I begrudgingly made a trip to the local mall on Saturday. There were lots of people. No discernible flow of foot traffic. No coordination. Just a lot of people walking into each other. It reminded me of the Raiders' offensive line. Anyway, I wandered into the corner of the mall that harbors all of the misfit stores and noticed one called Race World. It was your one stop for all things NASCAR. Or, as I like to call it, sports hell.Call me old-fashioned, and no offense to the sport or its fans, but I don't like NASCAR pervading our consciousness. In my mind, nothing good can happen of it -- this is evidenced by the abundance of new Redneck Comedy specials.
So, it's with great consternation that I beg, "Say it ain't so, Jerry!"
Jerry Rice, the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, has been named Grand Marshal of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekend at Infineon Raceway, June 22-24.I guess this is one step above "Dancing With the Stars." I guess.
Rice, best known as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, will be honored throughout the weekend, most notably at the Raceway Builder's Grand Marshal's Banquet on Friday night, June 22, at beautiful Cline Cellars in Sonoma. All proceeds from the banquet benefit Speedway Children's Charities.
"This will be a new experience for me and I'm really looking forward to it," Rice said. "I've never been to a NASCAR race but I understand it is quite an experience. I'm honored to be grand marshal of the race weekend and I'm looking forward to the event."
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
