The NASCAR season comes to its midway point this weekend back in Daytona for the Coke-Zero (Firecracker) 400 under the lights celebrating our independence with an amazing fireworks display after the race.  In recent races leading up to this weekend, Jimmie Johnson has taken over the winning  tear from Denny Hamlin with back to back wins himself and stealing the race from an ill-moved Marcos Ambrose at Infineon who was trying to save some fuel and ended up costing him his 1st victory on the big circuit.  Kevin Harvick however is still clinging to the lead in the standings with 2489 points and a 105 point lead over Jimmie Johnson.   Kyle Busch and Hamlin are right behind Johnson and could even take over the top spot themselves with some luck and misfortune in the BIG ONE which is bound to happen at the 400 in Daytona.  As for the rest of the top 12...  Jeff Burton 8th, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffie, Mark Martin and Cousin Carl Edwards rounding out the top 12 as they are doing what they can to keep running strong to hold off the rest of the field.   Dale Jr. is only 3 points out of the top 12 at the moment, and coming back to Daytona where he finished 2nd to Jamie Mac in the Daytona 500 to start the year off, and has had proven he is one of the true masters of the plate tracks at Daytona and as well at Talladega.   the 88 car should end up in Victory Lane and get that monkey of his back that has been haunting Jr and the 88 team.  His last won in 2008 at Michigan where at that time he broke a 76 race winless streak.  Will he breakout this weekend..?  I know that Jr Nation including myself will be pulling for him.  Maybe Dale Sr. will be looking down on the 88 car.   And to add Jr. has had some good races this year and just needs to put it all together.  I hope Daytona is where they do it.  

In other NASCAR news, Danica Patrick made her return to the Nationwide Circuit to finish 30th at New Hampshire.  She will be back on July 9th at Chicago.   Kyle Busch collected his 6th Checkered Flag at NHMS while new bad boy Brad Keselowski holds a 247 point lead over Carl Edwards.  

Reporting from the Pits... I am RonDawg with your NASCAR Report for BleacherBrothers.  For the fans, by the fans.

Hey Race Fans,

 With all the rain they got in Fort Worth on Saturday and Sunday, Nascar was forced to push the Sprint Cup race as well as the Nationwide race to Monday.  There were a few drivers who did pull double duty and ran in both races to make it a 800 mile day.  But in the early Sprint Cup race, Denny Hamlin showed that the ACL surgery wasnt gonna keep him from winning for the 2nd time this year despite a late crash taken out some of the main front runners.  2 wins in 3 weeks is pretty good for Denny and Joe Gibbs Racing.  Teammate Kyle Busch finished 3rd after bouncing around the field throughout the race.   The big one happened with less than 20 laps to go which is surprising for Texas.  The crash did take  out Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Joey Logano and a few others who were all running in the top 10.  But getting 3 wide in the trioval down the front stretch is a no no.  Hitting speeds around 195MPH..  Was this a possible preview of what is coming up next week as they head to Talladega for some serious speeds with the new spoiler and restrictor plates.  We will see, but good to see Denny get another win.  In the late Nationwide race,  Kyle took the momentum from the 3rd place finish and took the checkered flag for back to back wins.  Joey Logano made up for being in the mishap from the early race to follow Kyle and finish in 2nd place.  Another weekend is in the books and now its off to Talladega.  If you havent taken the time to watch a race this year, I promise you this week is the week to sit back and take in a race.  To me this is my favorite track on the NASCAR Circuit.  The 2.66 Mile Tri-Oval is amazing.  The speeds will be over 200 MPH+ for certain.  After the testing sessions they did earlier in the year, I know they are gonna change the Restrictor Plate a bit, but the boys will be doing some serious driving.  This is one of those tracks where as long as you have the right line, you can keep your foot to the floor and fly!!  And be sure Talladega will live up to years and races in past like last year with Carl Edwards doing the flying act or Ryan Newman, or one of the other drivers who have taken the Dega Tumble.  We will see, but you know I will be glued to a TV for certain...

See ya in the pits...

Ron Dawg

  Hey Sports Fans...  sorry for the lack of stories, but sometimes life gets in the way...  Doesn't mean I haven't been keeping up with all the action that has been going on so this will be the story covering it all....

