Monday, June 29, 2009

A need for speed

Originally printed in the Woodford Sun June 18

Ford or Chevy? Kyle Busch or Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Short track or super speedway?

NASCAR fans find plenty to debate, but on one subject Kentucky race fans can agree. Virtually all of the nearly 70,000 spectators who poured into the Kentucky Speedway for the Meijer 300 Nationwide Series race on Saturday, June 13, would like to see a Sprint Cup race in the Bluegrass State.

But for Kentucky Speedway owners, luring the big boys of NASCAR remains elusive and the prospects for a 2010 date look bleak.

“I think there may be a slim chance – and slim probably left town,” Kentucky Speedway owner Bruton Smith said at a press conference before Saturday’s race. “The schedule is not completed, but I believe it will be completed and we’ll probably not be able to get on the schedule or change the schedule for next year.”

Smith’s Speedway Motor Sports Inc. purchased Kentucky Speedway from International Speedway Corp. in May 2008. SMI owns seven other racetracks that host Sprint Cup races, and Smith made it clear when he purchased the 1.5-mile oval near Sparta that he intends to bring a top-tier race to Kentucky.

But legal wrangling between NASCAR and the previous ownership remains the biggest hurdle.

Northern Kentucky businessman Jerry Carroll, along with four other investors, built the $162 million track on 816 acres of farmland in Gallatin County. Kentucky Speedway opened in 2000.

Carroll’s company, International Speedway Corp., filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR in 2005, saying the governing body conspired to keep Kentucky Speedway from getting a Cup race. Federal Judge William Bertlesman dismissed the suit in January 2008, saying that ISC failed to make its case.

“A producer of a product is free under current antitrust laws to select its distributors and to refuse to deal with would-be distributors, no matter how worthy or deserving they may be.”

Carroll appealed the ruling and the case remains pending. NASCAR has made it clear that no Sprint Cup race will come to Kentucky until the legal matters are resolved.

Many racing experts also believe the track will need to expand seating and make other improvements in order to host a Cup race.

SMI has already made $13.5 million in improvements at Kentucky Speedway since purchasing the track last year, including the addition of infield camping sites and new access roads to improve traffic flow.

But the speedway would likely need to add upwards of 50,000 seats to its 68,000 seat capacity.

The Kentucky House passed a bill on March 5 that would have allowed SMI to recoup 25 percent of its expansion costs through sales tax revenue over 20 years. The House passed HB521 98-0.

The bill died in a Senate committee, but the issue remains alive. Gov. Steve Beshear has expressed support for state aid in luring a Sprint Cup race to Kentucky.

“The impact of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race for Kentucky is undeniable. NASCAR is the number one spectator sport in the United States and is broadcast in more than 150 countries and 30 languages. I’m excited about the potential of Kentucky joining these ranks,” the governor said in a news conference last February.

Beshear announced on June 5 that he would add an economic development bill to the agenda for the special legislative session that began June 15, and that bill will include incentives for the Kentucky Speedway to lure a Cup race.

While race fans long for a Sprint Cup date at Kentucky Speedway, not all of them think it should come at taxpayer expense.

Don Tankersley made the 45-minute trip from Versailles, Ind. to take in the Meijer 300, and he said that he would love to see a Cup race at the speedway.

“I think it would be a good thing if they would get them in here. But I think we all know that they’ll need more seating.”

And while the issue wouldn’t directly affect him as an Indiana resident, Tankersley said that he doesn’t think Kentucky taxpayers should foot the bill.

“I don’t like taxpayer dollars going into any sporting event. I don’t think the state should pay for it.”

But he added a caveat.

“I don’t have a problem with a little tax exemption to get them in here.”

Tankersley said that he thinks the statewide economic benefits of NASCAR are overblown, especially in an area such as Sparta that boasts very little development to begin with.

“The only benefit here is here,” he said, sweeping his hand around the track. “It helps a few gas stations, but that’s about it.”

Racing flows through Mark Ballard’s blood. The Owensboro resident raced late model stock cars in Nashville and he brought his son, who races go-carts, to the Kentucky Speedway for his first NASCAR experience. Ballard disagrees with the notion that a Cup race wouldn’t benefit the state at large, and he said that he wouldn’t mind the state spending tax dollars if it meant bringing a Sprint Cup race home.

