10. Kyle Busch Leads All 200 Laps in Nationwide Race at Phoenix
For those of you not informed, let me explain why the Nationwide Series is the biggest farce in American Motorsports.
Essentially, the Nationwide Series is the NASCAR version of Triple-A. Back in the day, young drivers used to cut their teeth in the lower level before earning the right to drive a Cup car. Jeff Gordon used to drive the #1 Baby Ruth Ford before getting the call to drive for Rick Hendrick. During that time, Winston Cup drivers used to run the occasional Busch race (Nationwide used to be called the Busch Grand National Series, back before NASCAR sold it’s soul to cell phone companies) to help boost ticket sales, but you never saw a Cup driver run for the second tier series’ championship.
Flash forward to now. Teams struggle to find sponsorship for up and coming drivers, so they turn to established Sprint Cup drivers to drive their cars. This has led to the Nationwide title being one by a full-time Sprint Cup driver every year since 2005. There is a severe talent drought in NASCAR (when Kevin Conway won the 2010 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year, that was the best indicator of that fact), and sadly not even Sprint Cup stars attract crowds to the Nationwide races anymore.
NASCAR started moving in the right direction when they made drivers pick which series they would accumulate points in, but Sprint Cup drivers are still running Nationwide races to soak up the prize money. Here is my plan to fix this series.
A Sprint Cup driver should be allowed to run every race in Nationwide during his first two Sprint Cup seasons. There’s nothing wrong with a young driver getting extra seat time. During the third season, the Sprint Cup driver should only be allowed to run 2/3rds of the races. After year four, it’s 1/3rd. This will give full time Nationwide drivers a better chance to win, and eventually, allow Nationwide races to stand on their own without the participation of Cup drivers.
9. NFL Draft Combine Takes Place in Indianapolis
I understand why this event is held, but have no clue why it is on television. Is there really a demand to watch 320-pound lineman run a 40-yard dash? Unless you’re a fan of the World’s Strongest Man competition, there’s no need to watch people bench press either.
The only remotely compelling story out of Indianapolis has been Cam Newton. Unlike most top-rated quarterback prospects, Newton has participated in every single quarterback drill. He missed a few timing passes, but the touch he displayed on deep passes and his 4.59 40 yard dash time should keep Newton in the discussion as the potential #3 pick in the draft.
8. Martin Kaymer Rises to #1 in World Golf Ranking
I had never heard of Kaymer until I saw the headline on ESPN.com. Apparently he won the PGA Championship last August. It’s to bad Tiger Woods stopped being competitive a year and a half ago and the majority of the country stopped caring about golf, otherwise this accomplishment could be a little more celebrated.
7. Colorado Pulls Off 22-Point Comeback Against #5 Texas
I’ll admit that I didn’t watch a second of this game, but anytime an unranked team pulls off a comeback of this magnitude against a top five opponent, it will make the list.
6. Veteran Detroit Pistons Boycott Morning Shoot-Around Friday at Philadelphia
Thank goodness Detroit sports fans have the Red Wings, because there isn’t much to cheer about in the Motor City (except the awesome Eminem Chrysler commercial. I thought I could run through a wall after watching this ad air during the Super Bowl). Let’s review the state of each team.
Detroit Lions (NFL) – The only two bright spots in the entire history of the Lions have been Bobby Layne and Barry Sanders (I would mention Cameron Muir’s stint as quarterback of the Lions in Madden 09, but that only happened in my living room). Matt Millen famously drafted wide receivers in the first round 12 years in a row (alright it was only three, but it felt like 12) before finally building a roster that went 0-16. Things are starting to look up for the team, as long as quarterback Matthew Stafford can stay healthy.
Detroit Tigers (MLB) – Things would be great if their best player (who they are paying more than $20 million a year) hadn’t gotten arrested after getting pulled over and taking swigs of Scotch in front of a cop in Florida.