    Well we all know the boys of summer are finally back in the swing of things.  Been a few good games so far this season.  The World Series Champion New York Yankees wrapped up their season opener series in Boston and got 2 of the 3 games from them and the Phillies did the same against the Washington Nationals down in DC.  From what I saw in the 3 Phillies games, it looked like a home game for the Phils.  I could not believe how many of the Phillies faithfuls took the trip down to see the NL Champs.   Amazing site.  Cant say the same thing for the Yankees.  Going to Boston is almost a death wish... and vise versa..   I am looking forward to the years baseball season and seeing what everyone does with all the trades that went on in the off season.  Can the Yankees and Phillies both make it back to the fall classic..??  158 more games will tell the fate of them and the rest of the MLB.    I am not making any ludicrous predictions this year.  I had my dream last year and couldn't ask for that again... Though in my heart I would love for them to play every year in the fall classic but we know that wont happen...  Good luck to all you fellow fans and hope your teams can compete with the big boys...  Sorry for all you Royals and Pirates fans...lol

   Onto some NASCAR...  After the 2nd off week this year the boys are heading out to the desert to Phoenix to run the mile under the lights.  Jimmie Johnson has a very slim early lead over Greg Biffle from the Roush Racing family.  Only 17 points.  We are only 6 races into the season right now so its early to being blowing any smoke yet and picking a winner for the year.  Jimmie Johnson has won 3 races this season and is the odds on favorite to win this weekend in Zona.  I am still wondering if the pressure from knowing his wife is due to have the baby in July will effect his chances on that 5th title.  We will find out in the months to come.  On some other NASCAR news.  After Denny Hamlin's rained out win from Martinsville, he went in for surgery to repair his ACL which he injured in the off season.  Reports are that Casey Mears will cover for him in the #11 Fed Ex Toyota while he is under going treatment and can't get in the car.  But after seeing the Duckman "Aflac" Carl Edwards break his foot last year, that didnt stop him from climbing into his #99 Ford and run the rest of the season.  But an ACL is alot different from a broken foot.  We will know after this weekend.  Their has been some great racing this year so far and we finally got to say goodbye to that ridiculous looking wing that was on the back of the cars.  The boys are running the old style spoiler again and the racing should get really good come Talladega.  They did do some testing with the spoiler at Dega and then again at Lowes Motor Speedway to see what the spoiler will do.  I was happy to see the speeds get back to the old days when guys like Bill Elliott were running over 200+ MPH.  I am totally stoked for the next big 3 races. 2 at Dega and the July race in Daytona.  Gonna be really exciting.  If you really havent taken the time to watch a race, I would suggest getting your favorite adult beverage and check a race out!!  And as the resident NASCAR writer, I will try a bit more to drop a little something on the races. As the old saying goes, Racing is Rubbing!!!  And 1 more point.. I am glad to see NASCAR let the boys finally race again. Despite the black flag a few races ago when Carl Edwards got some retaliation on the new bad boy Brad Keslowski.  Is this what Kyle Busch needs to get that monkey off his back..??  Time and the laps will tell...

     Now onto my beloved Philadelphia Eagles...  Where to start...  I am sick to my stomach with the Birds right now.  They released RB - Brian Westbrook after being plagued by injuries last year.  I can understand to a point, but just the year before they dropped my all time favorite Eagles player Brian Dawkins.  Now I got 2 jerseys which are totally useless.   Dawkins as everyone should know has a new home out in Denver and the fate of Westbrook is still up in the air.  Also in recent news the Eagles shipped off 2 of their main players on defense to Cleveland.  Sheldon Brown and Chris Gocong are now going to be in the puke brown of the Cleveland Browns.  And even more so, the guy who has been at the helm for 11 years under center, Donovan McNabb has been sent to the Washington Redskins.  First off, I know McNabb is a joke and will never won the big game, but sending him to the Skins a team in the same division as the Iggles is still dumb founding to me.  Granted the Eagles know McNabb's every move, but he is now under Mike Shanahan in DC.  If you dont remember, Shanahan did lead a old John Elway to the promise land with Denver back in the day.  Could he spark the same magic again with McNabb..?? GOD I HOPE NOT!!!  I know that along with me and every other Eagles fan would be sick to our stomachs for years.  Please don't let that happen.  Now the Eagles are stacked with a bunch of draft picks and have to make a new charge for the future.  It will be good to see Kevin Kolb under center.  I just hope he doesnt get a grin on his face after he throws an INT like D-Mac did.  I am all for the change in Philly, but this is a total dismantlement!!!  The only real veteran on the team left is David Akers their kicker.  Once he is gone time to quit buying jerseys!!  I still have and will keep my jerseys from Westbrook and Dawkins.  They were a big part of what the Eagles did in the past 10 years.  Now on to a new chapter.  I just hope the decide to take Andy Reid off the sidelines.  But that is a pipe dream too.  It is not a good time to be an Eagles fan.  I dont know how many more questions from Giants and Cowboys fans I can handle.  MCNABB IS GONE!!  I AM GLAD!! NOW LEAVE IT ALONE!!  Time for the KOLB ERA TO BEGIN!!!!

