Trying to Make the Chase with the Most Average Team Ever (pt. 2)

Link to Part 1: https://zmiller82.blogspot.com/2026/06/trying-to-make-chase-with-most-average.html

By Zane Miller

Returning to where we left off at the end of the 2007 season, driver Floyd Parkhurst and Meh Motorsports began 2008 with a fitting 21st-place finish in the Daytona 500, which was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his first in-universe victory in the event. After Ryan Newman took the checkered flag at Las Vegas, Parkhurst captured his first top-10 of the year a week later at Atlanta. However, the now fifth-year veteran would have to wait a few more weeks for another top-10 run.

Parkurst matched his Atlanta finishing position with a ninth at Talladega, a race preceded by Matt Kenseth taking the win at Martinsville. Just past the midway point in the regular season, Parkhurst would get his first top-five of the campaign, grabbing third at Dover with Newman claiming another win. Disaster would strike at the second Daytona race, however, as Parkhurst was presumably caught up in a crash and finished 42nd. Even with top-10 runs at New Hampshire, Watkins Glen and Bristol, it wasn’t enough to make it into the Chase.

Despite being eliminated from title contention, Parkhurst still wrapped up the last 10 races with strong results, getting four top-10s which included a fifth-place at Homestead for 15th in the final standings. Bucking the notorious curse of the Daytona 500 winner struggling for the rest of the season, Earnhardt Jr. took back-to-back championships by 72 points over Kevin Harvick. In a situation reminiscent of his outstanding 2020 season, Harvick won exactly half of the races with 17, including four in the Chase, yet somehow found a way to lose the title. Earnhardt Jr. scored six wins, as Jeff Gordon had somewhat of an off year with four.

Set to avenge his crushing defeat in the previous year’s Chase, Harvick came into 2009 swinging with a fifth triumph in the Great American Race, as Parkhurst finished a respectable 12th. An eighth-place run was right around the corner for the driver of the #150 at Las Vegas, but there would be a long drought afterwards with Parkhurst’s next top-10 not coming until the first Richmond race.

The latter portion of the regular season wouldn’t get much better for Parkhurst, who largely continued to place just outside of the top-10 most weeks as a Chase spot inched away from his grasp. He would score a season-best sixth at Chicagoland, but was left on the outside looking in after 24 races.

In the meantime, Harvick went on a generational run to both finish the regular season and start the postseason. Starting out with wins at California and Richmond, Harvick then grabbed the first five wins of the Chase for seven consecutive victories. This was not only the most wins strung together by a single driver this playthrough, but Harvick was also the first Cup Series driver to win five or more straight since Richard Petty in 1971.

As Parkhurst settled for 15th in the standings, Harvick would not be denied his second career championship, which he clinched a race early even with the points reset. The pride of Bakersfield, California ended 2009 with another 17-win season, while Gordon returned to his winning ways with seven victories, including his 100th career win at Infineon. Earnhardt Jr. added another six wins to his resume.

The 2010 season would start off with more of the same, as Harvick claimed his sixth Daytona 500 with Parkhurst trailing behind in 15th. Harvick rattled off a pair of wins to pull a 2026 Tyler Reddick by beginning the year on a three-race win streak, though it was a miserable start for Parkhurst. Aside from a 10th-place finish at Darlington, he would end up outside the top-30 during the span from Atlanta to Texas. However, Parkhurst would bounce back big time at Martinsville thanks to a third-place result.

The strong run at the Paper Clip seemed to reinvigorate the Meh Motorsports outfit, as Parkhurst scored 10th at Talladega before taking the runner-up spot at California. Coincidentally, he again finished second to Tony Stewart, the winner in his only other runner-up result at Homestead in 2006. Of course, the hot streak did not last long for Parkhurst, who found himself well outside of postseason contention by the cutoff race, though the team did get their wind back just before regular season’s end with back-to-back fourth-place finishes at California and Richmond.

Not much of note happened for Parkhurst in the Chase events outside of a seventh at Atlanta on the way to 15th in points, but this postseason would provide an exciting three-way battle for the championship. You’d think it would be between Harvick, Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. for the title, but only two of the three are correct. Despite collecting a pair of wins early in the Chase, Harvick completely fell off a cliff afterward and was over 400 points out of the lead by the season finale. Instead, 2004 champ Jimmie Johnson reemerged as a valid threat, a mere 26 points behind point leader Gordon, who himself was only 18 points ahead of Earnhardt Jr. going into Homestead. Here’s where I really wish I could break down the results of this race, but, as you’ll recall from part one, the simulation model for NASCAR 2005 doesn’t allow you to view the full race results. What we do know is that Gordon scored the clutch win at the South Florida track, holding off teammate Johnson by 28 points as Earnhardt Jr. settled for third, 61 markers back.

The 2010 season was also remembered as the season of milestones, with Earnhardt Jr. earning his 50th career win in the fall race at Lowe’s, though it was moderately overshadowed by Harvick’s 100th career victory at Talladega coming just two weeks prior. Not only that, Gordon was able to pass David Pearson for second on the all-time wins list after his 106th career victory at New Hampshire to start the postseason.

The 2011 Daytona 500, which in real life was won by Trevor Bayne in one of the biggest underdog wins in NASCAR history, instead put out a far less interesting result in-game as Earnhardt Jr. took his second Harley J. Earl Trophy. However, the Wood Brothers would get their time in the sun later on in the season.

An unspectacular 18th-place in the 500 was followed by an eighth-place at Rockingham for Parkhurst. Even though he was still primarily coming up short of stringing together top-10s, Parkhurst was keeping himself in the postseason conversation with several top-20 runs in the early going. He collected his third top-10 of the year with an eighth in the Coke 600, but would not be the main headline from this event. Sophomore driver Clay Dixon, who took over for a retired Ricky Rudd in the Wood Brothers #21 ride, pulled off easily the most shocking upset of the simulation by taking his first career victory in the crown jewel race. Dixon would ultimately finish 17th in the final standings, making his victory all the crazier.

Speaking of crazy, Parkhurst again secured back-to-back top-10s, getting seventh at Dover before being brought back to earth with a 36th-place finish at Michigan. He resumed his familiar theme of getting solid yet not-quite-good-enough results for the next couple of months, but broke through for his career best finish at a road course, grabbing third in Watkins Glen. Even with a top-10 in the return trip to California, Parkhurst would be shut out of the Chase yet again.

