Well, the Major League Baseball Playoffs are under way, and more excited I couldn’t be! I had Tuesday and Wednesday off this week and literally sat on my couch and watched baseball all day, both days. I finally decided to get up on Wednesday night and decided I should go on the treadmill for a bit. Why did I decide to get off the couch after a day and a half on it? Was it brains, was it motivation? No, it was the fact that the Yankee game was rained out and I found myself nothing to do. So, away I went. Of course, I hated every second of it and cursed the weather profusely. In fact, I wondered how it could be a gorgeous day at Shea Stadium and pouring rain at Yankee Stadium, with just over 9 miles separating the two. Oh well, the made up for it yesterday with the Tigers tying up the series. If you are not a baseball fan, you at least have to recognize how exciting the playoffs are. No other sport does it the same way.

It’s tough to believe what of Robin Miller writes these days, but supposedly AJ was offered a 5 year contract by Forsythe?? Wow, 5 years! That seems like a very young time and I could see why AJ wouldn’t necessarily jump at the offer. It’s an age thing, of course. When you’re 24, committing for 5 years seems like a long time. You may meet the greatest woman (or man) ever at 24, but ask to commit to her for 5 years and you may not be so quick to jump on board. Especially if your someone with AJ’s talent and potential. I suspect he’ll take A deal, I suspect Champ Car will not lose AJ as Robin and the gang continually elude too. For one thing, as a 24 year old, you’re ego might still be inflated and big a big fish in a small pond has to feel good for AJ. Should he be thrown into NASCAR, then he’s a tiny fish in a HUGE pond, something that might bruise your young ego. Someone wrote on the forums the other day that Champ Car needed AJ more than AJ needed Champ Car. That’s a very interesting theory and one that certainly posits some questions.

Let me ask you this: Would all of Champ Car’s problems be solved if the series had mostly American drivers? Robin Miller and certainly a lot of people tend to think so. What do you think? Try and think of it from a business stand point. Attendance is very strong. The product itself appears to be on solid footing. The only problem, as acknowledged by Garrett Mudd during the fan club dinner at Road America is the lack of television rating. Would more American drivers help?

I ask this question to go along with my earlier rant from my last post. My point isn’t that I don’t want a merger, it’s that the IRL has been cavalier for the last several years and with all the help from the media that they have been given and tried to take the ball and run, alone. We’ve thrown several olive branches over the last few years and they have been determined to do it on their own. Knowing full well they have the backing of a huge television network as well as (at the time) two solid manufacturer, the IRL has acted unilaterally. Would I prefer only one series? Yes. Would it solve all of open-wheels problems? No. What my last post suggested was ABC, USA Today, ESPN MAG and everybody else who has been in bed with the IRL, should give Champ Car a whirl and see if they get a return on their investment. Cause right now, they aren’t getting squat.