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Hill cites a ratings bump among 35-54 year-old males: “Dad’s back watching NASCAR, so the family’s back watching.”
And after Fox this season debuted a cartoon character — a gopher — on its races, viewers will see another animated character when TNT starts its NASCAR coverage Sunday. TNT’s “NASCAR Buddy” who’ll pop up onscreen to direct viewers to online race coverage that includes continuous camera shots focused on specific drivers or spots on the track, like pit row.
Post-NASCAR, Fox’s Hill is “absolutely keenly interested” in Olympic TV bidding — the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia are the next available — that could come this fall: “There’s great caviar around the Black Sea. I’m a huge fan of caviar — on Russia potato blintzes its fabulous!”
But Hill says Fox isn’t psyched about mixed martial arts, which made its broadcast network debut on CBS Saturday: “What’s totally abhorrent about it — I’ve said this to the people running it — is that one guy will be down and the other can keep hitting him.”
Inside the NFL, which HBO aired since 1977 until recently dropping it, will be resurrected on CBS-owned Showtime starting Sept. 10. …Timed to the first Monday of NBC’s Beijing Olympics — Aug. 11 — ESPN will debut its live morning SportsCenter shows, giving ESPN 45 more live TV hours each week. Tuesday, ESPN confirmed a report by TheBigLead.com that Josh Elliot, an ex-Sports Illustrated writer turned TV anchor, will team with Hannah Storm, coming from CBS, in the marquee 9-noon a.m. ET SportsCenter slot. … Another Celtics-Lakers nostalgia play: ABC adds Magic Johnson to its NBA Finals Game 1 pregame show and Bill Russell for Game 2.
Dreams really did come true at Disney with ABC’s Celts-Lakers Finals. ABC averaged 6.2% of U.S. households — an all-time ratings low — for last year’s Finals when San Antonio swept Cleveland. This year, ABC could top its best Finals — 11.5% for Detroit’s five-game win over the Lakers in 2004 — but likely won’t come close to the record 18.7% for NBC’s 1998 Chicago-Utah Finals. … NBC drew 3.8% of U.S. households for the NHL Stanley Cup Game 5, up 111% from last year’s Game 5. NBC’s Game 4 Saturday drew 2.3 opposite CBS’ MMA — which drew 3%.

usatoday.com

And thus we approach the end of another Philly Week. Tomorrow will see an impressive array of domestic and international pros on the streets of Philadelphia. Oh, and there will be a couple of bike races, too. The Liberty Classic is the last race in Philly Week for the pro women and the last race for the men is known as the Philadelphia International Championship.
The Men’s Pro Race
The men will race on a 14.4-mile circuit along the Schuykill River for ten laps. That means 10 climbs up the Manayunk Wall, which reaches grades of 17%. They will then finish with three smaller laps around Lemon Hill and Logan Circle, in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (those of you who enjoy yelling “Sella!” will be inspired with another name here, I am sure). This brings us a total of 156 miles of racing. It’ll bring successful racers the glory of a Philly Week win and a piece of the $55,250 purse. The start is listed for 9am, and the race is expected to finish somewhere around 2:30pm. Men’s start list is here .
The Women’s Pro Race
The pro women will race four laps of the same 14.4 mile circuit that the men do. Starting at 9:10am, they’ll push hard until 11:30 or so for a total of 57.6 mles. The women’s purse is $25,000. Women’s start list is here.
Factors on the Course
The course is a relatively flat and fast circuit with one serious bump in the middle - that Manayunk Wall. And really, it’s just a bump - not even a 250 foot elevation gain. Except that elevation gain happens in a lot less feet than you’d like, if you were riding it.The Wall isn’t so much an opportunity for climbers (again, it’s a very short part of the course) as a weapon for riders who are feeling strong to use against those that are with them, bludgeoning their competitors with it on each lap until they pop.

podiumcafe.com

KAHULUI, Hawaii — The first admonishment comes almost immediately after the Boeing 767 touches down, and flight attendants announce that cell phone use is once again permitted. The response is almost unconscious — you reach down, switch on the BlackBerry, and begin scanning the e-mails you’ve missed while spending the last five hours in the air. That is, until this seemingly innocuous action evokes a shrill exclamation from the next seat.
"Hey!" she says upon sight of the silver-colored, work-related device that she’s come to loathe. "Put that away. No NASCAR, remember? You promised."
Did I promise? I guess I did. After all, getting married makes a guy do strange things. But then again, there’s no better place in America to get away from NASCAR than Hawaii, a state with no asphalt oval tracks and no stock-car racing on the radio, even in a rental car with MRN on the license plate. Over eight days, the Missus and I drove every inch of paved coastal road the island of Maui had to offer. We covered the place from Kapalua to Hana to Wailea to Lahaina. We climbed mountains and dove under water. And I can count the times I saw anything remotely NASCAR-related on one poi-covered hand.
Things seemed promising enough. Passing through the town of Kihei on the way to our hotel on Maui’s south coast, we spotted a NHRA-sanctioned drag strip. Like Southern California, there are a lot of kids buzzing around in souped-up imports, Nissans and Scions with added rear wings or oversized exhaust pipes. Judging from the way the locals drive, people here like to go fast, even on a winding one-lane mountain road with no guardrail. But when it comes to NASCAR, this is the final frontier. Rear windshields here bear not 88 decals, but stickers saying "Save Honolua Bay." Forget Mexico and Canada. Brian France needs to work on Hawaii.