Johnson grabbed the early advantage in the postseason with the opening win at New Hampshire, but a new challenger to the big three was already rising to the occasion. Matt Kenseth, already having an excellent season with four wins including a sweep of Richmond, came in as the #1-seed and showed why by taking the checkers at Dover. After a typical Harvick win at Talladega, Kenseth nabbed the victory at Kansas before collecting his seventh win of the year at Atlanta. Despite the best efforts of Harvick, Gordon and even Johnson, who picked up another win at Phoenix, nobody had anything for Kenseth. The native Wisconsinite held a commanding 114-point lead at season’s end for his second career Cup title. Although Harvick still finished the year with the most wins for the fourth straight season, it was just barely as he had eight to Kenseth’s seven. Punctuating one of the wildest seasons of the playthrough, Kenseth actually managed to finish with more wins than two of the big three, as Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. ended up with six apiece. Is this season simply a fluke, or does Kenseth’s dominant season signal a major shakeup in the Cup Series hierarchy? Come back in part three to find out!

How Elite Were They? #58- Joe Montana’s 14-win 1990 Season

Photo Credit: NFL

By Zane Miller

In our last visit to the career of legendary San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, he had completed one of the most thoroughly dominant, yet somewhat underrated, seasons in NFL history, winning Super Bowl XIX after a 15-1 regular season record in 1984. In the second half of the decade, Montana would continue to put up incredible stats, including a first-team All-Pro 1987 season and a 1989 campaign which saw him bring home both league MVP and Offensive Player of the Year (including another first-team All-Pro selection).

Not only that, the rest of the team was certainly pulling their weight as well, as he and the 49ers captured Super Bowl XXIII over the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1988 season before walloping the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV 55-10 the next year in what remains the largest margin of victory in the history of the Big Game. The only problem for an otherwise loaded squad coming into the 1990 campaign was that Montana had not crossed the 12-win mark since that magical 1984 season.

Some of this was due to injury, such as the 1986 season which saw Montana essentially miss the first half of the season due to a ruptured disc in his back. Some of it was unfortunate timing, as was the case in 1987 when Montana sat out during the in-season players’ strike. San Francisco would eventually finish with the best record in the NFL that year at 13-2 (aided by them winning all three of the games played with mainly replacement players), so it’s quite likely that Montana would have crossed the 12-win threshold had he been in those three games, four counting the one game that was canceled due to the strike. However, nothing would be holding the Comeback Kid back to start off the new decade.

After putting up modest numbers in the 49ers’ 13-12 week one victory in New Orleans, Montana showed more of what he was known for in the home opener against the Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders). That September afternoon, he would throw for 390 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with 160 yards and one of the TDs going to wide receiver John Taylor as the 49ers took it 26-14. The Bay Area faithful wouldn’t need to wait long for another exceptional Montana performance, as a week later on September 23^rd, he nearly matched his previous totals with two touchdowns and 398 passing yards to beat the Atlanta Falcons 19-13. With Taylor out of the lineup, Montana connected with future Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for 171 yards and a touchdown to keep the winning streak going.

After a close win in Houston against the Oilers, Montana would have the most impressive game of his career on October 14^th in the rematch against the Falcons. The Montana to Rice connection was red hot in Hotlanta, as the duo collected three touchdowns in the first half alone. With the Falcons keeping the game close, the 49ers offense had no choice but to respond and keep throwing for much of the second half as well. Ultimately, San Francisco got the job done with a 45-35 victory and improved to 5-0, with Montana posting six touchdown passes for 476 yards, both of which would be career highs. Rice had a career day as well, hauling in five touchdowns and 225 receiving yards.

Two wins later, the Niners came into Lambeau Field looking for an 8-0 start to the year at the expense of the Green Bay Packers. Early on, however, it appeared the team’s run at an undefeated season could come to an end after falling behind 10-0. This would not be the case, instead Montana and company fought back with a strong final frame to hold off the Packers 24-20, with Montana going off for three touchdowns and 411 yards and Rice catching a touchdown with 187 yards through the air.

Although Montana cooled off in the second half, he would still give the team a solid chance at the completing the undefeated season with decisive wins against the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, in week 12 the whispers of a perfect season would come to an end after a 28-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, as Montana sustained his only three-interception game of the year. That being said, the team’s 10-0 start, combined with winning the final five regular season contests of the 1989 season, enabled them to place inside the top-five at the time for the longest winning streaks in league history, with their 15 straight wins coming up two victories shy of the mark set by the Chicago Bears from the conclusion of 1933 through 1934. This record was later surpassed multiple times in the 2000s, with the current record holders being the 2008-09 Indianapolis Colts at 23.

Still, the 49ers remained focused on the main goal of grabbing their third straight Super Bowl title, finishing off the regular season strong at 14-2 to claim a first-round playoff bye. Montana was the starter in all 14 victories, taking 26 passing touchdowns and 3,944 passing yards, good for third in the league overall in both categories. While Oilers QB Warren Moon led the way in these categories, Houston’s comparatively underwhelming nine-win season ultimately gave Montana the upper hand in the MVP race. The now two-time MVP also claimed first-team All-Pro honors for the third time in his career, as he would be set to defend Candlestick Park against the Redskins on January 12^th.

In the first quarter, Washington raised the upset alert after taking a 10-7 lead, but San Francisco would kick into gear in the second as Montana found Rice then seldom-used receiver Mike Sherrard to stifle the threat. This enabled the defense, ranked second-best in the league at season’s end, to do the rest, shutting out the Redskins in the second half on the way to a 28-10 divisional round victory. Montana ended the day with a very good 274 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Mark Rypien went for 361 yards and a touchdown for Washington, albeit with three interceptions to one from Montana.

In the NFC Championship Game, the 49ers would play host to the NFC East champ New York Giants on January 20^th. Both teams knew the victor would face the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV, as they obliterated the Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raiders 51-3 in the AFC title game a couple hours earlier. However, this conference title matchup would be the complete opposite type of game, as the battle between the #1 and #2 defenses quickly took center stage. A 6-6 draw at halftime gave way on easily the biggest offensive play of the afternoon, with Montana finding an open Taylor down the sideline, sprinting the remaining 40 yards to the end zone. That momentary lapse aside, the Giants responded with a field goal before holding San Francisco to three straight three-and-outs. On the third drive, defensive end Leonard Marshall delivered a crushing hit to Montana as he attempted to find a receiver, instead leading to a fumble. While the 49ers were able to fall on the loose ball, Montana would be knocked out for the remainder of the game with broken ribs and a broken hand.

