Do we really have to be subjected to Thanksgiving mismatches every year?

I have to admit, I love Thanksgiving. Nothing like the presence of family, friends, and of course, mouth-watering food on the last Thursday of November. That day also includes NFL football. For years, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have hosted NFL games on Thanksgiving Day. To those fans of the Lions and Cowboys that live outside of their team's respective markets, it means they get to watch their favorite teams alongside turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.

But given how both teams have performed this year (in this case the Lions have been bad for years now), the quality of the matchups in Dallas and Detroit are bound to be complete mismatches, and they're games I'm not exactly looking forward to watching. The Lions are hosting the New England Patriots (who I think are a heavy favorite to play in the Super Bowl) and the Cowboys are hosting the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

In recent years, the league has scheduled a third game to be played in prime time, televised live on the NFL Network. And they have been diverse in where that game takes place. This year's prime time game is also primed to be a shellacking, as the New York Jets host T-Ocho and the Cincinnati Bengals.

But given there has been plenty of parity in the NFL this year, anything is bound to happen. Regardless, all three games have the makings of not looking pretty. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Mark Sanchez could very well have a field day dissecting the bad defenses of the teams they'll be facing much like my father dissecting his way through the Thanksgiving turkey once it's out of the oven.


And now on to some favorite Thanksgiving Day football moments. Perhaps a favorite moment of mine came from the 1993 game in Dallas against the Miami Dolphins:


Another favorite Turkey Day game of mine was from 1980 in Detroit (I wasn't born until four years later), a divisional matchup against the Chicago Bears, which included the shortest OT period in NFL history:

Enjoy the football tomorrow, everyone. I'll be giving my take on the college football rivalry I was first raised on: the Washington-Washington State rivalry

The Montana/Montana State rivalry: a personal retrospective

There have been 109 meetings on the gridiron between the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats. It's the oldest football rivalry west of the Mississippi River, and it is always as intense as any other heated rivalry the game of college football has seen. Regardless of how good or bad both teams are, statewide bragging rights are always on the line. The 110th meeting between the Grizzlies and the Bobcats is this coming Saturday in Missoula, and there certainly is a lot more on the line than just bragging rights. For Montana, a win would help their chances of getting selected to play in the FCS postseason for an unprecedented 18th straight season, but a loss will likely mean the end of their season. For Montana State, a win would definitely lock them into the playoffs. It's the first time in years the Bobcats have entered their cross-state feud ranked higher than the Grizzlies in the FCS polls (only Big Sky Conference rival Eastern Washington is higher than both of them, and they host an Idaho State team that will begin the process of hiring a new head coach once their offseason starts).

While this is the first Brawl of the Wild for Robin Pflugrad as Grizzlies head coach, he's no stranger to the rivalry. He previously served as an assistant under Don Read from 1986 to 1994 and had a second stint as a Grizzly assistant last year (under Bobby Hauck) before getting promoted to head coach at the start of 2010.

After I moved to Missoula from the state of Washington in 1992, I didn't begin to embrace the significance of the rivalry until about 1994. At that time the Grizzlies were in the middle of a long win streak against the Bobcats that began in 1986, the first year the Grizzlies played at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and the first year of the Don Read regime.

The first game I ever attended at Washington-Grizzly Stadium was the 100th meeting between the Griz and the Cats in 2000, with Montana prevailing 28-3, making it the Grizzlies' 15th straight win over the Bobcats. They would beat the Bobcats in Bozeman the following season before the streak was snapped in 2002 during a snow-covered, defensive battle in Missoula, with the Bobcats winning the 102nd Meeting 10-7, getting their first win against Montana since 1985. Every Griz-Cat game I've attended, the Grizzlies have won, and won quite handily aside from 2006 (where Montana won 13-7).

But the battle between the two teams that fans from both sides of the rivalry remember the most is the 1997 game in Bozeman. Before the Bobcats broke their drought against the Grizzlies in 2002, this was the closest they came to ending that drought during the 16-year stretch. Here are the final minutes of that nail-biter in Bozeman (even though the video quality isn't great, it's the quality of the game's conclusion that is):

May Dave Niehaus Fly, Fly Away to Baseball Heaven

If you're a Seattle Mariners fan like myself, there would always be one constant whenever a TV or radio would be turned on. It would be the voice and presence of announcer Dave Niehaus. For all 33 years of the Mariners' existence, Niehaus would be a constant companion to those that wanted to keep track of of their team. He was there when Diego Segui threw that first-pitch strike during the Mariners' inaugural game against the California Angels in 1977. And he was there for all but 101 games of the Mariners' existence through the end of the Mariners' dreadful 2010 season.

