Happy Friday the 13th!

I don’t know what it is this week, but I haven’t had the inspiration to write about anything.  I just can’t put my finger on it. So here are some theories I have come up with as to why I feel so uninspired.

1.  The death of Jim McKay–I have to say I was shocked when I saw this scroll across the screen last Saturday.  For those who don’t remember ABCs Wide World of Sports, you missed out on some that I think will never come along again.   Rest in peace Mr. McKay.

2. The heat–it has been down right HOT in this part of Texas over the last few days.  The only good thing is we don’t have the humidity out here in this part of Texas.  But 105 is HOT no matter how much humidity is in the air.

3.  Work–things are just crazy around here.  I have been trying to keep ahead of things, but it’s like bailing wather out of the Titantic.  No matter how much water goes out, more comes in and to be honest the boat eventually sinks.

4.  My birthday–you would think I would be happy with this one, but this year not so much.  It happens to fall on Father’s Day this year.  This happens about every 7 years.  This year however, I have to share my birthday with Postman since this will be his first father’s day.  The only upside…if he wants to watch the US Open, he will have to go to the other room.  I mean I have been celebrating MY BIRTHDAY a lot longer than he has been celebrating Father’s Day.

5.  1990–I work at a major university in Texas.  The campus has been bustling with all the new students who are here for orientation.    That means these 18 year olds will be gracing the campus’ presence come August.  Buth here’s the fact that I think may be the root of my funk.

These kids entering as college freshmen were born in 1990!

6.  1988–yep…that was 20 years ago which means MY 20TH high school reunion is staring me in the face.  I haven’t heard much from my former classmates and to be honest I don’t know if I will.  I was only there for three years and I wasn’t close with that many of them.  Of course, we only had 20 people graduate in my class.  However, there were a couple of classmates who I would love to see again and haven’t seen in quite some time.  But until that time…we are cool, we are great, we’re the class of ’88!

But seriously folks, I have been making the rounds, but just haven’t had the time to get to all that I need to get to this week. 

Richard Petty Enterprises–I am sure this wasn’t a decision entered into lightly, but perhaps this will benefit the Petty Enterprises in ways we haven’t even conceived of yet.  I am hoping this will allow for major changes to occur, but yet keep Petty Enterprises, Petty Enterprises.   Is this the wave of the future for NASCAR?  Will the teams that have been rooted in NASCAR (Wood Brothers, Yates) for quite some time have to look elsewhere outside of the sport to be able to compete on Sunday with the “super teams”?  Will the idea of a one-car team be a thing of the past for the sport?  With the rising cost of trunning a full time cup program increasing and the demands of sponsors, fans, etc.  I believe Petty Enterprises realized in order to remain a foothold in NASCAR and to be competive in the sport on Sundays, they had to make this move.  I am hoping this move will bring Petty Enterprises back to Victory Lane

Tony Stewart–It has been a rough year so far for us Tony fans.  Thisclose to victory at Daytona.  The heartbreak at Charlotte even though I know some of you didn’t miss the irony of that situation.  Then the Dover Demolition Fest.  And last week with the speeding penalty…sorry Tony you are on your own with that.  But June is suppposed to be where Tony gets his groove in gear.  Sunday the boys are in Michigan.  As I have shamelessly plugged, it is also my birthday, so if he is going to win, let it be SUNDAY!  What are the chances?  Let’s take a look here…

1.  He only has one win (2000 at the spring race), 8 Top 5s, 12 Top 10s, and average finish of 12.9

2.  In 2005 when he won his 2nd championship, he was 10th in the standings 380 points back from leader Jimmie Johnson.  He had no wins to that point in the 2005 season, 3 top 5s, and 6 top 10s.  And he went on to win the championship that year.  Where is he today? He is sitting in 12th 470 points back of teammate Kyle Busch.  By the way, Kyle was a rookie in 2005.  He still has no wins and he has had 4 top 5s, and 6 top 10s.  So, on paper it looks plausible Tony could make a run for the championship.  Unlike 2005, however, there were no bonus points for a win and no COT. 

So what are my chances of Tony winning this weekend on MY BIRTHDAY and yes, Father’s Day?  Pretty darn good.  I for one will have all that MOJO pointing towards the #20 this weekend.  So perhaps I have found my inspiration to get me through the day today!  Thank you Tony!