Shots - Week of July 6

Swish: Dale Coyne Racing

A 25-year wait came to an end for Dale Coyne at Watkins Glen today. Justin Wilson dominated the field and captured his first victory of the season by holding off Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon after a final restart. The win was monumental for Wilson's team owner Coyne, who had spent 25 years as an owner or driver without ever finding his way to Victory Lane.

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Dale Coyne Racing's previous best finish in the IndyCar Series was third in the season opener at St. Petersburg, and its best overall in open-wheel racing had been second with Bruno Junqueira in a 2007 Champ Car-sanctioned race in Belgium.

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The 55-year old Coyne and his driver Wilson were the first non-Penske or Ganassi pair to win a race in the 2009 season.

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The long wait for Dale Coyne and his team is over

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Brick: Coverage of performance-enhancing drug users

Sometimes the mainstream sports media can be so fickle. When allegations broke against Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, both of the players were almost universally condemned for their actions. Yet after an apologetic puff-piece and some eye makeup for A-Rod, and a charming rehab stint in low-A for Manny, it's hands-across-America for these guys. Don't get me wrong - I don't think performance-enhancing drug uses should be put in the stocks or anything, but do we really need hourly updates on Manny at-bats in his return from a 50-game suspension?

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These players cheated the game and they cheated themselves. Whether you are staunch anti-steroids or think it's not a big deal, both sides should agree that these guys shouldn't be commended for "overcoming adversity" or shed in a positive light.

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Air Ball: Bernie Eccelstone

As if things couldn't get worse for this miserable Andy Warhol wanna-be. Formula One chief Bernie Eccelstone, who thumbed his nose at Tony George and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is back in the news after praising Adolf Hitler and other totalitarian regimes for "getting things done".

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Also during his episode of verbal diarreha came this gem:

“We did a terrible thing when we supported the idea of getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He was the only one who could control that country. It was the same [with the Taliban]. We move into countries and we have no idea of the culture. The Americans probably thought Bosnia was a town in Miami. There are people starving in Africa and we sit back and do nothing but we get involved in things we should leave alone.”

Ugh. My head hurts. Here's an idea Bernie - take your lame, boring Formula One racing and get as far away from the States as possible. I could give a crap what Brazil and Italy think about F1. If it is irrelevant in America, then it's irrelevant period.