Romancing the Jock | Romance Authors who Love Sports and the Men who Play Them

The Best Road Trips for Sports Lovers by Tracy Solheim

By Jami Davenport | June 15, 2013 - 11:14 am | Guests

tumblr The Best Road Trips for Sports Lovers by Tracy Solheim

Romancing the Jock welcomes Tracy Solheim. Tracy has a debut football romance series. The first book is out now, titled, “Game On.”

Summer has arrived—finally! With it, comes the family vacation. For Team Solheim, that usually means a road trip. A lot of planning goes in to our summer journeys as we try to hit points of interest at every stop. Our goal is to visit a historical site (think Lincoln’s home, the Freedom Trail, Alcatraz), a pop-culture icon (Sun Studios, the Ben & Jerry’s plant, the Jelly Belly factory, QVC studios), and, most importantly, something with a sporting theme.

We’re pretty passionate about sports in my family. It’s not unusual for us to travel to bowl games, college basketball tournaments, multiple major league ballparks and various Halls of Fame throughout the country. We’ve even chased down the Stanley Cup through an Atlanta restaurant, but that’s a subject for another time. Instead, I thought I’d highlight a few of our favorite sports destinations. Consider it travel advice from a family of veterans of the sports destination road trip.

Best Major League Ballpark:

Fenway. Seriously, no matter what team you cheer for, this place should be on every sports lover’s bucket list to visit. It oozes character in every corner. There are multiple stadium tours each week and the guides take you everywhere in the park including the Green Monster. My daughter, the least of our sports enthusiasts, can still tell you why one seat is red while the rest are painted green. It’s said that in that spot sat a Yankee fan fell asleep during a game, only to be struck in the head by a Ted Williams homer.

Now, one caveat, while we’ve hit quite a few MLB parks across the country (Fenway to Safeco, Turner Field to Jacobs Field), we still haven’t explored the stadiums in the southwest United States. I’m anxious to see them, but I’m pretty sure they won’t rival Fenway Park. An honorable mention has to go to Wrigley Field. We had a memorable afternoon there, especially since it was American Girl Doll day and they were giving out Cub’s jackets and hats just for the dolls. Score!

Best Hall of Fame:

The NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, is worth the trip. It’s interactive and the kids love it. But, Cooperstown and the MLB Hall of Fame can’t be beat. The town itself is charming, giving you that old-time, small town vibe. There’s almost always a game going on in Doubleday Stadium. There’s also a fun scavenger hunt to play while touring the museum portion of the HOF. We only allotted an afternoon for this excursion and we were really disappointed that we didn’t have more time to explore. Don’t make our mistake!

Once again, a caveat: there are hundreds of sport hall of fames located in North America alone. Including one for poker, but I still insist a card game shouldn’t be designated a sport. But that’s a rant for another day. ESPN the Magazine listed their favorite HOFs in their December, 2012 Hall of Fame issue. Check them out if you get a chance. Clearly, Team Solheim hasn’t hit them all. Yet.

Best Auto Racing Experience:

tracy1 1024x768 The Best Road Trips for Sports Lovers by Tracy Solheim

Daytona

The Brick Yard, or Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is definitely a must-see for any sports fan. You can take a shuttle on to the track and stop to kiss the bricks on the finish line. There’s also a museum (The Auto Racing Hall of Fame) that kept my kids interested for an afternoon. But, if you ask my kids, they’d say they enjoyed Florida’s Daytona Motor Speedway more. There were more interactive exhibits, including a very realistic simulated race, complete with a near case of whiplash. The tour includes a visit to pit row, the press room, and the lavish guest suites high above the grandstand. It goes without saying, though, that the ultimate auto racing experience is to attend an actual NASCAR event. But, if you can’t, a tour of Daytona is the next best thing.

