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A Final Look at the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season

What a year it was in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. It all began back in February with Speed Weeks at the Daytona International Speedway, where the big news was the debut of the Toyota Camry. Of course it wouldn’t be a Speed Weeks without controversy as Michael Waltrip Racing was found to have some sort of additive in the fuel cell, resulting in the suspension of his crew chief and competition director. As for the race itself, I think it was one of the more boring Daytona 500’s we’ve ever seen. Not a lot of passing and little or no side-by-side racing. I for one would love ...

A final look at the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season

What a year it was in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. It all began back in February with Speed Weeks at the Daytona International Speedway, where the big news was the debut of the Toyota Camry. Of course it wouldn’t be a Speed Weeks without controversy as Michael Waltrip Racing was found to have some sort of additive in the fuel cell, resulting in the suspension of his crew chief and competition director. As for the race itself, I think it was one of the more boring Daytona 500’s we’ve ever seen. Not a lot of passing and little or no side-by-side racing. I for one would love ...

Youngsters step up, bring excitement

Young guns. They are loaded and firing bullets. Only time will tell if they turn into the next Kiowa Sweet Trey, WW Apple Jax, Iruska All Star or Slatex Striker, but the new wave of youngsters are making their presence felt early in their careers at the Wheeling Island racetrack. Not only are the pups shining on the track, but they've brought excitement to local and national racing fans. A few of the ones to watch include KB's Seadog of the C And C Kennel, WW Hey Alfalfa of the Wayne Ward Kennel, Manassa Mauler of the Ryan Farms Kennel, BI's Never Late of the Charter Kennel and ...

Morgan to compete in national Foot Locker meet

Growing up in the Ohio Valley, and having covered cross country on a state-wide level over the last two seasons, I’ve seen some pretty good runners. Runners like Cammie Smith, Alex Smith, Russell and Wesley Powell, Ryan Beabout, Claire Durkin and Natalie Perzanowski just to name a few. However, I think the best pure distance runner I’ve ever seen is Barnesville’s Stephanie Morgan. Just the way she runs, how fluid and smooth she is, is incredible. It’s been a lot of fun to watch her run the past two years. Morgan comes from a long-line of distance runners, starting with her ...

Bertolino cracks national rankings

Every wrestling season consists of ups and downs. This season is no different for former Buckeye Local graduate David Bertolino. The current Iowa State 197-pounder, who bumped up two weight classes from last season, took nationally ranked T.J. Morrison of Rider University (N.J.) down to the wire and claimed a 5-4 victory. “It was a close match,” Bertolino said to the Iowa State sports information department. “I knew that my conditioning was better than his and that he would break before I would.” The Mount Pleasant native struck first with a takedown midway through the ...

Prep Football 2007: A year to remember

Hard to believe, this may be my final prep football column of the season. Where did the time go? It’s a cliche to say the high school football season is the fastest 10 weeks of the year, but it’s probably true. The reason high school football goes so quickly for most people is the fact that it’s what most people in the Ohio Valley and for that matter the entire state of Ohio plan their entire calendar’s around. Here in a couple of weeks, boys basketball and wrestling will be in full swing and that will keep people occupied for a little while, but as the calendar flips to 2008 ...