“I’ve seen the state waste a lot of money on a lot of other things,” he said. “I think the taxpayer dollar would be minimal compared to the return it would get.”

Ballard pointed out the large crowed present for the Nationwide race and said that he thought a Sprint Cup date would mean even more to the state, especially in national exposure and publicity.

“Nothing against Nationwide, but the Cup side is so much bigger.”

In addition to the Nationwide Series race, Kentucky Speedway also hosts a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event in July and an IndyCar race in August, along with other smaller racing events.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Are you a mucker and grinder?

A reprint of my June 11 column published in the Woodford Sun.

We call them muckers and grinders.

They play on the third and fourth lines. They can step up when a star player goes down. They have specific assignments: make a big hit, kill a penalty, or play a puck possession game while the top lines rest up.

They don’t attract the attention or have the name recognition of the superstars, but they play no less an important role on their teams. Nobody expects them to put up big numbers, but they can change the tone of a game with a physical shift, or a timely goal.

The coach just needs them to step up when they’re needed.

The muckers and grinders may not grab the headlines week after week, but without them, no team will succeed. They often play the role of difference maker, but the casual fan might not even notice.

In other sports, we call them role players – the backup linebacker that plays special teams, the defensive forward coming off the bench on the basketball team, the pinch hitter on the baseball squad.

Sometimes these athletes step up when a star goes down and become superstars themselves. The name Tom Brady comes to mind. But more often they labor in relative obscurity their entire careers.

You probably wouldn’t recognize most of their names.

Thanks in part to the muckers and grinders, the Detroit Red Wings have a shot at hoisting the Stanley Cup. They just need to win one of the next two games.

Of course, every time that storied trophy passes from hand to hand in celebration, more than a few of those raised arms belong to the role players.

Wings’ stars like Kris Draper, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom have all missed games in the playoffs due to injury, but in their absence, players like 22-year-old Darren Helm slid in and made their presence known. Helm leads the playoffs with 110 hits. Valtteri Filppula stepped up when Detroit’s leading scorer Datsyuk went down, scoring three goals and notching 13 assists. Justin Abdelkader scored two playoff goals. The first was his first NHL goal – ever.

"It's not about the number of minutes anyone plays. It's not about who gets the goals or assists. It's all about winning,” Helm said.

These guys may not ever reach superstar status. But they play an integral role on their team.

And they will reap the same reward as their headline grabbing teammates if they win the championship - their names will also be forever etched in the Stanley Cup.

I’m proud to say that I’m a mucker and a grinder. I was never higher than number three on the goalie depth chart at the University of South Florida, but I was there. I played my role and I played it to the best of my ability. I’m not writing for the New York Times, but I write to the best of my ability, filling my role here at The Sun and seeking excellence in all I do.

The truth is, most of us fall into the mucker and grinder category. We do our jobs and live our lives in relative obscurity. But the Detroit Red Wings – the team – should remind us that obscurity does not mean that we lack importance. It does not diminish our value. And it certainly doesn’t mean the world doesn’t need us.

We have a role and ladies and gentlemen, that role is important. What you do matters. You have significance. So do what you do the best that you can. Do it will passion and seek excellence.

Be who you were created to be.

Quick Shots

As I’ve watched the Stanley Cup playoffs, I’ve found myself wondering who will fill the mucker and grinder roles for the University of Kentucky basketball team this fall. John Calipari’s recruiting class is amazing. Lots of superstar talent. Lost of big names. But can they all play together and fill all of the roles that a team must fill in order to win? Or will they slide into the chaos of clashing egos? That remains to be seen.

Franklin County won the 11th Region Softball Championship and marched to the quarterfinals of the KHSAA State Softball Tournament before falling to Allen County-Scottsville. I couldn’t help but think, “what if?” as I followed the Yellow Jackets’ rivals’ progress through the tourney. Woodford County beat the Flyers three times this season. Franklin County’s success says a lot for the strength of the 41st District where most pundits considered Western Hills the top-dog.

The wrong bird won the Belmont and I think there was a lesson there for jockey Calvin Borel. Probably better to save the running of the mouth for after the race.

