*It was a very good fortnight for a couple of prominent Bay Area sports figures. First, St. Petersburg’s favorite British expat, Dan Wheldon, won the Indy 500–and the accompanying purse of more than $2.5 million. Then Seminole’s Brittany Lincicome won the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey and finished fourth at the LPGA State Farm Classic in Illinois, good for $325,000 over consecutive weekends.
No less noteworthy: Wheldon and Lincicome are among the nicest of prominent local sports personalities.
* Among the topics broached by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in his recent Tampa visit, was the prospect of the NFL playing 18 league games (up from 16) and the reduction to two (from four) in pre-season games. It has obvious implications for season-ticket holders who currently have to buy a package that includes full-price for the pre-season. Playing more games that count, reasons Goodell, would create better value for season-ticket holders.
Apparently not up for discussion: dramatically discounting meaningless exhibition games that feature cameo appearances by the players who will actually be counted on to the play those 16–or 18–regular-season games.
* The Miami Heat lost. Good. Unless, of course, you actually have a soft spot for boorish arrogance and blatant self promotion. Oops, we’re supposed to call that the more nuanced “swagger.” And how ironic that Miami’s consummate hood ballers, featuring sore-loser, pseudo icon LeBron James, were beaten by a team whose best player is a tattoo-free European. Trash talk that away.