Regardless if the team was one of the best in baseball or one of the worst, Niehaus was one of the reasons why I have remained loyal to the team. He called every game with a level of enthusiasm that is unmatched to other great announcers the game of baseball has seen and heard. He was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 with the Ford C. Frick Award, which is always presented to the baseball announcer that has made significant contributions to the game of baseball.

Niehaus' signature calls like "Fly, Fly Away!", "My Oh My!", and "It is Grand Salami Time!" will always stick with Mariners fans. Here are two of my favorite Niehaus moments (first one of which is a no-brainer):



When the Eric Wedge era gets underway with Spring Training next March, there will be a relatively big void when the activities get started in Peoria. The voice of baseball in the Pacific Northwest has been silenced permanently. But the memories that came from that very voice will last forever. Fly, fly away to heaven, Dave. You will be missed tremendously, and Mariners games will never be the same without you calling them.

Surprise teams that could make the NFL playoffs

Kansas City Chiefs: This team has been the laughingstock of the AFC West along with the Oakland Raiders for the past few seasons. But that has changed in 2010. Thanks to the team hiring former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator and former Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel as defensive coordinator, the Chiefs' stock is rising high and things continue to look up for head coach Todd Haley. Matt Cassel is having a solid campaign in his second season as the team's starting quarterback and should have far better stats than a year ago, when the Chiefs struggled to a 4-12 finish. They're in the catbird's seat atop the AFC West and appear to be in the best shape to win the division at this point. There will be a couple of games that won't be gimmies for them (week 12 at Seattle and week 16 at home against Tennessee), but I can see the Chiefs shouldn't have any problems in winning their first division title since 2003.

Oakland Raiders: Speaking of the Raiders, it looks like "Just Win, Baby" is back in style in the East Bay. The team has not made the postseason since they got mauled in Super Bowl XXXVII against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Now under Tom Cable (who was previously head football coach at the University of Idaho), the Silver and Black are finally coming together, and just might have the talent and willpower to contend for a playoff spot. The team was bound for yet another losing season, until they came to Denver and delivered a 59-14 drubbing of the Broncos. Then they proceeded to follow it up with an equally dominant 33-3 win over the Seahawks. As long as the Raiders can minimize mistakes on the field and owner Al Davis can keep bone-headed decisions to a minimum, the Raiders should be in pretty good shape.

Seattle Seahawks: Lots of questions and doubts were abound when the Seahawks named Pete Carroll head coach last January. I was skeptical about the Seahawks' chances of having a good season in 2010 because coaches that had a great deal of success at the college level historically don't do well in the NFL (look up Dennis Erickson, Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, and Bobby Petrino for reference). Carroll had previous NFL experience and it was somewhat decent, especially during his three-year stint in New England before some fella named Bill Belichick took over in Foxborough. But back to Seattle. When Carroll arrived, the team made changes--big changes. The team made more transactions in the offseason than any other team in the league, and one of those pickups was wide receiver Mike Williams, who had been out of football for two years. He played at USC under Carroll during his highly successful (and controversial) stint in Los Angeles. Williams is showing flashes of brilliance he never had an opportunity to show off when the Detroit Lions drafted him in 2005. But what Seattle needs to do if they want to contend for a playoff spot if not win the division is to be more productive on offense. Having a big, physical receiver in Williams and an equally physical running back in Marshawn Lynch (acquired by Seattle via trade with Buffalo) is good, but not good enough. Being 30th in the league in total offense is an Achilles' heel for them. It showed in their Week 2 loss at Denver, Week 4 loss at St. Louis, and recently in Oakland. But the biggest intangible the Seahawks have is their home crowd at Qwest Field, regarded as one of the best in the NFL. And if the Seahawks do indeed win the division, they would host a playoff game. Hopefully their position atop the NFC West will motivate the entire team to play harder the rest of the way, beginning this coming Sunday against the NFC East-leading New York Giants.

St. Louis Rams: The days of the Greatest Show on Turf are long gone. Their teams were exciting with the likes of Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Issac Bruce, and Torry Holt. Even though a decade has passed since GSOT was at its peak, the foundation of GSOT Version 2 might very well be in place, and it starts with quarterback Sam Bradford. What a wise move the team made in making Bradford the first overall pick in last spring's NFL Draft. He has done a nice job in his rookie season, and might very well be the Rookie of the Year. Not bad for someone that had not played a game since re-injuring his throwing shoulder during the 2009 Red River Rivalry, when Bradford was playing for Oklahoma against Texas. Another thing that has helped the Rams' cause is running back Steven Jackson has stayed healthy all year, something that he has struggled to do throughout his career albeit remaining productive. They're a half-game behind the Seahawks for the lead in the NFC West, and are off this week before playing the lowly 49ers. If both Bradford and Jackson can stay healthy and the rest of the Rams can stay hungry, it'll be a battle with Seattle to the finish line in terms of who will win the NFC West, with preseason favorite San Francisco now out of the picture with their dismal 2-6 record.