On to a couple of quick notes from the PGA Tour...  TIGER IS BACK!!!  I spent most of the day today watching the coverage from the MASTERS and wow.  maybe if Tiger spends 2 months at a time in a sex rehab and comes back to play I feel sorry for the rest of the field.  Even in his absence I was tired of hearing about Tiger during the coverage.  I think Tiger is a freak of nature on the golf course, but there are normally 100 other guys in the field who I want to see get some TV time too.   The first round did spark some great surprises.  Tom Watson at 60 years of age is playing with a new lease on life and Boom Boom Freddy Couples has the 1st round lead.  And of course, Tiger put a insane number up as well to finally get his monkey off his back and broke 70 in the first round.  I am looking forward to Sunday to see if one of the old guys and Tiger will be paired in the final group.  The PGA Tour needs Tiger, but he just needs to keep it in his pants.  

Well I think I covered most of my normal basis with this report from the Dawg Pound and expect a barrage of comments from this story... FIRE AWAY BOYS!!!  I know I havent totally gotten it about McNabb from you all yet...  

Ron Dawg from the Pound ---   OUT!!!

The Philadelphia Eagles announced on Tuesday that they will release running back Brian Westbrook.

"Brian is one of the greatest Eagles of all time and he is even a better person and leader," said head coach Andy Reid. "In my mind, there has not been a more versatile running back that the NFL has seen. I had a conversation with Brian this morning to let him know. This is by far the most difficult part of this job. We wanted to make this move now in order to maximize Brian's chances of landing with another NFL team."

Westbrook will finish his Eagles career as the franchise's all-time leader in yards from scrimmage (9,785) after being selected in the 3rd round of the 2002 draft from Division I-AA Villanova. He also ranks 2nd in rushing yards (5,995) behind Wilbert Montgomery and 3rd in receptions (426) behind Harold Carmichael and Pete Retzlaff. In addition, Westbrook's 68 total touchdowns ranked 3rd in team history behind Carmichael and Steve Van Buren. He holds the franchise's single season record for most scrimmage yards in a season (a league-leading 2,104 in 2007) and most receptions in a season (90 in 2007). He eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark 20 times (including playoffs) during his career, tying for 2nd most in club history.

"Brian Westbrook is one of the most electric players in the history of this franchise and is certainly also one of the most popular," said Eagles Chairman Jeffrey Lurie. "He was personally one of the my favorite players to watch each and every Sunday and his playmaking abilities, leadership and values will be missed."

Said team president Joe Banner, "We all know how valuable Brian was as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and he will certainly go down as one of the greatest Eagles of all time. But what really showed me how special a person Brian is, was watching the way he interacted with my children. That said more to me about Brian than anything else he could have done on the playing field. We will miss him both as a person and as a player."

NHRA’s winningest driver, John Force, got back into the winner’s circle after a 20-month drought and was joined by Larry Dixon and Mike Edwards in collecting season-opening Full Throttle Drag Racing Series wins at the 50th anniversary Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals.

The victory at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, during a weekend filled with nostalgic moments and memories, is Force’s record 127th and it came in his 203rd career final, but his first since the 2008 Topeka event, 623 days ago. The Top Fuel win by Dixon also marked a bit of a comeback as his team didn’t even qualify at last year’s race, where qualifying was shortened by rain. Edwards’ win continued the dominance that the reigning Pro Stock champ showed in closing out his successful 2009 campaign.

Force, coming off his first winless season since 1986 and celebrating the 25th anniversary of his longtime partnership with Castrol, showed that he’s still in fighting form by winning the Winternationals title, his fifth, on a holeshot, 4.124 to 4.123 against Ron Capps. The last time that Force led the points was Nov. 12, 2006, when he won his most recent championship.

The win also proved that Force’s the decision to add sidelined tuner cum driver Mike Neff to the tuning mix with Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly was a wise decision. His Mustang never seemed challenged  with consistent passes of 4.132, 4.120, and 4.125 to defeat Bob Bode, daughter Ashley Force Hood, and Jack Beckman.

Capps, the defending event champ who also won this race in 1998, powered his Ed McCulloch-tuned NAPA Auto Parts Dodge back to the final  the tough way, having to win without lane choice in round one, where he beat Jim head, then beating former champ Cruz Pedregon, who had upset low qualifier and defending season champ Robert Hight in round one. Capps reached the final, the 60th Funny Car of his career, with a semifinal triumph over Bob Tasca III after a heroic thrash to repair a broken rear end. The car had to be transported back to the trailer on a flatbed, but with help from teammate matt Hagan’s DieHard crew, they had the rear end and a new engine block installed in just 35 minutes.

Larry Dixon

Dixon’s victory, scored on a 3.80, 316.60 to 3.84, 310.05 over defending event champ Doug Kalitta, was his 49th career win, tying him with his former car owner, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, for eighth place among all Pro winners and 14th among all NHRA drivers. Dixon previously had won the Winternationals in 1998 and back-to-back in 2002 and 2003.

Dixon, who lost his low qualifying berth to Cory McClenathan in Saturday’s final qualifying session, looked nearly flawless en route to the final round, chalking up low e.t. of eliminations at 3.799 in round one to defeat Steve Chrisman, followed by a 3.85 conquest of longtime rival Brandon Bernstein. Dixon’s semifinal bash with Tony Schumacher, to whom he lost the season championship last year by a mere two points, was another legendary clash between the two modern-day Top Fuel titans. They ran identical e.t.s and identical speeds – 3.836s and 317.05s a pair – and it was only Dixon’s .068 to .085 reaction-time edge that made the difference 999 feet later.

Kalitta, who last year joined his uncle, Connie (1967), and cousin, Scott (2005), as Winternationals Top Fuel champs, raced his way back to the money round again, the 59th of his career, by overcoming first-round engine woes that slowed him to a 4.51, but the Jim Oberhofer-led crew responded with passes of 3.92 and 3.84 to defeat tire-smoking Troy Buff and No. 1 qualifier McClenathan.

Mike Edwards

Twenty-nine years after winning his first Winternationals title in Modified elimination, Edwards, frustrated twice by Summit teammates Greg Anderson (2006) and Jason Line (2009), scored his first Winternationals Pro Stock title by besting Anderson, 6.57, 210.47 to 6.61, 209.62. Anderson got the holeshot, .031 to .069, but Edwards ran him down to win his 21st Pro Stock Wally by just .003-second.

Prior to beating Anderson, Edwards’ Penhall/Interstate/K&N Pontiac was the quickest car in all four qualifying sessions, and had low e.t. of every preliminary round as he motored past Justin Humphreys, Greg Stanfield, and Allen Johnson with blasts of 6.604, 6.610, and 6.615 to reach the final, his 40th in the class. It’s the second time that Edwards has racked up the maximum points available at a race; the first was in Richmond, Va., late last year.

Anderson continued his Pomona love affair by reaching the final. He won the 2009 season finale here, won the Winternationals three straight years from 2006-2008 and four times overall, and at this race last year reset the national record, and reached the final again, the 89th of his career, with his Summit Pontiac after running 6.608 in round one in a rematch with Kurt Johnson of the last event here, then moved on to beat good-looking rookie Shane Gray with a 6.626 and ended the great debut of Larry Morgan’s new Lucas Oil Mustang in the semifinals with a 6.632.

The Alcohol Dragster final pitted the runners-up from the last two years, and ’09’s second-place finisher Chris Demke finished first this time with a 5.33 victory over 2008 runner-up Joey Severence. Sean O’Bannon handed Doug Gordon his second straight Alcohol Funny Car Winternationals runner-up, beating the 2003 champ in the final, 5.54 to 5.64.

A pair of former Winternationals Comp champs battled for their second wins in a rematch of their 2006 final here, and the outcome was the same as Lou Ficco Jr. collected the win when 2004 Winternationals champ Dean Carter went -.117 red. In Super Stock, 2003 Winternationals champ Jeff Lane scored again, handing reigning world champ Jimmy DeFrank Jr. his fourth straight Winternationals final-round loss while Brad Burton defeated Ryan McClanahan for Stock honors.

Kevin Wright got a bye run in the Super Comp final when 2003 Super Gas runner-up Ed Olpin’s dragster wouldn’t fire in the final. The guy who beat Olpin in that 2003 final, Brad Pierce, also won his second Winternationals title by beating former world champ Jimmy Lewis in the Super Gas final.

Hey Race fans....  What a way for the Daytona 500 to go about and to finish in the start of this long 36 race long season.  We got to experience our 1st multi overdrive session in Nascar which the governing bodies implemented before the start of the season with all the other new rules and changes they were bringing to the table for the start of the 2010 Nascar Season.  A stop and go session 2 times for the track repairs held the field at bay for close to 2 hours as Nascar and Track Officials assested and made the what seemed to be the band aid on a artearial wound twice with a quick patch and go the 1st time and a epoxy patch in the second stop of the race...  The Officals were comfortable after the 2nd patch work seemed to hold for the final laps of the race and fans would see a full 500 miles race.    Jamie McMurray who now drives for DEI/Ganassi after a bump from Roush Racing driving a Ford Fusion who's team went from 5 teams to the new Nascar limit of 4 teams, McMurray did have some success with Roush and his credentals were good enough  to get him a new ride with another team.  Jaime took over for Martin Truex Jr. in the Bass Pro Shops # 1 Chevy who left to drive for Micheal Waltrip Racing in what seemed to be the biggest offseason move by free agent drivers to drive the #56 Toyota there in place of Micheal who is set to run a very limited schedule.  Jaime surprised all the masses and took this years Daytona 500 after holding off a late surge from Dale Jr. rallying from 10th with shades of his Dad Dale Sr. looking down from above on the last lap in the 2nd Overdrive session.  Jaime was tearful in his post race speech and bowed to the Daytona Logo amassed on the front stretch of the Superspeedway after getting the checkered flag and donning a bunch of doughnuts and celebrating in Victory Lane.   What a shame about all the track repairs and the stop and go sessions to give the drivers a break and cars and engines as well.  Jimmie Johnson had trouble right before the yellow flag and losing a right front tire.  Possibly his car slid across the spot in turns 1 and 2 where the ashfalt seemed to give way and cause both red flags.  Jimmie made repairs and got back out to only throw out a rear gear in the up and closing laps of the race.  A few cautions here and there for some beating and banging to cause a few cars to call it a day.  Bill Elliott ended up bumping into Rookie of the Year Joey Logano and finishing off both there days.  But there was no big one as what myself and alot of fans have come to expect in this 500 mile restrictor plate race.  Nascar did also apply another fishfin to the left rear of the car to prevent cars from getting airborne if they did get sideways and crash.  The restrictor plate was opened up 1/64 of a inch more this year to allow another 10-12 horsepower to the cars.  Beating and banging they did, but the big one eluded us this year for the 500.  Praise and joy to Jaime McMurray for winning the race.  Now you have opened my eyes to see what you will do for the rest of the year with the new team and new ride.  Awesome job Jaime...  You are the 2010 Daytona 500 Winner....

Hey Sports Fans...  

          Just want to let everyone know Bleacher Brothers is now offically on Internet Radio with this month's Contributor of the Month --  Ronnie G.....   I have recently joined the radio staff at Galaxy Net Radio to do a sports show sponsored in part by Bleacher Brothers to get us out to the world!!!!...  Be sure to tune in and spend your Monday Sports Drive with Ronnie G. from 3-6pm..  

http://www.glxe.net   <--- Click this link here!!!

I will be covering all the sports you can possibly handle in 3 hours ...   I will be featuring guest appearances by fellow staff members and fans alike.  So be sure to tune in on Mondays for the Monday Sports Drive....

Be Sure to Email me all your questions and comments to my email in the photo....!!!!

come join in the fun...  visit the site listed, create a screen name and lets chat about some sports...

www.justin.tv/bleacherbrothers

Look forward to all who stop in..

Live now from 9pm - 11pm EST...

Please shoot me a message on here or on facebook.  I am going to be doing a webcast on Tuesday night for you to explain how the webcast site works and what you need to know to do your own shows...

I will be doing this around 10pm EST...  for everyone, or will work around your schedule if you can not make it Tuesday night...  

Thanks..

Ronnie

Hey Sports Fans,

I am here to let you know that I have created a new webcast channel on the website I use for when I am do my music recording and production.  BleacherBrothers will be doing their 1st live webcast/podcast on the internet this coming week on Wends. night around 9pm est.   This site will feature all and any of our staff and contributors to do weekly or daily shows featuring the days sports action and the topics of sports that the staff covers .  When we are not live, the site will show any and all sports movies and rebroadcasts of our live shows as well.  This is an experimental basis trial and I am hoping that this will help our site grow into the biggest sports site to hit the internet.   So be sure to stop in on Wends. night and check it out...   

ALSO WHEN YOU CHECK OUT THE SITE, BE SURE TO CREATE A SCREEN NAME AND CHAT WITH THE HOSTS...

www.justin.tv/bleacherbrothers

Look forward to seeing everyone there!!!!

Ronnie G.