Our All-time Favorite Sports Destination:

Churchill Downs. Again, this should be on every sports fan’s list to visit. And not necessarily on Derby Day, although that’s fun, too. I’d recommend going on a non-race day, allowing nearly the entire time to explore. The museum on-site features lots of unique exhibits—including a detailed lecture on betting! The tours of the facility vary, with some taking you to the backside of the track to see the barn areas and to the jockey’s lounge where a panorama of riding silks adorns an entire room. Others take you up in to the luxury suites, the press room, and out on to the spires providing a bird’s-eye view of the winner’s circle. And, while you’re there, don’t forget to check out the inside of the building. The artwork within Churchill Downs is amazing and the food in the restaurant isn’t bad, either! (Another benefit to being in Louisville is you can tour the Louisville Slugger factory and have a bat made with your own personal autograph on it.)

That’s our list. It’s by no means all inclusive and must definitely subject to personal opinion. So, what are some of your favorite sports vacation spots? We need to plan our next junket!

Tracy Solheim is the author of Game On, book one in the Out of Bounds series. Book two, Foolish Games, will be released on December 3, 2013. An avid sports fan and frustrated sports writer, she once worked as an associate producer for NBC Sports Summer Olympics coverage. Today, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia, the heart of SEC country, where she still pines for the NHL. See what she’s up to at www.tracysolheim.com. Or on Facebook at TracySolheimBooks.

Convention Planning for Sports Romance Fans

By Destiny | June 14, 2013 - 10:59 am | Author, Baseball, Basketball, football, Football fan

A Real-life Sports Romance: Italian Style

By Elley Arden | June 13, 2013 - 12:00 am | Baseball

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PinExt A Real life Sports Romance: Italian Style

tumblr A Real life Sports Romance: Italian Style

Matt Litzinger is a talented baseball player who, like millions of boys around the world, spent every available hour playing the game he loved.

“I lived, ate, breathed and slept only for baseball,” he says. “I remember always making my parents take me to the field in my uniform when it was pouring down rain and the game was cancelled, just so I could ‘see for myself.’”

That desire and dedication led him to a Division I college, where he played outfield, but then life dished Matt a series of crazy curveballs.

“I was not drafted,” he says. “I went to a few workouts for professional teams but was never signed to any teams as an outfielder. I tried for about a year after I finished playing in college with no luck. So I found myself at a crossroads.”

Keeping trying or quit? Well, as romance novel readers, we know a hero doesn’t quit, so of course, Matt found a way to play.

At his last workout, he announced he was a pitcher, despite not having thrown a serious pitch in years. “They asked for my stats, and I told them I didn’t have any,” he says. “They told me I couldn’t pitch, because I obviously wasn’t a pitcher.” But something deep inside Matt told him to stick to his guns, and they conceded.

Since we read romance novels, we can guess what happened next, right? He pitched well enough to get noticed by an independent league team. The baseball gods had spoken. Matt Litzinger wasn’t quitting that day!

But…a month and a half later, the team folded for financial reasons. “I was back where I started,” he says. “No team and a decision to quit or continue. I choose to continue, and after a difficult offseason, I signed with another independent league team in February. When the season came around and it was time to report for practices, I was more excited than I’ve ever been.”

Uh oh. We know what that means, too, don’t we? Curveballs ahead.

“I had an issue that actually caused me to fail the team physical, and I was immediately released with no opportunity,” Matt says. “I had to leave the next day. And yet again, I was back where I began. No team and the decision to quit and move on or find a way to play.”

Ultimately, his decision to ‘find a way to play,’ led to a fateful conversation with a friend who played professional baseball in Italy. And as they say, the rest is history.

“I’m still new to pitching, and I knew I would pitch more innings [in Italy] because I was offered a contract as a starting pitcher, so I made the decision to come,” he says. “I was extremely blessed to have all of the opportunities I’ve had, especially this one…It’s all led me to be the person and player I am now.”

In the midst of the professional drama, life was working on Matt’s personal life, too.

Christmas Season 2009

Smiley brunette beauty Alyssa Cavallaro was shopping for tennis shoes for her boyfriend. She walked into a popular athletic shoe shop, and caught site of a man she assumed was an employee. While he helped her pick out shoes, conversation flowed, and she realized they had friends in common. She also realized he wasn’t a store employee! It was a fun exchange that ended as quickly as it began—they were both ‘taken’. And when Alyssa walked out of the store, she walked out of Matt’s life. Until…

Summer 2012

Alyssa’s evening out took an interesting turn when a mystery man walked into the bar. “I literally could not take my eyes off of him the entire night,” she says.