The NBA just isn't the same with out the Supersonics

As the NBA season gets underway, most would think of how the Miami Heat will do with the additions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh, who are both joining perennial All-Star Dwyane Wade. Or talk about the possibility the Los Angeles Lakers will win their third straight NBA championship (which would also be their second three-peat under coach Phil Jackson). Or if 2010-11 will be the final hurrah for Shaq.

But I'm not going to talk about those topics above. Today, it's tough for me to watch the NBA these days for one particular reason: the Seattle Supersonics are no longer there, and what pisses me off about that the most is the way they were heartlessly taken away from a city that embraced the team so well for 41 years. A team that had countless stars like Dennis Johnson, Jack Sikma, "Downtown" Freddy Brown, Shawn Kemp, and Gary Payton. A pair of noted coaches in Lenny Wilkens and George Karl. And a team that has the city's only major league championship, winning the 1979 NBA title--and that very trophy is still in Seattle as it sits at the Seattle Museum of History and Industry.

In 2006, Howard Schultz sold the team to Clay Bennett, a businessman based out of Oklahoma City that temporarily housed the New Orleans Hornets after that team was displaced because of Hurricane Katrina. During the press conference introducing Bennett as the team's new owner, he promised that the team would stay in Seattle. Now this is where my hatred of Bennett, Schultz, and NBA commissioner David Stern begins.

In that same press conference, Bennett showed anyone that rooted for the green and gold of the Supersonics how much of a two-faced liar he was. It was clear what Bennett's intentions were upon gaining control of the team from Schultz. He wanted to move the team to Oklahoma City as soon as he possibly could, and--when his ownership group agreed to a deal with the city of Seattle about the team's lease with Key Arena--he succeeded in doing so. The team would be renamed the Thunder and began play with the 2008-09 season.

Next up is David Stern. He continually slammed Seattle politicians because he thought they weren't doing enough to either fund a new arena or fund a potential renovation of Key Arena. At the time of the Supersonics' last year in Seattle, Key Arena had a seating capacity of 17,000, which was too small by Stern's standards. And Stern made it radically clear that if the Supersonics left town, Seattle would never have a team again. Stern essentially slapped the city right in the face with that comment, and I cannot wait for the day when he is no longer the league's commissioner.

For all I care, all three of these men can go to hell for their roles in the loss of the Pacific Northwest's first modern and original pro sports team. And because of that, I will never root for the Oklahoma City Thunder or set foot in a Starbucks as long as I live. Stern and Bennett never apologized to the fans in Seattle for their cowardice, and if they ever do down the road, they won't be getting any forgiveness from me. Schultz apologized to the fans for allowing the sale to happen in the first place, but that isn't enough either.

And before I finish this entry, I'd like to give "Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team" a plug here. It's a documentary film about the rise and fall of the Supersonics, and the lingering anger that remains from its fans in Seattle after the team was heartlessly moved out of town. I've seen the movie in its entirety and I thought the producers and the writers of the film did an excellent job in not just keeping the memory of the Supersonics alive, but also went did an excellent job in going in-depth into the more scandalous reasons behind the loss of the team. If you haven't seen it yet, you should because you won't regret watching it.

Oregon and Boise State not 1-2 in first BCS rankings is a joke

When the college football polls were released on Sunday, it was no secret the #1 team in the first BCS standings of the 2010 season should have been either the Oregon Ducks or the Boise State Broncos. But when the poll was released, we were in for quite the surprise from the BCS computer. Their #1 team?: the Oklahoma Sooners. That's right--the Sooners (ranked third in the AP, Harris, and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll) got the nod to be on top of the first BCS rankings of the season. What hurts both Oregon and Boise State is their respective strength of schedules. The Broncos especially, because they're in their final season in the WAC and their strength of schedule is the weakest of the bunch. Sure, their non-conference wins over Virginia Tech and Oregon State are nice, but because they're in the WAC, those wins still aren't good enough. If Virginia Tech had been able to beat James Madison (a reasonably good FCS school) in Blacksburg, Boise State's ranking in the initial poll would have been a little higher, but no higher than second once the BCS came out. Even though they blew out lowly conference foe San Jose State 48-0, it actually hurt them in the rankings because of how bad the Spartans' record is.

