Look Familar? Gordon in Winners Circle Again. Earnhardt Fans Act Like Idiots.

Jeff said it best in his Autobiography when he said "it doesn't matter if they're cheering or booing just as long as they're making noise".

But hey now...this is really poor sportsmanship. Plain and simple. Nascar isn't going to continue to allow it. Spectators are not going to be allowed to bring beer cans into the stands if they keep this up.

Gordon's fifth win at Talladega still trails Earnhardt's record of 10 trophies at the track.

On Lap 191, Jamie McMurray and David Gilliland collided and the No. 38 sent Tony Stewart into the inside wall. As many drivers worried about running out of gas, Gordon was concerned about the debris being tossed on the track.

"Be careful in the trioval," one voice warned on Gordon's radio frequency.

"I need a security guard," said Gordon's spotter.

"They're throwing heavy duty stuff out here," Gordon said.

The frequency of the debris increased as Gordon did a burnout coming out of Turn 4. NASCAR finally told the team for Gordon to wrap up his on-track celebration and bring the car to Victory Lane.

"I'm overwhelmed," Gordon said after scoring his second win in as many weeks. "We had so many things working against us — other than this race car. The Dupont Chevrolet was unbelievable. I never dreamed we win the race. We were so far back. We had so many good guys to pass. I just didn't think we'd get 77 here.

"I think there's a lot of people out there that didn't want us to. I never caused a riot before winning — well maybe once or twice."

Gordon joked about the debris, adding that he thought "Junior had more power" after Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested that fans opt for throwing toilet paper instead of beer cans.

"I saw maybe one roll," Gordon said. "There are a lot of fans out there that are Earnhardt fans who don't want to see (the milestone) broken. There are a lot of my fans out there as well. I appreciate their support. I appreciate their enthusiasm and the opinions of all the fans out there. What are you going to do? We're here to win."

Junior said the win "was bound to happen," but after the controversy caused by his congratulatory visit to Victory Lane last week at Phoenix, he opted to commend Gordon from afar.

"I told him this week, I said, 'You win this one and I ain't coming into Victory Lane this time,' " Earnhardt said. "That caused too much trouble. He's a great race-car driver. I knew years ago he would eventually pass my old man. I think he has the opportunity to pass a couple more."

Earnhardt added that he didn't believe the debris was "something you can control," but winning team owner Rick Hendrick said that solutions had been discussed between the sanctioning body and the competitors.

"You hate to see someone get hurt," Hendrick said. "We'd have to rebuild the car anyway. It is dangerous ... I don't know what you do. If they can't bring beer cans into the stands anymore maybe they wouldn't do it."

After Gordon had time to reflect on the post-race, on-track celebration, he admitted, "It was probably a bad decision — looking (at) the safety of the fans, it probably egged people on. But I have my fans out there, too, and they want to see me celebrate."

And every victor deserves his day.

Lindsey's 1st Birthday

Our birthday girl didn't really get into opening her gifts. She was more interested in eating the cards.


She did like her Winnie the Pooh birthday cake. Her parents were smart enough to take off her clothes prior to the "feeding".



The bath wasn't as well received.

More of Ellie's Handy Work

My friend Ellie is hard at work creating more beautiful pieces of stained glass. These photos show two new pieces she made for the rounded windows in Dave Jr. living room. They turned out absolutely awesome.

A Big Win for Gordon!

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team has kept a flag bearing the Dale Earnhardt's famed No. 3 in its hauler since this past July, just awaiting Jeff Gordon's next Cup Series victory.

It was a long wait, but the crew was finally able to break out the flag Saturday night after Gordon, getting a little luck and making a gutsy pass for the lead, grabbed that historic victory at Phoenix International Raceway.

The win by the four-time series champion tied Earnhardt for sixth place on the career victory list with 76 and was also his first on the 1-mile Phoenix oval, leaving only Texas and Homestead as active tracks where he has yet to find Victory Lane.

After ending the 26-race victory drought, Gordon stopped on the front straightaway to pick up the black, red and white Earnhardt flag, holding it proudly out the window for his slow victory lap as the big crowd paid homage to both Gordon and seven-time champion Earnhardt.

"It means the world," Gordon said. "Holding that 3 flag, it's certainly by no means saying we're as good as him. I learned so much from him. We wanted to honor him. We've been holding on to that flag for a long time."

One of the first drivers to congratulate Gordon in Victory Lane was Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"That means the world to me because I didn't want to come across the wrong way," Gordon said. "We wanted to show tribute and honor."

Gordon started from the pole and led early, but he spent most of the 312-lap race following Tony Stewart, who appeared to be on the way to an easy victory.

As the leaders began a series of green-flag pit stops late in the race, Gordon drove onto pit road at the end of Lap 283. As he drove slowly toward his pit at the end of pit road, a three-car crash brought out the yellow flag.

The timing was perfect for Gordon, who was able to finish his pit stop and head back toward the track before leader Stewart came back to the finish line, thereby keeping Gordon on the lead lap.

When all the other leaders pitted under the caution flag, Gordon stayed on track and took the lead.

Once the green flag came back out on Lap 294, Stewart tried desperately to regain the top spot. As Gordon struggled to get by Martin Truex Jr., who had pitted before the yellow and was on the end of the lead lap, Stewart saw his chance.

On Lap 299, Stewart squeezed his Chevrolet between Gordon and Truex and somehow drove to the lead. But Gordon wouldn't quit, staying on Stewart's rear bumper and then driving under him to regain the lead for good on Lap 300.


Lap-by-Lap
Tony Stewart made a gutsy move to take the lead, but Jeff Gordon wouldn't be denied in becoming the first driver to win from the pole at Phoenix.

Complete story
"I drove my guts out," Gordon said. "I've never had to work so hard."

Gordon pulled away to finish about six car-lengths ahead of Stewart.

Hendrick cars have now won five of eight races this year and Gordon, who joined teammates Jimmie Johnson (three) and Kyle Busch (one) as a winner in 2007, is off to one of the best starts of his career with six top-five finishes and seven top-10s.

"We didn't lead a ton, but we had a good car," said Gordon, who led 53 laps. "It all did fall in our lap.

"I almost drove through the pit. [Crew chief] Steve [Letarte] made the call [to stop] and I love him. He's as sharp as can be. He's so cool under pressure."



Most victories
Cup Series

Pos. Driver Wins Titles

1. Richard Petty 200 7
2. David Pearson 105 3
3. Bobby Allison 84 1
Darrell Waltrip 84 3
5. Cale Yarborough 83 3
6. Dale Earnhardt 76 7
Jeff Gordon 76 4
7. Rusty Wallace 55 1
8. Lee Petty 54 3
9. Ned Jarrett 50 2
10. Junior Johnson 50 0

University of Columbia

This is a photo I took of the Columns on campus of the University of Missouri. The domed building in the background is Jesse Hall. That's the building I worked in Tuesday and Wednesday. You probably can't see it but all the flags in front of Jesse Hall are at half-staff in honor of the 32 people (I'm not counting the monster that killed them and himself) that died at Virgina Tech Monday. There was a lot of tension on campus while I was there. On Tuesday their was a shooting not far from the University and that caused some panic. There was also an insentience of an Asian student getting harassed on campus. That prompted a mass email to all staff and students.


The 105-foot dome atop Jesse Hall, if sitting on the ground next to the building, would actually stand taller than the building itself!

Here is info on the columns: The traditional symbol of the University of Missouri-Columbia is the row of six Ionic columns. The Columns once supported the portico of Academic Hall, the first building erected on campus. Academic Hall was built between 1840 and 1843 from plans drawn by A. Stephen Hills, designer of the Missouri State Capitol. It consisted of a domed central section of three stories with two wings and housed both educational and administrative facilities. Brick for the building was fired on campus. Limestone for the Columns was obtained from the nearby Hinkson Creek Valley and was hauled to the building by ox-drawn carts.

On Jan. 9, 1892, Academic Hall was destroyed by fire and the Columns were all that remained. In August 1893 the Board of Curators voted to remove the Columns, considering them not only unsafe but unsightly. However, supporters of the Columns rallied to their defense, and after inspection showed the foundations were safe, the Board voted to retain them in December 1893. Now the Columns stand as a beloved part of MU's campus.

Monday in Missouri

Today I flew to St. Louis and then drove 125 miles to Columbia Missouri where I'll be working tomorrow and Wednesday at KBIA on the campus of the University of Missouri. You can check both out at http://www.kbia.org and http://www.missouri.edu

Then on Wednesday night I'll drive back to St. Louis and work Thursday at KTRS.

http://ktrs.com

Then Friday I'll be coming home. Saturday is Lindsey's first birthday. Her parents will have a party for her in the early afternoon. Then later in the afternoon my other two granddaughters, Kiehra and Kaylee, have a Just for Kix dance event. And finally Saturday night is a Nextel night race in Phoenix. Jeff is still hanging on to first place in the point standings.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for the Wild tomorrow. If they loose tomorrow they're done for the year. They have lost all three playoff games to the Ducks.

