Childress is a classic tweener. He’s 6’8”, but only weighs 210 pounds, so he isn’t strong enough to take advantage of his height on the inside, while not being fast enough to play with the guards. He’s just the kind of player who, back in the 90’s, washed out of the NBA in a few years (Ed O’Bannon, anyone?). But in today’s game, with limits on the handchecking rules, increasing numbers of finesse players from Europe, and very few true centers, tweeners actually have some value. They still don’t usually make it as starters, but they can definitely have value off the bench as 6^th men, and that’s where Childress has made a niche for the past four years, averaging between 10-13 points and 4.9-6.2 rebounds per game every year. He is a very efficient offensive player (57.1 shooting percentage this year), both inside and outside, even though he isn’t a commanding offensive presence. All in all, it’s a great 6^th man package.

Thing is, when teams are looking at career 6^th men as free agents, they really aren’t going to break the bank. The Hawks were offering Childress a 5 year, $33 million deal as a restricted free agent, and that was more than fair. You won’t find 6^th men making more than that unless they are players on the back end of deals they signed back when they were starters.

In the old days, that would have been the best offer Childress could see. But this time it isn’t – Olympiacos reportedly is offering Childress a 3 year deal worth over $20 million even after taxes. The Hawks losing Childress is the first American basketball victim of the weakening US dollar against the Euro.

There is nothing intrinsic about American leagues that makes them the preeminent leagues in every sport. Players from other nations have flocked to American leagues because American owners paid the best, and the highest salaries have led to the highest levels of competition. The dollar was the best currency in the world, and everyone wanted to be paid with it. Now the dollar has been in a freefall, and other options are just as good. Athletes have returned to Europe (Juan Carlos Navarro, Carlos Delfino); others decided to never come to America in the first place (Tiago Splitter, Fran Vazquez); and players who couldn’t make it in the NBA have opted to play in Europe (Trajan Langdon). What is entirely new is that now even American players in their primes who are valuable players are being lured by the Almighty Euro.

I’m not trying to give a doom and gloom speech here based strictly on the loss of Josh Childress; there are plenty of Josh Childresses available for NBA teams right now, and the NBA isn’t going to collapse because a few players decide not to grace it with their presence. But the Childress signing is symbolic of a shift in the international attitude toward the NBA. Where once going to Europe was a threat that was made by free agents for leverage but never actually taken, now it is a real possibility.

WNBA players have been supplementing their income by playing in Europe for years. Childress and prep hoopster Brandon Jennings are simply the first male American basketball players to follow the money. In the future, there is the very real possibility that the NBA will not automatically get access to all the best players in every league; it’s rejoining the pond of basketball leagues. For the past 20 years since Sabonis and Petrovic, we have assumed that any player of any ability would try coming to the United States, whether from Europe, South America, or even China. Everywhere else was for those who weren’t good enough. There was the NBA, and there was everybody else. That is no longer true.

Mulder’s gradual fade hasn’t gotten a lot of attention – it has been spread over three years to the point that people have just forgotten about him, and while his statistics are good, they were never eye-popping. One year leading the league in wins (2001), but no ERA crowns, no strikeout titles (never even in the picture on strikeout races, in fact), little jumping off the back of his baseball card.

But I, for one, will miss Mark Mulder. Not because of any connection to the A’s or the Cardinals; I have none. Not because of any personal connection to Mulder. I’ll miss him because he was one of the few true aces left in baseball, along with marvels like Roy Halladay (who finishes more games that he starts than any other team in baseball right now). I’m not talking about guys who put up the aforementioned eye-popping ERAs and strikeout totals and WHIPS; I’m talking about a stopper, a starter who can put his team on his back for a whole game and just carry them, even when nothing else is working for the team. The whole nine innings.

Don’t get me wrong – I love Johan Santana and think he’s an incredible pitcher; his arsenal is just devastating at times, and it’s just fun to watch guys like him pitch. He’s up to his usual tricks this year, with an ERA under 3.00 and stellar ratios all around. But were you aware that in his 194 career starts (to date), Johan has completed exactly 6 of them? In other words, Johan is an incredible pitcher and will give his team a chance to win almost every game he starts, but he will always need somebody else to finish the job. And even when that somebody else is his team’s closer, be it Joe Nathan or Billy Wagner or whomever, I think it’s safe to say that somebody else is a less talented pitcher than Johan himself. So a Johan start means you get Johan’s innings plus the less talented bullpen innings to finish the job. And those bullpen innings are too many to just give to the Nathans and Wagners – Johan has only once in his career averaged seven innings per start for a season, and that just barely in 2005 at 7.02, leaving 2-3 innings for less talented pitchers than himself, less talented pitchers who could lose the game.

