Holiday Musings
Posted May 29, 2006, 8:03 PM ET

Just some thoughts and observations from the Memorial Day weekend:

The conclusion to the Indy 500 was fabulous. Even though he didn't win, Marco Andretti could be a star in the making. The 19-year-old Andretti put on an incredible show and lost out to eventual winner Sam Hornish, Jr. by six-hundreths of a second.

The emergence of Andretti is just what the IRL needs, a driver that can become a star on and off the track. It looks like he's got the talent and the name to be a future star in the IRL. Plus, as long as she still needs directions to Victory Lane, the Danica Patrick story can only go but so far.

The 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway didn't produce the drama of the race at Indy, but it produced another young star in the making. Kasey Kahne won for the third time this season and he put Dodge back in Victory Lane at LMS for the first time since 1977. Kahne has all the makings of a star and Ray Evernham's stroke of brilliance is on display again. Kahne is only 26, and he is one of many great young drivers on the Cup circuit.

The Carolina Hurricanes keep edging closer to a Stanley Cup showdown with Edmonton. The Oilers clinched their first Cup finals since 1990 by destroying Anaheim...let's hope Carolina can close out Buffalo. By the way, for the record there is a beer shortage in Edmonton. The locals are getting ripped every night celebrating the Oilers return to prominence...If the Canes advance, I wonder if "Cup fever" will make it past the Capitol City boundries?

Barry Bonds hit # 715.

But the big baseball news around here involved the Clemson Tigers which won the ACC title in Jacksonville. The Tigers have now won 19 of their last 20 games and go into the NCAA Tournament as the #1 seeded team in the country. Even though Clemson has won more ACC baseball championships than any other conference member, they have never won the big one in Omaha. Maybe this is the year.

I attended the "Cars" premier at Lowe's Motor Speedway last Friday evening. I took the whole family and we enjoyed the grand showcase. The only problem is that the movie did not get started until 10:30 due to lame musical acts...throw in some showers, tired 7 and 9-year old kids and we were out of there after the first 20 minutes of the flick....we'll catch it in the theater. The animation looked great, but I will hold judgement until seeing the whole show.

By the way, we did catch "Over the Hedge"...it is a must-see movie. Kids and adults will enjoy it. I'm starting to wonder if acting is becoming a lost art...every movie these days seems to be a form of animation.

Is this the year that the Dallas Mavericks make it to the NBA Finals and win it all? I can imagine the look on David Stern's face if he has to hand over the championship trophy to Mark Cuban...and I hope it happens.

Did you know that the World Cup starts on June 9th?

Do you care that the World Cup starts on June 9th?

During the NCAA Lacrosse championship the Duke women's team wore headbands with the word "innocent" written on them. It was in support of their male counterparts which have made national headlines recently. They lost to Northwestern, 11-10, in overtime. I thought the headband scripture was ridiculous and it also could set a precedent for an even more outrageous display in the future.

I guess the Germans are having all the fun. They are in the midst of preparing for the World Cup, and they are also getting a head start with the football celebration. Frankfurt won the World Bowl XIV, 22-7 over Amsterdam.

USC football coach Steve Spurrier was in attendance at the "600" on Sunday. The Ol' Ball Coach has been complaining about the facilities and conditions of the players' dorms on campus. He said the team needs new beds, carpet, drapes, etc... Hopefully the Coca Cola suite was good enough for his liking during the race. If not, Bruton Smith is going to hear an earful from the leader of Gamecock Nation.

I don't know about you, but can we fast-forward the months of June and July and get the football season started?