SPORTSBEAT by Peter Jakey: The girl can race a snowmobile
Tina Derry of Rogers City proved 2006 was not a fluke as she returned to Eagle River, Wisconsin, raced against hundreds of competitors, to claim consecutive third place trophies. After a slow start in the finals, Derry had to pass several competitors to move into third and claim an impressive looking trophy, which is topped by a sculptured eagle. Earning third was no easy chore, as she had to maneuver her way from the back of the pack to the front, and passing is never an easy proposition in competitive snowmobile racing. One wrong move and the sled could be forced into a roll, or even worse, into a snow bank or fence.
I have been to some snowmobile races, and the Law of Physics will send a racer hurdling through the air like a rag doll when machine meets snow bank at a high rate of speed. Keeping the front sled blades on the icy course is the biggest challenge facing competitors. Racers have to shift their weights into a turn, not only to maintain a competitive speed, but also to keep the machine from flipping over. Racers lean over the racetrack to keep the inside blade on the track, while holding onto the steering wheel. In one crash on the Eagle River course, the snowmobile rolled in a turn, sending the machine into sideways rolls, and the driver into another sled.
Derry was thankful to keep her 1973, 292 Snow Jet on the track. Derry?s race involved vintage snowmobiles only. Her classes were for machines built in 1973 or older, with a single cylinder and are fan cooled and modified. She was second in her heat, losing to the eventual first place finisher, who rode a 1973 Ski Do. In the finals, Derry was distracted for a moment and was not watching the flagman when the race started from a dead stop. It was an uphill battle from there, but she was able to move from eighth place to third. She had her son and daughter, Rocky and April, as well as husband, Dan, assisting in the pits. Eagle River is located more than five hours from the Mackinac Bridge, near Iron Mountain.
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I?m going with the home teams in this weekend?s conference championships. That means it will be the Bears and the Colts in the Super Bowl. I think Peyton Manning will exercise the demons of his past and win the big game. The Bears? defense will be better than the New Orleans Saints, the latest team to receive the ?Team of Destiny? label. That term brings back memories of the World Series. The Tigers were a ?Team of Destiny? until their pitchers started to throw the ball around.
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With the Pistons in a bit of a funk and not as much interest in the NHL, (there are actually empty seats at Joe Louis Arena), the Tigers are the hottest ticket in Detroit. TigerFest ?07 at Comerica Park, a new event, which previews the upcoming season and celebrates the American league championship, is sold out this weekend. Many top players such as Jeremy Bonderman, Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge, and Todd Jones, to name just a few, will be on hand, along with manager Jim Leyland and team president Dave Dombrowski.