St. Louis Cardinals

            There are several things I want to get to this week, but the first story I want to cover is the 2011 World Series Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 in a best-of-seven series (as I predicted) to win their 11^th title in franchise history. 
            This World Series was really the first one that I have followed closely and I have watched just about every game. Although it was just my first, I think it has to be considered one of the most exciting ever. After the Rangers took a 3-2 series lead, it forced the Cardinals to win the next two games if they wanted to win the championship. In Game 6, a game that some are calling the best ever, Missouri native David Freese hit a walk-off home run that won the game and forced a Game 7 that would decide it all. In that game the Cardinals took control in the second inning and won 6-2.

            
            There was one immediate question that sprang up almost as soon as the final out was made, what will Albert Pujols do now that the season is over? Pujols is one of the best players currently in the MLB, and one of the best Cardinals ever. This is the final year of his contract and since the season began there has been speculation as to where Pujols will end up. Nobody, except for maybe Albert himself, knows the answer for sure. Word on the street is that Pujols could end up in Chicago or Texas, but you have to believe that St. Louis is still his best option.

            
            That problem has been one the Cardinals front office has been preparing for, but today a new question arose that nobody seems prepared for. Manager Tony La Russa announced his retirement. The 67-year old coach is calling it quits after winning his third World Series. La Russa is easily one of the best coaches in MLB history as he has won over 5,000 games. He will be remembered more for the way he managed every aspect of the game. La Russa worked diligently in every game to get the batter-pitcher matchup he wanted. Sometime this style of “over-managing” would result in heavy criticism towards Tony, but other times it’s praised, like when he won a World Series.

            
            I wish I had this in writing, but I kind of figured that this would be Tony’s last season. Before the season began, the Cardinals traded a lot of their younger players for veterans like Lance Berkman and Rafael Furcal. It seemed like the front office was setting La Russa up for a final run at getting a championship, and that’s exactly what happened. La Russa deserves a lot of credit for rallying the team together when they were basically out of the playoff picture.

Tony La Russa on the Budweiser Clydesdales during the parade on Monday

            
            As for the Texas Rangers, I feel their pain. The Rangers lost the World Series last year to the Philadelphia Phillies and lost this year to the Cardinals. What’s another team that’s lost in the championship game the past two years? The Butler Bulldogs basketball team.

Another shot of the parade today, right outside Busch Stadium

Congrats to the St. Louis Cardinals!!! World Series Champs!!!

Notre Dame vs. Navy preview

            You may have noticed that I didn’t post a “Notre Dame vs. USC Review”, that’s because I didn’t feel like there was much to write about. If you don’t know, the Fighting Irish lost to the Trojans 31-17. Although we only lost by 14, and was only down by a touchdown a few times, the game never felt winnable for the Irish. It was a dismal performance from the beginning for Notre Dame. The offense never had any kind of momentum and the defense had no answer for the Trojans offense. Turnovers also reared their ugly had as the Irish committed three of them.

            

             I said in my preview of the game that the Irish had to come out strong and forget all the hype and hysteria that had been made of the game. It was the first night game at Notre Dame in years, there were new helmets being used, and there were more than 50 high school recruits in attendance. Plus there was a new hockey arena was opened on campus, and the men’s and women’s basketball teams started their season with “midnight madness”. It seemed to me that the Irish football players forgot they actually had to play a game Saturday night.

             

            Fortunately for the Irish, Navy comes to town this weekend. Navy is a dismal 2-5 with wins over Delaware and Western Kentucky. This is a perfect game for the Irish to come out, dominate, and get some pride back. Although, that’s how it should always be against Navy, but somehow the Midshipmen have defeated the Irish the past two seasons.

Keys to the game

Run defense- I’m not sure where Notre Dame’s defense was last weekend, but hopefully they decide to return for this game. Notre Dame’s defense gave up 219 yards to USC running backs. There is no way a quality run defense should ever give up more than 200 yards. Navy is a team that will run the option down your throat for 60 minutes, kind of like they have the past two seasons.

-The “Option” is an offensive scheme that relies on the rushing game for success. There are dozens of different plays, but basically the quarterback hikes the ball and has the option of keeping it, passing it, or handing the ball to one of several running backs. It sounds complicated but it’s easier to watch and learn how it works.

Offense- The whole Irish offense needs to come out for this game. This means running backs, wide receivers, linemen, and quarterback. This unit only had 267 yards against USC, that’s only a little more than USC had rushing yards. Navy has a horrible defense so Notre Dame should have no problem at all racking up points.

Tommy Rees- The quarterback for the Irish had a pretty bad game against USC so it’s time for him to come out and have a great game. I think it’s also important for him to have a strong performance because he may be fighting for his starting position. Freshman Andrew Hendrix has gotten a decent amount of playing time in the past two games and may be ready to start a game if need be.

Predicted score: Notre Dame-35, Navy-14

            Notre Dame should have no problem beating Navy. The Irish need this win to restore confidence in the team and the fan base, because the road gets a little tougher with a visit to Wake Forest next week.

             

            Not to brag or anything, but I will be attending this weekend’s game with my girlfriend. We’re sitting behind the goal posts on the South side of the stadium (the side that doesn’t have the tunnel or student section. I’ll be sure to have pictures and a story next week. GO IRISH!

2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup

                 There are just four races left to decide the 2011 Sprint Cup Champion. The first six races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup were exciting and included many twists and turns that nobody saw coming.  The first two races were won by Tony Stewart, who had said before the Chase he had no hopes of being able to even compete. Needless to say nobody was more shocked by Stewart’s victories than himself. Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth shared victories in the next three races. Then all Hades broke out at Talladega last weekend. Even though Carl Edwards didn’t win, he was able to capitalize on poor finishes of nearly all the Chase drivers and pull out to a 14 point lead over second place in the Chase points standings.

The standings for the Chase through six races

Position     Driver                    Points Behind

1) Carl Edwards

2) Matt Kenseth                      -14                  

3) Brad Keselowski                 -18      

4) Tony Stewart                      -19

5) Kevin Harvick                     -26

6) Kyle Busch                         -40

7) Jimmie Johnson                 -50

8) Kurt Busch                          -52

9) Dale Earnhardt Jr.              -74

10) Jeff Gordon                      -82

11) Ryan Newman                 -84

12) Denny Hamlin                   -88

            The new points system really makes it easy to tell you who is out of this thing and who still has a chance. Everybody that has less than 43 points is one race behind, and probably out of contention. If you notice, Jimmie Johnson is 50 points behind but I would not count him out like everybody in the media is. This guy is the best in NASCAR and always a threat to win. Kurt Busch, Dale Jr., Gordon, Newman, and Hamlin are done in my opinion.

- The points system by the way starts at 43 for 1^st place, then decreases by one point for each position. So 1^st gets 43, 2^nd gets 42, 3^rd gets 41, etc.

            The biggest shocker in the Chase so far is Brad Keselowski. (I never thought I’d say that). I am not sold on Brad yet. Maybe it’s because he’s my girlfriend’s favorite driver and I’m jealous, but I have not been impressed. He is a good driver though and will be a name that you hear a lot of in the future. On the flip side, the most disappointing driver has been Jeff Gordon. He came into the Chase with three wins and seemed like he would make a run for his fifth championship but those dreams have quickly disappeared. Just like Johnson though, don’t count him out until he’s officially out.

            
            Here are the final four races and a quick preview:

Martinsville (10/30 at 2:00 p.m.)- If Jimmie Johnson is gonna get back into contention for the Championship it’s gonna happen here. Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team has dominated this place for about the last 4 years. Another driver to watch out for is Kevin Harvick, who won hear in the Spring.

Texas (11/6 at 3:00 p.m.)- Looking at the results from the last three races here, it appears the driver with the most success has been Jimmie Johnson. What a shocker! Matt Kenseth won the race at Texas in the Spring earlier this year, so look for him to be strong.

Phoenix (11/13 at 3:00 p.m.)- This another track that Johnson has had success at, but so has Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Edwards won this race last year and Busch has finished in the Top 15 the past three races here.

Homestead 11/20 at 3:00 p.m.) This is the race that will decide it all. Who knows what will happen between 
here and this race, but it should be exciting. Whoever still has a shot at the championship will definitely be in contention to win here.

            Before the Chase I made the prediction that Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Carl Edwards would “separate themselves as the legit Chase drivers by the 5^th or 6^th race”. Well, six races down and Kenseth and Edwards have done that. The other three still have some catching up to do to make my fortune-telling right. I also said Kevin Harvick would not be in contention, but right now he’s only 26 points behind Edwards. Finally, I predicted that Edwards would win the race and the Championship at Homestead. That has a pretty good chance of being spot on.

Notre Dame vs. USC preview

            It’s USC weekend! That means the Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh Trophy. The greatest cross- country football rivalry in America. Notre Dame vs. USC.  The USC game is always my favorite game to watch. I absolutely despise USC more than any other team.  I had to sit through eight years of USC domination over the Fighting Irish, but last year the Irish prevailed and defeated the Trojans. Needless, to say, I was ecstatic.

             
            This year, the Irish are looking to continue their 4-game winning streak all the way to a BCS Bowl. The Trojans are looking to become bowl-eligible and improve their record to 6-1.

                
            From everything I’ve read, it seems like the fans and media are more pumped for this game than the Fighting Irish football team is. In an interview about this game, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly he is excited about the game because it’s finally a good rivalry; with Notre Dame losing eight straight years it wasn’t too exciting for the Irish. Kelly knows this rivalry brings national media attention, but he also knows how to keep the team focused and not get caught up in all the hoopla.

-hoopla is now my word of the day.

               

                
            As for the off-the-field news, where do I start?

1) Notre Dame will debut their new helmets. Before you fall out of your chair, the only change you will notice is that the helmets are a sparkling gold, as opposed to a duller shade of gold.  The new color is a near duplicate of the Golden Dome atop The Main Building on the campus of Notre Dame. What disappoints me is that because of this new paint and way the paint is applied, the age-old tradition of students painting the helmets is gone.

Old helmet on the left, new one on the right.

 2) I’m not big on covering the recruiting scene in college sports, but there are going to be about a dozen of the nation’s best high school football players in attendance for the game Saturday night. Notre Dame always has one of the best recruiting classes every year, but the games when recruits visit play a significant role in persuading a player to sign with your school.

- It was just announced that one of the top-rated recruits in the country, Gunner Kiel, will be attending the game. Kiel is a senior quarterback at Columbus East in Indiana who had verbally committed to Indiana University, but just denounced that commitment this week.

3) Rally Towels. That makes me shutter. I haven’t heard if these are officially going to happen or not. Rally towels have no place inside Notre Dame Stadium. I hope and pray they don’t make an appearance against USC.

4) This game will be the first night game at Notre Dame in almost 20 years.

5) The men and women’s basketball team will hold “Midnight Madness” which signals the beginning of official practices for both teams. Most schools held these initial practice sessions last weekend, so you know the Irish held off until this weekend just to get more attention.

6) Notre Dame opens its brand new hockey arena, the Compton Family Ice Arena. The grand opening took place Friday night when the Irish beat hockey powerhouse Rensselaer. (I’m kidding about that hockey powerhouse title. I actually have no idea where Rensselaer is or how good they are at hockey)

7) We may even see green jerseys worn by Notre Dame. There has been no talk of this, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Irish broke them out.

So with all that going on, let’s hope people remember there is a game to be played.

Keys to an Irish Victory

Stop Matt Barkley- Barkley is the USC Trojans starting quarterback. The junior comes in having thrown 16 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. The Trojans starting running back is out because of injury, so their offense is going to rely on Barkley being able to move the offense. Barkley will also get plenty of help from his sophomore receiver Robert Woods.

Pass the ball- USC’s defense has given up over 190 passing yards in all six of their games so far. That includes giving up 400 yards to Arizona and 290 to California. Neither of those teams are that good and have a combined record of 5-8. The Irish need to do what they’ve done all season and that’s spread the ball around. Tommy Rees should have no problem getting the ball to his receivers and scoring touchdowns.

