From IRS gloom to IRL glory, Helio Castroneves wins his third Indianapolis 500 race in a flood of tears. And not just his own tears but Kati, his sister, his parents, his girlfriend all were on hand to cry. Just a few months ago a torrent of tears of fear and confusion poured from a shackled Helio as a Federal Jury charged him and his sister with tax evasion. Now with all charges dropped, tears of joy and disbelief poured forth from the entire crying Castroneves choir.


It wasn’t the first choke up on victory lane as some may recall Bobby Rahal’s 1986 moment for his buddy Jim Trueman and Al Unser Jr.’s 1992 tears of relief given his onerous existential expectations from four time Indy winner Poppa Unser and winning Uncle Unser. And let’s just throw in Danica’s tears from last year’s Twin Ring Motegi win.


I got it wrong last week calling Tony Kanaan the inevitable 500 winner. Banged up big time on lap 98, Tony’s car just broke – “Ah that Andretti Curse!” Tony was obviously shaken up after being cleared atthe track hospital. C.M. “Sports Genius” Sinn got closer calling it for Dario Franchitti but Dario, ever anxious, tried exiting the pits on lap 134 before the fuel probe had been removed. That cost him eight positions. So, let’s give it to Beth “ Indy Weatherwoman” and T. M. “Telemetry” White as they both called Helio. Grandma Zippy’s Ryan Briscoe finished 15th after starting 2nd. So much for the smooth,
quiet type there Zippy.


Dan Weldon came from 18th to finish second and Danica Patrick completed the podium with a finish of third after starting in 10th. Her previous best Indy finish was fourth. Time is on your side Danica. From lap 163 to the end, Helio led after having started from the pole but losing that early lead on lap 7 to Dario Franchitti. Though Scott Dixon led the most laps, it was all Helio the last 59 laps, doing 220 m.p.h. till the end. Neither Weldon nor Patrick had the stuff to catch him as Dixon and Franchitti faded.


Tenacity and fortitude go out to Mr. Vitor Meira. You must You Tube Vitor’s moments in laps 134 and 174. Racing for A.J. Foyt in the ABC car, Vitor had a major fueling malfunction on lap 134 when he and his car became engulfed in flames. Fire everywhere and Vitor slowly sinking down in his car unable to escape, it was a horrific moment. Instantly, safety crews flooded him and his car with gallons of water. The ethanol was extinguished immediately. Raising his hand, Vitor signaled he was ready to go, so they sent him out to race. Fans were amazed.


Absolutely stunning, he raced out of the pits as speculation mounted whether his car’s electronics would hold after the drenching. Then on lap 174, Vitor and fellow Brazilian, Raphael Matos, locked wheels going into turn one, in a pack of cars. Getting the worst of it, Vitor’s car flipped and locked onto the retaining wall, its right side tires on the track and left side over the rail, Vitor sailed backward down the track throwing sparks until the car flipped again, miraculously landing right side up on the track. After a lengthy extraction, Vitor was placed on a stretcher and taken to the Field Hospital. He was diagnosed with two broken vertebrae. Matos had a bruised right knee.


Both Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti left as a result of crashes and that’s a piece of the 09 Indy 500. Now comes the Milwaukee Mile, Sunday, May 31. Helio has never won Milwaukee though he’s started on the pole twice. Ten other Indy 500 winners have gone on to win in Milwaukee. See ya Sunday on the Lake.


Joe “Cool Breeze” Blanco

NEW YORK (May 26, 2009)-Rising stars Cory “The One” Devela (9-2) and Luke Rockhold (4-1) will face off with each other in a middleweight (185 pound) battle at the Strikeforce Challengers mixed martial arts (MMA) event at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on Friday, June 19.


“I feel like a million bucks,” said the 24-year-old Devela, one of the sport’s most promising young talents who hails from Bonney Lake, Washington and is a member of the Dennis “Superman” Hallman led Team Victory that has pioneered a hybrid fighting style dubbed “Cowboy Karate.” “I know he’s mostly a submission guy and I’m strong at that so it should be a great fight.”


Devela notched his best victory to date before a home crowd when he scored a TKO over former UFC star Joe “Diesel” Riggs in the first round of their Strikeforce matchup at Tacoma, Washington’s Tacoma Dome on February 28, 2008. After earning a unanimous decision over his next opponent, however, Devela suffered a setback when he was suddenly stopped by Terry Martin with an overhand punch in the third round of their Strikeforce matchup at the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California on September 20, 2008.


The matchup with Rockhold will be Devela’s first since the loss to Martin.


“I just want to show people that my win against Joe Riggs wasn’t a fluke and that I should have beaten Terry Martin and that I’m a power to be reckoned with,” said Devela.


“I was probably getting a little too cocky and not taking my training as hard as I needed to. I was doing well (against Martin) and I just got caught. That fight helped me get my head back in the game and train harder and realize where I want to be.”


