Boy, am I glad Danica Patrick did not win the Daytona 500.
I was sick of the hype. Of course, she made enough history this year at Daytona with the pole position and being the first woman to lead a lap in a NASCAR race. I'm sure most people, including me, thought that lap led would come on lap one and not in the middle of the race, however.
So good for her. I still can't believe she got the pole. I tried to recall if she ever had the top spot during her IndyCar days, but I don't think that was the case.
I think what really gets me is that yet another IndyCar driver has made the move to race with the big boys in NASCAR. Some have had success, others haven't. Patrick won a race in Japan during her IndyCar career. That's it. It's not like she's this amazing driver who's taking her stellar career to bigger and better things. She's a woman. That's the only reason I can see for all the hype.
Wild start scoring
The Minnesota Wild are playing some average hockey. Play at home has been superior to road games, though goals have been hard to come by, no matter the venue. If they would just shoot the puck a little more, they might see some more tallies on the scoreboard. The passing and cycling behind the net has plagued the Wild in the past as well.
Thursday was a good night for the Wild, however. The team traveled to Phoenix to take on the Coyotes. They won the game 4-3, but that score is deceiving. The Wild were in control for much of the game, scoring the first goal just 90 seconds in.
Dany Heatley had two goals for the Wild, which had a 4-1 lead before the Coyotes got a goal on a weird bounce off the board that snuck by Niklas Backstrom, and then their third goal came with less than a minute left in the game.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The best and worst 'Thoughts' of 2012 - Part two
I didn't have as many RIP entries as last year, which is a good thing. Here are some of the not-so-great moments I wrote about from 2012, in chronological order. Among them, the Minnesota Twins didn't have a very good year and the NHL had a lockout.
Also, check out part one for some of the better moments.
The worst
Post-Bulletin loses a great journalist, mentor
Long-time Post-Bulletin journalist Greg Sellnow died unexpectedly last March while driving home from the state high school hockey tournament. It was a bit of a shock, to say the least.
On a selfish note, Greg had just started mentoring me before his death. He looked over my writing and gave me tips on how to make it better. I miss having that working relationship with him. He was such a nice guy to take the time and do that with me.
Twins are not doing well
The Twins did not have a very good year in 2011. And 2012 wasn't that much better. This was just one of those times that I wrote about the non-productive team, its absent clutch hitting and poor pitching performances.
Let's hope the Twins can at least improve slightly in 2013.
Andy Roddick announces his retirement
American men's tennis isn't what it used to be a couple decades ago. But Andy Roddick had given us something to cheer about for awhile. However, he retired after the U.S. Open in September, the final Grand Slam of the year.
It was tough to see him walk away at age 30, but success didn't exactly follow him around either. He played in the same era as Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, two of the greats in the sport. Roddick was also known to choke in early rounds of slams from time to time.
I'm excited to see which players will be the new Roddicks.
Baseball ends, no hockey to turn to
With the end of baseball season, that usually means I shift my focus to the NHL and the Wild. Unfortunately, this year's lockout didn't make that possible. I guess I went through a bit of a hockey depression. Then I started following the Austin Bruins and that gave me my hockey fix.
Also, check out part one for some of the better moments.
The worst
Post-Bulletin loses a great journalist, mentor
Long-time Post-Bulletin journalist Greg Sellnow died unexpectedly last March while driving home from the state high school hockey tournament. It was a bit of a shock, to say the least.
On a selfish note, Greg had just started mentoring me before his death. He looked over my writing and gave me tips on how to make it better. I miss having that working relationship with him. He was such a nice guy to take the time and do that with me.
Twins are not doing well
The Twins did not have a very good year in 2011. And 2012 wasn't that much better. This was just one of those times that I wrote about the non-productive team, its absent clutch hitting and poor pitching performances.
Let's hope the Twins can at least improve slightly in 2013.
Andy Roddick announces his retirement
American men's tennis isn't what it used to be a couple decades ago. But Andy Roddick had given us something to cheer about for awhile. However, he retired after the U.S. Open in September, the final Grand Slam of the year.
It was tough to see him walk away at age 30, but success didn't exactly follow him around either. He played in the same era as Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, two of the greats in the sport. Roddick was also known to choke in early rounds of slams from time to time.
I'm excited to see which players will be the new Roddicks.
Baseball ends, no hockey to turn to
With the end of baseball season, that usually means I shift my focus to the NHL and the Wild. Unfortunately, this year's lockout didn't make that possible. I guess I went through a bit of a hockey depression. Then I started following the Austin Bruins and that gave me my hockey fix.
The best and worst 'Thoughts' of 2012 - Part one
Time for my annual look back at my blog entries from the last calendar year. I like to reflect back on some of the sports highlights that I wrote about, as well as some of the items that were a little more negative.
