nascar 2009 <> after week #4 -- before week #5

welcome back after an off week ... the skiers survived their time out in "josted butte" ... how about the bachelor party boys ... ongoing or day of recovery? ... did we stimulate anyone else while on hiatus kevin? ... has anyone else noticed the value of aig bonuses paid out is rising faster than big dig cost overruns ever did? ... fox tv coverage from bristol starts up at 1:30 pm ... im guessing that means green flag somewhere between 2:00 and 2:30 ... why cant they just publish a green flag drop time ... every baseball and football game has a precise start time ... speaking of precise start times ... syracuse tips off against arizona state at 12:10 pm down in miami ... hopefully the orange will have advanced to the sweet 16 from the south (north carolina) bracket before boogity boogity is heard from bristol motor speedway

pool standings AFTER WEEK #4 <> kobalt tools 500 at atlanta

jason -- 532 points / 1 winner
rich -- 527 (-5)
kevin -- 506 (-26)
robin* -- 503 (-29)
floyd -- 482 (-501)
tom* -- 448 (-84)
jim -- 440 (-92)

*denotes rookie competitor

pool picks FOR WEEK #5 <> food city 500 at bristol (for most points <> for race win)

jason -- elliott sadler (19) <> kyle busch (18)
rich -- jeff gordon (24) <> tony stewart (14)
kevin -- ryan newman (39) <> dale earnhardt, jr (88)
robin -- kevin harvick (29) <> kyle busch (18)
floyd -- ryan newman (39) <> kurt busch (2)
tom -- denny hamlin (11) <> jeff gordon (24)
jim -- kevin harvick (29) <> jeff gordon (24)
tommy* -- tony stewart (14) <> jimmie johnson (48)

* denotes "just for fun"