ZuDfunck

Steven Wallace Channeling Elvis Presley Calling Kyle Busch a Girl

In the confrontation between 'Big Baby Kyle' and 'Elvis,' I mean Steven Wallace who has finally figured out how to avoid hitting walls, the  grab of Kyle Busch's helmet by Steven was well shown but what grabbed me was Steven's voice. He sounded agitated and upset but his delivery was very similar to Elvis Presley. Click on this link to go to a YouTube video wherein at the 3:50 mark you can hear it yourself. I have always been distracted by his constant eye blinking, but if you just listen to his words and how he phrases them you'll hear a direct connection to how Elvis used to speak his lines in all those classic movies of his.

Of course that whole deal got overshadowed by the next nights taking out of NASCAR's most popular driver. It will be a great story line to follow the rest of the season how white hat Junior gets treated by black hat Kyle as the next races go on, particularly coming up this weekend at Darlington!

This string of fabulous races, 'Dega, Richmond and Darlington provide great drama as these drivers confront each other up close and personal in a short three week span and the fact the last two are under the lights with sparks, shiny cars and glowing brake-pads add to the already colorful and hypnotic displays these races possess.

Its a fine time for NASCAR fans and shouldn't be missed, even with other sports being in the playoffs, it's hard not to make NASCAR my primary sport in this beautiful time of year.

I Love You, Petty, and Favre

When a commenter caught my eye with this I was thinking Richard Petty, not Tom. But I dig Tom Petty and no doubt Favre so if you are in the Big Apple this summer check this out:

An Official Selection of the Midtown International Theater Festival and pending acceptance into the New York Fringe Festival, “I Love You, Petty, and Favre” is a heart warming and heart breaking love story about a Wisconsin couple that spans 25 years.  The main character, Brian, is an obsessed Packer fan, so much so that he marries a girl named Brett.  Brett in turn, has her own obsession with music, mainly that of Tom Petty.  Sports fans will certainly enjoy this play, particularly those that love Brett Favre.  In a hilarious and memorable scene, Brian takes his 3 year old son and 5 year old daughter to their first football game.  In another, Brett fulfills Brian’s fantasy by throwing on the pink jersey of his favorite player and putting on a “show”.  A touching and funny story about love, football, and music, it is a show that that anyone can enjoy.

“I Love You, Petty and Favre” runs July 14th – August 10th.  Tickets and official showtimes soon to be available.

2008 NBA Playoff Picture

            

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
vs. (1) BOSTON   vs. (8) Atlanta (Boston won 3-0)   vs. (2) DETROIT   vs. (7) Philadelphia (Series tied 2-2)   vs. (3) ORLANDO   vs. (6) Toronto (Orlando won 2-1)   vs. (4) CLEVELAND   vs. (5) Washington (Series tied 2-2)	vs. (1) LOS ANGELES   vs. (8) Denver (Los Angeles won 3-0)   vs. (2) NEW ORLEANS   vs. (7) Dallas (Series tied 2-2)   vs. (3) SAN ANTONIO   vs. (6) Phoenix (Phoenix won 3-1)   vs. (4) UTAH   vs. (5) Houston (Utah won 2-1)

NBA Playoff time when the NBA plays for real. ZuD is pulling for a Celtic/Laker NBA Final don't know what the odds of that are but it will certainly make ABC happy as the previous finals have been tiresome and predictable. Here's hoping for a great set of match ups which we get in the West every year. Too bad TNT is stuck with the East this year. Graphics from NBA.com

Blogging About Divorce Can Be Painful For The Ex

Focusing on Topics non NASCAR for a few days. Found this in NYTimes about a woman who Blogs the details of her failed marriage to the chagrin of the ex-husband:

For the blogger, the writing can be therapeutic.

Until the morning her husband, David Sals, told her he “was done” with their marriage, Jennifer Neal had portrayed him so lovingly on her blog that he was called DearSweetDave. By the afternoon of that October day last year, Ms. Neal had shared what she portrayed as his perfidy with the 55,000 regular readers she says visit NakedJencom.

Soon after, readers came to know him by a far less flattering name, and as the guy whose insensitivity made Jen so sick that she was throwing up every day and so poor that she lost her house in Santa Cruz, Calif.

And when a despairing Jen discovered in February that her ex-husband had put his information up on Match.com, an Internet dating service, she linked to it from her blog, giving her readers a chance to share their thoughts.

Mr. Sals protested, but Ms. Neal held firm: “If he wants to tell his side of the story, he should get his own blog.”

How Did Michael McDowell Survive This Wreck?

The Car of Today now establishes itself as a Safe and Reliable Race-car, when a driver can withstand this kind of destruction.

