NYE in NYC

When the ball drops in New York on Sunday night, I'll be there. But you won't find me in Times Square with the mob of people ready to ring in 07. We're headed to New York City for the holiday weekend.

Fortunately, we have friends in Brooklyn and they graciously allowed us to stay at their apartment and help us navigate Manhattan.

It will be the first time I've been to NYC since August 29, 2001, just days before 9-11. I'm eager to head back and visit ground zero. I hear that it isn't much more than a construction site these days. Nonetheless, it is a place I want to see.

Stops at Rockefeller Plaza and Trump Tower are also on the tenative agenda. Trump Tower, not for the Donald, but Niketown. I love sneakers, hence I love Niketown. The place is incredible. The sweatshops in Indonesia make a very good product.

I've been to NYC numerous times over the years, mostly to see the US Open. Everytime the experience has been memorable. Everything from eating next to Anna Kournikova at the Hotel Intercontinental breakfast bar, to seeing Brooke Shields in Cabaret.

Hopefully, this short stay will be just as enjoyable.

See you in 07.

In Need of a Good Burger...

Step one, take your Lipitor. Step two, find the nearest Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries. I have never had a burger there, little or large, that wasn’t incredible. It is worth the few extra bucks. The burger chain prides itself on its hand-molded, never frozen beef. It makes you never want to eat at a Wendy’s or McDonald's ever again.

One of the best things about Five Guys is that it’s strictly burgers and hot dogs. No chicken to be found. The fries flow out of the cup, into the bag. And all the toppings are free, no extra charge. I usually go with the fried onions and green peppers. Five Guys claims its goal is "to sell the best burger possible we focus on Quality, Service and Cleanliness." I’d have to say they excel in all three.

I have yet to eat at Cheeburger Cheeburger. I hear the wait can be as big as the burger. Will I conquer "the pounder" and make the wall of fame, doubtful. I surely can't agonize over that much angus. But i intend to make an appearance and try a burger.

Carytown Burger and Fries is also a good joint, and they deliver. But Carytown has two problems, the influx of numerous Five Guys restaurants in the metro area, and a somewhat hard-to-find location. Carytown does have a niche market.

After chowing down, dipping your fries, and drinking a coke, there is one more step, take a nap.

Phill’s Best Burgers:

1) Five Guys Burgers & Fries
2) Carytown Burgers & Fries
3) Cheeburger Cheeburger (TBD)

VA Driver Ward Burton Back in the Seat

Ward Burton has put down the rifle, come out of the woods, and back into stockcar racing - full time. On Tuesday, the South Boston, VA native signed a one-year deal to drive the No. 4 State Water Heaters Chevrolet for Morgan-McClure Racing.

The news is very exciting for many fans wanting to see Burton at the track again. Until this year's fall race at Martinsville, Burton had'nt raced since the fall of 2004 at Phoenix, where he was let go by HAAS racing.

After leaving NASCAR in 2004, Burton took time off to evaluate the right situation for him. Ward began devoting much of his time to his wildlife foundation during his racing respite. In other words, the five-time Nextel Cup winner wanted to find a competitive ride.

But Morgan McClure? The last time the Abingdon, VA based organization was competitive was over 10 years ago.

Burton made three starts for the race team in 2006, finishing 26th at Martinsville, 25th at Texas and 28th at Phoenix. "I think it's helped a little bit. It's given us some direction of where we need to go to work at, where some of our shortcomings are, so yes, no question that has helped with what we're working on and will continue to help," Burton told the Times-Dispatch.

Burton must have finally realized that he's 44, not 24. Waiting around wasn't going to do him any good. The good high-profile rides usually go to the so-called "young guns."

There are fewer and fewer drivers with grey hair, like Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin, and more drivers with very little (facial) hair, like Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers.

In 66 days, Burton hopes to be starting the Daytona 500, a race he won while driving for Bill Davis Racing in 2002. But since Morgan McClure Racing finished a dismal 39th in owners points this year, Burton will have to race his way into the show on time.

While it's great to see Burton back at the track, I don't foresee the veteran driver having much success in his new gig. He might have been better off sitting in the woods on his wildlife preserve.

Butt it's Art, Right?

Steven Murmer's art is bootylicous. At least that's what you will find at buttprintart.com. Murmer uses a blot and stamp method as artist, depicting flowers and butterfiles. Nothing new. However, he blots and stamps with his buttocks and genitials.

So what's the big stink?

Murmer's makes his living as an art teacher at Monacan High School in Chesterfield County.

And now, after posting video clips on YouTube and iFilm of his so-called artistic abilities, Murmer is causing murmurs for Chesterfield County school officials. Insert the phrase "no publicity is good publicity" here.