I’m by no means arguing that Mulder is a better pitcher than Santana for a 162 game season – but rather that because he was able to go the distance when necessary, he was better equipped to win tough, close games, when the offense is getting shut down or in a slump (these kind of games, coincidentally, become more frequent in the postseason, where Mulder was incredibly successful).

One of my favorite games of all time – despite having no team-based rooting interest – was the April 23, 2005 game between the Astros and the Cardinals. Roger Clemens took the mound for Houston at the beginning of perhaps his most spectacular season as he managed to maintain a 1.87 ERA for the season despite winning only 13 games for the punchless ‘Stros. Opposing him were the Cards and Mulder. Mulder and Clemens traded zeros for 7 innings, after which Clemens headed for the showers (he averaged 6.6 innings per start that year and only finished the year with one complete game). Meanwhile Mulder kept on. He traded zeros for two more frames with Houston reliever Chad Qualls, and even threw a scoreless 10^th before the Cardinals scored in the bottom of the 10^th off of Qualls and Brad Lidge.

Clemens got a quality start, lowered his ERA, and earned the sympathy of fans who cried that he deserved to win since he threw seven scoreless innings (a refrain that would be repeated often that year, as Clemens frequently left games early and ended with no-decisions). But it was Mulder who did what he had to do to make sure his team won the game, even when they were getting shut down offensively. Since his team wasn’t scoring, he made sure he could win the game for his team by pitching efficiently and keeping his pitch count low enough so that he could go the distance and make sure the job got done right. If you want the job done right, sometimes you have to be willing to do it yourself. Seven inning “aces” shouldn’t complain when they get no-decisions or the bullpen blows their leads – if they want the wins, they should find a way to keep themselves in the game as long as possible and minimize innings pitched by inferior pitchers.

That might mean making sure the manager knows that you want to stay in the game. On July 4 this year, Johan was keeping the Mets in a close game against the Phillies, tied at 2 after 8. Santana had only thrown 95 pitches for the game and blew through the Phils in the 8^th with a strikeout and two weak groundouts. It was obvious Santana could go nine. Yet when the Phillies came up to bat in the bottom of the 9^th, it was Duaner Sanchez, and not Santana, on the mound. Johan Santana and other pitchers who are being paid to be aces for teams (don’t think that I’m picking on Johan alone here; there are plenty of other pitchers for whom this qualifies, and Johan is just a convenient example since I follow him more closely than others, such as Jake Peavy (7-5, 2.47 ERA this season), Dan Haren (8-5, 2.72), or the late-career Clemens, whose W-L records underwhelm compared to their performance) need to face one of two problems: 1)Get themselves to the point where they are able to pitch more innings and win more games for their teams, or 2)Make sure their managers know that they are able to do so and not get pulled too early with gas still in the tank.

Doing this will help teams’ performances tremendously. You can maximize use of your best pitcher – more innings by Johan or Peavy or Haren is better for their teams because it means less innings by the weaker bullpen pitchers. Giving your ace relievers a day off when the ace starter is going saves your best relievers for games pitched by lesser starters, when the relievers are more needed. It also saves bullpen arms from overuse, since even warming up without entering the game takes a toll on an arm. (Excuse me, I have to take a call…Strange, it’s a voice that calls himself Scott from L.A. and all he keeps saying is “Help. He’s after me again.”)

Right now, teams are paying their best pitchers a king’s ransom to be statistical wonders for seven innings. They’ll be better off if they can pay that king’s ransom for true aces.

It’s been a crazy few days here at The Ace Report. On Sunday, we had over 500 visitors, marking the greatest total on any given day since we launched in early May. Thank you for coming and we hope you tell everyone about the quality sports commentary you receive at The Ace Report!