Complete Coverage of Tony Stewart Wax Job

Ripped from Tony Stewart's Sirius Satellite Radio Webpage:

           

"OPERATION WAX SMOKE" RAISES OVER $125,000 FOR CHARITY

Tony Stewart has proven that not only would he give you the shirt off his back, he'll give you the hair off of it too. Operation Wax Smoke was a huge success, raising over $125,000 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. DeLana & Kevin Harvick, and national motorsports correspondent Ford Martin joined Tony and Matt Yocum at an "undisclosed location" for a rip-roaring good time. There was no shortage of donations to hear Tony suffer throught the pain and indignity of having his famously-furry back waxed live on the air. It remains to be seen if the procedure will improve race times for the sleeker and more-aero Smoke. Next Show: Tuesday, April 1 at 8 pm ET Tony "Chia Pet" Stewart follows waxing with a haircut Where did they wax for donations from JD Gibbs & Jimmie Johnson? Listen to pull-by-pull analysis of Operation Wax Smoke Tony’s back wax Montage: Listen at your own risk!   Hear more audio from Tony's show on sirius.com/tonystewartlive. Email Tony & Matt Yocum at tonystewartlive@sirius-radio.com or call the guys at 866-PIT-LANE.

Comparing Retirements of NASCAR's Dale Jarrett with WWE's Ric Flair

WWE did it up right when Ric Flair retired
NASCAR came up short in comparison
Two legends at the top of their game leaving the sport they love

I missed the prerace ceremonies for Jarrett but it couldn't have matched what RAW did for Ric Monday Nite.
Nor do I think Dale cried like a baby when other drivers were hugging him like Ric was doing.
It was all quite touching. Maybe because Jarrett will continue calling races, his retirement was less of an event. But with Flairs' good bye you couldn't help but feel sad and realize you were witnessing history. Even if the WWE is an overblown soap opera on steroids, the characters and story lines do suck ya' in and when they hit the mark they are quite memorable.

It's Onto Martinsville, and Let's Wreck There

The splendor of Martinsville begins today with Qualifying at 330 EDT, Nationwide is off but the Truck race will take its place on FOX Saturday at 3 EDT, and the dodge ‘emcar masterpiece will be Sunday at 130 EDT.  Haven’t had time to check the weather but here’s hoping we get a solid weekend of clear weather for a change.

As in previous post we will be pulling for a grand Blue victory for the NAPA/MWR team as it transforms from the Dale Jarret era to the new guy pictured on the right. As well as the UCLA Bruins march into Final Four Madness.

As to the new guy Michael McDowell, part of his prep included:

McDowell's immediate mission is making the most out of nearly $3,000 spent creating a "poor man's" computer simulator, with a steering wheel, pedals and chair. The Phoenix native and one-time driving school instructor is encouraged by how the programs have carried over to testing and can't wait to convert 750 virtual laps at Martinsville into the real thing. Source

Major League Baseball as Nuts as NASCAR?

Just when you thought NASCAR would have no competition for craziness, case in point California when they sent race cars out on wet pavement and crashed a few cars in February. MLB decides to open their season in Japan at 6 AM eastern time! And then DirecTV has technical difficulties:

Not everybody could see the Red Sox-Athletics baseball opener in Tokyo on Tuesday. Satellite TV provider DirecTV, in about 16.8 million households, said in a statement it had "temporary technical difficulties" during the game with "some channels" — including game coverage on ESPN2 and Red Sox regional carrier NESN. They'll try again Wednesday at 6 a.m. ET

Wonder if it was a Fox broadcast would this have happened? (Fox owns DirecTV)
But I am just cranky because I am going through withdrawal from The Sprint Cup series having had their annual Easter break. All will be forgiven shortly as NASCAR comes to Martinsville this coming Weekend!
A Good Ol' short track race will heal all wounds.

Let's Get Tony Stewart A Wax Job

Here is a good cause and a challenge to Tony Stewart from Kevin Harvick During the Daytona 500 pre-race show, Tony Stewart held up a photograph of Ronald McDonald that had been altered so it appeared that Kevin Harvick was wearing Ronald's suit. Now, those of you who are familiar with Kevin know that he does not let a practical joke go unanswered. So here is Kevin's retort: Kevin's new colors may indeed be similar to those of Ronald McDonald, but have you seen Tony Stewart's chest and back? Because Tony is such a great guy, he has offered up a solution to his follicle issues. Tony said on his SIRIUS satellite radio show, Tony Stewart Live, that if someone would raise $100,000 for charity, he would wax his chest and back. Who are we to pass up an offer like that? Call it "revenge for the Ronald McDonald photo," call it a great opportunity to raise money for Victory Junction Gang Camp or just call it plain funny. (Think Tony will scream like a girl when they rip all that hair out?) When Smoke caught wind of Kevin's challenge, he issued a counter-challenge: If Kevin and his fans collect the $100,000...Tony will match it for the opportunity to shave Kevin's head bald with a razor. Kevin is game...so let's do it!! Visit Happy's eSHOP and make your donation. You can donate in increments of $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, $25.00, $50.00, $100.00, $500.00, $1000.00 and $5000.00. Every penny collected in "Operation: Wax Smoke" will be donated to Victory Junction Gang Camp. We will be accepting donations until we reach our goal.