[General] Happy Hour IV

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By Steve Price, Huckleberry for Hire
Tuesday, March 21st, 2006 – Volume I, Edition IV
Exclusive to Inside Pulse Sports

What’s up, my cowboy wannabe, Brokeback Mountain hating six-shooters? I’m Steve Price, unbeknownst to no one as your exclusive Host with the Most, back for another ride down Doc Holliday Memorial Boulevard. Scratch that, “Route 666” methinks. It’s a long way to Indianapolis and the Final Four from here, so I’ll just pick the most menacing sounding roadway I can think of right now.

And I have no idea what the Hell I just said…

Moving on, then. An item that needs to be passed along – there will be a memorial service for Steve’s NCAA College Brackets at 4:00 PM tomorrow afternoon at the Catawba Bait, Tackle, and Grill in Belmont, North Carolina. A eulogy will be provided for all the recently deceased brackets in the world. Inside Pulse will not be covering it, so use your imagination. Now, onto more pressing matters, such as the contents in this here column. We are stocked full of goodies for purchase today, including a review of the recently concluded World Baseball Classic, quick shots and a look at the week ahead in the NHL! But first, we have some history to report in NASCAR circles. No, I mean “real” history, folks.

2006, Meet the Record Books.
Bill Lester used to bring home a six-figure salary, before he left that job to fulfill a dream that he had held on to through the years. He wanted to be a race car driver, plain and simple. He started out racing locally every weekend, drawing his fair share of attention along the way. In 2002, he caught a break, latching on to a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team. In 2006, he bought a ticket to Atlanta, Georgia, in an attempt to qualify for the Golden Corral 500. A NASCAR Nextel Cup event, at one of the South’s oldest tracks. Lester was racing with hopes and dreams, as a popular teen movie once quoted years ago. But under the lights of Hotlanta, with nothing to lose but a spot in a race, Bill Lester qualified. Not only did he qualify, but he qualified in the top twenty, ahead of drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bill Lester would line up to take the green flag in a NASCAR Nextel Cup Race.

An inspiring story, no? Well, there is one, tiny, itsy-bitsy piece to this puzzle that has to be placed before all is said and done. Bill Lester is not like other drivers, you see. Sure, he’s a father and a husband, and at 45 years old considerably older than most other drivers in the field. No, that is not what separates Bill Lester from the rest of the field.

Bill Lester is African American.


For the first time since 1986, an African American driver qualified for a NASCAR Winston Cup/Nextel Cup race. And, despite the fact that the race, the Golden Corral 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway was delayed twenty four hours because of rain, the media blitz on Lester was pretty fast. A devoted family man who had been racing on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since 2002, Lester took the green flag in 19th place, and actually finished what he started (albeit six laps down, thus robbing him of his wish to complete all five hundred miles). His finishing position is unimportant (let the record show that he finished in 38th position); what is important is that Bill Lester is spearheading a growing movement to finally integrate the last North American sport that remains without significant black participation on the big stage. Only one race in the history of NASCAR’s top series (as much of a clusterf*ck as it is) has been won by an African American, the hall of fame inductee Wendell Scott at Jacksonville in 1963. Thus, no track currently ran on the Nextel Cup Schedule has seen a black driver go to Victory Lane, at least in the Grand National/Winston/Nextel Cup Series.

It’s kind of sad, actually, because as a former Southern entity, NASCAR tends to represent the South today, despite the fact that almost all diplomatic ties are being cut. Why NASCAR hasn’t pushed to diversify the sport’s participation even earlier remains a mystery, and although I would like to think that the bigwigs are above racial discrimination, I tend to hold my breath before I absolve car owners of guilt here. One thing is for sure, though: Bill Lester took a mighty step on Monday, regardless of his finishing position. He had a tremendous quote, which I cannot remember verbatim, but I shall try to regardless. Lester said, “the real story here (Atlanta/NASCAR) will be when this story (an black NASCAR driver) will be no story at all.”

If only the “real story” could be as dignified and classy as Bill Lester. 38th Place, my achin’ ass, this man took on more than forty two drivers on Monday. He took on the system, and the Lord willing, if we can look back and say he tore the system down… Now I’ll drink to that.

(Willy T. Ribbs was the last black driver to compete on NASCAR’s top circuit. Ribbs made only one start in his Winston Cup career – in North Wilkesboro in 1986. Ribbs did go on to drive in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2001. Bill Lester will next attempt to qualify for a Nextel Cup race in Michigan this June. Inside Pulse Sports will keep you updated.)


The World Baseball Classic: What Went Wrong for Team USA
The 2006 World Baseball Classic is complete, and the Japanese Nationals are officially on top of the baseball world now, having defeated a scrappy Cuban team, 10-6 in San Diego. The game capped a tournament filled with highs and lows (mostly lows for the Americans), ranging from the benign (the Caribbean atmosphere) to the malignant (Team USA’s losses to Canada, Korea, and Mexico).