Additionally, there have so many headlines in sports recently, it’s almost impossible to keep up on it all. So, we thought we’d provide you with some Friday quick hits. We might even make it a weekly tradition, trying to recap some of the bigger stories of the week. Don’t worry, we can’t and won’t stop giving you the scoop on the important junk going on in all the leagues…

::: Brett Favre, despite our pleas to end the rumors and just be what he said he was… (Ahem, RETIRED!!!!!), has reportedly asked for his release from the Packers. For those of you who don’t really know what’s going on, if Favre is granted his release, his contract with the Packers is null and void, thus allowing him to sign on with any team during this offseason. The fool… I understand his desire to play football and prove his awesomeness, but I think I can speak for all of us when I say that he’s done that. Why can’t he go home to his wife and enjoy throwing the football around with the kids? Granted, he’ll probably be competitive this year, but now our hopes lie in the hands of the Green Bay front office. May they gain wisdom unrivaled and keep Favre in the guest house. :::

::: Elton Brand, despite being the stud we all know him to be, has decided to bolt the Los Angeles Clippers for the city of Brotherly Love. The 76ers gave him a five-year $79.795 million deal and Elton took the bait. What really gives the best picture of the sucker-punch he landed is the fact that Brand was openly courting his in-state phenom Baron Davis once he heard Davis had opted out of his last year of his contract. Baron fulfilled his side of the deal and when Elton’s number gets called, he ditches his deal for the money. Professional athletes get paid significantly more than they should, and unfortunately, these days, money is a greater pull than honesty and truthfulness. :::

::: The Ace Report staff grew up in New York. One of us became a Yankees fan (leave your comments at the door) and the other became a Mets fan. Regardless, both of us are sad to see Yankee Stadium bid its farewell. Monument park. The frontier that is behind home plate. The black behind the center field wall. And a ton of history. Records broken and championships won. Yankee Stadium will be sorely missed, even by those who consider the Yankees less than valuable. Granted, new Yankee Stadium is going to be beautiful, but I think season tickets will most likely be for those with assets in excess of a few million only. Still, the All-Star game hosted for the first and last time in the home of so many past and present All-Stars only seems fitting. :::

Photo by Ruben

A perfect game is a once-in-a-blue moon occurrence. Sure, there seems to be an upward trend in frequency, but there is certainly no denying the special feeling of watching a perfect game. I’ve seen David Cone and David Wells throw perfect games. Outside of a world championship, the perfect game is the greatest achievement a pitcher can achieve (not counting career records, etc.).

So when Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers got called to start against the Atlanta Braves last night, no one had a clue that he’d come within three outs of a perfect game. Kuroda retired 21 straight hitters before giving up a liner to right-field, a double by Mark Teixeira, in the eighth inning. He proceeded to complete the game, allowing only one hit and not giving up a walk.

While he didn’t record the perfect game, he certainly opened a few eyes in the process. Kuroda is in his first year in the major leagues. He was signed as a free-agent in the offseason from the Hiroshima squad out of the Japanese Central League. At 33 years of age, he isn’t a normal rookie in the MLB, but he has shown flashes of brilliance in his short major league career.

He posts a meager 5-6 record, throwing 98 and a third innings and striking out 57 batters in that span. However, if you delve into the statistics, he has a solid 3.37 ERA, a wonderful 1.20 WHIP and over 15 games, he has two complete game shutouts, including last night’s gem.

So, despite his age and inexperience in the MLB, he has proven more than once he has both the will and the talent to go the distance for his team. The Braves players and coaches raved about his sinker, claiming it was in the mid-90s throughout the game and dropping off the shelf making it nearly unhittable. Mixing in a few sliders and off-speed pitches, Kuroda has a repertoire to be a solid fixture in a rotation for a few years.

All of this is to say, “Don’t underestimate anyone.”

TM & © 1986- 2008 Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

I just got back from seeing WALL-E, so I’m in a positive and uplifted mood. Go see the movie and brighten your day.

There are sports competitions, and then there are all-out brawls. Slugfests. Marathons of strength, will, and pure talent. Larry Legend against Magic. Ali versus Frasier. Brady versus Manning. The list is pretty much endless.

But recently, the sport of tennis has had a downward trend of popularity. Sure, Bill Simmons tried to resurrect the whole sport with his list of ideas to better the sport, by allowing cheering throughout matches and shortening sets… but these are not immediate possibilities and are whimsical hopes.