Detroit Pistons (NBA) = Amazingly enough, I remember having conversations wondering if the 2008 Celtics could knock off the Pistons in the Eastern Conference. Now they are dealing with a player revolt. Veteran players Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Tracy McGrady, and others are so disgusted with coach John Kuester that they boycotted the shoot-around before Friday’s game in Philadelphia. To make matters worse, Pistons players laughed at Kuester after he got ejected during the game that night (click here for the sad display). It’s a shame that in the city most impacted by the economic downturn of the last five years, Detroit’s basketball team is acting like clowns.
5. Jimmer Leads BYU to Victory at San Diego State
Jimmer Fredette dropped 25 points (along with 9 assists) as BYU completed a season sweep of their conference rivals. I caught most of the second half of this game. I have a hard time believing either of these clubs are worthy of a #1 seed (which was what we were led to believe going into the contest), but BYU certainly looks like the greater threat to make noise in March. Announcer Steve Kerr called Fredette “surprisingly athletic” (which translates to, “He’s a white guy, but somehow, he can do more than shoot jump shots”), and I couldn’t agree more with him. Fredette looks like a rich-man’s J.J. Redick.
4. Lakers 90, Thunder 87
Durant bricked a game-tying 3-point attempt that would’ve put this game into overtime. Kendrick Perkins hasn’t suited up for Oklahoma City yet due to a knee sprain. I’d like to think he would’ve been worth at least 3 extra points. I hope we see these clubs face off in the playoffs.
3. #1 Duke Falls to Virginia Tech
Duke continued the trend of #1 teams falling as soon as they reach the top spot in the rankings. This definitely looks like a year where a 55-year old nurse that knows nothing about college basketball will win your office pool. Chaos will reign in March.
2. Jeff Gordon Snaps 66-Race Winless Streak at Phoenix
Gordon was happier than a squirrel in heat at a pecan farm after winning this race. Gordon caught, bumped, and ran away from Kyle Busch to win for the first time since Texas in 2009 (to watch the pass, click here). Gordon seems to have found new life with new crew chief Alan Gustafson. It was nice to see him get the huge ovation from the fans after winning the race. While he was the most successful driver of the late ‘90s, he was the most disliked (especially by Earnhardt fans). You could tell in victory lane that he greatly appreciated the support from the fans.
1. Chauncey Billups Goes Bonkers, Knicks Steal Game in Miami
New York was down 15 points in the first half, but went on a 16-0 run at the end of the 2nd quarter to make a game of it. The Knicks kept it close until the 4th quarter thanks to the efforts of ex-Celtic swingman Bill Walker, who apparently is blessed with the ability to shut down Dwyane Wade. Then it was Billups time.
Chauncey was an afterthought in the epic Nuggets-Knicks trade, but seems completely rejuvenated. It’s easy to forget that he was the Finals MVP when Detroit beat the Lakers in five games to win the 2004 NBA Championship (it’s even harder to believe that Detroit was one of the best teams of the ‘00s considering the 6th item in this countdown). Billups scored 7 points in the final three minutes, including a 30-footer over Wade with just over a minute to go to put New York up for good (it felt like he was in Tallahassee when he took that shot. An insanely deep pull up 3 for that point of the game). Being thought of as a throw-in for the Carmelo trade seems to have lit a fire under the veteran point guard.
If I’m Miami, there are two huge issues I take away from this game. For starters, the crowd was chanting “DEFENSE…DEFENSE…”, which would be great, except they were cheering for the Knicks to play defense. At least 40% of the crowd was supporting New York. Even Spike Lee was there (Miami should figure out who sold Lee the ticket and have that person banned from attending any more games). It felt like watching a Red Sox-Rays game in Tampa.
More importantly, after scoring 34 points with ease in the first quarter, Miami was held to 52 for the rest of the game. To put it in perspective, a team that starts Ronny Turiaf at center shut them down. Mike D’Antoni has used Bill Walker sparingly so far, but a player like him is very important when you need to face the likes of Lebron, Wade, and Paul Pierce in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. No play illustrated New York’s commitment to defense than Amar’e Stoudemire’s block of Lebron’s game-tying lay-up. If Miami can’t run a half-court offense that can score on the Knicks, what are they going to do in a seven game series against Boston or Chicago?
For highlights, click here.
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