Making up for lost time….the Blogandt supercomputer is back in business, and like a printer with some old jobs left in the dock, here are a few overdue Nouns of the Week.
And for those of you just joining us, the Blogandt Noun of the Week covers the person. place or thing that seems to get the most attention in our world each week. Who decides? I do, because I’m the decider. Oh how I miss that term already.
And now, some of the overdue nouns of the week:
May 17- 23:
Chad Reed: All of a sudden, the guy decides he’s racing the Lucas Oils AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Now that’s buzz worthy.
May 24 – 30: Justin Barcia: All anyone could talk about after Glen Helen’s series’ opener was Barcia, Barcia, Barcia, the rookie who literally set the world on fire in the 250 class. Wait, did I just say literally? Okay, Justin didn’t actually take a torch to the whole planet and engulf the entire world in flames. That’s just a figure of speech. What he did do was lead more laps than anyone all day, and improve dramatically from the first moto to the second, to the point where he nearly won the second moto. The idea that Barcia could get tired leading moto one, and then actually come back stronger in moto two looked strange, but to me, it was much like Mike Alessi’s Lites class debut at Hangtown in 2005. Mike (of course) holeshot moto one, led for a bit and got gobbled up, but then came back to lead every single lap of the second moto—until the last darned corner of the race, when Grant Langston jammed to the inside and ripped Mike and his own ankle. The kids learn fast, and after Hangtown ’05, even the Alessi-haters were left saying “uh, if he learns that fast, Mike could win the title this year.” Then Mike won the very next race at High Point and…five years later is still looking for his first title, oddly.
As for Barcia, with that kind of speed, it looks inevitable that he will win races very very soon. Like the #800’s title drought, I’m kind of surprised it hasn’t happened already.
May 31 – June 6: Josh Grant: JG didn’t win the overall at round two at Hangtown, in fact he didn’t even win the second moto when all was said and done. He did hold off Alessi for a dramatic moto win live on SPEED, but the win was later taken away when it was discovered that he jumped a double after going past the new yellow and red “no doubles” flag. Sadly, we were on a commercial break from TV when this happened, and I was watching the screen, saw him jump, and said “uh, hey guys, can we get a replay of that? I think Josh just jumped under the no-jump flag.” And indeed we had the replay, and indeed the replay was watched, and indeed Josh got penalized. Sorry man! Regardless of the real result, JG left Hangtown feeling like he could beat anyone—especially after odds-on title favorite Ryan Villopoto dropped from the series with a knee injury. RV’s decision to call it a season was announced via the happiest heartbreaking interview in the history of television, as he smiled when saying he was done. That ignited a slew of “now who will win the title” discussions, of which Josh Grant was a favorite for many. And that penalty got some buzz going, too.
June 7 – 13: Mike Alessi: With RV out, Mikee boy seizes control of the 450 Motocross Championship with two dominant motos in Texas. This was the Mike Alessi we expected to see starting with his strong performance at Hangtown in 2005—but until this performance in Texas, Mike’s dominant amateur performances had never quite transitioned to the pro ranks. And while the Alessi gang has been prone to creating to drama where there shouldn’t be any, this time Mike’s old rivals Villopoto and Millsaps were gone, James Stewart wasn’t racing, and Chad Reed was struggling. Mike was even heading East a few days early to get a leg up on the competition. What could possibly go wrong?
June 14 – 20 Chad Reed: After Mike got posted at High Point, breaking his knee cap, Reed was there to take advantage of the mistake in, well, classic Chad Reed fashion. His saying “you’ve got to be in it to win it” is not just lip service. Notice how often simply getting through the races results in Chad becoming a major contender. And at High Point, Reed even grabs a holeshot, which he has struggled to do ever since getting on Suzukis, and overwhelms the Honda duo of Ivan Tedesco and Andrew Short to win the race. Shorty and Tedesco were close, but you get the feeling that Chad is thinking “Okay, Stewart, Villopoto and Alessi are out….I’m not gonna get beat by the rest of these guys.”
Chad’s 1-1 performance marks the longest stretch in AMA Motocross history between first and second career wins (seven years, dating back to High Point in 2002). It also comes a week after AMA road racer Larry Pegram wins his second career race ten years after his first, which is pretty ironic because Reedy would have held the all-time AMA first-to-second-win drought record if Pegram hadn’t set a new one a week earlier.
June 21-27: Mike Alessi: Are you kidding me? Alessi is going to come back and race Colorado three weeks after breaking his knee cap? It’s crazy because Reed is obviously ready to dominate the series, and plus, what if Mike were to run into someone and crash on that knee….????
June 28 – July 4 Ivan Tedesco: And now Alessi’s knee is busted again, which many feared, but surely no one expected Reed to come out and go 3-7 while Tedesco cleaned house in Colorado. Heck, Chad should have been right at home at the night race, he even said in a pre-race TV interview that the crowd will be “more intense, and more relaxed.” That’s the ultimate combination right there! So instead of delivering the knock-out blow, Reed let’s the red riders get some confidence going. Obviously, the man is struggling with whatever this stomach ailment is. Honestly, at this point Chad’s stomach is overdue to be noun of the week itself, because its condition may ultimately decide this championship.
