Kyle Busch calls out poor driving
Kyle Busch placed 19th in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday night, but he believes he would have finished fourth if not for drivers who should not have been on the track in the first place.
Busch finished in the middle of the pack and a lap down after his car ran into the back of Garrett Smithley’s. Smithley, who finished in 35th place and 12 laps down, has made 133 starts across the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck series, but this was only his 12th start on the main circuit.
“We’re at the top echelon of motor sports, and we’ve got guys who have never won late-model races running on the racetrack,” Busch said. “It’s pathetic. They don’t know where to go. What else do you do? I was told he was going to go high. I thought he was going to go high. He went middle because I thought he was going to go high. Killed our day. I don’t know. Should have run fourth probably. Instead 19th.”
Smithley’s response: “Busch has never been in the position we’ve been in, so he doesn’t know how that goes.”
So there’s a lesson for all you drivers. The next time you get in a rear-end collision with someone, just say you thought the driver was going to go high so that it’s his fault you ran into the back of him. Judge Judy would buy that, I’m sure.
Bad news day
The Saints and Steelers received some bad news Monday, learning that New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees (right thumb) could miss six weeks and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (right elbow) will be out for the season because of injuries.
Oddsmakers responded to the news and dropped the Saints from 8-1 to 20-1 to win the Super Bowl and the Steelers from 28-1 to 80-1.
Here were the updated odds Monday:
New England, 7-2; Kansas City, 7-1; Rams, 7-1; Dallas, 12-1; Green Bay, 12-1; Chicago, 16-1; Philadelphia, 16-1; Baltimore, 20-1; Chargers, 20-1; Minnesota, 20-1; New Orleans, 20-1; San Francisco, 20-1; Seattle, 20-1; Cleveland, 25-1; Houston, 25-1; Atlanta, 33-1; Buffalo, 50-1; Indianapolis, 50-1; Tennessee, 50-1; Detroit, 66-1; Tampa Bay, 66-1; Carolina, 80-1; Pittsburgh, 80-1; Jacksonville, 100-1; New York Jets, 100-1; Arizona, 125-1; Denver, 150-1; New York Giants, 150-1; Oakland, 150-1; Cincinnati, 250-1; Washington, 250-1; Miami, 1,000-1.
Favorite moment
What is your favorite all-time L.A. sports moment? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com and tell me what it is and why and it could appear in a future Morning Briefing.
This moment comes from Charles Nabarrete:
“I was 13 years old when I attended the 1959 World Series between the Dodgers and the White Sox. A family friend had season tickets, and he gave us two tickets along the first base line about 25 rows from the field. It was a great afternoon watching my Dodgers favorites.
“Several years later, my mother returned the program that I had purchased. She kept all our family mementos. It was still in pretty good shape.
“So I went to the 50th anniversary celebration Dodgers game of the 1959 championship at Dodger Stadium and had Wally Moon, Joe Pignatano, Tommy Davis and other former players autograph the program. I plan to give the souvenir to my grandson, who is a great baseball fan.”