nascar.com

THE RED Bull Air Race World Series 2008 commences in Abu Dhabi today with the hospitality areas doors opening at 12.00 which you must purchase tickets for. Wherever you are viewing today’s qualifying, the ticketed areas or on the Corniche, you are in for a treat. At 1pm side acts including air performances from renowned athletes and flying squads will entertain the crowd. Skydivers, helicopter aerobatic teams as well as many more acts are set dazzle and astound. Qualifying begins at 2pm for the pilots taking to the skies for this year’s tournament. This is the fourth successive year that Abu Dhabi has held a Red Bull Air Race (the actual race being tomorrow) and this year promises to be the best yet. Under the patronage of Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan and in close partnership with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority the Corniche will accommodate an estimated 250,000 spectators all marvelling at the ultimate racing challenge.
The Red Bull Air Race is a series of ten two-day events held at different locations around the world. Fantastically powerful aircraft, piloted by a selection of the most gifted aerobatic flyers in the world race around 5km track set out by inflatable pylons or ‘Air Gates.’ Competitors must fly through the Air Gates in a predetermined order and fashion. There are strict rules on how the planes must fly through the Air Gates giving the crowd the opportunity to see world-class aerobatics as well as speed. This year twelve pilots will be competing to take the crown from last year’s champion Mike Mangold from the USA. The first day (today) will see two rounds of qualifying followed by results determining the pilots’ positions tomorrow. Each pilot will fly twice with their better time taken as their qualifying time. The pilots who qualify 9th to 12th will be out of the main competition and will be vying for one point in the ‘Point One’ stage on race day. ‘Point One’ is where the four slowest pilots have a chance to get in the scoring by winning a tournament between themselves and thus coming 9th overall. The pilot to complete the course in the slowest time will also go first on race day.

khaleejtimes.com

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Stumping through Oregon on behalf of his wife’s candidacy, former President Bill Clinton promised the state’s voters Monday that the contest would continue through their May 20 primary.
"The way Oregon votes may determine who the Democratic nominee is going to be," Clinton told about 150 cheering senior citizens at a community center on Portland’s fringes. "It’s a big test for Democrats this year, whether everyone will get a chance to vote, and every vote will be counted."
Clinton’s two-day visit included stops in Medford, Salem and Bend and came on the heels of a sweep down the Willamette Valley by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who is challenging New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination.
Hillary Clinton herself is expected to campaign in Oregon soon, members of her steering committee said Monday, perhaps as early as next week.
In recent days, calls for Hillary Clinton to drop out intensified, as prominent Democrats worried that the Clinton-Obama contest could go all the way to the party’s convention in August, leaving the nominee only nine weeks to focus on the general election and Republican Sen. John McCain.
But the voters who swarmed the former president after his Oregon speeches, asking him to autograph everything from their driver’s licenses to yellowing posters from a 1992 appearance he made in Portland, said such calls are premature.
"Just try to take the voters away from her," sniffed Norma Schacher, 85, a retiree who came to the East Portland Community Center to hear Bill Clinton. "It will never work."
Clinton picked up the theme again during an afternoon speech at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, urging the crowd to ignore those who claim Obama has the nomination sewn up
"Don’t you believe she can’t win the nomination … because she will," Clinton said. Then, in a thinly-veiled reference to his wife’s competitor, he added: "Some people do great talks, some people take action. That’s what you want a president to do: make something good happen for America."

katu.com

Children should swear an oath of allegiance to enhance a shared sense of citizenship, ministers propose. Readers have suggested their own wording for a very British oath - some serious and some not.
I make a personal pledge to respect my fellow citizens, regardless of race, gender, or religion, and to uphold the laws of Great Britain. In so doing I acknowledge my personal responsibility to contribute to the country I have chosen to call my own.
Come on Tim.
I swear to uphold the sovereignty and security of this United Kingdom. I shall endeavour to be mindful of the actions of others and be ever vigilant against those who would do us harm. I accept these obligations and responsibilities as a member of this sovereign nation, which I do affirm and swear to be a true and honest statement. As a citizen of the United Kingdom I shall behave honourably and do no wrong, knowing full well the consequences of such actions. I swear this oath. I shall abide by the rules and laws of state, and accept full responsibility for my actions, and inactions. For England and St George.
On my honour,
I promise that I will do my best,

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State Sen. Jack Scott will strap on his bicycling shoes and his helmet Feb. 24 for the final leg of the Amgen Tour of California, a spokesperson for the senator said today.
Scott, D-Pasadena, and Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard — both septuagenarians — will bike the final leg of the race from Milllcreek Summit on Mt. Wilson, 30 miles along the official race route to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, officials said.
Bicycle treks are nothing new to 74-year-old Scott who chairs the Senate Education Committee; he and his wife Lacreta Scott biked 50 miles for their 50th wedding anniversary. And the Senator joined First Lady Maria Shriver in 2006 in a 60-mile ride along the California coast to support Best Buddies charity.
The cyclists will take off on the Tour of California race route Sunday morning and cross the finish line in the Rose Bowl around noon just ahead of the professional riders.
The tour began Feb. 17 in Palo Alto and concludes Feb. 24 in Pasadena.

pasadenanow.com