By David G. Firestone
Welp, this was a weekend for the ages. For those who don’t know, I live in Evanston, Illinois, and on Friday, we had a huge water main break literally 600 feet away from my house. No water at all for all of Friday, and a boil order was in effect from 5 AM Friday to about 7 PM on Sunday. Water pressure is still a little low at the time of writing, but everything is back to normal.
With that, let’s talk racing, specifically, The Daytona 500, The Fresh From Florida 250, and the United Rentals 300. I thought all three races were good races. Daytona is always a track that delivers good racing. After that late-race flip, I wouldn’t hold it against Ryan Preece for not racing at Daytona in August. Given the fact that he flipped both in 2023 and 2025, I would be hesitant to race there too. He’s fine medically, but I wouldn’t blame him for being shook up emotionally.
Obviously, the weather was the issue, given the lengthy rain delay. That’s just how it goes. Wet weather tires would be suicidal at Daytona and Talladega. This saw the race start later, after 5 PM Chicago time. While I did enjoy night races, I did have to DVR the NBA All-Star Game, more on that soon.
I do question the logic of allowing a race to stay green when there are multiple wrecks on the final lap. I get why NASCAR allowed the final lap to continue, but it really sends a mixed message on safety. Outside of that, it was a fun racing weekend, but running water that I didn’t have to boil would have been nice too.
Now let’s talk about the NBA All-Star Game. I remember when the NBA All-Star Game was the best of the best from both conferences, duking it out for supremacy and bragging rights. Anyone else remember how great that was? Well, that’s gone, and never coming back. Like the NHL All-Star Game and the Pro Bowl Games, the NBA All-Star Game has become a gimmick. According to ESPN, link below:
“The NBA eschewed the traditional East vs. West setup in favor of a four-team, single-elimination tournament, with a target score of 40 points for each round. Three of the teams were drafted by TNT “Inside the NBA” analysts Charles Barkley (Chuck’s Global Stars), Kenny Smith (Kenny’s Young Stars) and Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq’s OGs). The fourth team, named for Candace Parker (Candace’s Rising Stars), was comprised of the winning squad from Friday night’s Rising Stars event.”
While last year’s All-Star game was a total disaster, this was a slight improvement. Granted, it was still a slog compared to a normal all-star game. But I think that the traditional approach I discussed above would work. Just because a game is an exhibition, doesn’t mean you have to gimmick it up. I hate the Pro Bowl Games, though given the concussion and injury issues, it’s a necessary evil. The NBA All-Star game has no such qualms. Again, what’s wrong with the best of the best competing against each other for supremacy and bragging rights? Also, the blue and yellow court was hard on the eyes.
While we’re on the subject, why was the All-Star Game on TNT? Why not put it on ABC, and try to get a higher rating? Why, on a Sunday night, with no real scheduled sports competition, would you have the All-Star Game on cable? I don’t understand the logic. I said the same thing for the College Football Playoff Championship Game. Why was it on ESPN and not ABC? It’s only the biggest and most important college football game of the year, why not try and pop a rating? How many viewers and how much money are being left on the table. It boggles the mind!
Now I have one more thing to discuss. It’s an article on USA Today called “Elizabeth Holmes says federal prison stay has ‘been hell and torture'” To refresh who we’re talking about, Elizabeth Holmes is a convicted felon who ran a scam company called Theranos, which purported to be a revolutionary blood testing equipment manufacturer, but the whole thing was exposed as a scam. The equipment didn’t work as advertised, and she scammed billions of dollars from investors. She pled guilty, and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison in January 2022. For the remainder of this column, she will be referred to as “24965-111,” her inmate number.
In this article, 24965-111 is complaining that her incarceration is hell and torture. I’m going to post some quotes from the article:
-“It’s surreal. People who have never met me believe so strongly about me. They don’t understand who I am. It forces you to spend a lot of time questioning belief and hoping the truth will prevail. I am walking by faith and, ultimately, the truth, but it’s been hell and torture to be here.”
-“I’m not the same person I was back then.”
-“There are things I would have done differently, so many of these women don’t have anyone, and once they’re in there, they’re forgotten.”
“Human beings are not made to be in cells. It goes so far beyond understanding. I’m trying really hard not to tear up right now. I’m trying to grow, as every moment matters. And if one person’s life can be touched trying to help them in a crisis, it matters.”
-” It shatters my world every single time. The people I love the most have to walk away as I stand here, a prisoner, and my reality sinks in.”
-“It kills me to put my family through pain the way I do. But when I look back on my life, and these angels that have come into it, I can get through anything. It makes me want to fight for all of it.”
24965-111 is clearly only focused on herself. She’s never admitted any guilt, and never shown remorse. Her quote “Human beings are not made to be in cells” shows her viewpoint. It’s also wrong. There are a lot of people in cells, and most of them deserve to be there. 24965-111 put herself in that cell. She committed a crime, got caught, got sentenced, and has nobody to blame but herself for her incarceration. I love the fact that she says that she is “hoping the truth will prevail.” The truth prevailed, and she is where she needs to be.
I have no sympathy for the person who commits a crime, gets sentenced, and then cries about how unfair the prison life is. You aren’t a victim. Being held accountable for your bad decisions is a fact of life. Actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences are much harsher than you would like. If you are able to commit a crime, you are able to do the time. That’s the situation that 24965-111 finds herself in. While I feel bad for her kids, it’s also a fact of life that doing time takes you away from your kids. She has nobody to blame but herself for her current issues.
Above and beyond that, 24965-111 is housed in Federal Prison Camp, Bryan, a minimum security facility. She is with 500 non-violent inmates. She got off lucky. She is in a nicer facility than most federal inmates. Could you imagine how she would react to a medium security, or maximum security prison? Does anybody feel sympathy for her? No? Me either. Just do your time, and shut up. Accept responsibility for your crimes, nobody thinks you are innocent.
With that, this week’s column comes to an end, and I’ll be back next week.
Sources Cited:
The Driver Suit Blog 