The Silver Fox, or Buffet Benny?

Brad Keselowski  continues to make headlines, and rightfully so. One article particularly piques my interest, from Yahoo Sports, which comments on BK as a "throwback driver". I can see that. He's not afraid to say what's on his mind, not afraid to mix it up on the track, and backs up what he says on the track.

But he also knows where to draw the line and not go overboard. I'm looking at you, Kurt Busch. He's got your talent, your drive and determination, and your ride, because he knows when to say when. He understands the line that divides verbal sparring and competition with complete douchebaggery and doesn't cross it. But I digress.

I could go on about how I, like Mr. Heir, who wrote the Yahoo article I linked to, also agree that he is a bit of a throwback driver of the future. I've taken notice of his skill, and the way he talks to the media, and am becoming a fan more and more each week.

What I want to comment on is this quip:

Bad but with a brain
Sometimes known for his nickname, 'Bad Brad', Keselowski is a 21st Century NASCAR stock car driver with a 20th Century attitude. Now, I'm not talking about Hall-of-Famers like a run-your-mouth kind of guy such as Darrell Waltrip was or short-and-sweet no nonsense driver like Dale Earnhardt Sr. or for that matter, a surly and short grumbler like David Parsons. And by the way, I'm not insinuating that Keselowski is a future Hall-of Famer … yet.
No, Keselowski may drive hard like Waltrip, Earnhardt, Parsons plus Cale Yarborough but the 28 year old from Michigan has the easy articulate way that maybe is more like part Ned Jarrett, another Hall-of-Famer. Brad K doesn't mind hard driving as long as everyone's okay with it and no one arbitrarily takes someone else out. But bumping and and grinding is fine.

 Surly, short grumbler? David Pearson, perhaps? I don't see Benny or Phil Parsons as a "grumbler". Not once, but twice. Gah.

What I take issue with is that he considers Brad to have the driving style of these heroes, with the mannerisms of "Gentleman" Ned Jarrett. I disagree. I see him as an amalgam of all of these drivers, both in driving style, and attitude on and off the track. For example:

• He can jaw like "Jaws" about the competition, as referenced in the following quote (via ESPN):

 “There’s parts and pieces on the car that are moving after inspection that make the car more competitive," Keselowski said of the Hendrick team cars. “Some guys have it, some don’t. There’s a question to the interpretation of the rule. Penske Racing (Keselowski’s team) errs on the safe side because we don’t want to be the guys that get the big penalty.”

• He's not afraid to mix it up like "The Intimidator" used to:

• He can be gentlemanly about commenting on good, hard, racing, regardless of the outcome:

He's all these guys, all rolled into one. Like I said, he's growing on me more each week. He is the future old school. 

If I Go There Will Be Trouble

"Rocket" Roger Clemens is preparing to join an exclusive club of professional athlete.

No, not the special type of athlete that waves off the effects of aging to continue to compete in sports at the professional level. No, he's not trying to make a final push to get into the Hall Of Fame.

Clemens is joining  a league of extraordinary gentlemen formed by charter member Brett Favre, with Mark Martin as VP.

That class of athlete that doesn't know when to quit. The class of athlete that is oblivious to, or blissfully ignorant of, the idea that they can do no more to elevate themselves as icons of their given sports. All they stand to gain is sullying the records and statistics attained over their careers that make them the HOF candidate icons of their sports that they are. They stand to lose more than they stand to gain by hanging around so long. You're not going to perform on the same level at age 50 as you did at age 30, and you're certainly not going to be better 20 years later... so all that's left is to muddy up records and stats.

But it's not just about career stats and legend, either. It's about the fans. The fans that you become heroes to and buy the tickets and souvenirs and memorabilia that afford you the luxuries you have. Fans. FAN(ATIC)S. The people that don't just become attached, sometimes emotionally, to a sport or a team, but a specific athlete. The fans that are so attached that when their heroes of sport decide to retire, mourn the moment as if losing a family member. Those same fans have that emotion cheapened every time that hero says he's retiring, then shows up a year later wanting back in. Then plays for another year, and retires. And a year later, wants back in.

