---
4B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NASCAR
WEDNESDAY FERUARY 11 2009
NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. has found a lot to complain about regarding the state of his sport in recent days. He has criticized track promoters for wanting drivers to help sell tickets and taken exception to organizations using his name without nominating him.
Earnhardt states his frustration with NASCAR
BY MARK LONG
Associated Press
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Dale Earnhardt Jr. never wanted to be the voice of NASCAR, the one getting all the questions and shoul dering the responsibility for speaking for teammates, colleagues and everyone else in the garage.
"I just wanted to drive, but that's not all there is to it," Earnhardt said.
Not even close
Earnhardt has figured that out, evidenced by all he's done leading up to the Daytona 500. He took track promoters to task, suggested ways to make races more affordable to fans and even offered to drive for free if his team needed to cut costs in a foundering economy.
NASCAR's most popular driver the last six years, the guy who gained instant fame because of his iconic father and grandfather, has reluctantly accepted his position atop the sport.
"I feel like I take a big role in this
sport," Earnhardt said. "I am glad to be part of this sport, I am glad to represent the sport, either on my good days or my bad days."
Lately, Earnhardt has found more unfair.
He ripped track promoters last week for demanding more of drivers' time to help sell tickets. Bruton Smith, chairman of track conglomerate Speedway Motorsports Inc., and his chief lieutenant, Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage, criticized drivers for not helping create buzz and fill seats.
"That's not true," Earnhardt said. "We're constantly doing things every week for this guy and that guy to help racetracks. ... They gotta take a little responsibility for themselves."
Earnhardt's annoyance started in the offseason, when promoters at Memphis Motorsports Park offered Earnhardt free ribs for life from the track-sponsored barbecue restaurant if he raced in their Nationwide race. Earnhardt was upset they didn't ask him if they
could use his name.
He also took exception with billboards in Texas and Las Vegas that offered rewards for something Earnhardt does on the track.
"I like those kind of things, but damn, you know, notify us a little bit," he said. "Let's get a little more creative."
Some thought his move from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick Motorsports before last season might prevent him from ever taking on a leadership role.
Would team owner Rick Hendrick try to turn Earnhardt into a clone of clean-cut, rarely controversial drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon?
"From the very first time we talked, I told him, 'Be yourself. We want you to be comfortable being you and we won't change you.' Hendrick said. "That's what the attraction is to him. When you get around him, you find out what a neat person he is and you find out why the people gravitate toward him.
MLB
Another one bites the dust
BY DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press
All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to Congress about steroids. Tejada, the AL MVP in 2002, faces a year in jail if convicted. He is scheduled to appear in court today and is expected to plead guilty.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to Congress about steroids, the latest baseball player to get caught up in an extensive web of cheating and juicing that has stained the sport.
Tejada is scheduled to appear in court today where he is expected to plead guilty.
The charges against Tejada, who currently plays for the Houston Astros, were outlined in documents filed in Washington federal court Tuesday.
The documents indicate that a plea agreement has been reached with Tejada, who won the 2002 American League Most Valuable Player award while playing for the Oakland Athletics and is a five-time All-Star. The court papers were filed a day after superstar Alex Rodriguez acknowledged past use of performance-enhancing drugs. The New York Yankees third baseman does not face charges.
Tejada faces as much as a year in jail if convicted on the misdemeanor charge of making misrepresentations to Congress.
The charge came in a legal document called a "criminal information," which only can be filed with the defendant's consent and typically signals a plea deal. A hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. EST Wednesday in Washington, and Tejada and his lawyer plan to hold a news conference later in the day in Houston.
Under federal guidelines, he would probably receive a lighter sentence.
Messages left for his attorney, Mark Tuohey, were not immediately returned.
In the documents filed Tuesday, Tejada is charged with lying to investigators for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2005. Congressional staffers did not place Tejada under oath when they
questioned him, but they advised him "of the importance of providing truthful answers," according to the court papers.
During the interview, Tejada denied knowledge of an exteammate's use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The teammate is not identified in court documents, but is referred to as having played with Tejada on the Athletics.
The court papers filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Durham charge that during spring training in 2003, Tejada had purchased a substance believed to be HGH from the player, giving him payments of $3,100 and $3,200.
Tejada "unlawfully withheld pertinent information from the committee because defendant Tejada, before and during his interview with the committee staff, then and there well knew that player ..1, one of his teammates on the Oakland Athletics, had used steroids and HGH," the papers state.
In the Mitchell Report, which examined steroid use in baseball, Oakland outfielder Adam Piatt is cited saying he discussed steroid use with Tejada and having provided Tejada with testosterone and human growth hormone.
The Mitchell Report, issued in December 2007, also included copies of checks allegedly written by Tejada to Piatt in March 2003 for $3,100 and $3,200 — the same payment amounts in Tuesday's court filing.
Tejada came under scrutiny after another ex-teammate, Baltimore Orioles' Rafael Palmeiro, testified before the House committee.
In January 2008, the House panel asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Tejada lied to committee investigators when he was interviewed in connection with the Palmeiro steroids case.
The committee looked into whether Palmeiro should face periury charges but eventually dropped the matter.
When that same House panel held a hearing in March 2005, Palmeiro jabbed a finger at lawmakers and declared: "I have never used steroids, period." Palmeiro was suspended by baseball later that year after testing positive for a steroid.
Palmeiro said his positive test must have resulted from a B-12 vitamin injection given to him by Tejada.
That prompted Congress to talk to Tejada.
visit www.ecc.ku.edu for a list of employers
7