Focus on the game- With all the hype going into the game it’s important for the Irish to remember to just play the game. Go out and do what you’ve done the past four games, and that’s to win. That means no turnovers, no dumb plays, and no penalties.

               

          Notre Dame and USC is an age-old rivalry that began when Knute Rockne coached at Notre Dame. Even though neither team is ranked, the game still means a lot to the players, and especially the fans. This game is vital for the Irish if they want to make it to a BCS Bowl. The Trojans are the biggest hurdle standing between them and the season finale at Stanford. If the Irish win today they should get to nine wins, possible 10.

Predicted score: Notre Dame-38, USC- 17

A Brief World Series Preview

            Over 2,000 baseball games have been played and six months have passed since the beginning of the Major League Baseball season. Through those long six months the conversation involving the favorites to win the World Series usually only included the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies. Here we are, on the cusp of the 2011 World Series, and there no teams from the East Coast. Thank God!

            
             The best-of-seven series to decide the world champion will be between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers.  How many people would have thought these two would be here back in April, or even August? Heck, nobody thought either would be here when the playoffs started.

            
            The Rangers won the American League West Division and came into the playoffs as the second seed. In the playoffs the Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in a best-of-five series, and then beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in a best-o-seven series. In those 10 games, the Rangers only scored less than three runs one game averaged five runs a game.

            
            The Cardinals finished second in the National League Central Division, but came from 10 games back to win the Wild Card and sneak into the playoffs. The Cards beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in a best-of-five and then beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 in a best-of-seven series. In their 11games, the Cards averaged 4 runs a game.

            
             It definitely seems like this series between the Cardinals and the Rangers will be an offensive exposition. Both teams have great weapons at the plate, and not so strong bullpens. It wouldn’t surprise me to the teams combine for more than 10 runs each game.

Schedule for the 2011 World Series

10/19- Rangers at Cardinals (Cardinals win 3-2. Cardinals lead series 1-0)

10/20- Rangers at Cardinals (Rangers win 2-1. Series tied 1-1)

10/22- Cardinals at Rangers (Cardinals win 16-7. Cardinals lead series 2-1)

10/23- Cardinals at Rangers (Rangers win 4-0. Series tied)

10/24- Cardinals at Rangers (Rangers win 4-2. Rangers lead series 3-2)

10/26- Rangers at Cardinals (Colby Lewis vs. Jaime Garcia)

10/27- Rangers at Cardinals*

*-if necessary

- Names in parenthesis are expected starting pitchers
UPDATED 10/26/2011: I have put the game scores in place where the expected starting pitchers are. I have also updated that expected starters list.

           
             Being a Cardinals fan, I have to pick them to win. I think it’ll take all seven games to do though.

2011 Izod IndyCar Season Review

            After all was said and done Sunday afternoon, Dario Franchitti was the only winner. The Scotsman won his fourth IndyCar Series Championship over runner up, Will Power. Franchitti won four races over the entire season, two on road courses and two on oval tracks. Power actually had six wins but was never able to finish in the Top 5 consistently.

            
            The rest of the IndyCar Season was way more exciting than Dario getting another championship. There were eight different winners on the 17-race schedule (originally 18 but the Vegas race was cancelled after the wreck) including first time winners Mike Conway and Ed Carpenter. Marco Andretti got the second win of his career and Hunter-Reay got his third. Dan Wheldon won the Indy 500. The rest of the wins were split between Franchitti, Power, and Scott Dixon.

            
            There were plenty of great races in the 2011 season. I can think of about five that really stick out to me as having great finishes. My favorite though was the Kentucky race a few weeks ago. For the entire duration of the race cars were racing side-by-side and the drivers never giving an inch to anybody. 
            With 10 laps to go, Ed Carpenter pulled alongside Dario Franchitti where the two would remain, side by side, for the rest of the race. It was incredible watching the two go all out while remaining just feet away from each other. Soon there were just five laps to go, then two, and then the white flag was out. The two continued to race next to each other as they came off of Turn 4. Then Carpenter, on the high side, somehow pulled ahead of Franchitti by just mere inches and crossed the finish line first. The win by Carpenter was the first of his career and the first for his team owner, Sarah Fisher. Needless to say, it was a very emotional winner’s circle, and a win that everybody in IndyCar could be happy for.

