Racer X ReduX: Anaheim 2
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 | 11:45 AM
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PrintThe one problem with parity: it makes a lot of people look dumb.
Listen, I’m a New York football Giants fan, but I’m not going to write a “nobody believed in them” column. And I’m not going to write an “annoying guy who just watched the Super Bowl and is now pretending to be a dammed NFL expert” column. Stay with me—this all pertains to Monster Energy AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship.
Anyway…the Giants had rough moments throughout the NFL season. I’m a fan of the team, and I’m no smarter than the experts who saw losses to crappy teams (looking at you, Washington and Seattle) as a sign that the G Men just didn’t have it. But this wasn’t a surprise—coming into the season, no one expected the Giants to be title contenders, anyway. The attention was on the Philadelphia Eagles, who signed a bunch of talent, including Giants receiver Steve Smith, which led to the following stories heading into the season for Giants fans: “Has this franchise just given up?” Oh, and, “Did Eli Manning really just try to say he’s at the same level as Tom Brady?”
Stay with me.
Villopoto regained the points lead with his second win of the season.
Photo: Garth Milan
When you lose games, people have a right to say you’re not very good, and the Giants lost seven games this year. Analysts can’t keep saying, “It doesn’t matter because in this league anyone can win on any given Sunday.” Keep repeating that and you’ll never look dumb, but you’ll also end up in the unemployment line. People want to hear something, and there’s no better way to start forming opinions than to gauge wins and loses.
So we all do it. As fans, we overanalyze every loss and get overly excited about every win—fan is short for fanatic, you know. And the media does the same, feeding the machine with over analysis of the losses and wins. We want to know more, because we’re searching for something more than just results. We’re looking to find out what each loss means, and what clue it provides for future events. That is what being a fan is all about, and that is what bench racing is all about. If you have a pulse, if you have a passion for the sport, you have to come up with something. Otherwise, why are you watching?
So we’re all on board, the fans and media, overanalyzing every performance to look for clues. Which is fine, and fun. Except we run into a brick wall in the form of parity. The NFL is designed to create that “Anyone can win on any given Sunday” mentality, which means that even though the Green Bay Packers go 15-1, the next game could be their last. So you celebrate Green Bay’s greatness, even knowing that in a few days, you could be discussing why Green Bay sucked.
Dungey is searching for his first podium since L.A. after back-to-back fourth place finishes.
Photo: Garth Milan
But the real answer is parity. Green Bay wasn’t quite as great or as bad as it seemed. Same for New England.
This over analysis creates the same problems at Anaheim 1. After that race, Redux discussed how badly we want the opening round to give us answers, and yet, how the riders do everything in their power to downplay its importance. The riders don’t want that kind of pressure. They don’t want months of testing and training and riding to be judged on one performance in one race. But we do! As I wrote then:
For those of us on the outside, we see Anaheim 1 as an explosion, a line shooting straight up. For the riders hoping to win a title, they need to see the season as a straight horizontal line—you don’t want to get too high or too low during a long championship slog.
The rule is the same during a season of great parity like this one. If you’re in Ryan Villopoto’s camp—Ryan himself, his team, his trainer, his surrounding cast—you can’t get too excited about winning Anaheim 1 or Anaheim 2, because you know races like Phoenix, Los Angeles and Oakland are coming, too. If you act like every win is huge, then you must act like every loss is big, too. Luckily, this year’s title contenders are smarter than that.
During last season’s epic SX slugfest, RV ran off a mid-season win streak based on both speed and consistency. He was winning while the competition was crashing and taking each other out. Ryan was Mr. No Drama. Then he failed to qualify at Jacksonville. Suddenly, no less than a six-time AMA National Champion told me in an interview that this was unacceptable, inexcusable. He criticized RV’s starts. Criticized everything. Because of one race! RV opened a big points lead through smart riding, but in one weekend was suddenly reckless!
Reed lost his share of the points lead after a third place finish at A2.
