A classic World Series

We're into November now, which means yet another World Series is behind us and the baseball offseason has begun. But before we move on, let's remember that the 2011 World Series has been one of the best in years.

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in seven games. The Cards, as a Wild Card team, had homefield advantage and were down 3-2 after the three straight games in Texas. But just like the Twins did in 1987 and 1991, St. Louis won games six and seven in dramatic fashion.

Game 6 of this series will probably be talked about and shown again as a "classic" game. I wouldn't say it's one of the best game 6 contests, but it was certainly exciting, dramatic and a constant swing of emotions. When it was all said and done, just before midnight, the Cards came away victorious with a 10-9 win in 11 innings.

Before the last couple of innings and the extras, game 6 really wasn't that great of a game. There were multiple errors by both sides, and it just wasn't that clean of a game. The hometown kid who turned out to be the man of the hour and the Series MVP couldn't catch a pop-up above his head. But he did own up to it in post-game interviews, which was nice to hear.

Then, things got interesting. Texas was one strike away from becoming the champs. Twice. But they were denied, just like last year when they were on the losing end of the World Series. The bottom of the ninth and extra innings turned into a slug fest.

David Freese hit a triple, which homerun-machine and right fielder Nelson Cruz could have caught to end the season. I think Cruz had a case of nerves. He didn't position himself to get to that fly ball like he might have been able to, and then on a later single he bobbled the ball a bit in between his legs.

After trading leads, homers and nervous-wreck emotions, Freese sent the series to a seventh game with one swing of the bat. It was a smash to center that sealed the deal for the Cards from a momentum standpoint.

Play-by-play announce Joe Buck used his father's, "We'll see ya, tomorrow night" call for the game-winning homer, 20 years and a day after his dad said it for Kirby Puckett's game 6 home run. Some people thought it was a great tribute when son Joe said it, others didn't like it. I was in the latter category; get your own line, Joe. I liked color analyst Tim McCarver's, "How did this happen?" line better, because it was fitting after the game that had just taken place.

You'll notice in my "We'll see ya, tomorrow night" quote from Joe Buck, that I did not use an exclamation point. That was most definitely on purpose because his excitement level didn't deserve one.

Game 7 wasn't as exciting, of course, a 6-2 win for the Cards. Texas was fighting an uphill battle of being on the road and being defeated mentally. It's too bad; I was pulling for them. But in the former Twins category, scrappy infield Nicky Punto has a ring, and so does pitcher Kyle Lohse. Good for them.

RIP Dan Wheldon

The IZOD IndyCar Series lost a member of its team Oct. 16, 2011. Dan Wheldon, 33, died from the injuries he sustained in a large, 15-car crash just 12 laps in to the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Wheldon was a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, in 2005 and this season in 2011. He was the series Rookie of the Year in 2003, and he captured a series championship in 2005.

During Sunday's race, Wheldon started at the back of the bigger-than-normal field in the 34th spot. He had quickly moved up to the 24th position when the carnage-filled wreck occurred on the oval track. Wheldon's was one of the cars the went airborne and hit the catch fence above the SAFER barrier wall.

He was airlifted to the medical center where he later died. The race was red flagged immediately following the crash, and the drivers made the decision to run five laps in a tribute to Wheldon, rather than finish the race.

In a fact that, appropriately, didn't seem to matter, the championship for 2011 was won by Dario Franchitti. His competition for the award, Will Power, was involved in the crash. But there was no celebration. The tone of the day really hit home when ABC cameras caught Franchitti breaking down in tears while he was being strapped into his car for the tribute.

Following the coverage
I was in the middle of cleaning my apartment when I turned on the race, just a couple of laps before the crash. I turned on the television, sank back into my recliner and was set to watch the final laps of the season tick away.

But when the coverage cut to the 15-car crash, I bolted upright in the chair and uttered "oh my God." One of the first words that came to my mind was "carnage." Twitter has become a habit of multi-tasking during races for me, and part of my first Tweet after the crash read: "Whoa. Biggest carnage of the year."