Murmer has been placed on adminstrative leave by Chesterfield County schools, giving him plenty of time to express himself on canvas.

Murmer made a mess. Whenever you mix your private life with your professional life, you're probably going in trouble. Maybe even dumped by the boss.

He would have been in the clear if he didn't make one ass-inine move, putting the video on the internet. The internet usually causes more harm than good, and in this case, it could cost Murmer his job.

If he wants to be the next genitials Gauguin or Francis buttocks Bacon, then more power to him. It's his right and he has the the First Amendment of the Constitution and the ACLU on his side.

Butt don't be suprised if more than just eyebrows are raised the next him he steps into his classroom in Chesterfield or elsewhere. He might need to wear a disguise. Preferably not the one in the videos.

Should the avant-garde artist be fired for his publicly displayed dirty deed? That decision will be have to be made by school officials.

Chesterfield County would love for this story to disappear like flatulence in the wind.

Andy Bernard: Regional Director in Charge of Sales

In case you've been under a rock and don't watch the funniest show on network tv, Ed Helms has joined the cast of "The Office." He plays Andy Bernard. Helm's character was introduced to the show while Jim Halpert was working at the Stamford branch. He was transferred to Scranton after the branch's closure. If you watch the show, you'd know that Andy is a huge fan of The Cardigans and Indigo Girls and enjoys a good game of Call of Duty.

Below is a clip of Helm's recent apperance on Conan. It's quite amusing. Enjoy.

Pearl Harbor: 65 Years Later

Every five years, many of the remaining survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor gather to remember fallen heroes. Today marks the 65th anniversary of the Japanese barrage. Considering that the number of living veterans of Pearl Harbor are falling fast, this could be the final reunion in Hawaii.

Hopefully today you will pause and remember the 2,390 men and women that lost their lives on December 7, 1941.

photo courtesy of pearlharborsurviors.org

NASCAR Nixes NYC

Notch a victory for the good ol' boys down South. NASCAR is throwing the red flag in New York City.

International Speedway Corporation (ISC) has decided against building a speedway development on Staten Island. ISC's majority owner is Bill France, the founder of NASCAR. The publicly traded company owns 12 tracks, including Richmond International Raceway, and hold nearly two-thirds of the events on the Nextel Cup schedule.

ISC is one of two compaines -Speedway Motorsports (SMI) being the other- that control much of the industry. Whether it's souviners or sandwiches, ISC and SMI have a vested intrest in it.

If Staten Island became a reality, it would have been a 0.8-mile state-of-the-art track that would have seated 80,000 fans on a 440-acre former oil tank farm. But after much controversy, it's gone up in smoke.

Extinction = Expansion

Since the late 1990's, the NASCAR schedule has made many changes, increasing dates, and venturing to new tracks. Some have called "extinction for expansion."

Expansion just crashed. Well, at least for a year or two. But expansion has been to victory lane numerous times. Chicago, Kansas City, Texas and Las Vegas all have at least one race per year now.

Racing at Rockingham, NC became a thing of the past after the 2004 season, mainly because of poor dates in late November and late February. It does get cold in North Carolina. But ISC or SMI were never going to give Rockingham better dates because they wanted to expand the sport from its Southern base. Texas and Phoenix quickly gobbled up those free dates.

Darlington Speedway lost it’s famed Labor Day Southern 500 race to the Los Angeles market and California Speedway, an ISC track. Darlington now holds one race per year over Mother's Day weekend. Although things have somewhat backfired in LA. The two races at California Speedway rarely sell out and viewer ratings are consistantly down. Darlington's single date sells out.

ISC's announcemnt not to build on Staten Island is a huge win for the many of the smaller cities that host NASCAR sanctioned events. An additional race in NYC would almost certainly have meant the demise of races in the aformentioned Darlington, SC, or Martinsville, VA. Not only is there history and great racing at these tracks, many of these small towns get a huge economic boost when race weekend arrives.

Why do older tracks get left out? NASCAR has reached its max occupancy. The current Nextel Cup schedule, with 36 dates in 52 weeks, can be best described as gridlock. There are only three off weekends during the season and the proposal of adding more races doesn't seem likely at this point.

WHERE FROM HERE?

Along with becoming a media mainstay, NASCAR's fan base has become quite diverse. Many collars have changed from blue to white along the way. I've noticed more African-Americans and women attending races in recent years. Sponsors tobacco and Winston have given way to telecommunications and Nextel. These are huge changes from a sport that was created by moonshine bootleggers.

ISC will continue to tap into major media markets, with NYC being the biggest hot rod of them all. ISC is still eying property in the Northwest, hoping to build a 1.2-mile track southwest of Seattle, WA. The track wouldn’t open until 2011 at the earliest.