A successful fake punt set New York up for yet another Matt Bahr field goal, which went through to cut the San Francisco lead down to one. Backup quarterback Steve Young made the most of his lone pass attempt with a 25-yard completion to tight end Brent Jones, but a fumble by running back Roger Craig forced by defensive lineman Erik Howard set up the Giants near midfield with just over two minutes to play. After a pair of crucial passing plays totaling 32 yards from quarterback Jeff Hostetler put the Giants in makable field goal range, a trip to the Super Bowl rested on the right leg of Matt Bahr. Bahr, seeking his first appearance in the Big Game since his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1979, put it through from 42 yards out to end San Francisco’s season with the 15-13 win.

Montana’s shot at a three-peat ended with a touchdown pass and 190 yards, compared to the 176-yard game from Hostetler. In spite of the great defense played by both sides, neither quarterback threw an interception during the game. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, this would be the mark the final full season for Montana as a 49er.

Midway through the 1991 preseason, Montana developed an elbow injury that was initially not believed to be season-threatening, but was later revealed as a ligament tear that sidelined him for the entirety of 1991. Complications as a result of the ensuing surgery kept him out for all but one game of the 1992 season, at which point the 49ers had opted to go with Young as the starter for 1993. This prompted a trade sending Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs for a first-round draft pick, which was later traded again and used by the Phoenix (now Arizona) Cardinals to select offensive lineman Ernest Dye, who would only play one full season with the team.

As for Montana, he would ultimately finish his NFL career as a Chief, still contributing solid numbers despite missing the better part of two seasons. In 1993, he nearly led the team to its first Super Bowl appearance as an NFL franchise, but were stonewalled by the Bills in the conference championships. The 1994 campaign saw Montana finish inside the top-10 in passing yards at age 38, before officially announcing his retirement the following offseason, claiming a total of 117 career wins, 100 of which as a Niner, as well as four Super Bowl rings. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot in the year 2000, going along with his #16 jersey being officially retired by the 49ers in 1997. In 2009, Montana was included as an inaugural inductee of the 49ers Hall of Fame, in addition to joining the similarly regional Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Since 1998, Montana became a cofounder of multiple San Francisco-based venture capital firms, including one known as Liquid 2 Ventures which he is currently listed as managing partner.

My 2026-27 AHL Regular Season Predictions

 

Photo Credit: Milwaukee Admirals

By Zane Miller

Playoff teams listed in bold and italics

EC Atlantic

Charlotte Checkers

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Hershey Bears

Providence Bruins

Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Springfield Thunderbirds

Hamilton Hammers

Hartford Wolf Pack

EC North

Syracuse Crunch

Laval Rocket

Cleveland Monsters

Rochester Americans

Belleville Senators

Toronto Marlies

Utica Comets

WC Central

Grand Rapids Griffins

Milwaukee Admirals

Texas Stars

Chicago Wolves

Iowa Wild

Manitoba Moose

Rockford IceHogs

WC Pacific

Bakersfield Condors

Henderson Silver Knights

San Jose Barracuda

Colorado Eagles

Ontario Reign

Abbotsford Canucks

Tucson Roadrunners

Coachella Valley Firebirds

Calgary Wranglers

San Diego Gulls

My 2026-27 NHL Regular Season Predictions

 

Photo Credit: Getty Images

By Zane Miller

Playoff teams listed in bold and italics

EC Atlantic

Buffalo Sabres

Montreal Canadiens

Florida Panthers

Ottawa Senators

Tampa Bay Lightning

Boston Bruins

Toronto Maple Leafs

Detroit Red Wings

EC Metropolitan

Carolina Hurricanes

Washington Capitals

Philadelphia Flyers

New York Islanders

New Jersey Devils

Pittsburgh Penguins

Columbus Blue Jackets

New York Rangers

WC Central

Colorado Avalanche

Utah Mammoth

Chicago Blackhawks

Minnesota Wild

Winnipeg Jets

Dallas Stars

Nashville Predators

St. Louis Blues

WC Pacific

Edmonton Oilers

Vegas Golden Knights

Los Angeles Kings

San Jose Sharks

Anaheim Ducks

Vancouver Canucks

Calgary Flames

Seattle Kraken

Naming as Many NASCAR Drivers as Possible in 45 Minutes

Photo Credit: Orlando Sentinel

By Zane Miller

After seeing a couple different people trying out challenges like this, I decided it was my turn to give it a shot. I ended up naming a total of 368 drivers in the 45 minute-long time frame, I initially thought it was 372 but accidentally got four repeats in there. I had also originally planned on this being an hour long, but 45 minutes was the most I could fit under Blogspot's maximum video file size. Still a fun challenge though, highly recommend giving it a try yourself!

Who I Want to Win in the 2026 IFL Playoffs

Photo Credit: OurSportsCentral

By Zane Miller

First round

#E4 Orlando v. #E1 Green Bay- Green Bay

#E3 Tulsa v. #E2 Jacksonville- Jacksonville

#W4 Tucson v. #W1 San Diego- San Diego

#W3 Arizona v. #W2 Vegas- Arizona

Semifinal

#E2 Jacksonville v. #E1 Green Bay- Green Bay

#W3 Arizona v. #W1 San Diego- Arizona

IFL National Championship Game

#W3 Arizona v. #E1 Green Bay

Winner: Arizona Rattlers

Random Recap Thursday #15: Milwaukee Braves v. Los Angeles Dodgers 9/15/1959

 

Photo Credit: Athletes Quarterly

By Zane Miller

On Tuesday, September 15^th, 1959, the recently relocated Los Angeles Dodgers played host to the also recently-relocated Milwaukee Braves at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, both teams coming into the matchup at strong records of 79-64 and 78-65 respectively.

Not only did both teams have nearly identical records, the two had also secured World Series rings within the past few years. The Braves nabbed what would be their only championship in Milwaukee in 1957, while the Dodgers won it all in 1955 while playing in Brooklyn. However, the team had yet to win the World Series in the brief window of time following their move out west, but that was soon to change.

