The interest in the USA vs. Canada Olympic hockey game yesterday can be summed up by Seth Davis from Sports Illustrated.  On Twitter at 7:45pm yesterday he posted,

"Flipping between US-Canada hockey and VT-Duke hoops. Looking forward to @TimBrando accidentally calling VT's coach Seth Davis."

Three hours later he posted,

"I have not watched a second of the VT-Duke game, and I don't even like hockey. Riveting!!!!!!!!"

Unless you're a hockey fan you probably weren't tuning in at 7:45 to watch the puck drop.  You probably heard about the game, didn't expect too much of it, and went about your Sunday night like you usually do, basically fretting over going to work in the morning.  The ones that were watching initially were excited for the game, but we didn't realize the magnitude and excitement that the game would have.

The game of hockey changed in 41 seconds.

As soon as Brian Rafalski's goal got deflected past Martin Brodeur the sports world changed.  Immediately I was receiving text messages and calls from people making sure I was watching the game.  There was enthusiasm for America and an interest in hockey that we haven't seen in a long time.

I'm a Pittsburgh Penguins fan.  I was at the edge of my seat for all seven games of the Stanley Cup last year.  I don't know if any of them were as special as this one.  The weird thing is that this game didn't mean much.  It was just a preliminary game.  The intrigue was built up because it was two neighboring countries, both undefeated, and America was the underdog that had a chance, but a slim one.  Canada was easily the favorite that had the most talent, size, skill, speed, and athleticism.

The game went back and forth throughout the night.  Ryan Miller was absolutely amazing in net.  If you don't have a team to root for then root for the Sabres.  I told my friend, "Ryan Miller is making the Buffalo Sabres my second favorite team."  Before yesterday, I hated the Sabres.  It was the type of performance that turns you into a fan.

As the game went to 3-2 USA and then 4-2 USA the pride of the country grew.  Every other post on my Twitter feed read either, "USA USA USA!" or "Take that Canada!"  Both comments of which I loved.  I tried to remember the last time that I really saw the country come together as one like it felt like yesterday.  Michael Phelps in the Olympics was a big deal, but it still wasn't the same, maybe because it was an individual sport.  The USA basketball team had some excitement, but I think America always felt like we were the best in basketball so even winning the gold medal last Olympics didn't have the same special feeling.  It just felt like we got back to where we were supposed to be.

Canada fought back.  Sidney Crosby scored with a little over three minutes to get the score to 4-3.  Immediately the excitement on the Internet changed from USA pride into nervousness.  The final three minutes were punishing to watch.  It felt like Canada was on a Power Play the entire time as they pelted shots at Ryan Miller.  Canada pulled their goalie, the puck cleared down the ice, and Ryan Kessell superman dove to slap the puck in to give the US a 5-3 lead and a minor upset over the world's most dominating hockey team.

America prevailed as an underdog.  That's what made the game special. For once we weren't the dominate team that was expected to win. We were a team that was the underdog in a sport that is an underdog.

This game is in no way in comparison to the Miracle on Ice and it doesn't even have that much importance since it wasn't for a medal, but it meant a lot. It meant a lot to the people who love hockey; it meant a lot to the game of hockey; and it meant a lot to America, who showed a national pride when usually we just show a partisan pride amongst each other.

The game may have not changed everyone's outlook on hockey forever, but it changed it for one day. I guess winning really does cure everything, even peoples' perceptions. We will have to wait and see if the US team can keep skating on to an Olympic medal. I do know that as the games continue that there will be a lot more fans watching and cheering on our country as we go for a gold medal; something that most of us thought was only possible to obtain in an American dream.

I never thought I would ever get to a day where I could legitimately say that there are too many television shows.  Anyone who complains that there isn't anything on TV isn't looking too hard. There's always something on. There's downloading, streaming, On-demanding, and DVRing. We can start shows from the beginning that are halfway through and even set up a program to record from our cell phones. The options are out there to watch basically whatever we want at anytime so saying there's nothing on is plain ridiculous.

Do we have too many television channels though?