On the subject of the Ducks, Oregon is in the Pac-10 (will be the Pac-12 once Utah and Colorado officially join the conference in 2011 and 2012, respectively) and the champion in that league always gets an automatic bid to the Rose Bowl (that is if the Ducks don't finish 1st or 2nd in the final BCS rankings). I'm sure their fans are crying foul over the rankings much like Boise State fans are, given the fact that Oregon is #1 in the AP, Harris, and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls. And quite frankly, I think Oregon should be #1 in the BCS and Boise State #2. But that damned BCS computer did not put the Ducks topping all the polls into consideration when the fresh batch of rankings was released.

Which now brings me to the Sooners. They're playing at Missouri, another unbeaten Big 12 team that's in the BCS rankings (ranked 11th to be exact; Oklahoma State is the other Big 12 team in the standings, ranked 14th and unbeaten like Oklahoma and Missouri). On top of that Oklahoma also has wins over Florida State, Air Force, and perennial rival Texas. And should the Sooners beat the Tigers on Saturday, it would give them a big cushion when the next set of rankings are released next week, regardless of what Oregon does against UCLA on Thursday night or what Boise State does against Louisiana Tech next Tuesday. I guess it's safe to say that a lot of Oregon and Boise State fans are going to cheering hard for the Missouri Tigers to upset the Sooners this weekend in Columbia, because if the Tigers can make that happen, it could blow the BCS wide open, and permit the two best teams in college football to occupy the top two spots when the new rankings are released, right where they should be.

Baseball's managerial carousel and my thoughts on Eric Wedge

As the first games of the League Championship Series prepare to get underway, six big league teams have managerial openings, and one has already been filled. Not long after the Atlanta Braves season ended (along with the Bobby Cox era), the team wasted no time in locking up Fredi Gonzalez. Teams also looking for managers are the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, and New York Mets. But before I discuss the Mariners' role in the carousel (which will likely end early next week) I just want to say that I enjoyed Bobby Cox during his time as the Braves skipper. Even though the guy always found a way to get kicked out of a game (he has a major league record 161 ejections, three of which were in the postseason), he also found ways to lead the Braves to 14 straight division titles (1991-1993, 1995-2005), including a World Series victory in 1995 and four more during the 1990s.

Now it looks like the Seattle Mariners are on the brink of becoming the second team this offseason to hire a new manager, and according to sources, almost all signs point to the team hiring former Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge. The team also looked at Bobby Valentine (former manager of the Rangers, Mets, and Japanese league Chiba Lotte Marines), John Gibbons (former Blue Jays manager and a native of Great Falls), Cecil Cooper (managed the Houston Astros for parts of two seasons), and Lloyd McClendon (managed the Pirates for four mediocre years). When Wedge was managing the Indians, the team came within one victory of winning the American League pennant in 2007 only to cough up a 3-1 series lead to eventual World Series champion Boston. Cleveland almost made the postseason in 2005 but they finished two games behind--you guessed it--the Red Sox (who also finished tied for first in the AL East with the Yankees, but the Yankees won the division title via a tiebreaker based on head-to-head record).

As a whole, I thought Wedge did a great job during his time managing the Indians, and had they won the AL pennant in 2007, the Indians might have had the potential to win their first World Series since winning it all in 1948. He's everything that previous Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu was not: fiery, intense, and very passionate about his job and profession. His attitude will wear off on his players, especially the younger players because many of the players he managed in Cleveland were up-and-coming stars, which included guys like CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, and Victor Martinez. The Mariners are making a very wise move by bringing in a no-nonsense guy like Wedge. Given the fact the Mariners just came off a 101-loss season, getting the team back to a level where they can win 85-95 games in future seasons is going to take some time just like it did when Wedge was in Cleveland. But I know that Wedge will do a great job in Seattle and will guide the Mariners to the postseason at some point down the road.

It's the Canucks' time in 2010-11

For the past two years, the Vancouver Canucks have been knocking on the door as a major power in the NHL's Western Conference. Now it appears they're ready to blow the door off in 2010-11 because of an array of moves that not only bolstered their defensive corps, but also a change in team captain.

Goaltender Roberto Luongo surrendered the captaincy of the team for the 2010-11 season after serving as the team's captain the last two seasons. I'm glad Luongo decided to do this because he no longer has this burden to carry on his shoulders and will simply allow him to focus on guarding the goal crease. He's one of the best goaltenders in the NHL and I think now's the time for him to backstop the Canucks to a championship.