And yet, she couldn’t get up the nerve to talk to him either, leaving for a different bar without so much as saying ‘hello’. When he walked into the new bar, she wasn’t going to let the opportunity get away, so she bought a round of drinks, buying one-too-many, and offered the extra to him. He took the drink…but walked away.

“I was shocked, but I shook it off and continued my night with my friends and went home and went to sleep,” she says.

She woke up to a Twitter message: Why didn’t you say hi to me? Don’t you remember me?

That was when she learned the man from the bar was the man from the shoe store! A dinner date was set for the following week.

“At first when he told me he was a professional baseball player in Italy, I’ll admit it wasn’t an exciting quality for me,” she says. “…I thought, ‘Okay, this guy is a typical athlete, looking for a fling while he is home, and once he goes back to Italy, he will forget about me, and I’ll be left heart broken.’ So I tried to keep my guard up a little bit. It was hard not to want to keep spending time with him, though. He was so nice, so handsome and so genuine.”

Matt lives five months of the year in Italy, giving even greater meaning to the term ‘long-distance relationship’. But Alyssa is spending three of the five months with him this season.

“I am so happy I get to be over here with him, sharing the experience and watching him pitch,” she says. “The feeling I get in my stomach when he steps on the mound is indescribable. I love every minute of it.”

Who wouldn’t? A real life sports romance in gorgeous Italy. Now, that’s swoon-worthy!

We wish Matt and Alyssa the very best in life and love, and thank them for sharing their story. It goes to show, real-life sports romances are everywhere. If you happen to know one and would like to see the couple profiled on Romancing the Jock, send me an email (elley@elleyarden.com).

Make a Pit Stop for Love

By Chanta | June 12, 2013 - 6:00 am | Author, NASCAR

2 Comments

Today, I’m thrilled to be interviewing Michelle Monkou, Emma-nominated author and a former President of Romance Writers of America and Washington Romance Writers. In addition to writing her steamy novels, Michelle also writes the Happily Ever After column for USA Today, where she discusses her recommended romance reads. Whew! Talk about a busy woman.

I had the pleasure of reading Michelle’s recently-released romance, RACING HEARTS, about a daredevil race car driver named Marc Newton and his no-nonsense, sexy doctor, Erin Wilson. As a lover of sports and romance, this story was right up my alley. I loved the chemistry between Marc and Erin.

After watching the biography of Wendell Scott (the first African American to obtain a NASCAR racing license), I’ve developed quite an interest in the sport of racing. RACING HEARTS fueled my appetite, making me want to learn even more about racing and the author behind this hot romance. Lucky for me, Michelle was gracious enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few of my questions. Check it out.

I am lovin’ me some Marc Newton. He’s my ideal Alpha male–cocky and devastatingly handsome. Tell our readers about the romance between Marc and Erin. What made you decide to write a story about the exciting world of racing?

Marc was a fun hero. For the car racing world, I wanted a hero who not only looked the part, but embodied the elements of racing—risk taking, focused, goal-oriented. He was truly an alpha male, for better or worse. Erin was the opposite. As a doctor, she was in the business of healing and managing her patient’s health. Risk taking certainly wasn’t on her list. While Marc was in control on the track, Erin was in control off the track.

Writing about various success levels of businessmen is the norm. So I chose a profession that wasn’t overdone, at least in African American romances. The research was interesting and making my fictional race car federation was fun. Readers had questions about a few secondary characters. You never know, a character might get a short digital story.

You are a former President of RWA as well as president of your local chapter, WRWDC. What was that like, and what was the most valuable lesson you learned from holding these positions?

