty and in this case I'm not sure that it does.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)

Kodak Will Not Sponsor #77 Team in 2006

The complete fate of the #77 still hasn't been revealed by Penske Racing yet but one thing's for sure - Kodak will not be the primary sponsor even if the #77 is on the track in 2006, which is probably very unlikely. Kodak has asked for a one-year hiatus from their sponsorship of the #77 so that Penske can come up with a plan to make it a competitive team in 2007. Kodak says that since Penske was able to field teams for Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman that were good enough to allow those drivers to make the Chase for the Championship that Penske should be able to make the #77 into that kind of team as well. I think it's hard for any organization to be able to ensure that all of their teams will make the Chase every year - Roush Racing having five cars in the Chase is probably unusual - but Penske shouldn't have a car that runs as poorly as the #77 has for the last two seasons. Teams will have off-years and there will always be some struggles and issues to overcome but with the resources that Penske has the #77 shouldn't be 33rd in points.

Which is why Kodak says they are pulling their sponsorship for 2006. David Kassnoff, manager of communications and public relations for Eastman Kodak, said that contrary to published reports Kodak is not making this move for financial reasons but instead because

"Every year we evaluate our sponsorships to see how they work with our marketing objectives. There is simply less exposure for a team when it is finishing the season 33rd out of 43 cars (in points)."

Essentially Kodak is not getting enough return on their money when the car finishes poorly in just about every race. The whole reason why sponsors get involved in the sport is to increase their visiblity and market their companies and it's products to fans. If Kodak isn't getting any exposure then it defeats the whole purpose of being involved in the first place and it doesn't justify the multi-millions of dollars Kodak is spending to sponsor the team. In fact, Kodak might find that they get just as much or even more exposure simply by being an associate sponsor on the #2 and #12 teams as it appears that they plan on doing since those teams will surely be more successful in 2006 and beyond than the #77 has been.

I think another factor which I've mentioned in this space before is how it looks to employees and investors when Kodak lost a billion dollars in the third quarter and is in the process of laying off thousands of employees that they are continuing to spend millions to sponsor a car that has never had good results the entire time they've sponsored it. While those millions may be a drop in the bucket in the face of their other losses, some can still point to those millions as money that could be spent to pay the salary of employees that they're laying off. Kodak denies that they are doing this for financial reasons but I do think the overall struggles of the company is definitely playing a role since if they weren't trying to get the company on streadier footing, they might not be as worried about their marketing objectives in terms of the #77 and whether their money was getting them the visibility that they envisioned when they signed on with Penske.

Of course what hasn't been officially addressed thus far is the status of Travis Kvapil. I'd say that it's likely that he needs to find himself a new ride and in fact yesterday thatsracin reported that he was told that he could start exploring other options. My guess as to why nothing has been officially said yet is because Penske might be negotiating with Doug Bawel who previously fielded the team himself before selling part of it to Penske. I'm sure he envisioned the team having much more success and the way things have played out have to be a disappointment. I would guess there's also an outside chance that Bawel could go back to fielding the team himself again with Kvapil as the driver but there would still be the question of sponsorship. Mid-December is late to start putting together everything from a shop to sponsorship to successfully field an independant team for 2006.

Right now Kodak is saying that they will return as the primary sponsor of the #77 in 2007 and 2008 since that is the balance of their contract with Penske. It's likely that the plan is to put Billy Wease, who will be splitting time in a Penske Busch series car with Newman, in the #77 in 2007. However, what if Kodak isn't happy with his development or doesn't feel that the plan that Penske presents them with will satisfy their desire to see the #77 be as competitive as the #2 and the #12 were this season? I wonder if there's an out clause that would allow Kodak to leave Penske completely? There is obviously some sort of language that allowed them to step away in 2006 so I suspect Kodak might evaluate their options on a yearly basis and there are probably no guarantees that the #77 will in fact return to the track with Kodak as the sponsor in 2007 or 2008.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)

Looking for a One-of-a-Kind Wedding Dress?

Then look no further than "Platinum White" made by Japanese designer Keiji Tagawa. The dress features platinum embriodery, 1,250 platinum beeds and 3,000 jewels including pearls, aquamarines and moonstones. For the time being the dress will go on display but the dress can be had by a bride with a little extra money - just $1.7 million and one bride can ensure that she will have a wedding dress completely different than anyone else's.

I spent under a $1,000 for my wedding dress and it still pained me to have to spend that much on a dress that I would only wear once. I loved my dress and I'm very happy with the way that it looked on me but I think it's kind of ridiculous how much wedding dresses cost. Yes, there is often a lot of embroidery and fine beadwork. But sometimes even the simpliest of dresses cost several thousand dollars. In general the whole wedding industry seems to feature inflated prices and unless you are doing a very small, casual wedding requires a significant expendeture of money. Jim and I had a beautiful wedding that we were extremely happy with and we spent much less than many couples do. However, the price tag for some items still seemed excessive to me.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)

December 07, 2005

Photo of the Day - Flower

Elizabeth Park, West Hartford, Connecticut, June, 2002.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)

Nascar Announces New Eight-Year TV Deal

As if this was a surprise to anyone. Today Nascar made it official that beginning in 2007 Truck, Busch and Cup races will be broadcast on four different networks - FOX, TNT, Speed and ABC/ESPN/ESPN2. The details are rather complicated but essentially what it means for fans is that they will have to check their TV guide very carefully to find out what channel to find practices and races on because it may change frequently.

There are a few interesting components of this deal. One is that FOX will broadcast two truck races beginning in 2007 whereas now they are presently all carried by Speed. FOX has likely noticed the added interest in recent years in the truck series, as well as the excellent racing, and wants to take advantage of that. I think that's major for the truck series because it will increase their visibility and possibly their ratings for those races. Speed isn't carried by every cable company so those races might be seen by people who normally wouldn't be able to tune in. Although many know of the outstanding racing in the truck series, often that series doesn't get as much coverage as the Busch and Cup series does so I hope this is the first step in getting the truck series the attention they deserve. I wonder if there are any provisions for FOX to broadcast more of the truck races down the road if it turns out that the ratings for the two that they broadcast initially are strong?