We have about eight C-SPANS, eight different ESPN's, and an individual network for every single sport. We have a channel for trimming trees, one for gardening flowers, and another for mowing lawns. We have gay channels, senior citizen channels, women channels, black channels, Hispanic channels, religious channels, and every other demographic you can think of. The segregation we have for television would be like McDonalds having a separate fast food place for fries, one for burgers, one for chicken nuggets, another for condiments, and a specific place for breakfast sandwiches that was only opened from 5:00am-10:30am.

The point is we have so many options at any time that the problem is that there's too much on, not that there's nothing on.

The Winter Olympics has felt the wrath of abundance. It used to be the Olympics were a special event ever four years and everyone in America would tune into it to watch basically all the events that the Americans were good at. Now more people watched American Idol on Tuesday then tuned into the Olympics. Who knew there would be a time where the top two shows in prime time featured one gay man and one gay woman?  If you've seen Johnny Weir then I don't know if you can call that a man though.

The Olympics are on four different channels now. We have NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, and Versus. We can watch curling, hockey, figure skating, and snowboarding all at the same time. Is it that the Olympics aren't special anymore or is it that by seeing everything available we're realizing that some events are pretty boring?

The same argument was brought up with the NBA All Star game. Each year and at every all star break for every sport we have the same argument. This game is meaningless; the players don't care about the game so why should we care about the game?  The competitiveness from the game might have changed throughout the course of the last few decades, but so has our eagerness to watch these spectacles. If we feel like the all star game is unimportant now then there's plenty of other things we can watch that are probably just as entertaining if not better. There's just not that sense that these programs are that one special thing on television that we look forward to. Nothing is really like that anymore, except for the Super Bowl.

Tomorrow is the big Tiger Woods press conference. I'm sure everyone is at the edge of their seat to hear Tiger not answer any questions and give a written statement about how he hurt his wife, kids, family, friends, sponsors, supporters, and fellow PGA tour players. I'm sure he'll take the brunt of the blame and turn it into a positive like anyone else in his predicament would. He'll speak on what he has done to try and make himself a better person and talk about what he will do in the future. That's fine though; that's what he's supposed to say. Press conferences like these a decade ago used to be the biggest ordeal. Everyone would want to get around the television to see what someone important had to say. Now ESPN has to market the press conference and put up bulletins throughout their programming just to try and get people to tune in. We don't care about press conferences anymore; we'll watch it on the Internet or hear a million stories about it immediately upon its conclusion.

So who is at fault for turning these special events into flip back and forth television programs?  I guess all of us.

Its basic supply and demand principles which allow us to see that as there are more television channels, there is going to be less demand for each one. Then again we have the Internet and other technologies that have supplied us more information and we have demanded more programming, which then created the over saturation of programs. That's just how things are going to be. The evolution of television.

So programs aren't going to be special to everyone anymore. Who cares?  We can complain all we want about these events that we feel everyone should love. What we really need to learn from all these television channels is that there are millions of people out there with millions of different personality characteristics and interests and now everyone can find something special to love. I don't need you to love what I'm watching and I don't have to love what you're watching.

That's what makes it special.

If you haven't seen any 30 for 30 documentaries on ESPN then you should really check them out.  Actually, just check out The U, that's the only really great one.  I love documentaries.  I don't know if it's because I feel like I'm obtaining credible information or I just like seeing different things from different peoples' perspectives.

The first 30 for 30 documentary was Kings Ransom directed by Peter Berg.  This is the description from the ESPN Films page:

On August 9, 1988, the NHL was forever changed with the single stroke of a pen. The Edmonton Oilers, fresh off their fourth Stanley Cup victory in five years, signed a deal that sent Wayne Gretzky, a Canadian national treasure and the greatest hockey player ever to play the game, to the Los Angeles Kings in a multi-player, multi-million dollar deal. As bewildered Oiler fans struggled to make sense of the unthinkable, fans in Los Angeles were rushing to purchase season tickets at a rate so fast it overwhelmed the Kings box office. Overnight, a franchise largely overlooked in its 21-year existence was suddenly playing to sellout crowds and standing ovations, and a league often relegated to “little brother” status exploded from 21 teams to 30 in less than a decade. Acclaimed director Peter Berg presents the captivating story of the trade that knocked the wind out of an entire country, and placed a star-studded city right at the humble feet of a 27-year-old kid, known simply as “The Great One.”

Everyone basically knows the story; the documentary definitely went much deeper into the hatred that the Oilers fan base had toward the owner and Gretzky's wife.  The trade not only changed the sport, but it changed the city as well.  There has never been a move been an acquisition like that since, in any professional sport.  There could be though.

Tomorrow at 3:00pm the NBA's trade deadline commences.  There's some trade rumors going around, but the major story is what the Cleveland Cavaliers will do.  Everything is about LeBron James.  Does LeBron like this move, will he resign if this move happens, is Lebron the one that is asking for this trade?  All these questions keep getting brought up over and over and all these questions are legitimate questions.  The Cavs have the best team in the NBA and still everyone thinks that the Cavs have to make a trade if they want to secure LeBron James this summer.

What will happen if they don't secure LeBron though?  Analysts have looked at the team perspective of how the organization will handle it, but how will the city handle it?  How will the NBA handle it?

I think if LeBron jumps to a different team than we will have a reincarnation of Kings Ransom, but this time it would be starring King James.

Cleveland is a diehard sports city that has seen so many irreconcilable moments.  They have the drive, the Jordan jumper, the annual draft day busts; this is a city that can't catch a break.  Can we name any player who has signed to the Cleveland Browns that became a star since the Browns have returned to the NFL?  This is a city that has put all their eggs in one basket and all their faith in one man.  LeBron James.

LeBron isn't just an athlete to the city of Cleveland; he's a sign of hope to a city that hasn't had much in a long time.  I think LeBron knows that; I think he recognizes what he means to a city and he wants that pressure.  Pressure seems like an evil word, but for some it's what motivates them every day.  I don't think LeBron has any qualms about being great and bringing a championship to Cleveland, he will however feel the burden of an entire state that watched him grow from a state championship high school player into the NBA's MVP.

Cleveland would riot.  There would be cars on fire, windows smashed; the huge LeBron James "Witness" facade would be off the building by the time the ink dried on his new contract. Fans would be in tears and the city would return to its past state of no prominence. It's kind of a morbid thing to think of, but we have to, we've seen it before with another Great One.

The NBA would thrive. LeBron would probably be in one the biggest markets and the notoriety would be unseen like never before in any other sport. He'd make more money than any sport athlete ever has.

Is it worth it though?  That's the question he's going to have to ask himself this offseason. He'll have to look at all the variables including money, endorsements, and is the team doing everything they can to win a championship?

At what point is doing the right thing for yourself and the wrong thing for so many others the best thing to do?

The NBA's trade deadline is tomorrow and we've heard hundreds of rumors of different players going to different teams. So much speculation about who gets who, where the player wants to go, if a team is trying to dump salary or make a run at a playoff push. Every hour of the day we have a new rumor conjured up by either some fact or fiction. Why do we think moving these players are such good moves for teams though? If you're already settled in as one of the best teams then why go out and grab someone?

Can you name the last NBA championship team that had a trade deadline trade that helped them win the championship? Unlike baseball and hockey, which this scenario happens frequently, the NBA really hasn't been a league where adding a key player creates a path to the ring. The last time a significant deadline trade happened that led to the championship was in 2004 when the Detroit Pistons traded for Rasheed Wallace and Mike James. Mike James was deadly in the playoffs!!

Why is it so much easier in the MLB and NHL to make deadline trades that propel your team? The answer is chemistry. Chemistry is a factor in all sports, but it's the key in basketball. In baseball everyone is not touching the ball every play so chemistry isn't as much of a factor. In hockey, everyone will touch the puck while on the ice, but you have a specific line you play with so you can learn to gel with your line much easier. Basketball on the other hand, you have many different lineups that you have to learn to play with. Sometimes you have a tall lineup, short lineup, more guards, more forwards. There are so many different variables that adding that key player could almost be a detriment this late in the season.

I actually wanted to write this column for the sole purpose of one reason. I have a funny story that hopefully I can relate to sports, if not, you got a laugh out of it. The story is about one of my roommates in college. College wasn't that long ago for me; only three years. I went to Penn State and had an amazing time. During my junior and senior years I lived in a two floor, four bedroom townhouse with five other guys. You shouldn't get excited unless you're female or a male figure skater. Anyways, we had great times there, all of us meshed together perfectly. We were all friends since freshman year and it made it much easier to jump into a place where six gents had to live with each other. I'm sure if one person left and we had to add someone later on it just wouldn't be the same.

