'Championship form' in the Summer isn't always ideal, you know?: Race 20, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (A NASCAR commentary)

   

Brad Keselowski has finished 9th twice at Indianapolis. He was 21st there last year.

      As we approach the second-half of the Sprint Cup, there are those already setting up threats to Jimmie Johnson's throne from the ones who aren't unrealistic contenders. We've seen 11 different winners hoist a trophy in 19 races and we have yet to define a clear favorite. Well, I guess since everyone is on the Brad Keselowski, I guess we'll go with him, right? But, that's the thing, we don't have a clear favorite. Since JJ stopped winning, the best option is usually the hottest guy right now, which Kes is among right now (Only Dale Earnhardt Jr & Jeff Gordon has been better than him, as far as performance goes). Reason for why he's being picked as a title contender at the moment:

1.) Jimmie Johnson has finished 42nd for two consecutive races (Completed 20 laps at Daytona & 11 at New Hampshire)

2.) Brad has finished in the top-10 in 6 of the last 8 events, including 4 top-three finishes

3) Hyperbole, as always.

      I'll say this much about Brad's performance lately, he's been great. Really great. But, you know the thing with peaking at the wrong time is, eventually, bad fortune can come at an unfortunate time. Kes knows this as he experienced a season, in which, his championship defense was a disappointing for him, but is still among his better seasons in an ever-establishing career in Cup. Until the end of time, Brad's 2013 season was really a "regression" year, where he overproduced his worth in 2012. Sure he got better in 2011 by winning 3 races and made significant gains from his first full-time year with Penske Racing, but figuring out his evolution is one that requires a little input to offer the proper reasoning. For starters, he had only 2 top-tens in 2010. Stunning, right? The man who stunned NASCAR by winning his first race at Talladega in April 2009, only contributed to just 2 top-tens the following year (Both of them were just 10th place finishes). Now, that same 2011, was a tad better than his past year, though, Keselowski wasn't a threat to win races, till Kentucky and from there after, which is when the legend of Brad was growing. He finished 5th in points, an improvement from being  Ironically, he had the same year in 2013 and still didn't make the chase, because of a really bad summer stretch. None of us expected an upstart, such as Brad, to achieve so high and didn't really think he could win the championship in 2012. It's a crazy thing to consider, really. Can we consider them to be a championship threat? Sure. Championship form? Were not there yet, because, the main attraction has yet to commence.

Thanks, LeBron

     

LBJ isn't MJ. Who cares?

       It's always best to give thanks to someone who was there to provide 4 superb years to the state of Florida and to the state of Pro Basketball. In 2010, the Miami Heat acquired the talents of Chris Bosh and LeBron James to assist Dwayne Wade in taking a stranglehold not just in Miami, but the world. Long-story short, people hated them for partaking in a bold movement to play together while appearing in 4 straight Finals (winning 2 of 4), which hasn't been done since the 1980's Boston Celtics. Then, like all relationships, they do eventually end. One player leaves for passions beyond chasing a 90's legend, while two stay in Miami to rectify the rest of the organization. Before we get into the banal discussions of what this'll means for LeBron's "legacy" and who won mattered more during Miami's 2012 & 2013 championship runs, those were some captivating years seeing the three of them go through the pendulum of highs and lows. Dwayne Wade may have had that championship in 2006, but let us not forget who struggled to get out of the first-round of the playoffs after that time before acquiring the talents of LBJ. Chris Bosh also struggled with this, too, but he knew the role this was going to be compared to his time with the Toronto Raptors. So what did I get with James? A better Game 7 Finals than Kobe Bryant's Game 7, A 27-game winning streak, 61 points against Charlotte, Cramp-3 against OKC in the 2012 Finals, Game 4, versatile defense, lots of unselfish plays. While that's merely microcosm of what I was able to gather, those items speak volumes of one man during those 4 years. Sure, I could mention the one year he failed and produced below his usual output against the Dallas Mavericks, but, oh well; you learn from your mistakes and do better.

     His letter was pretty telling in what his true intentions are for the Northeast Ohio and not the city of Cleveland. Forgiveness is one thing, but finding it is even more difficult. Sometimes, chasing a legend is more than just the construct of rings, ego, or having "killer instinct," because that stuff plays into the role of perception and not reality. He's going back to Cleveland not just to win one, but for something bigger, something greater than championships will ever buy you, which is inner peace. The hard part's over, at least right now, but rebuilding this Cavaliers team will be a bit of a work-in-progress. It'll take time, though, Bron knows that if something bad happens between he and Dan Gilbert, Gilbert might be the one to question his "decision" to bolt his franchise. Go get yours, King.

   

     

   

Transformers 4

           

That's right, critics, BE MAD! 