If the Truck Series gains visibility the Busch Series loses it. All of the Busch races will be broadcast on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. However, they aren't obligated to show more than four Busch races on ABC which means that the majority of those races might shift to cable. Most cable companies carry ESPN and ESPN2 but I think they will lose some visibility if most of those races can only be seen on cable since not every household has cable. That's bad news for the Busch series which increasingly seems to have problems with it's full-time teams in terms of sponsorship and success. It's very difficult for the teams that aren't aligned with Cup teams and it may make it harder if sponsors think they will get less visibility if the majority of the races are on cable.

ESPN has already started to increase their coverage of Nascar and they will add even more programming and coverage moving forward. It will be very interesting to see where that goes since ESPN traditionally does not pull punches when it comes to covering stories. Of course this is something that Nascar frowns on and when they took issue with ESPN's coverage in the past they found a way to prevent them from reporting from inside the tracks. That dispute led to ESPN drastically reducing their coverage of Nascar, which was likely costly to the sport since ESPN is the source for news for many sports fans and when Nascar news isn't being reported it's not getting to a huge segment of sports fans. So my question is whether ESPN will do investigative-style reporting as they do on all other sports, including other major sports like MLB and NFL that they have deals with to broadcast games with or will they make Nascar happy because they are entering into a partnership with them and stay away from hard news? I suspect that Nascar might not be completely thrilled with everything that results from the increased coverage of the sport by ESPN but in my opinion there is a dire need for more in-depth and hard news coverage of Nascar.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:35 PM | Comments (0)

Jeff Gordon: Party-Time in France?

Perhaps the following item in today's New York Daily News might partially explain why Nascar was displeased with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler for not showing up to collect their awards and money at various events during Champion's week in New York last week:

ONE, TWO, TOO MANY FOR THE ROAD? Did NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon's loss at Saturday's Race of Champions in Paris have anything to do with his partying like a champion just two nights before? A Lowdown spy at the Parisian nightclub Neo reports: "He was drinking, dancing and holding court, literally surrounded by women. By the time he left with his female posse, it was almost 3 a.m. and obvious that the party was just getting started." Yesterday Gordon's flack, Jon Edwards, blamed Gordon's ouster in the semifinals on a technical failure, adding: "I don't think that what may have happened Thursday night would have affected Saturday night."

As Edwards said I highly doubt that what Gordon did on Thursday had any effect on what happened on Saturday. But what might Nascar have thought if they caught wind of rumors of Gordon partying hard on Thursday night when he told them he had to skip the banquet to prepare for the race?

I was ready to give Gordon a pass for not attending the banquet. After all, participating in the Race of Champions in France seems like a pretty good excuse for why he couldn't be in New York. But if Gordon did in fact have time to party all night then it seems to me that perhaps he didn't actually need the extra time in France to prepare for the race, especially when one considers that last season before he got sick Gordon was prepared to do both the banquet and the race. Gordon is one of my favorite drivers and I think he has the right to party until the wee hours of the morning if he so chooses. But that choice on that particular night makes his excuse for not showing up at the banquet ring pretty hollow to me. I still think he probably has a better excuse than Junior, who was likely not going regardless of whether there was a death in the family or not because he didn't want to, Sadler who was on a hunting trip or Kahne, who at least publically hasn't even given a reason for not being there.

Many fans think that Nascar is being petty and ridiculous. That the drivers should be able to do whatever they want and choose for themselves whether they attend the banquet and related events for themselves. I would agree that there are other occasions in which Nascar is too restrictive. But I think they aren't off-base by being upset that some drivers decided not to attend. When the Grammys or the Emmys are awarded not every winner is present. But when was the last time one of those winners said that they didn't go because the ceremony was too boring and they didn't feel like attending? The banquet and the awards are meant to honor the drivers. Even being invited is an honor since only the drivers who finish the season in the top 25 are extended an invitiation. I think it's an honor that a few more of the drivers should take a little more seriously, particularly those who are actually recieving an award. If not for themselves than for the sponsors and the fans whose money and support is essential to the success of the sport.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)

Another Day, Another Unconfirmed Report the #77 Team is Kaput

At this point Penske Racing just needs to get off their duffs and put out the official press release already because it's ridiculous. Thatsracin, a site that normally doesn't report rumors that are complete nonsense is reporting that the #77 team has been shut down, some crew members have been assigned to other roles at Penske and that Travis Kvapiland crew chief Shane Wilson have been told that they can explore other opportunities. Apparently there's a good chance that the original rumor from November 16th, which was denied, that Kodak was pulling their sponsorship of the #77 is in fact accurate. Of course there is still a possiblity that this is still faulty information given that there has been no official press release confirming this as of yet, but my guess is that Jim Utter has likely confirmed that the #77 team has been dismantled with a number of sources. I'm sure there are a number of unhappy people who are likely willing to talk off the record.

Of course the following tells the tale of why Kodak might be opting to end their sponsorship of the #77prematurely:

The company reported a third-quarter loss of $1.03 billion, mostly due to a write-off of deferred tax breaks.

Meanwhile, sales of Kodak's traditional high-profit consumer photo products dropped 28 percent from year-earlier levels, a decline that outstripped growth in sales of digital cameras and printers.