Quote of the Week

“I just wish you all would just quit ticking him off…so he has to come back and keep proving stuff. I think he answered a lot of questions today.”
– Jim Furyk after Tiger Woods came back to win the Memorial on June 7. Skeptics have questioned whether Woods was ready to defend his U.S. Open Championship in a couple of weeks.

Puck to the Head

This week’s puck flies at the head of Joe Bologna for comping UK basketball player meals. I just don’t think we should be increasing these kids’ sense of entitlement.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Ride Baby Ride


By Mike Maharrey
Woodford Sun sports editor
Published 6-3-2009

Cowgirls don’t cry
Ride baby ride
Lessons in life are gonna show you in time
Soon enough you’re gonna know why
It’s gonna hurt every now and then
If you fall get back on again>
Cowgirls don’t cry


Then again, sometimes they do.

As the Brooks and Dunn song played through the car stereo speakers, Grace Stone sat in the backseat of her mother’s car and bawled.

Just two months ago, the 10-year-old girl buried her “best friend,” a red chestnut Saddlebred horse with a perfect diamond on his nose.

His name was Sunny.

It was a bright cool spring morning, and Stone was on her way to ride in a show for the first time since Sunny’s burial when Cowboys Don’t Cry came on the radio.

“She would not let me change it,” her mother Jackie Stone said. “She said she believed Sunny played that song so she would stand up, get on that horse and go.”

The horse Grace would ride in that first competition that day was ironically named Lazarus – after a man who got a second chance at life.

She won a blue ribbon.

Heartbreak and tragedy eventually touch every life. At some point, people of every nation, race and creed must learn to cope with loss, get up and move on.

The fifth grader at Northside Elementary in Versailles learned that lesson younger than most.

***
Grace Stone loves horses. As far back as she can remember she’s wanted to ride. Horse posters adorn her room’s walls. The entrance to her bedroom mimics a barn door.

But Grace’s family never imagined they could buy her a horse.

“Who could ever afford it?” Jackie asked.

That is until Jackie found out through a friend that Brett Day of Grey Ridge Farm in Versailles was willing to give two pure blood Saddlebreds to a good home. So Sunny and his half brother, Dixieland Jazz, became part of the Stone family.

Both horses were named after Fleetwood Mac songs. Sunny’s given name was Over My Head. Their sire was Mac Attack.

For the first three or four weeks, the horses stayed at Grey Ridge. Grace and her mother visited every day and fed them apples. Eventually they found a farm to stable the animals. With little experience in handling horses, the family didn’t even attempt to ride for the first year.

“They were young horses and we really couldn’t do a lot with them,” Jackie said. “We just babied them and spoiled them. Grace just built a bond with Sunny.”

Grace and Sunny quickly developed a special relationship. She fed him, groomed him and loved on him. The horse responded to her like nobody else.

“I’d say, ‘Give me a kiss,’ and he’d stick his nose out for me,” Grace said.

When the family would pull up in their car, both Dixie and Sunny stuck their heads through the car windows in greeting.

Last October, the Stones moved the two horses to Reed Stables in Woodford County. Grace started taking riding lessons from Doris Reed, and Reed’s daughter, Holly, began training Sunny.

“He needed to be finished,” Doris said of the six-year-old Saddlebred. “Holly finished him out so Grace could show him.”

But Sunny was ready to show before Grace was prepared for competition, and Doris’s granddaughter, Kelsey Reed, showed Sunny for the first time.

They won.

Grace struggled watching another girl show her horse. Apparently Sunny wasn’t thrilled about it either.

“He would see her and holler every time he went by,” Jackie said, remembering Sunny’s first experience in the show ring.

“I finally had to hide,” Grace added with a smile.

Jackie said that Grace was determined that the next time Sunny showed, she would be the one on his back.

“And I was.”

Sunny and Grace won a first and second place ribbon in their first show. Grace showed Sunny two more times, racking up first place prizes.

“He was a blue ribbon horse,” Jackie said.

***

The family sits on the couch. The tears flow freely and it is clear that the wounds have yet to completely heal. Jackie said that she hopes sitting down and talking about the ordeal will help Grace’s grieving process. Grace has to leave the room before her mom finishes the story.

“She told me she lost her best friend.”

