Tennessee Tops Again?

          21 year old Hendersonville, Tennessee driver Josef Newgarden is attempting something, for Tennessee drivers, that has not been done before.

          Newgarden has qualified 7th for Sunday's 96th running of the famed Indianapolis 500.

          If Newgarden can win this race he will accomplish something no other Tennessee driver has done.
    
         He qualified 7th, which is inside of row 3, and was the fastest rookie and non Chevrolet powered driver. The race is Sunday at noon.

          Trevor Bayne accomplished something in NASCAR that had only been accomplished once last season.
          

                He won the famed Daytona 500 in his first attempt.

                The Knoxville, Tennessee native had his birthday the night before and was driving for the famed 21 car for the historical WoodBrothers Racing team.

                He was pushed to the lead on the final lap by fellow Ford driver, and NASCAR Nationwide teammate Carl Edwards.

Doing it Old School Style...

          That's what Philadelphia Phillies star pitcher Cole Hamels said he was doing when he nailed 19-year old Washington Nationals outfield sensation rookie Bryce Harper.

           Harper did nothing to deserve the hit by pitch from Hamels.

           Hamels excuse was because Harper was a rookie and Hamels wanted to show Harper what he would be expecting for years to come.

           Hamels has been suspended without pay for 5-games by Major League Baseball which is a slap on the wrist.
           
           Many people are outraged at the LACK of suspension given to him.
          
           Hopefully he does not show this again towards any other rookies.

           Harper dropped out of high school at the age of 17 and went onto recieve his GED.
           
           Harper then joined a community, junior, college and was drafted first overall by the Washington Nationals in 2010.

           Harper has 9 hits in 10 games this year with 6 doubles. He has a strong arm in the outfield, even though he was a catcher when he was drafted.

           Harper looks to be a strong candidate for rookie of the year playing for the division leading Washington Nationals.

Why Junior Why???

          Rest In Peace Junior Seau. The former 12-time Pro Bowler of the National Football League was found dead in his apartment yesterday by his "girlfriend" from a gunshot to the chest. The gun was found next to his body.

          The Medical Examiner in California deemed it a suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

          No body should ever resort to killing themselves no matter how grave the situation is. Everyone can be happy no matter what they do.

          Seau was one of the best linebackers of all-time in the National Football League and he played amongst the best teams. His highlighted career involved mainly when he was with the San Diego Chargers, who could be on their way to moving to a new city. He made 12-consecutive pro bowls, which is one of the longest on record behind Baltimore Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis.

            Let's hope that the medical examiner is wrong about her findings.

Fame does bring it's benefits.

         The National Football League has announced the penalties for players involved in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal.

          Jonathan Vilma has been suspended starting now for the entire 2012 season without pay. This was due to his alleged leadership role with former defensive coordinator Greg Williams who was suspended indefinitely.

           The only other player currently on the Saint's roster that was suspended is Will Smith for four games.

           Current Green Bay player Anthony Hargrove who was suspended for eight games.

          Cleveland Browns Scott Fujita was suspended for three games.

          No other players were suspended which is wrong in my opinion because it has been noted that between 23-27 of the players were involved in the bounty program. If they don't resolve that issue than players are going to get off with nothing, not even a slap on the wrist.

          General Manager Mickey Loomis has been suspended for 8 games, Assistant Coach, and interim head coach when his suspension is finished, Joe Vitt is out for 6 games, Head Coach Sean Peyton is out for the season.

Black Flags for Spinning Tires????

         
          Why does NASCAR bring it amongst themselves to mess up how a race is running? Yes, Tony Stewart was winning the race but when the restart was about to happen Carl Edwards was told he was the leader and subsequently was listed the leader on the scoring pylon.

          Tony Stewart, pictured on the left in front of his number 14 Office Depot Chevrolet, spun his tires during every restart which this time caused Carl Edwards to beat him to the start-finish line. NASCAR deemed this as a violation of the restart rules.

          Carl Edwards, pictured on the right in front of his number 99 Fastenol Ford, had the lead but beat the leader to the restart, and was deemed to have restarted too soon, and was black flagged. This caused him to have to drive through pit lane and lose all of his positions restarting him 17 seconds behind the leader.

          Ultimately he went a lap down, until the caution came out and he was able to take the "free pass" which is awarded to the first car not on the lead lap when a caution is thrown.

          Kyle Busch won the race over Tony Stewart, which was his first race win in the last 22 races. He also won his first race as owner of Kyle Busch Motorsports with his brother Kurt Busch driving.