The company is not doing well financially and while their sponsorship of the #77 probably isn't on the scale of the sponsorship that Budweiser has with the #8 team, it's likely that it is still a hefty amount of money. But with losses like that even a $8-10 million a year sponsorship of a team that hasn't had much success probably doesn't look very good to employees, investors and others.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)

December 06, 2005

Photo of the Day - Aruba Sunset

Aruba, October, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)

Nascar Peeved at Drivers Who Didn't Show Up for Banquet

A few drivers who won awards and contingency money last week as part of the festivities surrounding the Nascar Nextel Cup banquet didn't show in person to pick up their awards and Nascar's not too pleased about that. Despite the snoozefest that the banquet is and how understanding I am about the shortness of the driver's off-seasons I have to agree with Nascar. While Jeff Gordon might be excused because he was racing in France that weekend, unless the other drivers also have good excuses, I think it shows a lack of respect to the sponsors of the awards, the fans and perhaps most importantly their fellow drivers, especially the newly crowned Champion, Tony Stewart. Of course there is always going to be a focus during Champions Week on the drivers who made the Chase so the other drivers might not see it as a priority to go but drivers like Michael Waltrip and Brian Vickers made it to New York and neither of them were getting any awards or were particularly high in the points. So it seems to me that if drivers who really didn't have much of a reason to be there showed up then I think that drivers who were getting awards or money should make sure that they're there.

I find it especially problematic that Junior didn't show to pick up the Most Popular Driver Award. Now in all fairness it should be mentioned that a cousin in Florida passed away a day or two prior to the banquet but my impression is that Junior wasn't planning on attending even if there hadn't been a death in the family. Instead of picking up the award in person and giving a heart-felt speech about how much the award means to him because it's voted on by the fans, Junior sent a 90-second video that was edited down to 10-seconds. Junior later posted a journal entry on his site about how much the award means to him but it's very easy to write a journal entry (or have someone else write it for him) from the comfort of his own home. I think if the award truly means something to him and he doesn't take it for granted he would be there in person to pick it up, unless there was an extremely good reason why he couldn't make it. Yes, there are some, myself included, who don't think much of awards that are handed out on the basis of internet voting. But the bottom line is that this is an award that reflects the voice of the fans, who are essential to the success of the sport and it would be nice for Junior to make the extra effort to show how much he appreciates his fans and the effort they showed in voting for him.

In addition, it's not like New York is a foreign country. New York is a relatively short distance by plane from North Carolina and the drivers all have access either to their own planes or to a team plane. So it's a lot easier for a driver to travel than for the average person. Coming up to New York either for the day, since all the awards and money are handed out on the same day as the banquet, or at the most overnight doesn't seem like it's too much to ask. I understand that the demands on the driver's time are immense and they don't have a tremendous amount of time to themselves but to me the banquet and the surrounding festivities are part of the job, just like all the other off-track obligations are. And there are certainly plenty of ways to make a trip to New York fun, whether it's going to a Broadway show, shopping, visiting a museum or partying in one of the many nightclubs in the city. Not to mention it's an opportunity for the drivers to network and socialize with each other, sponsors, owners and everyone else involved in the sport in a slightly more relaxed setting than at the track.

However, all of that said I'm not comfortable with the idea that Nascar might somehow penalize drivers for not showing up. Apparently Nascar is considering taking away Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne's contingency award money and giving it to the runner-ups. While the only way to ensure that the maximum amount of drivers are at the banquet is by threatening to penalize them, Sadler and Kahne earned that money on the basis of what they did on the track. If they did something off the track that could effect the way they race such as drunk driving or using drugs I completely understand looking into taking action against them for it. But to take away money because they didn't show doesn't sit quite right with me. Unfortunately I'm not sure what the solution is. Because I think the more drivers who show the better and that Nascar should make sure that the drivers understand the importance of being present to pick up their awards in person.

Ultimately while the banquet is boring and some of the other activities of the week are probably a drag, I think the drivers need to suck it up and deal with it, just as they deal with every other responsibility that comes with being in Nascar.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:48 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (12/6)

Fans have been wondering who Michael Waltrip's crew chief for the #55 at Bill Davis Racing is going to be. It was assumed that it would be the crew chief from the #22, Derrick Finley, once Kevin Hamlin was hired to work with Dave Blaney on the #22. Which is exactly what was confirmed today by BDR - Finley will be the crew chief of the #55 NAPA Dodge. Michael is probably familiar with Finley since he used to be an engineer at DEI and worked with Michael's brother Darrell there so hopefully they will be able to communicate and work together well. In addition, the 2005 #22 crew will join Finley as part of the #55 team. My hope is that Finley will believe in Michael as strongly as Tony Eury, Jr. seemed to and will give Michael the competitive cars that he needs to succeed in 2006.

Otherwise, The Sporting News reports (via Jayski) that in addition to being busy with various parties and events in conjunction with Champion's week last week, Michael was also busy conducting a little business while he was in New York.

Waltrip and Toyota...meeting with sponsors: Michael Waltrip plans to be a Toyota team owner down the road, and he had productive meetings in New York with prospective sponsors and NASCAR's Jim France.(Sporting News)(12-6-2005)

If true, since everything reported by Lee Spencer must be taken with a grain of salt, that's another sign of how forward thinking Michael is. It seems as if he has a definite plan for his future and likely that of Michael Waltrip Racing, a plan that is somewhat ambitious, and it's good to hear that he's working to make those plans a reality. Not every driver considers their future quite as much as Michael seems to and I think Michael being pro-active and taking charge of his destiny instead of waiting for opportunities to come to him is really beneficial to him.

Back in September, Domino's held a contest to help launch their Steak Lover's Pizza. Part of the contest was that two lucky winners would get to go to a launch party where Michael would be but also that Domino's would be giving away a custom steak lover's couch. I'm not sure what happened with that contest or the coach but Domino's is now selling a one-of-a-kind suspciously similar couch, now called the Domino's Pizza Man Cave Couch. The couch, which features two flat panel screen televisions, a DVD player, a mini refrigerator, an Xbox, a MP3 player, an XM Radio with one year of free service, a NEXTEL cellular phone and a NASCAR headset, two Domino's Pizza Heat Wave hot bags to keep your pizzas warm, a Coca-Cola beverage cooler, a remote control caddy and a bottle opener among other features, also comes with a Kodak digital camera and has been autographed by Michael and several other unnamed drivers. The price tag? Just $30,000 plus an additional $5,000-7,000 for shipping. Yeah, that's a luxury gift all right! Perhaps the contest didn't work out as they envisioned so they figured they would try to make some money off the couch and get some additional publicity. Or maybe they had an extra lying around.

