Reactive measures not good enough for NASCAR

By Joe McAdory

NASCAR brass told reporters Monday that they do not expect to make any changes to Talladega Superspeedway, basically saying it’s safe as it is.

Maybe it is. But from what I saw, Carl Edwards’ flying Ford came dangerously close to scaling the retaining fence and soaring into a packed grandstand. But the fence held and gravity pulled the car back to the asphalt.

I do wonder, though ... what if Edwards’ car began its ascension five feet closer to the fence and wall than it did? Indeed, it ricocheted off of Ryan Newman’s Chevy and began to drift downward as it struck the fence. But if the initial contact with Brad Keselowski were five feet closer to the wall, would that car have been on the way down when it made contact with the fence? And if so, how would the fence reacted? I really don’t know. In all likelihood, a car will not flip into the stands at Talladega. But I’d hate to take a haughty approach and deny such an event could occur.

Quoting NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter, “One of our primary goals over the years is to build a retaining fence that keeps the cars and parts and pieces out of the spectator areas. Nothing is bullet proof. The retaining fence did what it’s supposed to do.“

Hunter is correct on all counts. The retaining fence did what it’s supposed to do. But isn’t that reactive thinking? Why not take a pro-active stance and say something like, “We are going to make sure the retaining fence does what it’s supposed to do in the future?“

Too often NASCAR has reacted to a situation, which obviously is better than doing nothing. But it’s time NASCAR took steps ahead of a situation than following in the footsteps afterward.

Raise the fence.

Tweeting on Capitol Hill

By Joe McAdory

Received a memo this morning from Congressman Mike Rogers’ office in Washington revealing that Rogers will use another method to communicate with constituents by using Twitter.

Personally, I’m not a Twitter fan. I don’t believe people need to know everything I’m doing. Joe’s going to lunch. Tweet. Joe locked his keys in the car again. Tweet. Joe can’t find his wallet. Tweet. Joe woke up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep again. Tweet.

But that’s just me.

Here’s the statement from Rogers’ office: Congressman Mike Rogers joined the social media site Twitter recently, saying he hoped Third District constituents will find it to be another helpful avenue to stay in touch with their Congressman when he’s back in Washington, D.C. or traveling East Alabama.

If you have an account with Twitter and want to follow Rogers, go to https://twitter.com/RepMikeRogersAL.  Otherwise, you can sign up for an account at http://twitter.com/ and find him under the search tab.

“With more information available on the internet these days, this is provides an additional way I can be available to folks back home and keep them up to date on who I am meeting with or what I am voting on,” Rogers said.

“In a time when this new social media is all the rage, this gives me a forum to reach out to younger generations and tech-savvy folks alike,” Rogers added.

One day real soon, we’ll have political campaign mudslinging on Twitter by candidates.

Tweet.

A few things ...

By Joe McAdory

The Opelika-Auburn News published a story in Friday’s edition about Auburn City Councilman Rev. Arthur Dowdell’s decision to take tiny Confederate flags off of the graves of soldiers at Pine Hill Cemetery. Some callers complained saying the newspaper never should have published a story and even went as far to say we advocated the desecration of graves.

This newspaper reported what happened. We provided information. If we had not done so, then these angry callers perhaps would not have known otherwise.

So what is the best solution here? I don’t think a knee-jerk reaction was best. I would think reasoning as adults should be in order to resolve this in a manner that satisfies all parties. Unfortunately, that may be easier said than done.

* * *

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell mentioned the regular season good be increased to 18 games and the Super Bowl could be played in mid-February. I believe that’s way too much. The current schedule is plenty long and I simply see this as catering to TV contracts and sponsorships.

It was even noted that the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 could be on the same day. The 500 has been run recently in prime time. That would conflict with football. If the Super Bowl is played on the same day as the 500, would NASCAR brass move the starting time back to where it used to be so it does not go head-to-head with the NFL? I would hope so.

* * *

Today was going to be a glorious one for Joe. First, I was going to tee off at 7 a.m. at Auburn Links and pretty much have 18 holes to myself. I play so much better when I’m alone instead of the times when large galleries follow me around and the TV cameras are on. I would have had no groups in front of me, no playing partner and the chance at a 2 1/2-hour round.

Then I was going to continue my exploration into making the best BBQ ribs I can. I make pretty good ribs, but I need to keep tinkering until I get them perfect. I need the practice. Besides, halfway decent ribs are good enough for my taste buds.

During this time of culinary creation, I was going to plop in my favorite chair and watch the NFL Draft.

It sounded too good to be true. I’m not at the golf course. I have no car. I’m riddled with car problems again. I don’t have any ribs because I don’t have a car to go get the ribs and my stomach really doesn’t feel like eating BBQ anyway. As for the draft, looks like the TV people who control the universe have decided to push back the starting time until 3 p.m. That’s ridiculous.

Now I have all day with nothing to do and no car. But I do have a lawnmower. And I do have a lot of grass. Look out fire ant mounds, I’ve got four wheels and two spinning blades. Since I can’t play golf or cook BBQ, I’m going to take it out on pests.

Draft steals, busts

By Joe McAdory

With the NFL Draft breathing down our necks, I thought I’d discuss which former Auburn players I thought were the best draft steals and worst draft busts. I may miss somebody. That’s what happens when you write stuff like this off the top of your head.

Draft steals
1. OL Steve Wallace—Mammoth offensive lineman protected Joe Montana and opened holes for Roger Craig.
2. DL Gerald Robinson—Man from Notasulga was a fixture in opponents’ backfield.
3. RB Bo Jackson—By the Raiders, not the Bucs. Al Davis took a chance Bo would resume his hobby after baseball season and was right. Even with hip injury, it’s hard to say this mid-round pick was wasted.
Honorable mention: DB Roderick Hood. OK, he wasn’t drafted, which makes this seasoned NFL player even more special. Played key roles with Eagles and Cardinals over the last few years, helping the Cards reach the Super Bowl.

Draft busts
1. RB Brent Fullwood—Never remotely lived up to his billing in the pros after an incredible college career.
2. LB Aundray Bruce—When you’re chosen No. 1 overall, it’s hard to live up to that hype anyway. Bruce was expected to be the second coming of LT. Instead, he was just another player.
3. RB Carnell Williams—Great potential here, as evidenced by the top-five pick by the Bucs, but Caddy’s injury problems robbed us from knowing how good he could have been.
Honorable mention: Pat Sullivan. Hey, the quarterback won the Heisman Trophy but he never came close to all-star status in the pros.

Happy Days here again?

By Joe McAdory

A fellow employee here and I were wondering this morning if the Happy Days movie were ever made (remember, the 1970s sitcom?), who would play the Fonz? After much thought, I came up with who I thought was the best person ... Adam Sandler. Not sure who would play Richie Cunningham, but Jim Belushi would be a good Mr. Cunningham.

What about Chachi? Forget it. Banned from the movie.