Knucklehead of the week
Some sports traditions are getting old, such as the Gatorade dump on clueless coaches. Another one: golfers jumping into lakes. The latest awkward plunge came from Thomas Levet, who won the French Open last week. (I thought that was a tennis tournament; who knew?) Levet celebrated by jumping into a pond at Le Golf National. One problem: The pond was about as deep as a kiddie pool and Levet broke his shin, losing his spot in the British Open.
NASCAR’s best duked it out at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night. It was an impressive display of speed and paint jobs. Now if they can just do something about Kyle Busch. That guy is everywhere. Did he really have to get the parade grand marshal treatment before the race?
Fired up: Have you ever gone to a minor-league baseball game in another city? Try it sometime. It will make you appreciate what the Dayton Dragons have pulled off since setting up shop downtown in 2000. The Dragons set the pro sports consecutive sellout record Saturday with their 815th straight full house. That is a mind-boggling number, and congratulations are in order.
I’ve never had a negative experience at a Dragons game. Fifth Third Field looks like it opened last week and Heater’s schtick never gets old. A few years back, an usher even gave my son a baseball as we entered the stadium.
Hopefully the Reds will keep the current team together for a while. The only thing that could top the streak would be a few playoff victories.
Dragons trivia: Here’s a good cocktail party conversation starter. The Dragons’ highest single-game attendance is 9,558. They packed that many fans into Fifth Third on Aug. 1, 2009. The hometown nine lost 5-4 to those pesky Burlington Bees that night.
Another tidbit ... When Zack Cozart made his Reds debut last week, he became the 50th former Dragon to reach The Show.
In the books: Ohio State is “vacating” its 12 football wins last season, part of a self-imposed penalty for the Jim Tressel’s head-in-the-sand approach to the infamous tattoo scandal. I’m not a big fan of the ol’ vacate move. The games happened and the Buckeyes went 12-1 last season.
The NCAA might try, but you can’t re-program memories. OSU beat Michigan; I’ll trust my eyes.
Quick hits: I’m spending time in Tipp City this weekend for a baseball tournament. I’m tempted to stop in at Tony’s Bada Bing on the east end of the main drag, just to see what Paulie and Christopher are doing. ... I saw a mattress on I-75 just north of downtown on Saturday. I’m pretty sure bedbugs were jumping into my lane. ... Scott Rolen’s an all-star?
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2163 or bkollars@DaytonDailyNews.com.