In the meantime, the Braves made their way out to the City of Angels for a two-game set against the Dodgers. Game one of the mini-series saw Milwaukee take a 4-1 victory on the back of an exceptional pitching performance from longtime starter Bob Buhl. For Tuesday’s game, though, the Braves went with 23-year-old Joey Jay. While Jay had been used sporadically by the Braves over the past few seasons, 1959 would be the year he would finally get a full-time shot in the starting rotation. While not having an amazing season, Jay wasn’t doing terribly either, going 5-10 with a 3.96 ERA at this juncture.

For the Dodgers, they opted to send starting pitcher Roger Craig to the mound. Joining the Dodgers’ big league squad just in time to win the 1955 World Series, Craig made the move across the country with the team in 1958, but received a rude welcome as he injured his shoulder early in the year and was forced to sit out most of the season. In 1959, however, Craig bounced back and then some, leading the National League in complete game shutouts. At this point in the year, Craig had an impressive 2.36 ERA and an 8-5 record.

It didn’t take long for the Braves to find themselves in front, as they got a two-run home run courtesy of first baseman Joe Adcock in the first inning. However, the next three frames would be filled with missed opportunities for Milwaukee, as they had runners on first and second in the second and fourth innings and the bases loaded in the third, but failed to convert these scoring chances into a single run as Craig got himself out of the jam each time. This finally led to the Dodger offense coming through with a big inning of their own, starting off with left fielder Norm Larker driving in the team’s first run on an RBI single.

A John Roseboro single set up rookie shortstop Maury Wills with runners at the corners and he did not disappoint, getting an RBI single to even the game at 2-2. Interestingly, manager Walter Alston made the decision to replace Craig with a pinch hitter despite him going just four innings, but there were runners at first and third once again. Just like Wills, pinch hitter Sandy Amoros got the job done, picking up an RBI groundout to put Los Angeles out in front. After Jim Gilliam drew a walk, second baseman Charlie Neal drove in the run from second with another RBI single. This was enough to chase Jay from the game, but new pitcher Juan Pizarro couldn’t immediately stop the bleeding as former Rookie of the Year and St. Louis Cardinal Wally Moon mashed an RBI single of his own to make it a 5-2 lead once the inning was said and done.

The teams traded a pair of runs in the middle innings as the Dodgers maintained their three-run advantage, but the Braves offense was ready to strike once the top of the eighth came around. Future Hall of Fame slugger Henry Aaron had the bases loaded, and was determined not to let another golden opportunity fall by the wayside. Aaron drilled a line drive double into left field, scoring two runners to cut the lead to 6-5. However, that was where the score would stay as despite having the bases loaded with just one out after an intentional walk, the theme of the Braves faltering in big moments continued as reliever Larry Sherry ended the threat without further damage.

After Milwaukee reliever Don McMahon held the Dodgers scoreless in the bottom of the inning, the Braves rallied in the top of the ninth. Catcher Del Crandall, who would go on to earn his second of four career Gold Glove awards this year, took care of business with his bat to kick off the inning with a double to left field. Light-hitting second baseman Felix Mantilla wasted little time in getting him home, pushing in an RBI single to tie the game once again. The Braves went quietly in the rest of the inning and, after a bottom of the ninth scoring threat was thwarted by McMahon, the contest was headed to extras.

After a game marred by ineptitude with runners in scoring position, the Braves were met with another such chance in the 10^th frame. A pair of singles from Aaron and Adcock set up runners at second and third for shortstop Johnny Logan. A four-time All-Star who had been with the Braves organization since 1947, Logan hammered a line drive that was caught by the right fielder, but was still able to score Aaron from third to retake the lead.

The Braves ended up having another opportunity with the bases loaded, as Crandall was intentionally walked and Mantilla reached on a fielding error for another shot at increasing the advantage. However, seldom-used reliever Chuck Churn got John DeMerit to fly out, ending the inning and bringing up the bottom of the Los Angeles order.

McMahon went back out for a third inning of work, but perhaps he was getting stretched a bit too far. After handily getting the first out, Wills and pinch hitter Chuck Essegian contributed back-to-back singles. Essegian was promptly out of the game as Joe Pignatano pinch ran for him at first, with Wills moving over to third. With an extra out to work with, Gilliam hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Wills to come home for the tying run.

Even with the contest evened up at 7-7, manager Fred Haney chose to keep McMahon in the game. However, needing just more out and only a runner at first, the chances were still in favor of the game going into the 11^th inning. Knowing the situation, the Dodgers were able to force McMahon to throw even more pitches with some excellent plate discipline. A single by Neal was followed by a walk from Moon about a decade before the Moon would be walked on, setting up right fielder Ron Fairly with the bases loaded.

A newcomer to the Dodgers roster, Fairly was having a somewhat underwhelming rookie season which finished with just four homers, 23 RBIs and 58 hits in 118 games. On this day, however, Fairly came through in the clutch. As McMahon threw three straight balls, he took a called strike, but was undeterred as the fifth and final pitch of the at-bat fell in outside of the zone for the rare walk-off walk. Pignataro touched home plate for a crucial 8-7 win for the Dodgers, winning the battle as part of the greater war against the Braves for the National League title.

Los Angeles went on to win that war, finishing with an 88-68 record to the 86-70 showing of Milwaukee to take their place as NL representative in the World Series. Squaring off against the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles secured a six-game series victory to claim their first championship as a California team.

Random Recap Thursday #14: Minnesota North Stars v. St. Louis Blues 2/19/1987

Photo Credit: NHL

By Zane Miller

On Thursday, February 19th, 1987, the St. Louis Blues hosted the Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars) at St. Louis Arena as both teams maintained a similar record within the NHL’s Norris Division.

After defeating the Canucks 7-3 the day before, the North Stars barely squeaked into this game with a .500 record, taking a 25-25-7 showing as they made the long trip from Vancouver to the Gateway City. The Blues, on the other hand, had just lost to the Canucks in their most recent contest, coming up short by a score of 4-3 two nights earlier to bring up a five-game winless streak. However, the Blues were able to remain at home, saving up some crucial energy before facing Minnesota.

The goaltending matchup would be a duel of veteran netminders, with Greg Millen going for St. Louis and Don Beaupre taking the net for the North Stars. Millen was on his third team at the NHL level after a pair of substantial stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes), but his stint in St. Louis would eventually be his most fruitful one. At this point in the 1986-87 season, though, Millen was having a tough go of it with an .871 save percentage (which was subpar even by ‘80s standards) and an 8-14-6 record. Meanwhile, Don Beaupre was in his seventh season with the North Stars at just 25 years old, coming off an excellent 1985-86 which saw him finish inside the top five for the Vezina Trophy. However, this season was not going as swimmingly, with him taking a 14-11-3 record and .881 save percentage into the midweek matchup.

