Alexander Rossi, driving for Andretti Motorsports, came through with a dominant performance on the streets of Long Beach California last Sunday. It was his 2nd in a row at Long Beach and his 6th overall win in IndyCar competition. Rossi is no longer just a promising young driver; he has established himself as one of the young lions of the series. Rossi won the pole here, led most of the laps and finished 2 seconds ahead of Scott Dixon for the win.
The real excitement was in the battle for 3rd place between Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden. With 2 laps to go Newgarden in 4th attempted to pass Rahal for 3rd. Rahal blocked him and prevented the pass. It’s a tactic as old as racing itself. Well, you just can’t do that to a Penske car (although they can and will do it to you). So at the end of the race Rahal found himself bumped from 3rd to 4th place. Scott Dixon finished 2nd.
There have been 4 races run with 4 different winners. Honda has powered 3 of the winners. Newganden maintained his lead in the championship points race and Rossi moved into 2nd place
After a win at Austin, rookie Colton Herta finished last for the 2nd race in a row.
Now it’s on to IMS and the month of May. The next event is the Indy Grand Prix on the IMS road course on May 11. Then it’s time for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Tiger Roars at Augusta
Tiger Woods played to his first major tournament win since 2008 and picked up his 5th green jacket. The 43-year-old was on fire at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta Georgia. The working phrase at the 2019 Masters was “He’s Back!” Many had written Tiger off and there has been speculation that Tiger would never win another championship again. Tiger won a million and half bucks but he also won back the admiration and prestige he had gained and then lost over the last decade.
NFL Draft
The 2018 NFL Draft will be conducted Thursday Night April 18th in Nashville Tennessee and runs through Saturday the 20th. It’s the NFL’s biggest event of the offseason. It keeps up the fan interest during that time. The Arizona Cardinals hold the 1st pick and are expected to select Kyler Murray, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from the University of Oklahoma. Murray is a Russell Wilson clone and considered to be the top quarterback available although not necessarily the best player. The Cardinals selected quarterback Josh Rosen with their top pick last year. There will be plenty of pick trades for drafting position so the current draft order will undoubtedly change Thursday night.
The Colts have the 26th pick and the 1st round and 2 picks in the 2nd round. They are looking at wide receivers on offense and defensive tackles, pass rushers, and safeties on defense. Chris Ballard will select the best player available at one of these positions. The Colts came through with the most productive of all the teams in the 2018 Draft. Don’t be surprised to see the Colts grab a running back on the 3rd or 4th round along with an offensive lineman.
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