Chicago - A message from the station manager

The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #308: We’re All NASCAR Now

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

A moment when everything seems possible. Plus: MLB Draft’s Dizzying Heights Of Hype; We Blame The (Lying) Owners; The Neverending Sammy Sosa Saga; and NBA & NHL Flux.


–
SHOW NOTES
* 308.
:41: We’re All NASCAR Now.
* “The presence of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry. Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties.”
* The Black Bubba.
* Coffman: “It seems right now that everything is possible.”
* Rhodes: “Right now, everything is on the table – all kinds or arrangements for society.”
* New York Daily News: Teen Who Recorded George Floyd Video Is Getting Therapy For Trauma.
* Frank Luntz:


–
* Athletes in the weeds:


–
* Eugene Robinson: Trump Might Go Down In History As The Last President Of The Confederacy.
* Coffman: Monstrous cohorts in the North.
* Post-recording Coffman e-mail: “One thing I just read that I didn’t know: The guys Bragg and Hood were indeed two of the worst generals in American history.”
* New York Times: LeBron James And Other Stars Form A Voting Rights Group.
* Washington Post: Michael Jordan Pledges $100 Million In Support Of Social Justice.
* NPR: U.S. Soccer Lifts Ban On Kneeling During National Anthem.
* Tribune: Theo Epstein Helped MLB Initiate A Drive To Donate More Than $1 Million To 5 Organizations That Support Black Lives Matter.
* AP: In Wake Of Protests, Epstein Says Cubs Planning To Create Diversity Committee.
37:40: Baseball Draft’s Dizzying Heights Of Hype.


*


–
45:26: We Blame The (Lying) Owners.


*


–
* FiveThirtyEight: How Much Do MLB Players Really Make?
–
50:56: The Neverending Sammy Sosa Saga.
* Sullivan & Greenstein, Tribune: What Was It Like To Cover Sammy Sosa’s Career In Chicago? Simply Put, He Was One Of A Kind.
* Gonzales, Tribune: Sammy Sosa Came Of Age For The Cubs In 1998.
* Rhodes: The Hall of Fame should have a PED wing.
* Don’t forget about the corked bat.
* Why the Cubs don’t welcome him back.
1:00:50: NBA & NHL Flux.
* AP: NHL Camps To Open July 10 If League, Players Agree To Resume.
* The Salt Lake Tribune: As NBA Lays Out More Details About Resuming Season In Orlando, Some Players Are Raising Concerns.
–
STOPPAGE: 4:40
–
For archives and other Beachwood shows, see The Beachwood Radio Network.
–
Comments welcome.
–
1. From Tom Chambers:
Richard Petty never had a Confederate flag-painted car.
I thought I remembered one of the other drivers who had a version of that with the big X-bars on the white hood with the stars inside, but I couldn’t find that.
Petty ran Mopar for decades until he had a falling out and went to Chevy. That was in the waning days of when they truly were stock cars. He and Plymouth made up and he came back. He’s most famous for the 1968 Satellite, which was a real Satellite and, of course, the Superbird. It was a ’70 Satellite Road Runner with the streamline nose and the big wing on the back for downdraft. Of course, they had to build enough to make it available to the public so they could call it “stock.” Because of those two things, the car was so efficient and fast that NASCAR banned it.
About 2,000 Superbirds were built. After they were banned, many of those that were at or made their way to Plymouth dealers, they took off the bullet nose and wing thinking the consumer didn’t want that. Needless to say, they had monster Hemi engines. They can go from $250,000 up to $1 million, totally original, proven numbers matching.
As for the Confederate theme, I was surprised I couldn’t find it. I thought I remembered a small Confederate flag on the side of the roof just above the door. That’s not to say some redneck didn’t do that. One problem is that the “General Lee” Charger from Dukes of Hazzard was decked out to look like a stock car. Chicken/egg tie-in, rednecks love both NASCAR and stupid TV shows. When Jeff Gordon started winning, the boy from Indianapolis, home of the rebirth of the Klan, was just a little too Northern for the deep drawlers and he took a lot of shit from people who hated him. “WHA, he don’t talk like us!”
But Petty never did. In fact, at some point, Plymouth used the color and called it “Super Blue.” Petty called it “Petty Blue.” I’m sure they made a financial arrangement.
NASCAR today is fixed. One car gets ahead? Yellow caution flag for “Debris on the track.” In a 500-mile race, they stop the race two times to restart and drivers are given points for the “Phases.” They want to keep the cars together to create crashes. “Do’es boys wrecked up real good Booby Bob!”
As for Sammy Sosa, he was a terrible baseball player. He was better all-around as a White Sox than he evolved into as a Cub.
As the years went on, the reason he didn’t have any errors is because he never got to a ball, as much by choice as anything. Like a flailing clown, how many balls did he let go into the corner and go “BOOBOOBY BOOBOODY BOOP” as he flailed his arms, waited for the ball to die and pick it up. His eternal hope was that the ivy would eat the ball. “No Mas!” He didn’t hustle on the basepaths. He struck out 27 percent of the time. How many games did the Cubs win with all those GD home runs? As a teammate, when the going got tough, he quit and left the ballpark. He was an enabled, marketed punk who should have been knocked out by one of his teammates.
I remember watching his home runs: “To what end? What’s it worth?” Nothing. As usual, the Cardinals won.
RHODES REPLY: But I remember the Stars and Bars on Petty’s car, the X coming down on the door where the number was! Yet, as Tom points out, I could not find it. It does not seem to exist, except in some of our minds. I’m picturing it right now!
As for Sosa, I have to disagree with Tom here. He was way better as a Cub than a White Sock. He was the first player in MLB history, I believe, to hit 60 HRs in three consecutive seasons. Sure, those years were Flintstones vitamins-enabled, but he turned into a pretty good hitter when he wasn’t chasing sliders down and away.
But yes, not a great all-around player, and a terrible teammate.

Permalink

Posted on June 12, 2020