NASCAR wrapped up its season from New York with the 2006 Awards Ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. From fire suits to formal suits, it was a night for the stars of the Chase for the Nextel Cup to collect their winnings and celebrate their achievements.
None should be prouder than Jimmie Johnson.

As amazing as it sounds, Johnson collected a whopping $16 million for his first championship season. For the stereotype of turning left, it's a pretty lucrative deal, all across the board.
From the Times Square Victory Lap to the red-carpet atmosphere of the awards celebration, NASCAR has truly arrived on the big stage.
Don't believe everything you hear about the TV ratings, either. The biggest reason for the lower ratings wasn't NBC's philosophy of five minutes of racing, then five minutes of commercials. It may be hard to believe, but there are a ton of choices for couch potatoes to get their sporting fix every weekend.
From start to finish, NASCAR's season was worth the viewing for those who stuck around.
With ESPN returning to the mix, 2007 will offer even better viewing for race fans everywhere.

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

I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of Larry H. Miller.

I'm even less a fan today after mulling over the new name given to the sports palace where his Utah Jazz play professional basketball.

You know the name by now. If you don't, look elsewhere. Even if they offered me $20 million or however much they gave Miller, it won't be found under my byline. Not at any price, although I will mention the company deals with nuclear waste.

Considering what nuclear waste and fallout has done to this state and its population, considering what it has done to this nation and considering how it may all happen again once they re-open the Pandora's Box that is the Nevada Test Site with the Divine Strake Test, Miller's decision is a slap in the face to every Downwinder to contract cancer; every family that has lost a loved one to the fallout; all those noble people fighting the powers-to-be to keep this garbage out of our state.

I really don't care what he has done to keep his usually mediocre basketball team in the state. I don't care how much influence he has amassed. I don't care how many cars he's sold. He has not earned the right to insult a group of people who have sacrificed much.

It was argued to me that his selling the name to the arena is a First Amendment issue. Fine. It's also a public relations, Utah image issue. What if Budweiser had outbid this company? What if an adult film company had outbid this company? Would you brand a sports complex in Israel with a swastika because it was the wish of the highest bidder?

The people of this state deserve a better public symbol than one that evokes the image of nuclear waste and abuse. It is an advertisement for a company hoping to bring even more of this junk into our state.

I know enough people who are wheelchair bound, in and out of hospitals, in the grave because of nuclear waste and fallout. And, it is relevant because nuclear radiation is nuclear radiation, whether under a fluffy little company name or in the harsh language of the Department of Energy.

The arena is already being derisively referred to as The Nuke Dump by East Coast newspapers. I'll bet that sits well with our governor, who has been trying to upgrade the Utah image throughout the nation and world.

Funding for this building came through Sumitomo Trust and the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City. Why not use the bank or city's name?

No way, no how would I ever purchase a ticket for anything in that building.

Posted by Ed Kociela at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )