Thursday, March 16, 2006 | 6:52 a.m.
With more than 150,000 fans in the grandstands and "Sopranos"-like TV ratings, the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was another smashing success.
It also offered further proof that if there is a formula for blending sport and entertainment that appeals to fans, sponsors and advertisers alike, NASCAR has reinvented it.
Others are taking notice. The PGA Tour, taking its cue from the Nextel Cup's "Chase for the Championship," recently announced a new points competition it calls the FedEx Cup.
Gentlemen, start your 7-irons.
After watching Jimmie Johnson nip Matt Kenseth with a thrilling last-corner pass here Sunday, it makes you wonder how long it will be before the other traditional sports begin to peruse the NASCAR blueprint.
Da-da-da, da-da-da. Welcome to "SportsCenter."
"I'm Stuart Scott and he's ... heck, who cares. In an effort to make its games more exciting, Major League Baseball announced today it will adopt stock car racing's yellow flag rule. Some attractive blonde who knows nothing about the game has more from Vero Beach."
"Excuse me, Stuart, this is Harold Reynolds. But yes, the new rule is basically pretty simple. Any time a team opens up a lead of three runs or more after the sixth inning, they'll throw the yellow flag. So let's say the Yankees lead 3-0 in the seventh and Alex Rodriguez belts a grand slam. Well, he'll still get credit for the home run. But the score will revert to 3-0. Just like in NASCAR, only commissioner Bud Selig has agreed to let a team keep a little bit of its lead instead of eliminating it altogether.
"As John Kruk and I were saying, not only will the yellow flag rule lead to more one-run games, which are exciting, it will also give the Royals a chance."
"Boo-yah! And now let's go to Andrea Kremer, who has the inside story on the experimental rules that will be in effect at Saturday's NFL Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio."
"That's right, Stuart. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue told me - and everybody else - that the league is excited about its NASCAR-inspired end-of-the-game rules revisions. Patterned after Nextel Cup's green-white-checker flag dash to the finish, teams will no longer be allowed to take a knee or run boring plays into the middle of the line in an attempt to run out of the clock.
"Instead, the NFL has mandated that every play after the two-minute warning be a pass or, even more intriguing, a lateral. And get a load of this, Stu: The team that has the ball will be able to complete its possession, even after time expires. Just like NASCAR."
"That's cooler than the other side of the pillow, Andrea. Now let's go courtside at Cameron Indoor Stadium where our own Mike Patrick and Dick Vitale are standing by with the story behind a new NCAA rule that could impact the NCAA basketball tournament."
Mike Patrick: Thanks, Dan, there's some big news brewing in the NCAA where the selection committ-
Dick Vitale: That's right, baby! The Promoter's Option. Just like in NASCAR where they now call it owners points, so whenever Dale Earnhardt Jr. or one of those other PTP-ers isn't fast enough to qualify, they just stick him in the back of the field with all those other NASCAR Diaper Dandies and let him race anyway, baby!
Mike Patrick: So what you are saying is that if one of the traditional big-school programs such as Maryland or Michigan or Cincinn-
Dick Vitale: That's right, baby! They're in The Dance, anyway. If the Dookies have a bad year or get knocked off in the first round of the ACC tournament by Florida State, no problem. Sorry, Air Force, they still get in. They get your spot as the No. 13 seed in the Timbuktu Regional, because that's who fans want to see. That's awesome baby, with a capital A!"
"Call it butter cuz it's on a roll, Dickie. There's more from the Grapefruit League, where baseball is about to make another major announcement. Let's go to Vero Beach, where some attractive brunette who knows nothing about the game is standing by."
"Although potentially dangerous, Commissioner Bud Selig believes the brushback pitch is the equivalent of NASCAR's restrictor plates, devices that are fitted to the carburetors that result in the cars running nose-to-tail in huge packs, thereby increasing the chance of a really big crash.
"Fans like to see really big crashes, Stu. Whereas chicks dig the longball in our sport, it is baseball's belief that fans of both sexes will also dig a high, inside fastball following a longball.
"Besides, this rule will prolong the career of Roger Clemens."
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