Martinsville Reactions & Observations

- It was a big win for Denny Hamlin after being a favorite to win at Bristol two weeks ago. He finally escaped some bad luck to get a win.

- Some rare harsh words were said by Jeff Burton about Michael McDowell, who was holding up a lot of leaders while a lap down late in the race. The race may have ended differently if this hadn't been the case. In any event, good job by Burton to finish as high as he did with less-than-fresh tires.

- It was a big rebound race for Hendrick Motorsports with their four drivers finishing in the top-7 (second, fourth, sixth, & seventh).

- Juan Montoya finished a solid 13th place in the race, which was the highest finish for a Dodge.

- Jamie McMurray drove his heart out, and for good reason. He got himself back into the top-35 and with a cushion too. Nice finish for him, and he could use some more good finishes with his place at Roush in question.

- Elliot Sadler did a great job, racing with a bad back and all yesterday. He managed a very respectable 15th place finish after not even being able to drive in practice on Saturday.

- Aric Almirola certainly didn't last long in the top-3 yesterday. From the green flag, until his engine blew, he just didn't have it in him to play with the big boys on NASCAR's shortest track.

- Race runner-up Jeff Gordon remarked afterward, "I wondered why I had no grip, until I got out of the car and saw how wet it was." It adds to my surprise that NASCAR didn't delay the race at all.

- It was a miserable day for Matt Kenseth.

Next up is Texas.

Aaron Larsen

Tom Brady at risk?

Do the patriots need a new or younger offensive line? Was the patriots offensive line exposed last year in the super bowl? Well according to the statistics from last season, Tom Brady was sacked the fewest in the league last year but was hit the third most. That means 45 times after he threw the ball he was hit. The patriots put Brady (there franchise player) and there long term success at risk. By making Brady throw so many times a game there is more chances for him to get hurt, and also tires out the offensive line. By the time the patriots get into the fourth quarter, one must assume that the offensive line is tired each being 300lbs or more. I think they need to work on quick screen passes and there running game like they use to; and by doing that they can protect Brady for many years to come.

The order is Hits Sack Total:

1.) Jon Kitna Lions 38 45 83

2.) Donovan McNabb Eagles 27 43 70

3.) Tom Brady Patriots 45 23 68

-Ryan-

Pacman to Dallas?

Is Pacman Jones going to Dallas a good idea? Should it even be news? He has not played in over a year. He was a good player but there talking about him in the news and making this seem as if he was Peyton Manning or Tom Brady on the trade block.

"I really think my days being a Titan [are] over with," Jones said Saturday, according to The (Nashville) Tennessean. "I enjoyed my stay here. I just think my days as a Titan [are] over with."

Jones, appearing at a charity basketball game at Tennessee State University with rosters made up of current and former Titans, signed his name and the number 21 on a football that was being auctioned off for charity instead of the number 32 he wore in two seasons in Nashville.

Asked if that was wishful thinking, he said "that's your idea," according to the report. But Jones also said he believed Deion Sanders, whom he considers a friend, would let him wear the No. 21 that "Prime Time" wore with the Cowboys, according to the report from ESPN.

Personally I feel that this talk needs to end Pacman Jones has yet to show he can go 6 months straight with out getting into trouble with the law, and the commissioner has not even reinstated him to play in the 2008-2009 season.

-Ryan-

NHL Western Conference playoff predictions

Now with the the top 3 Seeds are pretty much sown up by the Red Wings,Sharks and Wild the western conference playoffs will be the must see action because its such a deep conference. With that being said here are the current standings as the season comes to a close.

Rank		GP	W	L		OT	Pts	GF	GA	Home	Away	L10
1	y - Detroit Red Wings*	78	51	20		7	109	247	175	26-9-3	25-11-4	7-2-1
2	y - San Jose Sharks*	78	47	21		10	104	210	182	20-13-6	27-8-4	8-0-2
3	Minnesota Wild*	79	42	28		9	93	214	211	23-11-5	19-17-4	5-2-3
4	x - Anaheim Ducks	79	44	27		8	96	195	184	26-9-4	18-18-4	6-3-1
5	Dallas Stars	78	43	29		6	92	230	196	22-15-2	21-14-4	2-7-1
6	Calgary Flames	78	40	28		10	90	216	215	21-11-9	19-17-1	5-5-0
7	Colorado Avalanche	79	42	31		6	90	221	211	26-12-2	16-19-4	5-5-0
8	Nashville Predators	78	39	31		8	86	222	220	22-14-4	17-17-4	5-5-0

So if the bottom half remains as is in the first round you will see Detroit facing Nashville in the 1-8 match up, San Jose against Colorado in the 2-7 match up. Along with Minnesota taking on Calgary in the 3-6 series, then my favorite match up the 4-5 series with Dallas and Anaheim. Now I see the red wings easily beating Nashville, Colorado upsetting San Jose along with Minnesota beating Calgary. And i have the Ducks beating the Stars.

after the second round I have the Western Conference Finals being a rematch of last years with Detroit and Anaheim. It will go seven games with Detroit getting revenge from last year and winning the series.

~Derek Gause~

Arm Wrestling

After a night out with the guys we all went back to our dorms and chilled for a while. So around 3:30 a.am. we were flipping through channels and we happened to stumble across Professional Arm Wrestling on ESPN.

It absolutely blows my mind that this was actually being covered on ESPN. I didn't even know that Arm Wrestling was actually a sport. When I first saw it my first thought was that old Sylvester Stallone movie "Over the Top" from the 80's.

I couldn't stop laughing while watching ESPN's coverage because I couldn't get Stallone's images out of my head when he flips his cap around and gets in the zone before his matches. It's pretty bad when you see Professional Arm Wrestling on TV and the first thing you think of is Over the Top.

Maybe next time when I'm flipping through channels at 3 in the morning im going to stumble across coverage of Professional Dodge ball or something. Sorry this one is so short but thats all I have top say on the matter of Pro Arm Wrestling.

~Derek Gause~