Get Well K-Lew, and Raider Fans—Don’t Step on the Pastrami!

  The Drive:
      The NFL stands for “Not for Long!”  if you think you’ve got the league figured out. How else can you explain the Redskins run, the Cowboys stumble or the Raiders circus. Oh, wait. That’s Al Davis. The man is nuts. Can you see him, sitting in a robe, pastrami all over the front of his clothes, watching 30 year old highlights? Oh, wait. That was the press conference. My best to Lane Kiffin. We all make career mistakes. The important thing is to walk away without too much damage, physical, psychological, or otherwise. Turn the page, but don’t turn back. You might step on the pastrami.

  The Fairway: I must admit I am still smarting because my favorite player in college football is out for the season. Kenny Lewis Jr. is the model all fathers should hope their sons turn out like. Intelligent, motivated, driven, thoughtful, caring, unselfish, a winner—and oh yea, he can play football, or baseball, or probably just about anything else. I always enjoy talking to Kenny, and I think I speak for plenty of people when I say I’m sick over the luck that would have him rupture an Achilles tendon. He’s a class act. You shouldn’t be shocked that he’s be out at practice anyway on Tuesday, trying to lend a hand and motivate the young backs that will have to pick up the slack.

  The Green: Where in the world did UVA come from?  I honestly didn’t think they had another game on the schedule that they could win. Now, I like the team’s offense more than most. Verica looks like the real deal to me. He’s athletic and has a cannon for an arm, but as you probably know—that’s not enough. He didn’t seem the least bit flustered by anything Maryland presented him with. And speaking of strange turnabouts, where do Maryland fans go from here?  To the Ravens games?  I still like the SEC survivor to take on the Big 12 survivor for the National title, and I doubt anyone of note will be undefeated when all the dust settles.

  The Jar:  Martinsville’s Chase race is fast approaching and it is stacking up to be a game changer.  Johnson and Burton always seem to run well here, and they stand 1st and 4th as I write this. Edwards and Biffle probably would just as soon skip the stop, while Hamlin, Gordon and Stewart won’t mind it at all. It should be great fun. Finally, the problem with Tony Stewart’s win at Talladega wasn’t the ruling, but rather that NASCAR had looked the other way on this one on at least one occasion. As I recall the yellow line was put there after the Earnhardt tragedy for safety purposes. But I’m remembering at least one Truck race finish where they had a three wide sprint to the checkered and they were allowed below the line. No penalty. I don’t think I’m crazy. Thus the reason for the confusion-regardless of what the drivers are told in a meeting. Bottom line, you learn from watching and doing, not from what’s droned at you before the race.  Anyone who has kids knows the best way to teach already.  That said, the loophole is gone—until the next time, when a NASCAR star is the guy MAKING THE pass, not GETTING passed. Then we’ll see what NASCAR does. Can’t wait.