The days of MacEnroe, Ash, Borg, Connors, Sampras and Aggasi are long gone. American women, being solely represented by Venus and Serena Williams, are able to dominate the world. However, American men rarely make it past the second round. James Blake and Andy Roddick seem to have quite a bit of hype, but also seem to get steamrolled by anyone who doesn’t call America home.

Perhaps that is why the United States public has neglected tennis as a sport. Matches take a while, it doesn’t appeal to the middle class majority, and we don’t have any American heroes.

And to that, I say: WHO CARES?

Enter Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Roger Federer: The master of recent tennis history. Grand Slam after Grand Slam. Wimbledon. The Australian Open. The US Open. He’s won them all. He’s beaten pretty much anyone of any worth in the world of tennis. Seriously, just go to his Wiki page and scroll through his accomplishments. Tell me he isn’t one of the greatest tennis players (heck, one of the greatest athletes) of all time.

Rafael Nadal: The young kid whose goal is to become the master of the more recent tennis history. And so far, he’s on pace to do so. Everyone (or at least anyone who cares about sports) knows he’s unbeatable on clay. That’s fine; everyone has their vice. Outside of that, grass has been his Achilles heel. He’s lost three times to Federer at Wimbledon. He’s given Roger fits a few times, but he’s never pulled it out.

Until today.

Rafael Nadal finally beat Roger Federer on grass in an epic match, perhaps the greatest match of all time. The score: 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7. All happening in a 4-hour, 48-minute classic. Call Nadal ‘Pheidippides,’ or just call him sensational.

Wrapping himself in a Spanish flag, taking a bite of the trophy… Nadal has passion. He exudes it. Everything Nadal does is flashy, but also pure. He loves the game and he respects it with every cell in his body. His warmups are elaborate five hour routines and he has the control to play the game consistently well.

America may not have any possible heroes from our turf… but Nadal is no enemy. Enjoy the show!

On such a day as this, I hope you all enjoy some BBQ, warm sunshine, and a more than satisfactory time with friends and family. Oh yea, and these things too:

So, be safe, but have a good time.

Since it’s the fourth, it seems to be appropriate to give a rundown of some of the happenings around the world of Olympic qualifying. So, without further ado, here’s a list of the most recent and important occurrences on the road to Beijing:

• Michael Phelps is steamrolling his way through the swimming qualifying. At Athens in 2004, he won eight medals (six gold and two silver), and is attempting to win as many as 10 gold medals this time around. If he only wins four gold medals in Beijing (which seems almost a lock), he’ll break the record for most gold medals by any single Olympian. The current record is nine, held by Mark Spitz, Paavo Nurmi, and Larissa Latynina.
• Tyson Gay ran 9.77 seconds for a U.S. record in the 100 quarterfinals and followed up with a wind-aided 9.68, fastest ever under any conditions, in the final.
• Also at the Track and Field Qualifying meet in Eugene, Oregon, the men’s 800m final was an incredible spectacle. You can see it in its entirety here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=hcVN5PjmaDs.
• The men’s and women’s gymnastics teams are taking shape. You can see the entire men’s roster here: http://gymnastics.teamusa.org/news/article/2177. The women’s team has two members thus far; the insane Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin finished first and second respectively in the Olympic Team Trials last week. The rest of the team will be named after a few weeks with Martha Karolyi in Texas.
• The US men’s basketball team is ridiculous. I can’t help but feel like they’re going to be beating teams by close to 30 or 40 points.

Photo by nwistheone

There was a time when words meant something. A man said something and he stood by it, no matter the cost. The classy personas of athletes like Derek Jeter, Steve Young, Wayne Gretzky, and Bill Russell have inspired generations of young people to emanate honesty and professionalism. They will forever remain icons of professional sports and above the lateral jabs of the casual fan.

This is why today’s speculation about Brett Favre’s return to the Packers after retiring just a few months ago strikes a blow to the integrity required of professional athletes. Favre has always been labeled a gun-slinger. A man’s man. A hero of pride and justice. His word was law and he’d either throw his way into a victory or go down in a blaze of glory. You could love him, or you could love to hate him, but you had to respect him no matter the situation.