In regards to the blueline, the team added Dan Hamhuis (a native of British Columbia that signed with the team as a free agent and was interested in playing in his home province) and Keith Ballard (who was traded to Vancouver from the Florida Panthers). This was an Achilles' heel for the Canucks when they advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season. Their lack of depth on defense during their six-game playoff series loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks showed, and the Blackhawks wasted no time on pouncing on them anytime and anywhere. The two big additions as well as the other returning defensmen (Andrew Alberts, Kevin Bieksa, Alex Edler, Christian Ehrhoff, and Aaron Rome) will have to step their game for the first few months of the season because veteran defenseman Sami Salo won't be ready until the calendar turns to 2011 at the earliest, as he ruptured an Achilles tendon during the offseason while he was playing a game of floorball. Even without Salo and his explosive slapshot, I see the defensive corps performing better this season.

And finally, to the forwards. The Sedin twins are back, of course with Henrik Sedin coming off an MVP season in 2009-10 and Daniel Sedin who I hope will stay healthy this season. Also back is two-way center Ryan Kesler and top 6 forwards Mikael Samuelsson and Mason Raymond. But one player that I'm concerned about is Alex Burrows, who underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and his return is uncertain. Even though he draws the ire of almost anyone on the ice, he knows how put the puck in the back of the net. The free agent signings of Manny Malhotra and Raffi Torres should make up for the loss of Burrows, but the "pain in the butt" mentality possessed by Burrows will be missed on the ice. I expect the Sedin twins and whoever lines up with them to have a great season.

But now it's on to why I believe it's the Canucks' time. This is probably the best team they've had to start the season since after the NHL lockout (which wiped out the 2004-05 season). Even ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose thinks the Canucks will win the Stanley Cup this year, and I tend to agree with him on that front. Vancouver has the talent, the goal-scoring, goaltending, defense, and all the intangibles to win the team's first Stanley Cup in franchise history. And should the Canucks accomplish that, they would also become the first Canadian team to raise Lord Stanley's mug since Montreal raised it for the 24th time in their famed history in 1993.

And speaking of those 1993 Montreal Canadiens, here's a couple of clips from their Stanley Cup run:

Homecoming means it's time for the Grizzlies to get to work...and not let any Hornets get slick on them

Let's face it: Griz fans are not familiar with what the football team is going through at this point, and that's a losing streak. And it's come early in the season after back-to-back losses on the road to Cal Poly and Eastern Washington (the latter of the two losses came on that hideous red turf in Cheney).

Now it's Homecoming weekend, and I see this game as a must-win for the Grizzlies. They're hosting the Sacramento State Hornets, a program they've never lost to in their history (they're 15-0 lifetime). The Hornets have come close on three different occasions, but the third occasion was hilariously controversial. During their 2002 meeting, four Sacramento State defensive linemen greased their jerseys with PAM cooking spray, in an effort to make it difficult for Montana offensive linemen to block them. The sneaky strategy nearly worked for the Hornets, but Montana still prevailed 31-24. I was at that game, and I had no idea until a few days later that the Hornets tried to pull a fast one on the Grizzlies with the PAM. A UM athletics photographer snapped photos of the whodunnits and turned them in to the Big Sky Conference office, but the four slick Hornets--Bilal Watkins, Ben Fox, Brad Osterhout, and Eric Broden--were not suspended for their use of the cooking spray.

Even Tonight Show host Jay Leno made "PAM-gate" worth a mention in his opening monologue on the November 18, 2002 episode of his show, in saying:

"The Sacramento State football players were accused of spraying Pam on their uniforms to make them harder to tackle. The Cincinnati Bengals were accused of the same thing, but they did it so that the eggs won't stick when they're thrown by the fans."

And on the subject of the Cincinnati Bengals, they finished an NFL-worst 2-14 in 2002.

To this day, some Griz fans still don't let Sacramento State forget about their bold yet futile decision to use a popular cooking spray on a cloudy November day in 2002. And one can only hope that they won't slip away from the Grizzlies on Saturday.

The Seahawks/Broncos rivalry: a personal retrospective

Until the Seattle Seahawks moved to the NFC in 2002, the team had a long-standing rivalry with the Denver Broncos. On Sunday, the rivalry will be renewed at Invesco Field in Denver.

Beginning with the 1977 NFL season, the Seahawks and Broncos were heated divisional rivals (the Seahawks spent their inaugural NFL season as an NFC team while their expansion cousin, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, played in the AFC), and every game was played with a great deal of intensity.

There's a lot of games and moments in this rivalry that stick out the most. Josh Brown beating the Broncos in Denver in 2006 (on my 22nd birthday of all days!) with a game-winning field goal is one memorable moment. Or a 1999 regular season game at the Kingdome where the Broncos tried to hurry to snap the ball near the end of the game only for time to expire on them with the crowd counting down the final seconds. But the most intense season of the rivalry came in 1988. Denver had just come off their second straight AFC Championship (only to be humiliated in the Super Bowl for the second straight year, where they gave up 35 Washington Redskins points in the second quarter), and the Seahawks had come off a Wild Card-round playoff loss to the Houston Oilers.

