On this episode of the Pepsi Inside Track, we continue our coverage of Racemart’s Open House in Memphis, Missouri. Dave talks with drivers AJ Johnson and Levi Smith, Lee County Speedway promoter Terry Hoenig, Scotland County Speedway promoter Wayne Messamaker, and Racemart owner Brent Walker.

Don’t forget to subscribe the podcast for free so you don’t miss an episode!

CENSUS WORKERS HAVE BEEN BUSY IN THE AREA MAKING SURE THAT

EVERYBODY IS COUNTED. QUESTIONAIRES WERE DELIVERED DOOR TO

DOOR THERE ARE 10 QUESTIONS TO ANSWER AND IT TAKES 10 MINUTES

TO FILL AND IT HELPS YOU COMMUNITY RECEIVE THEIR FAIR SHARE

OF GOVERNMENT MONIES FOR PROJECTS AND IT IS USED TO

REAPPORTION SEATS IN CONGRESS AND ENSURE PROPER DISTRICT

REPRESENTATION IN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

EVERY YEAR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DISTRIBUTES MORE THAN

400 BILLION DOLLARS TO TRIBAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

BASED ON CENSUS DATA.

INFORMATION FROM THE CENSUS HELPS DETERMINE LOCATIONS FOR

CHILD CARE AND SENIOR CENTERS, NEW ROADS, HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS

AND COMMUNITY CENTERS.

THESE AND MANY OTHER BENEFITS ARE POSSIBLE WITH A ACCURATE

COUNT SO PLEASE FILL OUR CENSUS FORMS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

FOR MORE INFO VISIT 2010census.gov.

THE STATEWIDE AVEAGE SALES PRICE OF HOMES IN FEBRUARY ROSE 2.7

PERCENT FROM LAST FEBRUARY. WITH THE AVERAGE PRICE OF A HOME

JUST OVER 129 THOUSAND DOLLARS. TOTAL SALES IN IOWA TOTALLED

1,369 WHICH IS UP 12.2 PERCENT FROM JANUARY. ACCORDING TO THE

PRESIDENT OF THE IOWA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS CAREY JENSEN

WE WERE HOPING TO SEE A UPSWING AFTER A SLOW DECEMBER AND

JANUARY..THE I.A.R. THINKS THE MARKET WILL IMPROVE THOUGHOUT

THE SPRING. THE EXTENDEDE HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT WILL LIKELY

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE GET OUT THERE AND LOOK FOR A NEW HOME

SOON. HOMES IN THE STATE HAVE SPENT A AVERAGE OF 110 DAYS ON

THE MARKET. 18 LOCAL BOARDS HAVE SEEN INCREASES IN THE NUMBER

OF SALES AND 32 BOARDS REPORTED DECREASES IN THE NUMBER OF

DAYS ON THE MARKET COMPARED TO LAST YEAR..

THE IOWA STATE LEGISLATURE IS ADDRESSING SEVERAL ISSUES.

ACCORDING TO FORT MADISON STATE SENATOR GENE FRAISE THE

SENATE HAS TAKEN STEPS TO PROTECT IOWA HOME BUYERS BY

ADDRESSING CONCERNS ABOUT SOME UNREGULATED CLOSING

COMPANIES. A SENATE BILL PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE WILL

COMBAT TYPES OF ABUSES BY REQUIRING INDEPENDENT COMPANIES

THAT OFFER REAL ESTATE CLOSING SERVICES TO THIRD PARTIES TO

BE LICENSED AND REGULATED SIMULAR TO MORTGAGE BANKERS

AND BROKERS.

LEGISLATORS HAVE ALSO BEEN WORKING ON IOWA’S OPEN RECORDS

AND OPEN MEETING LAWS. THE SENATE PASSED LEGISLATION TO

MAKE THE LAWS CLEARER AND TO PROVIDE IOWAN BETTER ACCESS

TO GOVERNMENT MEETINGS AND PUBLIC RECORDS.