Photo: Simon Cudby
If you’re in RV’s camp, you can’t be that way. You have to shrug off the losses and the wins. Put too much stock in pulling away from Reed and Stewart at Anaheim 2, and you have to put stock in Reed and Stewart pulling away from you in Oakland. See?
But that is only the case when there is parity. We’ve seen many seasons where one rider does dominate. If you’re Jeremy McGrath winning the first 13 SX races in 1996, it really is a big deal when you lose one. Same thing during Carmichael or Stewart’s undefeated seasons outdoors—had someone beaten them straight-up there, it would have been huge. In those seasons, one rider has a decided mental advantage over the competition, so losing even once can change everything. Jeff Emig beat McGrath one time during the 1996 Supercross season, but later beat him for the 1996 AMA 250 Motocross Championship, and then both the 1997 Supercross and Motocross titles. The dominant rider needs to keep winning every weekend so he can make sure the competition never, ever gets the hope that they will ever beat him.
It’s not that way right now. No one can dominate like that in this field. Villopoto can be the star of Anaheim 1, but the very next weekend, Ryan Dungey can single handedly wipe out 20 years of struggles for a brand in 20 laps. Chad Reed can stake his claim in Los Angeles. And James Stewart can silence “he’s done” talk with 10 solid laps late in Oakland. Green Bay can go 15-1, get praised and favored, and then eliminated with one bad game. Meanwhile, the New York Giants can struggle at times, hear rumors that their coach will be fired, go into the final game of the regular season struggling to get in, pull out a close one, and then go all the way to the Super Bowl. In the course of two months, their coach went from “probably going to be fired” to “probably going to the Hall of Fame.” But he was the same guy all along, and he probably didn’t care about that stuff. He was just trying as hard as he could to win football games. I’m sure it’s the same for the top riders this year. We overhype their strengths and weaknesses, while they just go about doing their job, ignoring all of that analysis. That’s how it works on this side—the side of the fans and press. We overanalyze, over think and over hype both the good and the bad.
A second place finish at A2 helped Stewart gain valuable championship points on Reed and Dungey.
Photo: Garth Milan
And you know what else? Last year the Giants choked at the end of the regular season and missed the payoffs, allowing another team to sneak in during the final game of the regular season—the Green Bay Packers, who went all the way to the Super Bowl. The Giants were losers and the Packers were winners.
Last week James Stewart was the star and Ryan Villopoto was third. This week Ryan Villopoto is the man. When parity is the game, anything can happen, and just about anyone can be wrong. Until next week!
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What's with CR22 pretty much pulling over & letting Stewey bye? Two races in a row now? Riding smart? Really? Where's the fire these two used to have whenever they were around each other?
i wouldn't read to much into it. He was simply faster early in the race. If you watch the last 5or6 laps of the race CR catches back up to him though, but ran out of laps. I know the excuse would be that JS was shutting it down at that point and savoring second but i doubt it. It shows in my opinion that JS has endurance issues.......it didnt effect him this race but we'll see in the future...
Endurance issues? Were you not aware of what happened in oakland? Or did you see his wreck? Im sure he had more issues than endurance...
Parity, parity, parity.......can't you use another word, afterall, you are a journalist, aren't you?? equivalence, interchangeability....etc...
The giants fumbled the ball three times in the biggest game and didn't pay for it at all. The last 2 seasons the giants didn't even make the playoffs. Watch where they are next year.
great ReduX weege!
The thing that can be controlled is preparation. The rest is a crapshoot.
@21moto - I dont think Reed just pulled over and let JS7 by.....That is two races in a row that JS7 was simply the better guy..As was the case in PHX as JS7 passed Reed quite easily in their heats and the main....JS7 crashed in PHX but was pulling away from Reed....Same as he did in Oakland and at A2.....The fire is there for Reed as we saw him almost run RV off the track....He will just be a hair off of JS7 and RV's pace most nights and whether he was ill or not....or James has busted ribs or not....James was just going faster....look at the lap charts...