But what gets me just like the last time is the assumption that this couch would only appeal to men. Hello, this female loves sports, lazing about on the couch eating pizza and watching sports, XM radio, gadgets and electronics, Michael, Nascar and all sorts of supposedly male-only interests. Not that I have $37,000 lying around to purchase this couch but if I did I'm not sure I'd be inclined to get it considering Domino's is pandering to some irksome stereotypes about women that aren't always accurate.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)

Letter to Santa

Got the idea from a thread on NYYFans.com...

Dear Santa,

I realize that I am Jewish thus your sleigh normally passes over my house instead of stopping but since I am asking for presents for others I hope you will make a one-time exception and fulfill the wishes on my list.

* Steve Park . I know you keep track of who's been naughty and who's been nice but I can't imagine that Steve has really been naughty enough to deserve all the lousy rides and trying situations that he's been in on the track the past few years. Getting the pole then wrecking on lap one? Winning his first truck race then the following race his engine blowing in something like the first ten laps of the race? Getting an awesome chance with BDR only to be involved in a firey wreck on lap one of race one in the truck? You must have put him on the naughty list by accident! Oh, yeah, just to be sure we're clear I'm not talking about the wink-wink, nudge-nudge kind of naughty - get your mind out of the gutter! By all reports Steve is a great guy, wonderful with the fans, an awesome race car driver and would represent any sponsor well. So for Christmas could you please leave a shiny, new ride for Steve under his tree? In any series will do as long as it's a competitive ride in which he will contend for some wins. Also, a supportive sponsor would be great too. But as much as a certain kind of sponsor is trying to get into the sport to pitch to the huge amount of female Nascar fans, please no feminine product sponsors!

*Michael Waltrip. Michael does so much good for others. I submit as Exhibit A, Operation Marathon. Plus, there's the way that he goes out of his way to treat his fans like gold and help those around him when he can. So why does Michael seem to have the worst luck on the track of any driver not named Steve Park? What didn't happen to ruin a race for Michael in 2005? Blown engines, other mechanical failures, countless cut tires, getting wrecked by others, the car flipping over, it all happened to Michael to ruin some very fine runs. I'm surprised that he didn't get kidnapped by aliens! I think Michael deserves some better luck as a Christmas present this year. No matter what Jeff Green says. Or Robby Gordon.

*Dale Earnhardt, Jr and Kasey Kahne. Michael's probably too nice to include this in his own letter to you but being Jewish I don't have a stocking so I don't have to worry about getting a lump of coal. Funny how that works. Anyway, Junior and Kasey both blatantly ran Michael over in two separate races which resulted in Michael getting wrecked when he was on his way to great finishes in both races. Now if that doesn't deserve coal in the stocking I don't know what does. Junior especially - ran over his own teammate! Naughty or nice? Not nice!

*Ken Schrader and Kyle Petty. I know it's a lot to ask considering 41 other Cup drivers are probably asking for something very similar but can't both Kenny and Kyle get a win in 2006? One more win for each of 'em to show that they can race just as well as any other driver out there. Yeah, I know it means that you might have to arrange for a 42-car wreck in two separate races (no injuries of course) to make this possible but it's got to get a wee bit tiring to show up at the track week after week and know you have little to no change of winning. Good guys who it would be great to see in Victory Lane.

*The New York Yankees are in dire need of a centerfielder. Since it is a very thin market for cetnerfielders to be had via trade or free agency signing I will also ask as another user on NYYFans.com did for you to reincarnate Mickey Mantle. No, I do not know where you might find his frozen head to assist you in this process.

*Albert Pujols and Johan Santana" target="_blank">Albert Pujolsto become Yankees. Yes, I realize that they are with other teams and the Yankees don't actually need a first baseman or another starter. But surely you can assist with the removal of some of the Yankees spare parts. One tip - I heard Jaret Wright has been a very naughty boy. I'm not sure what he did but it was very naughty! I don't think just giving him a lump of coal will do. Perhaps a trip to the North Pole is in order?

* Mike Mussina- aside from a healthy elbow if you could please ensure that the next time that Moose is having himself a good time in a bar that no potentially embarassing photos are taken that could end up on the internet? Yeah, I know it's a big job to run after all those baseball players who don't seem to realize that posing for photos while drunk/partying/licking whipped cream off a bartender's neck might not look so good to the fans or their significant others. Not that Moose did any of that but at the very least please ensure that what happens on the road as innocent as it may be for Moose and his teammates not only stays on the road but doesn't end up on Webshots!

*Jason Giambi. He had a great season in 2005 once he got on track and I hope he repeats that in 2006. However, he is clearly in need of a few new t-shirts. Recently Jason was spotted in Las Vegas at a nightclub wearing a t-shirt that said "Better Living Through Chemistry." Not a wise idea for one of the poster boys for the BALCO steroids scandal. Suggested slogans for alternate t-shirts - "I Heart Frequent Drug Tests" or "All Natural!"

Thanks Santa, you're a real pal!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)

Titanic Sunk Faster Than Previously Thought

When I was a little girl I read Walter Lord's book, Night to Remember about the sinking of the Titanic. From years afterwards I was fascinated by the Titanic, it's passengers, the ship itself and of course the events of that fateful night. When the wreckage of the Titanic was found in 1985 I was again captivated because some of the unanswered questions from that night might be revealed. Indeed, Robert Ballard, the underwater explorer who discovered the wreck of the Titanic said that based on his findings the ship had broken into two major pieces. Since then the sinking has been depicted that way, including in the movie in 1997.