Just go, Roger. Please. What you're doing is pure hubris. You have nothing to gain but a paycheck, and everything to lose. Be a hero, be a legend, and stay retired. Be a leader. Set an example to future HOF'ers of any sport. Stand behind your word. You said you were retiring from the game of baseball, so stand behind your word. Just. Stay. Retired.

Too Much Is Not Enough

Stories abound about how Jimmie Johnson would like to see a reward handed out to the winner of the "regular season" points leader.

Point of Order: You do get a prize, Jimmie. You are entered into the 10 race playoff-style "Chase for the Cup". A trophy, I remind you, that you have won FIVE CONSECUTIVE TIMES in your ten years on the circuit. No driver has ever done that, and only two drivers in history have bested that total. Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, who picked up seven titles during their storied careers.

Let's take a moment to do some rough math. Career totals for Mr. Johnson during his 10 year career:
58 Wins
159 Top 5's
240 Top 10's.

At 36 races per season, he's winning at a rate of 16%. One out of every six races, on average, he takes home the checkered flag. Top 5; 44%. One out of every 2.25 races. Top 10; 66%. Two out of every three races.

Without spending a couple of days digging through stats, I'd have to imagine that these numbers lead all active drivers, and probably most retired drivers as well, based on percentages.

Do you really need another award? Pulling down six to seven million a year in purse money alone isn't enough? You're on form to win your sixth title, and you want yet another form of recognition? Really? Really. C'mon. C'MON.

*edit to say:
After a quick dig through Earnhardt's stats, JJ has bettered E's percentages. In his 25 year career: Wins; 11%. Top 5's; 41.5%. Top 10's; 63.3%. 

Dinger Donger...

...and other thoughts about substance abuse in sports.

I've been wondering for a while what was found in A. J. Allmendinger's failed drug test, and whether we would see a steady, purposeful recovery method similar to the Randy LaJoie incident, or whether it would turn into the train-wreck that is Jeremy Mayfield.

A. J. has come forward (after seeking advice from fellow drivers) and commented on what was discovered in the tests. Dinger tested positive for Adderall, and claims that it was a pill handed to him by a friend that was described as an energy supplement. He didn't know what it was.

When the story originally broke, I wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. Innocent until proven guilty. Wait for the "B" results, and what was actually in it. Now that I know what the test found, I see his story as less likely to be true, due to the performance-enhancing nature of the drug. It increases energy and mental focus. Is that a huge advantage? In my opinion, no. It is not. Based on the mental acuity required to break into and excel in the sport in the first place, I would see it as a minimal advantage over your competitors.

On that note, even if the effect is minimal, it's still an advantage. This is a sport that always pushes the envelope on gaining advantage on the competition. It's a sport that measures every possible part of a car to 32nd's of an inch, and teams do the best they can to get as close to those tolerances as possible. And that's what I think is really going on here. He saw a way to get an edge, however minimal it might have been, and got caught. He chose a method, however, that may have cost him his career. I wish him no ill will, and hope he can one day return to the sport.

Tyrann Mathieu

God bless the family of Tyrann Mathieu. There are too many stories about parents or families that fail to take responsibility for the actions of their children. I found it refreshing when stories came out earlier this week that the family of the disgraced corner back from LSU came forward to say that they would be keeping him in rehab and they would decide if and when he would go back to school. He was given chances to straighten himself up and failed to, so they stepped in and took control of the situation. Good on-ya.

Anyone that has seen him play should be able to recognize that he is a gifted, talented athlete and could have a bright future at the next level. His family does recognize that and knows that he won't make it that far if he doesn't clean himself up. When he makes it to the next level, he will owe a great deal of that to his family for the actions they are taking today.

Melky Cabrera

The All Star MVP and leader of the NL Batting Title, having the best season of his career, is caught juicing, then creates a fake web site to corroborate his story as to how it happened. There's only one thing I want to say about this.

Tool.