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Dan
the Man Hey Danica Patrick, just where are you going? I was watching all the racing this past weekend and the Indy 500 was highlighted by Danica Patrick threatening to confront fellow driver Ryan Briscoe. The two were tangled up on Pit Road and the miniscule Patrick was fuming after the mishap. ABC Sports captured the drama when Patrick was walking down Pit Road looking for Briscoe....what was she going to do if she actually made it to his pits? We'll never know, since the IRL security officials intersected the fiery IRL starlet before she crossed the line. I know this much: it would have been more exciting than watching eventual winner Scott Dixon cruise to his first win at the Brickyard. If Patrick and Briscoe had hooked up in the view of a national television audience, it would have been fascinating to see what type of assault she would have displayed for the whole nation to see. It wasn't that long ago when Patrick pulled this stunt with fellow driver Dan Wheldon. One thing needs to be made perfectly clear, Patrick is a very talented driver. While she has sold her sex appeal for numerous sponsorship deals and huge media exposure, she is capable of competing with everybody in the IRL series. Personally, I think she would get her rear end kicked in NASCAR, if she ever decided to give it a shot, but she is a perfect fit in the IndyCar series. It also needs to be pointed out that she is a "racer", just like everybody else that straps themselves in a race car. It's not a matter of man vs. woman; it's driver vs. driver...competitor vs. competitor....So, if she comes towards another driver copping an attitude and pulling the "Danica-card" to another guy, she better be careful that she doesn't get a dose of her own medicine. I would love to see her join NASCAR. She would add a completely different dimension on the circuit, and she would draw the ire of most NASCAR fans that don't wear skirts. I could see her getting planted in the wall every week...it would be a riot to watch. Unfortunately, I think Danica and her handlers are smart enough to realize that she can still be the "face of the IRL" without having to win very often. For the record, she's won once...in Japan. At this pace she can still do all the commercials, sell all the merchandise, and blame all the guys for their rough play. If she moved to NASCAR, she would basically become John Andretti....sorry, John. One of the most underrated sporting events gets cranked up this week...the NCAA College Baseball Tournament. The field of 64 was announced this week, and the ACC placed 3 of the top 4 nationally seeded teams in the tournament. Miami was #1, UNC #2 and Florida State #4. That's a pretty impressive list of power teams at the top. The SEC placed more teams in the event than anybody else in the country. Nine teams from the league made it to the show and that includes Arkansas, a team that didn't even qualify for their own tournament last week. When you look around the region you realize how good the college baseball scene is around the Carolinas. Eight teams from both North and South Carolina are looking to advance to the Super Regionals next week. The teams are Elon, UNC-Wilmington, Charlotte, UNC, N.C. State, East Carolina, South Carolina and Coastal Carolina. I'm hoping at least one team from the Carolinas can make it to Omaha. The Heels have been there the last couple of years and they will be one of the favorites to make it back to Nebraska. There are no guarantees, especially when you consider that Miami is the last #1 seed team to win it all (1999) and only one top-eight seed team has won it all this decade. We'll see how the ball bounces off those aluminum bats. One of the most bizarre things I've ever seen took place this week. Some moronic Frenchman, a 64 year-old guy named Michel Fournier, decided to travel 130,000 feet into the stratosphere and freefall back to Earth. Don't even begin to ask me why somebody, anybody, would think this is a good idea. The funniest part of the story took place on Tuesday morning when Fournier was getting ready to jump onboard his magic carpet and travel to the heavens. The only problem is that his half-million dollar balloon somehow left without him. As he became stranded on Earth as he watched the balloon somehow become detached from his chariot, all he could do is shake his head and claim that the mission was ruined. Hey, Fournier, count your lucky stars and kiss the ground....you're the luckiest man on the planet. But I've got to hand it to him....the Frenchman surrendered just in time.
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Packman
on Sports Commentary
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