During the 1988 opener at Mile High Stadium, Broncos safety Mike Harden delivered what turned out to be an illegal hit on Seahawks all-pro receiver Steve Largent. The hit was so hard it knocked two of Largent's teeth out, and after the hit was made Harden gave out some sort of taunt. As a result Harden was fined by the NFL for the hit. Now turn the clock ahead to December 11, 1988 at the Kingdome in Seattle. The two teams met again in front of a national cable TV audience on ESPN. It was a game where the Seahawks dominated, blowing out the Broncos 42-14. But it was fairly evident that Largent had this day circled on his calendar, as evidenced by this video clip.


The events of that night show that the intensity of the rivalry will always be there, despite the two teams playing in separate conferences and divisions. The teams only meet once every four years (the next meeting between the two is expected to take place in 2014). To those fans that think Seahawks/Broncos isn't a rivalry, I've got news for you: go watch the clip from above and tell me if it's a rivalry or not...it was one of the best in the NFL and it's a shame that it's not renewed as much as it once was.

In regards to the postseason, the teams met only once. The 1983 AFC Wild Card game in Seattle was their lone postseason meeting. It was the first playoff game in franchise history for the Seahawks, and the first playoff game since 1979 for the Broncos. The teams were tied at 7-7 after one quarter of play, but the Seahawks pulled away in the final three quarters to a 31-7 victory. Even though the Broncos had the edge in total offense, it was mistakes that led to their booking of early tee times. And in 2005, there was the possibility the two teams would meet in Detroit for Super Bowl XL. Seattle made it to Super Sunday in beating the Carolina Panthers handily at Qwest Field, but the Broncos never stood a chance against the very determined (and destined) Pittsburgh Steelers (who would eventually win Super Bowl XL). But the possibility of a Seahawks/Broncos Super Bowl in the future is always a possibility.

Major Change Coming

Starting next week, this will no longer be a motorsports-only blog--this will now expand entirely to the world of sports. This will include my random ramblings in about my teams (Montana Grizzlies, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners, Vancouver Canucks, and Washington Huskies) and the leagues they are in (NFL, MLB, NHL, and NCAA football and men's basketball).

The name of the blog itself will change as well but I haven't really decided on it as of now.

Long Awaited Update (includes most competitive race in NASCAR history and Indy 500)

It's been almost three months since I've updated this blog. Back in late March, my last update included my take on the Carl Edwards/Brad Keselowski rivalry that boiled over during the race at Atlanta, where Edwards sent Keselowski airborne and upside down.

Back to the present. A lot has happened in the past three months. NASCAR had it's most competitive race in history at Talladega in April, which featured a NASCAR-record 88 lead changes and 29 different leaders, and it was capped off by this photo finish:


Moving on to the month of May. I always look forward to this month as much as I do for February. It's all about one race. The race--The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is always the center of attention in the racing world because of the great race, held during the last Sunday of May. This year, the odds-on favorite was defending champion and three-time winner Helio Castroneves, who had won the pole and shared the front row with Penske Racing teammate Will Power and 2007 Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti.

Last year, Castroneves came into the month with a huge cloud of uncertainty after legal issues to begin the year. Then he went on to dominate the race and score an emotional victory. But Helio will have to wait until at least next year to capture his 4th Indy win. This year's race went to Franchitti (pictured on the right). But it wasn't without a spectacular crash on the next to last lap, when Mike Conway's car was launched into the air and into the catch fence after touching wheels with Ryan Hunter-Reay, who had run out of fuel. Here is the finish of the 94th Indianapolis 500:

Update on this thing

I have really neglected to update this thing over the past month. I have viewed this blog, but haven't made any updates to it until now. And a lot has happened in the world of racing since the last post in February.

First off, Carl Edwards is in the middle of a three-race probation for intentionally sending Brad Keselowski airborne and onto his roof at Atlanta earlier in March. Many, myself included, felt that Edwards should have been suspended for his reprehensible actions, but was only given a slap on the wrist (three-race probation) by NASCAR. No fine, no suspension. It's one thing for NASCAR to stick to their new policy of letting the drivers police themselves and settle scores on the track, but Carl went way too far, and NASCAR should have really put their foot down in the name of safety.