A IOWA CITY MAN HAS BEEN ARRESTED ON SEX CHARGES. ACCORDING

TO LEE COUNTY SHERIFF BUCK JONES 27 YEAR OLD NOLAN LEE JONES

WAS CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE THIRD DEGREE A CLASS C

FELONY PUNISHABLE BY 10 YEARS IN PRISON. A LEE COUNTY SHERIFFS

DEPUTY INVESTIGATED A PARKED VEHICLE SOUTH OF ARGYLE WHERE

ROYER AND A JUVENILE WERE IN THE VEHICLE AND NOTICES THE AGE

DISPARITY IN AGE OF THE TWO OCCUPANTS. ROYER HAD INITIALLY MET

THE MINOR FEMALE VIA THE INTERNET. ROYER THEN ADMITTED DURING

INTERVIEWS WITH SHERIFFS OFFICERS THAT HE AND THE MINOR FEMALE

HAD BEEN IN A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS

EVEN PRIOR TO HER 15TH BIRTHDAY. ROYER IS BEING HELD IN THE LEE

COUNTY CORRECTIONAL CENTER PENDING A APPEARANCE BEFORE THE

COURT. ROYER IS PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A

COURT OF LAW.

Web Poll!!  Which of these following events would signal the coming Apocalypse?

1.)  The Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup Championship.

2.) The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.

3.)  The Chicago White Sox becoming relevant other than on the South Side.

4.) The Chicago Bears actually spending money.

The first could actually happen this year.  Numbers 2 and 3 will never happen — even after the end of the world.  That leaves number 4.

The Apocalypse is here.

On the first day of NFL free agency heading into an un-capped year of player salaries, the Chicago PennyPinchers ….uh, I mean, Bears…quickly and emphatically signed the top free agent defensive end and top free agent running back.  On the same day.  In the same year.  Heck…in the same lifetime.

The signing of former Panther Julius Peppers and former Viking 1400-yard rusher Chester Taylor signifies just how desperate Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith have become.  After three straight non-playoff seasons that followed a trip to the Super Bowl, things were getting out of hand.  After trading away first and second round draft choices in the upcoming draft — hence no chance at an immediate impact player — all that was left to the Bears braintrust (if they had a brain, that is) was to convince the notoriously frugal McCaskey family to pony up the dough.

Wonder of wonders, the purse strings loosened.

What this all means is the end of the world as we know it.  To wit, the end of putting up with mediocrity from the top down in the once-proud franchise that is now the National Football Laughingstock.

If, after all the coaching changes and money spent on new personnel, this upcoming season ends like the last three…the only end  will be the end of the Angelo/Smith Barnum and Bailey circus that has existed in Lake Forest for the last three seasons.

The only remaining question is this:  Do Bears fans want the team to succeed this year with the new players?  That would result in an “I told you so” by the current administration and the probable return of Angelo, Smith, et. al.  If the team flops again this season after all of the machinations of the offseason, then it’s hit the road….sayonara…don’t let it door hit your a– on the way out for Angelo and Smith.  Which way does the true Bear fan lean?

Spring Training in Arizona this season for the Chicago Cubs is a lot quieter this year than last.  The Milton Bradley experiment blew up in the Cubs’ faces last season…a major reason why the North Siders underachieved last year to a dismal second place finish.

As the new season gets underway with Bradley now in Seattle as a Mariner…he still can’t stop stirring up issues in Chicago.  In his latest incarnation of “stupid is as stupid does” Bradley blamed last season entirely on Chicago.

The man who has been with 8 teams in 11 years still can’t figure out the HE is the problem.  His statement this time was that “I was good before” Chicago and that he’ll “be good this year” so the problem was “all Chicago’s fault.”