But as it turns out an expedition, sponsored by the History Channel, has discovered that Ballard was likely incorrect when he said that the Titanic broke in two. In fact, the expedition found two pieces of the hull a third of a mile from the rest of the wreck. They believe that the hull broke off separately from the ship and later broke into two pieces. Thus the Titanic actually broke apart into three sections, not two and the ship likely sunk significantly faster than previously believed.

Ballard wasn't exactly gracious when he was informed that he might have been mistaken when he said that the ship only broke into two sections. He said,

''They found a fragment, big deal. Am I surprised? No. When you go down there, there's stuff all over the place. It hit an iceberg and it sank. Get over it.''

That's an unfortunate attitude but I imagine it must be difficult to acknowledge that he might have made a rather large error about the particulars about how the Titanic sunk. This new piece of information about the wreck and the sinking itself is a big deal no matter how much he'd like it not to be. I think telling people to "get over it" is also pretty callous. About 1234 people lost their lives on what was supposed to be an unsinkable ship. Given all that has been written and documented about the sinking of the Titanic, any new discoveries are certainly a big deal and well worth the attention it will receive.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)

December 05, 2005

Photo of the Day - Top of the Rock

From Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center, New York, New York, November, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)

Random Thoughts on Random Thoughts

* There's really nothing of note going on so far this week. That could change though as the winter meetings happen in baseball.

* I'd love to have news of a new ride for Steve Park to be excited about but thus far nothing. Though it's expected that there will be an annoucement prior to Christmas, other than the Wyler Racing rumor, Steve's name has been mentioned in conjunction with exactly zero other rides. I hope that's because he's either a lock for the Wyler Racing ride or he has some top-secret deal that he's working on, though it appears that Steve tends to talk about the rides that he's up for. Unfortunately sometimes when a driver's name goes unmentioned in the rumor mill it's not a good thing. Just ask Ward Burton. But hopefully in Steve's case it will be similar to what happened in 2004 where he wasn't mentioned for any rides and then seemingly at the last minute ended up in the #62.

* I wish that I was going to the Sound and Speed event in Nashville in January since Michael Waltrip is going to be there.

* I wish that I was independantly wealthy for a lot of reasons but in my dreams I'd love to be able to just spend the rest of my days traveling with Jim and doing photography all day. Each night I try to do a little work with my photographs and it always reminds me how much I love photography.

* It seems like every house I pass has blinking and moving reindeer or giant blow-up Santa Clauses and snowmen out front. What happened to the days of simple lights and faux candles in the windows? These days it seems like everyone is just trying to out-do their neighbors with the brightest, most crowded, most elaborate Christmas display, whether it looks good or not.

* TV shows I don't get: Medium and Invasion. Medium especially I can't seem to follow. The funny thing is that when I first read a preview of it before the season started I thought it sounded intriguing.

*Not a big fan of the cold and snow. I am a big fan of ice as long as I don't have to drive in it, icicles and taking photos of things covered in ice. Though I don't like ice storms because of how dangerous it becomes to drive and how there is sometimes power outages it's always amazing to see everything covered in a layer of ice. Particularly after the storm passes and the sun comes out.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)

And the Saga of the #77/Travis Kvapil Continues...

Almost a month later and there still isn't definitive word about whether or not the #77 team will continue on in 2006 and if so if that will be with Travis Kvapil as the driver and Kodak as the sponsor. Jayski had yet another update:

UPDATE 5: Despite repeated denials from Penske Racing, Kodak is pulling its sponsorship, and the #77 team is being dismantled. This is a sticky situation because Doug Bawel entered into a partnership with Penske Racing two seasons ago, and now he's on the outside looking in. The move comes on the heels of a major restructuring at Penske's Mooresville, N.C.-based campus.(Sporting News)(12-5-2005)

That item comes from The Sporting News so it should be taken with a grain of salt as they aren't always accurate. However, the sheer amount of speculation as it relates to this team indicates that there likely are changes afoot. If there's any truth to the rumors that the #77 team is being dismantled it's possible that this item gives a hint as to why it's taking so long for offical word to be given as to the future of this team. The partnership with Doug Bawel and Penske may complicate things legally and contractually so that may all have to be worked out. I wonder if there's any possiblity that the #77 team could continue as a separate entity from Penske as I believe they were prior to the partnership with Penske if I recall correctly.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)

Yeah, That'll Help Ensure He Won't Be Traded...

Usually most athlete's wives are very uncontroversial, being careful not to do anything to embarass their husbands or upset his team or owner. Not the case for Anna Benson, wife of New York Mets pitcher, Kris Benson. Best known recently for discussing the intimate details of her sex life with her husband on the Howard Stern Show, an appearance during which she said that if her husband cheated on her she would sleep with all of his teammates, Anna was also briefly considered for a reality show on VH-1. Now she claims that the Mets are trying to trade her husband because they are embarassed that she was negotiating a deal with Playboy to pose nude, a deal that has since fell through. Furthermore, she said that it was hypocritcal for the Mets to trade for Carlos Delgado since he's so "un-American" for previously not standing for "God Bless America" while trying to trade her husband for her actions.

Of course the Mets deny that Anna wanting to pose nude has anything to do with why they are trying to trade her husband. I'd say that it's more likely that they see an opportunity to improve their team, though I'd guess they probably aren't too thrilled with her antics. It's ridiculous to think though that the Mets care more about what she does than her husband's performance on the field. They don't. She could probably pose nude on billboards throughout the city but as long as Kris helps the Mets to win, the team would likely look the other way, though they might privately make their displeasure known. It's also ridiculous for her to bring up Delgado considering the standing/non-standing controversy is a complete non-issue now that Delgado has said that he will stand for GBA once he comes to the Mets.

The other comment by Anna Benson that's ridiculous is this one:

"We would never, ever have signed with New York if they had said they were going to trade us," said Anna Benson, 29. "I was Miss [Politically Correct] for the Mets the entire time I was there.

First of all, unless a player has a no-trade or can otherwise veto a trade due to length of service, a player can be traded at any time to any team. It's a reality of the way things go in baseball that players are traded. It's understandable that the Bensons might like being in New York or that being in a major market might be beneficial for Anna's career. But signing a four year deal with a team doesn't mean that a player will remain with that team for the balance of the contract.