HOCKEY

My Avs are done. They put up a good fight though. As a matter of fact they weren't eliminated from the playoffs until last night. So now my loyalties will migrate to my number two team, the Minnesota Wild.

The Fighting Sioux where eliminated from the NCAA Championship on Thursday. So I cheered for Michigan last night and they did win the Championship against Boston....barely.

So College hockey = DONE.
Colorado Avalanche = DONE.
NHL regular season = DONE.
So onward with the NHL Playoffs.
Go Wild!

Off to Minneapolis

I'm off to Minneapolis for the weekend. Makita's Dad, Jim and Kathi are flying in for the weekend. So we're going to go down there and hang out with them. Then I'll be driving directly from there to International Falls to work next week.

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

If You Can't Beat Them....Join Them

Nearly two weeks ago in Denver, the Fighting Sioux scored at 9:43 of overtime to lift the Fighting Sioux to a 3-2 victory over top-seeded Minnesota in the NCAA West Region final and into the NCAA Frozen Four.

The UND men's hockey team's NCAA Frozen Four game against Boston College will be televised live nationally Thursday on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Central time from St. Louis MO. The winner of UND's game against Boston College will play for the national championship on Saturday at 6 p.m. Central time against the winner of Thursday's 3 p.m. game between Michigan State and Maine. Saturday's game will be televised live nationally on ESPN.

So I guess if we can't beat 'em...we must then join them. Go Sioux!

Easter Egg Humor

April Snow and Below Zero Wind Chills

Yep...officially over 10 inches here in Brainerd yesterday. A week ago Monday it was in the upper 70's and this morning it's below zero with the wind chill. You gotta love good old Minnesota! BRING IT ON!

Denver con't

While in Denver we went and saw the movie "Blades of Glory". Wow ... a lot of one liners. I'll have to see it again just to pick up on those again. These guys are so seriously disturbed.

We also went and saw Tammi Nichols perform. This picture is horrible because it was dark in there and my photography skills are limited. It was nice to see Tammi and to hear her sing.And I gave Lorrie her birthday gift. As you can see it's a nice stained glass piece by Ms. Ellie that depicts Lorrie's Wyoming paradise on the mountain. She can hang it in her kitchen window to remind her each day of her upcoming project of building up there and her bright future of living up there.

A little taste of Ireland

Saturday night while in Denver we stopped by Fado's Irish Pub and had some Boxties and the guys enjoyed a couple glasses of Irish Whiskey, including these glasses of Bushmills. Cheers.

What the hell is wrong with my face? Looks like I pooped my pants.

Getting "Wild" in Denver

Or should I say "Getting the Wild in Denver". As you can see here on the scoreboard, Denver stopped the Wild with a two to one game. The Wild scored in the first minute and a half of the game and that's where it ended. I was the only one celebrating in my group.

I was very surprised to see so many Wild jerseys there in Denver. We even met a family that had drove 14 hours from Minnesota to be at this game.

Turns out Kyle's a poet

Today Kyle received an award for taking second place in his class for a writing contest. Kyle wrote a poem about bees (I guess that's what it was about. His other Grandma, Carol, said thats what it was about. But I haven't actually heard the poem). Good work Kyle!

Tami Nichols

While we're in Denver this weekend we're going to Herman's Hideaway to see my friend Robin Hopp's daughter, Tami Nichols, perform. Check out the following websites and stories about her. She's beautiful and very talented.

http://www.taminichols.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/taminichols

Going to the Pepsi Center

Going to Denver to see the Avs play the Wild this weekend. I hope the Avs win but that's being very hopeful. The Wild are on fire right now. The Avs only have seven more games in regular season and unless they win almost all of them and Calgary loses almost all of their remaining games, the Avs are not going to the playoffs. The Wild however are well on their way to the playoffs.

Jeff Gorden won the first pole of the Car of Tomorrow era, putting his Chevrolet Impala in the top starting spot at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday. So I hope Jeff does good. He is currently in second place in points.

My fantasy pick for this Sunday in Tennessee is Ryan Newman who is going to start 22nd.

The Movie Wild Hogs

I went to see Wild Hogs last night. It was non-stop laughter. It's about as stupid as it could be but pretty darn funny. Don't expect to come out of it saying "That was good", cause you won't. But you'll probably come out saying "damn funny....just plain damn funny"!

Jacksonville Beach

Tonight I drove down to the beach. It's about 10 miles from where I'm staying. There were a lot of people on the beach even at 7pm. People and jelly fish. Lots of jelly fish washed up on shore because the tide was coming in.