Brett Favre had earned it. The one element that rises above victories, infamy, championships, and pride: respect. His own fans revered him, but perhaps the bigger accomplishment was the fact that the rest of the NFL revered him. Sure there were some who would openly point out his few flaws (interceptions and the like), but behind closed doors those same people wouldn’t say no to an honest trade that would bring him to their team.

In recent years, it appeared that Brett had reached his end, decreasing his TD/Int ratio and throwing into double and triple coverage trying make the play the way he had previously in his career. Naysayers came out of the woodwork and it seemed inevitable that Favre would retire. That was until last season’s impressive display. Favre led his team to an NFC Championship and was a favorite to appear in the Super Bowl, putting up statistics defying his recent trends.

Then came his decision to end his storied career. A guaranteed Hall of Fame bid, a Super Bowl ring, and recently broken records previously held by none other than Dan Marino are all testaments to the kind of performances Favre put together. Through tears and broken speech, Favre thanked his fans, his teammates, and the leadership of the Packers for sticking with him and giving him the opportunity to succeed.

We all accepted his decision, survived a month’s worth of media saturation of the topic, and moved on. He rode off into the sunset, a respectable fate for a respectable athlete.

Until today. Favre claims it’s just ‘talk’ and no official decision has been made, but allowing such a story to even become a story is a chink in the armor Favre had made for himself. There was a time when a man’s word could be counted on to be truth. Apparently that time has passed us by, as even our most respected heroes have betrayed us.

There is no denying Favre’s accomplishments and some would argue he’s earned the right to do whatever he pleases. I respectfully disagree. He has the responsibility to be a man of integrity and a role model. The message he is sending now is that one’s word need not be taken as truth. Clearly, this is a dangerous message.

So, we eagerly await Favre’s ‘official’ decision… Again. Until then, he’s lost the respect he had once earned. He’s still a fantastic football player, but he’s no longer the role model he once could claim to be.

Okay, it has been quite a while since we at The Ace Report have grace you all with quality sports commentary. We apologize for being slackers in spite of a 2,500 mile move halfway across the country for one of us and a wedding (like, being the groom and going on a honeymoon) for the other… Technically both of us, since I was a groomsman in said wedding.

Needless to say… It’s Business Time! [Editors note: we don't mean that kind of business, but that song is hilarious]

So without further ado we welcome you all to the reopening of The Ace Report. Expect posts once a day and quality commentary on those things we see and hear all the time from ESPN and the like.

Just to be clear, ‘flopping’ is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “throwing or moving oneself in a heavy, clumsy, or relaxed manner.” In the case of the NBA, this is exemplified by a player overreacting to some small contact (or even no contact) in the presence of a defender in order to garner a foul.

Avid fans of the NBA know the serial floppers in the league: Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili, etc. Prime examples of flopping (in the minds of The Ace Report) are the two below:

The NBA has not set a scale for the fines at the present moment, nor has it made any decision regarding escalation of fines for repeat offenders. Additionally, a ruling on possible suspensions for serial floppers has not been given, although there is a significant precedent if such a decision was made. Currently, the NBA suspends a player one game if he obtains 16 technical fouls in the course of the regular season (seven technical fouls in the playoffs) and suspends the player one game every other technical foul thereafter.

Spirited ’selling of the call’ has become a hot topic in recent years as many foreign players have brought the style of play into the league. Fans have expressed their increasing displeasure in calls being given to players who flop, especially when the call has a significant bearing on the outcome of the game.

Yet, it is hard to predict what kind of impact this decision will have on the NBA. The current structure is one that places a lot of authority, and subsequently responsibility, on the referee. The league expects the right call to be made in each situation, but realizes the inevitability of human error. When a player feigns contact and puts on an elaborate show to sell the call, the referee’s first instinct is to blow the whistle.

Fortunately, this fine system does not detriment the authority of the game officials, but rather the players themselves. Flopping certainly diminishes the credibility of a player and changes the outcome of games, so action must be taken. Fining the players is an adequate penalty, exemplifying the league’s expectation of fair play. However, if the NBA decides to follow precedent and establish eventual suspension for repeat offenders, it would seem that the league would be taking their response too far. Suspensions should be dealt for situations that place other competitors in harm, not for intended feigning of a foul.