One roommate of mine, who is now a teacher in Philadelphia, was the type of person where no matter what he did or how hard he tried to make everything work out smoothly, it just wouldn't. Since he's a teacher I'll protect his identity here and call him, hmmm... John Heisey. Heisey's a great guy, well maybe not a great guy, but at least a good guy. He is a great teacher though. Heisey was a jinx, he was messy, he wore extremely dirty Homer Simpson slippers, but Heisey was a perfect fit for our abode. Maybe he wouldn't fit everywhere he went, but he fit with our place; we all fit with our place.

I was talking to another one of my fellow roommates yesterday and happened to hear an extremely hilarious story that involved Heisey. If you knew him, you would know it was true and it wouldn't surprise you at all. I guess Heisey lives in Philadelphia with a roommate or two, I'm not sure, I don't really care to talk to him that often. One of his roommates had to go out of town for the weekend. She asked him to watch over her dog that she loved oh so dearly during the weekend while she was gone. John being the kind guy that he is immediately said yes. He takes care of kids for a living, he has a pet snake, of course he could take care of a dog. She left and the weekend rolled around. Yohn invited over some of his friends to have a few cocktails before they went out for the evening. They had a few drinks and moved the party to the outdoors. They were all outside just having a gay old time, drinking beer, playing fetch with the dog, and everything was going great. The night got later and they decided to leave to go out for the night. They went to a few bars, got much more inebriated, and finally called it a night around 2am. The next day Heisey returned home to an empty apartment. Yes, Heisey lost her dog! How does someone lose a dog? Dogs escape, run away, hide for awhile, but lose a dog?

It gets even better. I guess Heisey was a wreck; who wouldn't be? Next, he did what every rational person would do to help try and console a person who just lost their precious pet. He went out and bought her another dog. I'm not sure if the dog looked like the same dog or was the same type of breed. Knowing him he probably just found a dog with the same name and called it a day. Would anyone really be satisfied with a replacement dog? This is a scene straight out of  Meet the Parents.

When she came back from the weekend, ready to see her pet, he finally broke the news to her. She was heartbroken, in tears, and mourning all day. He then thought the best move would be to say to her, and I quote from what I heard he said,

"I Understand If You Want Me To Move Out"

That's my old college roommate. The one I know and had so many great times with over my college days. Do I expect anything less of him? Nope. This is dedicated to him and hopefully his roommate's dog reemerges. At least if it does it will have another dog to play with now.

The moral of the story and to come back to the sports aspect is that some players work in certain situations. For the six of us in K2, Heisey worked. I guess for his new situation he just doesn't have the correct fit. The same could go with any of these NBA players who will get traded today and tomorrow. Myself and the rest of my old roommates know Heisey enough to not put him in a situation where he is taking care of anything. Unfortunately for his new roommate, she didn't know him well enough.

I want the Cavs to trade for Amare, but does anyone really know if it will work? I just hope if they pull the move the chemistry works out, because if it ends up backfiring and the Cavs lose the new addition of Amare (Heisey) and the most beloved person on the team (the dog) then the whole entire household will be in a somber mood (Cleveland).

Who wants their kids taught by Mr. Heisey???

I completed my mission. If you don't know what I'm talking about then read my column from Friday, but basically I set out to watch my first NASCAR race, from start to finish, to try and find out why millions upon millions of fans watch the sport each week.

What I planned on doing is sitting on my couch for four to five hours to watch the Daytona 500 in hopes of finding a reason to love the sport. What I ended up doing is sitting on the couch for seven hours and recording a meticulous journal of all the events that took place from the opening concert, to the commentators, to the commercial, and of course the race. Did I enjoy the race? Did I find that thing that so many other people across the country love so much about NASCAR? You'll find out after you're done reading my Daytona Diary. Come on! I sat through seven hours to find out my answer the least you can do is read through one column to find out yours.