I also think that she was far from Ms. Politically Correct. Yes, she was quiet during the season but those comments on the Stern Show were far from P.C. Nor is attempting to negotiate a deal to pose nude. If those things are P.C. to Anna, I wonder what she'd do if she's not watching her P's and Q's.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:57 PM | Comments (0)

How I Wish That David Cone Was Still An Active Player

My all-time favorite baseball player, David Cone, has quite the checkered past when it comes to getting drunk, carrying on with women, partying and general hell-raising. Though he settled down as he got older and became one of the clubhouse leaders for the New York Yankees, whenever I read a story about a story, particularly a fan encounter, with Cone I wonder about whether I'm going to be happy or horrified by the time I'm done reading. Luckily the encounter that one person had with Cone in a New York brownstone is only horrifying if one considers partying with Shane Spencer scary.

Unfortunately since Cone is long since retired the only times his name is mentioned these days is when it comes to stories like this or in relation to charity events. I've also heard that he might be up for a broadcasting job with the Mets but I've really not heard much concrete about that. That's the problem when your favorite players retire - unless they take an active role with the team either coaching or broadcasting they often virtually disappear.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2005

Photo of the Day

Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)

Petroglyph Haikus

Trailing crumbs of fire,
a wolf of insight steals an
electric blue heart.

Canary buried
in shale flies westward, angling
for a purer gold.

Who painted the Earth
with flat tornadoes blazing
below our cold feet?

Oh granite, finite
vaults of ingenioius rock,
come ignite my eyes.

-Diane Ackerman from Within the the Stone

Posted by silverdsl at 04:22 PM | Comments (0)

I Didn't Watch Much of the Cup Banquet..

I only watched about five minutes of the big Nascar Cup banquet on Friday night. I was going to record it so I could fast-forward though the boring parts that I wasn't interested in and then I realized that there was just one problem. There wasn't actually anything I was interested in watching. Jay Mohr is a funny guy and I hear he kept the banquet lively but in the end the drivers are the show. Unfortunately for me none of my favorite drivers made it into the top ten and while Michael Waltrip was at the banquet I knew that he wouldn't be shown because the broadcast was only going to focus on the top ten drivers.

I also knew that their speeches were going to be pretty predictable - for all the talk of trying to be funny, spontaneous and doing something different this is Nascar where there are certain expectations, certain obligations and a certain image to uphold which means that it's very unlikely that any driver will every say anything during a banquet speech that will rattle anyone's chains. Thank the team, thank the owner, thank the significant other, thank the sponsors and manufacturer profusely, make a couple of vanilla jokes, and say a lot of things about how happy/lucky you are to be there. Half the drivers have their speeches written for them, or at least go over it in detail with their public relations people - wouldn't want to take the risk that a driver might accidentally say something to tick people off, particularly a sponsor.

About the only thing that I'm interested in is what the women wear and I can see that just fine from the numerous photos that are on all the wires afterwards. For the Nascar banquet the women don't seem to go all out quite as much as women do for Hollywood events but there were some beautiful dresses worn by Chaundra Johnson and Greg Biffle's girlfriend. For the most part both the men and women looked nice, though I can't say that I thought that Kyle Busch's girlfriend's dress turned out as successfully as it was probably meant to. I just liked that not every woman felt compelled to wear black.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)

December 02, 2005

In the News: Michael Waltrip (12/2)

Normally I hesitate to post someone else's photo in this space but I'm going to make an exception in this case because it's one of the first photos of Michael Waltrip in his new uniform with his new car, the #55 NAPA Dodge, that he will be driving for Bill Davis Racing. So without further ado, courtesy of someone named Tazz who has been sending these around:

Michael looks pretty stern in this photo - the photographer must have told him to put his race face on and think of angry and intimidating thoughts so that he would look focused and intense.

Otherwise the results of the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award was announced this morning. In a surprise to absolutely no one Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the winner with a record amount of votes. Yawn. It's a wonder that they even bother with the voting and don't just hand the award to Junior right off the bat. In fact, Junior couldn't even be bothered to show up and sent a taped acceptance speech which lasted all of 30 seconds. Maybe he had an obligation that he couldn't get out of or some other good reason for not accepting the award in person but when it comes to that kind of an award that is a big deal for the fans I think Junior should show up in person to accept it if he can. Now that he has his own plane it's not difficult for him to fly in for the day or even just a few hours and then fly back home. It just seems to me that the fans are so important to the sport and so many of them have supported Junior so enthusiastically for so long, including with the voting for this award that it warrants more than a 30 second taped accceptance speech. In any event Michael finished 7th in the voting which is pretty good considering he finished ahead of drivers such as Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett and Jimmie Johnson.

Last night Sprint had a party for the drivers and everyone else affiliated with Nascar at a Manhattan nightspot. Michael and his wife Buffy were there and naturally Michael didn't miss an opportunity to plug a sponsor. The party started at 10 and I'm sure all the drivers and their significant others were in bed by 10:30 having drunk nothing stronger than milk. Yeah right! In fact Tony Stewart missed the Myers Brothers Award Breakfast this morning due to a "migraine." Now Tony has been known to get migraines so it's certainly possible that he got one today but I'm sure the majority of folks at that party were having a good time well into the wee hours of the night.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:58 PM | Comments (0)

How is This Not Discrimination?

