All-Star Race XXV

Last night, Tony Stewart took home the $1,000,000 prize as the winner of the Sprint All-Star Race. The cash was not the only reason this was a big win for Tony. This was Tony's first victory in his new car, which he is partial owner of, and the first victory for Stewart-Haas racing. Even though this race did not count in the points standings, this is still a big accomplishment and morale boost for the whole team. Other stories worth mentioning that came from the All-Star Race is that Sam Hornish Jr. and Jamie McMurray raced their ways into the All-Star Race by finishing 1st and 2nd in the shoot-out. Perhaps the biggest side story was the winner of the fan vote,18-year-old rookie Joey Logano, who has improved majorly since the beginning of the season. joey definitely held his own during the All-Star Race, having a few opportunities to make big moves. Joey ended up finishing 8th out of 21 in this race. Not bad at all.

The Phils Visit The White House

Yesterday, the Phillies got to visit the White house and take a tour with President Barack Obama to celebrate their World Series victory. They were supposed to go earlier, but the event was postponed due to the passing of Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas. While at the White House, President Obama made a speech regarding the Phillies victory, call them the under dogs, just like himself. He also acknowledged many of the players and their wives for the charity work they do. He also recognized that both he and center fielder, Hawaiian native Shane Victorino come from the same state. At the end of the speech, the players presented President Obama with a jersey with the number 44, for him being the 44th President, and a baseball autographed by the team. The President joked with Jimmy Rollins, who was giving him his memorabilia, asking if he could have Jimmy's World Series ring as well. The Phillies were told to come again, on one condition, the win another World Series this year. Let's hope that was incentive for the Phils to repeat this year!

Happy NASCAR Day!

Today, May 15th, 2009 is NASCAR Day! Here is what this means: NASCAR day, held on the Friday before the All-Star race every year, is the day where the NASCAR community celebrates the sport and all the sport does. On NASCAR day, a telethon and rally is held in Charlotte, North Carolina to raise money for all the charities NASCAR is involved with, such as the Ronald McDonald House, the Children's Miracle Network, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness, Habitat for Humanity and many more. Also, on this day drivers, owners, crew chiefs, and officials usually make contributions to NASCAR's main charity: Victory junction Camp, run by one of NASCAR's first families: The Pettys. This camp was set up by Kyle Petty after his son Adam was killed in a racing accident. It was always Adam's dream to help kids with special needs, and at this camp, children with special needs from around the country can come, free of charge, to have fun for a week. Also, many drivers have their own foundations that are recognized and donated to on NASCAR Day. Finally, on this day the past, present, and future of the sport is celebrated.

The Race for $1,000,000

This Saturday night is NASCAR's annual Sprint All-Star race at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. This race is truly one of the best of the year, and it doesn't even count for anything. The winner gets no points, but he does get the $1,000,000 prize. To get into the All-Star race, one must have accomplished at least one of the following: a) won a points race between the last All-Star race and this All-Star race, b) been a previous All-Star race winner in the last 10 years, c)placed 1st or 2nd in the All-Star shoot out that takes place before the all-Star race (only those not already in the All-Star race compete in this race), d) won the fan vote for the final All-Star race spot (fans vote for a person who is not already in the race, if the person who received the highest number of votes comes in 1st of 2nd in the shoot out, the person who received the next highest number of votes gets the spot). This race is always exciting and dramatic, so I'm really exited to see what happens.

NLCS Re-Match!

Last time the Phillies met the Dodgers, it was for the National League Championship. Not only was it exciting because it was for the ticket to the World Series, but there was a big scuffle between the teams that cleared the dug outs. It happened when Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda appeared to have thrown a pitch intentionally at Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino's head. This cause the somewhat hot-tempered Victorino to start mouthing off to the less that fluent in English Kuroda, which upset the Dodger's catcher. Then, Chase Utley, who was in the Phillies on deck circle started saying some stuff to defend his teammate, and got in a battle of words with another Dodgers player. Somehow, this lead to the dug outs being cleared and and a full scale riot seemed to be on the way.However, everyone got calmed down before things got violent. A few players walked away with fines. So anyway, starting tonight, the Phils are in a 3-game home series with the Dodgers. This is exciting because it will show how good the Dodgers really are without Manny Ramirez. Many are saying that the Dodgers are the favorite to represent the National League in the World Series this year, but those statements were made before their star slugger tested positive for steroids. I personally believe it is too early to say who will make the playoffs, let alone be in the World Series. I'm excited for this series. It should be good. Hopefully, everyone will keep their tempers in check and let the winner be decided on the baseball field.

A Random Story

Today, I am going to tell a random story about something that happened last summer. Last summer, I was at the Little League World Series with my friends. We walked by the PowerAde stand, and a sign was that said Ryan Howard would be there at 2:oo at the players' zone or some weird place like that. I said to my friend: "We have to go! Ryan Howard will be there!" Of course, she knew who Ryan Howard was from being near me. She agreed, so come 2:00, we went to this place where Ryan Howard was going to be. It was somewhat (by somewhat I mean really) unorganized, and people were everywhere, demanding to know where Ryan Howard was. The PowerAde people said some explanation to where Ryan Howard was, and suddenly a rumor that he was at the mall spread like wildfire. To this day, I still don't know if I should believe that. So anyway, a line was somewhat formed, and we waited and waited for Ryan Howard to come. It was 3:30, and Ryan Howard was still not there. Finally, they announced that he would be there in a few minutes and started asking Ryan Howard trivia questions like: What is Ryan Howard's favorite PowerAde flavor? To bad all the answers were plastered on posters all around. Finally, Ryan Howard arrived, and everyone cheered, excited to get his autograph. Then, they announced that only the people who answered trivia questions correctly would get to meet Ryan Howard. I was soooo mad, so i took two pictures of Ryan Howard from a distance on my phone, and my friend and I left. The only good thing about that experience was that I can say that I was close enough to Ryan Howard to take two blurry cell phone camera pictures.

Manny Ramirez On Steroids... NO WAY!!!

And this surprises you?!? Come on, any guy who hits a home run practically every time he goes up to bat is someone to wonder about. I was not surprised one bit when I heard this. I personally think a 50 game suspension is not long enough at all. Here's a guy who won a World Series, most likely using performance enhancing drugs. A WORLD SERIES! Come on! So now, the Colorado Rockies might have been robbed of a World Championship (you never know what could have happened). I really think not just baseball, but sports in general need to be tougher on cheating policies, because after all, using steroids is cheating! Also, I would like to know where peoples' priorities have gone. Is winning so important that you would cheat and risk your health to do it? Do you want people to remember you that badly? Don't get me wrong, I really like to win, but I do not see the point in winning if you cheat. Why would that make you feel like you accomplished something. To me, it wouldn't. If you have to cheat to win and to make yourself look good, then you should really find something else to do, because nobody like a dishonest person. Also, i have a problem with this 50 game suspension because what does that do to punish Manny Ramirez? Nothing. To him, that's a nice vacation. Its not like he needs the money, and honestly, sometimes I don't think he really cares for and respects the game, but that's just my opinion. I don't know though, maybe its just "Manny being Manny".