12:25pm - I returned home from the gym at noon; psychologically prepared for five hours of cars going around in circles. I turned on Fox and was pleasantly surprised to see a Tim McGraw concert happening at Daytona. Well not pleasantly surprised since I'm not the biggest T McG fan, but it wasn't too bad. I especially enjoyed the ridiculous Daytona 500 jackets that they gave to the celebrities there. I wasn't using my undivided attention on him so I don't even know any of the songs he played, but I did find it funny that he had to hop in a car window of a race car just to cruise about 50 feet off the stage. That's when I learned that this was definitely the Super Bowl of NASCAR. Whenever you have lots of unnecessary events and props then it's definitely a Super Bowl.

1:00pm - The concert finished and I got to experience some NASCAR pre-game at the "Hollywood Hotel". That's what they called it. I forgot to write down the names of everyone, but according to Wikipedia it was Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond in the studio. The broadcast booth, which I'll get to soon enough, consisted of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds. I already prepared with a little studying myself by watching Jimmie Johnson 24/7 on HBO and also I watched Inside NASCAR on Showtime. The entire analysis basically consisted of them talking about every team move by racers and that basically every team had a chance to win the race.

1:18 - The start of the Daytona 500! Right as the race began we heard the insightful words of Larry McReynolds, say, "Reach up there and pull those belts tight one more time!" Then the catch phrase of the day came. I had no clue it was a catch phrase by Darrell Waltrip until I looked it up, but I guess he starts every race with this gem.

"Boogity, Boogity, Boogity. Let's Go Racing Boys!"

The race got off pretty smooth. Mark Martin started out in front with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. second and Jimmie Johnson third. The placement stayed the same for a few laps. Mark Martin moved up to first as he crossed the fifth lap, which got the broadcast team really excited. That's like getting excited for receiving silverware when you go to dinner. It really doesn't mean anything.

1:26 - We got our first wreck! Finally! It took eight minutes for a wreck. I thought NASCAR was trying to make crashes happen more frequent. This was the start to many cautions throughout the day. The crash involved Regan Smith, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Brad Keselowski. Yeah, I didn't know who they were either. I did learn that basically every time there's a caution that once the race starts back up basically everyone goes to pit row for new tires and gas.

1:38 - Mark Martin got caught in the middle of the two lanes of cars. I thought this was hilarious. Picture yourself at the front of a buffet line and you forget a napkin so you go back in between the two lines and no one will let you back in. That's basically what happened to Mark Martin. He just stood in the middle as everyone passed him and lost a solid twenty spots.

1:57 - This is when I learned that this Super Bowl is nowhere near the football's Super Bowl. The commercials were horrible. I got my first glimpse of a new show coming to Fox called Sons of Tucson that is about three kids who pay a thirty-some year old guy who looks like he still lives at his parent's house to act as their father. I know I've seen a movie with the same premise before. I think Sinbad was in it. I can't remember though.

2:06 - Lap 50 is completed. At this point I'm thinking the race is going pretty well. It's only been 48 minutes to reach 50 laps so I'll be done watching this race in about three hours or less. Everyone decided to pit again. I was a little disappointed with the pit crew displays. I thought they'd focus some more on how quick they were changing tires and everything. They put times up for pit stops, they displayed how many tires they exchanged, but that was about it. I just heard so much emphasis on how crucial the teams were so I thought they'd talk about them a little more. I did think it was cool how quick they filled up gas. I'd definitely like to roll through a gas station where some dude was out there with this huge plastic gas container and just poured it down the gullet really quick to cap me off.

2:11 - A preview for a new show on FX called Justified had a pretty cool commercial. The one guy from The Shield is in it and it showed him searching around a house with a shotgun and as he turns the corner the other guy points a pistol right into his face. Looked like some cool effects and FX has definitely been on point with television shows.

2:13 - We got to see an in-studio display of the front of a race car. They showed how the racers have some tape on the front of the grill of the car to block intake, which makes the car more stable. They said if you have the piece of tape on it's like having two new wheels, but some guys had to take it off due to overheating. I never knew 1/8" of tape could mean so much.

2:19 - We got our second wreck and this one was fatal. I'm kidding, but I wish it was. Okay, I'm kidding again. This one involved just Joe Nemecheck who was knocked out of the race from the damage. Somehow he didn't hit anyone else. Do NASCAR's have air bags?