The World Health Organization has decided that as of this month they will no longer hire smokers as part of their effort to combat tobacco use. During the job interview process, applicants are asked if they smoke or otherwise use tobacco products. If an applicant answers "yes" they will not be considered for a job. Current employees will not be terminated for smoking but they can't do so at WHO. Apparently this is all perfectly legal because WHO is governed by international law which allows them to exclude smokers for consideration for a job. I dislike smoking and I have no problem with companies not allowing smoking in their buildings but I think this is going too far. A smoker can be just as much of a worthy employee as a non-smoker and I am very uncomfortable with excluding an entire group of people, no matter how valid the reasons may be. As the article points out, is WHO going to then not consider overweight people or those who drink heavily? To me this is just another form of discrimination and that's wrong.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

Tom Gordon Signs With Phillies, Yankees Close to Signing Kyle Farnsworth

One of the areas in which the New York Yankees need to upgrade is their bullpen and they've not had a huge amount of luck with that thus far. In fact Mariano Rivera's set-up man, Tom Gordon, has signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies for $18 million. But it appears that the Yankees are on the verge of signing former Atlanta Braves reliever, Kyle Farnsworth, who might also be the recipient of a three-year $18 million deal.

Some might wonder if the Yankees were willing to offer Farnsworth a three-year deal worth $18 million, then why not offer that to their own free agent who has had success in pinstripes? Well, one big factor is age. Gordon will be 41 at the end of his deal with the Phillies while Farnsworth will be 32. I have my doubts that Gordon, who has pitched a significant amount of innings over the past few years, will be as effective then as he is now. And his effectiveness has been in question at times while he was in pinstripes. There have been times that Gordon struggled to the point where he blew games at costly times for the Yankees, particularly in the post-season. I think Gordon takes more heat than he deserves from Yankees fans because what he does in the regular season also matters since unless the Yankees win those games too they won't make it to the post-season. But given those struggles it's possible that the Yankees believe that Gordon is starting to lose his effectiveness. Which is a big problem since he was mostly being used in a very important role as Rivera's set-up man.

I'm not really tremendously familar with Farnsworth but hopefully he will be the right move for the Yankees to improve the bullpen.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)

The "Danica Factor"

One topic of discussion this week at the Sixth Annual Motorsports Marketing Forum in Manhattan was the "Danica Factor" referring to IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, how she is marketed and how that differs or effects the way other female drivers are marketed. Patrick has been the subject of some controversy because she has been promoted as the face of IndyCar racing despite there being more successful drivers in the series. In addition, some take issue with the way she is marketed, more on the basis of her looks than on her talent behind the wheel. Female drivers are actually in an impossible situation when it comes to their physical appearance.

Bobby Rahal, the co-owner of Patrick's team said,

"It's almost a situation where she can't win," he said. "Women face every negative that there is out there. Danica is an attractive young woman, but if she comes off in a photograph looking sexy or something, then she's a tramp. But if a female driver isn't attractive, people will say she's not 'marketable.' If it were (IRL champion) Dan Wheldon or Dale Earnhardt Jr. appearing in a women's magazine, that wouldn't be nearly as big of a deal."

I think he makes two very valid points that illustrate why in some ways Patrick is in a no-win situation.

People judge each other on the basis of appearance so there are certain assumptions made about attractive women who don't hide their physical assets. Patrick is an attractive woman. While I'm not a fan of women using their sexuality as a tool to advance their careers in the sports world, I don't see why Patrick should have to hide that she's attractive. Especially since it's also true that as much as people might jump to some conclusions about attractive women who appear in sexy photos, there is no doubt that the more attractive a woman is the more attention she will get, thus becoming an asset to sponsors who will want to capitalize on that. So as Rahal points out no matter what Patrick does she loses. If she plays up her attractiveness she will be accused of flaunting her looks and being slutty but if she downplays her attractiveness she's less desirable to sponsors.

I also think that the double-standard that Rahal makes note of is a very valid one. It's acceptable for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to pose for photos and appear in commercials that utilize his attractiveness. Very few people even blink an eye. So why isn't it okay for Patrick? I think the one danger that Patrick has to worry about in relation to posing for photos that capitalize on her attractiveness is that if a balance isn't found she runs the danger of being reduced to a pinup star rather than a racing star, but winning a few races would help with that perception. The majority of people who are looking at things objectively recognize that Junior has talent behind the wheel but Patrick needs to be careful that her image is maintained in such a way that her identity as a race car driver is still present. Part of her problem is that her results on the track haven't lived up to a lot of the hype that surrounds her so if predictions are accurate that the Patrick craze will continue to grow she may run the risk of becoming racing's Anna Kornikova, who was much more successful in getting attention for her looks than she ever was on the tennis court.

The approach that Evernham Motorsports and others around Erin Crocker are taking is vastly different than that of the Patrick camp. Claire B. Lang played excerpts from this panel on "Dialed In" on XM the other day and it was said that Crocker's sponsor, Betty Crocker (no relation), would not want Crocker posing for the same kinds of photos that Patrick poses for. I assume that's because of their wholesome image which I think will work to Crocker's benefit in avoiding some of the issues that Patrick is facing. At least thus far, her looks aren't a factor in the way that Crocker is marketed and her attributes as a race car driver are the major way that she will be judged. Unfortunately her results on the track in the Busch Series thus far have been dismal though so right now she might be wishing that there was more of a focus on other aspects of her persona right now. But in the long run she may avoid having to find that delicate balance between her identity as a woman and that of a race car driver, if Betty Crocker takes her attributes as a female out of the equation completely.

One other interesting item in relation to Crocker is that Evernham is planning some sort of "behind-the-scenes" type show to follow Crocker's efforts in the truck series in 2006. David Jessey, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Evernham Motorsports said,

"That way we can do something proactively in regard to how the story is put out there about her."

Which means that while it might be a reality-type show on Crocker, it will likely be mostly a public relations effort by Evernham, carefully crafted and edited in such a way that promotes the virtues of Crocker while leaving out anything that might reflect badly on her. If that show airs on Speed or somewhere else where it will get a lot of visibility it could end up playing a big factor in influencing fans to view her more sympathetically than some do now. That's not to say that a behind-the-scenes show on Crocker or another driver wouldn't be interesting, simply that viewers need to be aware of who is producing the show and how that might influence what they see.