Gosh I just got drowned in football !
I like the stuff about having that "mental edge". It's true, I remember in 2001 when RC was winning all those Supercross races David Bailey said something like "He's like the grinch who stole supercross!! He wants the best practice time, the fastest heat race, and he wants to win the main event by 20 seconds!! Every single week!!" ....now that's crushing the competitions confidence!!
nice write up Weedge!
Well thought out perspective, Mr. Weigandt. As another fan(-atic) of MX/SX (NFL football not so much..., gimme' the college games), I find the weekly pendulum 'swing' between praise and degradation ridiculously entertaining.
Makes me wonder though, how many of these (+/-) opinions are formed during an amped-up '5-Hour-Rockstar-Monster-Energy-Muscle-Milk drinking binge, and then unleashed while the adrenaline is still coursing through their synapsis' at full-throttle. Superb stupidity.
By the way, that one Rider... He sucks! And that other Dude... what's up with him..., he's over?! Can you believe what he did on that one Lap ?
(Slurp)
And the other Guy... yeah that Guy... clearly He has the title already won, regardless of what He's done so far! It won't matter, people... you hear me?!
Parity? Parity my @$$... ! It's over !!! I'm declairing him the Champ right now !
No doubt... Just sayin'... (ZZZZZzzzzzzzz).
pretty sure Reed just let James by , Yeah thats his style , What a stupid thing to say , ...... Comparing football to Supercross .....Dumb!
You can call me a homer or whatever, but i'm a huge RV1 fan. I have been since he was on 80's even though he was overshadowed by Mike Alessi. And since Bubba came up, i've always wondered who would dethrone hiim. And make no mistake, regardless of championships or whatever, in most people's minds the bar is set by Stewart. When you can straight up beat stewart its an accomplishment. RV has done it. Its amazing to watch that gap grow when stewart has a clear track in front of him, and Villomoto just keeps pouring it on. I don't like the people blaming the bike. Yamaha makes a fine machine and is plenty capable of winning races. and if it's not.. then why did STewart go back with a bike he felt was unacceptable?? he could have signed somewhere else if he was that against the bike. Point is RV is the man. RV to sweep both series again... and the Monster Cup... and MX des nations.
RV and JS have more speed than Reed or RD i think. I don't think its as even as some think. Sure the fastest guy does not always win buit it does not mean the guy that did is the best either. Look at the lites, Tomac was killing it at A1 but had a bad start, I felt he was the guy to beat after A1 even though the results did not show that. One RaceX guy even said he thought the PC boys would sweep the rest but Myself and a few others said WHAT about Tomac?? i feel the same about RV and JS , More so about RV. He is the one to beat. he may not win it cuz anything can happen( starts, crashes, breakdowns ect ) but he is the best guy out there I feel.
GreenMeansGo, good thoughts, (slurp) dam I got to quit these 5hr energy drinks before the ticker gives out. Good thoughts anyways!
As for Bubbles motoring around Reed at warp speed ( ha ha), I have to say last weekend was a give me. But it was only round 5 with 12 to go, so it is like receiving the ball on the 30 yard line with 70 yards to go! They are all a long ways from home. So far the only 2 guys on the box every round is Ryan and Chad, playing it 1 race at a time. The season should be interesting, I just don;t understand why Brayton was wearing that Wheelsmith Maico gear! lol
If you really want to compare the NFL to Supercross, than you would have to say that the Giants don't deserve to be Champions. Their 9-7 record would get them no where near a title b/c they wouldn't score enough championship points in those losses. That is one of the things I love about motocross. The best rider/team really does win the championship b/c they have to consistently compete against the best competition in the world every single weekend.
actually neither of the Ryan's have been on the box every weekend......plenty of drama left in this series yet.