Once the puck dropped, the Blues didn’t need much time to get on the board as forward Greg Paslawski capitalized on a Larry DePalma slashing penalty for a power play marker, which occurred after not one, not two, but three fights took place in the opening minutes. However, the fighting only seemed to motivate St. Louis while the North Stars remained out of sync. Forward Mark Hunter, who had been a brilliant acquisition from the Montreal Canadiens a year ago with 44 goals in 1985-86, nabbed his 26th goal of the season on an assist from future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko for his second of three helpers on the evening.

Exactly one minute of game time later, rookie Cliff Ronning would enter the picture for the Blues. After being taken by the team in the seventh round of the 1984 draft, Ronning proved himself in the Western Hockey League with nearly 200 points in the 1984-85 season alone. This earned him a call-up to the big league club and while he of course wasn’t able to immediately reach the same heights, he still had an impressive start with a hat trick in just his fourth career regular season game. In this one, though, Ronning was on his way to another multi-goal game, finding a way past Beaupre to make it a 3-0 Blues advantage.

Not to be outdone, Hunter potted another one himself at the 17-minute mark after the team successfully killed off an interference penalty from defensemen Tim Bothwell, as the dust settled with St. Louis up 4-0 after the first period. Despite the poor start for Beaupre, Minnesota head coach Lorne Henning opted not to switch goalies, likely because of the fact that backup netminder Kari Takko had just played the full 60 minutes in Vancouver the night prior.

The trio of first period fights wouldn’t be the last for the fisticuffs in this contest, as Dirk Graham of the North Stars and Doug Evans of the Blues got into it shortly after the second period got underway. This did little to turn the game around for Minnesota, who remained unable to solve Millen despite a fair amount of shots on goal. Just past the nine-minute mark, Ronning scored his second of the game to push the game into blowout territory. A few minutes later, however, the North Stars would end the shutout bid as forward Neal Broten, who would later become team captain after the team relocated to Dallas, found the net to make it a 5-1 score line going into the final frame.

Minnesota would need a miracle in order come back from four goals down on the road, a miracle that wasn’t in the cards on this night. Paslawski became the third player to earn multiple goals in the contest and while Graham would score himself to finish a helper shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick, the Blues would finally bring their winless drought to an end with the (literally) hard-fought 6-2 win.

The loss to the Blues proved to kickstart Minnesota’s downfall this season, as they would not have a winning record again the rest of the way. The wheels truly came off in a brutal month of March which saw them win just three of their last 18 games, dropping them to last in the division standings as the only team in the Norris Division to miss the postseason. While the Blues didn’t have a particularly amazing season either, they were nonetheless beneficiaries of playing in a weak division and won the Norris title with a 32-33-15 record. However, they were unable to replicate their deep playoff run from 1986, instead losing in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Who I Want to Win in the 2026 AF1 Playoffs

Public domain photo

By Zane Miller

First round

#6 Washington v. #3 Minnesota- Minnesota

#5 Michigan v. #4 Kentucky- Kentucky

Semifinal

#4 Kentucky v. #1 Nashville- Kentucky

#3 Minnesota v. #2 Albany- Albany

Arena Crown

#4 Kentucky v. #2 Albany

Winner: Kentucky Barrels

The Last Hurrah #19: Montreal Canadiens v. New York Islanders 3/3/2020 @ Barclays Center

Photo Credit: AP News

By Zane Miller

On Tuesday, March 3^rd, 2020, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders 6-2 in what was to be an unceremonious end to a failed experiment, that being the Islanders’ relocation to the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

As their name suggests, the Islanders had played all home games from their inaugural season of 1972-73 onward on Long Island, specifically the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. This pairing of course led to much success, with four straight Stanley Cups coming from 1980 to 1983. By the early 2010s, however, the Coliseum was looking a bit dated in comparison to the other NHL arenas at the time, or at least that’s how it appeared to Islanders management. After a proposal to build a new arena in Uniondale was denied in 2011, the team ultimately made the decision to move to the newly opened Barclays Center before the 2015-16 season.

This announcement was made in October 2012, just weeks after the arena’s official grand opening on September 21^st of that year. The Barclays Center was built with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets in mind as the primary tenant, with concerts and other events also utilizing the facility on non-game days. This meant that the design plans did not account for ice hockey, which of course requires a significantly larger area than basketball. However, both the arena still had a couple years to prepare for the Islanders’ arrival as they played out the remainder of their lease at Nassau.

Fast-forwarding to the 2015 preseason, the season didn’t even have a chance to officially start before the Islanders’ tenure at the Barclays Center had its first notable incident. While the team had been using a Kahlenberg T-3A model goal horn since 2000, they initially opted to go in a different direction for 2015-16 to help establish a new identity for their new arena. What followed was quite possibly the worst hockey goal horn ever conceived, as the new horn produced a brutal, piercing screech resembling a smoke alarm that likely inspired more fans to evacuate than cheer on the Islanders. To their credit, the horn was scrapped after the first preseason game, but the hearing damage was already done. Plenty of recreations of the horn are available on YouTube, but listen at your own risk.

The goal horn debacle proved to be a bad omen for the team’s future at Barclays, as more serious issues with the facility came to light as the 2015-16 season rolled on. While most NHL arenas have a built-in cooling system underneath the playing surface, this was not the case at Barclays Center and the ice quality suffered as a result. Both home and visiting players complained of the inadequate ice, a major problem considering this could not only impede skating ability, but also make it more likely for injuries to occur. However, fans in the stands had a hard enough time seeing the ice at all, with poor sightlines being another common complaint.

Even to the outside observer, the aesthetics of the arena just looked off. Because the rink had to be awkwardly shoehorned into the building, this left a massive gap where seats would normally be behind the west end goal and the overhead scoreboard hovering over the blue line instead of at center ice. The best way to describe it is that it all just looked out of place, like imagine if you were watching a game and someone, I don’t know, parked their car right next to the rink or something like tha-

 

Yeah, if you watched any Islanders home games on TV around this time, you knew I was going to bring up the SUV. The vehicle, typically a Honda Pilot, sat directly alongside the corner boards, facing the television cameras for the duration of the game. While not necessarily distracting to the viewing audience (especially compared to the far more obnoxious digital ad overlays used by broadcasters in recent years), the presence of a rinkside SUV was certainly impossible to ignore and remains the first thing that comes to mind for me when thinking about this period in the Islanders’ history.

