Honda Indy Car Grand Prix of Alabama
The Indy Cars had a great afternoon for racing at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the same story as the three previous races, however. Chevy dominated the qualifying and Team Penske had the the fastest Chevys. Simon Pagenaud and Will Power started one and two for the Captain and Pagenaud immediately took the lead on the green flag and never let go. He lead 84 of the 90 laps of the race. Juan Pablo Montoya used softer tires in qualifying and was baffled when he had to start last. The race had a few mishaps. On the opening pace lap Carlos Munoz spun; however, the rest of the pack got around him. It took a couple of extra pace laps for everyone to reform. Sebastien Bourdais rear ended Scott Dixon early in the race forcing the Kiwi to pit for damage repair. Dixon rejoined the race in last place but held on for a tenth place finish. Dixon is the only non Penske driver to win a race this year at Long Beach. At Long Beach there were no caution lights and all 21 starters were running at the finish.
Graham Rahal made a bold move to take the lead late in the race, but with two laps to go Pagenaud used Charlie Kimble’s car as a pick between him and Rahal. Rahal hit the back end of Kimble’s car and lost his front wing assembly. Rahal was able to fend off last year’s race winner Joseph Newgarden to finish second. Penske drivers Will Power and Juan Montoya rounded out the top five. In the first four races of the 2016 series Pagenaud has two second places finishes and two wins. The Frenchman leads in championship points and has to be considered a major favorite to win the 100th running of the Indy 500. The next race on the Indy Car schedule is the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis at the IMS road course on May 14.
Brady Suspension Upheld
Over a year ago NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ruled that Tom Brady was guilty of not cooperating with the League investigation of the Deflategate scandal and suspended him for the first four games of the 2015 season. Brady appealed the suspension and counter-sued, claiming that the Commissioner did not have the authority to issue suspensions and was supported by the NFL player’s association and the New England Patriots. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the Second District ruled in favor of Commissioner Goodell and Brady’s suspension was upheld. Brady will apparently serve his suspension a year later than was originally planned.
Pacers and Raptors tied at 2-2
As of this writing Indiana and Toronto are tied at 2-2 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Pacers travel to Toronto to play the Raptors in Game Five at the Air Canada Centre at 6 p.m. April 26 As usual the Pacers have looked strong winning and losing. The issue may be decided by the time you read this. On April 26, the Raptors beat the Pacers 102-99 in Game 5. Game 6 will be played on April 29 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
2016 NFL College Draft
Thursday April 28, the first college draft will be held in Chicago. The Tennessee Titans held the first pick but traded the pick to the Los Angles Rams for a raft of premium draft picks. The Cleveland Browns held the second pick but also traded the pick to the Philadelphia Eagles — again for a boatload of top picks. It’s generally agreed the Rams and Eagles are after the two top-rated quarterbacks in the draft, Jarred Goff and Carson Wentz. Which quarterback goes first has been a matter of speculation.
The Colts hold the number nineteen pick in the first round. Their biggest need is at right tackle. This is a good year for offensive tackles with some very fine ones available. However, the Big Blue are picking in the middle of the first round and there are several teams ahead of them that have indicated that they also are looking at tackles. The Colts are hoping that perhaps Ohio State’s Taylor Decker or Michigan State’s Jack Conklin will fall to them. If not, there are some possible prospects that might be available in the second round such as Willie Beavers from Western Michigan or Le’Raven Clark of Texas Tech. If a good tackle is not available when they pick on the first round, look for the Horseshoe to grab a pass rushing linebacker such as Emmanuel Ogbah of Oklahoma State or Noah Spence of Eastern Kentucky. There is also a chance that the Colts could go for a cornerback like Ohio State’s Eli Apple if he is still around.
I have seen seventeen different possibilities for the Colts with their pick depending on the scenario, including them trading out of the first round altogether. The Colts only have six picks in seven rounds so they have to make every one count.
snicewanger@yahoo.com