A Day At The Races (And Other Hits!)

As of right now, I'm embarking on 24 hours without caffeine in preparation for my cardiac stress test tomorrow. Look for degradation of coherence in any potential blog follow-ups as the day wears on. Anything posted after 5:00 PM will probably only consist of primitive, guttural grunts.

When's the last time there was a decent race at Pocono? The super-long straightaways allow guys with a significant horsepower advantage to run away and hide while the much-hyped track width, for all of its "five-wide" potential, actually gives drivers plenty of room to avoid close-quarters racing. And, sure enough, another winner...Kurt Busch this time...absolutely stunk the joint up in dominating the field to the tune of 175 laps led out of 200.

I pegged the first two finishers correctly at the Hungarian Grand Prix and probably could've nailed the trifecta if Fernando Alonso would've had about five more laps to run down Nick Heidfeld. A flag-to-flag win in a season that is rapidly turning into a World Championship coronation for the rookie sensation Hamilton.

The IRL race was bowling-shoe ugly. A grinding wreck that takes out half the field, another excuse for Danica Patrick to whine, and all of it conducted in front of an incredibly sparse crowd after a four-hour rain delay. Ugh. Anyway, Tony Kanaan picked up the win...but the wreck is all anyone's talking about today. The good news? Once his car was turned upright, Dario Franchitti walked away unhurt. Here's the wreck if you haven't seen it.

If you found this blog following the link at Barrow BullCrap, welcome! The anti-Barrow blog was the subject of a Peach Pundit post yesterday and, after I poked fun at some the many misspellings I found there, I later found myself listed on their blogroll as a "friend." Fine. I'll take all the friends I can get. Seriously, if that's supposed to be somehow retaliatory for my spellcopping them and they want like-minded folks to come frag this blog, the funny thing about that is I happen to totally agree with the premise of their blog. I've been on record that "John Barrah" is a political opportunist who's not above changing his public persona in order to protect his political viability for months now (check the comments...I'm "mike").

755. 300. They are what they are. Time for the Braves to go do some damage in New York.

Oh, man...Here I am jumping on another bandwagon. How did RENO 911! make it almost five seasons before I finally discovered it? (I mean...besides the fact that once you get past Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, there are more laughs-per-minute to be found on C-SPAN than Comedy Central.) Anyway, I'm catching up via reruns and I have yet to see one episode that doesn't have at least a couple of gut-busting gags.

Yeah, but did he ever answer the question? This just in, Rory Sabbatini is still a punk.

Finally, my pal and neighbor...former UGA golf great Ryan Hybl...is turning pro! Watch out for him on the PGA Tour in the next couple of years. The long-haired guy carrying his bag, gasping for air and popping nitroglycerin pills? That'll be me.

Three Quick Sunday Predictions

Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway

(Tony and JPM stay hot but the kid wins)
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Tony Stewart
3. Juan Pablo Montoya

Hungarian Grand Prix at The Hungaroring

(Feuding McLaren teammates share podium space...again)
1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
3. Fernando Alonso (McLaren)

[Edited to add: I originally had Felipe Massa (Ferrari) in second
place but my pick was revised after late-Saturday-night penalties
imposed by F1 that reshuffled the starting grid order]

Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway

(Only fitting for Penske Racing to win IRL's last show at MIS)
1. Sam Hornish, Jr.
2. Scott Dixon
3. Dan Wheldon

Feeling The Love Today

I've actually heard from three people who made the list from a couple of days ago. To my great relief, they were all terrific sports about the whole thing and totally okay with it. Word is that it made a pretty good splash under the gold dome on Wednesday. Awesome. Who knows...there may be a sequel if enough new names are submitted over at Peach Pundit.

The post yesterday about Sean Hannity's Manly Man Brodeo Tour '07....errrr...Freedom Concerts...mentioned that a portion of the proceeds were going to charity. Well, as it turns out, not a very freaking big portion. Four bucks from a $78 ticket? To paraphrase your favorite President, Sean..."You can do better...(bites lip)...and you must do better."

JMac over at Safe As Houses and The Wife went and had their first baby yesterday. Little Emma Katherine McGinty...and she's got to be seen to be believed. Go now. It'll make your day.

This much I will tell you about Ron Paul: If his strength at the polls was half of that shown by his supporters in blitzing online polls and call-in shows, the guy would be President-For-Life.

Good news: Stevie Wonder's coming to Atlanta! Bad news: He'll be at Chastain Park. Wonderful. A sweltering, dog-days night rubbing elbows with a bunch of tight-ass white people (okay, I'm white too...but the Chastain crowd is, like, porcelain) who'll be more interested in their wine and cheese than the god of popular music competing for their attention. I've had some of the worst concert experiences of my life at Chastain.

Finally, the fact that it's a painting of John Glover as Lionel Luthor from "Smallville" should've been their first hint that it wasn't really a Van Gogh.

Hallelujah, It's Raining (White) Men

Okay...Some of the proceeds go to charity. Good on
Sean Hannity. But, geez, do you think they could've
made this look a little bit more like a total Sausage Fest?

The Tex Era Begins In Atlanta

A 3-run homer. 4 RBIs. I'm totally man-crushing.
[Since I didn't want to cause unthinkable damage
with the non-commercial use of an AJC pic, I've
substituted an artist's rendition of Mark Teixeira's
first home run as a Brave.]

This Old Heart Of Mine (Pictured)

A quick medical update: I saw my cardiologist, Dr. Lavine, today. As many of you know, I suffered a heart attack back in April (due to a blocked artery...believed to be a genetic defect...had an angioplasty to open the blockage) and the good doctor told me today that my ticker was "showing marked improvement in every measurable aspect." I go back for a cardiac stress test next week. Basically, that means running on the treadmill while hooked up to an EKG. Provided I pass, Dr. Lavine will be clearing me to get back to running and to finally pick up my golf clubs. Thanks to everyone for your well-wishes and kind words. They continue to help more than you'll ever know.

A Face Made For Politics

A nice distraction from the usual partisan back-and-forth at the Peach Pundit the last couple of days has been the taking of unofficial nominations for The 50 Most Beautiful People In Georgia Politics. Here are Google Image Search results for some of the names that were mentioned:

House Admin. Asst. Brittany Anderson

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle

State Rep. Mike Coan

State Rep. J. Gordon Craig

State Rep. Tom Graves

State Sen. Judson Hill

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston

House Comm. Aide Sarah Larios

House Asst. Clerk Morgan McGrady

Sydne Moody

State Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan

State Rep. Nikki Randall

Angela Speir (PSC)

Communications Specialist Natalie Strong

Lobbyist Julie Windom

Not a bad-looking bunch. If your favorite isn't shown, tell them to get some pictures up on the internet!