It was just a week after Sunny’s last show. Jackie went to the stable to feed him and noticed he hadn’t eaten and that he was acting funny. The vet said it was probably colic. The doctor gave him a shot and said that Sunny would likely recuperate by morning.

He didn’t.

“He was pawing and digging as hard as he could dig,” Jackie said.

She called the vet back, and while the doctor was examining Sunny, the horse collapsed in his stall. The vet seemed flummoxed and called his partner. They speculated that it could be some kind of reaction to the medications. They were able to get the horse up momentarily, but Sunny crumpled to the dirt again.

“He laid there for two hours on the hard ground. They didn’t even give him any fluids,” Jackie said. “The vet said he was trying to save us money – but I would have spent my life fortune for that horse.”

They finally made the decision to take Sunny to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington for exploratory surgery. It took six people to get Sunny up. They were struggling to keep the horse upright when Grace walked into the stall.

She insisted on seeing Sunny before he made the trip to Lexington.

“He just dropped his head and sticks his head on Grace’s stomach,” Jackie said. “Then that horse walked out of that barn like he was going to a show – head held high.”

Sunny stood tall and proud in the trailer the entire trip to Lexington.

The hospital required $1,000 up front before they would do the surgery, funds the Stones didn’t have. Dr. Steven Shedlofsky and his wife gave them the money.

“They’d never met us. They just had a horse in that barn and they gave us $1,000. We didn’t even know what kind of chance he (Sunny) had,” Jackie said, clearly overwhelmed with gratitude.

Sunny came through the surgery, but parts of his intestines were dying. The doctors weren’t sure what was causing the condition.

The next morning was inauguration day. But the Stones didn’t join the rest of the nation in welcoming a new president – they were grieving the loss of a friend.

As the family was getting ready to go to the hospital, the phone rang.

“That was a terrible phone call.”

Sunny’s vital signs were dropping. He wasn’t getting oxygen. The vet said that they might have to put him down.

“Just hold on to him. We’re coming,” Jackie pleaded.

But 10 minutes later, the hospital called back. They said Sunny was thrashing around. He was in danger of harming himself or somebody else.

The end had come. Grace new it.

“She said, ‘Mom, please put that horse down. I can’t stand to see that horse suffer any more.’”

Jackie asked the hospital staff to leave Sunny where he lay and the family made the long drive to the hospital.

“She just lays on him forever, bawling her eyes out,” Jackie says, her own eyes brimming with tears.

They laid Sunny to rest on the Reed farm. They wrapped him in Grace’s sleeping bag and his horse blanket. Holly Reed found a pink and blue ribbon and Grace climbed into the grave and placed it on Sunny’s head. It had one word on it.

Champion.

***
For several weeks after Sunny’s death, Grace wouldn’t go back to the stable. She wanted to quit riding. Doris Reeves wasn’t sure she’d ever ride again.

“No, she didn’t even come to the barn for a while.”

When she finally found the courage to go back, she wouldn’t look toward the place were Sunny was buried.

But by March, Grace was ready to get back in the saddle and compete.

Brooks and Dunn gave her that final push.

Cowgirls don’t cry
Ride baby ride

Not only did her courage and determination earn her a blue ribbon on Lazarus, Grace won the high point championship in the beginning 9-10 equitation division for 2008-2009 winter season.

“She did really well on Lazarus. Sunny was right there making sure nothing would happen,” Jackie said. “She finished it out for him. She started on him and she did it.”

***

The summer sun beats down on the Stone household. Nearly six months have passed since that dreadful winter day, and Grace still grieves for Sunny. When she talks about her horse, the tears quickly well up in her eyes.

“I love him.”

But Grace remains determined to move on. She looks forward to competing in the bigger shows in Louisville.

Her instructor thinks she’ll go a long way.

“She’s going to rise to the top because she is a very good rider,” Reed said. “Not a lot of riders come along as fast as Grace. She is determined to do it correctly. She corrects every mistake that you point out.”

Grace continues to ride twice a week. Reed said that she can see her bonding with Lazarus. And Grace has developed a toughness that belies her young age.

“You have to be tough when you ride these horses,” Reed said. “You can’t be a baby up there. She’s getting there right now.”

If you fall get back on again
Cowgirls don’t cry

But then again, sometimes they do.