Kevin Harvick continued his amazing annihiliation of the drivers in the Busch Series Saturday, winning the O'Reilly Challenge 300 over Tony Stewart. What was amazing about this run, his ninth Busch win of the year, was how he managed his fuel down the stretch, especially with Stewart trying desperately to beat him.
With the field running under green throughout the final 118 laps of the 200-lap race at Texas Motor Speedway, Harvick ran out of fuel as he crossed the line. If it wasn't for bad luck, Harvick would have no luck at all.
The stats back it all up.

Harvick's win total is one short of tying the record set by Sam Ard in 1983, the second year of the Busch series. In 32 races, Harvick has posted 30 top-10 runs, matching Ard's mark. His poorest finish has been 19th.
All you can do is scratch your head and say "wow."
The other drivers in the Busch garage will quietly rejoice once the season ends and Harvick returns his focus to Nextel Cup racing full-time. Now maybe they'll have a chance, even if they have to wait until Daytona next February.
But the big question still awaits. Harvick is in range and has a real shot at pulling off the Busch-Cup double with three races left in the season.
He'll start 21st for the Dickies 500 on Sunday and he's sixth in points, but the deficit isn't insurmountable.

Posted by Tom Zulewski at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

The four newspapers -- The Military Times -- that serve our military have finally come to grips with the failures in Iraq.

They want Donald Rumsfeld out.

In an editorial that will be published Monday, they tell you why.

They are the same reasons we have believed for some time now.

The Iraqis are blase. There is no sense of national unity.

The Iraqis are not committed to self-defense.

The Iraqis, contrary to popular myth, have not laid roses at the feet of their invaders.

The war has been mismanaged from the beginning, a ginned-up excuse to push the agenda of The Project for the New American Century -- the neocon power structure really calling the shots in Washington, D.C., headed by Dick Cheney, who tells ABC News today that it really doesn't matter what the American people think, the war machine will grind full-speed ahead.

Probably not, if Tuesday's elections go the way they seem headed.

A new House, possibly a new Senate, could rain on Cheney's parade and cut off funding for the war in Iraq, effectively lopping off the head of this beast.

They say all politics are local. Well, the Iraq War is local. We've seen our troops come and go. We lost one local soldier, Sgt. Ron Wood. That's one too many. We've seen our local National Guard spend a year over there in a place that, since its departure, has claimed a ton of lives. How they got out unscathed is a miracle, for which we are all grateful.

So, what happens to Rumsfeld does have impact on us, which is why I agree that it's time for him to go, despite the vote of confidence given both him and Cheney by the president.

Then, it's time to turn our attention to the White House itself and look at what personal gain -- whether in influence or cash -- Cheney has pocketed as a result of this ill-thought-out war; at what role Condi Rice has played in the dis-information campaign; at how the president himself has abused his seat through deceit and connivance.

The Military Times did not go far enough in calling only for Rumsfeld's resignation or firing.

But, it's a good start.

One down, three to go?

We can only hope.

Posted by Ed Kociela at 07:07 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

When it comes to rock and roll music, there's no band quite like Aerosmith, especially with Screamin' Stephen Tyler belting out the tunes. When it comes to covering auto racing on TV, ABC is where I first learned about the sport, courtesy of the Indianapolis 500.
Appropriately, one of Aerosmith's best songs is being used as an earmark for the network's return, along with ESPN, to NASCAR racing in 2007.

The band will be recording a special live version of its classic "Back in the Saddle" in a concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Saturday night to be used as part of the telecasts in 2007. No further plans were revealed.
The new partnership wasn't born strictly of money, either. All of the members of the band - Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer - are huge NASCAR fans and they even sponsored Kenny Wallace in a then-Winston Cup race at Phoenix in the No. 55 Chevrolet in 1999.
And while Aerosmith never really left the saddle, the choice of the song ABC and ESPN will use for its 2007 coverage is absolutely perfect.
They truly are back in the saddle again and I can't wait to watch them get to work.

Posted by Tom Zulewski at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

The Great West Football Conference could be coming to an end if conference officials don't act soon.
With Western Kentucky leaving the Gateway Conference to join the I-A Sun Belt Conference, Great West members North Dakota State and South Dakota State are almost assured an invite into the Gateway.

This leaves the Great West with just three members, Southern Utah, Cal Poly and UC Davis.
While a three-team league is an impossibilty, the University of North Dakota (who's beginning the transition to I-AA next year) and the University of South Dakota (strongly considering making the move to I-AA) have been considered the most likely candidates to fill the void created by NDSU and SDSU.

But if the Great West doesn't act soon, the Gateway could absorb UND and USD as well. An article in the the Argus Leader on Friday stated that the Gateway could look at expanding to 11 teams with all four Dakota schools as members.

Losing established football programs like NDSU and SDSU — both ranked in I-AA's top 25 — is a big enough blow for SUU and its Great West partners, but allowing the league to dissenegrate is a death wish. The Great West must get on the ball and ensure its future by finding two more teams — ideally UND and USD — to compete in the toughest I-AA football conference in the country.

Posted by Beau Eastes at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

One good thing about sports reporters is that they always, no matter what, know the score.

Former sports reporter Keith Olbermann reported the score on the Bush presidency with acute accuracy the other night and it is dismal.

Olbermann sized up the Bush presidency precisely when his outrage brimmed over into one of the classic television moments of the cable era and was preserved in his take-no-prisoners blog.

It was a response to the flak generated by a comment made by John Kerry that was perfectly clear to most people with more than a third-grade education. The comment, aimed at Bush, was deflected by his lackies and distorted into a slur against the mental acuity of the American soldier.

It was not.

But, that is the modus operandi of this administration: When all else fails, lie, cheat, deride, mock, twist, slander, slam, bash, denounce, threaten, crush, grind your opponent and their view. Turn it into an inedible sausage of gristle and bile and feed it back to them.

Bush and his henchmen can only take so much responsibility here, the rest remains with the slack-jawed masses who lap this swill and march, lock-step, to the beat of the Holy Roman Empire drum beat.

We as a nation are responsible for George Bush. We, as a nation have allowed him to lead us into an unjust, immoral war based on lies and personal vendetta. We, as a nation, have been duped because we, as a nation, believed.

We weren't happy with the theft of the 2000 election, but we set out to do the best we could. We were unhappy when jobs started disappeareing overseas, but we bucked up. We were loyal, as a nation, when the 9/11 attacks shattered us. And, we were the uniters, not the president, during that time of sorrow.

And, that advantage has been exploited into the needless deaths of our children in a country that is worse off now than it was when Saddam Hussein ran the show.

How?

When Saddam was in charge, they had food, water, power. Now the food and water is no more plentiful and the power? Instead of being on 16 to 18 hours a day it is on only 5 or 6.

The deaths at the hand of Saddam? They've been outdistanced by the deaths at the hand of Bush. The inner turmoil in Iraq? It's worse today as the various sects pick each other off in vast numbers.

It is the American people who have made the sacrifices and endured the tragedy of this administration, not the decision-making profiteers.

So, in a turnabout, we must name Keith Olbermann as the Best Human Being in the World for his comments the other night.

At the other end of that spectrum?

I'll let you fill in the blanks.

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

SUU certainly looked good in its exhibition opener on Wednesday night.

Granted, the competition wasn't exactly stiff. This team wasn't even close to the Division I level.

But I did have some courtside observations.

Rebounding was a major weakness in 2005-06. Last night the rebounders looked solid. SUU out-rebounded Lakehead 45-30, and the big men — especially Tate Sorenson — were getting to all the right spots.

Marcus Carson, who I have mentioned a couple of times is one of the best athletes on the team, looked especially impressive. He has the potential to be a really good player with the possibility of time at the two or three.

