So, I plan on doing an F1 season preview, but haven’t gotten around to it quite yet. However, I think that if Iam going to make season predictions I need to make them prior to the first qualifying session which, as of right now, starts in just a few hours. So here is my F1 driver’s and constructor’s championship predictions (take them for what they are worth which is not much at all given that I haven’t been following the testing sessions).
Driver’s Championship
1. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull Renault
This is a pick from the heart. I truly believe in this kid’s driving ability and he was able to come in 2nd last year. I hope he has an amazing year.
2. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari
If you have read any of my other posts, I am a Ferrari fan but do not like Alonso at all. It will be hard to reconcile this year, given that Alonso is not with Ferrari, but Alonso is an amazing driver, I cannot deny that. What he was able to do with his crap Renault last year was downright incredible. It will be exciting to see what he does with a legitimate car. As long as he can avoid bringing scandal and disrespect (unlikely) to Ferrari, it should be a good year.
3. Lewis Hamilton – Mclaren
Another hard one to actually type out, however, Lewis is a great driver. Mclaren are consistently good cars. Even though Button, the other McLaren driver, is the reigning world champion, Lewis is a better driver and in essentially the same car, advantage Lewis.
4. Michael Schumacher – Mercedes
I was originally only going to do the first 3 but I am a huge Schumacher fan (Michael of course because I think there are only a handful of Ralf fans and most are related to him…although I was always a Ralf fan and it was a sad existence.) Brawn has proved himself a God of F1. Brawn reunited with Schumacher is bound to be amazing but Schumacher is getting up there age-wise. If it was 3 years ago this would definitely be my number 1 pick, but F1 has become a young man’s sport and at 41, unfortunately, Schumacher is past his prime.
Unless you live under some sort of bridge (in which case you’re probably a hobo…or a troll) you know that the Suns didn’t trade Amar’e Stoudemire at the NBA trade deadline. Now Amar’e will be going into the summer with the opportunity to opt out of his contract and leave the Suns with nothing. Of course he could also either play out his contract or sign an extension with the Suns, but neither of those two seem particularly likely. Fortunately in these confusing times old Steve Kerr is around to keep me, the valued Suns season ticket holder, informed of the goings-on with the organization and the plan for the future. Yes, this is an actual email I received today that is probably on the Suns website. No my real name isn’t Scott…I changed it to protect the innocent (me). Continue Reading »
Apparently this trade is close to happening. If you’re not a big fan of clicking links I’ll just lay it out for you:
Suns recieve:
J.J. Hickson & Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Cavs recieve:
Amar’e Stoudemire
On Friday night, Bright Side of the Sun touched on a possible deal that would bring Hickson and Big Z to Phoenix, but it also included the exhumed Wally Szczerbiak coming to the Suns (but only in that Keith Van Horn during 2008 sort of way) and Cleveland taking Jason Richardson’s much maligned contract. I can possibly talk myself into this deal once I have enough to drink to convince myself that Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver will spend the $19 million dollars in cap space in the right way to reshape the Suns. Continue Reading »
If you believe what you read in the papers (and I always do because the media has never lied…ever) the Suns really want Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala. Apparently really, really bad. Why you may ask? Well he’s a pretty good all-around player – he can score, rebound, pass, and defend. Not a bad combo right? Well let’s do one of those classic Player A, Player B comparisons: Continue Reading »
In one of the first sets of power rankings I’ve seen since Kurt Warner retired, Foxsports.com ranked the Cards 18th – a full 12 spots below where they finished the season. Anytime you lose a Hall of Fame-caliber QB and all around dreamboat like Warner you can expect to drop a few spots, but it was the logic behind it that reminded me that the two years of national media giving a shit about the Cardinals are officially over:
OFFSEASON DIAGNOSIS: It’s not often to see a playoff team that won a game in January dropped so far in the postseason rankings. But that’s how much Kurt Warner meant to this operation. If the Cards aren’t bluffing and do settle on Matt Leinart to run the show in 2010, No. 1) Look for a RB in the draft, plus a ball-control style offense come September, and No. 2) Watch for the rest of the NFC West salivating, ready to make their move
I made the offending portion bold for emphasis. Apparently whoever Adrian Hasenmayer is can’t be bothered to google Beanie Wells – you know, the guy the Cards picked in the first round last season – or hell, even Tim Hightower. Let me help Adrian out – running back is the absolute least of the Cardinals many problems. It’s about as likely a selection as Tim Tebow in Round 1. Fail city.
Well, well, well Phoenix-area professional basketball team – look what you’ve done. If you’d asked me exactly a week ago if I thought there was any hope whatsoever for the 26-21 Suns as they played Dallas before heading off on a 4 game road trip (featuring 3 Western Conference contenders no less) I would have laughed. Hell, the highlight of the Dallas game for me up until the 4th quarter was winning a Flip video camera during that Qwest “figure out who the hell the blurry guy is” contest. Yet here we sit one week later with the Suns having pulled off three gritty wins against Dallas, Houston, and New Orleans before Continue Reading »
Prior to last Thursday the Suns were 5-9 in January, coming off a pair of back breaking losses to Utah and Charlotte, and were looking to toss Amar’e Stoudemire out of town on the first train coming by that was offering cap space. The run of being below average stretched as far back as December 1st and as of last Thursday morning they sat on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.
What’s changed 4 days later? A pair of tough wins over Dallas and Houston have vaulted the Suns back into 7th in the West (and just 1.5 games back of 4th) and have inspired a glimmer of hope. I say only a glimmer because Continue Reading »
Saying goodbye sucks. Call me a dope but ever since Kurt Warner burst onto the NFL scene in 1999 I’ve loved the guy. I suppose it’s a bit surprising that I was such a big fan of a player on an opposing team, but did you live through the 1999-2004 Cardinals? Those were not good teams (plus it’s pretty easily justifiable based on the fact that the Cards were in the NFC East until 2002). I reveled in the Rams Super Bowl 34 win, cringed when they lost to upstart Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl 36, and would tell anyone within ear shot that Mike Martz gave Warner a raw deal when he handed the starting QB job to Marc Bulger after the 2003 season opener. One of my fondest memories of when I became a total Warner homer was during the 2003 divisional playoffs when my buddy Tyler and I wouldn’t stop calling for Martz to bench Bulger as he threw 3 INTs (and no touchdowns) in a 29-23 double OT loss for the Rams. That was Kurt’s last game as a Ram. Continue Reading »
Don Banks and I have a complicated one way relationship – he writes things, I hate them, and then I get angry and write back at him on our little-read blog, see here, here, here , here and here for more details. So with his latest offering – a 2010 NFL mock draft – I can only assume he’s begging for my anger to boil over. As you may have already guessed, the offending portion is who he suggests the Cardinals might select with the 26th pick in the draft: Continue Reading »
Things I am not above: Begging for Kurt Warner to stay. Although I’m certain Number 13 is going to hang up his cleats tomorrow I will take this opportunity to beg him to stay in the matter most befitting SoD – whiny love music. When you are enjoying each of the glorious 4 minutes of this song picture me in a Kurt Warner jersey watching my 2008 NFC Champions DVD while weeping softly.
The biggest part of me Kurt! The biggest part! Don’t leave.