@dc99...I too am hopeful RV can have as much success this year as last. I've been a big fan for years both of his incredibly aggressive style and the fact hat he reminds me of my all time favorite! He ran out of a van on a battle worn Yamaha 85 while Alessi raced what was basically a factory Honda! I gained a ton more respect for RV after watching that video......
Still a lot of racing and a lot can happen yet......
@Ripdown, were right my bad about Ryan on he box, must have had a brain fart.
@BillC How was the trip? Did you get your 1600 mi. on? And kick some cat butt? Could you watch the SX up in Canada, eh?
perfectly said Killimoto
@ czmark - Steve Stackable, Gaylon Mosier, Magoo Chandler...
(showin' my age here)
and now Justin Brayton... flying the red & yellow colors...
There's a cool 'throw-back' look to that gear.
Stands out, looks good!
memo to SD and dirtwurx: please make that long whoop section is deep. Going back last 7or8 years in San Diego this has been Reed's house ! Keep it up CR keep this series close...!
One fact that is almost universally overlooked, as people speak about RV1 as though he is the 2nd coming of Christ: He has NEVER passed JS7 for a win unless James was on the ground. RV1's wins have come as a result of better starts and JS7's crashes, but he has NEVER beaten JS7 in head-to-head racing. Never. Not a single time. Granted, good starts and staying on two wheels is part of racing and part of winning. RV1's successes have been largely due to both. However, I think it's important to note that he has yet to really prove he's faster than James.
Reed definitely let that position go to JS7 a lot easier than normal. In saying that I don't mean he "gave" that position to JS7, he was passed without a fight, just thought I should clarify to avoid a superfan attack lol. The press were saying he was puking on race day so maybe he just wasn't all there at that point in the race? He was definitely on it again towards the end though. Never count CR22 out........ever. We should all know this by now. On the right night CR22 is just as capable as anyone out there regardless of marginally different lap times. His brain, consistency and experience are a huge asset.
@ mgwest949............You're going to have to let go at some point, JS hasn't held a #1 plate since? Don't start an offshoot of the straight up talk, the only thing that counts are the race results. JS causes all his own issues and is not unbeatable or the best anymore. If we're going to get technical about "who is faster", look to the laptimes for some disappointment.
Sorry I forgot to add.........the proof you're looking for is the #1 plates on RV's bikes. It is James Stewart who has to prove he is faster than RV.
Stewart said in a post race interview that if reed were to catch him, he probably would have let him pass too. He stated that he just did not have it in him after the heat race to push it for the win. If james were to not have crashed, and Reed was healthy, RV might not have had it so easy that night. But there is no way to tell, whats done is done. on to next week.
@retardcross ...And yet my point goes unaddressed, because it has to. There is no denying it.
mgwest949 wrote: He has NEVER passed JS7 for a win unless James was on the ground.
Have you ever watched The 2009 Las Vegas Race?????
To help you remember
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J0QoyYjwXI&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLB296725B2F763B25
He hits the deck all the time under pressure (not specifically just this season)......who's fault is that? JS fans are hilarious, always some kind of excuse or roundabout way to defend him as the best still.
Starry eyed Stewart fans are hopeless pnwrider292 you might as well forget it. They're still riding the coat tails of his 125 days.
@Retardcross, I know, I have one of "those" friends, but for some reason the arrogance of that post got to me.
mgwest949, could you tell me what RV did sat night?? RV has beat JS MANY times where JS did not go down. Your post must be a joke. . . if I thought you were serious I would list them starting in 09, but now I am feeling like my leg has been pulled. watch la of last year RV started 9th JS 3rd RVcaught him before he went down and then pulled away for the win.
