NASCAR And The NHL/Graham Harrell Update

Watching the morning loop of highlights and listening to "The Dan Patrick Show" this morning, it finally hit me. NASCAR is to Canadians what the NHL is to Americans. If you haven't seen or heard, the NASCAR race at Talladega ended yesterday with a wild crash on the final lap. That is all everyone is talking about today with the exception of the NFL draft. You are not hearing who won or lost you are just hearing about the crash. Its like the NHL in the US. You don't hear a lot about it unless there is some violence attached to it. You know no one would put some serious discussion about the Hurricanes win over New Jersey but had someone hit someone else over the head with their stick or crunched someone through the glass or there was a good old fashioned brouhaha that we would see it.
Many in the U-S are addicted to NASCAR. Many in Canada are addicted to the NHL. There are Canadian NASCAR fans and there are American hockey fans but they are few and far between. Each sport has its niche--that's fine. I understand that. Each NHL city has its core of hardcore fans and I'm sure each Canadian city has its hardcore NASCAR fans--hell I know about 5-6 guys that are NASCAR crazy and can't believe I can't enjoy it.
I don't see NASCAR trying to make their sport a North American one but I continue to see Gary Bettman try to make the NHL a North American one. It won't happen, it never will. Hockey in some places just won't sell. Who was it asked someone in Washington this week to name a Washington Capital and his answer was Spokane???. NASCAR brings some of its races out of its traditional Southern area but everything is focused in the "redneck" portion of the US. The NHL needs to realize that and start considering Canada as more of an option than a detriment. If someone wants to bring a 2nd team to Toronto, so be it. If someone wants to bring a team back to Winnipeg, so be it. You know what I mean.
Agree or disagree???
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The other of the two high profile neg list quarterbacks the Riders have who didn't get drafted this weekend has signed a free agent contract. Graham Harrell of Texas Tech signed with Cleveland. There had been a report he had signed with Dallas but that was not true. I'm not sure why scouts are so down on Harrell. I saw him play a few times this season as the Red Raiders were considered at one time a favourite to play in the BCS championship game. Maybe scouts got a good look at the way Texas Tech got spanked at the Cotton Bowl by Ole Miss. Another potential Rider has also signed a free agent contract with an NFL team. That would be North Dakota state running back Tyler Roehl who came here in the Adarius Bowman trade. He has signed with Seattle.
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Message to blog demi-god Rod Pedersen. You need to be accredited for this now??? My papers haven't come in the mail yet!! :P Have fun this afternoon. I won't be there but I hope someone does ask the question and I hope Brent comes out and says either A)Dale is done or B) Dale is back. He doesn't deserve to be twisting in the wind waiting for his fate to be determined by what could be someone else's future. No disrespect but its time to let everyone know what the future is and if Derkatch is a part of that future. Its only fair and Brent --despite his critics--I think has always been fair. With the bantam draft coming this week, it is time to look forward to next year. If Derkatch is to be part of that, its time to let him know.