            
            For all those great finishes, there were some really low lows. IndyCar chief steward, Brian Barnhart may have one of the toughest jobs in all of racing. He’s basically the head umpire. He’s the one that has the final say on all rules and punishments, and he’s the guy fans and drivers blame if you have a problem with a rule or punishment.

            There are several different rules that have several different punishments for “aggressive driving”. Several of these rules require a judgment call that forces Barnhart to make a decision almost immediately. Unfortunately, some of his decisions were questionable. Just looking at the schedule, I can think of at least one of these instances occurring in almost all the races. 
            The worst of all these calls came at New Hampshire. It’s a situation that would take way too long to explain, but basically Barnhart gave the thumbs up for a restart while the race track was slick from a light rain. When the restart came, cars went sliding everywhere and the race was red-flagged and ended. For a week after, drivers Oriol Servia and Ryan Hunter-Reay argued about how each deserved the victory. Eventually Hunter-Reay was declared the winner, but many fans considered this incident to be the last straw for Barnhart.

Final Standings for the 2011 Izod IndyCar Series Championship

1) Dario Franchitti

2) Will Power

3) Scott Dixon

4) Oriol Servia

5) Tony Kanaan

6) Ryan Briscoe

7) Ryan Hunter-Reay

8) Marco Andretti

9) Graham Rahal

10) Danica Patrick

11) Helio Castroneves

12) James Hinchcliffe

13) Takumo Sato

14) JR Hildebrand

15) Alex Tagliani

16) Vitor Meira

17) Mike Conway

18) E.J. Viso

19) Charlie Kimball

20) Simona de Silvestro

21) Ana Beatriz

22) James Jakes

23) Sebastien Bourdais

24) Justin Wilson

25) Sebastian Saavedra

26) Ed Carpenter

27) Alex Lloyd

            A few notes:

How about Oriol Servia finishing 4^th? Where did this guy come from? I had never even heard of him before this season, but apparently this was his third season in the series. Hopefully he can build on 2011 and win some races in 2012.

Rookies Charlie Kimball and JR Hildebrand really appear to be the future of the sport. The two finished 12^th and 14^th respectively, and floated around the Top 10 in every race.

If IndyCar really wants to become popular, it needs its American drivers to start competing for the Championship. The best finishing Yankee was Ryan Hunter-Reay in 6^th. Finishing behind him in 7^th and 8^th was Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal.

Helio Castroneves finishing 11^th? He can do better than that. He never seemed competitive in any race this season. He even struggled in the Indy 500, which is his favorite race and has won three times.

            There are so many questions heading into the 2012 season; a lot of questions that nobody will know the answer to until the first race of the season in March.

 Here are some of the questions heading the off-season.

How will the teams adjust to using the new 2012 car? There will be three new engines in those cars too that are made by Honda, Lotus, or Chevrolet. Testing will continue through the winter but nobody will know how they cars will react in race conditions until the first lap in St. Petersburg.

Will Penske Racing remain intact? Rumors have been circulating all season about Penske cutting down to two drivers, or replacing one. Everybody knows that Will Power will stay, but who could be released? Ryan Briscoe or Helio Castroneves? There aren’t many adequate replacements for either of those drivers.

Who will fill Danica’s spot? This is a literal and figurative question. Danica Patrick is leaving IndyCar to pursue her interest in NASCAR. Dan Wheldon was supposed to take over her spot, but now that won’t happen. In a figurative sense, will an American or women driver step and become the face of IndyCar?

How many oval races will there be? The number of oval races has already declined to around six because tracks don’t make money from hosting IndyCar. This leaves 11 road courses and six ovals. Will Whledon’s accident decrease the number of ovals further though?

Will changes be made after the Wheldon crash? IndyCar has to do something to prevent what happened at Vegas to ever happen again. The biggest, and easiest change, is to limit how many cars can race on 1.5 mile tracks like Vegas. If you limit the car count to 26 or 27, you can get rid of drivers that aren’t as skilled and are more prone to crash.

