Today was draft day. Yesterday I drew the order and did a lot better than last week, but I wasn't too thrilled with picking 6th in the first round. Really wanted to be top 5 for this one, but I targeted Denny Hamlin and no matter what happened I was going to take him 6th, which would shock most of the competitors. One problem though. Butch took Biffle number 3 and Kyle Busch actually fell to me. DAMN, what to do. I looked at the next few people who would be picking and decided to stick to my gameplan. I picked number 2 in round 2 and actually had Mark Martin fall to me, so nabbed him I did. Third pick in the third round for me and I took Clint Bowyer. All three drivers have won here before and I stand a decent chance at a pole. We shall see. My closest competitor Caesar had some bad positions to draft from, but as I showed last week, you do the best with what you've got.

Well, after having almost THE worst draft position a player can have, I managed to scrape out a VERY respectable 15 points, which was second best on the day. I've increased my lead, so I can't really complain.

Bill 183
Caesar 249
Butch 271
McCall 287
Steven 333
Jimmy 336
Lisa 367
Joaney 389

Oh yeah! Vickers is on the pole, so I'll take that -5! Not a bad start for the guy having the worst draft position!

Standings after Michigan:

Bill 168
Caesar 218
Butch 249
McCall 272
Jimmy 320
Steven 341
Lisa 349
Joaney 349

I'm hoping for some better organization in the weeks to come. Most weeks, I don't even know the picking order until I get the phone call Tuesday evening. Doc and Smurf are the ringleaders/money holders of this shindig and Caesar, McCall and myself would like things to be more streamlined than they usually are. Sometimes other people can't be reached so the "draft" can be done quickly and it pisses me off. It's a game, but there's a lot of money on the line, ya know? So anyway, I find out Tuesday morning that my draft order is 8, 8 and 7. Are you fucking KIDDING me?? That is almost as BAD as it can possibly get. Talk about changing up a draft strategy. I guess my strategy was going to have to be prayer. I pooled up my driver list and broke it down into three rounds based on when I would pick people. I actually had Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jr in the third round. I've had Dale Jr in the third round pretty much every week since Week 3 except for Talladega. I've yet to pick him this year, actually. Anyway, someone took Jimmie in the first round like I figured they would. Since I was last in the first and wouldn't pick again til last in the second, I had to reach, sorta. I took Juan Pablo in the first. When my second choice came around, I took Kevin Harvick. I've had Harvick as a third round talent for several weeks now as RCR can't seem to get out of their own way most weeks. Harvick over the years has become a pretty decent road course guy and picking #16, you want someone who's got more than enough potential to finish better than that number and I feel Harvick will be top 10 this week. Last round time and Brian Vickers was still sitting there. I'm pick #23 and I feel like Vickers is a top 15 guy at a road course race. I failed to mention in the first blog that out of the three drivers we select, we only get points for the top 2. We do however get laps lead credits for all three, but our worst finishing driver does not count against us. I could have taken Ron Fellows at this point as he has top 10 potential, but I couldn't afford to pick someone who might not qualify. While my third worst wouldn't count against me, I would score points based ONLY on two drivers and that's not a sound strategy. Someone actually took Boris Said, so it should be interesting. Here's to hoping Juan, Harvick or Vickers gets the pole!

Most weeks, I don't get to pick very high in the first round. My second round is usually pretty good and the third is generally thought of as finding someone who could make a pole run. Last week though, I got first pick and talk about some pressure. I took Carl Edwards because of how well he runs at Michigan. I also took David Reuttimann in the second round and took David Ragan in the third round. I ended up middle of the pack on the day with 17 points, but Caesar had 36 points so my lead over him expanded to 50 points. I'm now the only competitor under 200 points. Next up is a road course and a few of my competitors will probably not be as prepared as I "think" I'm going to be. Most of us know that some of the better drivers are not good picks for the road courses. I was hoping for a top 3 pick in the first round this week, but we'll see how the luck of the draw goes.

Thanks for the good read Ken. A lot of drivers are criticized for certain things, but when it is all said and done, they are risking their lives for our entertainment and to do something they love, and they deserve respect.

Pittsburgh should be rockin' tomorrow night.
A great series, I hate to see it and the season end.
Now all I'll have to watch is Harvick and his 25th place finishes.

ken -

our whole family - me, my wife donna, our kids -rachel, marcy and whitney, our cats, our foster cats and kittens and our german shepard dog - bailey are all praying for you and your family this evening

we lit a candle for your "best buddy" tonight here in boston

just a thought....if you would like to you could start a fund i his name at a rescue league in your area, i am more then sure that people would donate to the rescue shelter or shelters that you choose, then not only would your memories live on but everyone would know that even after all the love he brought to you and your family, he would forever be helping out other animals.

our hearts go out to you and your family, we lost a beloved pet to this last year, ours was unexpected...please know that in your heart you did do the right thing for him, the yelp could just havebeen a reflex response to his ongoing pain, NOTHING that you did would have caused him pain, and you chose to be there with him too

hang in here and tell us some of the funny stories from your life with him

stubaby and family

My friend,
a long story but i am willing to share this with you.
20 years ago, my son brought home alittle springer spaniel and we named her Brittany. We only had her for a couple of monthsbefore she died of Provo. She died at the vets and my son didnot see the pain our puppy went thru with that horrendous disease. I had to go home and tell my four year old son his puppy had died.
I cuahgt him up on my lap and told him that the most amazing thing had happened. While i was visiting Brittany, God cam down in a big ol' helicopter. He asked me if he could take Brittany in the helicopter back to heaven because he had a little boy who needed a puppy there and would i mind if he took Brittany home to that little boy.God said we could have her back when we got to Heaven and i said yes. So God took Brittany in the great big helicopter and Brittany is keeping the little boy company until we get there. Greg's big eyes looked at me, full of tears and he said, A big Helicopter, mommy? Yup, little man, abig one. He cried a little minute and said its ok mommy,Im glad God needed her.
12 Years later when my husband, my soulmate, died, i was devastated, sitting in the kitchen, crying day after day. One night my son sat down at my table. and "Don't cry anymore Mom. Guess what i saw. I saw God come down in a great big golden Helicopter, and he took Ricky to Heaven. God said he needed Ricky to build a house for us for when we get there to be with him and Brittany.
Love ya, ffighter....

Ken I grew up with a Lab/German Shepard mix and she was exactly as you described. You did the right thing for him though. Whatever pain he felt didn't compare to the pain he felt when he was trying to go to the bathroom and couldn't stand back up. Give it some time and get a new puppy because it only makes the memories more special.

I know how you feel. I have a rather tragic story too. My step dad had a dog for several years. I remember when she was just a puppy. When I was 17 I was leaving my home one day and didnt check behind my car. As I backed up I ran over her but there wasnt any blood. I believe she was about 15 or more years old. I went to tell my step dad what happened and he just said that it was okay because he was considering having her put to sleep anyway because of old age. she seemed to be hard of hearing and was going blind and was just so miserable all the time. I felt so horrible for running over her.