FanHouse Washington

This is a pretty random opener so bear with me. I was browsing deeply through Wikipedia last week and ended up on the page for the year 2012. Sounds like it'll be a good time (presidential election, London Olympics, end of the world according to the Mayan calendar and two key dam removals in the U.S.). So let's assume the world doesn't end, what's the next most exciting prospect for the not-too-distant future? Olympics? Yawn. Politics? I'm still overdosing from this year.

If you guessed dam removal, then get excited, because you're right. Why is knocking down a concrete wall something worth celebrating? Because a lot of dams in the U.S. do nothing but wreak havoc on the upstream ecosystems, starting with the fishing and trickling down (or upstream in this case) all the way to tree growth.

The two dams slated for destruction are the Glines Canyon and Elwha dams, both on the Elwha River in northwest Washington. They were built in the early part of last century and didn't have any facilities to help fish swim upstream. Those fish were migratory salmon who were cut off from their spawning grounds. No place to get it on meant no eggs in the stream and no returning salmon. And after a salmon lays eggs it dies. The decaying carcasses would add nutrients to the riverbank soil, improving the health of trees and forest vegetation.

The benefits list of dam removal goes on and on, so click on over to read about them.

So yesterday, I harped on NASCAR's -- err, I mean ISC's -- plan to drop the current Washington track idea. And today, I've got more food for thought on the future of NASCAR.

The Roanoke Times said today that NASCAR has finally admitted that the sport's growth spurt has leveled. They use the term "stagnant", and I use the term "duh".

Which part of the fact that TV ratings have been down for over a year didn't tell that story last season? Wasn't it NASCAR CEO Mr. Brian France who said last year that "we're not too concerned about it and frankly expected it" when asked about dwindling TV ratings? Is that why ISC's stock price has dropped -- an expected leveling of fans?

Honestly, I'm doubting its a leveling of ratings as fans, but rather a loss of old die-hards and gaining of a few with an interest as to what NASCAR is all about.

I still remember the good ol' days. You know, the ones where Darlington still had a Southern 500 and California was only a road course and some other track for two total dates a year. New York City was the place for a banquet and Rockingham wasn't just a place to test. Know what's different about then (yes, that was less than five years ago) and now?

International Speedway Corporation, the track company that is a sister to NASCAR, finally -- and I mean finally -- dropped their plan to build a speedway in Washington state this year.

And it took this long?

Now before I get all the comments about how there are NASCAR fans in the Seattle and Northwest region, I know that. I know there are NASCAR racing fans all over the country. And props to you folks.

But this idea has been a failure for months now. Remember the insinuation by the Washington state Speaker of the House that Richard Petty (yeah, that guy that owns the race team that doesn't allow alcohol sponsorships) has a had a DUI? Dude ate crow for that one.

I won't even get into amazing comments made by State Rep. Larry Seaquist that NASCAR fans "aren't the kind of people you would want living next door to you". (Note: Seaquist did apologize and said he was referring the NASCAR as a company, not the fan base. I still don't buy or understand that explanation)

Even aside from the legislative hating on NASCAR racing, this plan just doesn't make sense to me. California Speedway can't sell out and it has two dates, but a track in the Northwest would? L.A. already proved "location, location, location" isn't a good marketing tool for NASCAR, but apparently ISC thought that building a track an hour and a half away from Seattle (yeah, it's smaller than that SoCal population) would be a tremendous enterprise.

As a NASCAR fan from the mid-west, I realize that I've got it pretty good with plenty of options to see a race. But you know, its almost a slap in the face to fans in the South and East that have built this sport to be building tracks and trying to get the sport away from them. There really is something about going to a NASCAR race in Charlotte and seeing how virtually the whole city is wrapped in the excitement.

Does NASCAR get that in Los Angeles? What about at Vegas? I couldn't tell you for sure, but I'd imagine it's not the talk of the town.

I'm glad NASCAR and ISC lost this battle in the Pacific Northwest. I've always been a firm believer that you should never pull your roots -- and apparently that is at odds with Brian France and the rest of the Daytona posse. Apologies to all of you loyal fans in the Northwest, but right now is just not the time for this sport to expand into Washington, much less anywhere else.

In the town named after our first president, the new Nationals park is set to include a floral homage to Washington in its outfield, the first park of its kind to do so:

Come April 2008, Ryan Zimmerman might become the first player in major league history to hit a home run into a cherry tree.

A grove of cherry blossoms behind the left field bleachers is one of the latest additions to the plans of the Washington Nationals stadium.

"We couldn't find another ballpark that had trees in the ballpark," team president Stan Kasten said Tuesday at the launch of a campaign to sell luxury suites.

Kasten said construction of the 41,000-seat ballpark remains on schedule for completion by Opening Day next year. The outline has taken shape, with the steel and concrete frame of the upper deck rising above the site along the Anacostia River.

That sounds like a pretty picture - after all, that picture of cherry blossoms in New York City is mighty purdy - even if the stadium's name is likely to be taken by the highest corporate bidder in the future.

The park will also include "Oval Office Bar" and the various suites will be named after notable presidents Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, et al. Get it? Because it's in the capitol.

The Washington Redskins last year should have had at least one playoff game at FedEx Field. They got the wild card slot behind the New York Giants, but a handful of events led to that. First was the fact that the Giants had nine home games last year. Well, technically the Monday Night game against the New Orleans Saints was an away game in the New York market, but I don't see anyone else's away games being played in their backyard.

Then of course there were the key plays the Redskins could control, such as LaDanian Tomlinson's Rigginesque overtime run over safety Ryan Clark en route the winning score. And the second half meltdown against the Kerry Collins led Oakland Raiders. And then there's the games agains the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs that went down to the last play.

But one key moment was the false two point conversion by Mike Alstott against the Tamp Bay Buccaneers. Yeah, the Redskins did have consecutive penalities on a PAT attempt that put the ball virtually in the endzone, but Alstott did not cross the goal line. But it is what it is. You can't deny that Alstott is a beast when it comes to those type of short yardage plays.

The Redskins, though, just may have the same type of bully in their backfields this year as well.