Obviously I have a problem saying no. LOL. Both organizations mean a lot to me, partly because I learned the business and craft of writing under the RWA umbrella. But I’ve also enjoyed wonderful friendships that have spanned almost twenty years. Serving in the leadership positions was interesting, challenging, and rewarding. The necessary skillset is unique. As a chapter president, there is more focus on the community of writers. As the RWA president of a 10,000 membership, there was more focus on the business and outreach to industry professionals, along with overseeing the professional staff.

Over the years, there have been many transformations in the publishing industry, including changes in genre, reader demographics, and the rise of self-publishing. What do you foresee as the biggest trend in publishing within the next two to three years?

Technology is always the deal breaker or deal maker in history. What I do know is that the landscape is shifting, even as we struggle to nail down the future. I do believe that self-publishing will continue to be a significant contribution to the industry because there are no barriers to entry. Readers will develop their own ways to weed out the unprofessional work. This translates to marketing challenges for a writer with no fan base. But writers are getting creative, so I suspect some will overcome this.

Now, while novel-length stories will still be a mainstay, I think there will be an increase of the novella-length. For traditional publishers, it’s a great way for an author to build an audience. For already published authors, it’s a great filler between their longer works.

I often say, “If I knew twenty years ago what I know now, I’da been dangerous!” What do know today that you wish you would have known when you started your writing career?

Not go to so many workshops and fill up on rules—instead of writing. Not go to so many conferences without having specific goals—instead of writing. Stop listening to others, as if they had the answers to the Holy Grail—instead of writing. Not following my gut because someone tried it and it didn’t work or it didn’t fit the “normal” path—instead of writing.

I noticed many of your books have a certain look and feel that denotes they are Michelle Monkou novels (especially your Kimani romances imprint). How important do you think branding is for an author, and what do you think are some of the benefits of having an author brand?

Author brand is important, but should be subtle. The reader will naturally pick up on the branding. You don’t need overkill. At the end of the day, the book sells the author, not all the promotional gimmicks.

Talk to us about Stella Maris Digital Publishing.

Stella Maris Digital Publishing is my company’s trade name for my indie books. I took the name of my elementary school in Guyana that was instrumental in shaping me as an avid reader and a writer. Those nuns and teachers were fantastic in my childhood development.

Michelle Monkou is a multi-published author with over 16 novels under her belt. In addition to RACING HEARTS, look for her newly released romance, CARNIVAL TEMPTRESS available now, and in June, PASSIONATE GAME will be available.

For more information about Michelle, visit her website at http://michellemonkou.blogspot.com/ or contact her at michellemonkou@comcast.net .

Party in the Poconos

By Roz | June 11, 2013 - 5:00 am | NASCAR

5 Comments

Pocono International Raceway

I went to a party on Sunday. The Party in the Poconos! Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race was sponsored by WalMart, and grandstand tickets at Pocono International Raceway were basically half-price which drew a big crowd to the 2.5 mile track known as the Tricky Triangle because of its unique modified oval shape.

We were fortunate to have fabulous conditions, sunny and temperatures in the mid-seventies, when two days prior the track in Long Pond, PA looked more like a long pond than…Long Pond!

Too Close for Comfort.

On Thursday, when the weather dude was still claiming Sunday would be a beautiful day, I broke out my wallet and purchased our tickets. Since the track is so long and the grandstand small, unless you’re a spotter for one of the cars, you aren’t going to get seats high enough to see the entire track anyway, so I opted for the cheap seats for hubby and myself. He was a Pocono virgin, and I knew he would love being close to the track. And we were close, probably not more than forty feet away. It was as close as I’d ever been to a speeding race car, and I found it a bit unnerving at first. Knowing there was nothing but some grass, a low concrete wall, and some rusty wire fencing between me and forty-three crazy drivers hell-bent on winning at all cost took some getting used to.

Too close for comfort!

Where’s the chocolate?

In keeping with the party theme, there was much for fans to do besides the usual shopping from 18 wheel toy haulers. Among my favorites was a short zip-line experience (which I declined to try) and a Margaritaville party bus. Leave it to me to gravitate to the chocolate.

NASCAR fans are the best!