Sure, Milt…Chicago caused you to lose your temper the first home at bat you ever had at Wrigley field.  Chicago caused you to be angry in the clubhouse every day.  Chicago caused you to have the worst year of your career.  Chicago was probably even the cause of you not being welcome in half the clubhouses in baseball.  It obviously can’t be your churlish and childish nature, or your inability to get along with others.  And definitely NOT your inability to take any responsibility for your own actions and attitudes.

I echo the non-spoken sentiments of many of your ex-teammates.  Good riddance to a problem best gotten rid of.  Even if the Cubs fall even further in the standings this year…it’s going to be a better year in Chicago simply because Milton Bradley is somewhere else.

Dave ventured down to Memphis, Missouri, for the Open House at Racemart. He was able to talk with over a dozen drivers and others, so we split up the interviews to make two shows. This week, Dave talks with Adam Birck, Brian Clark, Jason McDaniel, Jacoby Hooper, Brian Rodefer, Michael Browning, and Derek St. Clair.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast or stop by again next week for the rest of the interviews from Racemart’s Open House.

The gold medal game of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic men’s hockey tournament promises to be one of two things:

1)  A close, physical game that could go either way depending on the hot goalie, or

2)  A blow-out by a very p-o’d Canadian squad that has already lost once this tournament to Team USA.

Either way, this should be an excellent example of how hockey should be played.  Fighting is NOT tolerated in Olympic play, so the teams resort to the true beauty of the game — speed, agility, passing, and teamwork.  It is this type of play that, to me, makes hockey the most exciting sport in the world.

For the casual fan, you truly cannot get the feel of a hockey game from the TV.  Even so, I urge you to watch the game on Sunday.  If all you know about hockey is the fighting, then you need to watch this game.  You may actually see something that grabs your attention and makes you a fan.  Better yet, go to a game if you get the chance.  Once you experience the game at the personal level, you’ll be hooked.  I was.  Years ago.

Go USA.  But either way, it’s gonna be a great game!!

Lovie Smith began waxing idiotic at the NFL Combine Friday. The man who simply cannot see that his precious Cover-2 scheme is old, outdated, and ineffective in today’s NFL had these nuggets of “wisdom” for us to digest on Friday:
“Tommy Harris is still an impact player.” Smith even said that there were about “five” sacks that Harris didn’t get because he didn’t “wrap the guy up.” So, 2.5 sacks for the season is fine as long as you have five “almost” sacks?

“Devin Hester is a No. 1 receiver” and that it “may be the deepest position” on the team. WHAT!?!? You CANNOT be serious! Sure, you have depth, because you go six or seven deep of number five or six receivers. Hester is the game’s most explosive return man who has been neutered by a coach who should be selling pencils from a cup on the corner out in front of Soldier Field.

Until the beancounters at Halas Hall realize they are paying huge money for miniscule results, nothing will change and the once-proud Chicago Bears franchise will continue to be the NFL — the National Football Laughing stock.

Our local broadcasts for fall and winter have come to a close, so I’d like to thank the coaches, players, and staff from Central Lee and Keokuk for their help in making our broadcasts fun to do…and hopefully to listen to as well.  Also a thanks to our friends at Wendy’s in Keokuk for sponsoring the Play of the game.

We’ll be returning to WCEZ and KRNQ this May with selected coverage of Keokuk and Central Lee softball and baseball.

Don’t forget to follow all the Major League action of the St. Louis Cardinals on KOKX-FM 95.3 and the Chicago White Sox on WCEZ!

And, I hope to put more of my thoughts into the ether here on the blog…so be ready to critique my opinion on just about anything that is happening in the world of sports!!!

Finally, don’t forget to check in daily for the most comprehensive sports calendar and score page in the Tri-state area!!

-Bill

While on the way to Vegas for this week’s race, NASCAR Nationwide Series car owner Corrie Stott talks with Dave Jones. Dave also caught up with RaceMart’s owner Brent Walker to get the scoop on the Memphis, Missouri, store’s open house.