       
A positive rant:


              Four movies, yet people aren't entertained by the unholiness caused by Sire Michael Bay's Transformers franchise? hmm, I understand the concerns of many who's childhood was robbed by one obsession by stripping the series to what it's really about, which is seeing big, giant mechs beat the crap out of one another. To that, I say fine; let 'em fight. My opinion on this film isn't hard to consider, because I was here for the absurdity, regardless, if the characters motivations were a bit non-descriptive, like with an object called "The Seed." Also, it's a long movie that feels like it has to justify the action. It took awhile for me to get into the fun of these movies, having realized this is a Bay movie and, sometimes, it's best to not treat his movies seriously. Mark Wahlberg is a downgrade to Shia LaBeouf in terms of acting, but he's a bad-ass when it comes to action. Anytime a Transformer needed a human assist, here comes Cade Yeager shooting things, fighting even to help out a fellow bot. Kelsey Grammer even takes this role with seriousness, and it's wonderful with his baritone lines of dread. Pretty much all of the actors hammed up the movie for a cause, a great cause. Out of many of the Transformer films by Bay, this is my favorite. It's the most frantic, loudest, and mindless Transformers film ever, which is weird, because, two is my least favorite, though, was more insane than the critically loved first one. Here, there's a lot of "I don't care" with the action, sequences, editing, script and direction. Once again, I say fine; because I'll be back for movie number five. I have no apologies for this. NONE. Just make sure you can fit 165 minutes of your time, that's easily the hardest part.


Good: Fun!, Destruction, Scrappy Mark Wahlberg, Villanious Kelsey Grammer, unhinged Stanley Tucci                                              
Bad: It's a Bay movie, we already know the bad; Lengthy.
   

**** out of 5

Bittersweet Champagne: Quaker State 400 recap & Daytona preview (A NASCAR commentary)

    Quaker State 400 recap

    

We should've popped them bottles with some Redd's instead, guys. 

           If you sum up Brad Keselowski's weekend at Kentucky, it's that "it's just right" on the third try. After two crushing losses in both the Camping World & Nationwide races, Kes pretty much took control of a race that was his for the taking on Saturday night by leading 199 of 267 laps (Penske Racing as an organization led 236 of 267 laps with Joey Logano lead 37 circuits.) It was a dominating effort by the 2 team scoring its second victory of the season, virtually locking them into the Chase for the Sprint Cup....then he bust his hand on a champagne bottle, which required four stitches; though, Brad doesn't think that'll stop him from racing at Daytona this weekend. As for teammate Logano, he lost a cylinder in the closing laps, but was able to finish 9th despite a fading engine. Hendrick Motorsports had all of the drivers finish in the top-10 for the third consecutive week, led by Dale Earnhardt Jr's fifth-place finish. Jeff Gordon was sixth, Kasey Kahne was 8th & Jimmie Johnson in tenth. Roush had two drivers in the top-20 with Greg Biffle (14th) & past week winner, Carl Edwards (17th) proving that his two wins haven't fixed much at that organization. Ryan Newman (3rd) got his first top-5 of the season since Race 26 at Richmond, where he also finished third. Stewart-Haas Racing had 4 drivers finish in the top-25 with Kevin Harvick leading the way at 7th and Joe Gibbs Racing featured Kyle Busch (2nd) & Matt Kenseth (4th) scoring top-5, but Denny Hamlin finished last in the field with a crash off turn 4 due to a flat right-front tire. Kenseth's night was pretty eventful, to say the least, as he recovered from a flat-tire of his own and salvaged a great finish out of it.

           As for the race itself? I didn't enjoy it because of how strung out it gotten and everyone seemed to have a hard time passing. Some of it has to do with the aerodynamics, some of it has to do with the track's age. If they've paved the track, I'd probably be uttering these same concerns; it's just hard to make moves because the action gets so strung out after restarts.

Will Earnhardt Jr Sweep Daytona?

           Jimmie Johnson broke a 31-year streak for race sweeps with his wins in the Daytona 500 & the Coke Zero 400. The last individual before him to perform a rare feat was Bobby Allison in 1982. Jr hasn't been dominating DIS since the days of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, when you expecting the 8 & 15 cars in contention for wins; but, that's what happens when everyone else around got better at the restrictor plate racing. Now, this isn't to say that he hasn't been in contention for these races, it's that it became difficult to produce usual results back in the early 2000s. Sweeping isn't easy, since, there are always going to be things out of your control, which is what every driver is always up against. Since 1959, there have been five Cup sweeps at Daytona in those 55 years of racing at Daytona International Speedway. Plus, the night has belonged to Tony Stewart more than anybody. In the last 10 Daytona night races, Tony Stewart has won 4 of them; most recently in 2012. Jr's last (and only) win in this event was in 2001, which is one of his more popular wins. But, CAN HE pull off a sweep? I say no because it's simply a rarity to pull off an outcome like that. Sure, he won in February under weird circumstances (They raced in the evening because of precipitation), led 54 of the final 70 laps (Carl Edwards & Greg Biffle both led 8 laps in spurts) and won, but again, sweeps don't happen often. They're outliers. Wonderful outliers that JJ produced last year, so there's a modicum of respect for it. But, Dale Jr has some high odds to overcome if he were to win on Saturday night.

           Prediction

            

            Jr has a shot as long as he's in position to win it. Given that he has the 2nd best average finish, it wouldn't be surprising to see him up there contending for a victory, but I say Jeff Gordon takes this one on Saturday night. Jr will probably get a top-5, which would match his total for the last two seasons for Hendrick Motorsports (10 top-5 finishes in '12 & '13). I expect this race to have a similar pace as that of this year's Daytona 500. Expect a long run where everyone is feeling out the track and the handling, then things will get tight in the closing stages. Yeah, it'll be one of those races, and people don't like that kind of racing when you have to wait for the good stuff.