What went wrong for Team USA? Weren’t we the best in the world, so says our sports writers? Or perhaps, maybe our loss in the WBC can be placed on the hands of “greedy” or selfish players, who didn’t want to be bothered with the “chore” of playing for our country.

Or, how about this quaint notion. Maybe we aren’t good enough to win it all.

Considering the fact that the most talented team in the field, the Dominican Republic didn’t even make it past the isolated Cubans in the semifinals should tell us all something. In this tournament, we were like intermediate checkers players, inviting beginners (South Africa, China), fellow intermediates (Canada, Mexico, Venezuela), and teams that could be considered “experts”, like Korea and Puerto Rico. Japan and Cuba flat out played to make it as far as they did, and we cannot hold anything away from those two teams. They deserved to play in the finals; the Americans did not. Of course, we would like to blame the Barry Bonds’ and the Curt Schillings’ of the world for our failure, but that is overlooking the talent we had to begin with. Say what you will about Alex Rodriguez, but the man is only the best player in the game. Add him with guys like Lee, Jones, Damon, Jeter, Teixeira, Utley, Clemens, Peavy, and… Dontrelle Willis, and you should have a fighting chance. Of course, when you’re losing to Canada, 8-6, it is hard to make that argument convincing.

The argument could be made that playing baseball before the MLB season is to blame, which has some weight behind it. A lot of the Caribbean players play both winter league ball in the Caribbean and major league baseball in the summer, so they were relatively warmed up and ready to play in a setting of March. I have no idea what the Japanese/Asian baseball schedules are, so I cannot lump them with their Hispanic counterparts. What I do know, though, is that the passion for baseball in other parts of the world exceeds the love we share for the game in the United States today. Football fans (soccer to me and you) will say otherwise, but baseball has a large following outside of the United States, and is not merely the “American” game any more. We can prove it, now at least, seeing as how we got smoked by superior teams. In 2009, I fully expect the Americans to win (since everyone and their mother will play for the U.S. in the next tournament), but I won’t hold my breath. If anything, the WBC proved that those who are supposed to win (the Americans) and those who load up to win (the Dominicans) don’t always prevail. Congratulations to Japan for winning a thrilling tournament.

Upcoming NHL Schedule – 3/21 to 3/26
Bold games are Happy Hour’s Games to Watch

Tuesday, March 21st
Atlanta at Boston
Montreal at NY Islanders
Pittsburgh at Ottawa
New Jersey at Philadelphia
Phoenix at Columbus
Nashville at Detroit
Carolina at Toronto
San Jose at St. Louis
Calgary at Minnesota
Vancouver at Edmonton

Wednesday, March 22nd
Carolina at Buffalo
Philadelphia at NY Rangers
Washington at Florida
Minnesota at Dallas
Colorado at Anaheim

Thursday, March 23rd
New Jersey at Atlanta
San Jose at Detroit
Toronto at Montreal
Washington at Tampa Bay
Calgary at St. Louis
Chicago at Phoenix
Edmonton at Vancouver

Friday, March 24th
Calgary at Columbus
Boston at New Jersey
NY Islanders at Pittsburgh
NY Rangers at Florida
Ottawa at Buffalo
Chicago at Dallas
Nashville at Anaheim

Saturday, March 25th
Buffalo at Boston
Washington at Carolina
Toronto at Montreal
Atlanta at NY Islanders
Ottawa at Philadelphia
Columbus at Detroit
NY Rangers at Tampa Bay
Colorado at St. Louis
San Jose at Minnesota
Anaheim at Phoenix
Edmonton at Vancouver
Nashville at Los Angeles

Sunday, March 26th
Calgary at Dallas
San Jose at Chicago
Toronto at New Jersey
Montreal at Pittsburgh
Edmonton at Colorado

Quick Shots
– Kasey Kahne won the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Monday, after having the event postponed twenty four hours due to rain. Kahne became the first driver in a Dodge to win at Atlanta since Richard Petty in 1977.
– Terrell Owens signs a three year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, who meanwhile release WR Keyshawn Johnson to make room. Johnson has met with Giants’ officials in lieu of a return to New York.
– Meanwhile, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced his plans to retire this summer after a long and successful run in his current role. While a few names have been thrown around, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is not a viable candidate. So says her.
– The Florida Marlins continue to shop their team around to other locales. Up next on the tour of new homes is Charlotte, though Oklahoma City seems to be the front runner in the race to land the two-time World Championship franchise.
– Adam Vinatieri has agreed in principle with Indianapolis on a new deal.
– Al Unser Jr. is scheduled to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in May. Unser Jr. made the announcement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, reports of Dan Wheldon’s rumored jump to NASCAR are still unfounded as of this column.

Last Call
The pimps are the normal targets, like Pomazak, Sick, Pusey and whoever else our fighting clientele caters to these days. As always, I’m your host with the most, signing off. Peace, homies.