These two did have beefs with each other as they've had on-track run-ins in the past, most notably at Talladega last year when Keselowski spun and sent Edwards flying into the catch fence, as Keselowski went on to the win that day. Earlier in the Kobalt Tools 500, Keselowski made slight contact with Edwards, sending him into the wall along with Joey Logano. Edwards spent 155 laps behind the wall making repairs, and after returning to the track, blatantly spun out Keselowski heading down the frontstretch and sent Keselowski's Dodge airborne and landing hard on his roof. After looking at television replays, the eagle eyes of Fox Sports analyst Larry McReynolds saw Edwards' white gloves made a turn to the right, which led to NASCAR parking Edwards for the rest of the race. Two weeks later at Bristol, NASCAR met with both Edwards and Keselowski and it looks as if they've buried the hatchet. They were seen leaving the NASCAR trailer together after their talk with officials and both drivers seem to be on good terms.

But it seems like Edwards and Kevin Harvick still aren't on good terms stemming from a crash at Talladega during the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Edwards was worried that an idiot would spark a huge wreck that would eliminate many key Chase contenders, and it turns out that it was Edwards that would spark the wreck that would eliminate himself, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. from the race. Harvick and Edwards even got into a fight in the garage area at Lowe's Motor Speedway with Harvick appearing to get the upper hand. Neither driver was penalized for their altercation.

Going back to Bristol, the crash in the Legends Late Model race at Bristol (which followed the NASCAR Nationwide race) was a pretty scary sight to look at as Larry Pearson spun in turn two and struck square in the driver's side door by Charlie Glotzbach. Personally, I was worried that both drivers were critically injured, with Larry injured worse because honestly, an impact like that can really hurt a driver, even with fatal results. Glotzbach was able to walk away, but had to go to the hospital for precautionary reasons as he exited the car wearing an oxygen mask. Pearson on the other hand, was (thankfully) not seriously injured, but did suffer a broken hip, broken right hand, and broken left ankle. The crash was so bad it prompted David Pearson, the 1976 Daytona 500 winner and father of Larry, to withdraw from the race to check up on Larry's condition.

The Food City 500 the next day was an otherwise average race dominated by Kurt Busch, fresh off his win at Atlanta two weeks before. But it was Jimmie Johnson who captured the victory (he has also won at California and Las Vegas). Another thing of note was it was the last Sprint Cup race with the awkward-looking wing.

I'll talk about Denny Hamlin's crazy rally at Martinsville, the hot start in the Izod Indycar Series by Will Power, Michael Schumacher's return to Formula One, and four-wide NHRA drag racing at Charlotte later this week.

U.S./Canada hockey game ten times better than race

For the most part, the Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway was a dull one. A race where you'd just grab your pillow and doze off for a nap. Despite a poor finish in last week's Daytona 500, Jimmie Johnson captured his 48th career Sprint Cup win to match that of his car number.

Usually, I write about racing here and my thoughts about it. But as someone that lives in the United States and is a big hockey fan like myself, what happened in Fontana doesn't matter now, and this is one of those times where I'm not going to talk about motorsports. Just minutes ago, the U.S. hockey team upset Canada on their home ice in Vancouver with a 5-3 victory at Canada Hockey Place. Chris Drury scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal late in the second period and Jamie Langenbrunner scored what turned out to be the fatal blow to Canada's hopes. To me, this matches Team USA's upset of the Soviet Union in 1980 at Lake Placid.

Coming into the game tonight, Canada entered as the odds-on favorite to win the gold medal. After what just transpired against the Americans, it won't be a cake walk for them anymore. Now the Canadians have to win four games just to get to the gold medal game. The Americans are going to be in for a tough haul, too. There's still some great teams left like Russia, Finland, Slovakia, and defending gold medal winner Sweden.

And speaking of the Swedes, they're taking on Finland later tonight once the shock of Team USA's upset of Canada begins to wear off.

NASCAR redeems themselves with a Daytona 500 for the ages

The 2010 Daytona 500 is one that won't soon be forgotten. Despite two red flags to repair a pothole in turns one and two (caused in part because of the heavy rain storm from Friday), the race really showed how NASCAR loosened the screws on the drivers and let them police themselves on the track. It was also the first time NASCAR had to use its multiple attempts at a green-white-checkered to ensure the race would finish under green conditions. That rule was instituted just prior to the Gatorade Duel races on Thursdays. For the fans that were at the race themselves, they certainly got their money's worth today.

Let's start with the racing. First off, it was a good, safe race where NASCAR allowed the drivers to police themselves, which is the way it should be. Plenty of double-file, and sometimes three-wide racing. The race also had something that was missing at Talladega last November: bump-drafting.

There wasn't a real big one. The biggest wreck of the day only collected six cars, but it did knock two of Roger Penske's cars (Brad Keselowski and Sam Hornish, Jr.) out of contention on the eighth lap of the run.