"Reality" shows often don't actual depict reality. Yes, what is filmed actually happens. But events can be set-up and manipulated, the footage is edited and sometimes spliced together, and of course some things can be left out. So just like with most things one never knows if what is shown on a reality show is the actual sequence of events which tell everything about a given situation or not. And there is no other sport that manipulates image and message more than Nascar. That was always my issue with Nascar Drivers 360, FX's "reality" show. Kenny Wallace made note in an interview how everything on that show is subject to approval by both Nascar and the drivers themselves. So the show then becomes a tool to promote certain ideas about the sport and the drivers. Everyone and everything is portrayed in a positive light, or at least in the way that all parties want themselves to be seen, and anything negative or troublesome doesn't have to be included. Which really isn't a true portrayal of reality. I have no doubt that Evernham and other teams made note of how popular 360 was, as well as NBS 24/7 on Speed. So my guess is that the show on Crocker won't be the last of that style of show with a message cultivated and manipulated in exactly the way that the teams want it to make sure their version of the "story" influences fans.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:17 AM | Comments (0)

December 01, 2005

Photo of the Day - Birds

Cape May, New Jersey, September, 2005. Waiting for some action...

Posted by silverdsl at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)

In Honor of Travis Kvapil: My Top Ten Signs That a Driver Should Start Looking For a New Ride

While waiting to find out if the #77 team still exists or not, I present my top ten signs that a driver should start looking for a new ride...
1. Your crew, PR rep, owner and sponsor reps all stop talking when you walk into the hauler. (Either they're talking about your replacement or your wife/girlfriend/mistress is cheating on you.)
2. Your merchandise is on sale for 50% off. You are told it's only because they're clearing out old inventory or there's a change in the manufacturer but Jayski's has pictures of a t-shirt design for '06 with another driver's face on it. (The writing was on the wall that Kurt Busch would get to to go Penske when Roush put his merchandise on clearance.)
3. Your sponsor stops sending free goodies to your house. (What?! No more free Jack Daniels!?)
4. You are afraid to check the mail because there might be a letter informing you that you've been released. (Poor Scott Wimmer. Contractually BDR had to inform him in writing he was being released so instead of handing him the letter in person they avoided a confrontation and gave him the bad news in the mail.)
5. Your team has a holiday party and you aren't invited. (Got your invitation to the Penske holiday party yet, Travis?)
6. You get into your car on race day and the seat is fitted for a much bigger/smaller driver. (Either that or you've had one too many Big Macs.)
7. You see on Jayski's that someone else will be testing your car. (I think something like that happened to Brendan Gaughan.)
8. You haven't spoken to your team owner for months, even when he stood next to you in the hauler last week. (Sterling Marlin knew that he wasn't going to be back in his car in 2006 but his owner kept avoiding him so he didn't officially know. Just tell the man face-to-face!)
9. Rumors about your team are mentioned so often on Jayski's that he has to start a separate site just for your team. (At the rate they're going this will happen with the #77.)
10. And of course... Rumors that your team is folding or that your team is looking for a new driver for your ride are denied strongly and repeatedly, usually with a comment about how terrible "those" rumor sites are and how they can't understand where these crazy rumors got started. (Just about every driver change is preceeded by some sort of denial.)

Posted by silverdsl at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)

Dave Blaney Will Be Michael Waltrip's Teammate in the #22

What a shocker! Yeah right! It wasn't exactly a secret that Dave Blaney was going to reunite with his old pals at Bill Davis Racing and the official announcement was made today. Blaney will join Michael Waltrip at BDR as the driver of the #22 Caterpiller car. Blaney drove for BDR in the Busch Series for two seasons, then moved to Cup with them in 2000 and 2001. Sponsorship issues led to Blaney exploring his options with other organizations but he returned again in 2003 only to leave once more for what seemed like a better opportunity with Richard Childress Racing. As Jeff Green, Steve Park and Johnny Sauter can attest to it only seemed like a good opportunity as the #30/#07 car isn't exactly the most competitive car on the track, though Blaney did have a few solid runs in it. But now Blaney is back at BDR and all parties seem very happy about that.

I think Blaney will be a good teammate for Michael. He's another veteran who understands the way the sport works and I think he and Michael will work well together. Blaney's personality is more low-key than Michael's, which will probably also be a good thing because he will be content to let Michael have a lot of the media spotlight. Blaneyis also a solid racer who like Michael will be able to get the most out of the cars that he's given. So while the BDR cars might not be among the most competitive in 2006, I think they will definitely have some strong runs.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)

Another Bad Boy Baseball Player

Word is that former All-Star third baseman Bret Boone, most recently of the Minnesota Twins, was a bit of a bad boy in Las Vegas at The Wynn this week. How long before the photos show up on webshots? According to the same article Jason Giambi, who has a house outside of Las Vegas, was spotted this week at one of the bars at Ceasars Palace. There were no reports of golf carts being tipped over.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:20 PM | Comments (0)

United States Pays To Plant Articles in Iraqi Newspapers

I try to shy far, far away from anything remotely political in this space but I find the government's practice of paying a public relations firm, The Lincoln Group, millions of dollars to write propoganda articles and opinion pieces which are planted in Iraqi newspapers without anyone knowing that they are from the U.S. government plus paying Iraqi journalists who are friendly to their cause a monthly stipend to be appalling. Journalists should never be paid by the subjects they cover or to write favorable stories. Nor should propoganda articles be run as news. I guess to some the ends justifies the means but why is acceptable to do things in Iraq in relation to the media that would be highly frowned upon in this country?

Of course it also gives public relations a bad name because it makes people think that in this country perhaps PR people are paying or bribing reporters to get stories run or written in a certain way. That is not the way that the vast majority of PR people or reporters operate because it's ethically wrong. I can remember in my former job in public relations we worked with a reporter who wouldn't even let us buy him a sandwich for lunch because he felt that it would be wrong. That's a sandwich and here the government is having a PR firm hand out hundreds of dollars a month to some journalist in Iraq.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)