Behind The Wheel: More Than Just Left Turns

 Nascar is a sport that many look past as just something that any average Joe can do. It's a sport that is often associated with Southerns and Rednecks. It's a sport that fans tune in to just watch the crash highlights. It's a sport that the average fan says just makes left turns. It's a sport that many perceive is as simple as just laying your foot on the gas pedal at all times. Truth be told, there is more to the sport of Nascar than meets the eye.

For starters, Nascar drivers drive a stick shift car. This itself requires a lot of skills. Put in another way, less than 25% of Americans know how to drive a stick shift car. To be able to know when to brake, clutch, shift and gas takes a lot of coordination, especially if one is going at 160 mph. A split second mess up could cost you to fall behind many seconds behind your competition.

Nascar also does not compete on similar tracks each race. A Nascar season consists of tracks ranging from 2.6 miles to 0.5 miles. Also, besides the traditional oval shape, Nascar also races on Road courses. Road courses are tracks that consist of both left and right handed turns of varying degrees. Each track runs differently and requires practice and knowledge of where the best line to run.

Due to the many differences in the tracks, one cannot always floor it on the gas pedals. Drivers are usually experts in aerodynamics, needing to know where on the track to run and using the track's banking to make the cars run faster. Drivers also have to know where and how long to hit the brakes when entering a turn. Calculating fuel mileage and knowing how to run on worn tires are also part of the strategy when it comes to race day.

Another crucial and underrated skill that Nascar drivers have is being able to perform under tough conditions. A typical Nascar race lasts about 3 to 3.5 hours. Having to constantly race in hot condition wearing a fire suit, maintaining focus, and also having no bathroom or food break, the stamina and endurance of a Nascar driver can make the difference between a winner and a loser.

Give Nascar a chance. Watch a race and listen to the commentators describe a race. Think about Nascar the next time you're at a red light or when you start falling asleep at the wheel, it's a lot harder than it looks.

-TSM

What Happened To Giving Your Best?

For many people, I think people know who I'm talking about when i mention the name Usain Bolt.  For those of you who don't, he is a Track & Field athlete from Jamaica who dominated the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  He set 2 individual world records for the 100 and 200 meters and also set a relay record in the men's 4x100m relay race.  He has been a dominate athlete in the 100 and 200 meters ever since he started competing in those events.

Recently though, the man whom many think can challenge Bolt, American's Tyson Gay, beat Bolt at the DN Galan Meet on August 6th.  While many are giving Tyson Gay full credit for beating Bolt, others are saying that Bolt wasn't a his peak shape, or that he was just competing for the money (being offered as much as $75,000 to show and compete).

To hear and read this irks me as a sports fan.  Being a world class athlete and having competed in the Olympics and setting world records, not being in top shape is a horrible thing to say in a defeat.  Whenever an Athlete is competing, whether from  Track & Field, Golf, or even Ping Pong, you should be prepared to compete and giving it your best effort every time.  I can understand if it was a semi-final heat to move on but this was the Finals heat and he brought up this excuse.  This totally takes away from what Tyson Gay was able to do beat Bolt. 

For those of you who haven't seen it, you can see it here

This also brings me to my next point.  I am curious as to why Track athletes, mainly 100 meter runners, let up and slow down before they cross the line.  Using Bolt as an example, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Bolt was leading with 20 meters left before letting up to celebrate.  He eventually broke the world record running it in 9.69.  His trainer later claimed that he could have ran "9.50, that's how fast he is".

Well Mr. Bolt's Trainer, if he didn't let up, we would have know.  I don't know about you but as a kid when I played Pee Wee football, I was always coached to give it my best, to finish the play, and to run through the line when doing sprints.  On the biggest sports stage, Bolt failed to do that, possibly sending the wrong message to young kinds that show-boating and bad sportsmanship is better than giving it your full effort   While winning a big race is a great accomplishment, athletes should still give it all they got and show up prepared to give a great performance. 

Extending the Season: Who Benefits?

For those of you who don't know, the NFl and its owners recent met to talk about the collective bargaining agreement, which is set to expire after this season.  If a new CBA can't be agreed on before the start of next season, we may be faced with a lockout, which would not be good.  On the agenda for the CBA meeting was the possibility of expanding the season to 18 games, with the extra games replacing 2 preseason games.

All the owners pretty much came to a consensus that they were in favor of an 18 game season, saying that the additional games will bring in more money to the economy and also because the fans don't want to see 4 preseason games.  The players, on the other hand, don't want the extend the long season that they already have to go through.  NFL players already have to worry enough about getting injured and playing with non-guaranteed contracts.

So here's my views with the possibility of an extended season.  As a fan, I would absolutely love to see more games that count in the NFL.  It offers the opportunity for teams to play more teams that they normally don't play.  The season seems relatively short, making every game so critical between a playoff birth or a low draft pick.  18 games would definitely catch my attention during the season.

As an owner, I understand why they want 18 games in a season with only 2 preseason games.  18 games means 2 more games to broadcast on national television.  Broadcasting on national television brings in money for the NFL.  It's a multibillion dollar deal that gets divided evenly among the teams, the players barely get a cut of it.  Meanwhile, although they charge full prices for preseason games, those games don't necessary make it on to national television.  Meanwhile, they're proposing to the Players Union to take a smaller cut of the deal in the new CBA.  So you see, the owners just want more money at the end of it all. 

As a player, I would not want an extended season.  Players are putting their bodies on the line 16 weeks in a season, facing injuries that could have a lasting impression later on in life, and worst of all, they are playing with non-guaranteed contracts.  This makes it more difficult for them to ask for new contracts if they're already playing hurt.  Being on the road and playing games every 7 days, practices and game film,  it all seems a lot for the players.  It wouldn't make sense.

Also, to mention that taking away 2 preseason games takes away opportunities for young players to make the team.  Those preseason games are essentiality their tryouts.  They need those games to show what they have.  It would be unfortunate for someone trying to make the team to lose those preseason games.

So what's the plan then? Here's what I think it should be.  I think that the current 16 game schedule is fine as it is.  Why fix something that's not broken?  There's plenty of rivalries and division games to make it interesting.  I'd say get rid of 2 preseason games.  Those aren't need and many people don't watch them, much less want to pay full price for a game that doesn't count.  What teams could do instead is have scrimmages with other teams.  Make it a big practice and do it that way to evaluate players.  That way, no one gets injured for the wrong reasons. 

But for me, 16 games is more than enough, I get my 4 months of football before I switch over to the exciting part of the NBA.  I guess it could be worst, the NFL could have proposed a 162-game plan….

-TSM

Welcome to the Sports Mind

Hello sports fan and blog readers,

Welcome to The Sports Mind, a blog dedicated to sports that covers all sports in different and unique outlooks that you may not be aware of unfamiliar.  The Sports Mind will also give me opinion on current sports news, big game predictions, and other major events.  I hope to cover a lot of a weekly basis.  Input is also appreciated if there's a topic you would like to read about more in depth.

Now a little about me.  I would say I am more than just an average sports fan.  If it's on TV, I'll watch it.  Whether its Baseball to Hockey, Golf to Nascar to MMA, I'm always interested in sitting down to watch a good game.  I will try to be unbiased when covering teams and watching sports so I won't list my favorite teams just yet.  I will go even further to say that I am from the New England area and I am not even a Celtics or Bruins fan. 

This is my first introductory post, look for more good content on the way soon.

-TSM