I have to say, NASCAR fans are by far the nicest bunch of folks you can find. We sat next to a dad and son from Phoenix who happened to be in the area and decided to take in a race. Since the last race we attended was in their hometown, we had a lot to talk about. Another couple sat in front of us, and they’d arrived early and were one of the first to enter when the gates opened. Even though they were Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, they had gone to the M&M’s tent and lucked into a meet and greet with Kyle Busch. After learning that my husband was a Kyle fan (he had on his favorite Kyle Busch T-shirt), the man handed my hubby his ticket, signed that morning by Kyle!

Ticket autographed by Kyle Busch.

That scrap of paperboard shot to the top of hubby’s prized-possession list fast enough to qualify for pole position! He’s talking about framing the ticket, and I have no doubt that chore will appear on my to-do list right along with dropping off his dry cleaning. I don’t mind. A framed ticket will be a lot smaller than the bent up fender from Kyle’s Halloween M&M’s car he crashed at Talladega a couple of years ago that is now taking up space in my dining room. Yeah, don’t ask.

Things are heating up – on the track and off!

With about thirty laps to go, things began to get interesting—on and off the track. A woman sitting nearby had about a dozen too many beers and put on quite a show. Embarrassing for her and her boyfriend, but after one hundred laps of absolutely nothing happening, I was starved for a diversion. A few minutes later, a guy across the aisle decided it was too warm out and removed his shirt.

Daaauum! Those last thirty or so laps were the best! Well worth the price of admission on their own.

A couple of caution flags and restarts helped heat things up on the track, I had a one-sided domestic dispute to eavesdrop on, and I swear, the guy I want to see on the cover of my next book was right across the aisle from me! Suddenly, I was ping-ponging back and forth between all three, trying to catch the action on the track while not missing a thing in the stands.

I wish I could post a picture of Heineken man, that’s the name I gave the shirtless wonder since that’s what he was drinking, but I don’t feel right about posting photos of unsuspecting folks on a public blog. ‘Lest you think it terrible of me to be ogling bare-chested men with my hubby sitting right next to me, I did point him out. Hubby shook his head, smiled, and turned back to the action on the track. I think he’s been desensitized to my wandering eyes since all my book covers tend to have naked men on them. Besides, our thirty-fifth anniversary is coming up in a couple of months. He knows I’m not going anywhere!

Romance for racing fans.

Race fans, check out my racing themed romance, SWEET CAROLINA!

eBook & Print

Winning her heart will be the sweetest victory of all.

Blurb-

Carolina Hawkins lifelong dream of running her own racing team is running on fumes. Her only hope is her childhood friend – the driver they now call Madman. Now that she’s got him, she’s got to find the man inside who was once heralded as the future of NASCAR before he drives her dream, and her heart, into the wall.

Dell Wayne gave up caring on the day his daddy died at Darlington, but there’s something about this grown up version of his childhood friend, Carolina Hawkins, that has him wishing he could be the driver and the man she needs. The race is on, and winning her heart will be the sweetest victory of all.

Read an excerpt here.

Is There Such a Thing as Fan Etiquette?

By Pat White | June 10, 2013 - 12:46 am | Uncategorized

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PinExt Is There Such a Thing as Fan Etiquette?

tumblr Is There Such a Thing as Fan Etiquette?

So in the midst of an exciting hockey championship—I’m from Chicago so…GO Blackhawks!—our beloved White Sox came to Seattle to take on the Mariners. It was a BIG sports week for us. Although I was at the Tuesday night game with the family, my husband and oldest son were at the Wednesday game that ran 16 innings — and they stayed till the bitter end!

Anyway, my inspiration for today’s blog is fan etiquette or the lack thereof. My oldest son challenged me that there is no such thing and I said, “Well, there should be.”

When I get out to beautiful Safeco Field I like to kick back, absorb the sunshine, eat some good food and enjoy a little people watching, all while rooting for the home team (well, except when my Chicago team is in town <G>). So when the guys a few rows in front of us start abusing my sons because they’re wearing White Sox jerseys, I get frustrated. I mean, isn’t the game about healthy competition, playing your heart out, and having a good time? When did the ballpark start handing out rudeness licenses?