In nearly every other professional sport, flopping is a non-issue, except for soccer. In every World Cup, MLS, or EuroLeague match, a few players will sell a call by feigning injury or pain. It has become so prevalent that it is viewed as a part of the sport. No penalty is handed out to floppers in a match and play is continued after a short break. It can be assumed that FIFA (the ruling body for soccer worldwide) would rather have a foul be called in every case than ignore the ones they believe be ‘crying wolf’ and unintentionally miss call that should have been made.

By establishing this system to fine players for flopping, the NBA has opened an issue that should have been left alone. Largely, the league is a self-governing system borrowing the ‘laissez faire’ ideology. Players adapt to the ebb and flow of trends and referees, though outwardly objective, are subjective enough in their calls to make up for their errors.

This last point is one that bears repeating. NBA referees may mistakenly miss a call every once in a while, which is to be expected with a human official. However, they also purposely deny a call to a rookie that would be given under normal circumstances to a veteran of the league. This situation occurs routinely and is understood by knowledgeable spectators. Additionally, it could be expected that with some instruction, the referees could be somewhat subjective in relation to flopping.

While the NBA should have let the flopping issue be, except for a little instruction to the referees on the matter, since the league decided to impose a comprehensive system to deal with the issue, it should be noted that the right decision has been made in regards to how the system be established. Fines for floppers are a solid backbone for the enforcing of the NBA’s crackdown on the problem. Anything beyond that (suspensions) would be a vast over-reaction to an issue that should have been left well enough alone.

Photo by Denny

On April 20, 2008, Danica Patrick rewrote history, becoming the first female driver to win a major auto race. She claimed the checkered flag in the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, satisfying the critics for at least a few months.

Now, facing yet another opportunity to prove she belongs, Danica Patrick will attempt to win the most recognized event in all of racing. Starting at the fifth position, she has as good a chance as any of her competitors to taste the milk in the winner’s circle.

All throughout her brief career, Danica has faced doubts about her ability to clinch the lead in races and finish them. Garnering comparisons to the likes of Anna Kournikova, Patrick has been attacked as being willing to promote herself and gain media stardom before proving herself in races.

However, it must be noted that her IRL (IndyCar Series) career only began in 2005, when she signed a contract with former sponsor Rahal Letterman Racing. In this rookie year, Patrick qualified fourth for the Indianapolis 500, became the first woman to lead a lap in that race, and finished fourth, the highest finish for a female driver.

Every year in her three-year stint she has bested her previous achievements in the IndyCar Series Championship point standings, the most recent being seventh in 2007. In 2005, she was named rookie of the year for the IRL.

All of this is to suggest that Danica Patrick has been more successful in her first three seasons than most ‘big league’ athletes. Few athletes can dream to have as much of an impact on their sport as Patrick has.

Unfortunately, the media pushes the bandwagon of recent success more than anyone. As soon as Danica finished fourth in her first Indy 500, she could be seen in SportsCenter commercials, on the front pages of national newspapers, and became the media darling of the IRL.

Instantly, Danica was expected to win the pole position in every race she entered, clinch the checkered flag in every event she shifted gears, and become the most dominant driver in the history of racing. These expectations still exist in the minds of Americans.

We all want Danica to excel in her races. The idea of a single woman outlasting, outcompeting, and besting a field of male drivers is exciting. It hearkens back to the days of Joan of Arc, to the days of women’s suffrage, to Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. A win for Danica is a win for equality in the workplace, objective journalism, and global understanding.

Unfortunately, while these hopes are virtuous in and of themselves, they place a burden upon the shoulders of a woman with just three (and change) years experience in the IRL. They place a burden upon the shoulders of a woman who is determined not to win the race because she is a woman, but because she wants more than any of her competitors to prove she belongs on the track. They place a burden upon the shoulders of a woman who simply loves to strap on a helmet and drive a machine to the brink.

As Danica straps herself into the number 7 Dallara Honda car of Andretti Green Racing for today’s Indianapolis 500, she does so with expectations placed upon her. She didn’t ask for millions of Americans to stand behind her, willing her on to ‘certain’ victory.

The only thing Danica will be pondering is the expectation she has placed upon herself. It is the same expectation everyone else has for her, but with a single difference. When you sit behind an automobile capable of traveling in excess of 250 miles-per-hour, the only voice that matters in the one encased in a cocoon of engineering marvel.

For Danica Patrick, that voice is saying, “Win.”