Many Things to Cover

There's so many things I wanted to cover with today's post. I could have chosen four topics at least. How about all four? You got it!

A long time ago...

First, and most notably, is that former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett wants to attempt a comeback...in the UFL. Reportedly, the Omaha Nighthawks are interested in Clarett. There's one potential snag. If you remember, Clarett was to serve 3.5 years for that whole carrying an assault rifle and guzzling Grey Goose charge. He's out, but still has a bit of tape to deal with. For Clarett to tryout for the Omaha club, he would have to be granted permission from the courts to pursue a possibly illustrious UFL career.

People get second chances. I have no problem there. But what kind of shape is this guy in? Can't be what he was when he was helping the Buckeyes to a National Championship. I label his chances as slim.

Serena during her Wimbledon win.

Next is more of a question. Will you really watch much of the U.S. Open? The defending men's champ, Juan Martin Del Potro won't be there. The women's #1 player, Serena Williams won't be playing either. Two of tennis' biggest names for what is arguably the sports biggest tournament will not be participating due to injuries.

Sure, we might have another Rafa-Fed final. They're the top 2 men's seeds and on separate sides of the draw. The women's draw seems to open for Venus Williams now doesn't it? Not really. The top 2 women's seeds are Caroline Wozniacki and defending champ Kim Clijsters. Wozniacki has played decent in Grand Slams this year, reaching the round of 16 twice (Autralian Open, Wimbledon) and the quarters in Paris.

Will she be a favorite? Wozniacki has won three tournaments this year including last week's Rogers Cup. She is one to watch, but don't overlook Clijsters or Venus Williams.

Under the radar: Men - Gael Monfils. He likes the big stage and where better than in New York. Women - Svetlana Kuznetsova. How can she be under the radar having won it before? Easy. She's not played well for the most part in 2010.

Dark horses: Men - Mardy Fish. He played excellent last week in Cincinnati pushing champ Roger Federer in the final. Women - Flavia Pennetta. Her last three losses have been against Wozniacki, Kuznetsova and Clijsters. She has played well getting into those natches, too.

Young bests Leinart. Familiar?

Was it me or have the Arizona Cardinals emerged as not having a QB again? The troublesome thing, Kurt Warner isn't coming back either. Matt Leinart was handed (again) the opportunity to be the starter. He's not failed, but he hasn't impressed. Derek Anderson was decent last night, but he has been inconsistent.

Leinart's preseason (I know it's only preseason) numbers aren't great. No TD, but 0 INT. A passer rating just above 90. Not bad, but the Cards offense did not show up last evening against the Tennessee Titans. Anderson's are worse, but he's at least had a TD toss. It could be a long season in Glendale.

In case you haven't already had it drilled in your head, Tiger's divorce is final.

Brad Keselowski said Kyle Busch is an ass.

And how can we forget that Albert Haynesworth guy and the newest game of "he said, we didn't know"? I wish I could...

Something about a 'Golden Horseshoe'

We're only three races into the NASCAR Sprint Cup season and Jimmie Johnson has already scored two victories. Familiar tune, isn't it?

One offseason topic was the domination of the #48 team and if that domination hurting NASCAR. I bring this up because of a comment Kevin Harvick (left) made after the race in Fontana in which Johnson received a stroke of luck.

Johnson was in the middle of a pit stop when the caution flag was waved. As the pace car was leading the drivers around, Johnson emerged from the pits, crossing that infamous white line, and avoiding going a lap down.

Oh, Harvick's opinion:

"They're really good, but they're really, really lucky, too," Harvick said. "Jimmie is a good friend mine, but there's no denying how lucky they are. They have a golden horseshoe stuck up their a--."

I wish he'd be more opinionated.

I realize this happened over a week ago, but it goes back to the thought of the #48 team's recent run of four straight championships and if it's good for the sport.

To put it in perspective, how would most baseball fans feel if the New York Yankees (either you love them or hate them) won four straight World Series? Waht about football fans if the New England Patriots won four consecutive Super Bowls? That's the company Johnson is distancing himself from.

The only true upside in this is that other teams must truly be on their "A game" every week in order to compete with Johnson and his crew. But the downside can hold potentially bad vibes for NASCAR.

The casual NASCAR fan may be tiring of seeing Johnson in victory lane. They me be tiring of hearing the same smug comments during the after race presser. I watch the race every week, have a certain driver I root for, have followed NASCAR for over two decades and this string by Johnson is ruining it for me. Not because my favorite driver isn't winning, but because it's just plain getting tiresome.

But something hit me about the "golden horseshoe" of which Harvick spoke. Harvick is making me see the light brighter and brighter. And he's correct. I did a little digging into the Sprint Cup Championships Johnson has won and found that he is truly lucky to have the four in a row.

Cut to the Chase...the Sprint Cup version

We'll know tonight. The 12 participants in 2009's Sprint Cup Chase will be known after tonight's Chevy Rock 'n' Roll 400 in Richmond, Virginia.

There are four spots already reserved for Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin. The other eight are up in the air but it's that final spot that should provide the most of this evening's excitement. Three drivers, one spot.

Matt Kenseth is currently in the 12th and final spot. Kenseth started off this year by winning the first two races (Daytona 500/Daytona and Auto Club 500/California). Not so much since then. His best finish is a 4th at the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover. But Kenseth has shown tenacity in the last two races by overcoming cars that were either beat up or handling poorly. Pretty simple for the #17 DeWalt team: win and you're in. Kenseth starts 28th tonight with an average finish of 16.7 at Richmond. Among the tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit, Richmond is by far a favorite of Matt's.

Brain Vickers is only 20 points behind Kenseth. The #83 Red Bull team has made up significant ground in the last two months. Vickers posted his only win of the season at the Carfax 400 in Michigan. Since a 35th place finish in New Hampshire, Vickers has finished in the top ten in 6 of eight races. You could say that he's on a hot streak...and he needs to keep it going if he wants to overtake Kenseth. If Vickers were to win, Kenseth would have to finish no better than 4th in order to pass Kenseth in the standings. Vickers will be starting from the 6th position tonight but has had an abysmal average finish of 27.8.

Kyle Busch trails Kenseth by 37 points and Vickers by 17. If Busch were to win tonight (he won the race in the spring), Vickers would have to finish no better than 4th and Kenseth no better than 7th. There's possibly a bizarre scenario (which would take an hour to explain) where Busch wins and still doesn't make the chase. But this is Rowdy's best track as far as performance. The same cannot be said for Vickers and Kenseth. The #18 M&M's car will be starting 8th with an average finish of 6.1.

So if you look at it from just a statistical standpoint, Kyle Busch will just barely squeak into the Chase ahead of Matt Kenseth...by a mere 1 point.

As has been the case over the last few years, the Chevy Rock 'n' Roll 400 will deliver and show why those that are not NASCAR fans why they should be.