            
            It will be a very exciting and busy off season for everybody involved in IndyCar. Drivers and teams will have an all new car to test and learn how it will perform at each track. Teams will be swapping and picking up new drivers so they will have to get accustomed to their new homes as well as the new cars. As soon as any of these questions are answered, or new questions arise, I will let you know!

- I apologize for the second half or so of this post being sloppy. I had a hard time getting what I wrote in Microsoft Word to fit into where you post a story at on this blog. If that sounds complicated, it's because it is. All those indented sentences are supposed to have bullet points next to them and the final standings are supposed to be two columns. Obviously, that isn't how it came out.

Final Thoughts on Dan Wheldon

           Growing up in Indiana, especially so close to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you get a tremendous appreciation for race car drivers, especially the drivers in the IndyCar series. You get to learn about the past, present, and future of the open-wheel racing in America better than anybody else in the world. This is the home of the IndyCar Series Headquarters, several IndyCar teams, and the USAC National Headquarters. Growing up here also gives you a much better appreciation for the select few that have won the Indianapolis 500. Drivers like A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Tom Sneeva, Arie Luyendyk, and Helio Castroneves are all like super heroes around here. Even if you’ve never met those guys, you feel like you know them. They are the ones that we have cheered on during the month of the May. They are the ones that fill us with hope and happiness when they cross the finish line in first place.

           

            Sometimes though, we forget that these superheroes are not immortal. We forget that even though it is all just a sport, there is danger involved. Those times that we are reminded of this are horribly depressing. Nobody wanted what happened to Dan Wheldon to happen, but we all knew it was possible. It was possible for any of the other drivers I listed and the ones I didn’t. It’s possible for all drivers now and all the ones that will someday become our new superheroes. That is what makes these men and women superheroes though. They are able to do what none of us can, and that is to look death right in the face and drive past him, at over 200 M.P.H.

            

            Wheldon was a great man and an even better driver. It didn’t matter who you were, he would take the time to sign an autograph or pose for a picture. He always had a smile on his face, whether he had come in first place or last. He should not only be remembered for his on-track success (2 Indy 500 wins, 16 IndyCar wins, 1 IndyCar championship) but also how he acted off the track. He was a superhero, and he will be missed.

Dan Wheldon

                October 16^th was supposed to be a shining day for the sport of IndyCar. It was the final race in a season that had seen numerous first-time winners, first-time tracks, rising stars, and plenty of ups and downs. This finale was supposed to be a battle between two of the sport’s best drivers going all out for the championship. It was supposed to be a day that saw a record-breaking 34 drivers racing within feet of each other at over 200 MPH. Instead, the only story that will be remembered is one that could not be any sadder.

            
            The final race in the 2011 IndyCar season was just 11 laps in when a horrific incident occurred in Turn 1. It was a 15-car accident that involved drivers Will Power, JR Hildebrand, Paul Tracy, Dan Wheldon, and others. All drivers were released without injury except Wheldon, who had to be flown to a nearby hospital. A red flag was waved to clean up the track, and IndyCar allowed all the remaining drivers to park their cars and stand with their teams.  For approximately two hours, drivers, crew members, fans, and media waited to hear how Dan Wheldon was doing. Around 6:00 p.m., a drivers-only meeting was called. At that meeting, it was announced that Dan Wheldon had died because of injuries suffered from his crash.

            
            With those words, the world of IndyCar Racing turned upside-down. A day that began with such brightness for the future ended in bleak darkness. One of auto-racing’s most colorful personalities and most skilled racers had been taken from this world to soon.

            
            English-born Dan Wheldon was just 33 years old. He is survived by his wife and two young sons. He is most famous for winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, as well as the 2005 IndyCar Series Championship. 

UPDATE 10/17/2011 at 1:22 p.m. I went by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to visit the make-shift memorial that has been made for Wheldon. The objects that have been left range from cards to Wheldon's family to flowers to autographed pictures that Wheldon signed. It is located at the main gate of IMS at 16th and Georgetown, right outside Turn 1.