I love seeing 7-Eleven coming back to sponsor Tony Kanaan in the Verizon IndyCar Series. In Kanaan's 2004 championship season, he completed all 3,305 laps, led 889 and won three races – all with 7-Eleven as his primary sponsor. (Read about 7-Eleven's return as an associate sponsor for Kanaan here.)
Let's be honest, TK is synonymous with the brand in INDYCAR. It's great to see the reconnection.
Speaking of connecting and 7-Eleven, here's a Jake Query travel tip: Terminal A (Gate A25) of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport has a 7-Eleven! It's tremendous because it features standard 7-Eleven prices. No need to pay $7.50 for peanut butter crackers! Reasonable prices AND Slurpees between connecting flights? Win-win!
No more privacy in Atlanta airport: While I'm at it, here is a bit of disappointing airport intel. The old Budweiser Zone at Hartsfield Atlanta Airport (Terminal A) was a favorite stop because it had private individual restroom stalls. That is gold in the airport world. Unfortunately, the place closed and became Gordon Biersch Brewing Company. GBBC is a great spot – I highly recommend it – but the place was renovated and the original "privacy" is no more. They do have a private smoking area, if that's your thing.
Why the hate for LeBron? I saw the LeBron James/Charles Barkley feud. I don't get the "hate" for LeBron. Yes, "the decision" was poorly handled, but I loved his moxie in spreading his wings. Do we not encourage young people to branch out and try new ventures?
As a society, we speak highly of young adults who take a college internship or new professional opportunity away from their safety nest. Why not feel the same about an athlete? For a guy who has been in the spotlight since his teens, LeBron James carries himself extremely well. I've never seen a cellphone video, camera shot or screen grab of him that's a negative portrayal. The guy is the greatest basketball player of the era, is paying college tuition for up to 1,000 students in his hometown, and you dislike him because he demands top performance on his team? Please. People loved Michael Jordan for the same reason.
Looking for the sliver of sun: I'm glad we made it through January. Yes, I live in a cold-weather climate. We've been lucky this winter, but can a brother get some sun?! At least when it's dreary in February, you know the tunnel is close to introducing some light.
Gordon joins elite Daytona company: Cool to see Jeff Gordon get a Rolex in Daytona. I'm sure he probably didn't need the watch, but by winning the Rolex 24 with Max Angelelli and Ricky and Jordan Taylor, he joins pretty elite company. I read that he, Jamie McMurray, Mario Andretti (6 hours in 1972) and A.J. Foyt are the only drivers to win a Daytona sports car race and the Daytona 500 stock car race.
Which means those four, along with Tony Kanaan, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Bobby Rahal, Buddy Rice, Arie Luyendyk, Al Unser, Al Unser Jr. and Mark Donohue are the only 15 to win a Daytona endurance overall and win on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not bad.