Absurdity aside, the team put together an impressive debut season at Barclays, finishing 2015-16 with a 45-37 record. In the first round of the playoffs against the Florida Panthers, the Islanders had home ice advantage, leading to them winning the decisive game six at home for the first win in a playoff series since 1993. However, the Islanders would not be going much further in the postseason as they were eliminated by the other Sunshine State team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, one round later.

The same problems largely remained at Barclays Center in the next two seasons, though the Islanders were unable to meet the same level of on-ice play from their inaugural campaign. The team would barely miss the playoffs in 2016-17 before nearly being the worst team in the Metropolitan division in 2017-18. The uninspiring production, along with the continued issues with the arena, led to attendance falling off significantly. By the start of the 2018-19 season, the team made the decision to move back to the Nassau Coliseum for a significant number of home games after their original arena underwent major renovations in their absence. This, along with the greenlighting of a new arena in nearby Elmont, spelled the beginning of the end for the Islanders’ time at Barclays. However, the team still planned to split their home games between Nassau and Barclays for the next handful of seasons.

The 2018-19 season proved to be a return to form for the Islanders, as they posted their best record of the 82-game era at 48-34 to easily reach the playoffs. Due to scheduling conflicts with the Nets also making their respective postseason, the Islanders ended up splitting their home games in the playoffs as well, as the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins would start out at Nassau. The change worked out brilliantly for New York, as they handed the Penguins a four-game sweep. With the Nets eliminated in the first round, the Islanders were free to host the Carolina Hurricanes at Barclays to open the second round. In a twist of fate, though, the positive vibes evaporated as soon as they got back to Brooklyn, with the Hurricanes getting a sweep of their own to knock out New York and return to the conference finals.

For the 2019-20 campaign, the number of home games at Barclays Center was further reduced from 20 a season prior to 13, as Nassau Coliseum officially took back its place as the team’s primary home. The Islanders began the season red hot, winning 10 straight games between October and November and going a further seven games without a regulation loss. However, they cooled off significantly later on in the season, finding themselves fighting for a wild card spot coming into their March 3^rd bout with the Montreal Canadiens.

Although technically still in the hunt for the playoffs, the Canadiens were sitting much further back from the wild card battle, coming into Brooklyn five games behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final spot. In order to make the playoffs, Montreal would essentially need to win every game and get some help. While the Canadiens were well aware of the importance of their game against the Islanders, the victory here would prove even more crucial than they realized at the time.

The Canadiens counted on franchise staple and future Hall of Famer Carey Price at goaltender, as he came into the Tuesday night contest with a .910 save percentage and a 26-29 record. As for New York, they gave the start to their backup netminder in Thomas Greiss, who had a 16-11 record in his appearances with a strong .916 save percentage to follow up his Jennings Trophy-winning season the year before. Once the game got underway, though, the Islanders would show why they entered the game on a three-game losing streak.

After a couple early scoring chances were turned away by Price, Montreal would ultimately be the ones to break through as forward Brendan Gallagher tipped a point shot from defenseman Ben Chiarot past Greiss with six and a half minutes to play in the first period. Just two minutes later, the Canadiens utilized similar tactics again by Phillip Danault getting in front of Greiss, creating a perfect screen as defenseman Jeff Petry fired a shot from the point himself, which got through Danault’s screen and into the net for a 2-0 lead. This snowballed into the final minutes of the period, with an Islanders turnover in front of the net teeing up Quebec native Charles Hudon from the slot, who made no mistake as he ripped it for a 3-0 lead at the break.

That would be all for Greiss in this game, as he was pulled to start the second period in favor of regular starter Semyon Varlamov. While the defense responded to the goalie change, holding the Canadiens to just five shots in the second period, it wasn’t enough to stave off Montreal entirely as forward Paul Byron found the back of the net on a shorthanded try, set up by a turnover forced by teammate Joel Armia.

Although Brock Nelson ended Montreal’s shutout bid in the third period to make it a 4-1 game, the most infamous moment from this game was unfortunately right around the corner. In a battle with Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen in front of the New York net, veteran Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk was inadvertently clipped in the face by a skate blade as Lehkonen fell to the ice, causing Boychuk to immediately make a hurried exit to the locker room. The incident caused a severe injury to his right eye, requiring approximately 90 stitches to help heal and ending his regular season. To take a brief detour here, Boychuk would thankfully make a recovery in time for that year’s playoffs (moved to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic), but unfortunately also sustained a head injury in his first game back and would only play in two other games during the Islanders’ postseason run.

Returning to the game at hand, the 4-1 score would remain for much of the final frame, until Canadiens forward Jordan Weal took advantage of a misplay and broke through to essentially put the game out of reach with less than five minutes remaining. A couple garbage time goals ensued, with defenseman Ryan Pulock capitalizing on a five-on-three power play opportunity for the Islanders before the Canadiens responded with an Armia empty netter, eventually putting the final at 6-2 in favor of Montreal.

The win moved the Habs to 31-37 on the season, as the Islanders fell to 35-30. Price grabbed his 348^th career victory with 20 saves on 22 shots, while Greiss took the loss after allowing three goals on 12 shots in the first period. The Islanders ultimately would not win another regular season game that season, losing three more contests before the NHL concluded the regular season just over a week after the Canadiens-Islanders matchup as a result of the pandemic. The two additional games which were planned to be played at Barclays Center obviously never came to be, leaving the March 3^rd matchup as the unexpected sendoff.

After the abrupt halt to the regular season, the NHL was left with the conundrum of how to dole out playoff spots with most teams not having played the same number of games. Ultimately, the league decided to allow a temporary expansion to the postseason to 24 teams based on winning percentage. Consequently, the Canadiens were able to reach the postseason with the final spot in the Eastern Conference, beating out the Buffalo Sabres by seven percentage points. Had they lost their game against the Islanders, it would have been the Sabres leap-frogging them for the remaining spot. However, with the Canadiens taking care of business, it set them up to upset the Penguins in the first/qualifying round before their luck ran out against the Philadelphia Flyers one round later.