Also 24 years of age, Rockhold, a native of Santa Cruz, California and a member of Team AKA, one of the country’s most fearsome fight squads, has proven to be a dangerous force on the mat, submitting each of his four victims to date within one round of battle. In his last effort, a meeting with Buck Meredith on the Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Diaz” preliminary card on Saturday, April 11, Rockhold forced Meredith to tap out from a rear naked choke at the 4:07 mark of the opening round.


“I didn’t take too much time off after that fight. I stayed in shape and this is one of the best training camps I’ve had so far,” said Rockhold, who holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After taking up judo as an adolescent, he went on to excel in high school wrestling competition, capturing first place in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and eventually reaching the California State Championships.


Towards the end of his high school career, though, Rockhold began to gravitate towards Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the combat art that utilizes choke holds and joint locks to finish opponents.


“I really liked Jiu-Jitsu a lot more because it wasn’t just about putting a guy on his back and pinning him,” explained Rockhold. “It allowed me to finish people using my whole body in every which way.”

Fighting in a pair of raggedy skin tight black sweat pants and what looked to be a set of worn out white tennis socks Jose Canseco made his mma debut one of style and excitement. Set to fight the massive Hong Man Choi, Canseco was a dwarf in the land of giants and had a right eye twitch that screamed, “What the Hell have I gotten myself into.”


Nonetheless Canseco started the fight with a big right to the large chinned fighter and followed up with a combo of running and gunning that continued throughout the short bout.


Choi for his part spent most of the fight chasing the slow and strange Canseco before an errant kick from Canseco put the ballplayer down. Choi jumped on top delivering a vicious dead leg and dropping some bombs that kinda connected before Canseco tapped out.


Was it entertaining? Hell yes. Did Canseco fight under the Cuban flag? Hell yes. Why? You tell us.


Whatever the flag maybe we will be watching the next fight from the “Sweatsuit Assassin.”

Let’s apologize to each other now. We both know that staying up, high out of our minds off Spike Energy drinks and snickerdoodles, to watch the host of Bully Beatdown and Jose Canseco both fight in a respectable organization was anything but easy but Hell, we’re doin it.


Look the fight card is loaded, I’m loaded, and you don’t often end up with a Tuesday off at the same time DREAM is airing a gnarly fight card live.


So what if it starts it’s live broadcast at 2 AM! What are you doing? Watching Co-Ed Confidential and eating chocolate covered pretzels? Sounds chill.


Here’s the DREAM.9 FIGHT CARD, Now STAY UP:


Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller (for vacant middleweight title)


Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren


Bibiano Fernandes vs. Masakazu Imanari


Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hiroyuki Takaya


Abel Cullum vs. Hideo Tokoro


Gesias “JZ” Cavalvante vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri


Mark Hunt vs. Gegard Mousasi


Jan Nortje vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou


Jose Canseco vs. Hong Man Choi


Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa vs. Bob Sapp


Now that’s what we call an insomniacs wet dream. Wait a minute, wet dream? DREAM!

Phil Baroni did not let us down this past week when he attended the Strikeforce press conference highlighting the impending match between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields.


The New York Badass went on a great rant tearing apart all things Joe Riggs, from his training to his belief that Riggs is just a boy. Baroni went from one round to the next dropping knowledge on his desire to win and win in a knockout fashion to his need to never die and never stop fighting. The passion was being fueled for Baroni by calls for him to retire and other naysayers talking about him as if he’s washed up and over with.


Phil Baroni will be stepping into the ring against Joe Riggs this June 6 for one of the best upcoming major fight promotions, Strikeforce. The fight card is deep and explosive featuring too many good fighters to list so check it out and until then enjoy this patented Phil Baroni fight breakdown courtesy Strikeforce.


The One and Only New York Badass:


“Really, there’s not much to say. Joe’s 25 years old and he’ll have his day. On June 6, I’m knocking him the (expletive) out. I’m going to (expletive) him up bad. I’m going to bust him up the whole (expletive) fight. It’s up to him how long he wants to last. Whether he wants to last one round or he wants to last three - I’m going to (expletive) him up.”


“Never mind being in shape. I’m not thanking anybody for being here. Any promotion that has me, it’s lucky for them. No one’s kissing anyone’s asses. I’m just ready to fight and beat the (expletive) out of him.”


“He looks like he’s been overtraining. I’d say he’s about maybe 155 (pounds). You don’t look like that big at 170 right now. Something’s wrong with him.”


“I asked my agent - I said ‘hey get me a southpaw to fight.’ My agent’s pretty stupid. He said ‘What’s that? He didn’t know what a southpaw was. So, I said “It’s a (expletive) left-handed fighter. I’m real good at fighting lefties. Lefties are made to order for me. They eat straight right hands and I’ve got a pretty (expletive) big one. I’m going to put it right on his kisser.”


“It’s do or die for me and I ain’t (expletive) ready to die. I got a lot of fighting left in me. Joe’s young. I’m a man now and I think he’s a boy. Someday I’ll probably commentate for Joe when he’s fighting for a world title. This is my time. I’m going to take care of my business and that starts with Joe and everyone else at 170 pounds with Strikeforce.”


Them there sounds like fighting words.

