It seems to be "the thing" for major racing series this aging season to have an up-and-coming female participant. Of course, it all seemed to start with the exciting performance of IRL driver Danika Patrick in the Indianapolis 500 in May.
She was "hot" in the pre-race publicity buildup, at least partly because she's "hot." She qualified well, led some laps and fin-ished in the top five.
Then NASCAR publicists slowly revealed the existence of Erin Crocker, who has been driving in the "undercard" series, like NASCAR West. Late in the season she has been entered in several Busch Series races, producing two DNF's.
Sportswriter Bill Stephens, a contributer to ESPN.com, recently wrote about the National Hot Rod Association's latest fe-male phenom and her entry in the NHRA history book.
Stephens noted that 22 year old Erica Enders became the first woman to get past the first round in the Pro Stock category and, in fact, became the first woman to get to the final round in that NHRA class. He says he thinks she will get a win before Patrick does.
According to Stephens, Enders is the subject of a made-for-TV movie called "Right On Track." She came up fast through Junior Dragster, Super Gas and into Pro Stock.
A rough definition of Pro Stock is a stock appearing car with functioning doors and bodywork. They generally, though, will have a big scoop and supercharger sticking up out of the hood.
Stephens' story says that a lot of drag racing regulars did not take her talent seriously and considered her "too young, too inexperienced or too emotionally unprepared to tackle the demands of big-time NHRA racing."
However, the writer says her runner-up finish at the Ameriquest Nationals in Joliet, IL puts her on the doorstep of the next big accomplishment.
Some of you who missed NHL hockey last winter must be at least cautiously excited to see that the sport has returned. It renews the "raison d'etre" of John Buccigross, who heads ESPN's on-air hockey coverage.
Buccigross is a Heidelberg College alum and did color commentary on Heidelberg football games with me one season on WTTF.
This past week, in a column on ESPN.com, he predicted that the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sid Crosby will be Rookie of the Year in the league by next spring. It won't hurt that he will join legendary Mario Lemieux on Penguins' powerplays. We'll have to wait 'til June to find out if Buccigross is right.
The NHL has aired some cute promos about its return.
My favorite starts out looking like a cheap horror flick. An attractive blonde in shorts and a T-shirt is alone in her apartment. The camera begins peeking in through the windows.
Slowly we see more and more of the potential intruder until we realize he is wearing a Michael Myers'-like goalie mask.
Suddenly the blond looks up at the window and sees … a goalie. Her off-hand response is, "Great, hockey's back."
Cool stuff.