Speaking of unexpected playoff runs, the Islanders took their 35-33 record into the first round of the postseason, with all Eastern Conference matchups prior to the conference finals being played in Toronto. Despite the lackluster results to close the regular season, the Islanders only picked up steam as the playoffs went on, defeating the Panthers before disposing of the Washington Capitals in five games. They then held off the Flyers in seven games to reach the conference finals against the Lightning in Edmonton, but Tampa Bay were not to be denied as the Islanders’ Cinderella run ended in six games.

Despite the overall bizarre arrangement between the Islanders and the Barclays Center, it at least was home to some memorable moments in what was a hit-or-miss stretch for the team. However, it was one of those ideas that was never exactly destined for long-term success. After playing the full 2020-21 home slate at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders moved about 10 miles west to the UBS Arena in Elmont upon its completion in November 2021, a facility much more equipped for NHL hockey. Meanwhile, the Barclays Center is still going strong today, having just hosted the NBA Draft as I’m writing this and continuing to host the Nets and other events going forward.

After the abrupt halt to the regular season, the NHL was left with the conundrum of how to dole out playoff spots with most teams not having played the same number of games. Ultimately, the league decided to allow a temporary expansion to the postseason to 24 teams based on winning percentage. Consequently, the Canadiens were able to reach the postseason with the final spot in the Eastern Conference, beating out the Buffalo Sabres by seven percentage points. Had they lost their game against the Islanders, it would have been the Sabres leap-frogging them for the remaining spot. However, with the Canadiens taking care of business, it set them up to upset the Penguins in the first/qualifying round.

Speaking of unexpected playoff runs, the Islanders took their 35-33 record into the first round of the postseason, with all Eastern Conference matchups prior to the conference finals being played in Toronto. Despite the lackluster results to close the regular season, the Islanders only picked up steam as the playoffs went on, defeating the Panthers before disposing of the Washington Capitals in five games. They then held off the Flyers in seven games to reach the conference finals against the Lightning in Edmonton, but Tampa Bay were not to be denied as the Islanders’ cinderella run ended in six games.

Despite the overall bizarre arrangement between the Islanders and the Barclays Center, it at least was home to some memorable moments in what was a hit-or-miss stretch for the team. However, it was one of those ideas that was never exactly destined for long-term success. After playing the full 2020-21 home slate at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders moved about 10 miles west to the UBS Arena in Elmont upon its completion in November 2021, a facility much more equipped for NHL hockey. Meanwhile, the Barclays Center is still going strong today, having just hosted the NBA Draft as I’m writing this and continuing to host the Nets and other events going forward.

Who I Want to Win in the 2026 MLR Playoffs

Photo Credit: MLR

By Zane Miller

First round

#4 DC v. #1 Chicago- Chicago

#3 California v. #2 Seattle- Seattle

Championship Game

#2 Seattle v. #1 Chicago

Winner: Chicago Hounds

Trying to Make the Chase with the Most Average Team Ever (pt. 1)

By Zane Miller

Back in 2021, I wrote an article covering the most average team in NFL history, that being the 1970 Cleveland Browns. That particular Browns squad managed to finish 13^th out of 26 teams in both points scored and points against, while maintaining a 7-7 record at the end of the regular season. Nonetheless, the Browns nearly made the playoffs that year and would have done so if not for a miraculous comeback from the Cincinnati Bengals, who started the season at 1-6 before going undefeated in the second half, stealing the AFC Central crown with an 8-6 finish.

With that in mind, I figured it would be a fun experiment to recreate the perfect middle-of-the-road nature of the 1970 Browns in the video game world and see what happens. This wouldn’t be limited to football, as I plan to build painfully average teams across multiple sports. I decided to start out with NASCAR- more specifically, NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup- since the process for ensuring a perfectly average team/driver combo is pretty straightforward. All I needed to do for this one is have my team’s engine, aerodynamics and suspension rated at 5/10, then hire the level 6 driver for the Cup Series, that being Floyd Parkhurst.

Of course, normally I would have to work my way up through the lower series before getting enough money to buy a Cup team, but in this case I used the cheat code to give myself $10 million at the beginning of Fight to the Top, enabling me to retire immediately and buy a Cup Series team before the start of the 2004 season.

Went with the most generic paint scheme possible, also the character limit is why it says 'Motorsport' instead of Motorsports :)

Unfortunately, the simulation mode for NASCAR 2005 is pretty bad, especially when compared to NASCAR Thunder 2003. For one, the player can’t actually see the results of any simulated race, the game will only display the winner of each event and they have to go back to the race shop menu every time to see where their hired driver finished. Second, the results themselves have almost no variety, as the vast majority of events will have either Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, or Kevin Harvick as the winner. However, unlike NT2003, the quality of the equipment doesn’t deteriorate after each race, making it easier to keep the car as average as possible. Fittingly, Floyd Parkhurst finished midpack in the season-opening Daytona 500, with Harvick taking the checkered flag for his first win in the Great American Race.

Parkhurst nearly had his first top-10 of the 2004 campaign at Martinsville as he came home 11^th, but would have his first true shining moment in the spring race at Richmond. Parkhurst brought his #150 Chevy across the line in an impressive third, as Elliott Sadler scored the win as easily the most interesting winner of the season. Parkhurst matched his third-place effort a couple weeks later at Dover, sitting a respectable 13^th in points just over halfway through the regular season.

At Michigan, Kasey Kahne earned his first career win to become the only Dodge to win in the regular season, but for Parkhurst, things would go awry at the summer Daytona race. There he was hit with his worst career finish of 42^nd, followed by another brutal result of 41^st at New Hampshire. Although Parkhurst managed another top-five at the second Michigan date, by the regular season finale at Richmond he was well out of contention for the inaugural Chase, sitting over 700 points back of 10^th-place Sadler. Speaking of which, Matt Kenseth was the only Ford driver other than Sadler to get a win, with each of the blue oval’s victories coming at Richmond.

Although his quest to reach the Chase in his rookie season fell short, Parkhurst had a decent 10-race stretch to wrap up the year, claiming a pair of eighth-place finishes on the way to a 15^th-place points finish. I wanted to go ahead and get that out of the way since the real story is the incredible Chase run of Jimmie Johnson. Johnson didn’t have a particularly impressive regular season, coming into the Chase in eighth, but went on an absolute tear once the postseason got going with wins at New Hampshire, Talladega and Martinsville. Going into the Homestead season finale, Johnson was the points leader, but had teammate Jeff Gordon hot on his heels a mere two points back. Also chasing Johnson were Harvick, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart, each with a realistic chance of taking the title. However, Gordon would have a horrible race, losing 138 points to Johnson, while neither of the other four were able to get the job done. Johnson held off Harvick by 50 points for his first Cup championship in just his third full-time season. What impresses me the most about this is that Johnson would eventually become known for being unstoppable in the Chase despite never being the best during the regular season, though this perception didn’t come about until roughly five years after the game’s release. Always nice when video games end up predicting the future.

