HELP!!!!

Ok- the beagle is in serious need of help. She is in a competition on the SHR fan site for the door from the car that Tony raced at Michigan in August(it will be signed). Each week she gets points for correctly picking the top three drivers in the race and a chase driver to finish in the top 3., and at the end of the Chase, the top 25 players will be entered into a drawing for the swag. Up until now it's been pretty easy- JJ in the top three and as the bonus pick. That strategy has vaulted her from 168th at the beginning of the Chase to 11th following Martinsville.

The problem is who to pick for Talledega. Jimmie normally does not fare well at the track, and it is such a wild card. Right now, my thoughts are Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Jamie McMurray with Harvick as the bonus Chase driver.

What are your thoughts?

Random Thoughts

A random musing from the Beagle-

A comment from CR on Dwindy's blog got me thinking--

Why is it that every time I see these two together...

...these two come to mind????

Your thoughts??????

Breaking News

Once again, the intrepid Beagle has scoured the nation's newspapers and magazines for tidbits of news that might have been missed by the mainstream press.

Chicago- The Duncan Yo-Yo Company announced today that its attempts to make a better yo-yo have gone terribly awry. The company, seeking to make a more responsive yo-yo, infused the popular toy with human DNA; however the experiment has produced unintended consequences. A spokesman for the company said the result of the experiment "was not at all what we expected." The spokesman would not elaborate further; however, BNN has obtained exclusive top secret photos of the experiment's results:

That's right folks, Brett Favre has unretired AGAIN!!!

College Football Silly Season

We NASCAR fans are all too familiar with the Silly Season- that period in the current season where speculation runs rampant about which drivers will be leaving their current teams and where might they end up. Well, it seems that college football has jumped on the Silly Season bandwagon.

Today, the University of Colorado announced that they were leaving the Big 12 conference for the Pac 10. This move upstages an expected announcement from the University of Nebraska on their departure from the Big 12 in order to join the Big 10 and thereby opens speculation as to what will happen to the rest of the teams in the now former Big 12.

The commissioner of the Pac 10 says that the invitation extended to Colorado is but the first of many. Speculation is that invitations will also be extended to Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. There are other reports that say Texas and Texas A&M will be going to the Big 10 along with Nebraska. Still others say that Texas A&M is so opposed to the idea of joining the Pac 10 that they are looking at moving to the SEC. If Texas and Texas A&M do end up in different conferences, expect to see large numbers of flying pigs and donkeys- not to mention a significant decrease in the temperature of He11.

Texas governor Rick Perry has put in his two cents on the matter, saying that all the Texas schools should get together and form a conference of their own. I guess the governor forgot about the old Southwest Conference, which was completely dominated by Texas schools with the lone exception of Arkansas.

Tech chancellor Kent Hance(Remember him? He's the idiot who fired the best football coach in the school's history) says that Tech's future is tied to Texas and Texas A&M. Uh, chancellor, it's not up to UT or A&M; it's up to the conference issuing the invitations. Where does Tech go if UT and A&M do end up in different conferences?

On top of all of this, word comes out today that USC- the flagship school of the Pac 10- is facing stiff penalties(loss of scholarships and no bowl games for 2 years) for NCAA rules infractions. While it's not the death penalty, it will certainly have an effect on recruiting. How will that play into all of this?

One thing is for certain. College football has taken to Silly Season like a duck takes to water.

What's Wrong With Tony Stewart ???

in a word- NOTHING!!!!

I know, I know. After what can easily be called a stellar first season as an owner/driver, Tony hasn't won a race this season. Prior to his 9th place finish at Dover, he finished out of the top 10 in several races. So what?

Joey Logano hasn't won a race this season. His teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch have both won races this season(3 and 2 respectively); yet, no one is asking if there's anything wrong with the #20 team.

But Joey Logano is not Tony Stewart you say. Fair enough. What about Mark Martin? He drives for the juggernaut that is Hendrick Motorsports. He hasn't won a race this year either. In the last three races he's finished 25th, 16th, and 15th, but no one is writing off his 2010 season.

So why do the same with Tony Stewart?

It is common knowledge in NASCAR circles that Tony Stewart comes on strong in the summer months, and that during the spring months, he sometimes struggles. In fact, I've even blogged about what could be done to improve Tony's spring performance(read here).

In 2005, the media was ready to write off the entire JGR organization heading into Memorial Day weekend. Tony had gone through a streak of races plagued with bad luck- a loose wheel at Martinsville, the car catching fire at Texas. Yet, over the summer months, Tony put together a string of 5 wins over 7 races that helped vault him to the 2005 Cup Championship.

So, am I worried about what's wrong with Tony Stewart? Not in the least. It's springtime in NASCAR- the media speculating about what's wrong with Tony is as predictable as the sun setting in the west.

Silly Season Conspiracies

All the driver and sponsor changes announced thus far for 2011 has the Beagle thinking.

Kasey Kahne has signed a contract to drive the #5 for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2012. What I don't get is why Rick Hendrick would sign Kasey to a contract without a ride for 2011, and for that matter why Kasey would sign such a contract. Now, don't get me wrong. I completely understand why Kasey would want to drive for HMS. Who wouldn't? They're the dominant team with the best equipment, and they've won the Championship the past four years. Still, there's NASCAR's four car limit, and unless Mark Martin retires, Rick is looking for a ride for Kasey, and I don't see Kasey riding around for a full season in a Nationwide car.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that Rick will park Kasey at Stewart/Haas for the 2011 season. Somehow, I just can't see Tony babysitting Kasey for a year. Then again, the prospect does give Tony a tremendous advantage at the negotiating table .

I have to wonder if there's something going on at Hendrick that they've so far managed to keep a tight lid on. What could that possibly be, you ask? Here's what I'm thinking. Two scenarios come to mind.

1.) Jeff Gordon retires at the end of the 2010 season. Mark Martin would finish his HMS contract in the #24, thus freeing the #5 for Kasey. It's plausible. Jeff's physical condition was a major storyline of 2009, and with the birth of his second child, he might just be looking for other opportunities.

2.) Chad Knaus is a man without a contract. His previous contract expired last August. Now, there's no way in you-know-where that Knaus leaves HMS for another team, BUT, there is speculation, that Chad is more than ready to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Ray Evernham, and form his own Cup team. I have no doubt that should Chad choose to move in this direction, Rick Hendrick would provide chassis, engines, and any other support needed.

You can understand why Rick would want to keep either of these possibilities under wraps as long as possible- especially the Knaus scenario. Trust me, the news of Knaus leaving to form his own team, and thus splitting with Jimmie, would send shock waves through the NASCAR garages.

Anyway, that what's been going through my mind .

Now Is The Time For All Good NASCAR Fans To Come To The Aid Of The Beagle

OK, folks. It is becoming more and more apparent that stopping Jimmie will take more voodoo than one little beagle can muster.

Katie is diligently doing her part. The voodoo bear is missing his nose, he's starting to get cross-eyed, and he has several holes in his legs and bottom.

Obviously, the voodoo is having little effect, so Katie is asking for your help. Print a copy of the voodoo bear(or any picture of Jimmie and Chad) and use it as a dart board, run it through the shredder, even use it as kindling to start your next barbecue. Use your imagination. Maybe if we put our collective efforts together, we can stop the #48 in its tracks.

Coach Watch 2010

Normally, I write about goings on in NASCAR, but was asked to blog on the goings on at Texas Tech, so here goes.

It's been one week since the summary dismissal of Mike Leach as Texas Tech's head football coach, and to say the natives are still restless is an understatement. Calls and letters to the Tech Alumni Association and the Red Raider Club number in the thousands with the majority of calls coming from those who wish to terminate their memberships in those organizations. Sales of Texas Tech merchandise are down, while sales of pirate related items are going through the roof. Yes, Lubbock and the Tech alums are taking the firing of Mike Leach hard, and it doesn't look like we're going to get over it anytime soon.

So why all the fuss? To understand that, you have to understand where Texas Tech footballl was prior to Mike Leach, and what Leach has meant to the program.

When I was growing up, Tech football was the doormat of the old Southwest Conference. Try as we might, we could never get past the conference big 3- Texas, Texas A&M, and Arkansas. Coaches came and went, all promising to make Tech football competitive with the Big 3, but they couldn't even convince the best high school players in Lubbock to give Tech a shot. Eventually, Tech pulled itself out of the cellar and became competitive with UT, A&M, and Arkansas, but before the dream of a New Year's Day appearance at the Cotton Bowl as conference champs could be realized, along came the Big 12. Tech went back to being the conference doormat. Sure, we could still hold our own against UT and A&M, but we were no match for the likes of perennial national powerhouses Nebraska and Oklahoma; therefore, when Spike Dykes announced his retirement in 1999, the athletic department once again promised us a coach who would take Tech football to the next level. They gave us Mike Leach.

Leach was unconventional. He did not fit the mold of the "good ol' boy" coaches that Tech had hired in the past. The faithful had their doubts. Leach was coming to Tech with what most people called a "gimmick" offense, and we were certain that it wouldn't be long before the other teams in the conference were able to figure it out. That didn't happen, and Tech football found itself moving up from the conference basement. Texas Tech went to a post season bowl game every year under Leach's leadership, and with the 2008 season, the Red Raiders finally took their place as one of the conference powerhouses. All the promises that had been made to the faithful were now(finally) being fulfilled, and we were certain that before too long, Tech football would be competing for a national championship. So much for that dream now.

And now comes the biggest decision the TTU athletic department and administration will ever have to make- who do we hire to replace the most successful(and most popular) coach in program history and start healing the rift between the university and the fan base. With recruiting fixing to swing into full force, that decision is crucial. Players aren't going to commit to a team if they're unsure about what to expect. The candidates most mentioned are: current TTU interim Coach Ruffin McNeil, former Auburn head coach Tommy Tubserville, and current Baylor head coach Art Briles. Let's look at them in reverse order.

Art Briles- Possibly the only decision WORSE than firing Mike Leach would be to hire Art Briles. Let's not even look at his lack of accomplishment with the Baylor football program. The Tech fan base believes that e-mails sent from a former regent to the university administration show a clear conspiracy to get rid of Leach as soon as possible and hire Briles(for more on the e-mails, click here ). Hiring Briles will do nothing for the football program except confirm the fans' belief that there was a conspiracy to fire Leach and further fracture the fan base.

Tommy Tuberville- I don't know anything about the man except what I've heard on television. He's from Auburn; he had an undefeated season(but no national championship for that season- I know, BCS), and he has roots in West Texas. One analyst in commenting on Tuberville speculated that Tuberville would more than likely scrap the offense that the Tech faithful have come to love. Tuberville tried Leach's offensive program at Auburn and quickly scrapped it for something more conventional. While hiring Tuberville wouldn't further fracture the fan base, it wouldn't go very far to healing the fracture either.

Ruffin McNeil- The players want him. He proved that he is more than capable of taking on the job of head coach. He managed to keep the team focused on the game(at a time when most people expected the team to just give up), and led the Red Raiders to a victory over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl. Recruits who have made verbal commitments to Texas Tech have stated unequivocally that they will honor that commitment if McNeil is named head coach. McNeil would more than likely keep the current staff. Hiring McNeil would also go a long way in healing the rift between the fans and the university.

The university has said that they hope to have a decision by the end of the week. McNeil interviewed Monday, Tuberville yesterday, and Briles was expected to interview today. Let's just hope that the administration doesn't send Tech football back to the days of being the conference doormat.