Today's spanning all of North America edition of The Sporting Muse, with brief stops in Scotland and Venezuela: When the Indy 500 revs its engines on Sunday, rooting interests here will be limited to a few: Dario Franchitti, Danica Patrick, Scott Dixon, Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno. Everyone knows Danica Patrick, the IRL driver who led the 2005 Indy 500 and finished fourth, breaking barriers for female athletes in numerous sports. She finished eight last year and has had two top ten finishes in four races in 2007, with a best of seventh.
Her career has reached the point where people now have stopped talking about her gender and focused on when she will start hitting the podiums and win her first IRL race. Now that she's part of Andretti Racing, it appears to be a matter of time. This year, she will be just one of three women drivers in the 33-car field, sharing the lineup with veteran Sarah Fisher and newcomer Milka Duno, who if she shows any talent this weekend will become a sensation in the sport.
That's because she's from Venezuela, has four master's degrees in various maritime fields, and is a Naval engineer in her home country. Oh, and she's also model-hot, and with South America
There will be cheers for Scott Dixon because he's a veteran of the old CART series, and for Franchitti, another former CART stat. The Italian who was born and raised in Scotland and has won several major trophies, including six CART races, the Indy 500 in 2001 and 2002, and Ashley Judd. No disrespect is meant for Ms.
Judd. She's much more than a trophy wife. She's a fine actress, Dario's wife and my favorite female sports fan.
I root for Kentucky to reach the Final Four every year knowing the CBS cameras will spend ample time watching Ashley root for her Wildcats. I'm all about the Girl Power. He's popular here and he's now headed to his second Stanley Cup final, but Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere remains a secret to much of the sports world and in pockets of the NHL.
In the last two seasons, the Montreal born netminder is 66-25 with a goals against average of 2.42. His career playoff record is 27-12.
He was 15-6 with a 1.62 GAA while being MVP of the playoffs as the Ducks lost the finals in seven games to New Jersey. This year, he's 9-3 with a 1.
87 record, and a Duck Cup win could net him his second MVP trophy. It's interesting to note that Giguere was just 8-14-2 in his first three seasons while playing intermittently for Hartford and Calgary before arriving in Anaheim. He had a sub-.
500 record his first two seasons in Anaheim but turned a corner in that second season (2002) when he posted a 2.13 GAA. The Ducks' three biggest advantages as they prepare for the Cup are: 1, Giguere, whose opposite is sophomore goalie Ray Emery.
2, the Ducks have a considerable size advantage, starting with the human wing, 6-6 Chris Pringer. 3, home-ice advantage. Ottawa is from the same expansion era as the Ducks but the city has a much longer history in hockey than the lifespan of these Senators.
The Ottawa Generals were the first organized hockey club in Canada, in 1884, and the team helped found the Amateur Hockey Assn. Ottawa was in the first "finals" that was a precursor to the Stanley Cup, in 1894 against Montreal. The Ottawa team, now renamed the Senators, won the 1910 Cup as a "pro" team competing against amateur clubs.
From then on, the Cup was played between professional teams. The Senators won the Cup in 1911 and the league was renamed the NHL for the 1917-18 season. Ottawa won the Cup in 1920, 1921, 1923 and 1927, which was always well received since Lord Stanley himself lived in Ottawa.
The franchise began having financial troubles in the late '20s, suspended operations for a year and then was sold to a group in St. Louis, where they played for a year before folding. There briefly were two World Hockey Assn.
franchises in Ottawa, but neither lasted very long. Ottawa is in Toronto, but the team has a sizeable following in Quebec, which is just across the Ottawa River. The city is actually closer to Montreal than it is Toronto.
It's usually fun to hear what the mayors of various cities bet when their teams meet for a major title, but Anaheim and Ottawa failed the creativity tests. The Big Ticket item in the wager is a large ..
. paperweight? The loser will display the winner-adorned paperweight in civic offices.
Eh? I realize basketball fans will never buy it, but the Stanley Cup finals will be a lot more entertaining than the NBA Finals if the NBA showcase event is another match between the boring San Antonio Spurs and grinding Detroit Pistons.
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