Breaking down the final stats for 2004, Harvick easily captured the most wins, taking 15 of the 34 races (the schedule is 34 races instead of 36 due to both Pocono races being omitted from the game, likely due to some sort of licensing dispute). Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. each grabbed six victories, while Johnson was the only other multi-time winner with three. Parkhurst’s final statline as a rookie was no wins, three top-fives and six top-10s.

The 2005 season would start off similar to the year before, with Harvick going back-to-back in the Daytona 500. However, Parkhurst started off strong this time around, picking up a sixth-place finish. Early in the year, it seemed there may be a new challenger to the big three of Harvick, Gordon and Earnhardt as Kahne picked up wins at Las Vegas and Darlington, though this unfortunately wouldn’t last. In that Darlington race, though, Parkhurst matched his career-best of third before taking a fourth-place finish at Texas. He would have quite a few nice runs in the first half of the regular season, holding 13^th in points.

Dale Jarrett scored an upset at Infineon for his first and only win on a road course, but the terrible luck for Parkhurst on the July 4^th weekend only continued with a 39^th-place result. He would bounce back nicely with a fifth at Chicagoland as he looked to keep a Chase appearance in his sights. Robert Yates Racing must have found some extra speed on road courses this season as Sadler grabbed the win at Watkins Glen, followed up with another Ford win with Kenseth getting it done at Michigan. Throughout the last several races of the regular season, Parkhurst had been setting remarkably consistent results, not finishing worse than 15^th after the Daytona debacle. Sadly, it wouldn’t be enough as Parkhurst came into Richmond just outside of contention for the final postseason spot.

Undeterred, Parkhurst ended 2005 with some more solid results, including another third-place run at Darlington. Parkhurst ultimately took the 12^th spot in points, with another tight championship battle unfolding before him. Carrying the torch for Team Penske, Newman scored a massive victory at Darlington to go into Homestead with a 27-point lead over Harvick for the championship with Earnhardt, Gordon, Kenseth and Stewart in tow. I wish I could tell you that Newman pulled out the title here to end in disappointment another double-digit win season by Harvick, but I simply can’t. No, Harvick came in clutch with the win at Homestead and, just as he did in 2014 in real life, Newman was forced to settle for runner-up as Harvick claimed his first career Cup title.

This time around, Harvick only had 12 victories to his 15 the year before, with Earnhardt improving to nine wins and Gordon posting four. Kenseth burst onto the scene with a four-win campaign of his own thanks to a late-season surge, as Kahne took his two wins as something to build upon in 2006. Parkhurst collected no wins, four top-fives and 10 top-10s.

The 2006 season began with another bang for Harvick, who three-peated at the Daytona 500 with Parkhurst coming in 18^th. Kenseth picked up where he left off at the end of 2005, claiming the checkers at Las Vegas while Kahne took an early-season win at Atlanta. As spring turned to summer, Harvick rattled off a streak of four straight wins, taking Dover, Michigan, Infineon and New Hampshire as Parkhurst struggled with just two top-10s in the first half. Gordon ended Harvick’s run with a win at Chicagoland, but it would be Newman getting unexpected back-to-back victories at Watkins Glen and Michigan with the Chase right around the corner. Coming into Richmond, Harvick had already locked up the regular season title with Parkhurst sitting well outside in 16^th.

With another run at making the Chase come and gone, Parkhurst had a largely uneventful final 10 races, as Gordon cruised to his fifth championship thanks to victories at Dover and Kansas, even clinching the title a race early. Although the Homestead race was irrelevant to the standings, Stewart would finally get his first win of the simulation, but it would come at the expense of Parkhurst, who finished right behind in second for his best career finish to this point. Nearly making it to victory lane despite his mediocre skillset and equipment, Parkhurst at least finished 2006 on a high note, but it was a disappointing season overall with just one top-five and four top-10s. Harvick was again the winningest driver with 13 victories, with Gordon securing nine wins, Earnhardt getting five and Newman breaking through for three.

The start of 2007 matched reality as Harvick took the Daytona 500 yet again, though Parkhurst was likely not running at the finish as he wound up in 39^th. In fact, he wouldn’t get his first top-10 of the year until Talladega, but it was followed up quite nicely with a third-place run at California. With the lack of top-10s and a few too many finishes outside the top-20, Parkhurst sat an underwhelming 18^th in points at the halfway mark. Meanwhile, Kenseth had emerged as a championship threat with a pair of wins at Atlanta and Bristol in the spring, along with a triumph at the second Michigan event. This enabled him to take the #1-seed in the Chase, but it would again not see the participation of Parkhurst, who could only fight his way back to 16^th before the postseason began.

The Chase races were nothing to write home about for Parkhurst, who failed to get any top-10s in his remaining 10 starts. Instead, the 2007 campaign belonged to Earnhardt Jr., who dominated for five wins in the Chase, including the final two races of the season to defeat Kenseth by 75 points for his first career title. Earnhardt’s banner year included 13 wins, while Harvick had a pedestrian nine victories by his standards, though he also scored his 50^th career win at Richmond. Gordon added seven wins himself, with Kenseth’s title run coming up short with three wins. Parkhurst eventually placed 17^th in points with no wins, one top-five and six top-10s.

Here’s where I’ll go ahead and bring part one to a close, but I’ll be doing part two sooner rather than later as we wrap up the 2000s and head into the 2010s!

Who I Want to Win in the 2026 UFL Playoffs

Photo Credit: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

First round

#4 DC v. #1 Orlando- DC

#3 Louisville v. #2 St. Louis- St. Louis

United Bowl

#4 DC v. #2 St. Louis

Winner: St. Louis Battlehawks

My 2026 NFL Regular Season Predictions

Photo Credit: Indianapolis Recorder

By Zane Miller

Playoff teams listed in bold and italics

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

New England Patriots

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

AFC South

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tennessee Titans

AFC West

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Las Vegas Raiders

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

NFC North

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

Detroit Lions

NFC South

Carolina Panthers

Atlanta Falcons

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Arizona Cardinals

Los Angeles Rams