On the final GWC restart of the race, Jamie McMurray had the lead and had to hold off a big horde of drivers. On the last lap, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who one day earlier had a wild ride during the Nationwide race, surged from nowhere with half a lap left and almost had a shot at passing McMurray coming to the checkered flag. But McMurray, from Joplin, Missouri, was just a little too strong and held on for his fourth Sprint Cup victory, and his third on a superspeedway (McMurray won at Talladega last November, in a race where NASCAR overly policed the racing to the point where the drivers and fans were less than happy with NASCAR's handling of things).

As a whole, NASCAR did a great job in putting on a great show. I bet that ticket sales for the next superspeedway race at Talladega this coming spring could pick up quite well after today's race at Daytona. By that point, the Sprint Cup car will once again have the traditional rear spoiler back on the car (NASCAR is dumping the awkward-looking rear wing from the Sprint Cup car sometime in late March).

Tony Stewart wins Drive4COPD 300, Earnhardt Jr. takes wild ride

For the fifth time in his career, Tony Stewart won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Drive4COPD 300 at Daytona, after starting the race near the back of the pack. Stewart held off a late challenge by Justin Allgaier and a horde of other strong contenders. Some of those contenders were caught up in a couple of major crashes.

On lap 68, twelve cars, including Danica Patrick, were caught up in a big crash heading into the tri-oval. It began when Josh Wise was tagged by Colin Braun, and chaos ensued from there. Also involved in the accident was Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Johnny Sauter, Jason Leffler, Brian Scott, Robert Richardson, Jr. and Stanton Barrett.

Later on, another huge wreck took place on the backstretch, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. got the worst of it. Carl Edwards nudged Brad Keselowski, who in turn nudged Earnhardt, and sent his #88 Chevrolet up onto his roof in a wild ride. The crash also collected Brendan Gaughan, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Tony Raines, Kyle Busch, Joe Nemechek, and Greg Biffle. Everybody walked away from the crash, while some were able to fight their way back into contention.

Daytona 500 practice and Nationwide Series qualifying scrubbed due to rain, Truck series race still could go on schedule

Torrential rains have pounded the Daytona International Speedway, which has resulted in the cancellation of Daytona 500 practice and NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying. The grid for tomorrow's Nationwide Series race will be set by 2009 owner's points, meaning defending series champion Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag with Carl Edwards starting right alongside. Indycar driver Danica Patrick will start the race in 15th.

As for the Camping World Truck Series race, the possibility of that race getting underway tonight looks decent, as the rain is expected to dissipate around the time the race would start at 8 pm ET. Jason White won his first career Truck Series pole last night with a speed at 177.525 mph; he will drive a Ford F-150. Sprint Cup driver Elliott Sadler will start alongside driving a Chevrolet Silverado. Following White and Sadler will be Austin Dillon (grandson of longtime NASCAR owner Richard Childress), Ricky Carmichael (motorcross legend continuing to make transition to stock cars), Ron Hornaday (four-time Truck series champion), and Tayler Malsam (young hotshot from the Seattle area).

Johnson, Kahne win Duels at Daytona

The Daytona 500 field is set, as four-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne won their respective Gatorade Duel at Daytona races. But it wasn't easy for either of them, as they had to nose out their finishes coming to the stripe.

How Johnson won his race was courtesy of a gutsy call from crew chief Chad Knaus, as he didn't pit during the final caution of race #1, while everyone else did. And it was a call that paid off. After the final restart, Johnson held off 2007 Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick in a side-by-side battle to the flag, winning by inches. Daytona 500 polesitter Mark Martin peeled out of the lead pack coming to the white flag in an effort to avoid potential trouble on the last lap. Getting the transfer spots in race #1 were Max Papis--who did not pit under the final caution along with Johnson--and Michael McDowell.

In race two, Kasey Kahne was locked in a side-by-side battle with Tony Stewart on the last lap, and just like in the first race, Kahne edged Stewart at the finish line. Scott Speed and Mike Bliss finished in the transfer spots, which put them both into the Daytona 500. With Speed's 14th place finish, two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip gets into the race by falling back on his qualifying speed, despite crashing out of his duel race earlier. Waltrip will start 43rd in a backup car.

Welcome To My Blog

The point of this blog is simple: to write about anything and everything about the world of motorsports. Anything ranging from NASCAR, IRL, Formula One, drag racing, and other forms of motorsport. On occasion, I'll even blog about random stuff from the world of sports, as I have quite the passion for that as well. Although I won't be on here all the time, I will try to be active enough and update this thing as much as possible, so let's get started. Happy reading everybody!