Let's Go Racing
Posted February 8, 2009, 11:36 AM ET

The NASCAR season is upon us.

The Great American Race is this Sunday in Daytona, and the sport is facing the same problems as the rest of Americana. Between the cutbacks with sponsorships, rising cost of doing business and massive layoffs, NASCAR has felt the pinch since Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive championship.

As far as Johnson goes, it would probably do the sport some good to see somebody else win the championship other than the dominating 48 car. Nothing against Johnson; he's talented, smart and stays out of trouble. But he might be the most "vanilla champion" in all of sports....not that there is anything wrong with that. He is to NASCAR what the San Antonio Spurs are to the NBA. Champs that don't move the meter.

One guy that gets all the attention (without the titles) is Dale, Jr. It didn't take long for the driver of the 88 car to stir the pot in Daytona. He questioned the new format of Saturday night's Bud Shootout and ripped into the owners of the tracks for wanting more handouts from the drivers.

Despite Junior's remarks, I couldn't help but laugh at two of his opinions. When Dale, Jr. jumped on the new format, he claimed that he is a historian of the sport and he hates change. I could have sworn this is the same guy that left his father's famous company, DEI, in order to drive for a competitor in Rick Hendrick?

Dale, Jr. also made a remark to a reporter that he decided to eat better since his cholesterol level was too high. He claimed that he stopped eating fried foods and started drinking more water since he was "consuming too many sodas". I'm sure the folks at Mountain Dew had to love that quote. Hey, Junior....just how many millions of dollars do they pay you each year?

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So, A-Rod allegedly tested positive for steroids? Reportedly, he was one of the 104 players that failed a drug test back in 2003.

Are we supposed to be surprised by this news?

It certainly didn't stop the New York Yankees from forking over 275 million bucks in a ten-year deal. The Yankee fans still came to the ballpark by the millions and in the process put tons of cash into the team that Steinbrenner bought.

Major League Baseball has lost all credibility with their "steroid issue". It's a good thing Bud Selig is pulling down a cool 18 mil per year, so he can kiss the butts of every single owner in the game. The Mitchell Report was a complete farce, and so is their drug testing policy.

It makes you wonder if the sport will really go after the cheaters in the game?

Maybe some people don't care?

Between A-Rod's latest controversy and Barry Bonds' ongoing witch hunt out west, baseball continues to underperform for me.

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National Signing Day in college football has come and gone.

Like most years, the rich keep getting richer. We'll find out which players pan out in about two or three years from now. The last time I checked the recruiting rankings from the past few years, I didn't happen to see Utah's name in anybody's Top 10. It is important to get good players....it's even more important to coach 'em up.

I loved the quote from Florida State's Bobby Bowden on our show last Wednesday. He told me, "They all look good in February, but we'll find out if they can play two years from now."

Bobby Bowden is absolutely right.

While the recruiting was taking the headlines, the University of Tennessee's Lane Kiffin was in rare form.

The Vols' new coach ripped into Florida's Urban Meyer, accusing him of cheating during the recruiting season. After making the proclamation public while speaking to some UT boosters, it turns out that Kiffin overstepped his bounds by not knowing the rule that he was accusing Meyer of breaking. Needless to say, this news didn't go over too well in Gainesville.

Kiffin was slammed by UF AD Jeremy Foley and SEC Commish Mike Slive. Kiffin issued an apology and also cemented himself as the new SEC punching bag.

Since being named coach in Knoxville on December 1st, he has alienated Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Mark Richt over recruiting improprieties, coaches, rules or anything else he can get his hands on.

That's not bad, for a guy who has yet to coach his first game in the mighty SEC.

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The sports watch continues in golf and the NFL.

The PGA Tour is awaiting the return of Tiger Woods. Supposedly, he is practicing and hitting every club in his bag.

This past week in San Diego, CBS commentator Gary McCord questioned some of the guys on Tour. He thought given Tiger's absence, most players would be aggressively trying to play every week in order to make more cash before the "great one" returned to the links. McCord claimed that "everyone is sleepwalking without Tiger playing".

What McCord failed to take into consideration is that so many golfers are making millions of dollars each year without ever winning an event with or without Tiger in the field. That's the problem with the PGA Tour. You can play in selected events, finish in the Top 10 a few times and pocket 7 figures without breaking a sweat. These guys, with the exception of a select few, know they can't beat Tiger....but they do know they can make a cool million bucks a year with a couple of decent weeks during the season.

The NFL watch is on, too.

In Carolina, that means Julius Peppers and Jordan Gross. Both high-profile free agents are in the process of making a small fortune, but the question remains...by which team?

The Panthers need to sign Gross and franchise Peppers.....in that order. Otherwise, they risk losing both of them. If that happens, I'd hate to be John Fox or Marty Hurney. After the Panthers' monumental collapse in the playoffs to Arizona, the locals aren't real thrilled with the way the season ended so abruptly.

Given the mass defection of coaches on Fox' staff and now the news of Peppers' intentions to play somewhere else.....the team could use some good news.

The best news out of Carolina is that team owner Jerry Richardson has a new heart.