@mgquest ...when you get back from outerspace tell us how it was......what was sat nite.??? They both lined up, they both got decent starts... RV won Havoc7 (who i also like) got second...thats beat straight up isn't it (and who? was turning faster lap times). No more excuses ...when did riding sick or hurt matter...if you travel and crash alot it happens.... We've all done it. If you line up your fair game.I used to think James was faster but I don't anymore. The new sheriff can flat lay it down (and if you don't ride with your head out stuck out a foot over the front wheel Havoc7 might get some traction like RV does over the rear.).. #1,7 and 22 all have GREAT pssing skills.Their all fun to watch and its a crap shoot every week , what could be better (besides a healthy Canard and Bam Bam on a 4fity) Reed ain't done and Dungey will safely ride around getting points every week till it gets to five races or so then he will HAVE to race. Can't wait for the East to start. And as for Havoc7 ,like him or not ,that is one TUFF dude....he takes a beatin basically every week now......Havoc , heres a request from everyone on the planet ...back it down a miniscule notch and go to the main in one piece for a change.....lol..oh yeah and dump the baloneys er ah i mean pirellis........
I love when people say that RV has never passed JS unless JS has crash or something, well isn't that James' fault? It's not like RV has ever taken JS out has he? I don't mind if your a fan of Stewart, but some of you Stewart fan need to realize that on any given night he isn't the best and he will get beat and so will RV, RD and CR because thats Motocross. Also from what I can remember, JS has never passed RV? Not sure if thats true, just off the top of my head so don't quote me on it...
How many sx races do we need to determine who is the better racer ?? Heck I can beat them both if I could stay up and pin it longer.
Right now JS is the 4th best SX racer in the world, this could change but its the truth for the last 22 races.
Lol. foolish me to expect intellectual honesty here. Are you really going to point to Vegas 2009 as proof that RV1 can beat JS7? James was in the last race of a championship and had just been run off the track by CR22. Anything more than an ultraconservative effort to place 3rd and secure the championship would have been foolish. Using your logic, CR22 and RD5 were faster than RV1 at Vegas last year. Was Villopoto going full speed? Of course not. Neither was James in 2009. Stupid comment. And the ridiculous comment about LA last year? I said in my original post that RV1 has never passed JS7 unless James got a bad start or crashed. RV1 didn't pass Stewart until he crashed. You can say all you want about how he "would have", but he wasn't able to catch him in Phoenix last year and ended up crashing himself trying. I am the first to admit that James crashes a whole lot, and I am not making excuses for him when he does. But when he doesn't he is the only one on the track that can regularly beat Villopoto. Oh, and @davidl, your comment about RV1 beating Stewart MANY times when Stewart didn't crash or get a lousy start (which was my original comment)? When were they?
@mgwest949 LOL that's all I can say, thanks for making my day
Yeah, Supercross racing is like the NFL where the best of the best go against each and bench racing is more like College football where they take a poll to see who is the best.
Intellectual honesty? Did you not just say RV needs to prove he is better than JS? And to be totally fair, there's not many opportunities for anyone to beat JS in a battle without him crashing or taking them both out. Best way to race JS is be nowhere near him, I wish I knew who said that first on here because that is probably the most legit thing I've ever read on these posts. I'm sure RV can step it up a notch too, ride over his head and take a 50/50 shot of crashing out or winning every weekend, except he races for championships, not 4th overall.
I do not see parity instead I see 2 guys faster then the others period. RV and JS are a rung up on CR and RD with all the others 4 rungs down. 3/10th of a second a lap is 6 seconds in 20 laps but the difference is even greater then that as all should know. The only parity is the one line tracks and hoops my Dad can pin it on his Penton. Where the two slower guys are at a distinct disadvantange is they cannot get through traffic very fast either. JS is the best at coming through traffic quickly and at this time RV is the faster rider by a shade. So if CR or RD plan on winning the championship luck will surely be involved.
Well we have 12 more races left, it would be interesting watching Bubbles and RV go bar to bar a few races, James is fast, but RV looks so much more aggressive out there,
Brayton- Also maybe a little bit like Warren Reid on the FMF Honda. Maico's were the coolest looking bikes ever.
WFO UFO- my son and I have a small herd of modern day motocross bikes, but nothing looks better than that CZ 380 that sits in there and yes old school Maico's were cool.