I posted 34 entries in 2012, which accomplished my goal of writing more than I did in 2011. I still want to do a little better, but we'll see. Last year, I enjoyed blogging about the Austin Bruins hockey team, some of the woes of the Twins and an IndyCar track that I hadn't been to before.
I've put the posts in chronological order.
The best
Season two complete for Austin Bruins
The Bruins had a great second season last year. They fell just short of making it to the North American Hockey League national championship with a season-ending loss at home to the Bismarck Bobcats. The success of the Bruins really took off last season, with attendance doubling at Riverside Arena. Of course, it helps when the team does well and makes a solid run deep into the playoffs.
Tributes and tradition at Indy 500
The 96th running of the greatest spectacle in racing brought up some memories of the late Dan Wheldon, who won the race in 2011 before he was killed in the final race of that season in Las Vegas.
The tributes to Wheldon over the weekend got me thinking about some of the other great Indy 500 races that have taken place over the years. Paul Tracy got robbed in 2002, 10 years before that came the closest finish in Indy 500 history and 1982 had a lot of action at both the beginning and the end of the race.
Iowa Corn Indy 250
This was the first time I had been to Iowa for an IndyCar race. My dad and I decided it would be a fun one to try since I'm right on the way in Austin. There's nothing like going to a night race either. I really love road/street courses, but ovals offer a lot of racing action as well.
Even with a pushed-back start due to some heavy rain, it didn't dampen the spirits of dedicated race fans. We even got to see the season's eventual champion Ryan Hunter-Reay win his second race in a row.
My first Austin Greyhounds game
It took me a summer, but I finally managed to get to a Greyhounds game in the nice outdoor ballpark here in town. My first game was a good one though, as the Hounds won in dramatic fashion with a homer in the 11th inning.
Nothing really beats sitting outside to enjoy a baseball game. They're pretty entertaining, too. Target Field isn't the only place to enjoy a good ball game. Just head down to Marcusen Park.
Minnesota Wild Road Tour Comes to Austin
This was one of my story highlights from my time with the Austin Post-Bulletin. I got the chance to interview Charlie Coyle, Matt Kassian, Wild alum Antti Laaksonen and Wild television color analyst Mike Greenlay. It was a pretty exciting perk, that's for sure.
Don't forget to check out part two for some of the "worst" moments of the past year.
I posted 34 entries in 2012, which accomplished my goal of writing more than I did in 2011. I still want to do a little better, but we'll see. Last year, I enjoyed blogging about the Austin Bruins hockey team, some of the woes of the Twins and an IndyCar track that I hadn't been to before.
I've put the posts in chronological order.
The best
Season two complete for Austin Bruins
The Bruins had a great second season last year. They fell just short of making it to the North American Hockey League national championship with a season-ending loss at home to the Bismarck Bobcats. The success of the Bruins really took off last season, with attendance doubling at Riverside Arena. Of course, it helps when the team does well and makes a solid run deep into the playoffs.
Tributes and tradition at Indy 500
The 96th running of the greatest spectacle in racing brought up some memories of the late Dan Wheldon, who won the race in 2011 before he was killed in the final race of that season in Las Vegas.
The tributes to Wheldon over the weekend got me thinking about some of the other great Indy 500 races that have taken place over the years. Paul Tracy got robbed in 2002, 10 years before that came the closest finish in Indy 500 history and 1982 had a lot of action at both the beginning and the end of the race.
Iowa Corn Indy 250
This was the first time I had been to Iowa for an IndyCar race. My dad and I decided it would be a fun one to try since I'm right on the way in Austin. There's nothing like going to a night race either. I really love road/street courses, but ovals offer a lot of racing action as well.
Even with a pushed-back start due to some heavy rain, it didn't dampen the spirits of dedicated race fans. We even got to see the season's eventual champion Ryan Hunter-Reay win his second race in a row.
My first Austin Greyhounds game
It took me a summer, but I finally managed to get to a Greyhounds game in the nice outdoor ballpark here in town. My first game was a good one though, as the Hounds won in dramatic fashion with a homer in the 11th inning.
Nothing really beats sitting outside to enjoy a baseball game. They're pretty entertaining, too. Target Field isn't the only place to enjoy a good ball game. Just head down to Marcusen Park.
Minnesota Wild Road Tour Comes to Austin
This was one of my story highlights from my time with the Austin Post-Bulletin. I got the chance to interview Charlie Coyle, Matt Kassian, Wild alum Antti Laaksonen and Wild television color analyst Mike Greenlay. It was a pretty exciting perk, that's for sure.
Don't forget to check out part two for some of the "worst" moments of the past year.
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