Indy 500 always well worth watching
Remember that one time ...:
When the Indianapolis 500 was a huge deal?
Yeah, that was awesome.
It was a Memorial Day weekend tradition.
Unfortunately, the last time it was on the consciousness of sports fans was back when a young actor named Larry Storch was just becoming a household name.
Or at least it seems that way.
For me, though, it's one of those events I'll watch regardless. Give me the spectacle of an Indy or a Daytona 500 or The Masters or the Kentucky Derby any day.
They may have just been able to find enough drivers to fill the 33-car grid and the new design of the turbocharged cars may be a shock to the system, but I don't care.
Come Sunday around noon, I'll be back home in Indiana for a little while.
As if that weren't enough:
Indy in the afternoon and the Coca Cola 600 from Charlotte on Sunday night?
Talk about a perfect big sandwich day.
Three-quarters of the way there:
Here are the faces of current players I'd put on a Chicago version of Mount Rushmore right now:
Paul Konerko, Derrick Rose and Jonathan Toews.
Three talented — and classy — guys.
Not sure who I'd add from the Cubs or Bears, though.
Kerry Wood retires:
In the words of Wilfred Brimley: “It's the right thing to do and the right way to do it.”
Or something like that.
In the words of the Taco Bell guy: “I burst into tears, yo.”
Which I think means about the same thing.
BTW:
I promise never to type the words “I burst into tears, yo” ever again.
Who's fighting and for what?
After the debacle in Vancouver last year and the shootings in Oklahoma City the other day, can we all just agree that setting up huge video screens and having thousands of people gather to watch a big game outside the stadium is a recipe for trouble?
C'mon, everyone's got a TV, right?
I'm thinking:
Jason Dufner would be a fun guy to hang out with.
And I base that on absolutely nothing except a gut feeling.
Safety dance:
It's fascinating that the NFL has to mandate that all players wear knee and thigh pads.
I understand how wearing that extra 3 ounces of padding might slow a player down a titch, but geesh, wouldn't you want to have every possible level of protection available?
Johnny Knox:
Please, please, please make sure you're 100 percent.
I'll definitely Have Another:
I don't know about you, but the stretch call of the Preakness by NBC's Larry Collmus was about as good as it gets.
Voice cracking, pitch rising, heart racing ... it might be me favorite call of all time.
Check it out and tell me you can wait two more weeks for the Belmont Stakes.
Mega Thousands!
$288,000.
And growing.
That's the pot at the end of the rainbow awaiting one lucky bettor at Arlington Park who decides to throw in a dollar — or more — in an attempt to hit the Jackpot High 5.
The only catch is, that bettor has to not only pick the top 5 finishers in exact order in the final race on Friday's card, but also must be the only person to get it correct. Otherwise there's a carryover and the pot swells even more.
Intriguing, huh?
Have a great:
Memorial Day weekend.
But, hey:
Let's be careful out there.