Been a while between posts. I got deep into some books the last couple weeks so I was very interested in reading and not so much in typing. Baseball is crazy right now with the Marlins and Giants both in the playoff race, the Yankees on the verge of being out plus all the other races. I'm paying attention but not watching much, again the books have been taking up my time. If you are a reader and enjoy political thrillers, I hope you've read Vince Flynn and his character Mitch Rapp, I've just started my journey in March and have been making progress on the novels. This post will be the final in the numbers edition and I'm going to talk about some oversights, and numbers beyond the top 100.
500 Miles: There is something about 500 miles and a car race that are just special, the Daytona 500 is the crown jewel of stock car racing. The Indianapolis 500 is the crown jewel of all racing. The Southern 500 is maybe my favorite race of the year. I for one don't think all car races should be marathons and a test of endurance, I enjoy the shorter races that Nascar has rolled out this year, a shorter race means more urgency. That said, the 500 mile races at the right tracks and the right situations are incredible and must watch. Indy is so special to watch and even though I don't go nuts for the race it's still cool. Daytona is incredible and edge of your seat racing for 4 hours, you know one little mistake can ruin your day and since the entire season in front of you the only goal of the Daytona 500 is to win. The Southern 500 has become even better the last couple years as NASCAR has gone with the throwback weekend, where teams pay homage to the past and run old school paint schemes. Some are lame but most are great tributes and the spectacular ones really make the race memorable.
13 Johnny Gaudreau: I feel bad for leaving Johnny Hockey off my first round of numbers, instead opting to talk about The Program. Johnny currently plays for Calgary but in 2010-2011 he played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL and he was awesome, leading the Saints to a championship in their first year back in the league. Johnny is on the smaller side for hockey players, but he's quick and can maneuver in tight spaces. His wrap around goals are so fun to watch and I remember watching him make those same moves when he was a teenager.
3,000 Hits: Baseball is a game of numbers, accumulating stats is part of the game. There are so many special numbers in the game, 500 home runs, 300 wins, 3,000 strikeouts, and of course 3,000 hits. To me 3,000 hits is the coolest club. If you look back you can remember a lot of guys 3,000th hits. Derek Jeter hit a home run, so did Wade Boggs and Alex Rodriguez. Robin Yount and George Brett did it within a month of each other in 1992, Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn did it back to back nights in 1999. Ichiro hit a triple. The list is just awesome and to me 3,000 will always be special.
28 Davey Allison: Davey drew the short straw having the same number as 2 of my all time favorites. I talked about Davey a while back and how much I've grown to appreciate his career recently. I wasn't the biggest racing fan when he died, but in recent years he's been someone I've wanted to learn more about. His family was NASCAR Royalty but they had so much tragedy they aren't near the sport anymore. Read about Davey and Alan Kulwicki and their impact on the sport when you have time.
2006 Rose Bowl: The Rose Bowl is special, every Rose Bowl is special. Watching Michigan lose in 1992 and Iowa lose in 2016 are just as great as watching Michigan win in 1993 and 1998. However, the 2006 Rose Bowl is the greatest game ever played. It's easily the most memorable college football game I've ever watched. The stars were stars and Texas vs USC, #1 vs #2 lived up to the hype. Vince Young was outstanding. Reggie Bush did Reggie Bush things. It was just so incredible, go back watch the game and enjoy.
3 and 5 Joe Gibbs: Joe Gibbs has 3 Super Bowl rings with 3 different Quarterbacks (Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, and Mark Rypien). Joe Gibbs has 5 NASCAR Cup Championship with 3 different drivers (Bobby LaBonte, Tony Stewart x2, and Kyle Busch x2). Joe Gibbs is a damn legend. Joe Gibbs is so great they put him in 2 Halls of Fame. I can't talk enough about the great person Joe Gibbs is, he lead my favorite football team, and now he leads my favorite NASCAR driver. Coach Gibbs gave me my earliest sports memory and hopefully he can help me out this year and give me another.
1989 World Series: The Earthquake Series between Oakland and San Francisco was my second sports memory. Sitting down to watch the Giants and my cousin Robby Thompson play the A's when the TV started shaking. I don't remember all the details but the city of San Francisco took a lot of damage that day. The Series took a couple weeks off before the A's finished off the Giants in a 4 game sweep. The actual series itself was boring but when the world shook it became memorable.
That all I got for this one. Next week I'll get back into some regular posts about regular sports. Baseball is heating up, and college football kicks off, let's talk sports and have some fun.
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