In the lap charts-where RV has been declared king, he has had the fasted lap times all 5 races. Last week Tomacs fast lap time was faster than JS7. Bubba had the third fastest lap time of the night. Behind a lites rider. He is not in the points lead, not even close. I just can't understand why everyone can't see he really is the fastest...good grief. Think about it. LOL This is getting good! Come up with something else!! I especially liked the part where "RV has NEVER passed JS" then along comes a vid of him doing just that! Never say never!
1,500+ mi Bucky, Beat the cat too, he was quicker off the line but i could go by him. NO SX in Canada but the TVo did the job!!! GREAT trip for sure and will go back to the Gaspesie again for SURE!! Post some pics on DooTalk check them outther real nice. I will go get a link for ya. Well try to post it here anyway.
I am an RV fan but the last race of the year with a title on the line does not count as a pass in my book. Hell last year RV let Reed and RD by to play it save and I believe JS did the same in 09.
.It wont let me post the link Bucky
@czmark,nobody has been on the box at all 5 races.
I can think of only 1 time that Stewart has passed RV in the last couple years. They were back in the pac and Stewart knocked RV down in the process. Funny how Stewart has a tendency to accidentally take out the points leader whenever close enough to do so. I believe it was the next week when Reedy had the points lead and Stewart took him out in the whoops.
#1 key to the race from the announcers should be "stay away from stewart".
I do give Stewart credit though for being able to take a hit and get back up. I think he's pushing his luck, but it does entertain me. And that's what it's all about, right?
cr was faster than Stwart
RD3
@mgquest--Are you on drugs. You said RV1 has never beat Stewie in a head to head battle?? WHAT??? RV beat Stewie straight up for RV's first win in Seattle, Stewie didnt crash. RV has taken Stewie tons of times when Stewie did not crash.
This is one of the main reasons people jump all over the Stewie fans. Because of this exact mentality shown by guys like mgquest.. Wont even give the fastest rider in the world right now credit for a single win. Its sick really.
I pull for RD5 and I've followed his career very closely. The GOAT was always my favorite rider until he retired and I followed his career very closely also so, by default, I've learned a lot about Roger Decoster as he has spent several years with my 2 favorites. We seem to be slowly forgetting that THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR TOGETHER FOR THIS TEAM AND THEY ARE ON A BRAND NEW BIKE in their 5th race. Dungey is 22 years old and was 20 and just in the beginning stages of hitting his prime when Suzuki let Decoster go and left him with a team and bike that wasn't nearly as good as the previous year in which he won everything. (I know CR & JS were out and I'm not defending that championship. Whether he'd have won the championship or not with those 2 guys in it, HE WAS DEFINITELY BETTER IN 2010 THAN IN 2011). Anyone who would say Decoster wouldn't have been worth 25 points to Dungey in each championship last year is not being honest or doesn't really follow the sport IMO. That would have been enough to win another 2 championships in 2011 with all the "big 4" competing for a full year. Now I said all that NOT to play the "should'a, could'a, would'a" game. I say that because I think most fans and media are forgetting what a machine Dungey is when his bike/team are right-and I also think they're forgetting why Decoster is called "The Man". They're still working out a few kinks but they will only get stronger so don't be too quick to count them out. 12 races left and 5 points down. And by the time the outdoors gets here.... :)
Is it just me or is Tonewall one of the most real dudes on here? There is a new sheriff in town. That doesn't mean he'll win every night but he'll keep you honest!
@Retardcross
That's twice you've quoted me! I will reluctantly take credit for that statement as it seems kind of childish but I truly believe it.
Look at his heat race crash last weekend. He used that same wheel tap move at the beginning of the heat race and even went back to it at the start of the main. What if he went down then, with all those guys around ? Could've been the end of a couple of guys seasons?
redrider24.