Being from Chicago, I’m passionate about my sports. But I would never, ever make another fan feel bad because he wasn’t rooting for my team, whether it was the home team or the visitors.

Besides a little verbal abuse from drunken twenty-somethings, there was also this guy who would shout angry words back at my youngest son when he’d root for the Sox. It’s like that guy took it personally that we weren’t Mariners fans.

Well, maybe I’m taking all this personally, but I guess that’s because I love baseball and being around obnoxious fans tends to sour my experience.

I’ll bet you’ve got your share of fan stories from sporting events. Let’s hear them! And by all means, give me your thoughts on proper sports etiquette. Does it exist?

Thanks and have a great week.

patwhitewriter.com

Without my Penguins

By Emily Cale | June 8, 2013 - 1:53 am | Hockey

How much is too much in sports romances?

By Destiny | June 7, 2013 - 11:36 am | football, Football fan, NASCAR

2 Comments

PinExt How much is too much in sports romances?

tumblr How much is too much in sports romances?

Like so many authors today, I tend to write what I know. Paranormal is probably the broad exception but even then, subplots are often derived from areas of familiarity.

In recent months, I’ve spent a lot of time on sports romances. While reviewing old works for a series continuation, I noticed one question kept popping up—at what point does a writer include too much information and focus more on the sports aspect rather than the romance? I quickly came to the conclusion—and mainly because I love sports—that I would prefer to read sports romances with an even 50/50 but I may be in the minority there.

After flipping through a few older works, I decided the sports romances I’ve written in the past often fall quite short of that 50/50. For example, in four out of six Sports Wives novellas, the focus is definitely on the romantic elements.

Writing under the pseudonym Natalie Acres, I wrote Country Roads, a racing sports romance trilogy. In Bang the Blower, I was somewhat aware of that invisible line in the sand. I wanted to focus on the romance, but there was so much more to convey about racing, too. In the end, the story wasn’t compromised because the sports and romance elements reached the desirable level.

Bang the Blower, which starts out with a drag racing focus, remains true to the romance, but there were several areas within the novella where the focus was definitely on racing—first drag racing and later stock car racing. The even split wasn’t obvious in the first two novellas yet the one with the heaviest concentration on the romance, Sex Drive, outsold the other two by a slight margin.

Since past sales data wasn’t helpful in determining what readers want to find in their sports romances, perhaps readers, publishers, authors, and editors will weigh in and give some feedback on the subject. Romance readers, at what point will you say ‘this is too much’ in terms of the developing sports plot?

Editors and publishers: When you’re reviewing submissions, what do you like to see in terms of the sports thread and romantic elements? Authors, how about you? What are you writing in your sports romances? Where do you draw the line in terms of developing your sports romance plot?

In the end, the percentages could vary according to the story. What do you think?

Destiny Blaine

www.destinyblaine.blogspot.com

Because it’s the Cup!

By Cassandra | June 3, 2013 - 7:08 pm | Author, Hockey

10 Comments

I am a huge, HUGE hockey fan. And even though my Sabres didn’t make the playoffs *sniff, sniff* I still love watching playoff hockey.

The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in professional sports. I’m not alone in my opinion of this — if you talk to sportscasters and others in-the-know about sports, many of them will agree with this statement. It’s a battle of attrition more than any other sport I know. Guys play with broken limbs, for Pete’s sake. And no, I’m not joking. They seriously do. Hockey players are nuts.

If you’re not a hockey fan (yet) I highly suggest turning on NBC and the NBC Sports Network and seeing what all the fuss is about.

Because really, what IS it about?

1. Absolutely ridiculous displays of skill:

Game 7, Chicago Blackhawks vs Detroit Red Wings, Western Conference Semi-finals

Tic. Tac. Toe.

2. Big hits:

This was years ago, but is still shown in montages for the playoffs. Brian Campbell (then a Buffalo Sabre) on RJ Umberger. Umberger was injured, but it was a clean hit (IMO).