2:25 - Another pitiful commercial. This one was from Nationwide Insurance where they tried to persuade the "World's Greatest Spokesperson" to come and market for them. The end result was that you had to go to a web site to see the rest of the video. I don't want to watch your commercial. Why would I want to visit a web site to see more of it?

2:40 - We get our second Sons of Tucson commercial. Still looks just as bad. We also got our third caution on the 81st lap.

2:55 - The excitement begins! Jeff Gordon passes Kyle Busch to take the lead and for the first time all day, the inebriated fans find the strength and ability to stand and cheer. I lifted my head off the pillow!

2:56 - Lap 100 of 200. Not too shabby. Still on pace to end before 5pm. I'm going strong at this point and starting to learn all the race cars now and getting into it a little more.

3:08 - I learn that every car out there is loose. This is supposedly because the track hasn't heated up enough yet so you don't get as much grip. Very interesting.

3:10 - A trailer for the movie Cop Out. Quick name me a good movie with Tracy Morgan?

3:12 - We get back from commercial and the racers are on their fourth caution. John Andretti hit a wall or something. Of course we missed it during a commercial. Just my luck.

3:23 - Red Flag is out! It is at this point where everything completely changes in the race. The pace, the broadcasting booth, the teams, and most importantly, my attitude. A decent sized piece of asphalt has been displaced from the track and therefore the race has come to a halt. It's a healthy pothole around the one corner of the track. The broadcast team says that they just have to fill it with concrete and it will be about 10-12 minutes before racing begins. I thought it would take much longer. I was right. Anyone who complains about sitting through baseball instant replays should have to sit through this.

I then learn that the track hasn't been repaved since August 1978. Are you kidding me? I understand you want heritage and tradition, but I can't believe during the past 30 years there haven’t been improvements in pavement to make the track better so stupid stuff like this doesn't happen. Maybe they just want to keep Dale Earnhardt's blood stains there forever.

3:24 - I'm much happier. I flip to the Penguins game and I lucked out because overtime is just about to begin. Ten to twelve minute break is no problem anymore since I get to watch the Pens play the Predators in OT.

3:30 - The Pens get a 4 on 3 power play in OT due to a holding penalty. They have to win now.

3:40 - The shootout ends abruptly after the Pens miss two straight shootout shots and Nashville makes both of theirs. Back to NASCAR.

3:45 - Still no racing.

3:52 - The third and still horrible Sons of Tucson commercial.

3:55 - Racers are finally allowed to leave their car to grab a bite to eat or take a piss break. They had to sit in their car the whole time before that. This pothole could still be awhile.

4:23 - An hour later and still no racing! I'm losing my patience with this sport.

4:41 - The broadcasters don't have much to talk about so they're interviewing any racer they can. We get a nice interview about the Speed Channel.

4:42 - A Larry the Cable Guy sighting.

4:53 - I flipped on the USA Women's Hockey game versus China. The score was 9-0 USA. There really needs to be a mercy rule for any Asian hockey teams.

5:04 - Cars finally begin to move again after a 1 hour and 41 minute delay. At least when there are rain delays in baseball we get to watch Mark Buhrle slip and slide across the tarp. This was just unbearable.

5:07 Lap 122 finally begins.

5:09 - The second "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity" is spoken by Darrell Waltrip. Maybe the delay was worth it!

5:17 - The announcers tried to take any positives they could out of the delay. They said that because the track heated up now that this would be an entire different race with cars racing three lanes at a time and speeds would increase. Speeds didn't increase and there never were three lanes of cars.

5:24 - First fire of the day and fifth caution due to #43 A.J. Allmendinger having some car problems. I love going by car numbers, but even the racers call everyone by their number.

5:34 - 50 laps to go! The race really should be over by now.

5:42 - Sixth caution. I was thinking, wouldn't it be a great idea if Google just sponsored every single race car? They could basically purchase the whole sport. Plus if you see any interview with a race car driver the first words out of their mouth is their sponsor’s name. Anytime they would be asked a question they could just respond with Google It.

5:49 - Please God NO! The pothole is back and worse than ever. More and more pieces around it eroded it. This is where I really get pissed. We hear from the broadcasters that this time they're going with a different option that dries much faster and is a very durable epoxy. Why wouldn't you do that in the first place? Completely idiotic. This better not last long.

6:20 - Fourth Sons of Tucson commercial. I think the show has been canceled already.

6:34 - Drivers are in their cars and getting ready to move again.

6:36 - The race is back on with the normal caution to begin with.

6:38 - Every single driver pits, except for one. The badass who didn't is named Scott Speed. If there's going to be the one tough guy during a race I'm glad his name is Scott Speed.

6:44 - The caution is about to end and it immediately goes back up due to debris on the course. This is more of an ordeal then I could have ever dreamed of.

6:47 - Race finally begins again without a caution and there are about 33 laps to go.

6:53 - There are 25 laps to go and Scott Speed is still in the lead!

6:56 - We have to have another commercial break with 20 laps left.

7:00 - Jimmie Johnson, the racer I wanted to win, blows a tire thanks to that sweet epoxy pothole and he's done for the day.

7:03 - Darrell starts getting really excited about Kevin Harvick.  He yells out a "That car is crazy fast!" and proclaims him the fastest car on the track.  He wasn't even in first place.

7:05 - 10 laps to go!  The end is in sight.  I think.

7:07 - 7th caution of the day/night.  Ryan Newman just destroyed his car with about six laps to go.

7:16 - Due to the wreck the caution has been out and we only have two lefts to go. I learned that NASCAR has installed some new rule that makes it so that with two laps left there is a green flag, then with one a white flag, and then the checkered. If there is an accident before the white flag then it restarts to the same rotation again for up to three times.

7:17- 8th Caution. Did I expect it not to happen?  The rule is fully on display as Bill Elliot takes out Joey Logano.

7:22 - Breaking news!  A deal has been cut between Jamie McMurray & Kevin Harvick so that McMurray will draft behind Harvick and push him towards the lead. I didn't know there were so many politics between teams. This deal stuff just seems a little shady and unfair. Not sure if I like it.

7:24 - The green flag is back up. 2 laps to go. The best move of the day came here. The deal paid off and Harvick jumps to first.

7:24 - Harvick is in first for about 20 seconds and then caution number 9 is out!  Sucks for him. Jeff Gordon decided to bump Kasey Kahne a couple times and he flew off the track into the grass.

7:31 - The final green, white, checkered flag sequence will finally happen!

7:32 - We finally reach a white flag. Last lap!

7:33 - Waltrip really wants Dale Jr. to win. Jr. jumps from 10th to 2nd. I think it was all from the encouragement he got from Waltrip yelling "Look out Jr., Come on Jr. Come on!"

7:33 - Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500!  I have officially witnessed an entire NASCAR race that lasted 6 hours and 15 minutes

I just witnessed my first NASCAR race and I spent over seven hours doing so. I can't remember the last time I spent seven hours doing anything from start to finish. It was a wild ride for sure. I learned a lot from the day; probably more then I'd like to learn. I learned that I can stick to a commitment even when things change unexpectedly. I found out many new interesting things about NASCAR that I never knew before and I realized that you never know what to expect during a race. I don't know how anyone could gamble on this sport.

Most importantly, I learned that I will never watch a NASCAR race again; from start to finish. I don't know how anyone does it. I know people say they only need to watch the end of the game for baseball and I totally disagree with them, but in racing it seems like you only need to watch towards the end. There are no home runs or web gems that can change the outcome of the game early on. In racing it doesn't matter at all if you have the lead. I guess the wrecks are cool and those people are out of the race so it's good to know who's left, but it's not like any moment in the first 150 laps meant anything significant. If you don't wreck and stay with the pack until the end then you have a shot to win. I can see watching the end of races and paying attention to standings throughout the year, but that's about it.

I gave it a shot though. I really wanted to love NASCAR. I didn't find the thing that other NASCAR fans love. Instead I did enjoy the sport and respect what these drivers and teams do. I'll probably pay attention to the standings and flip to the event each week from now on. I enjoyed it at times, but not enough to become a fan. Maybe loving a new sport is much tougher then I thought. Maybe I just have to take baby steps. I've never tried to love a new sport before; most people have never attempted it either.

I'm happy I did it though and I'm still waiting for that good Tracy Morgan movie answer.