I saw some drivers out of their cars, which is always a good sign. I also saw many safety team personnel rushing to attend to drivers in their cars, another good and familiar sign of the IndyCar Series.

From then until it was officially announced that Wheldon had passed away, I kept my eyes on the ABC coverage and on Twitter. Waiting for a word on Wheldon just gave me a bad feeling - seeing the helicopter blades fire up didn't help either. The whole thing reminded me of when Dale Earnhardt died; nothing was said until word came of his death.

Tragic memories
Another vivid memory that struck me was the death of CART driver Greg Moore on Oct. 31, 1999. That race was also the season finale, a race I remember watching at home as a 7th-grader. Moore's car hit one of the inside walls extremely hard and he sustained fatal head and internal injuries. I remember that no replay was shown of the crash, and commentator Paul Page's call of "An enormous crash! Oh my God."

Unfortunately, Wheldon's outcome was the same as Moore and other drivers. Guys like Paul Dana (2006), Tony Renna (2003) and Scott Brayton (1996).

Open-wheel racing has made some great strides in safety over the decades. Everything from improved helmets to the HANS device to the SAFER barriers which lessen impacts along the walls. And there are so many crashes that look horrific, destroying the race car, but the driver often walks away. It's so easy to forget that death is a possible, and very real, risk when drivers strap in.

It's certainly not something anyone involved with the sport, fans included, want to think about. Everyone will go into the offseason with this event weighing on them until the next race and especially at Indianapolis, where Dan won't be there to defend his Indy 500 crown.

Thoughts and prayers go out to Dan's family, his wife Susie, sons Sebastian (2 years) and Oliver (six months), and also to all of the other drivers and teams in IndyCar.

RIP Dan Wheldon.

Dan Wheldon takes a victory lap in the pace car after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500. (Photo credit: Kyle Rule)

Austin Packers homecoming game

I took in my first Austin High School football game Friday night. The Packers played a decent game but eventually fell to Big Nine opponent Mankato East 24-13. It was homecoming week for the Packers, who are still winless on the season, and the defeat was a crushing blow in the last couple plays of the game.

With 1:37 left in the game, East led 18-13. To their credit, the Packers marched down the field, picking up some big first downs to find the red zone. The Packers failed to convert in the endzone on fourth and 13, appearing to end their chances. But a roughing the passer penalty on East gave Austin a new set of downs.

Packer quarterback Sean Coffey tried multiple times to put a pass in the endzone in the hands of a receiver. On the final play of the game, Coffey was looking to connect with wide receiver Zach Wessels. The pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown as time expired.

Wessels was slow to get up, dejected for being oh-so-close to giving his team a homecoming win.

It wasn't a bad game for the Packers, considering they're now 0-4. This might have been their best shot at a victory all season.

After a scoreless first quarter, East ran in for a touchdown with four minutes left in the half. A failed extra-point attempt left the score at 6-0. Then the Cougars kicked a field goal with 24.2 ticks remaining in the first half, making the halftime score 9-0, still within reach for the Packers.

But it was the Packers who struck first in the second half. They had two receivers wide open for a touchdown reception, narrowing East's lead to 9-7. Later in the third quarter, the Packers defense came up big on third-and-goal as they stopped the Cougars in their tracks, making them settle for a field goal and a 12-7 lead.

Austin answered with a touchdown late in the game on a lucky play with a tipped pass that ended up in the hands of a Packer. They decided to go for two, but the failed conversion left the score at 13-12, the only lead of the game for Austin.

There was too much time left though because, despite Austin intercepting East, the Cougars were able to come up with a touchdown on another possession. It gave them that 18-13 edge leading up to the final drive of the game.

Even though the Packers lost, it was still a good game to mark my first one in Austin. I was itching to go to a high school football game, and I wasn't disappointed.