Brad Kanis got off to a slow start, but he really can plug up the middle. Those long arms really change shots, which we witnessed on a couple of occassions last night. One in particular stands out, with a blocked shot so emphatic the Lakehead player was practically driven through the Centrum Arena floor.

On the down side, the Bill Evans said at the coaches' luncheon on Monday that the team doesn't have the outside shooting that led the nation in 3-point shooting last year. I think we saw that last night. Outside of Steve Barnes, Nurudeen Adepoju and David Marek there really isn't a lot out there. SUU has a lot more athleticism and I think the T-Birds will need to be more of a slashing team.

On the plus side, when a defense holds any team to 30 points and goes that hard for 40 minutes despite a 40-plus (and eventually 60-plus) point lead, you know you've got a hard-working group of guys.

SUU will have one more exhibition game, this one coming Saturday night against old Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival Mesa State. Check back here Sunday morning for more observations.

— RJ

Posted by Rich Johnson at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

My daughter, Taidyn, went trick-or-treating for the first time last night.

Dressed as a ladybug (my wife, Cass, and a friend made the cute costume from scratch!), Taidyn collected a variety of chocolate bars, suckers and other candy from the 25 or so homes we visited.

Her friends from daycare made out like bandits, too. They got Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Snickers, Whoppers and Tootsie Rolls, John Martineau business cards and LaVar Christensen bumper stickers.

Sadly, I'm not kidding. These children, ages 1 to 11, received political propaganda from some folks.

When one of the boys emptied his bag on the floor, I was stunned to see a business card with Martineau's face on it. He is the Libertarian candidate for Iron County Sheriff.

"Somebody gave this to you?" I asked him.

The boy, who is seven years away from voting age, said, "He gave it to me and told me to tell my parents to vote for him."

He also pulled a Christensen bumper sticker out of his bag. It was not given to him by Christensen himself but by a supporter of the Republican candidate for Utah's 2nd Congressional District.
Other children had the same "treats" in their bags.

Shame on you, Mr. Martineau. And shame on the Christensen supporter, whoever he or she is, for resorting to such tactics.

They're children. Hand them a piece of candy and send them on their way.

Posted by Steve Kiggins at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Congratulations to the students at Snow Canyon Middle School.

Tuesday, these young people decided that they didn't like what was going on at their school. They were upset because they couldn't dress in Halloween costumes to celebrate the holiday. It got to the point where they were not getting the answers they wanted so they walked out of class at lunch time, went across the street and had a protest walk.

Now, before we go any further on up this road, congratulations must also go out to principal John Goldhardt, who was admirable in the way he handled the situation.

There were no suspensions, however the students who participated received unexcused absences for the class time they missed. Plus, Goldhardt said: "Protesting is absolutely a good thing — it's part of democracy."

It's not often that the target of a protest understands the process and respects the opposing view.

It took guts for these ninth-graders to do what they did.

Now, whether students are allowed to wear Halloween costumes or not is not the issue here. The issue is that the students understood that they could actually show a united voice and act in a peaceful way to demonstrate that voice.

Whether next year the school allows costumes on Halloween remains to be seen.

However, there is a lesson here for the parents of those children and that is: Do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid to break from the flock and let your true feelings be heard. Do not be afraid to ride against the wind. Do not be afraid to express yourself because you know what? There are probably a lot of others who feel the same way you do, but are so timid or beaten down that they accept what is driven their way.

Congrats, young people, for reminding us that democracy is important, that you can stand up for what you believe in and that it doesn't matter if you win or lose as long as you display the courage of your convictions and make your voices heard.

We've been silent for too long.

It's time we learn from our children.

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

It'll be the Thunderbirds against the Thunderwolves as Southern Utah plays host to Lakehead (Ontario) Wednsday night at the Centrum Arena.

I, for one, am ready for basketball season. College basketball is a passion for me, and I couldn't be more excited to tip off another season.

Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Centrum Arena on the SUU campus. Adult ticket prices are $10 for reserved and $7 for general admission. If you haven't been to a game at the Centrum, there's not a bad seat in the house.

The starting lineup for SUU figures to be Steve Barnes at point guard, Justin Allen at shooting guard, Nurudeen Adepoju at small forward, Orlando Griego at power forward and Tate Sorenson at the center.

I think Brad Kanis has a good chance of breaking the starting lineup eventually. Swaney Cooper should also see significant playing time — as will Marcus Carson.

Assistant coach Tarvish Felton told me a week ago that SUU could possibly tinker with the starting lineup in its two exhibitions (the other coming Saturday) to see how the players mesh.

Should be an interesting night.

Posted by Rich Johnson at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

After witnessing what happened at Martinsville last week, from Jimmie Johnson's win to Jeff Burton's blown engine, there were many reasons to get excited about the stretch run. Eight of the 10 Chase drivers were separated by 99 points, giving excitement and storylines galore.
Then along came Tony Stewart. Maybe he's mad about not making the Chase, but he's doing his darndest to send a message for 2007.
Stewart's second win of the month on Sunday at Atlanta loosened up the Chase standings a little more.

Matt Kenseth kept his grip on the Nextel Cup points lead with three races left, but Jimmie Johnson's runner-up finish cut the margin from 36 to 26 points. Johnson gained 15 more points on the lead, an amazing rally after what happened to him at Talladega on the last lap courtesy of soon-to-be-ex-teammate Brian Vickers. Since then, Johnson has finishes of second, first and second. From 165 back after Kansas, Johnson has gained 139 points, and there are still three races left - Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.
Will Johnson win the title for Hendrick Motorsports? With the unpredictability of the 2006 Chase, I wouldn't put it past him.

Posted by Tom Zulewski at 06:57 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

(NOTE: THESE COMMENTS DO NOT, IN ANY WAY, REFLECT THOSE OF THE SPECTRUM & DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD, ITS MEMBERS OR THE NEWSPAPER.)

If you aren't totally outraged, then you're not paying attention.

If you aren't ticked off beyond belief, then you either are one of the hapless sheep or so disgusted you really don't care about the future of this country.

And that, my friends, is at the local, state and federal levels.

The verdict and sentencing in the Saddam Hussein trial has been pushed back to two days before the mid-term election. Why? So the GOP can say, "Look, we found this guy, we gave him a trial and now we're gonna kill him."

There's a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives stumping this state and every other word out of his mouth is how he is a Reagan Republican. Never mind that he talks about how wrong illegal immigration is (even though Reagan had a different solution to the problem than rounding them up and shipping them home.) He talks about the economy, even though his plans are not clearly stated. But, he surely takes great pains to talk up his family values, as if his opponent has none.

There's a guy running for the state senate who did a back-door deal with the guy he hopes to replace, waiting until the final moment for his friend to drop out or the race so he could be the sole Republican on the primary ballot. It's the same guy who stiffed SUU for a meet and greet for candidates. The same guy who frequently tries to shelve delicate county commission issues because he's afraid to make a decision.

There's a candidate for a county sheriff position who is being smacked all over the place because of the party he represents.

And, there are signs with a big, fat elephant on them telling voters that there is a "reason" to vote Republican on Nov. 7.

There's a "reason" to consider ALL candidates.

Why? Because this country is on a downward spiral. We are no longer the leaders in technology, freedom of the press, personal freedoms, the care and support of those with health problems, humanity (i.e., Persian Gulf War II, the desire to create new nuclear weapons, the rejection of all opposing views.)

What are we the best at?

The demonization of those who question authority, the rejection of old-time American values, the tradition of hard-but-fair political discourse, the tolerance of religious and ethnic differences.

Fight for freedom, fight for your beliefs, fight for your rights.

Just don't do it with guns, vitriol or prejudice.

Posted by Ed Kociela at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )