Just got back from an interview with Indianapolis 500 winner, Dario Franchitti and I am very, very, very disappointed. His beautiful wife, Ashley Judd didn’t join him. Instead, Judd stayed in the limousine and then went off to catch an appointment. She never got out of the car. We only heard her voice and saw her dog!!!! Darn!!!
Anyway, Franchitti is a lucky man. He is married to a beautiful actress and is the new winner of the “Super Bowl” of Indy Car racing. He also was a bit fortunate the race was called because of rain on Sunday with him in the lead. Franchitti told me he will throw out the first pitch at tonight’s Astros game in Houston. He’s a bit nervous. You would be too if you’ve never thrown a baseball!!!
Archive for May, 2007
Stand up and applaud the folks at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. They did one heck of a job this week. For a while, there was more rain than golf. This course was saturated. We have the video to prove it! The groundskeepers and tournament officials kept everything under control. I couldn’t believe they were able to get it all in today… but they did! Kudos to the men in plaid!! Who needs Tiger, anyway!
What a week for Jerry Jones and his mega stadium in Arlington. First the Super Bowl… now not one, but two big college football games. The Big 12 just announced that the new Cowboys stadium will host the Big 12 championship games in 2009 and 2010. It won’t be long before the facility will host a Final Four as well. Also Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are talking about moving their game to Arlington in 2009. Build it and they will come. Finally some big time sporting events in DFW on a regular basis. Finally.
Kudos to Jerry Jones, Roger Staubach and the rest of the North Texas Super Bowl committee. They did it. They convinced NFL owners that the new stadium in Arlington was the best spot for the nation’s biggest game in 2011. Really, you have to hand it to Jones more than any one. He had the foresight to build the biggest stadium he possibly could. The size of the new stadium put the North Texas bid over the top. The Indianapolis stadium seated more than 25-thousand less than the Arlington stadium. That proved to be the deciding factor in a very close vote. Jerry knew what needed to be built and he did it. He promised a Super Bowl and he delivered.
We’ll see how much pull Jerry Jones has among owners. During Tuesday’s NFL owner’s meetings in Nashville, Jerry will have an extra five minutes to try to sway his cohorts to award the 2011 game to his new stadium. No doubt, the North Texas bid is a strong one and its backed by a lot of cash, but Indy’s stadium opens up a year earlier and that could be a factor when all is said and done. This one is too close to call… if Jones has the last word, I like the chances of the North Texas bid. Jerry’s become a well-respected owner in the league… hopefully his colleagues will reward him with the ultimate gift.
Man… when’s it going to change? When are we going to see a competitive baseball team in Arlington? I wasn’t expected a division title this season, but I was expecting this Rangers team to at least be in the thick of things until August or even September. The AL West is weak and the Rangers had a chance to at least stick around for a while. But this team has become one of the worst fielding teams this season. They can’t hit either. Michael Young is off to a slow start. Nelson Cruz isn’t ready for the majors. Brad Wilkerson looks bad. Ian Kinsler has his moments, but has been shaky in the field. The only bright spots have been Sammy Sosa, Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock. On the mound, all of the starters haven’t performed up to expectations. The only bright spots have been Aki Otsuka and Eric Gagne… that’s if the Rangers even get to the point of using their set up man and closer!!!! I’m bummed…. once again… no meaningful baseball in Arlington and it’s only May!
Valley Ranch just feels like a different place and Wade Phillips is the reason why. While in the locker room over the weekend, I could just feel a different aura around this team. They were re-energized, fired up and downright giddy. There’s no question, Phillips is laid back. He talks with reporters frequently and cuts up with his players. That’s in stark contrast to Bill Parcells. It seemed at times, the Tuna’s players were playing a little too tight and playing not to disappoint their coach. Obviously, Parcells had moderate success here… but still no playoff wins… things didn’t work as well as they could have.
Phillips is the right man at the right time for the Cowboys. This team needed an attitude shift as well as a man that is willing to change his game plans to fit the strengths of his players. It’s now Wade’s World at Valley Ranch and I think the players are happy to be a part of it.
Roger Clemens took the money. So what? Who wouldn’t. The Yankees gave him ridiculous money to pitch at least four months!!! Four months. Credit Clemens for still being an effective pitcher at the age of 44. The man has always been in shape and if he wasn’t, George Steinbrenner wouldn’t have agreed to write the 28-million-dollar check.
Too much Baron Davis… not enough Dirk Nowitzki. That’s really the story. As I said yesterday, the Mavs needed Dirk to come up huge… but he didn’t do anything… 8 points!!! 8 points!!!! Talking to the Mavs in the locker room, they talked about match-ups and how they didn’t match-up well. They talked about how hot the Warriors were. They talked about how just about everything Golden State threw up, went in. Now the Mavs can do all the talking they want… they won’t be playing basketball for the rest of the season. Story tonight at six on NBC5.
Snoop Doggy Dog is one of the celebrities here for Game Six. Also in the house… Penny Marshall (I thought she was a Lakers fan?), Santana (a legend), Woody Harrelson (a has been), Owen Wilson (from Dallas) and Kate Hudson (from Goldie Hawn.) Still no sign of Jessica Alba!!! Was hoping to catch a glimpse of her tonight. She was here for Game Four, I believe. Newy just texted me… “Where’s MC Hammer?” After all, this is his town (Oaktown).
