A Mixed Bag of Post

 Formula 1 under the lights…

Those fast cars I like so much are headed to Singapore for Formula 1’s version of a gimmick race. The night race was a fun thing the first couple years, but now it’s just another race. The whole point of going under the lights was to ensure European viewers would have a lovely afternoon race. The concept was interesting (in 2008), but the track is, frankly, dreadful. Out of the 23 turns, 13 are 90-degrees or sharper, which makes for slow laps and very limited passing. It can be exciting, though.

This year, however, Formula 1 is boring. I hate saying that, too, because it’s one of the best forms of motorsport around…but it’s become nigh unwatchable because of one man: Sebastian Vettel.

There was a time in the early 2000s that Ferrari had this driver named Michael Schumacher, you may have heard of him. I didn’t even watch F1 at the time, and I knew who he was. The reason I knew him, even in the NASCAR-dominated southeastern United States, was because he was beyond dominant in his sport.

In 2002, Schumacher became the first, and so far only, driver to finish every race on the podium (a top three finish) in a season. Ferrari won 15 of the 17 races that year. The Driver’s Championship was decided in July, with six races left to run. In 2003, Schumacher won the point’s title by only 2 points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. 2004 saw Schumi return to form, as he won 13 of the first 14 races of the season and finished with 14 wins out of 18 races. He won the point’s title by over 30 points, a huge gap in the days of the closer points spread. Ferrari was so dominant during this time that Schumacher won the driver’s title from 2000 to 2004. In short, unless you were a tifosi, you hated F1 in the early 2000s.

I’m starting to feel that way about the sport now. Red Bull Renault and Sebastian Vettel have become so dominant that it makes for tough viewing. RBR has a 104 point lead in the Constructor’s Title, meaning they would have to finish 3 consecutive races with both cars outside the points while Ferrari, currently #2 in the standings, would have to finish those same three races 1-2 in order to surpass them.

The Driver’s Championship is no better. Vettel holds a 222-169 advantage over Fernando Alonso. Alonso would have to win three straight races without Vettel scoring more than 20 points in the same stretch to overtake him. Tall orders, both. The Red Bull car, designed by Adrian Newey, is simply the best car on the grid. It’s not always the fastest straightline, but it is the best car in the “bendy bits” of the tracks.

There are seven races to go, and Red Bull should be favored at four of the next five circuits. I’ll be glad when someone breaks the Red Bull dominance. I’m actually cheering for Fernando Alonso, which is really awkward for me…

Wisconsin, Arizona State, and an officiating Crew that is unaware of the rules of the game…

The Wisconsin Badgers traveled to Tempe, Arizona to take on the Sun Devils of Arizona State in one of the bigger non-conference games of the last football weekend. The game was rather engaging, as each team traded blows to the final whistle. However, in the last 18 seconds of game-time, the dead began to rise from the grave, there was human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together…mass hysteria. What happened?

 

Joel Stave, the Badgers QB, brought his team to the line on the right hashmark. They were trying to line up a game-winning field goal, and they sought simply to move the ball to the middle of the field; an easier kick. Stave took the snap and rolled left, then knelt and placed the ball on the ground. When he placed the ball down, his knee was not touching, but it had touched the ground earlier. The PAC-12 officiating crew then suffered a collective brain aneurysm, allowing Arizona State players to just lay on the ball. No fumble was called, no ASU players were flagged for delay of game (as they should have been), and the referee just watched as the clock wound down to about 3 seconds before he allowed Wisconsin to even line up to try and snap the ball again, at which point it was too late. ASU had won probably the most controversial game of the year.

Any way you look at it, the Badgers were screwed out of a win. The officials should have flagged ASU for delay of game, since no fumble had been called and the players were actually keeping Wisconsin from lining up to spike the ball and stop the clock. PAC-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has reprimanded the crew with what amounts to a slap on the wrist. The conspiracy theory minded college football fans will say it’s obvious the PAC-12 officials were securing a non-conference win for their conference. More likely, what we have is an incompetent field crew that should be punished for screwing up a game so badly.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin still takes a loss. Just put an asterisk beside it in the record book.

Baseball and prophecy…

Back at the beginning of August I wrote a baseball post in which I delivered predictions on the playoffs. I also wrote this little line:

“With the Braves currently 63-45, going .500 the rest of the way would leave them 90-72. I have to believe they’ll play better than .500 baseball. So let’s assume they play .600 baseball (which is 32-22 the rest of the way). Doing that would leave the Braves with a record of 95-67. That feels right for this Braves club.”

The Braves are currently 90-62 with ten games remaining. If they play .500 ball for the next ten games, they’ll finish with a record of 95-67. Sometimes I scare myself.