3. Intensity

Jonathan Toews won the Conn Smythe trophy (MVP) in the 2010 playoffs. Despite that, the kid doesn’t even crack a smile until 1:20 into this video-

In the 2012 playoffs, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia battled each other in a very entertaining series. Here we see general non-fighters Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux plus Kris Letang and Kimmo Timonen get into some spirited bouts. In 2013 Crosby and Zdeno Chara have been jawing at each other and in last game before I wrote this post Evgeni Malkin and Patrice Bergeron dropped the gloves.

4. Playoff beards:

Toews always has a great playoff beard, as if he’s channeling Abraham Lincoln. Some guys like Henrik Zetterberg and Scott Hartnell can bring the facial hair, others like Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane just…can’t.

What things make you love the NHL Playoffs?

The Indy 500 and the Fabulous Russell Trophy

By Lynn | June 1, 2013 - 12:05 am | Uncategorized

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PinExt The Indy 500 and the Fabulous Russell Trophy

tumblr The Indy 500 and the Fabulous Russell Trophy

Let me start by saying I know very little about IndyCar racing. The Indy 500 is the only automobile racing event I watch. This is thanks to my son-in-law who loves the sport and devised a game wherein all family members, even the toddlers, choose three top picks and a dark horse candidate from the last three rows of the race. Our scores are added up by how each driver placed with the lowest total score winning. He also designed the coveted Russell Trophy, a Hot Wheels car glued to a wooden plaque. Winners get to sign the back. I have won the trophy with no knowledge of racing two years in a row–but not this year or last. How did I do this? Let me share my success with you.

First of all though the cars at Indy look like Formula One racers to me, they are not. IndyCars go round and round an oval for 500 miles while the Formula One cars usually race on curving European roads which makes them much sexier. The drivers tend to be lithe and on the short side because in this, like any other race, weight does matter. For instance, Adam Malala, my big Samoan cornerback in Paradise for a Sinner, would never fit in the cockpit. The men who do this must also be adrenaline junkies to risk their lives in such flimsy machines. Thanks to fireproof suits and better technology, they rarely die, but let’s face it we watch those races for the potential of crashes.

Knowing little, how do I pick my winners? I use the Power of O. My list usually includes Helio Castoneves, Marco Andretti, and Dario Franchitti. Danica Patrick used to be my dark horse, but she got too good and then went over to stock car racing. This year none of the dark horses had a name ending in O. I chose Graham Rahal, and he crashed near the end of the race putting me out of running for the family trophy. My top picks were Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, and for some fresh blood, the Japanese driver, Takuma Sato. Dario served me well in the past, but he crashed this year during the final laps making for a very boring finish under a caution flag where everyone had to hold their positions. Tony Kanaan won after many years of trying, and I am happy for him. My other three had respectable finishes, but when the final tally comes in, I am sure I will not the get the trophy back from my SIL’s brother in Connecticut. I imagine I beat the kids in the family who usually just choose the color cars they like.

But why does the power of O often work? Whether from Scotland like Dario or America like Andretti, the Italian gene must contain skill at race driving. I suspect these guys were all charioteers in another life. Now there’s a plot for a new book. They also seem to come with big, manly noses, not necessarily an impediment for a romantic hero when you consider Cyrano. As for Helio, you’ve seen him swing his Latin hips on Dancing with the Stars. Pretty hot.

I recommend all of you participate in this game once a year. I’ve just proven you need not know anything about racing to win. It’s always a crap shoot. Who has never won our trophy? My son-in-law, the man who knows the most about automobile racing. You will have to create your own trophy, however, as the Russell Plaque is solely ours.

The Best Road Trips for Sports Lovers by Tracy Solheim

Convention Planning for Sports Romance Fans

A Real-life Sports Romance: Italian Style

Make a Pit Stop for Love

Party in the Poconos

Too Close for Comfort.

Where’s the chocolate?

NASCAR fans are the best!

Things are heating up – on the track and off!

Romance for racing fans.

Is There Such a Thing as Fan Etiquette?

Without my Penguins

How much is too much in sports romances?

Because it’s the Cup!

The Indy 500 and the Fabulous Russell Trophy

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