If McClure’s crash in Saturday’s Nationwide Series event at Talladega had happened in 2000 instead of 2012, he would be dead. Yet another reminder of how important the safety improvements in Motorsports has been.
9. Shaq Gets His Degree
If
getting his degree gets him one step closer to leaving the TV set with Charles
Barkley, I’m all for Shaq earning the title of “Doctor”.
8. Thunder Sweep Mavericks
It’s
not often you get to see two rosters on totally different long term tracks face
off in a playoff series. Dallas essentially punted 2012, clearing enough cap
space to make a run at both Dwight Howard and Deron Williams in the off-season.
Unfortunately for them, Howard elected to remain under contract for one more
season, and now Dallas might not be attractive enough (only Dirk Nowitzki and
Jason Kidd are under contract for next season) to warrant Deron Williams giving
up more money to bolt Brooklyn. Oklahoma City on the other hand, looks like an
emerging super power. When James Harden plays the way he did in Game 4 against
the Mavericks, the
Thunder are unstoppable.
7. Kings Sweep Blues
I
may be in the minority (the television ratings for the Western Conference
Finals will prove that), but it’s pretty cool to have the Kings back as a competitive hockey club.
Not since Little
Wayne was in town has Los Angeles been relevant.
6. Albert Pujols Finally Hits a Home Run
Mike
Scioscia should’ve given Pujols a day off on April
10th instead of May 5th.
5. Capitals Even Series With Rangers
Has
there been a quicker change of identity by a NHL team
than what the Capitals have pulled off the past year? They’ve gone from being a
high scoring, up-and down attack to a style that isn’t far off of the dreaded
trap used by the New Jersey Devils in the 1990s. What they’ve done so far
against the top two seeds in the East is remarkable.
4. Knicks Finally Win a Playoff Game
You
have to give Amar’e Stoudemire some credit. After doing something incredibly
dumb (punching a glass fire extinguisher case qualifies as “incredibly dumb” in
my book), it would’ve been easy for him to disappear while his team was swept
out of the playoffs by a superior Heat squad. Stoudemire went the other way,
playing with heavy padding on his left hand and giving the Knicks a huge lift
in the first quarter. Miami is probably going to slaughter the Knicks Wednesday
night, but this win at least gives New York fans some hope that a Carmelo-Stoudemire pairing can be successful.
3. Brad Keselowski Pulls A Fast One at Talladega
Keselowski’s
solution to holding on to the lead on the last lap at Talladega
was so simple, it’s amazing no one else had thought of it before. Even more
amazing was Tony Stewart apologizing to the fans because they didn’t crash enough.
2. Celtics Take Control With 2 Wins Over Atlanta
After
nearly choking
away Game 3, it was important for Boston to lay the smack down Sunday evening. They’ll
look to close out the disinterested looking Hawks Tuesday night at Atlanta.
1. I’ll Have Another Wins Kentucky Derby
My
attachment to I’ll Have Another started thanks to a blog post where my main
objectives were to make fun of every horse’s name and find a horse to waste a
$20 bet on. It resulted in the greatest random gambling
moment in the history of No Credentials. Here’s the video, followed by a
breakdown of what No Credentials was thinking during each segment of the race.
0:00-0:34 = One of the few things I understand
about horse racing is that a good start is crucial. Starting in post position
19 (the second slot from the left on screen), if I.H.A. got buried behind 10
horses it was over. Fortunately, he didn’t get mired in the pack, and had a
nice little space of his own through the first turn.
0:35-0:59 = I.H.A. is cruising on the tail end of the
mid-pack while Bodemiester is setting a blistering pace. Not sure why
Bodemiester’s jockey was pushing him so hard early. Maybe he had a hot date. At
this point my wife thought I’ll Have Another was done, but I was optimistic.
“The horse that leads early never wins,” I said. You’d almost swear that I knew
things about horses.
1:00-1:40 = I’ll Have Another makes his move, weaving
through four different horses to place himself in second as they turned for
home. I was stunned that by ridiculous $20 bet (with 12/1 odds!) actually had a
chance of hitting.
1:41-1:49 = Here’s some dialogue from the Muir home at this
point in the race.
My Wife = “He’s too far behind.”No Credentials = “He’s coming.”
1:50-1:54 = Go, go, go…
1:55-2:00 = (insert fist pumping here) GO, GO, GO, GO,
GO!!!…
2:01-2:18 = …GO, GO, GO…YAAAAAAAAA!!! WHOO!!!!!!!!
My
son, perplexed as to why Daddy would be screaming about horses, finally figured
out that all the commotion was a good thing and started throwing in some little “WHOO!”s for
good measure. Screw football. Horse racing is the new favorite sport of No
Credentials.
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