Lyoto Machida delivered Saturday night for every fight fan that tuned in. The title fight for the Light Heavyweight Belt was everything we could have asked for. Rashad Evans and Lyoto both made weight, both appeared professional and both wanted to win very badly. But only one, Lyoto, was able to leave the Ocatgon with a major victory, the Championship belt and an undefeated record intact.


Lyoto Machida was considered to be unexciting and unable to finish opponents not three fights ago and now he’s the Champion of the World at 205lbs and Dana White couldn’t be happier.


Sure, he’s a little worried about the language barrier and those damn Lugz boots Lyoto insists on sporting but don’t think for a second the impact of Lyoto’s international appeal has slipped past Dana.


UFC 98 was a turning point for the 205lb division and a wake up call for those who fight within it that it’s time to speed up, gain precision, work on accuracy and prepare for Machida. Lyoto is not planning on losing anytime soon.


Rashad and Lyoto put on an excellent show that left little to the imagination and gave us a new definition for “snap knockout”.

Humboldt County California’s Potluck has posted the video for the track “Hot Box Anthem” featuring Garth Vader and Absolute online by clicking here.


Potluck has been igniting the airwaves with their recently released new album “Pipe Dreams”. The Source Magazine championed the group’s sound saying, “There are strong reggae and good vibe undercurrents throughout this 21-cut ode to the high life”, while Synthesis Magazine commented “Potluck’s members are at the top of their game, so newcomers welcome to the movement.” Potluck’s critical acclaim, combined with a relentless tour schedule that has seen them opening for Tech N9ne, Kottonmouth Kings and hip-hop super group La Coka Nostra, has allowed them to become rising stars in the world of underground hip-hop.


Potluck is currently on tour alongside Twiztid until the end of May.


POTLUCK ON TOUR WITH TWIZTID:


May 25 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
May 26 Dallas, TX @ Lakewood Theater
May 27 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live - Studio
May 28 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
May 30 Louisville, KY @ Club Oasis
May 31 Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargos
Jun 06 Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
Jun 20 San Bernardino, CA @ National Orange Show Pavilion *** SRH Anniversary Show

Do you feel the motion? As I write this, 400,000 people are making their way to the small town of Speedway, Indiana – population 12,000 usually. Now it’s the motor head hajj. This Sunday, 5/24/09, is the running of the Indianapolis 500. What is equivalent to well-over half the entire population of the city of Indianapolis will converge at The Track, to see who is the fastest driver in the world in a race of 500 miles


Remember the last time you drove 300 miles? Wears you out! Now consider driving 500 miles at 200 + m.p.h with 32 other people relentlessly trying to get around you. Welcome to Indy.


It was a tough Qualification this year. So many accidents: Ryan Hunter-Reay, old tires onto the gray and SMACK!!! Graham Rahal twice SMACK!! Dan Weldon, lost out on that critical Pole qualification run, SMACK!! Nelson Philippe, car stepped out, totally unexpected, SMACK, played in his head for six days. Mike Conway SMACK and a four day headache. Alex Tagliani SMACK but fortunately at just under 200 m.p.h. John Andretti BIG SMACK and almost took out Graham Rahal, who’s spotter yelled just as Graham entered the debris field, saw John go down then suddenly back up the track. Graham pulled just enough to his left to not roll but save his last car. The kid’s a great driver. Reminds me of Danny Sullivan. Damn, I’m worn out from Qualifications.


So who’s going to win on Sunday, Race Day? C. M. “Sports Genius” Sinn predicts from the Glorious Cape Cod Dario Franchitti. Grandma Zippy, Penske fan from antiquity, tells me its all Ryan Briscoe. “He’s been so smooth all month. He’s quiet and dangerous, like Roger Penske,” Grandma Zippy muses. T. M. “Telemetry” White predicts Helio Castroneves but T.M. may be biased by the Halo Effect. Beth “Indy Weatherwoman,” who can read a Midwest tornado, also sees Helio drinking milk. I’m sorry to my elite cabinet of IRL connoisseurs but something tells me it’s gonna be Tony Kannan. Tony’s never won the Indy 500, - oh, the Andretti Curse- but he’s presently this season’s points leader and it just seems to be in the stars. But who are my HOPE Choices? Two: Danica Patrick and Vitor Meira.


May’s horse racing might be a predictor. Rachel Alexandra wins the Preakness this past weekend. It’s been 85 years since the filly Nellie Morse won in 1924. So this may be the season of the filly with Danica Patrick winning the 500. It just seems much too long of a shot for either Sarah Fisher or Milka Duno. Tell me a Danica win wouldn’t be absolutely great to watch? That would be singularly huge for the IRL and for Michael Andretti, oh, the Andretti Curse . Back to the horses, Mine That Bird comes from absolutely nowhere at 50 to 1 to win the Kentucky Derby, this may be the season for 50 to 1 Vitor Meira. For the longest winless streak, Vitor would taste the sweetest of wins.


Sunday, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. For people who get bored watching youth go as fast as they can and turn left, just DON’T GET IT!! For those who do, see ya in Indy!!!


Joe “Cool Breeze” Blanco