That was Toronto last year and I was right there to see it. Wasn't the worst take out I've seen but it was kind of suspicious.
Races where JS did not wreck and rv finished ahead of him.
Seatle 09
vegas 09
A1 11
indianpolis 11, and clearly a2 2012
come to mind, but JS fans are right he wrecks more than I thought. there are several times I have watched RV pass JS and finish ahead of him but then again you guys are right JS always seems to crash trying to catch up.
Good grief dude JS is a awesome rider and he could win a championship if he could stay up, heck he could win this one but he is down 3 for 5 this year and RV beat him once win he didnt fall and JS beat RV once. But really in the real world JS is a solid 4th place bet right now.
RCRDDW
Hey bud. I don't think there is anyone on her that doesn't like Dungey. I love the kid, he's humble, incredibly talented and has that boy next door all American look going on. My youngest daughter loves the kid. She's a little young but one of my moat memorable moments was taking my two girls to the Toronto round last year. I was vibrating in anger because Stewart took my guy RV out and my girl was vibrating for the last 10 laps as RD brought it home for his only win of the year. She was so happy for him and I for her watching her excitement.
The kid is a force outdoors where his conditioning and the format
( two 30+2 motos ) allow for his conservative style to be successful. Fact is in the short, sprint style supercross events he's simply not aggressive enough. And I say that truly believing he's on one of the best bikes out there.
mgwest949, can RV beat JS in a SX race ? We all have watched him and know he can. Did he last sat? Or are you going to try to come up with 16 excuses out of the last 22 races ???
next Question, whose fault is it when JS wrecks himself ??? Is this part of racing ???
I'm just looking for signs of intellect here
Ripdown: Wouldn't argue with most anything you say friend. I just get a general feel from fans and media, unintentionally probably at times, dismissing RD5. I think you are right in that almost no one has any evil intent in this. Now that he has a solid team (Decoster) and as the bike improves his aggression will increase-when necessary. I have seen the guy get really aggressive but he definitely is choosy about it. I feel that after last year, although he is definitely has more of a CR philosophy than a JS7, he has been unfairly labeled as "non-aggressive" or "soft".
Sounds like you're raising your daughter well! :) I appreciate the love!
@VistaJim, yeah I caught myself with that this morning, I think Ripdown pointed it out. Lack of morning coffee and brain farting I quess! thanks though!
JS did NOT take down RV in Toronto last year. I was there too. But you need to watch it again. They both were coming thru the pack, RV was trying to make a pass, came in wide like the guy in front of him then he squared the corner at the same time JS was coming on the inside. No take out, racing is all it was. RV never expected to have someone trying to pass him there I am sure cuz he was way back but there just happen to be another fast guy way back too. No way you could ever convince me JS took him out, no way and I was pulling for RV all last year but it was just racing thats all.
@davidl--one thing that hasnt been pointed out. How many times has RV1 beaten Stewie and Stewie went down while he was BEHIND RV1?? Just like A1 s year, Stewie went down, but was way behind RV1 and would not have caught him, as shown by the lap times. It is just excuses by the Stewtards. They cant handle the fact that he isnt the best rider out there, and that he is in 4th place-----again..
bottom line is, every one of these people that race professional motocross and supercross are great. they are obviously better than you guys and so is the journalist that wrote this column. congrats to ryan for the win, and james stewart on his finish. as far as reed, he is a great father, still manages to spend time with fans and also race. he knew stewart was faster than him and whether being ill or not he knew he couldnt ride at that pace. so he pulled over like a veteran and true competitor. kudos to all of them. im not sure why you guys are arguing so much. god bless
First of all a very good and interesting article about parity and comaring it to football
Good one Jason------Now Go Cowboys next year!
To all interesting comments that is why I like to read them.
@ BillC welcome back never cared much for the snow sleds but have had fun riding them I did total one when I came up short on a double it was not pretty....
Thanks Welker!! Had a Blast!! Its like a 225mi long Moto everyday LOL